Preparations for this weekend's Durand Fun Fest are underway. Yesterday the carnival arrived in Durand and roads around Memorial Park are now closed. That includes 1st Avenue and 2nd Avenue East, along with Madison and Wells Street. Fun-Fest begins this Friday and runs through Sunday at Memorial Park in Durand.
While we have seen plenty of rain over the last few weeks, it does not appear the Chippewa River will reach flood stage here in Durand. The latest river forecast from the National Weather Service shows the river is at 7.9 ft, while the flood stage is 13 ft. Meanwhile, minor flooding is expected in Wabasha as the Mississippi River is expected to crest at 12.9 on Tuesday. Some drier weather is expected to end the week.
Gas prices are once again under $3 in Durand. A mini price war that has been going on for the last few weeks between Kwik Trip and the Durand Travel Mart has prices below the $3 mark as of early this morning. Meanwhile gas is at $3.16 in Mondovi and $3.04 in Wabasha. Oil prices have been lower as of late due to increased US Oil Production offsetting the production cuts from OPEC.
The City of Mondovi will explore the possibility of building a new fire station. During the last council meeting, the council approved spending $2500 with Keller Incorporated to have the company do a design study to determine what the city needs for a new station, and where it could be built. That study is expected to take 9 months to complete.
The Trempealeau County Sheriff's Office released the name of the victim of the homicide last month. The department says 36yr old Kyle Dahl of Ettrick died on May 15th around 8:30pm near the intersection of Hwy TT and Hwy 53 just south of Ettrick. The department does have a person of interest in custody on unrelated charges but is not releasing the name at this time. The Trempealeau County District Attorney has not decided if charges will be filed.
Eau Claire Schools are asking for more money this fall. The city's school board on Monday approved an 18 million-dollar tax hike request. The money is earmarked for mental health and school psychologists. The 18 million-dollar request comes after Eau Claire Schools got a nearly 100 million-dollar tax increase in 2022. That money went toward school improvements. The new referendum will add to people's property tax bills.
The Eau Claire school bus driver who crashed on the way to the Twin Cities is being charged for not having the proper license. Prosecutors in St. Croix County yesterday filed charges against Christopher Leubner for unauthorized operation of a school bus. He'd already been ticketed for the crash. The new charges claim he had a passenger license, but not a school bus license when he crashed into the back of a fuel truck on I-94 while taking a group of kids from DeLong Middle School on a field trip back in April. The State Patrol says eight people, including six kids, were slightly hurt in the wreck.
Western Wisconsin's congressman is ready to parachute into France to mark the 80th anniversary of D-Day. Congressman Derrick Van Orden is one of 10 congressmen who will make the jump that paratroopers made on D-Day. Van Orden arrived in France yesterday and is set to make the jump tomorrow. Tomorrow marks 80 years since Allied forces invaded France in World War Two.
Firefighters in Chippewa Falls say a downtown business owner is lucky an upstairs apartment collapsed in the middle of the night. Crews responded to the Iris Boutique after the apartment above collapsed into the back of the building. It happened overnight yesterday morning. No one was living in the apartment, and no one was in the boutique at the time. The boutique's owners say they're still trying to figure out just what happened.
Add the cover bridge in Zumbrota to the list of things closed because of flooding in Minnesota. The city of Zumbrota closed the bridge Monday morning. City crews say they are keeping an eye on the debris that's built up under the bridge, but they're not yet to the point where they are concerned.
UW regents could revisit last month's campus protests during this week's regents meeting. The Board of Regents is set to meet Thursday in Milwaukee. One of the things on the agenda is an update on free speech and civil dialogue on campus. The meeting is at UW-Milwaukee, where protesters camped out on the campus for weeks, and where the chancellor got in trouble for the agreement he signed to end those protests. UW President Jay Rothman said he was disappointed in that deal because it wasn't viewpoint-neutral. Critics said UW-Milwaukee Chancellor Mark Mone took the side of the protesters and stood against Israel.
Charges are filed in the Wisconsin fake electors scheme. The Office of Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul filed felony forgery charges in Dane County court against Kenneth Chesbro. James Troupis and Michael Roman. The Capitol Times reports all three are charged under a statute that criminalizes attempting to forge legal records or other public documents. Despite Donald Trump's loss to President Joe Biden in Wisconsin in 2020, the three men orchestrated an attempt to deliver a slate of false Republican electors to the US Senate and Vice President Mike Pence.
A man will have to pay a fine after illegally shooting a deer with a bow and arrow from his car in Clark County. Cody Hamm from Medford was charged last year for illegal hunting and reached a plea deal on Monday. He's also accused of intentionally hitting another deer with his car. He's barred from hunting, fishing, and trapping for three years.
Wisconsin farmers get help to help the hungry. The Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection announced Friday a total of 125 grants have been given to farms and farmers to assist statewide hunger relief efforts. The agency says the 2024 Wisconsin Local Food Purchase Assistance program will provide subsidies ranging from $5,000 to $25,000 to selected farms, 95% of which are in socially disadvantaged or historically underserved communities around the state. There’s more information at “W-I Local Food dot org.”
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz says he had considered removing the Hennepin County Attorney from prosecuting the case of a state trooper who gunned down a motorist. He announced yesterday that he would have taken action against Mary Moriarity if she didn't drop charges against Ryan Londregan. The trooper was charged with murder and manslaughter early this year for the deadly shooting of Ricky Cobb the Second during a traffic stop on I-94. On Sunday, Moriarty dismissed charges against Londregan.
The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources is promoting one of its staff to a leadership position. Wildlife veterinarian Kelly Straka will take over as head of the Fish and Wildlife Division. She will replace outgoing director Dave Olfelt, who will work part-time at DNR until next March to help launch an electronic licensing system. Straka will begin her new duties on July 4.
Annual interior home reviews will start in Eau Claire in the next few weeks. Property assessors will send out postcards to homeowners with reviews this year between June and August. The inspections usually last between ten and twenty minutes. They'll be checking to see that their information is up to date.
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