The Madison Street project may be delayed by a year after bids for the project came in over $1 million over budget. Durand Mayor Patrick Milliren says the city cannot afford the extra cost of the project. The project was expected to cost approximately $2.1 million but the lowest bid was $3.2 million
Add this to the list of concerns over the closing of two hospitals in western Wisconsin. UW-Stout yesterday said it will need a new student healthcare provider once Prevea [[ pru-vey-uh ]] closes its clinics in April. Prevea currently runs the Student Health Services clinic in Menomonie. The university yesterday said it is exploring its options. Prevea and HSGS this week announced they will close their hospitals and clinics in the Chippewa Valley because of cost concerns.
There are now pictures to go along with the investigation into a check fraud scam in Menomonie. The Wisconsin Crime Alert Network says the suspect opened checking accounts at both the Dairy State Bank and Citizen's Bank in Menomonie earlier this month by using a fake driver's license. A few days later, they say the suspect came back and cashed fake checks worth about 15 thousand-dollars. There are pictures of the suspect, but no one has a name or any kind of license plate to go along with the case.
There could be pink slips coming at Jamf in Eau Claire. The company this week told the SEC that it will be laying off six percent of its full time workforce. Jamf, however, is not saying just when those layoffs are coming, or who will be laid off. Jamf started in Eau Claire and has an office near Phoenix Park. But there are also offices in Texas, and the headquarters in Minneapolis. Jamf says the layoffs should happen in the first quarter of this year, and should be wrapped-up by June.
The 15-year-old suspect in the Lily Peters homicide case will be tried as an adult. Chippewa County Judge Steven Gibbs issued the decision Monday, siding with the state in ruling that court proceedings in the 2022 slaying of the 10-year-old Peters will remain in adult court. The decision denies the suspect’s petition for a reverse waiver into juvenile court. The suspect is charged with first-degree intentional homicide and two counts of sexual assault. Court documents show the suspect was evaluated by doctors and diagnosed with “multiple, verified psychological disorders.” Judge Gibbs agreed with prosecutors that moving the case to juvenile court would diminish the seriousness of the act.
Two of the Republicans who write Wisconsin's state budget say there's no need to scrap plans for a tax cut simply because the state is expected to take-in less money next year. The Legislative Fiscal Bureau this week downgraded its revenue estimate. The LFB says Wisconsin's budget surplus should now be three-point-one billion, as opposed to three-and-a-half billion-dollars at the end of next summer. State Senator Howard Marklein and state Rep Mark Born say that is still plenty of money to pay for a two billion-dollar tax cut. That tax cut, they say, is aimed at families making under 150 thousand-dollars a-year, and retirees in Wisconsin.
Wisconsin's governor could soon be facing questions about his role as an elector in the 2020 election. A judge yesterday said lawyers for former President Trump can question Governor Tony Evers about what he said about the electors who met back in 2020 to support Trump. Evers said those electors committed a crime and should be held accountable. Those Trump electors have never been charged with a crime, and a lawsuit against them was dismissed without an admission or damages. The judge says the governor will get the questions in writing, and only after lawyers question everyone else in the case.
Over-the-counter emergency contraception will now be covered for Wisconsin's BadgerCare Plus members. The Wisconsin Department of Health Services issued the standing order, which will allow members to get EC at Medicaid-enrolled pharmacies, without a prescription from a doctor. Currently, costs are covered only with a doctor's prescription, which may require an appointment. DHS says the order applies statewide.
A bill, if passed, will allow doctors to help terminally ill patients die in Minnesota. Medical aid in dying has been discussed by the Minnesota legislature for the past eight years. So far, ten states allow it. The bill, known as the End-of-Life Options Bill, has several qualifications, such as the patient has to be 18 years or older with a terminal illness that will kill them in six months. The bill was passed yesterday by the health committee.
Medical marijuana legislation hits a dead end in Wisconsin. Speaker Robin Vos made it clear the bill from Assembly Republicans won’t be amended. Now a key Senate supporter of medical cannabis says efforts to pass the bill are “pointless” absent a willingness by Vos to negotiate. Tomahawk Republican Senator Mary Felzkowski told Milwaukee’s CBS 58 that she doesn’t see anything happening this session. Senate Republicans object to having state-run medical marijuana dispensaries, preferring that to be done through the private sector.
President Biden is announcing billions of dollars in new infrastructure projects across the country. While speaking in Superior, Wisconsin yesterday, Biden announced about a billion dollars from his infrastructure law will be used to replace the Blatnik Bridge that connects Wisconsin and Minnesota. The visit to the key battleground state comes as Biden's re-election campaign is highlighting the president's economic agenda ahead of a likely general election rematch against former President Trump. Biden claimed economic growth has been stronger than under Trump. This comes after data released yesterday shows the economy grew at a healthy clip over the past year, surpassing three-percent.
Wisconsin's governor says the new legislative maps that are 99 percent of what he drew are not his maps. Governor Evers yesterday promised to veto the maps that the State Assembly passed yesterday afternoon. Republican Assembly Speaker Robin Vos says the only reason Democrats won't take 99 percent as a win is because they believe they can get even more from the liberal-majority Supreme Court in March. Evers' maps drew new districts that forced more than a dozen current Republican lawmakers to run against each other. Vos says Republicans trimmed that number down. The governor says those changes are gerrymandering.
The American Lung Association opposes legislation to allow some indoor smoking options in Wisconsin. The bill, introduced last September, would allow the opening of more "tobacco bars". Currently, only businesses that sold primarily cigars and pipe tobacco before 2009 are exempt from the indoor smoking ban. A Lung Association spokesperson Molly Collins says the proposal would weaken the state's clean air laws, and expose more employees to secondhand smoking. The bill is currently awaiting action in the Assembly State Affairs Committee.
Detectives are investigating a deadly two-vehicle crash just outside of Rochester. The collision happened yesterday morning near the corner of Highway 30 and County Road 8. Authorities say a truck crashed into a Prius killing its driver, 83-year-old Lenora Tahtinen of Mankato. The driver of the truck was taken to a Rochester hospital and is expected to survive his injuries.
An audit of two U.S. Postal Service facilities in Minnesota has found substantial issues that affected mail delivery last year. The report released yesterday by the USPS Office of the Inspector General shows the Apple Valley and Eagan branches found issues related to management oversight, package scanning, timekeeping, safety, security, and maintenance. The report says over 50-thousand pieces of delayed mail were discovered in Eagan, and another 29-thousand were found in Apple Valley during the November audit. The Inspector General says it now plans an investigation of the entire Minnesota-North Dakota postal region as a result of the audit.
A unique vehicle was in Durand on Wednesday as the Oscar Mayer Wiener Mobile made a stop in the downtown. Samantha Benish of Nelson is one of the "hot doggers"-drivers of the Wiener Mobile. While a student at UW-Madison she saw the Weinermobile on Campus and decided to apply for the one-year position. Benish says she has already been to twelve states. According to Benish, the Weinermobile is available for events at no charge. To apply to have the Weinermobile for an event, visit the Oscar Mayer website.
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