Local-Regional News Feb 24

 

The City of Durand is now accepting applications for vendor and food trucks for the new farmers market this summer. The Madison Street Farmers Market will be on Monday afternoons starting in June. The market will be in Memorial Park and provide a local option for vendors, food trucks and residents to enjoy local produced goods and products. Contact Durand City Hall for application information.

One person was injured in a single vehicle accident in Clifton Township on Thursday. According to the Pierce County Sheriff’s Department, 18yr old Vioncent Romo of Cannon Falls, MN was traveling southbound on Hwy F when he lost control of the vehicle, entered the ditch and struck a sign post. Romo was transported to Regina Hospital in Hastings.

The Trempealeau County Sheriff’s Department along with other local departments will be holding a training exercise at the Whitehall Fire Station on Tuesday and Wednesday. During the exercise there will be numerous officers working in and around the fire station with numerous tools and or weapons. There will be no live ammunition or weapons fired during the training exercise.

The Executive Committee in Chippewa County has announced that it will meet on March 4th to complete a contract and designate Andrew Albarado as County Administrator for the county board. This will not be finalized until the county board takes formal action to approve it. When approved, Albarado will start working with the county on April 28th.

After the arctic blast last week with windchills at one point 45 degrees below zero, look for higher temps this week, as a splash of spring hits the WRDN listening area. It is expected to be into the 40's for much of the week, with even some parts of the area hitting 50 degrees. Overnight lows look to be mild as well. With many warm days ahead, be prepared for snow-melting to happen this week.

Two dairy organizations are suing Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul. The Wisconsin Dairy Alliance and Venture Dairy Cooperative are challenging the AG’s decision to outsource Department of Justice environmental litigation work. Kim Bremer is Executive Director for Venture Dairy Co-op. She said Kaul has taken money from New York University State Energy and Environmental Impact Center and used that money to hire a special assistant attorney general who is in charge of environmental litigation. Bremer says the privately funded center has a track record of advocating for policies that are harmful to farmers. She says the cooperative’s members, many of which are large dairies, wanted to proceed with the lawsuit. In a statement from his office, Kaul said with the harm pollution causes in many Wisconsin communities, better resourcing enforcement of state environmental laws shouldn’t be controversial. The lawsuit was filed Thursday in Calumet County Court.

Residents of an Onalaska apartment complex were awakened yesterday morning by gunshots. One resident told police that a round struck his garage, while two others hit a car. Officials stated that there is no ongoing threat to the public. No injuries were reported, as police are still investigating this incident.

This past weekend, kids got to work with the Viterbo Nurse Association in the annual teddy bear clinic. This was an opportunity for kids to see what nurses do, along with calming them with any doubts they have about visiting doctors. Kids brought their favorite stuffed animal or teddy bear, and learned about shots, routine doctor visits, along with other activities.

Racial restrictions added to Dane County property deeds decades ago are now being formally rejected. The County Board says the discriminatory covenants were added to deeds to try and prevent minority groups from buying the homes. The Deputy Land Records Administration looked at more than 300-thousand housing records, and found more than a thousand deeds with language restricting purchases by some racial groups, specifically Black people. The Dane County Board says it's now recognizing and rejecting those covenants. The Monona City Council did the same three years ago.

Minnesota Department of Corrections officials are asking lawmakers for funding to repair prisons around Minnesota. Governor Walz requested that 65-point-five million dollars be set aside for the MNDOC for repairs in the state correctional facilities. Some of the repairs would include fixing safety hazards and upgrading security systems. Officials with the department of corrections said that they have over 175 projects on hold until they receive the necessary resources. Lawmakers are in the process of making their adjustments the governor's budget.

Xcel Energy plans to shut down its coal plants to meet Minnesota's carbon-free law five years before the 2040 deadline. The utility giant could come close to doubling its capacity for wind energy by the end of the decade under a new power supply plan approved yesterday by the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission. Xcel also has plans to build a new gas plant in 2028. Company President Ryan Long says they plan to advance their clean energy vision by adding wind and solar resources.

UW-Madison officials once more are asking for permission to tear down the campus's deteriorating humanities building. The State Journal reports campus officials have been asking for a complete demolition of the Mosse Building for over a decade. The brutalist style structure was built in the sixties, and is crumbling on the inside with elevators out of operation, leaks in classrooms and malfunctioning HVAC. The price to tear down the building and move the arts and music departments is nearly 300 million dollars, and it's unclear if that money will make it into either Governor Tony Evers budget proposal, or the budget that the Republican controlled legislature will approve.

A no confidence vote for the president of a Wisconsin college. In symbolic vote earlier this week a majority of faculty at St. Norbert College in DePere expressed “no confidence” in President Laurie Joyner, citing “failed leadership” throughout the school’s financial and enrollment crisis. The resolution makes several requests of the Board of Trustees, including a halt to proposed faculty and program eliminations and an independent review of the college’s finances. St. Norbert has already made two rounds of layoffs due to declining enrollment. Thursday’s vote came on the same day that Northland College in Ashland announced it will close at the end of the academic year, citing declining enrollment and finances.

Nominations are now being accepted for the Best Burger In Wisconsin contest. Establishments with the most votes will make the top eight in March. A secret panel of judges will visit each of the establishments to try the burgers, and judge them based on taste and appearance. A winner will be announced in May, which is Beef Month in Wisconsin. Pickle's Bar and Grill in Hazelhurst won last year's contest.