There won't be a trial for the western Wisconsin man accused of killing his neighbor. Michael Price took a plea deal this week in last year's shooting death of Amy Theis. Investigators say Price shot her in the head while he was drunk one night. Price had been charged with homicide, but pleaded guilty this week to second-degree reckless homicide with a weapon. He will be sentenced in March.
The Army Corps of Engineers in the St. Paul, Minnesota, District, saw the last barge of the year depart Lock and Dam 2 on December 1, ending the 2024 navigation season on the Upper Mississippi River. Traditionally, the last tow departing Minnesota’s capital city heading south of Lock and Dam 2, near Hastings, Minnesota, has marked the unofficial end to the navigation season. The last tow to leave St. Paul usually occurs around the last week of November or the first week of December. As they close down the 2024 navigation season, St. Paul District staff are busy this winter with maintenance projects scheduled at Locks and Dams 7 and 9 for miter gate anchorage bar replacement, Lock and Dam 2 for guide wall repairs, and Locks and Dams 5 and 5A for gate maintenance.
The Wabasha County District Attorney has sued Wabasha County for lowering his salary. During the November meeting of the Wabasha County Board, the board voted to cut Attorney Matthews Stinson's pay by $20000 to $100,000 for 2025. Board members felt the county wasn't getting what they were paying for and were concerned over the amount of plea deals. Stinson says Minnesota State Law prevents the county board from reducing his salary during the term he was elected. Stinson was elected in 2022 and is serving a four-year term.
Chippewa County's sheriff's lawyer is suing the county for the sheriff's legal bill. Attorney Richard Hodsdon is demanding that the county pay Sheriff Travis Hakes' 27 thousand-dollar legal bill from the investigation into Hakes' behavior as sheriff. That investigation lasted from July of last year til March of this year, and looked into the sheriff's on-the-job and off-the-job behavior. County leaders have said Hakes has to pay the bill himself. They say while he is a county official, the county board never approved his hiring of a lawyer, and therefore the county is off the hook for those legal costs.
Eau Claire's health department is looking for a dog that bit a teenage girl earlier this week. The city/county health department yesterday said it needs to find the dog to make sure there's no chance for rabies. The health department says the dog is short-haired, maybe a Lab mix. Its owner is a woman who was seen walking the dog on West Moholt Drive Tuesday. The health department says if they can't find the dog, the girl who was bitten may have to get some painful shots just to be sure.
The Barron County Sheriff's Department says three sex offenders will be released in December and will be living in Barron County. Two of the three, Keith Heacox and Eric Fankhauser will be released on Dec. 19. They will both be living at 1744 12 3/4 Street in Barron. The third sex offender, Joshua Johnson will be homeless upon his release on Dec. 31. The Barron County Sheriffs Department will hold an informational meeting on the three's release December 11th at the Government Center starting at 6pm.
The latest University of Wisconsin regents meeting ended with a string of people being led out in handcuffs. University Police say they arrested 19 pro-Palestinian protesters at yesterday's regents meeting. The protesters, from a number of pro-Palestinian campus groups, were there to push the university to divest from Israel. They accuse the UW of 'war profiteering.' After the arrests, some protesters accused the police of assaulting them simply for speaking their minds.
UW - Health Kids and Children's Wisconsin are joining forces for heart care. Starting January 1st the two organizations will collaborate for shared pediatric cardiac and adult congenital heart care services. Children's Executive Vice President Scott Turner says the collaboration will allow the two health systems to expand patient access and elevate an already high quality of care. No changes to current provider employment relationships or facility names are expected and most existing patients will remain with their same providers and clinics. The hospitals announced an initial 10-year agreement with full implementation expected within the first three years.
Mukwonago Police say they will not be ticketing high school students who use their phones in school. The village board last night walked away from a plan that would have had officers write tickets to students who ignore the school's ban on phones in the classroom. School leaders reached out to the police department for help with enforcing their ban after the school said students, and some parents simply wouldn't follow the rules. Parents turned out at last night's meeting to make sure village leaders understood how much they don't like the idea. Mukwonago Trustee Scott Reeves says that was enough to change his mind, and scuttle the ticketing plan forever.
Minnesota leaders say they are shocked by what appears to be the deliberate murder of the CEO of UnitedHealthcare. Governor Tim Walz called the death of Brian Thompson "horrifying news" yesterday and said state law enforcement will do whatever they can to help with the investigation. Minnesota Democratic Congressman Dean Phillips called Thompson's death an assassination, while Senator Amy Klobuchar called it a "shocking act of violence." Police in New York City released photos of the suspect yesterday, saying the shooting was a premeditated attack on Thompson. The Maple Grove resident joined UnitedHealthcare Group in 2004 and was named CEO in 2021.
In a statement sent to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel the WIAA says Madison West and Greenfield should have been included in the playoff field of 224 teams. A tie-breaking error gave two playoff spots to Pewaukee and Edgewood, when in fact they should have gone to Madison West and Greenfield. Both Madison West and Greenfield filed appeals with the WIAA, which were rejected. The WIAA says it will take steps to address the error, including reviewing qualification language, internal procedural improvements, and evaluation of current qualification software.
We now know where the THC oil used in Famous Yeti's pizza came from. The latest report into the tainted food from Famous Yeti's that made 85 people sick says the oil was mistakenly used by cooks who share a storage space and kitchen at the restaurant. There's no word as to who was supposed to use the oil, and what they were supposed to use it for. The 85 people who got sick range in age from babies to the elderly. Public Health Madison & Dane County said in its report that while there were plenty of complaints, there won't be any tickets or arrests because the delta-9 oil that was mistakenly used is not illegal in Wisconsin.
Applications for black bear and spring turkey hunting seasons are due in less than a week. The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources says drawings for 2025 bear authorizations will be in February, and the season will run next September and October. Turkey authorizations will be drawn in January, and the season will run between April and May. Applications are due next Tuesday.
Minnesotans hoping for a white Christmas should probably head to Iowa during the holidays. That's the verdict from The Old Farmer's Almanac, which says snow won't be falling in Minnesota during Christmas. The publication forecasts snow in southwest Wisconsin, the southeast corner of South Dakota and across Iowa during the holiday. The almanac's prediction goes against historical weather data from the past few decades, which shows that areas like Minneapolis have an 80-percent chance of having snow on the ground on Christmas Day.
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