Firefighters from Durand and 8 other departments responded to a barn fire Saturday morning in Arkansaw. According to the Pepin County Sheriff's Department, firefighters were called to W7838 Hwy 10 Saturday morning. Firefighters found flames coming from all sides of a large 2-story dairy barn and the barn collapsed. The main dairy barn and one additional outbuilding were a total loss, while several other buildings close to the main barn were saved. Several beef cattle died as a result of the fire. The cause of that fire is under investigation.
An 18yr old Arcadia man was arrested on Friday afternoon after a pursuit in the town of Arcadia. According to the Trempealeau County Sheriff's Department, deputies attempted to pull over Kyler Kellicut for a speeding violation on Hwy 95 near Sorlie Lane. Kellicut failed to stop and an 8 mile pursuit ensued with speeds of 90mph plus. Kellicut pulled into a residence on Hwy 95 and the intersection of Hwy 53 where a brief standoff ensued. Kellicut was taken into custody on charges of fleeing an officer.
Gov. Tony Evers announced today that he is seeking applicants for appointment as register of deeds in Pierce County. The appointment will fill the vacancy created by the resignation of Julie Hines on May 3, 2024. The new register of deeds will serve for the remainder of the unexpired term that ends Jan. 5, 2025. Application materials must be received no later than 5 p.m. on Feb. 2, 2024.
There are charges for the man who police say was shot after he broke into a house in Blair on New Year's Day. Prosecutors in Trempealeau County filed the charges against Shawn Gill last week. Blair Police say Gill allegedly kicked-in the door at a home early New Year's morning. The homeowner shot Gill. Investigators say Gill allegedly broke into two other homes as well. He was in court on Friday, where the judge set his bail at 20 thousand-dollars.
One of the two who stole over a million-dollars from Eau Claire County taxpayers is out of prison. Kay Onarheim was released from prison over the weekend. She served just eight years of her 13 year sentence for helping former county treasurer Larry Lokken steal one-point-four million-dollars from the county between 2011 and 2013. She will spend the remaining nine years of her sentence on parole. Onarheim must also pay the county 700 thousand-dollars in restitution. Lokken remains in prison despite his repeated requests for an early release.
The Eau County Health Department has released an update on its Harm Reduction Vending Machine. Since opening in June 2023, the vending machine located at the Eau County Jail Lobby has given out just over one-thousand doses of Narcan and over 12-hundred fentanyl test strips. The pilot project will continue through the end of June of this year. Anyone can use the machine with no questions asked, at any time of day.
More people used Eau Claire Transit last year than any year since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Transit Manager Ty Fadness says about 661-thousand passengers used the Transit in 2023, which is more than 200-thousand more than in 2020. That's also an increase of 60-thousand from last year. In the fall, a new Eau Claire Transit Center is set to open.
Another UW regional campus is ending in-person classes. UW-Green Bay at Marinette on Friday said this spring's classes will be the last at the campus. Green Bay Chancellor Michael Alexander says all classes will be streamed-in. There are just 213 students at UW-Green Bay Marinette. Alexander said in an email to students and staffers that the decision to end in-person classes is a 'a paradigm shift to redefine how the university operates. Many UW campuses, including UW-Green Bay, are looking at budget deficits heading into the spring. UW-Milwaukee at Washington County and UW-Oshkosh Fond du Lac are also ending in-person classes this spring. The UW campus in Richland Center closed this year after officials there ended in-person classes last year.
Lawmakers in Wisconsin want to revive an agreement to make it easier for people to pay income taxes when they have jobs in Minnesota. The two states used to allow workers to file one tax return when they lived in one state but worked in the other. Minnesota ended the agreement in 2010 because Wisconsin was missing deadlines to pay the owed income tax revenue. Wisconsin lawmakers are pushing for a study to determine the benefits of reviving that agreement, saying it would save time and money for taxpayers. Minnesota has resisted attempts to revive the agreement and started giving tax credits to residents who work in Wisconsin in 2017.
A bill introduced in the Wisconsin Assembly would have Wisconsin voters consider banning abortion at 14-weeks. It does include an exception if a pregnant person's life is at risk. Currently, abortions in Wisconsin are restricted after 20 weeks, also with medical emergency exceptions. The bill will be up for debate today by the Committee on Health, Aging, and Long-Term Care. Assembly Speaker Robin Vos said last month an abortion referendum would be his top priority in 2024. Governor Tony Evers has said we will not sign the bill if it does pass through the state Legislature.
A Wisconsin woman is sentenced to 18 months in jail after almost 200 goats were found deceased on her farm. Both Stephanie and Kyle Lincicum of Darlington were charged last June with 40 counts each of animal abuse and theft. Stephanie Lincicum pleaded guilty yesterday to 21 counts, and as part of a plea deal, twenty of her counts are now dismissed. Her husband also pleaded guilty to twenty charges last month as part of a plea deal, with half of his charges dropped. He is scheduled to be sentenced next month.
The United States Department of Agriculture announced an additional three-and-a-half-million dollars in grants will go towards domestic biofuels. The goal is to help US consumers spend less at gas station pumps while also keeping that fuel clean and renewable. Wisconsin's USDA State director believes this will help businesses upgrade their infrastructure and expand the availability of homegrown biofuels in Wisconsin.
State officials say they will spend the coming months providing clean drinking water to residents in southeastern Minnesota whose wells are tainted with farm pollution. In a work plan released this month, state regulators gave the EPA a timeline for providing the water treatment systems. They added that the existing programs will eventually reduce the nitrate pollution that's fouling the wells. A 2013 study shows that 90 percent of nitrate in southeastern Minnesota water comes from farming fertilizers spread on croplands.
More Minnesotans are using MNsure to sign up for health insurance coverage. Governor Walz announced yesterday that over 146-thousand people used the state's health insurance marketplace to get coverage before signups closed on January 15th. That's a 15-percent increase from last year. MNsure officials say 58-percent of all households who signed up for coverage will receive a tax credit to help them afford coverage. The average annual tax credit per household was reported at just over 64-hundred dollars.
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