The Durand City Council is supporting the Durand Public Library Board in applying for a Flexible Facilities Grant for a possible new library and community center. During the Council meeting this week, members of the Library Board said they wanted to at least explore the grant for a new facility. Durand Mayor Patrick Milliren says while there has been a good working relationship with the Durand-Arkansaw School District, there have always been some space issues. There is $107 Million available from the state through the program.
The Minnesota Department of Health has ordered the closure of a nursing home in Red Wing. The agency informed staff members and residents of the Bay View Nursing and Rehabilitation Center of the impending closure earlier this week. The state took over the nursing home in December because the facility had problems paying vendors and staff. Efforts to relocate residents are underway and the facility is expected to close in late July.
There will be a new community hospital in the Chippewa Valley, and it will have an emergency room, but beyond that, no one knows just what the hospital will look like, or where it will be. Planners with the Chippewa Valley Health Cooperative yesterday said they have agreed to open a new hospital with between 60 and 70 beds and an emergency room. The idea is to replace Sacred Heart Hospital in Eau Claire and St. Joe's in Chippewa Falls. Planners say details of the hospital location and opening date will come in the near future.
No one was hurt in a fire just west of Eau Claire yesterday. Firefighters say the fire started in a metal shop in the town of Union yesterday afternoon. The flames closed West Cameron Street until fire crews could get things under control. There's no cause for the fire, though firefighters say there were a lot of things that could have caught on fire inside the shop.
Kwik Trip will be getting a lot of electric chargers as part of Wisconsin's new EV network. Governor Evers yesterday announced plans to add 53 electric vehicle charging stations across the state, about half of them will be at Kwik Trips. Wisconsin is looking to spend 78 million dollars over the next five years to build a string of EV charges across the state. The idea is to have a charger at least every 50 miles. Kwik Trip is getting 24 EV chargers under the plan. There's no word just when construction will begin, or when EV drivers can expect to charge-up at their local Kwik Trip.
Regional health care providers, politicians, and others were at UW-Eau Claire yesterday for an event on rural healthcare sponsored by the Wisconsin Technology Council. UW-Eau Claire Chancellor James Schmidt announced the creation of the rural health innovation alliances to bring new ideas in providing health care for rural communities. This program hopes to bring community partners like Mayo Clinic, Marshfield, and smaller providers like Oakleaf together to create solutions. The alliance is being funded with a $9.4 million 2021 workforce development grant.
Wisconsin 3rd District Congressman Derik Van Orden voted to advance the Farm Bill out of the House Ag Committee last night. The bill included the Dairy Farm Resiliency Act to increase the cap on Tier 1 Coverage for the Dairy Margin Coverage program to 6 million pounds of milk, along with the Whole Milk for Health Kids Act to permit schools to offer students whole and reduced fat flavored and unflavored milk. The bill would also make changes to the Federal Milk Marketing Order and restore the higher of formula for the calculation of the price of Class 1 milk.
There is a warning about downed trees and blocked paths at Wisconsin's state parks. The state's Department of Natural Resources yesterday said people need to remember this week's storm damage before they head out to camp or walk the trails this holiday weekend. The DNR says crews have not yet cleared all of the trees, branches, and even downed power lines that fell earlier in the week. Wisconsin is expecting a very busy outdoorsy weekend. The DNR says 99 percent of state campsites have been reserved.
Wisconsin's Department of Transportation and the State Patrol are issuing their usual Memorial Day reminder to pay attention, buckle up, and slow down. WisDOT is reminding people of ongoing road construction across the state. There's a list of every highway project available on WisDOT's website. The State Patrol is reminding people that troopers will be out in force this weekend. They will be looking for speeders, drunk drivers, reckless drivers, and anyone who is causing danger on Wisconsin's interstates and highways.
The Department of Natural Resources is reminding people to be safe on the water this Memorial Day weekend. Wardens say there were 30 boating fatalities last year, and two already this early into the season. All but one of those fatalities have involved someone not wearing their life jacket, which is the easiest way to save your life. Whoever is driving the boat is reminded to stay sober because drunk boating is another leading contributor to serious incidents.
A successful Spring Drug Take Back Day in Wisconsin. The Wisconsin Department of Justice reports that Wisconsin ranked number two throughout the country for the most prescription medications collected during the Drug Take Back by collecting 55,122 pounds of unwanted medications. Dating back to when Drug Take Back began in 2010, Wisconsin has collected more than 1.25 million pounds of unwanted meds. In fact, Wisconsin ranks third behind only Texas and California for the amount of meds collected in that time frame. While Drug Take Back Day technically happens twice a year, Wisconsin residents are encouraged to dispose of unwanted meds year-round at one of the 490 drug disposal boxes around the state.
Despite a slight decrease in the projected surplus, Wisconsin’s fiscal footing appears sound. The Legislative Fiscal Bureau projects the state will end the 2023-25 biennium with a more than $3.1 billion surplus. That’s down slightly from the $3.25 billion from January revenue estimates. Fiscal Bureau Director Bob Lang told WisPolitics the numbers are “tracking well” compared to the agency’s estimate and that LFB is “comfortable on where they are.” State tax collections through the month of April are up 0.9% over the year before, slightly ahead of the 0.4% growth that Fiscal Bureau had projected for the current year. The latest Department of Revenue numbers show income and sales tax collections are up compared to the same period a year earlier, accounting for $13.1 billion of the $16 billion the state took in between July 1 and April 30.
A new poll out of Wisconsin shows both leading presidential candidates head to head with voters. President Joe Biden and former president Donald Trump are tied in the Marquette Law School Poll out of Milwaukee. The poll included candidates Robert F Kennedy Junior, Jill Stein, and Colonel West, each getting three percent of the vote.
Unemployment rates in Wisconsin decreased in April. The Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development says seasonally adjusted unemployment was two-point-nine percent last month compared to three percent the month before. The rate increased statewide compared to the same time last year.
The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources is looking into a manure spill in Monroe County that killed dozens of fish. The fish were found Saturday in Moore Creek in Monroe County. The DNR says the manure transfer system at a nearby farm failed and caused the spill. No one is saying just how much waste spilled into the creek, or just which farm is responsible. The DNR said the more immediate need is to avoid more manure spilling into the same creek.
Minnesota is joining the U.S. government in suing Live Nation, the parent company of Ticketmaster. The DOJ filed an antitrust lawsuit today, alleging that Live Nation "relies on unlawful, anticompetitive conduct to exercise its monopolistic control over the live events industry." State Attorney General Keith Ellison issued a statement, saying that people are "fed up with having no option but to fork over their hard-earned money for the high prices and hidden fees that Ticketmaster routinely charges." Ellison says he's proud to join the DOJ in holding Live Nation accountable.
An Eau Claire volunteer has a new bike thanks to some community support. Jason Sunde is one of the most popular, and busiest, volunteers in Eau Claire's bicycling community. But he's been without a bike since the marathon weekend because someone stole his bike. Now, he's able to hit the road once again thanks to a four thousand-dollar donation that got him a new set of wheels. Sunde said it was heartbreaking to lose his old bike, and the people who helped raise money for his new bike said it warmed their hearts to do it. Sunde, by the way, is still looking for his old bike. There's even a reward.
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