The Pepin County Board is meeting tonight. Items on the agenda include discussion and possible action on hiring Public Administration Associates to search for a new Administrative Coordinator, approving Michelle Weiss as the interim Administrative Coordinator, and establishing a fund for recreation and youth education using proceeds from the sale of the old fairground property. Tonight's meeting begins at 7 in the board room at the Government Center in Durand.
The Durand-Arksansaw School Board is meeting tonight. Items on the agenda include action on a strategic planning initiative with Joe Schroeder Consulting along with reports from the superintendent and building administrators. Tonights meeting begins at 6 in the board room at Durand-Arkansaw High School.
A Menomonie man who pleaded guilty to possessing child pornography is going to prison. Joseph Ellis was sentenced to 8yrs in prison and fined $3114 Tuesday by Dunn County Judge Luke Wagner. According to authorities, they found hundreds of images of child pornography on his electronic devices last year after receiving a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
There will be a goose hunt in Mondovi again this year. The Mondovi City Council approved the hunt that will follow the state hunting season. Hunters will have to have all state hunting licenses and stamps and will have to register first with the city. The hunt is designed to help control the goose population around Mirror Lake.
The Durand City Council has approved moving forward with a water rate and water service study with the Wisconsin Public Service Commission. Durand Mayor Patrick Milliren says water rates are controlled by the Public Service Commission. That study should start in the next month or so.
Two new outdoor trails will be finished soon in Eau Claire. A 600-thousand dollar paved trail between Folsom and Madison Streets will connect to a trail that leads to Eau Claire's High Bridge. That trail qualified for a state grant, so the City of Eau Claire only paid 120-thousand dollars. It's scheduled to be open to the public in mid-September. The second trail is by the Galloway Flats development. It'll be finished in the next couple weeks after 200 feet of pavement is laid under the River Prairie Bridge.
There are new charges for a child sex suspect in Chippewa County. Prosecutors this week filed sexual assault charges against 44-year-old Scott Detlaff. Investigators say he abused a now 15-year-old boy over a number of years. Detlaff was already facing child pornography charges, though it's not clear if the cases involve the same victim. The sheriff's office says Detlaff admitted to the child porn images but is denying the sexual assault.
There's a report of at least one rabid bat in western Wisconsin. Polk County's Public Health Department yesterday said it tested the bat after there was an 'encounter' with a human. The bat is the first rabid bat in Polk County in a decade. The fear is that rabid bats can spread rabies, but those cases are rare. Public health managers with the state say it's been almost 15 years since a bat bit someone and gave them rabies.
Two Rivers police haven't given up on finding the missing three-year-old Vue. Captain Andrew Raatz says the investigation looks different now compared to six months ago. He also warns of misinformation and scams being spread online. Vue was reported missing February 20th and still has not been found. Jesse Vang and Elijah's mother Katrina Baur face charges of felony child neglect, and Baur is also accused of obstructing police.
UW Regents are being asked this week to sign off on the university's barely one billion-dollar budget request for the next two years. Regents will meet in Madison starting tomorrow, and the 855 million-dollar budget request from president Jay Rothman is on their agenda. Rothman said on Monday that the UW System needs millions-of-dollars more to be a competitive school. He says Wisconsin ranks at the bottom of the list nationally when it comes to state funding. But his 855 million-dollar request would be a 65 percent increase in state funding in just two years. State taxpayers are currently sending one-point-three billion dollars to the UW.
A man in Clark County is found guilty of sexually assaulting four young girls. Seventy-year-old Joseph Pierce, a Senior from Owen was charged in 2021 with abusing the girls for years, starting in 2017. A jury found him guilty on eight charges, including repeated sexual assault of a child and enticement. A sentencing date hasn't been set yet.
More charges have been filed against a former elementary teacher in Hudson. Twenty-four-year-old Madison Bergmann, who taught fifth grade at River Crest Elementary School, is accused of sexting and making out with a boy in her class. Authorities have now added a slew of additional charges against her. They include child enticement, sexual misconduct by school staff, and use of a computer to facilitate a child sex crime. Bergmann resigned after the allegations came to light.
Harley-Davidson says it is done with DEI. In a Monday statement posted to ‘X’, the Milwaukee based motorcycle manufacturer said it has had no "DEI function" since April of this year, has no hiring quotas, and no longer has supplier diversity goals. Harley said it will no longer participate in Human Rights Campaign scoring and will strike "socially motivated content" from employee training materials. Harley’s statement is the result of a campaign by a conservative activist and follows similar moves by Tractor Supply and John Deere. In its own statement, Human Rights Campaign said decisions to cut DEI send a clear signal to workers that their employees don’t care about equality in the workplace.
Making sure the coming school year is safe. Trish Kilpin from the Wisconsin Department of Justice’s Office of School Safety said in Oconomowoc Monday one of the most effective tools schools have to curb violent activity is the state’s confidential Speak Up Speak Out Hotline. Kilpin said that her agency knows in most school shootings, a peer knew about an offender’s plan to attack. She added that tips on the hotline have led police to investigate hundreds of reports about potential school attacks and students with weapons. $2 million of funding needed for the hotline will last until September of next year. Kilpin says her office will request long-term funding in the next budget cycle.
The Department of Natural Resources unveils a new tool to help monitor water quality. The Wisconsin Water Explorer is a web-based tool that can help residents address concerns about the quality of water in their local lakes or rivers. The tool makes scientific data analysis accessible to the public and provides insights into current conditions and trends through graphs, maps and automated reports. It also includes an updated version of the Wisconsin Lake Modeling Suite to help people analyze whether a lake adheres to water quality standards and identify likely sources of pollution. The Wisconsin Water Explorer tool can be found by visiting the DNR's website.
The Mayo Clinic is celebrating a milestone in the construction of its new proton beam facility in Rochester. Staff members signed the building's final steel beam before it was hoisted into place yesterday. The Mayo Clinic says the demand for proton beam therapy to treat cancer is growing and the new building will help meet some of that demand. The new facility should open in the spring of 2026.
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