The City of Durand continues discussions with the Durand Rural Fire Department on the possibility of forming a fire district. The city has discussed the possibility in the past, and according to Durand Mayor Pat Milliren, because of all the different agreements between the city and rural fire departments, both sides agree it might be time to change to a fire district. There is no timetable for either accepting the proposal or keeping the two fire departments separate.
One person is dead after an incident in Trempealeau County on Wednesday. According to the Trempealeau County Sheriff's Department, deputies were called to a residence on Hwy S in the Town of Preston on the report of a male who fell while attempting to get out of his vehicle that was stuck in a driveway. An investigation reveals the man slid and fell down an embankment into a culvert with standing water and hit his head on the culvert. Emergency personnel attempted live saving measures but the man was pronounced dead at the hospital. No Foul play is suspected.
One man is arrested after leading authorities on a chase after stealing a vehicle in Trempealeau County yesterday. According to the Trempealeau County Sheriff's Department, an SUV was stolen in Whitehall on Thursday afternoon. Deputies located the vehicle a few hours later on Hwy 93. The driver initially pulled over but then fled southbound on Hwy 93 when the deputy got out of his vehicle. A pursuit ensued with speeds reaching 75 mph and spike strips were deployed near the Hwy 35-54 intersection. The driver lost control of the vehicle and entered the ditch. He was arrested and taken to the hospital. He has been charged with operating a motor vehicle without the owner's consent and fleeing an officer.
Dunn County community members learned more about the new voting maps in Wisconsin on Thursday. Dunn County Clerk Andrew Mercil explained how the new maps work. Some changes in the maps move the 92 and 93rd Assembly Districts to cover only parts of the County or are brand new to the county.
Governor Tony Evers signed a bill into law Thursday that would memorialize a fallen Western Wisconsin deputy. Senate Bill 452 was signed into law, designating Hwy 128 from Hwy 64 to I-94 as the "Deputy Kaitie Leising Memorial Highway." Leising was a member of the St. Croix County Sheriff's Office. She tragically lost her life in the line of duty in May of 2023. She was 29 years old.
It's going to be at least another month before prosecutors know if they can move ahead with the case against an Eau Claire man accused of killing his neighbor back in 2016. Shane Helmbrecht was supposed to go on trial next week, but yesterday the judge in the case said Helmbrecht's competency hearing is not yet finished. Doctors are looking to see if Helmbrecht can understand the charges against him. He was declared unfit for trial the first time around, but eventually ran away from a halfway house and had to be brought back to Wisconsin. The judge said he wants the competency hearing wrapped up by next month
UW Regents sign off on a tuition increase. In-state students will again pay higher tuition next year to attend Universities of Wisconsin campuses. Meeting at UW Platteville on Thursday, the Board of Regents unanimously approved the 3.75% increase that UW System President Jay Rothman had proposed just last week. Regents President Karen Walsh said she understands the “dilemma” facing students, but that there are a lot of factors involved. Not least of those is the fact that 10 of the 13 four-year schools are facing structural deficits. Green Bay, La Crosse, Parkside, Platteville, River Falls, Stout, and Whitewater are all proposing even higher increases. There will also be specific program increases on some campuses. This is the second straight tuition increase following a decade-long freeze.
The State Bar of Wisconsin is not ending its diversity clerkship that faced a federal discrimination lawsuit, instead, it is changing the definition of diversity. The State Bar agreed to tweak the program and make it about the diversity of ideas and experiences, rather than base the clerkship on race and gender. The Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty sued, saying it's against the law to hire anyone based on their race or gender.
Jesse Vang has been ordered to stand trial for allegedly neglecting a missing Two Rivers toddler. A charge of child neglect will stand against Vang, who was caring for 3-year-old Elijah Vue before he went missing. A judge made the ruling Thursday. Vang is charged with one count of being party to chronic neglect of a child and is not charged in connection with Vue's disappearance. After testimony from two law enforcement officers, Judge Robert Dewane ruled there was enough evidence to move the case forward. Dewane also denied a defense motion to drop the charges. Vang is due back in court April 16 to enter a plea. Vue has been missing for over a month. Rewards totaling $40,000 are being offered in the case.
Wisconsin's supreme court is staying out of the back-and-forth over election maps. The court yesterday said the Wisconsin Elections Commission, not the Supreme Court, should decide which map should be used for any election before November. The liberal-majority court did say in a ruling last December that Wisconsin's old political maps are unconstitutional, and cannot be used going forward. The question over maps comes as Wisconsin's assembly speaker faces a second recall effort, and as Milwaukee is waiting on a special election to fill one of its empty State Senate seats.
The number of people in Minnesota with no health insurance is at an all-time low, according to the Minnesota Department of Health, three-point-eight percent. That's the lowest reported in the 22-years they've been tracking rates. The study does show that the number of people with employer-sponsored group coverage in Minnesota fell. In contrast, the number of people with state-sponsored health coverage increased. Still, more people in Minnesota have employer-group health insurance than have government-sponsored health coverage.
Hmong American and Asian American histories are now required as part of Wisconsin public school K-12 curriculum. The bipartisan bill was signed into law today by Governor Tony Evers. Currently, Black, Hispanic, and Native American histories are required. Evers is also designating April as Hmong Heritage Month in Wisconsin. The state has the third-largest population of Hmong people in the country.
The University of Wisconsin is celebrating its 175th anniversary. The Madison campus is hosting over 60 events this weekend to mark its opening in 1849. There are evening viewings at Washburn Observatory and its original telescope from 1879, tours of the newly renovated dairy education facilities, and a visit with Bucky Badger at the field house on Sunday. More info is online at 1 7 5 dot W I S C dot E D U.
Minnesota is the most financially literate state, with financial education baked into the K-12 curriculum, but where do the rest of the states rank in terms of financial literacy. WalletHub analyzed financial education programs and consumer habits across America. Minnesota, Nebraska, Virginia, Colorado, and New Hampshire took the top five for more financially literate states. While Arkansas, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Kentucky, and Alaska were at the bottom of the list. At a time of high inflation and economic uncertainty, policymakers are exploring what can be done to improve financial literacy, and to what degree should it be a part of the K-through-12 curriculum.
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