The Dunn County Health Department has released the results of a community health survey. According to KT Gallagher, the director of the Dunn County Health Department, the survey results show that Dunn County respondents feel affordable housing, childcare, and substance abuse are the most pressing concerns. The health department is planning in-person events to review the results with the public and get feedback on the survey.
Durand homeowners may be getting a visit from the public works department in the coming weeks. During last week's council meeting, public works superintendent Matt Gillis reported that members of the public works department would be visiting homes to conduct cross-connection inspections and to review any lead service lines that might be in homes. The Wisconsin DNR is requiring municipalities to conduct an inventory report of the number of homes that have lead service water lines.
The Durand-Arkansaw School Board is meeting tonight. Items on the agenda include discussion and possible action on a cooperative sports agreement with Assumption Catholic Schools for Middle School Sports, a contract with Pioneer Roofing for a roofing project at the middle and high school building, and reports from the district administration. Tonight's meeting begins at 6pm in the board room at Durand-Arkansaw High School.
A resolution before the Eau Claire County Board surrounding the resettlement of refugees in the Chippewa Valley has failed by a vote of 18-9. During last nights county board meeting a resolution was offered recommending that prior to the relocation of the refugees, Word Relief, the organization organizing the resettlement, arrange an independent economic study regarding costs to taxpayers, which would then be reviewed by the County Board. World Relief has been working to bring 75 refugees to the area, and while the move has drawn criticism, the agency says it will bring diversity to the Chippewa Valley and provide people in need with housing, medical care, and employment.
A local school leader is asking his school board for an operational referendum. Jeff Holmes, Superintendent of the Chippewa Falls Area Unified School District, discussed the matter at a board meeting last night. Holmes asked board members to consider a 3-year operational referendum that would total more than two million dollars each year. It would equal out to about an additional ten-dollars per year in property taxes.
A Clark County man charged in the drug overdose death of a man has been sentenced. Jacob Faude, from Owen, will spend six years in prison for delivering Fentanyl. A charge of reckless homicide was dismissed in October in exchange for his no-contest plea to the drug charge. The victim was found unresponsive in a van stuck in a ditch last winter, and an investigation into the death led authorities to Faude.
Pay raises are moving forward for roughly 35-thousand UW employees, but, Republican state lawmakers say their fight against diversity employment initiatives is not over. University workers are getting a four-percent pay increase that is retroactive to July first of this year, then, another two percent beginning next month. The wage hikes were blocked by Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, who has taken issue with diversity, equity, and inclusion hiring practices at universities and in other state agencies. Yesterday, Vos said he and other GOP legislators plan to push for a larger review of the DEI initiatives. Wisconsin Senate Minority Leader Dianne Hesselbein says the programs should have "never been used as a bargaining chip" in the UW wage talks.
Minnesota senators are questioning why mail delivery is delayed and unreliable U.S. Senators Tina Smith and Amy Klobuchar are asking the U.S. Inspector General to audit the Minnesota-North Dakota Postal Service District. The Inspector General already began an audit on four south Twin Cities Metro locations, including Apple Valley and Eagan, the New Brighton Carrier Annex, and the Saint Paul Processing and Distribution Center, areas where customers have been complaining.
Minnesota's attorney general says the state should receive just over a million dollars as part of a multi-state settlement reached with Google. Minnesota joined a lawsuit against that company in 2021, claiming the company engaged in anticompetitive practices through the Google Play Store app. The settlement announced this week will refund 630-million dollars to consumers, along with another 70-million dollars in penalties that will be divided by the states. Google will also be required to make changes to its policies to allow app developers more options for distribution and in-app payment processing.
Two southwest Wisconsin locations have been chosen as historic landmarks within the state. The State Register of Historic Places will list the Daniel and Catherine Welty Barn in the Lafayette County town of Wiota as one of the spots. Built in 1850, the threshing barn is the only one in the state that’s known as a Grundscheier or ground barn. The Wisconsin Historical Society explains that the barn is a symbol of the period when the state focused more on grain farming than dairy farming. The second location is Wyoming’s Spring Green Restaurant, which is now the Frank Lloyd Wright Visitor Center for Taliesin. The restaurant was designed by Wright and opened in 1953.
A Neenah man involved in a fatal Saturday night crash in Waupaca County has been charged with his fifth OWI offense. In addition to that charge, Scott C. Farmer faces counts of homicide by intoxicated use of a vehicle following the crash on Highway 10 in Weyauwega that killed four siblings ranging in age from 25 to nine. Police say Farmer’s pickup was traveling westbound in the eastbound lane when it collided head-on with the SUV carrying the four siblings who emigrated from Ecuador seven years ago. Three of them died at the scene, while the driver of the SUV died at a hospital from their injuries. The 47-year-old Farmer, who was taken to a local hospital following the crash with critical injuries, made his initial court appearance by video from the jail Monday.
The Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport is gearing up for the year's final holiday rush. Heading into the final weeks of the year, the airport's activity is around 90-percent of its 2019 levels, which is when it served an all-time record of thirty-nine-point-five-million passengers. Officials say Thursday and Friday will be the busiest travel days at the airport before Christmas, with nearly 36-thousand people projected to clear security checkpoints on Friday. The airport is advising travelers to arrive two hours before their domestic flights depart and for anyone parking at the airport to pre-book a spot.
A virus that sickens dogs is responsible for killing nearly a dozen raccoons in Columbia County. The DNR has detected an outbreak of canine distemper in the village of Rio. Wildlife disease experts say most animals that contract the virus do not survive, including dogs, particularly if they are unvaccinated. DNR officials are urging area residents to avoid leaving out garbage and pet food that could attract sick wildlife. They are also encouraging dog owners to get their pets vaccinated for distemper if they have not done so already.
A handful of new laws go into effect in Minnesota at the start of the new year. That includes the new statewide earned sick and safe time law, which makes all workers eligible for paid time off. Employees will get one hour of sick time for every 30 hours put in. Workers can use paid time off if they're sick, taking care of a family member, or getting help for domestic abuse, stalking, or sexual assault. Another law aimed at helping workers makes it so employers can't ask applicants about their past or current pay in the hiring process. There's also a so-called red flag law going in place, which makes it so certain individuals can be barred from owning a gun. Minimum wage will also go up, and schools will be required to provide free menstrual products.
An Olmsted County deputy is being praised after showing off a hidden talent over the weekend. The Olmsted County Sheriff's Office posted a video to Facebook yesterday showing one of their deputies lassoing a runaway goat in a Rochester yard. The goat was turned over to the Rochester Animal Shelter and was reunited with its owner on Sunday. The sheriff's office praised Deputy Heiden for his efforts and called the successful capture a win-win for both the deputy and the goat.
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