A Mondovi woman is in custody after a foot pursuit. According to the Buffalo County Sheriff's Department, deputies responded to a call of a woman in a van that appeared to be under the influence of illegal drugs in the parking lot of the 100 block of North Eau Claire Street. A Mondovi Police Officer arrived and the woman gave the officer a fake name. The woman then fled from the scene on foot and a search ensued with deputies from Pepin and Buffalo Counties. The woman, 35yr old Racquel Kruger was arrested on various drug charges and also had an active warrant for her arrest for probation violations. She was taken to the Buffalo County Jail.
The Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP) has awarded $1 million in producer-led watershed protection grants (PLWPG) to 47 farmer-led groups for 2023. Grants support producer-led conservation solutions by encouraging innovation and farmer participation in on-the-ground efforts to improve Wisconsin’s soil health and water quality. Here in Western Wisconsin, Farmers4Health received $18,591, Buffalo Trempealeau Farmer Network – $29,600, Chippewa Valley Producer Led Watershed – $22,800, Red Cedar Conservation Farmers – $22,800, Western Wisconsin Conservation Council – $22,800
Eau Claire's homeless population continues to grow. The folks at the non-profit Western Dairyland are preparing for their latest homeless count later this month. They expect to find more people without a home. The July count found 44 people living in the streets in Eau Claire. Since then, national numbers say homelessness has jumped 12-percent. Western Dairyland's Dale Karls says homelessness has been growing in the area since about 2021.
Authorities in Barron County say they know who they are looking for in a violent home invasion last month. A judge yesterday issued an arrest warrant for Ryan Charpentier, from Little Canada, Minnesota. The sheriff's office says he and another man broke into a 70-year-old man's home in December, tied the man up, and stole guns and cash. At one point, the man told investigators, Charpentier used a taser on his face. Detectives say they zeroed in on Charpentier after a neighbor spotted his SUV in the man's driveway.
There's a change coming to the Jennie-O plant in Barron County. The company yesterday said the plant will no longer harvest turkeys. Instead, the plant in Barron will focus on other tasks including 'smoking, cooking, canning, curing, refining, or rendering products.' No one will lose their job because of the change. Jennie-O says it's making the change to focus on demand from customers. The transition will begin next month.
Bomb threats were made to numerous state Capitols on Wednesday, including in Wisconsin. The State Capitol in Madison was one of many across the nation targeted in a mass bomb threat hoax on Wednesday. There were reports of at least 23 state capitals receiving a generic email related to bomb threats. A Wisconsin Department of Administration spokesperson said additional measures were taken to ensure the safety of the Capitol and those working inside. State Capitol Police worked with law enforcement partners including federal agencies. While some capitols were evacuated, there were no reports of any substantiated threats at any location.
A message to ATV/UTV operators from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources – don’t ride where you’re not wanted this winter. DNR Warden Jake Holsclaw says that means staying off designated snowmobile trails. Many snowmobile trails run through private property and off-road vehicles may not be allowed. Some trails also cross bodies of water like swamps and ponds which aren't frozen yet. Holsclaw also urges riders to wear helmets and use all safety equipment including seatbelts.
Wisconsin lawmakers look to make AI child porn a crime. A legislative committee yesterday heard the first arguments for a new law that protects children from artificial intelligence, and the dark side of how it can be used. State Rep. Calvin Callahan says AI images are created from real images somewhere, and he says those kids are victims. Wisconsin already has laws against child pornography, but AI images are not covered in those laws. Callahan says a new law would close that loophole, and save investigators the time of having to sift through AI images to see which ones can be traced back to children and real pictures.
There's a plan at the state capitol to make the Wisconsin State Fair tax-free. Lawmakers will talk about the plan later today. The proposal would end the sales tax on tickets to the State Fair and to the State Fair Park. Lawmakers would have to create a special sales tax exemption for the State Fair because right now there's a tax on tickets to all 'amusement, athletic, entertainment, or recreational events' that are not at county fairs.
There's another push at the Wisconsin Capitol to let parents know just what their kids are learning in school. A plan due before the Assembly Committee on Education tomorrow would force schools to make "textbooks, curricula, and instructional materials" available to parents or anyone else in the local school district. Governor Evers has scuttled every other Republican attempt to allow parents more control over what their kids are taught. He's expected to do the same to this plan if it reaches his desk.
A judge in Dane County says absentee ballots in Wisconsin don't need a full address to be counted this year. The judge yesterday said the state law dealing with addresses on absentee ballots doesn't specify just what information is required, therefore he says election clerks cannot toss ballots that don't have all the information. The ruling comes after the Wisconsin Elections Commission last year was forced to change its guidance to local election managers about how to count ballots with incomplete addresses. Republican lawmakers say the ruling opens up another opportunity for fraud in Wisconsin. The judge said rejecting ballots because of incomplete addresses violates the Voting Rights Act.
A UW professor with ties to the plagiarism case that ended Harvard President Claudine Gay's career says it's no big deal. University of Wisconsin professor emeritus David Canon says Gay didn't really plagiarize his work, he says she simply used a similar definition when taking pieces from his book Race, Redistricting, and Representation. Canon says 'good definitions use 'similar language.' Gay resigned as Harvard president yesterday.
Wisconsin Democrats will see only one candidate’s name on their presidential primary ballot. President Joe Biiden will be the only Democrat in the April 2nd primary. Congressman Dean Phillips of Minnesota is an announced Democratic candidate, but Democratic Party of Wisconsin chair Ben Wikler only proposed Biden’s name at Tuesday’s meeting of the state’s Presidential Preference Selection Committee. Wikler noted in a statement that the state party has endorsed Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris for reelection. The names, which on the Republican side include former President Donald Trump, are now with the Wisconsin Elections Commission. Candidates have until January 30 to confirm their ballot status or indicate that they don’t intend to run.
A group of Minnesota farmers is suing the state over restrictions on new deer farms. State lawmakers passed new regulations last year to prevent new deer farms from opening as a way to prevent the spread of chronic wasting disease. The new rules also prevent the transfer of registration for captive white-tailed deer except to immediate family members. The federal lawsuit filed by the Minnesota Deer Farmers Association claims the state is trying to discriminate against deer farmers without immediate family. It also calls the restrictions an unconstitutional taking of private property by the government.
A bakery in the Twin Cities is nearing its goal to remain open after a huge donation. The host of CNBC's "The Profit," Marcus Lemonis, donated ten thousand dollars and ordered 40 thousand dollars worth of cheesecakes from the Muddy Paws Cheesecake in St. Louis. The bakery's owner, Tami Cabrera, temporarily closed down her business last month due to money issues. She created a campaign to raise 200 thousand dollars to keep the bakery open. Lemonis said he is giving out the cheesecakes he ordered for free.
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