Firefighters from Durand, Mondovi, and 6 other departments responded to a fire at a dairy farm on Hwy B north of Mondovi on Tuesday. According to Mondovi Fire, the fire started in the milking parlor and the farm owners were at home at the time of the blaze. All of the cows in the barn were evacuated and no one was hurt in the fire. The cause of the fire is still under investigation.
4 people were hurt in a house fire in the city of Durand early Tuesday morning. Firefighters were called to a home at 602 9th Ave East at 2:30 this morning and found smoke coming from the first floor. Two adults and two children were injured in the blaze.. Durand Emergency Medical Services requested a helicopter, but it was unable to fly so the victims were taken to Advent Health and then to Regions Hospital in St. Paul. The cause of the fire is still under investigation.
A plea deal has been reached in a fatal crash on the Hwy 25 bridge between Nelson and Wabasha. Jacqueline Britt of Alma has pleaded no contest to homicide by driving while using a controlled substance. In May of 2022 she was driving a car over the Hwy 25 Bridge on the Buffalo County side when she crossed the center line and hit a motorcycle head-on. The motorcyclist, 67-year old Douglas Hildebrandt, from Redwood Falls, Minnesota, was killed. Blood tests found methamphetamine in Britt's Blood. She will be sentenced on April 18 and faces up to 10 years in prison.
An Eau Claire man is being held on a $15000 cash bond after a stabbing on Friday. According to authorities, police responded to a home on Boardwalk Circle in Eau Claire and found a man stabbed. Altherelle Robbins was arrested and charged with first-degree recklessly endangering safety with a dangerous weapon. His next court appearance is next Tuesday.
A Chippewa Falls man is sentenced to life in prison for killing his girlfriend. Scott Vanigan pleaded no contest to a first-degree intentional homicide charge for the murder of Lynn Smith. As part of the plea deal, arson and corpse mutilation charges were dismissed. Prosecutors say firefighters responded to a 9-1-1 call reporting Vanigan's home was on fire in July 2022. When they arrived, they say they found Smith's body -- and according to the autopsy, she was dead before the fire started. Vanigan was found and arrested later the same day. He will have the possibility of parole after serving 35 years and will have to pay more than 147-thousand dollars in restitution.
Chippewa County leaders are inching closer to asking for a pause in refugee resettlement. Chippewa County commissioners last night gave their first approval to a resolution that would ask the non-profit group World Relief to not bring 75 refugees to the area this year. No one is sure just where the refugees are coming from, where they will stay, or what they will do once they arrive. The Chippewa County resolution will need one more vote before its official. A similar resolution in Eau Claire County died because it didn't have enough support.
Chances for medical marijuana are dimming in Wisconsin. Assembly Speaker Robin Vos yesterday said he will not compromise on his plan to sell medical marijuana to very sick people in Wisconsin through state-owned dispensaries. Senate Republicans, including the Senate Majority Leader, say the idea of state-owned pot shops is a non-starter with him. Vos says he has enough votes to get the plan through the Assembly, and says renegotiating the plan would likely cost it some votes.
Wisconsin organizations can now apply for up to 85-thousand in grant money to go toward preventing sexual violence. The Wisconsin Department of Health Services says the money will come from the Centers for Disease Control, and will go to one organization. Grant money is meant to be used to increase community awareness of sexual violence prevention, and promote health equity across the state of Wisconsin. Applications are available at www-dot-Wisconsin-dot-gov.
No one is saying how long it will take to clean up after the weekend fire at an agricultural building in southwest Iowa County. Insight FS, which saw its building in Cobb burn to the ground on Sunday says teams from Iowa County's emergency management services as well as crews from the state are working to clean up the site. Firefighters backed away from the fire on Sunday out of fears that pouring water onto a chemical fire may make it worse. That prompted a shelter-in-place order that wasn't lifted til Monday. No one was hurt in the fire. Investigators say they are still looking for a cause.
Voters can begin making their choices in Minnesota's upcoming presidential primaries this week. Early voting for the March 5th primary begins Friday. Voters must choose to vote in a specific party primary to receive a ballot. Prospective voters have until February 13th to register to vote in this year's primary.
Remedial legislative district maps submitted to the Wisconsin Supreme Court generally reduce Republican majorities. The maps were submitted on Friday. Maps from Republican lawmakers would diminish but not eliminate that party’s majorities in the Senate and Assembly. State Senate Democrats proposed maps would produce a 54-45 Republican Assembly majority and a 17-16 Republican edge in the Senate. Maps from Governor Tony Evers give Republicans a 50-49 advantage in the Assembly and Democrats an 18-15 Senate majority. Republicans now have a 22-11 majority in the Senate and a 64-35 edge in the Assembly. The court also received submissions from UW-Milwaukee professors, the conservative Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty, and petitioners represented by the liberal legal firm Law Forward. Justices have until March 15 to enact new districts ahead of the August legislative primary.
Inflation slowed in 2023, while Americans continued to spend at the grocery store. Average weekly grocery spending is highest in California, followed by Nevada, Mississippi, Washington, and Florida. Households in Wisconsin, Iowa, Nebraska, Michigan, and Indiana spend the least on groceries, averaging 220-to-230 dollars per week. Households with children spend 41-percent more than households without kids. This is all according to an analysis by HelpAdvisor.com of the most recent data from the U.S. Census Household Pulse Survey.
Lawmakers at the Wisconsin Capitol are once again looking to require kids to learn cursive. An Assembly panel will take-up the idea tomorrow. Supporters say kids need to learn how to read and write cursive in order to have a better understanding of the world or to simply sign their names. The proposal before lawmakers would require that kids be able to both read and write cursive by the end of the fifth grade.
Truckers in some parts of Minnesota are being allowed to carry a bit more weight in their trailers. The Minnesota Department of Transportation is rolling out a ten-percent winter load limit increase for trucks that use unrestricted highways. The load limit is already in effect in Mn-DOT's north and north-central frost zones, and dates for other areas have yet to be announced. Truck drivers who want to take advantage of the seasonal increase are being urged to go to the Mn-DOT website to check out restrictions and permit requirements.
January is National Radon Action Month. The Wisconsin Department of Health Services urges homeowners, businesses and child care centers to test for radon. You can find out about radon testing and mitigation on the DHS website.
Make Valentine's Day brighter for Wisconsin veterans. James Bond, Secretary-designee for the Wisconsin Department of Veterans Affairs says last year’s Veteran Valentine's effort was a success. Mail those cards by January 31 to the Department of Veterans Affairs. Attention: Veteran Valentine's, PO Box 7843 Madison, 53707.
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