Thursday, January 11, 2024

Local-Regional News Jan 11

 One person was injured in a single-vehicle accident on Foster Road in Stockholm on Tuesday.  According to the Pepin County Sheriff's Department, when deputies arrived, they found the vehicle on its side and the driver 78yr old Michael Schmidt of Pepin was outside of the truck uninjured.  The Wisconsin State Patrol is investigating the accident.


The Durand City Council will have a new member after this April's election.  LeAnne Kavanaugh was the only person to file paperwork to replace outgoing council member Don Hayden.  Meanwhile, incumbents Nick Weisenbeck and Travis Hooker will both run unopposed for their seats on the council, and current Mayor Patrick Milliren will also run unopposed.  


Forecasters say the WRDN listening area could see five more inches of snow tomorrow. The National Weather Service has already posted a Winter Storm Watch for the entire area from tomorrow morning through Saturday morning. In addition to the snow, the weather service is predicting winds of up to 35 miles-per-hour and wind chills as cold as 25 below. Forecasters say the worst of the storm could start during the drive to school or work.


A western Wisconsin police chief is facing an OWI charge after wrecking a city car last week. The State Patrol is handling the investigation into Eleva Police Chief Patrick McKillip. Trempealeau County prosecutors filed OWI charges against the chief on Monday. The charges stem from a crash last Thursday just outside the police department. The reports confirm the chief was driving a city-issued Ford. There's also no information about who or what he hit, whether anyone else was hurt, and whether Eleva has placed the chief on any kind of leave. He's due back in court in April to answer the OWI charge. 


Authorities in Trempealeau and La Crosse are asking for the public's help in finding a missing  Trempealeau man.  According to La Crosse Police, Octavio Morales was last seen in downtown La Crosse on December 22nd.  Trempealeau Police are asking anyone who might know Morales whereabouts or who has been in contact with him to contact the police.


Western Wisconsin's congressman wants to rename Tomah's VA Hospital. Congressman Derrick Van Orden introduced legislation on Capitol Hill to rename the VA after Jason Simcakoski. Simcakoski is the Marine veteran who overdosed on opioids back in 2014 while being treated at the VA. His death led to an investigation of the Tomah facility. Van Orden said Simcakoski's 'sacrifice has done more to change the veterans' administration for the better than really just about anybody.' Wisconsin's Democratic U.S. Senator, Tammy Baldwin, is pushing a similar plan in the Senate.  


 Chippewa Falls Schools are asking voters for an extra seven million-dollars over the next three years to pay teachers more. The city's school board last night approved a three year operating referendum for the April ballot. Voters will now decide if they want to pay two-and-a-half million-dollars more in taxes, each year, for the next three years. Superintendent Jeffrey Holmes says Chippewa Falls Schools need the money to cover for a drop in enrollment, a bump in teacher salaries, and an increase in the number of special ed kids. Homes says the tax hike would add about 10 dollars per-year to the average homeowner's tax bill. 


An Eyota man pleaded guilty to installing cameras in a minor girl’s bedroom and bathroom in May of 2022.   Justin White, 42, of Eyota, pleaded guilty to a gross misdemeanor of interfering with privacy at home with a surreptitious device in Olmsted County Court Tuesday.  As part of the plea deal, a felony charge of interfering with privacy against a minor under 18 was dropped.  White was fined $900 and sentenced to three years probation as a result of the plea deal. White also cannot have contact with the victims.


The Department of Natural Resources is reminding you to cut down on the amount of salt you use on your driveway and sidewalks.  The message is part of the state's Salt Wise initiative. D N R stormwater manager Shannon Haydin says just a teaspoon's worth of salt is enough to make 5 gallons of water toxic to freshwater organisms, and once salt gets into the water supply, it's there forever. Officials say just a 12 ounce mug's worth of salt should be enough to loosen up the ice on a 20 foot driveway. Consider clearing your driveway before it freezes down so you don't have to use salt, and switch to sand when it gets below 15 degrees.


Wisconsin's human trafficking task force wants more education and more time. The Speaker's Task Force On Human Trafficking delivered its report yesterday. Task Force members spent four months hearing from experts, police, and prosecutors, and advocates about what can be done to prevent people from being forced into prostitution. They are suggesting several new state laws. Many of them would require new education and training efforts for everyone from school kids to barbers to bouncers and hotel workers. The Task Force also wants a new council that will have four more years to recommend even more possible laws to Wisconsin lawmakers. 


Wisconsin will be participating in a federal summer food program for children. Governor Tony Evers says the Summer Electronic Benefits Program will help families who are eligible for free or reduced lunches during the school year. They will get food cards with 40-dollars per month per eligible child to be used on groceries. Wisconsin is one of 35 U-S states to take advantage of the program.  Nationally, it will give two-point-five billion federal dollars to the families of 21-million children.


 Pregnant Wisconsinites are being encouraged to get the RSV vaccine to protect newborns from the virus. The Wisconsin Department of Health Services says there are more than 14-hundred people in Wisconsin with RSV as of today.  Of those infected, 580 are under two years old. DHS says the RSV vaccine can be given to people between 32 weeks and 36 weeks to six days of pregnancy in order for their newborns to also get protection for the first six months of life. DHS says there are vaccination options for children younger than eight months, but says they are not as readily available.  


Getting to the root of dementia.  That’s the aim of a five-year national study by UW-Madison called Clarity in Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias Research Through Imaging, or CLARiTI, which will investigate characteristic biomarkers in people either with dementia or at risk of getting it. Two-thousand people will be enrolled nationwide in the study, which has a goal to help researchers better understand and treat cognitive diseases. The National Institutes of Health has awarded a $150 million grant to the UW School of Medicine and Public Health for the project. That’s the largest NIH grant in the university's history.


A Shawano County sawmill will have to pay nearly $300,000 in penalties after a federal inspection. After OSHA’s follow-up inspection of Tigerton Lumber Company last July, the agency found that the company continues to expose employees to amputation hazards and other risks. The company was deemed a severe violator in 2019 after a 46-year-old employee suffered fatal injuries at the mill in 2018. The latest OSHA inspection found persistent safety violations, including those associated with unguarded machines. The sawmill was also accused of failing to provide employees with the required safety training. The penalties led OSHA to assess a total fine of over $283,000.


Coming soon: mints that taste like Miller Lite.  The beer brand plans to start selling Beer Mints this Friday that are hailed as having the "freshness of mint" but the "great taste of Miller Lite."  The alcohol-free mints are being marketed for those taking part in Dry January, where people abstain from, or at least cut back on alcohol for the month.  The mints are five bucks for a tin of 40 and will be available at millerlitebeermints.com.

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