A healthcare provider is exiting the western Wisconsin market. Hospital Sisters Health System, with operations in Illinois and Wisconsin, announced Monday that it will close Sacred Heart Hospital in Eau Claire and St. Joseph’s Hospital in Chippewa Falls as part of a complete exit from the region. Prevea Health, a physician network offering primary and specialty care, will also close all its Chippewa Valley locations. About 1,082 HSHS and 325 Prevea employees will be impacted by the closures, the majority of which are expected to be complete on or before April 21.
There has been a jump in student enrollment for first-grade classes in the Durand-Arkansaw School District. District Superintendent Greg Doverspike says it's a good problem to have. In December it was announced that 12 new students came into the district. Doverspike says the board is looking at adding an additional class for 2nd grade next year.
The city of Wabasha announced Monday it is partnering with the United States Army Corps of Engineers to manage the Mississippi River’s dredged sand. Wabasha Port Authority President John Friedmeyer said this partnership between a local government and a federal government agency is one-of-a-kind. Army Corps officials said the dredged sand will be available for both public and private uses — including for construction and agricultural projects in the Wabasha area. On Monday, trucks began moving piles of sand to a pit owned by Kohner Materials.
The teenager accused of killing Lily Peters will be tried in adult court. The judge in the case yesterday ruled that the case will not be moved to juvenile court. Lawyers for the suspect, who was 14-years-old at the time, wanted to keep the case out of adult court because of the suspect's age, and because of the possibility of a life sentence. Peters was killed back in April of 2022, but it's not clear when her murder trial will begin. The case has been delayed this long because of a full court docket, and because of the back-and-forth over which court would hear the case.
A new ride-sharing project could be developed by Eau Claire Transit. The Pilot Pass Program would allow people to request a ride on weekends, or weekdays after rush hour is over. The Transit says the idea is a response to periodic low ridership leaving empty busses driving their routes. Eau Claire Transit Manager Ty Fadness says there isn't an estimated cost yet to get the project going, but it would use American Rescue Plan Act funding. Planning is still in the early stages, and the Transit will be asking for public feedback. Last year, Eau Claire Transit saw the largest number of riders in a single year since the pandemic.
The battle over Wisconsin's political maps could take another step forward today. The Wisconsin Senate has scheduled a vote on the plan to create an Iowa-style commission to draw new maps in the state. Governor Evers has threatened to veto that plan, but there are now reports that Republicans in the Assembly have found some Democratic votes to override that veto. The move for a commission comes as Wisconsin's Supreme Court is working toward redrawing the state's legislative maps ahead of this year's elections. It's unclear just what a new commission would mean for that court battle.
A man died in a snowmobile crash in Juneau County earlier last week, with DNR officials saying it's the first fatal snowmobile-related crash in Wisconsin this year. According to the Juneau County Sherriff's Office, Scott Williams, 60, of Chippewa Falls, died from his injuries at the scene. Mark Sibber, 53, of Cadott was also found at the scene unresponsive and was med-flighted to the hospital. The cause of that accident remains under investigation.
What was being called a suspicious death in Juneau County is now being called a homicide. The Juneau County Sheriff's Office yesterday said there are two suspects in custody in connection to 57-year-old Floyd Burdick's death. Deputies found his body last week near the Oakridge Trail parking area. Police haven't released the details of how Burdick died or the motive.
The federal government plans to spend over one-billion dollars to help replace an aging bridge connecting Minnesota and Wisconsin. Governor Tim Walz announced the funding for the Blatnik Bridge replacement project yesterday. Elected leaders from Minnesota and Wisconsin have been asking for federal help after committing 800-million dollars in state funding to the project last year. Design work for the bridge replacement is expected to begin later this year.
The lawyers for a man charged in connection with the death of a southeastern Minnesota woman are seeking a change of venue. Adam Fravel was taken into custody in June when the remains of Madeline Kingsbury of Winona were found near the Iowa border. Investigators say the victim had a 170-thousand-dollar death benefit available through her employer and believe that may have been part of the motive for her murder. Fravel's lawyers on Friday asked a judge to move the case to another court, saying Fravel won't receive a fair trial because of the media coverage.
One person is dead after police say they responded to hang up 9-1-1 calls in Crescent and were met with gunfire. Three Oneida County Sheriff's deputies and two Rhinelander Police officers went to the house on River Street to investigate further. They say they entered the home and shots were fired at them - one deputy returned fire. Law enforcement then reportedly retreated from the house and created a perimeter, with a suspect still shooting at them. They say verbal instructions weren't followed, so non-lethal measures were taken and a suspect exited the house. Tactical teams from five area counties entered the home to find the other suspect deceased. No officers were injured during the exchange, but they were placed on administrative duty due to department policies.
A ban on strip searches for kids in Wisconsin schools is now on its way to Governor Evers' desk. The State Assembly last week approved a proposal that rewrites the rules for school officials who want to strip-search students. The rewrite comes after a superintendent near Green Bay stripped a handful of high schools down to their bras and underwear to look for a vape cartridge. Prosecutors couldn't charge the superintendent because the current state law doesn't cover those kinds of strip searches. The new law would. The plan got votes from both Republicans and Democrats, but the governor has not specifically said what he plans to do with it.
Fire volunteers in Princeton are reportedly so dissatisfied with the leadership of their fire department that they want the chief fired. Thirty-three of the 36 volunteers who work for the department recently delivered a letter to the city council saying they had no confidence in Chief Ron Lawrence. The firefighters say they don't trust Lawrence with their safety and accuse him of failing to communicate with them. If Lawrence isn't fired by February 8th, the firefighters say they will quit. City leaders say they can't fire Lawrence based on the threat of a walkout and instead plan to conduct a workplace assessment to address the situation.
Two men are now criminally charged in a crash that killed a retired Madison firefighter. The November 10th crash on Madison’s north side killed 77-year-old Roderick Anderson. Court records show 39-year-old Michael Norsetter-Shiner is charged with homicide by negligent operation of a vehicle, while 22-year-old Drew Gonzales is charged with second-degree recklessly endangering safety. Evidence gathered by Madison police indicated Gonzales was racing Norsetter Shiner at the time of the crash, and that both were speeding at more than 100 miles an hour just before Norsetter-Shiner’s vehicle collided with Anderson’s.
A stand-in for the groundhog in Milwaukee. The Milwaukee County Zoo announced that its annual Groundhog Day weather prediction will be done by penguins. Following the death of the zoo’s most recent groundhog named Gordy last year, the Zoo’s Humboldt penguins will be looking for their shadow on February 2nd while the zoo seeks a new groundhog. The rules are the same… if the penguin sees its shadow, six more weeks of winter. If not, an early spring. This year’s Groundhog Day ceremony will be held at the zoo’s Taylor Family Humboldt Penguin habitat.
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