Durand residents will be allowed to have chickens after the city council passed an ordinance this week. The council passed the ordinance after realizing there was no ordinance allowing the housing of chickens in town. Durand Mayor Patrick Milliren says the ordinance allows up to 4 chickens per homeowner. Homeowners will have to have any chickens processed at a butcher or outside of city limits.
Add this to the list of amenities on the UW-Stout campus. The school says it is building a brand new ESports arena. The UW-Stout Foundation and Alumni Association donated a million-dollars to help make it happen. Currently, Stout's ESports teams play in a retrofitted classroom, but because there's not enough room some students play from home. The new arena will be built on the first floor of the library, and have more than enough room for Stout's 50 athletes. There will be 34 computers, a team area, and even a place for spectators to watch the matches broadcast on TV. The hope is to start work next March, and wrap-up by the fall of 2025.
Nonprofits in Pepin and Dunn counties are eligible to apply for a grant of up to $2,500 through the United Way. Yesterday The United Way St. Croix and Red Cedar Valleys announced the availability of grants for area nonprofits. The United Way said grants will be given to organizations whose work aligns with their goal of increasing individual and family well-being. Nonprofits have until October 18 to apply for the Community Impact Grants, and grant awards will be announced on November 20th.
OSHA is fining the company who's diver died while cleaning Blair's water tank back in March. Regulators slapped the Liquid Engineering Corporation with seven serious violations, and are asking for an 85-thousand-dollar fine. Carlos Medina, from Texas, drowned in Blair's water tank. He was cleaning it at the time, and passed out from the cold. OSHA does not recommend any fines or citations against the city.
Pierce Pepin Cooperative Services dedicated the Trenton Solar at Truttmann Field solar array on Sept 19th . The ribbon-cutting ceremony marked the official launch of this innovative project, developed in partnership with the National Association of State Energy Officials, the Office of Energy Innovation through the Wisconsin Public Service Commission (PSC), and WEST CAP. The project is expected to generate two megawatts of power, enough to supply over 500 homes with electricity annually.
Eau Claire is talking about that new report on trash. Deputy City Manager Dave Solberg says neighbors were at yesterday's meeting to confirm the details of the Wisconsin Policy Forum's report on Eau Claire's trash costs. The report says Eau Claire is paying more for trash and recycling services because it allows four different companies to compete for clients. The report, however, said switching to city-owned trash collection would also cost more. The report said changing the current program could put two of Eau Claire's trash haulers out of business. Solberg said it would take a while before anything changes. He says there are both environmental and budgetary concerns to deal with.
A judge is ordering former Minnesota state trooper Shane Roper to report for booking in Olmsted County. Roper was arraigned last month on charges connected to a deadly May crash in Rochester. The judge noted in yesterday's order that the court failed to order Roper to report for booking after the August 29th hearing. Roper pled not guilty to the nine charges, including second-degree manslaughter and criminal vehicular homicide. Roper has been given two weeks to comply with the court's order.
A teen from Reedsburg is under arrest and accused of making terroristic threats online. City Police say they got a report about the threats yesterday morning. Officers say they took a seventeen-year-old into custody before school started, after investigating the post. The School District of Reedsburg was also notified and sent out a notice to parents.
Wisconsin's largest business group says the overwhelming majority of businesses in the state are suffering because of higher healthcare costs. Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce yesterday released the results from its latest survey. Forty-four percent of businesses in the state reported their healthcare costs increased more than ten-percent over the last year, while another 41-percent say their costs jumped up to ten-percent. WMC's Rachel Ver Velde says over 50 percent of companies in the state say their healthcare costs are higher here than in other states. Overall, 69 percent of businesses in Wisconsin say they've been affected by higher healthcare costs.
There's a new report that suggests Wisconsin could bring-in billions of dollars more by expanding healthcare coverage to more low income people. The Wisconsin Policy Forum released its look at Medicaid expansion yesterday. The report says Wisconsin could bring back nearly two billion-dollars from Washington, D.C. by adding more people to the state's healthcare rolls. The report does caution that adding more people will mean more costs down the road, and could mean more crowded hospitals. Republican lawmakers have resisted expanding Medicaid in the state for years, saying there's simply not a need to do it in Wisconsin.
A new state program can assist owners of older homes in Wisconsin. The More Like Home Repair and Renew Loan program can help pay for critical repairs and improvements that increase energy efficiency, safety, and security. It provides low-interest loans between $5,000 and $50,000 to owners of houses more than 40 years old. Loans can be used for structural repairs and updates to things like roofing, insulation, plumbing, electrical, and heating and air conditioning. This new program is the fourth and final program to emerge from the $525 million housing legislation signed into law by Governor Tony Evers last year.
There are a lot of requests for more in Governor Tony Evers' new state budget. The Institute for Reforming Government took a look at Evers proposed two-year spending plan and found billions of dollars in new requests. The largest, four billion-dollars, comes from the state's Department of Health Services. That money is tied to a proposed Medicaid expansion that the governor's office says would bring in billions-more from Washington. D.C. The University of Wisconsin is asking for nearly a billion-dollars more from the state, and IRG says the Department of Corrections wants a half-a-billion more. The governor has requested billions of dollars more in each of his previous state budgets, only to have Republican lawmakers deny his requests.
A study by the Better Business Bureau shows investment scams are on the rise once again. Wisconsin B B B spokeswoman Lisa Schiller says those scams have overtaken online shopping scams in complaints filed. Schiller says victims can lose large sums of money because they're hoping to win big. Anyone trying to offer you a fantastic chance to get in on a new business or a new sure thing for your portfolio is likely trying to scam you. If it sounds too good to be true, as ever, it usually is.
Wausau's mayor says the city's ballot drop box is safe, but not available. Mayor Doug Diny on Sunday removed the city's ballot drop box from in front of city hall. Yesterday, Diny said he didn't do anything wrong because he is the mayor, and he's allowed to move the drop box. It remains to be seen if that's the case, but Diny is defending his decision. He says he's a member of the city staff, and his decision to move the ballot drop box is now different than if a maintenance man moved it. Wisconsin's Supreme Court earlier this year said ballot drop boxes can be used in the November election, but did not require them to be used. It's not clear if Diny acted on his own, or if he has support from Wausau's city council. Wausau's city clerk, who is in charge of the ballot drop box, has not yet said anything about the mayor's decision.
Minnesota's attorney general is suing a Florida real estate company for allegedly taking advantage of homeowners with unfair and confusing contracts. Attorney General Keith Ellison says MV Realty violated Minnesota consumer protection laws over 500 times since 2020. The company allegedly promised homeowners cash payments in advance in exchange for a promise to use MV Realty if they sold their home. The attorney general said the company disguised the unfair terms in the contract and regularly sued homeowners for early termination fees that are illegal under state law.
A homeowner in Wisconsin is finding out that sometimes, people just gotta have their pasta. A woman was arrested late Monday in Madison for allegedly breaking into a home and cooking herself a shrimp and pasta dinner. The homeowner called police saying she was startled seeing someone walking around inside her house. The suspect, identified as Joanna Lee, answered the door when officers knocked and claimed to have permission to be in the house. The homeowner says she never met the woman before. Lee is in jail facing a burglary charge.
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