The city of Durand will be spraying for mosquitoes next week. The city has not had to spray for the pests but with the recent wet weather the mosquito population has been on the rise. The city usually budgets $4000 a year for spraying mosquitoes and will spray 4 times per summer before events like Music in the Park, Fun Fest, and Blues on the Chippewa. Weather permitting the city will spray on either Monday or Tuesday. City crews will also treat Memorial Park before next weeks Music in the Park.
One person is dead after an UTV accident in the town of Ettrick on Wednesday. According to the Trempealeau County Sheriff's Department, an elderly male was operating the UTV on his property when the vehicle overturned, pinning him underneath. He was pronounced dead at the scene. The name of the victim was not released pending notification of family members.
Dunn County now has a Narcan vending machine. The county's health department opened its harm reduction public health kiosk yesterday. The vending machine will have Narcan doses and fentanyl test strips for drugs, as well as gun locks, hygiene kits, and medication disposal bags. Public Health director KT Gallagher says the idea is to give people the things they need to save some lives. Eau Claire County's Narcan vending machine has proven popular since it opened last year. Public health managers in Eau Claire say people have taken more than 900 doses of Narcan and hundreds of fentanyl test strips from the machine since it opened.
Add Eau Claire to the list of communities in Wisconsin that are embracing ballot drop boxes. Eau Claire County Clerk Sue McDonald yesterday said the boxes are more convenient for some voters. She expects at least a couple of local communities to use them in either the August primary or the November election. The Wisconsin Supreme Court last week declared that ballot drop boxes are once again legal in the state. The Wisconsin Elections Commission yesterday approved guidance for local election clerks who plan to use the boxes this year.
The summer heat is doing some damage to the interstate in western Wisconsin. Wis-DOT closed another portion of I-94 in Eau Claire County yesterday because of a heat-related road buckle. It's the second time this week that crews had to deal with a problem on the interstate because of the high heat. Crews are not saying how long it will take to fully patch the buckle on the eastbound side of I-94.
Authorities have been searching a Dakota County home, looking for signs of a missing woman. Authorities say 56-year-old Nicole Anderson, who goes by Nikki, was last seen on foot Saturday leaving her home in Randolph Township. Deputies have executed a felony search warrant on an area home and were seen placing a handcuffed man in the back of a patrol car. Anderson's mom tells KARE-TV that the property being searched is their "family estate."
Kwik Trip's latest groundbreaking is one of its largest. The company yesterday turned the first shovel of dirt on what will become a 280 thousand square-foot distribution center in DeForest. Right now, Kwik Trip supplies all of its stores from a single 600 thousand square-foot facility in La Crosse. This will be Kwik Trip's second distribution center. Company president Scott Zietlow says the new facility will supply all of southern and southeastern Wisconsin. He says there will eventually be 400 people working at the distribution center once it is finished.
Eau Claire's airport managers want SkyWest to once again fly out of the Chippewa Valley. The Airport Commission is recommending SkyWest to replace Sun Country for the airport's next service contract. SkyWest pulled out of Eau Claire back in 2022 because of financial pressures. Now, SkyWest is promising to return with daily flights to Chicago's O'Hare Airport. Commission Secretary Scott Francis says it's important to connect the Chippewa Valley to the world, and he says SkyWest's flights to Chicago can do that. Sun Country currently flies to Minneapolis-St. Paul and some regional, seasonal destinations. The federal government will ultimately make the final decision on which airline will fly in and out of Eau Claire.
The City of La Crosse is still dealing with Mississippi floodwaters, weeks after the usual spring flood season. Mayor Mitch Reynolds said low-lying areas of the community are still being impacted. Reynolds said that the damage to areas such as parklands is not as devastating as it would be for neighborhoods and businesses. He said flooded parks are routinely closed and campgrounds have to be evacuated. The Mississippi River at La Crosse is currently in the minor flood stage at 12.8 feet. Reynolds took part in a Thursday conference call with other river city mayors.
