The Mondovi City Council has passed a resolution asking the state Department of Transportation to move up the reconstruction of Hwy 10 in Mondovi. The project was originally scheduled for 2026, but the state now says the project will be done in 2030. Mondovi Mayor Brady Weiss believes the road won't last for another 6yrs. When the project does start it will be a complete replacement of Hwy 10 through the entire city of Mondovi.
The Durand City Council is meeting tonight. Items on the agenda include a review of the city audit, discussion and possible action on accepting the Public Administration Associates contract for the administrator search, rezoning the vacant lots on the 300 block of 2nd Avenue east from residential to central business district and providing a letter of support to Pepin County in their efforts to purchase the bike trail from Xcel Energy. Tonight's meeting begins at 6:30 at Durand City Hall and will be live-streamed on our website at real country 1430 dot com.
A Wabasha woman has pleaded guilty to stealing more than $3.7 million from her employer and $17,000 from a vulnerable adult. 61yr old Sharon Schmalzriedt pleaded guilty to one charge of theft of property over $35000 and agreed to pay back over $3.7 million to her former employer National Chemical in Lewiston in exchange for a 5yr probation sentence and the charges of financial exploitation of a vulnerable adult were dismissed. According to authorities, Schmalzriedt had an online relationship with a man claiming he was owed $7 million for overseas work and she sent him money expecting that she would be reimbursed.
The man on trial for the 2022 stabbing in the Apple River told the jury yesterday he felt he had no choice but to defend himself. Nicolae Miu spent most of the day yesterday answering questions in his murder trial. He told the jury he was simply trying to get away from a group of teens who were harassing him, and eventually fighting with him in the river two years ago. Miu is charged with killing one of those teens and injuring four others. Prosecutors questioned why Miu brought a knife with him when he said he was snorkeling for a missing phone. Closing arguments in the case are scheduled to start this morning.
A judge wants another competency hearing for the woman accused of driving through Chippewa Falls' Christmas decorations. Ebony Hudson was in court for a hearing yesterday. She claimed she was competent last December when she drove through the display at Irvine Park. She's also accused of ramming into a city truck that blocked her as she tried to drive away. Prosecutors have never offered a motive for the attack on the Christmas Decorations. The judge yesterday said he wants another doctor to examine Hudson again.
It was a lucky weekend for a handful of people across Wisconsin. The Wisconsin Lottery says five people won big jackpots in five separate cities last weekend. That includes two winning 150 thousand-dollar Powerball tickets that were sold in Black River Falls, and Tomah for Saturday's drawing. Then on Sunday, the lottery says a winning 350 thousand-dollar SuperCash! Ticket was sold in Stevens Point, and a 100 thousand-dollar All or Nothing ticket was sold in La Crosse.
Governor Evers has scuttled the latest plan to deal with PFAS contamination in the state. The governor yesterday vetoed the proposal from Republican lawmakers because he said it included a loophole for polluters. Republicans say the governor's definition of polluter includes anyone who finds any PFAS contamination on their land or in their water, even if the chemicals came from somewhere else. Lawmakers say they want to focus on cleaning Wisconsin's drinking water and accuse the governor of wanting to sue people.
State Senator Jeff Smith is supporting Governor Ever's request for a special meeting of the Joint Committee on Finance to approve the $15 million to address the HSHS hospital closures and release funds to curb PFAS pollution. In a statement yesterday, Smith said "We don’t have the luxury of dragging our feet with the hospital closures in the Chippewa Valley. “This should’ve been done already, and there’s no excuse for the delay." The $15 million grant funding for Chippewa Valley healthcare providers was passed into law in March, the Department of Health Services submitted its request to Joint Finance immediately and the committee has had over a month to release the funding.
A Minnesota woman reported missing from a Wisconsin treatment facility in February has been found. The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension issued an alert for 45-year-old Alycia Hofkes after she was last seen at the facility in Hudson, Wisconsin on February 24th. Investigators said Hofkes did not have a cell phone, money, or a vehicle and left the treatment center against the advice of medical personnel. The BCA did not say where Hofkes was found or where she had been living since leaving the treatment center.
New grant funding is available for affordable housing in Wisconsin. The grants are offered by the Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority. Working families are struggling to find places to live as property values continue to rise. 525 million dollars is being made available for developers and construction companies willing to renovate downtown properties and convert commercial space to residential. Apply online at W H E D A dot Com.
A Conagra plant in South Eastern Wisconsin is closing, and hundreds of people will lose their jobs. The Birds Eye plant in Beaver Dam notified Wisconsin Workforce Development it would be closing. The company says more than 250 people, including production and support employees, will lose their jobs as part of the closure. Production will end in June, and all warehouse operations will cease by January of next year. The plant closure is expected to be permanent.
A bill expanding Wisconsin's AMBER Alert system criteria has been signed into law. The Prince Act will allow a Silver Alert to be issued if the location of a child younger than 18 is unknown and they don't qualify for another kind of alert. The bill is named after Prince McCree, whose family requested an AMBER Alert when he went missing in Milwaukee. They were rejected, and the five-year-old's body was found the next day. The family of ten-year-old Lily Peters, who was also found deceased after her case didn't qualify for an AMBER Alert, was also involved in advocacy efforts. Governor Tony Evers approved the bill this morning in Milwaukee.
A Republican bill to keep Minnesota cities from setting the pay of rideshare drivers won't be getting a quick vote. Republicans tried and failed to force a vote on the measure on Thursday. The bill is a response to the approval of a new rideshare law in Minneapolis that sets minimum pay for drivers. DFL leaders in the legislature are reportedly considering a bill that would set state rideshare rules, including minimum pay rates that are similar to those Minneapolis has approved. Uber and Lyft have already threatened to leave Minneapolis when the law goes into effect on May 1st.
A Marine veteran has completed his mission to walk from Minnesota to Texas to view the total solar eclipse. Daniel Crawford began his walk on February 3rd in Austin, Minnesota, calling it a one-thousand-mile gratitude walk. Crawford said he turned to alcohol after leaving active duty in 1995 and struggled with drinking until 2022, when he discovered the Duluth-based nonprofit 23rd Veteran. He says his walk through six states spread a message of hope to those he met while also raising money for the organization that helped him become sober.
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