Durand residents are reminded that the city does not pick up Christmas trees curbside. According to Public Works Superintendent Matt Gills, it is the homeowner's responsibility to find proper disposal. Tress can be taken to the Pepin County Recycling Center for a $5 fee.
Pepin County has seen a rise in respiratory illnesses. Pepin County Health Officer Heidi Stewart says the increase in cases has happened in the last few weeks. Stewart reminds residents to wash their hands, cover their coughs, and stay home if they're not feeling well.
A Trempealeau County man has been arrested for possession of child pornography. According to the Trempealeau County Sheriff's Department, the department received a cyber tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. The Department, along with the Wisconsin Department of Justice Division of Criminal Investigation, executed a search warrant at 20393 W. Gale Ave. in Galesville and then conducted an investigation. Yesterday, 22yr old Clayton Solberg was taken into custody.
The University of Wisconsin has fired the chancellor at UW-La Crosse because of his porn videos. UW regents yesterday terminated Chancellor Joe Gow's contract. Gow had been the longest-serving chancellor at any UW school. He and his wife filmed and distributed dozens of videos on several websites under the name 'Sexy Happy Couple.' Gow said he never used any university time, money, equipment, or office space to make the videos. UW President Jay Rothman says Gow was fired because 'his actions were abhorrent.' Gow told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that he and his wife also wrote two books that talk about sex, and they have a YouTube channel where they cook healthy dishes with professional porn actors. Gow had already announced plans to step down as La Crosse chancellor. He was supposed to transition back to being a professor, but that may not happen now that he's been fired.
There are new questions about the integrity of the sheriff in Chippewa County. The DA in Chippewa Falls says he has questions about Sheriff Travis Hakes after the sheriff made a list of questionable officers a few years back. Hakes was added to a so-called Brady List while he was a police officer in Chetek. A Brady List is a list of officers who have issues with lying or stretching the truth and may not be reliable in court. Chippewa County DA Wade Newell said being on the list could cause problems for any new case in Chippewa County that the sheriff is directly involved in. The questions about the sheriff's credibility come after an inter-county investigation into how he worked with a female 911 dispatcher, and whether his other job has interfered with his duties as sheriff.
A Sparta teenager is being charged in adult court after allegedly starting a fire inside a Walmart on Tuesday morning. 17-year-old Emma Smith faces arson, endangering safety and property damage charges. Images posted to social media show a fire inside the Sparta store spreading across multiple aisles, and smoke filling the building. Prosecutors say the fire caused over 7 million dollars in damage to the building. Smith is being held on a 5-thousand dollar cash bond.
This winter's unusually warm temperatures may incentivize southeastern Minnesota anglers to get to their local trout streams. Winter trout fishing begins Monday at all designated trout streams in Dodge, Fillmore, Olmsted, Houston, Mower, Goodhue, Wabasha, and Winona counties. The season is catch-and-release only until it ends on April 14th. More information about the winter trout season is available on the DNR website.
The sheriff in Rusk County is warning that the ice is still too thin in some places. The sheriff's office yesterday said someone fell through the ice while fishing on Fireside Lake yesterday morning. People who live on the lake pulled the man out of the water before deputies were able to get there. He was taken to the hospital in Rice Lake as a precaution. The sheriff's office says the warm winter has left the ice on many local lakes too thin. Deputies say it's best to wait till colder weather can settle-in.
Kind words are pouring in after the death of former Wisconsin Senator Herb Kohl. Kohl served four terms as a Democratic senator before deciding not to run again in 2012. Before that he made millions running grocery stores and department stores, and owning the Milwaukee Bucks. He bought the team in 1985 to keep them in Milwaukee. Governor Evers said Kohl dedicated his life to serving the people of Wisconsin. Senator Tammy Baldwin, who replaced Kohl on Capitol Hill, yesterday said Kohl was her role model. Kohl was 88-years-old.
The top Republican in the Wisconsin Assembly says lawmakers will try to draw a new political map for the state. Assembly Speaker Robin Vos yesterday once again said the Constitution gives the power to draw political maps to the legislature, and said he plans to use that power. Vos says there's a good chance Governor Evers will veto those maps, and kick the process for drawing new boundaries for state lawmakers to outside experts selected by the Wisconsin Supreme Court. The court on Friday tossed-out the state's maps, saying they were too gerrymandered for Republicans. Vos said the only way Democrats can take control of the legislature is if the court's experts gerrymander the maps to favor Democrats.
A warmer-than-normal winter in Wisconsin means a pest to pets and people is hanging around. Weather experts are warning you to look out for ticks on yourself and your pets. Though ticks are usually most active in the spring and summer, veterinarians say they’re still around due to the warmer weather. Ticks generally enter a hibernation-like period in the winter, but they can be active anytime it's above freezing, even if there's snow on the ground. Vets encourage pet owners to check your pet and yourself after walking through wooded and grassy areas.
Scammers know people are getting a lot of packages this season, and they're using that to try to get at your data and money. Wisconsin Division of Consumer Protection administrator Michelle Reinen says the scam may sound familiar to anyone who's expecting mail. That's a good way to lose access to your accounts or have your money stolen. If you are expecting a package, instead use trusted contacts to talk with the delivery service yourself, rather than trusting random links in your inbox.
The new year brings a big change for Wisconsin’s high school driver’s education students. The road test waiver for 16 and 17-year-olds planning to get a driver’s license will end in the state when 2023 ends. Data from the Wisconsin Department of Transportation shows a total of 169,000 students bypassed the test since May of 2020. Though follow-up data from the DOT found that those who waived the test ended up getting slightly fewer citations and caused slightly fewer crashes than those who took the test, the Wisconsin Legislature moved to end the waiver at the end of the year. The transportation department says they’ve been expecting an increased demand in road tests with the end of the waiver, so there’s no backlog in the scheduling of road tests over the coming weeks.
Minnesota saw a drop in crashes over the Christmas holiday weekend. Numbers released by the Minnesota State Patrol show there were 518 crashes between December 20th and 25th. Sixty-six crash injuries were reported, with five deaths. Nearly a thousand crashes were reported during the Christmas holiday season last year.
Minnesota farms are taking a major hit. The state lost 58 dairy farm permits last month. The head of the Minnesota Milk Producers Association Lucas Sjostrom says the numbers underscore the financial margins for dairy farmers under a crush of economic pressures. He added that at least farmers aren't going bankrupt due to safety-net programs like Minnesota's Dairy Assistance, Investment and Relief Initiative.
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