Be wary as you shop for school supplies this summer. Wisconsin Consumer Protection director Michelle Reinen says scammers are sending out fake ads with huge discounts, supposedly from brand name stores. Reinen says that's because the scammers want you to give them your password for websites like Amazon or Walmart, and use that information to buy items on your account.
There are still fourteen winning Wisconsin Lottery tickets worth a thousand dollars left unclaimed. The Lottery says the NASCAR Powerball Playoff Bonus Draw was a limited-time offer in June, with winners drawn on the 24th. Each of the 35 total winning tickets comes with the opportunity to win additional cash prizes and a trip to the NASCAR Championship Weekend in November. The Lottery encourages anyone who entered to check their ticket.
There's going to be a new music festival in the Chippewa Valley next year. The Eau Claire Event District announced the Summer Jam music festival today, with Lynyrd Skynyrd as the headliner. The District also hosts the music festival Country Jam but says the new music festival won't focus on a specific genre. Tickets are on sale for the festival, scheduled for June 20 and 21 next year.
The top Republicans on Wisconsin's powerful budget making committee say they are going to have to find 'other ways' to make their presence felt now that the Wisconsin Supreme Court has limited their power. State Rep. Mark Born yesterday said he's disappointed in last week's ruling that clipped the power of the Joint Finance Committee when it comes to the state's stewardship spending. Born said he has a problem with taking the legislature out of the conversation about spending for the Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Program. He said the legislature now needs to find new ways to bring accountability to the program. Democrats on the Joint Finance Committee say the Supreme Court got it right.
Wisconsin's public health managers want to know what moms and babies in the state need. The state's Department of Health Services yesterday launched its Maternal and Child Health Survey. The idea is to see what moms and their babies need, so DHS can focus its public health efforts. DHS says it is looking for feedback about prenatal care, access to health care services, maternal mental health, child and infant health, birth outcomes, and community resources. The survey can be found online and is open until September.
Wisconsin's Democratic U.S. Senator continues to try and not talk about President Biden and his mental fitness. Senator Tammy Baldwin yesterday said she passed 'concerns from Wisconsinites' on to the president, but she said it was ultimately President Biden's decision on whether to continue his campaign. Baldwin has largely avoided saying whether she thinks President Biden should step aside and let another Democrat run against Donald Trump in November. She again yesterday said her focus is 'working hard for the people of Wisconsin.' Republican Eric Hovde's campaign says voters in Wisconsin deserve a real answer from Baldwin.
A study finds foam on Wisconsin rivers and lakes has higher PFAS levels than waters below. Researchers at UW - Madison studied 36 different types of PFAS in samples collected from foams and the very top layer of the water column across 43 rivers and lakes in the state. Samples of foam from Lake Monona showed PFAS levels up to roughly 328,000 per trillion. That's compared to new federal drinking water regulations of just 4 parts per trillion. Among samples collected, researchers say PFAS concentrations in foam ranged from 50 to 7,000 times higher than levels in the water. Higher PFAS levels in foam were also found along the Green Bay shore and the Peshtigo River. Researchers say the findings reinforce state-issued warnings to avoid contact with any foam on waterways.
Minneapolis police came to the rescue after someone left their boa constrictor in the backseat of a rideshare vehicle. Cops were called after the driver found the large snake in their car. A video posted to the police department's Facebook page shows an officer from the fifth precinct holding the slithery "suspect" believed to be someone's pet. Officials said, quote, "no officers, drivers, passengers or snakes were harmed" during the incident.
Police in Zumbrota are poking fun at themselves after a wild sheep chase earlier this week. Video posted to the police department's Facebook page shows officers trying to corner a sheep in a fenced-in backyard on Monday. The sheep balked at the attempt and ran through the fence to continue the chase. Part two of the video was posted yesterday and shows police working with a pair of animal wranglers to haul in the wayward sheep. The animal was safely captured and no injuries were reported.
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