The Durand City Council is meeting tonight. Items on the agenda include discussion and possible action on applying for a loan of up to $550,00 from SFB for capital projects including 6th Avenue, Pool, and fire truck and applying for a short-term loan of up to $1 million for the pool project. The mayor and department heads will also have reports. Tonight's meeting begins at 6:30 at Durand City Hall and will be live-streamed on the WRDN YouTube Channel.
Residents renting the Marten Center will now have the choice of using the audio-visual equipment at the center. At last night's council meeting, the council approved a new policy that will allow those renting the center to pay an additional $50 and use the A-V equipment. The council felt the additional charge was needed to help cover the cost and maintenance of the equipment. Residents will still be allowed to bring their own AV equipment and not be charged the additional $50.
The drunk driving case against the Eleva Police Chief has been settled. Chief Patrick McKillip pleaded guilty to the first offense of drunk driving and was fined just over $900 and his driver's license was revoked for six months. In January McKillip hit a deer with his squad car and told officers he was going 85 when he hit the deer. A breathlayzer test had his blood alcohol level at .10.
The Eau Claire County Sheriff's Office is warning residents about a scam. In a social media post, the sheriff's department says they were alerted of a phone scam where scammers, posing as sheriff's deputies call potential victims claiming they have an outstanding warrant and the victim needs to pay the fine now or be arrested. The department reminds residents they never call demanding payment over the phone and that residents should just hang up if they get this type of call.
The woman who police say drove her car through the Christmas decorations in Chippewa Falls last winter is headed to a mental hospital for treatment. A judge yesterday found Ebony Hudson unfit for trial. Police say she sped through the decorations at Irvine Park last December. She's also accused of ramming a city truck that tried to block her. Hudson maintained that she was competent, and asked to go to trial. The judge says she's a threat to herself. She'll be kept at the mental hospital for the next 12 months, then the judge will re-evaluate her mental health.
Wisconsin's Republican U.S. Senator voted against the foreign aid package that will send billions more to Ukraine. Senator Ron Johnson says he voted against the package because it doesn't have any meaningful reforms for the U.S. southern border. Wisconsin's Democratic Senator, Tammy Baldwin, voted for the package. In addition to the Ukraine money, the package will send billions of dollars in aid to both Israel and Taiwan. Johnson told reporters in Madison yesterday that he doesn't like the idea of spending 60 billion-dollars that the U.S. doesn't have to pay for a stalemate between Russia and Ukraine.
The number of kids in Wisconsin who had to be physically separated or restrained in school is down from a year ago. The state's Department of Public Instruction yesterday released its annual report on seclusion and restraint. The report shows schools used seclusion over five thousand times during the last school year and had to restrain a student more than six thousand times. Restraint means someone had to lay hands on a student, while seclusion means a student was put in a room and physically not allowed to leave. State Superintendent Jill Underly said while the numbers are down, she hopes that schools across Wisconsin can find ways to limit their need for seclusion and restraint. But she said that will likely take more support from the state budget.
A new report says UW-Madison's rankings as a top university have slipped over the past decade or so. The report from the university's own Center for Research on the Wisconsin Economy said UW-Madison has slipped as both a top university in America and a top university in the world. US News & World Report says UW-Madison is the 35th-best school in the country, but the Wall Street Journal has it ranked as the 79th-best school. Internationally, UW-Madison has fallen out of the top 50 in one ranking and is as low as 102nd best in another. Most concerning, according to the report, is that UW-Madison is also slipping as a top research university, and is seeing fewer federal research grants.
Wisconsin is getting 124-million dollars in federal grants to help residents put solar panels on their homes. The Environmental Protection Agency is giving the money to Wisconsin to help create long-lasting solar programs in low-income communities. Grants will help people who want to participate in the Wisconsin Solar for All program start will little to no up-front costs. A Midwest Tribal Energy Association will get about half of the money and will put it toward solar programs in Wisconsin, Michigan, and Minnesota.
Governor Evers says if election threats continue, the state's Department of Justice may get involved. The governor was once again asked about threats to, and extra protection for, Wisconsin's election administrator. The governor said former President Trump continues to lie and say that he won Wisconsin back in 2020. The governor says so far, President Trump's words are just political speech. But he said if the former president or anyone else crosses the line, then the authorities may need to do something.
A former member of a UWSP fraternity is now charged with arson after a series of fires in his former home. Investigators say Eric Blum started multiple fires in a home that he had leased alongside other members of the Phi Sigma Phi fraternity. The group had recently terminated his membership, but court documents say he had still be staying at the home, though hadn't paid rent for several months. Roommates said they heard the 21-year-old talking just before the fires started, then saw an "orange glow" coming from outside their door. Charges against him include arson and disorderly conduct. He's still waiting for an attorney. Further court action is scheduled for next Monday.
The mother of missing three-year-old Elijah Vue is requesting a change in her bond. An attorney for Katrina Baur filed a motion in Manitowoc County Circuit Court asking that her $15,000 cash bail be reduced to a personal recognizance bond. That would allow Baur to be released without paying the bond if she promised to appear back in court. The motion states Bauer is unable to post the cash bail. She and her boyfriend, Jesse Vang, have both pleaded not guilty on charges of chronic child neglect. Baur has been in the Manitowoc County Jail since February 21st. That’s a day after her son was reported missing. Teams have been searching the area for Elijah ever since, but he hasn’t yet been found.
Sturgeon fishing can continue as normal in Wisconsin. That’s after the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service declared that the lake sturgeon population in the state is thriving and needs no protection. The action by the federal agency came after an environmentalist group from Arizona filed a petition asking for the prehistoric fish to be listed as endangered or threatened. State and federal lawmakers disputed the claims, arguing that management of the population by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources adequately maintains the species in the state.
A historic spot in northwest Wisconsin made its debut 60 years ago this week. The original Wisconsin Pavilion from the 1964 World's Fair in New York City showcased the Badger State to an international audience. The venue was scheduled to be torn down after the fair, but a Boscobel blacksmith bought the building and later sold it to the owners of WCCN Radio in Neillsville. The station has operated from there since the mid-sixties. The one-time exhibit has been registered as a Historic Place in both the state and national registries. The structure also houses a store that carries cheese, books, ice cream, local wine, and beer, all from Wisconsin.
A Northeast Wisconsin delivery driver was involved in a different kind of delivery. UPS driver Jon Strned was on his route in Seymour last Monday when he spotted a heifer in labor laying in the pasture of a dairy farm. WFRV-TV in Green Bay reports that when Strned saw that the mom-to-be needed help with the birth, he used his experience growing up on a farm and grabbed the front legs of the calf, bringing her out of the heifer safely. The family who owns the farm named the female calf, which was born two weeks early, Joni, after the delivery man who delivered her. The family says Joni the calf will be at this year’s Outagamie County Fair.
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