The Durand-Arkansaw is facing a possible budget deficit of $560,000 for the upcoming school year. During last night's school board meeting the board discussed the preliminary budget. Many school districts are facing possible deficits due to the drop in federal COVID aid. Last year Durand Arkansaw received nearly $1.5 million in federal Esser money, and this year that aid is down to $317,000. It is still very early in the budget process and administrators are confident they will be able to fill that deficit.
The problem of accidental 911 calls continues to be an issue in Pepin County. During last night's Pepin County Board Meeting Sheriff Joel Wener told the board that while Apple and Android made updates to their phones to try and prevent accidental 911 calls there is a new issue involving notification that the phone has been involved in an accident. Wener estimates that 15-20% of the 911 calls last year to the dispatch center were false calls.
The group that is looking to replace Eau Claire and Chippewa Falls' closed hospitals is now looking for both patients and doctors. The Chippewa Valley Health Cooperative yesterday said it is accepting community and physician members. Patients can join for 25 dollars a-year, while doctors can join for 100 dollars per-year. The new health co-op covers 15 counties in western Wisconsin, including Buffalo, Pepin and Dunn counties.
Police in Eau Claire say they've arrested a woman who helped a wanted attempted homicide suspect from Madison escape. Eau Claire Police say 54-year-old Candace Rogers hid Jerome Jacobs in her car, and drove him away from Eau Claire last week. Police in Eau Claire had just tried to stop Jacobs, but he ran. Investigators say Rogers' help meant Jacobs got away and is still on the run, She's looking at charges of harboring or aiding a felon.
The teenager who dragged an 11-year-old girl behind a shed and raped her is heading to jail for just nine months. Barron County Court Judge Maureen Boyle this week sentenced Riley Tomesh to nine months in jail, and three years of probation. Tomesh was 17-years-old when he raped the young girl during the Harvest Days Festival in the Village of Brill. The girl told police she tried to scream, but she said Tomesh held his hand over her mouth and threatened to kill her.
The Prairie Island Nuclear Facility lost three months of power generation and twelve million dollars in repair costs due to a severed cable. The incident occurred in October when underground cables were inadvertently severed during maintenance work. Xcel Energy incurred two million dollars in operation and maintenance costs to return the plant online. The cost of purchasing replacement power and cable repairs will be determined in upcoming hearings, with Xcel customers potentially bearing some of the financial burden. Despite the outage, Xcel customers continued to receive power from other sources.
Olmsted County officials are preparing for the possible departure of County Administrator Heidi Welsch. Welsch has confirmed that she is a finalist for the position of county manager in Dakota County and will interview for the position next week. Welsch previously worked as Dakota County's director of policy and analysis before taking a position in Olmsted County. Commissioners discussed the process of hiring a new county administrator on Tuesday, noting it could take months to recruit and hire someone to replace Welsch.
The woman in charge at UW-La Crosse says she doesn't want the school known as Porn-U. Interim La Crosse Chancellor Betsy Morgan yesterday said the university needs to fire former Chancellor Joe Gow to protect the school's reputation. Gow was fired as chancellor late last year after the university learned that he was making porn movies with his wife, and sharing them online. Gow accepted that firing, but is now fighting to save his job as a communications professor. He had the first day of his disciplinary hearing yesterday. Gow continues to say he did nothing wrong.
The shot clock is not coming to high school basketball in Wisconsin. The WIAA, the group that manages high school sports in the state, yesterday voted against adding a shot clock to games. The WIAA Board of Control voted 6-4 against the idea. Opponents worry about the cost to install the clocks, and worry that smaller schools won't have anyone to run them. Twenty nine states have shot clocks for their high school basketball games, including Minnesota.
Pizza Hut is shutting down several restaurants. The company abruptly shuttered 15 locations, but the reasons behind the closures are different than other chains. Pizza Hut shut down the stores due to an ongoing financial dispute with one of their biggest franchisees. The franchisee operates 144 Pizza Hut restaurants across five states and they're being sued by the pizza company over millions of dollars in alleged unpaid bills. Reports say another 129 Pizza Huts owned by franchisee group EYM will close in Georgia, Illinois, South Carolina, and Wisconsin.
Wisconsin's share of the national baby powder settlement comes to just under 16-million dollars. Attorney General Josh Kaul yesterday announced the settlement. In all, Johnson & Johnson will pay states 700-million dollars to settle claims that the company knew baby powder with talc was harmful to women, but continue to market it nonetheless. Kaul said his office is dedicated to protecting people in Wisconsin. He is not saying how the state will spend its part of the settlement.
Wisconsin has already surpassed its total tornado count from last year. The latest confirmed twister happened Monday morning in Colby, where an EF-0 tornado touched down. The number of tornadoes in the state in 2024 is now at 24. The 2023 total of 21 was surpassed last month, and the current total has overtaken Wisconsin’s annual average of 23 tornadoes within a calendar year. National Weather Service data shows the year with the greatest number of tornadoes in the state was 2005, when 62 were confirmed.
The University of Minnesota is considering a proposal to introduce mixed alcoholic beverages at Gophers sporting events. The plan includes a three-phase approach, starting with canned and batched cocktails in general concourses this fall. The university successfully tested liquor-based drinks at a concert last summer. The proposal aims to expand alcohol sales over the next few years, with full-service bars and bottle service in suites by 2025-26 and alcohol in the stands by 2026-27.
The man known as the godfather of Minnesota defense attorneys has passed away. Joe Friedberg died this week from colon cancer at age 87. He is known for representing some of the region's most high-profile criminal defendants, including NFL players, politicians, murderers, and drug lords. Friedberg also won several awards, including the Distinguished Service Award from the Minnesota Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers and induction into the Minnesota Lawyers Hall of Fame.
The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources is getting international recognition for videography. The department won two Viddy Awards for outstanding achievement in video and digital production. The two videos that won awards are about properly disposing of batteries using an e-cycle, and another about properly managing chronic wasting disease. The Viddy Awards, formerly the Videography Awards, judge videos from news broadcasters, freelance workers, and other entities based on their industry standards.
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