There are some questions to answer after police found a gun in a western Wisconsin school. Police say they found the gun yesterday at Spring Valley's joint middle and high school. It was unloaded, but police say there was ammunition nearby. There is no information on whether if the gun belonged to a student or a staff member. Police say once they secured the gun, there was no longer a threat, and no students or teachers were hurt.
A southeastern Minnesota dairy is being fined by the state's Pollution Control Agency. The agency says the Plainview Milk Products Cooperative allowed nearly seven thousand gallons of cream to drain into the area's sewer system last April. The spill overwhelmed the wastewater treatment plant's tank, sending a hundred gallons of wastewater mixed with cream into a ditch southeast of Plainview. The dairy has been fined 20-thousand dollars and forced to recover the water that overflowed into the ditch. The state is also asking the facility to find ways to prevent similar problems in the future.
Wisconsin 3rd District's congressman says he didn't vote for the plan to keep the government running because it did nothing to solve the nation's problems. Congressman Derrick Van Orden was one of six Wisconsin Republicans who voted against the continuing resolution that will keep the federal government funded til March. He says Congress still hasn't done anything to secure the border, and voting to keep spending money isn't working. Wisconsin's two Democratic members of Congress did vote for the plan, which passed with overwhelming support.
A capital campaign has been launched to reopen a shelter in Mondovi after one closed in 2022. Western Dairyland is looking to raise $250,000 to purchase a house in Mondovi, fully furnish it, and have it be used for one homeless family at a time. Western Dairyland would then work with the family to find permanent housing. The money would also be used to maintain the home and case management services with the families using the home. The group is hoping to raise the money this year with the goal of purchasing the home in 2025. Western Dairyland also has shelters in Eau Claire, Jackson, and Trempealeau Counties.
An Eau Claire business owner is under arrest and charged with sexually assaulting his clients. Chris Devlin, the owner of Botox and hair removal business Renew Aesthetics on Keith Street, is accused of taking nude photos of his clients without their consent. Eau Claire Police say one of the clients reported inappropriate contact from Devlin - through an investigation, they say more victims were found. Investigators say the incidents happened between July and December of last year. Devlin previously worked for the Mayo Clinic Health System, but the hospital says an investigation came up with no inappropriate patient contact there.
A judge is ordering a competency evaluation for the Tennessee woman accused of crashing her van into a Chippewa Falls Christmas display. Ebony Hudson was charged with criminal damage to property after driving into the Irvine Park Christmas Village in December. Police investigators say when a Parks employee used his pickup to try and block her escape, Hudson rammed the pickup truck with her car four times.
Governor Evers made a stop in Eau Claire yesterday to check in on some grant recipients. The governor visited with the folks at the Black Kettle Tea Shoppe on Barstow Street. The Tea Shoppe was one of hundreds of businesses to get a Main Street Bounceback grant. The governor also stopped by the 123 Look At Me Learning Center which got a 300 thousand-dollar state grant for child care. The governor says state grant money made the difference for both local businesses.
One person is dead following a head-on crash in the town of Hammond on Wednesday. According to the St. Croix County Sheriff's Department, an SUV was traveling east on Hwy TT and collided head-on with a westbound car. The driver of the SUV and a passenger were treated at the scene and released, while the driver of the car and a passenger were taken to the hospital. Another passenger in the car, 26yr old Isaiah Barns of Hudson died. Authorities believe alcohol may have played a roll in the accident.
Juneau County deputies are investigating after a body was found near Camp Douglas. Sheriff Andrew Zobel says the body was reported around 8:40 am on Thursday near the Oakridge Trail parking area. The death is being considered suspicious, but Sheriff Zobel says there's no danger to the public at this time. The victim's name and cause of death is not being released.
There is a push at the Wisconsin Capitol to make college campuses gun-free zones. Democratic state Representative Deb Andraca yesterday introduced a plan to add colleges and universities to the list of places where people cannot have a gun. Wisconsin's elementary schools and high schools are already on that list, but universities are not. Andraca said college students deserve the same level of protection that young kids get in the state. She says they need the piece of mind to be able to learn without having to fear that someone has a gun.
Blood lead tests are being recommended for all Wisconsin children between one- and two-years-old. The Wisconsin Department of Health Services says in a press release that kids older than three and younger than five who haven't already been tested should be. DHS says lead poisoning can cause irreversible damage to a developing brain, which affects future behaviors and learning. The department says lead poisoning is still a serious public threat in the state, despite the progress made in the past decades.
Cases of young people self-harming rise after breaks from school end in Wisconsin. The state Department of Health Services says in the months of September 2022 and January 2023, both of which follow extended breaks from the classroom, there was a 40-percent increase in youth self-harm cases compared to the months before. In September of 2023, data shows a smaller spike of 14-percent, but still encourages caregivers to be aware and not ignore any concerning signs.
At the Capitol, an effort to impeach Wisconsin elections administrator Meagan Wolfe is going nowhere. Assembly Majority Leader Tyler August is dismissive of the effort by Representative Janel Brandtjen. On Thursday, August accused Brandtjen of “grifting and making a big show for the cameras.” Earlier this week Brandtjen was ruled out of order when she tried to force a vote on her resolution to remove Wolfe, which has only five co-sponsors.
The U.S. Department of Labor is suing Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota. The federal agency claims the Eagan-based health insurer wrongly passed along a particular state tax to employer health plans. It is called the provider tax, which is paid by hospitals and clinics. The Department of Labor says for years Blue Cross had self-funded employer health plans to cover the costs of the tax as an undisclosed piece of the negotiated service rates they pay to health care providers. The insurance company says the claims are without merit.
A new survey shows less confidence in the Wisconsin and U.S. economies than a couple years ago. The Wisconsin Employer Survey shows 22-percent of Wisconsin employers rate the state economy as strong. That's down from 39-percent six months ago, and from 58-percent in 2021. They have lower confidence in the national economy, with ten-percent of Wisconsin employers rating it as strong and 28-percent saying the national economy is weak.
Minnesota State Fair officials say this will be the last year the fair offers recognition tables and benches at the fairgrounds. The fair announced this week that it had a limited number of benches and tables left, and that they are being offered on a first-come, first-served basis. Personalized benches will cost 25-hundred dollars, while customized tables will cost five-thousand dollars. Proceeds from the program go to the Minnesota State Fair Foundation.
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