Western Wisconsin's congressman is the latest to ask for answers about Pure Prairie Poultry's closing. Republican Congressman Derrick Van Orden yesterday sent a letter to the USDA, asking for more information. Van Orden joined congressmen from Minnesota and Iowa in asking about oversight, regulation, and a lack of transparency from the USDA. Specifically, Van Orden wants to know what's to become of the 46-million-dollars in USDA grants and loans that Pure Prairie received. Pure Prairie Poultry suddenly closed earlier this month, leaving farmers in Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Iowa holding the bag for over 100-thousand chickens.
There's a warning about invasive carp in two western Wisconsin rivers. Yesterday, the Department of Natural Resources said silver carp had been found in both the Lower Chippewa River and Lower Black River. The carp are an invasive species in the Midwest and have done immense damage to other rivers where they've been found. The DNR started investigating after getting reports over the summer about carp jumping out of the water in both rivers. The fish were confirmed last month. As for now, the DNR says it doesn't look like the fish have spread. There's no word on what the DNR plans to do about the carp.
Ntec is warning customers of a phone scame. The Co-Op says someone is calling customers claiming to be from Ntec and threatening to turn off your phone service unless you give them credit card or checking account information.. While Ntec has a services that may remind you your bill is due, it doe not request any bank information. If you receive a call asking for banking information, just hang up.
The establishment of a fire district between the Durand City and Rural Fire Departments is going to be delayed. While both departments had hoped to have the district in place by the end of the year, some legalities need to be worked out first and it now appears the district won't be established until the summer of 2025. The city will also be looking at some possible state innovation grants next year that would assist in some of the costs of the new fire district
The Center for Advanced Manufacturing and Artificial Intelligence — CAM-AI — has been created at University of Wisconsin-Stout to leverage the broad array of university expertise for solving technical issues and conducting research to support private industry. The center will provide the bridge between the UW-Stout Manufacturing Outreach Center and academic departments to bring applied research; modern technical methods; and laboratory, fabrication and testing services directly to private industry.
Eau Claire Schools are moving ahead with two budget plans, at least until Election Day. The city's school board last night approved one budget that includes their proposed 18 million-dollar a-year tax increase, and one that doesn't. Voters will decide on the referendum question next week, and the school will pick the budget that fits after that. Teachers in Eau Claire Area Schools can expect raises in either budget, though the district says there will be some cuts if the tax increase fails.
If you need assistance with energy or heating bills, the Wisconsin Public Service Commission encourages you to act now before the disconnection moratorium kicks in. Bureau of Consumer Affairs Director Brad Rose says the moratorium prevents utilities from disconnecting essential services to residential customers from November 1st to April 15th. Rose says customers should contact their utility provider before November 1st to make a payment or arrange a payment plan. Rose says utility providers are not required to reconnect service until payment arrangements have been made. More information is available on the Public Service Commission website. https://psc.wi.gov/Pages/Home.aspx
We're going to get the last look at the presidential race in Wisconsin tomorrow. The final Marquette Law School Poll is due out tomorrow afternoon. The last poll, which came out earlier this month, gave Kamala Harris a four-point lead over former President Trump. But more recent polls say Trump is either leading or is tied with Harris here in Wisconsin. Pollster Charles Franklin said the poll from earlier this month showed a much closer race in Wisconsin this year than in either 2016 or 2020. The new poll will be unveiled tomorrow at 12:15 p.m.
There’s been a nearly 40% increase in early in-person absentee voting over 2020. Wood County Clerk Trent Miner says that’s reflected in his central Wisconsin county. All those absentee ballots mean we likely won’t know the outcome of the presidential race in Wisconsin until the morning after Election Day. The clerks' association supported a bipartisan bill to allow the processing of early ballots to begin on Monday passed the state Assembly but failed to advance in the Senate.
Rochester is getting nearly 85-million dollars to develop a new rapid transit project. Senators Tina Smith and Amy Klobuchar announced the Federal Transportation Administration grant during a ceremony at the Mayo Civic Center on Friday. The Link Bus Rapid Transit project is designed to create faster and more reliable public transit that connects key locations like the Mayo Clinic, the public library, educational facilities and businesses. Construction is expected to begin in March.
The Biden Administration wants to require private health insurers to cover all approved forms of birth control, even over-the-counter options. Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin president Tanya Atkinson it's a step in the right direction and makes sure people can have complete coverage when some birth control options don't work. The rule would make clear provisions in the Affordable Care Act that require insurers to provide contraception coverage. A number of plans have denied coverage of O T C medications, while others restrict access to just a few forms of birth control. It's unclear if the rule will be implemented by the time President Biden leaves office in January.
Wisconsin is getting 138-million dollars to improve local roadways. Local governments will get most of the money, while just more than four-million dollars will go toward connecting highways, and more than 250-thousand will go to Milwaukee County for additional policing on expressways. The Wisconsin Department of Transportation says the money comes from quarterly General Transportation Aids included in the 2023-2025 budget.
A woman has been arrested for stealing a sheep in Bloomington. Mary Kay Bower was spotted walking a dog and a sheep down a road earlier this month. She claimed she had bought the sheep, but the man she was with says she stepped over a fence, put a leash on the animal and led it away. Police Chief Booker Hodges says "sheep rustling" is probably a crime that "city dwellers" don't often talk about.
It's time again to keep a keen eye out for deer in roadways. The Wisconsin Department of Transportation says crash numbers involving deer begin rising during mating season in October and November. Drivers are reminded to use their headlights at sunrise and sunset- deer are most active in the early morning and evening hours. Last year, 14 people died and 585 were injured in over 16,000 deer-vehicle crashes in Wisconsin.
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