The Mondovi City Council has approved a resolution asking communication companies to bury communication lines when possible. Mondovi Mayor Brady Weiss says service interruptions are prevented when utilities are buried underground. N-Tec is currently upgrading to fiber optic in Mondovi.
The Durand City Council is meeting tonight. Items on the agenda include discussion and possible action on purchasing tablets for city council members for emails and council packets along with reports from the mayor, city administrator, and department heads. Tonight's meeting begins at 6:30 at Durand City Hall.
A trial date was set Tuesday for the western Wisconsin nurse who allegedly cut off a dying man's foot. Mary Brown of Durand is accused of caring for a patient with severe frostbite on his feet at Spring Valley Senior Living 2022 and amputating the man's foot without the man's or doctor's permission. Tuesday in court, her trial on elder abuse and mayhem charges was set to begin on August 19th of 2025. It is expected to last four days.
It's Rebecca Cooke heading forward in western Wisconsin's race for Congress. Cooke beat current state Rep. Katrina Shankland to grab the Democratic nomination for Congress. That race was, perhaps, the most heated in the state with allegations from all sides. She got about 49 percent of the vote in a three way race. In terms of raw votes, she beat Shankland by more than five thousand votes. Cooke will take-on incumbent Congressman Derrick Van Orden in November.
There was a shortage of paper ballots at some polls in Eau Claire yesterday. Deputy City Clerk Rebecca Draeger said a higher than expected voter turnout caused the shortages. No one was ever without a ballot, the clerk's office simply sent more to where they were needed. In all, about 33 percent of people turned out for yesterday's election.
The days of free parking next to the Y Tennis Center are over. Eau Claire's city council last night voted to start charging for parking there. Starting later this month, drivers will have to pay one dollar per-hour to park in the lot. You'll have to use either an app or the lot's kiosk to pay. No one is saying why Eau Claire is making the change, or just how much money the city expects to see from the new fee.
A homeless man who set a series of fires in Eau Claire is headed to prison for a year-and-a-half. A judge yesterday gave Joshua Stromme an 18 month sentence for arson. Stromme admitted that he set a porta-potty, a couple of dumpsters, and a bus shelter on fire back in December of last year. Stromme told the judge he was angry that he was kicked out of the local homeless shelter. Stromme also told the judge he has mental health issues.
Wisconsin voters said No to putting limits on the governor's spending powers. Voters yesterday rejected a pair of constitutional amendments that would have given lawmakers some say in how billions of dollars in federal money was spent. Democrats in the state framed the questions as a Republican power grab. Conservative groups in the state said there needs to be some oversight in how those dollars are spent. About 58 percent of voters rejected the amendments.
There is now a First Amendment challenge to Wisconsin's personalized license plan restrictions. The Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty is asking a judge to strike down the state law that allows the DMV to ban license plates that are deemed 'objectionable.' WILL lawyers say people have a First Amendment right to personalize their license plate. The case stems from a man who wanted a license plate that read RD RRAGE [[ road rage ]]. The DMV allowed him to get the plate back in 2003, but later denied his request. WILL's Lucas Vebber said Wisconsin's license plate law allows bureaucrats at the DMV to decide what speech is allowed, and what speech is objectionable.
We could get an update on elk hunting in Wisconsin today. The Department of Natural Resources Board is set to meet in Madison, and the state's Elk Management Plan is on the agenda. Wisconsin expanded elk hunting to two regions last season, and hunters continue to show a strong interest in the hunt. No one is saying what, if any changes, the DNR Board may make to the Elk Management Plan.
A western Wisconsin man accused of murder is being held on a million-dollar bond. 55-year-old John Stumlin is accused of killing Daniel Riordan and hiding his body behind a mobile home. La Crosse County deputies were called there for a death investigation last week and found Riordan's body concealed under some plants in the backyard. When they tried to get inside they found the home barricaded by Stumlin. Deputies eventually got inside and arrested Stumlin after finding blood. Prosecutors say Stumlin struck Riordan multiple times in the head and punctured his skull.
A Republican lawmaker who helped write the legislation is disappointed in the low number of applications for Wisconsin’s Agricultural Road Improvement Program. State Senator Howard Marklein (R-Spring Green) said he's surprised, especially with the large number of town and county roads that need improvements to handle heavy agricultural and forestry traffic. Marklein said the program, established through a bipartisan legislative effort, may not be renewed in the next budget if there aren’t enough applications demonstrating a need for funding. The Agricultural Road Improvement Program has already distributed fifty million dollars this year, and the deadline for the second round of 100 million dollars is the end of September.
The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources is looking for volunteers to find and monitor rare plants. The department says the volunteer program is the largest state resource for rare plant data. Last year there were 178 reports of rare plants, including more than 30 in locations they'd never been seen in before. Virtual training is available on the Wisconsin DNR website, and in-person training will be offered on August 24 in Madison.
A search for a missing kayaker in northeast Wisconsin continues. The Dodge County Sheriff’s Office contacted Green Lake County Monday after a 44-year-old man didn’t return home from a kayaking trip to Big Green Lake. Green Lake County deputies found an overturned, unoccupied kayak with a life jacket attached. The missing man's vehicle was found near Dodge Memorial Park.
Some eagle-eyed Minnesotans may soon notice a difference in the logo used by the State Patrol. The agency is debuting a new logo design this week. The old logo featured the version of the Minnesota state seal that was retired earlier this year. The new logo features the Mississippi River surrounded by Norway Pines under the North Star. Officials estimate it will take six to nine months and four-million dollars to replace the current logo on all uniforms and equipment.
The Minnesota Zoo is celebrating a new record. The Apple Valley-based facility has drawn close to one-point-46 million people in the fiscal year 2024, which ended July 1. That number exceeded the attendance record of one-point-37 million set in 2012. Zoo officials credit the Treetop Trail for luring additional visitors. It opened in July 2023. Treetop Trail is an elevated walking trail that gives a clear view of ten different animal exhibits along with ponds and woods.
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