Two Minnesota police officers and a paramedic are dead after being fatally shot during a domestic incident early Sunday south of Minneapolis. Burnsville police say an armed man barricaded himself and family members, including seven children, inside a home. The city says the situation escalated into a shootout with first responders, killing officers Paul Elmstrand and Matthew Ruge, both 27 years old, and 40-year-old Adam Finseth, a firefighter-paramedic. The suspect is also dead, and several others are recovering from non-life-threatening injuries. Ruge is a graduate of Wabasha-Kellogg High School. The governor has ordered flags to be at half-staff today in honor of the first responders. The city of Burnsville is warning of scammers setting up fake donation pages for victims of the shooting. They say an official page will be set up soon.
Pepin County will be updating the floodplain ordinance. According to the Land Conservation Department, there will be new floodplain maps and elevations along the Chippewa River from the City of Durand to Dead Lake, it will remove the 50% improvement limit provisions for pre-existing structures that meet FEMA's minimum standards. Permits will still be needed for building modifications or fill inside the floodplain. A public hearing on the proposals will be held after the Wisconsin DNR approves the draft ordinance.
The Buffalo County Sheriff's Department has received a donation of a search and rescue drone from Lisa Stamm and family. The department says the equipment will greatly expand the abilities to search large areas for missing persons, and assist in accident and fire investigations and criminal apprehension. The department is currently working on getting two trained operators to utilize the drone system.
Trempealeau County's Humane Society is asking for help in dealing with a mystery illness. Rescuers with the Humane Society say two dogs have already died from the illness, and several others are sick. They are looking for more volunteers and more foster families to help with healthy animals during this outbreak. If you're interested, the Humane Society is asking that you please reach out.
Western Wisconsin's congressman is promising to get answers about faulty equipment at the Tomah VA. Congressman Derrick Van Orden on Friday said he was just made aware of PT/INR lab equipment that wasn't working properly. Van Orden, who is a former Navy SEAL, said all veterans deserve top-notch care at the VA, and said that faulty equipment is life-threatening and can't be tolerated.
The Wabasha County board is meeting tomorrow. Items on the agenda include authorizing the county engineer to advertise for bids for the summer highway projects, discussion of the end-of-year financial reports, and reports from committee chairs and department heads. Tomorrow's meeting begins at 9am in the board room at the Wabasha County Government Center.
A Minnesota high school teacher is accused of having sexual relationships with three students. Court documents say three Winona Senior High School students, between 16 and 18 years old, confided in 29-year-old Eric Birth while struggling with personal issues. The sexual encounters span from 2016 to at least 2023. Court records say law enforcement asked a student about their relationship with Birth, a PE teacher and track coach at the school. The student first denied it, but in January 2024, told officers she lied. Birth is on administrative leave and is still listed in the staff directory as of this morning.
A La Crosse man is under arrest for last November's fentanyl overdose that killed a Sparta woman. The Monroe County Sheriff's Office last week said deputies arrested 18-year-old Malik Guerra for first-degree reckless homicide. Investigators say he sold the drugs that killed a 41-year-old woman from Sparta. Guerra is being held on 10 thousand-dollars cash bail.
It's going to be a busy week at the Wisconsin Capitol. Both the Wisconsin Assembly and the State Senate will take their final votes of the session this week, then head home for the election season. There are several plans that have yet to get a vote and several others that need a final vote before they can go to the governor. This year's election season is going to be different because lawmakers will be running in newly drawn districts. Those districts could also be finalized this week if Governor Evers signs new political maps into law.
Wisconsin Soybean farmers will be allowed to use the weed killer with Dicamba despite a court ruling last week banning the substance. The EPA is allowing already packaged goods with Dicamba to be sent out nationwide. In Wisconsin sale and distribution will continue until the end of May with use allowed until the end of June.
The plan to send reckless drivers who kill someone to prison in Wisconsin is a big step closer to becoming law. The Wisconsin Assembly approved the plan from state Rep. Bob Donovan yesterday to create a mandatory-minimum sentence for certain drivers in deadly crashes. Donovan says reckless driving has become a problem that can no longer be ignored in Wisconsin, but especially in and around Milwaukee.
Owners of electric and hybrid cars will be receiving a new plate sticker. It is required by law to add the stickers to the car and they will arrive in the mail by June. The stickers are needed as a way to help first responders deal with electric vehicles in emergency situations.
Two senior employees at a Cambria corn plant, the site of a deadly explosion, have been sentenced to prison. 50- year-old Derrick Clark of Waunakee and 45-year-old Shawn Mesner of Readstown were each given 2 years in prison when sentenced in federal court this week. Clark was Didion Milling's VP of operations while Mesner was the company's food safety superintendent. Both were convicted last October on multiple safety, environmental and fraud charges. The 2017 explosion killed five people at the company’s corn mill in Cambria.
The Arrowhead Superintendent has commented on the false high school threat that resulted in over a hundred students calling out absent last week. Superintendent Conrad Farner said that too many parents and students were spreading the false threat without reporting it to the district or the police. Farner also said that he and his staff have been reviewing what could have been done differently on their end and that communication all around should have been better. There will also be a new text service set up between schools and parents if the contract is approved by the school board.
Some Minnesota lawmakers are considering adding penalties to a new state law that bans deepfake video and audio in political campaigns. The original legislation calls for up to five years in prison and a ten thousand dollar fine. The new proposal adds a conviction of disseminated deepfakes that can disqualify candidates from holding various positions. The bill would also call for someone already in office to lose their position.
The Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport is getting 20 million dollars in federal funds to help expand Terminal 2. The money from the Federal Aviation Administration's Airport Terminals Program will help MSP Airport's 240 million dollar project, adding two gates to Terminal 2's north side. Construction is expected to start this spring and be complete in 2027.
Cream puffs are coming back to the Wisconsin State Fairgrounds. The fair yesterday said it will offer cream puffs for St. Patrick's Day. Two flavors will be available over the holiday weekend -- Irish cream and mint chocolate cream. Three-packs are 17-dollars, and six-packs are 25-dollars, but there's a three-dollar discount for pre-ordering before March 10th.
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