Owners of empty commercial buildings in Durand will be receiving letters from the city reminding them of the extra fee they are required to pay. During last week's council meeting the mayor also said that the owners are also invited to work with the Economic Development Committee and that the city is also willing to work with them to find new business tenants or potential new owners for the buildings.
Homeowners with wood stoves and fireplaces are reminded to make sure the chimneys have been cleaned. Durand Fire Chief Jamie King says creosote buildup can cause a chimney fire and require the fire department to come out to your home. Last week the department responded to a chimey fire in the town of Albany.
The Durand Improvement Group will be holding a small business empowerment event at Club 10 in January. The group announced the event last week on social media and Mark Tallman from the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation will discuss grants, programs and other ways small businesses or those thinking of starting a small business can enhance the downtown. For more information visit the Durand Improvement Group website or Facebook page.
A former Eau Claire County District Attorney has had his license suspended. The Wisconsin Supreme Court decided today that Gary King will not be allowed to practice law in the state for the next year. He will also have to pay nearly six-thousand dollars for his court costs. King is accused of misconduct starting in 2018 for sexual harassment, a short temper, and being under the influence at work. King resigned as DA in August 2021.
One person is dead after a farming accident in La Crosse County. According to the La Crosse County Sheriff's Department, firefighters and first responders responded to the accident on Knudsen Road in the town of Onalaska on Wednesday and found 78yr old Raymond Lee injured. He was med-flighted to the hospital but died from his injuries.
Wisconsin lawmakers are considering a ban on life sentences for minors. Republican State Senator Jesse James is co-authoring Senate Bill 801 and a companion measure in the Wisconsin Assembly, getting bipartisan support from more than 30 members. In addition to barring sentences of life without parole for offenders under 18, the legislation would also allow anyone who is currently serving such a sentence to qualify for a review after 15 years for non-homicide crimes and after 20 years for those convicted of homicide. The Senate bill was sent for discussion in the Committee on Judiciary and Public Safety last week.
The makers of some popular air fryer models are recalling more than 300-thousand units over a risk of burns. Late last week, Empower Brands announced a safety advisory for their Power XL Dual Basket air fryers. The company says a plastic U-channel that allows owners to use the two baskets together can break, and, the issue has caused at least three reported burns, according to the Consumer Product Safety Commission. The appliances were sold nationwide at retailers including Walmart, Target, and Kohl's. Those who have purchased the air fryers can contact the company for a full refund.
Minnesota will fund dozens of projects to increase the amount of affordable housing in the state. Governor Walz and Lieutenant Governor Flanagan announced 348-million dollars in funding for the projects on Friday. The money will help build or preserve nearly 15-hundred rental units, while building or rehabilitating just over 13-hundred homes. Some money will also go toward improvements to manufactured home communities and increasing homeownership opportunities statewide. The state estimates the new projects will create seven thousand jobs.
More prison time for state inmate who made a bomb threat against former Governor Scott Walker The State Department of Justice on Friday announced a three-year sentence along with two years of extended supervision for 53-year-old Terrence Grissom, for the 2018 bomb scare threat against the governor. Grissom pled guilty to bomb scare as a habitual criminal. He was a state prison inmate on April 9 2018, when a letter was delivered to the Dane County District Attorney's office. It stated there was a bomb in the governor's office that would go off at the push of a button. A bomb-sniffing canine was brought in and it was determined there was no threat.
The ACLU of Wisconsin wants answers about the requests to ban books in a half-dozen school districts across the state. The ACLU Thursday filed an open records request with schools Menomonee Falls, Howard-Suamico, Waukesha, Elmbrook, Elkhorn, and Kenosha, asking to see who wants certain books pulled off the shelves. The ACLU also wants to know how the school districts are handling the requests. Schools have been busy this year with requests from parents to pull what they call 'objectionable' materials from school libraries. But in some school districts that 'objectionable' material includes books like SlaughterHouse Five and The Grapes of Wrath. The ACLU says 'extremist parents' are driving the book ban efforts.
COVID-19 cases are going up in Wisconsin. The state health department says the coronavirus is sending more people to the emergency room, especially those 65 and older, and they're also seeing a rise in RSV and flu cases. They add, however, that vaccination rates are down in Wisconsin. The state's chief medical officer says only 12-percent of eligible adults in Wisconsin received the updated COVID vaccine.
Upgrades to the Wisconsin Department of Transportation website are finished. The DOT launched its site redesign last week, including an improved mobile phone layout and more ADA accessibility. Wisconsinites can use the website to read about road conditions and renew their registration and driver's license. The DOT says more than two-million people renewed their plates using the website last year.
Overtime and bonuses would be tax-free in Wisconsin under proposed legislation at the Capitol. The Republican-backed idea would make wages on hourly earnings beyond 40 hours a week and employer bonuses up to $2,500 per year exempt from the state income tax. Proponents of the bill say it would help workers deal with inflation while also spurring people to pick up extra hours at their in shorthanded workplace. The sponsors of the bill say Wisconsin workers would save about $320 per year if it were approved. The legislation is currently being circulated for co-sponsorship by other legislators.
A Wisconsin father and daughter are getting the credit for discovering what's thought to be a 150-year-old shipwreck in Lake Michigan. Tim Wollak and his six-year-old daughter, Henley, were out fishing near Green Bay back in August when the sonar detector picked up an unusual ping. He posted the pics to social media, where it caught the attention of the Wisconsin Historical Society. The society says it's a wooden three-masted sailing ship and while it hasn't been confirmed, it seems likely its the George L. Newman. That ship was lost in 1871 carrying a load of lumber while trying to make its way through thick smoke from a wildfire. A search is planned of the site next year.
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