Adam Accola has been named the first joint director of economic development in Dunn County.The position was created earlier this year by the county, City of Menomonie and University of Wisconsin-Stout. Support also was provided by the Dunn County Economic Development Corporation, Greater Menomonie Development Corporation and the Stout Technology and Business Park. The six entities signed a memorandum of agreement to provide funding. Accola has been a manager and administrator at the Coven, formerly CoLab, for five years in Eau Claire, a co-working space that supports start-up businesses and entrepreneurs. Accola will initially focus on the retention and expansion of current businesses, new business development, including start-ups Fostering the development of new housing and business attraction.
The Durand City Council is meeting tonight. Items on the agenda include discussion and possible action on election worker pay, a new city website, and a proposal from Ehler's for the PSC water rate study. There will also be reports from the mayor and city department heads. Tonight's meeting begins at 6:30 at Durand City Hall.
The murder case of Lily Peters will remain in adult court. An appeals court made the ruling today. A 16-year-old boy, identified only as C.P-B, is accused of killing Peters back in April of 2022. He was only 14 at the time. The defense requested for the case to be moved to juvenile court, but a circuit court judge denied the motion. The boy's attorneys appealed, and in a 22-page decision, the appeals court upheld the decision. It said moving the case to juvenile court would discredit the seriousness of the offense.
Western Wisconsin's congressman wants answers about an illegal immigrant who was wanted out of Madison, and is now charged with a crime in Prairie du Chien. Congressman Derrick Van Orden this week joined Northwoods Congressman Tom Tiffany in a letter to Dane County's sheriff about his non-cooperation program, and the case of Alejandro Jose Coronel Zarate. He's accused of sexual assault in Prairie du Chien, but was also wanted out of Dane County on a similar crime. Van Orden says Zarate is a wanted gang member, and asked the sheriff if the Prairie du Chien crime could have been prevented. Dane County has long had a policy of not turning illegal immigrants over to immigration authorities.
A person was hurt after falling off a rope swing into the Chippewa River and striking the rocks below the Mt. Simon Cliffs in Eau Claire. According to the Eau Claire Fire Department, firefighters responded to the cliffs and found one person in the river, pulled the person out of the river, and began life-saving measures. The person was taken to the hospital and their condition is unknown.
The Buffalo-Pepin ADRC will be holding a workshop on establishing your final affairs on October 16 in Alma. Attendees will learn communication skills to use with family members, practical advice from local legal professionals, and connect with community resources. The event is free and registration is limited. Call the Buffalo-Pepin ADRC for more information.
Security Financial Bank is warning customers and residents of a text and email scam. SFB says the messages are text or email and appear to be coming from the bank using scare tactics and asking for personal information so the scammer can commit identity theft. Not sure if a message is genuine, the bank is encouraging residents to call the bank first before giving out any information.
The Sonnentag is open. UW-Eau Claire held a grand opening for its new athletic center last night. Students got their first real look at the new facility. Teams will no longer have to leave campus for practice, and the brand new center has more than enough space for other campus activities. Crews began work on the new center back in April of 2022.
The rules for in-person absentee voting in Wisconsin could be changing. The Wisconsin Supreme Court heard arguments yesterday in the case involving Racine's mobile voting van from back in 2022. A Racine judge has already declared the van illegal, but voting rights groups say there shouldn't be any restrictions on how and where people in Wisconsin can vote. Opponents of the van say the state's election laws are clear, and do not allow for a van to criss-cross a town and pick-up ballots. The liberal-majority court is not saying when it will make its decision.
Essentia Health will no longer accept Medicare Advantage plans offered by UnitedHealthcare and Humana. The healthcare organization announced yesterday that it will no longer be an in-network provider for the plans provided by those two companies. Essential officials say the companies are denying coverage for too many patients and requiring excessive prior authorizations. The decision will take effect on January 1st.
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Flags will fly at half-staff across Wisconsin on Wednesday in recognition of 9/11. Tomorrow is also the State Day of Service and Remembrance. Nearly three-thousand people lost their lives in the terror attacks on September 11th, 2001. Governor Evers is encouraging folks, not only to lower their flags, but to engage with their neighborhoods and communities, perform acts of kindness, and take the time to reflect on the significance of the day.
A suspect is in custody after a chase on Interstate 90 in Winona County. A state trooper spotted a stolen vehicle heading west on I-90 Monday morning. The driver refused to stop, forcing authorities to use stop sticks to deflate the vehicle's tires. The suspect refused to get out of the vehicle until a pepper ball was deployed. Forty-four-year-old Matthew Davis of La Crescent was arrested and faces charges including fleeing from police and driving without a license.
The Minnesota Court of Appeals has rejected a man's request to overturn his conviction because a support dog was allowed in court. Jairo Fernandez Sorto was convicted of first-degree criminal sexual conduct in Stearns County last year. The judge in the case allowed the 15-year-old victim to have a support dog in the courtroom over the objections of the suspect, who was later sentenced to 30 years in jail. Fernandez Sorto appealed, saying the court abused its discretion in allowing the dog into the courtroom. The Court of Appeals dismissed the case yesterday, saying the judge did nothing wrong by allowing the dog in court.
A Green Bay Packer great shares his experience with addiction. Hall of Fame quarterback Brett Favre visited Madison's Tellurian Behavioral Health on Monday to share his struggles with alcohol and pain pills. Favre told WKOW he once thought he could take pain pills forever and believed he didn't have a drinking problem because he didn't drink every day. Favre said sharing his story of addiction shows that anyone can overcome their struggles.
At a roundtable discussion in Milwaukee Monday, members of the Biden administration introduced finalized federal rules requiring private health insurers to cover mental health and substance abuse services similarly to physical health services. National Alliance on Mental Illness Wisconsin executive director Mary Kay Battaglias says this would improve access. The new rules won’t go into effect right away, and insurers could sue to stop them. Critics say they’ll lead to higher insurance premiums.
More than ten goats escaped from a Madison conservation park and were corralled by night police -- only to escape again the next morning. MPD says it responded to a call Saturday night about the escaped goats, which were in the Acewood Conservatory to help control invasive plant species. The goats were returned safely, but found outside of a Kwik Trip on Buckeye Road yesterday morning after another escape. No goat injuries are reported.
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