Local-Regional News March 13

 The City of Durand continues to move forward with a proposed dog park. During last night's council meeting an update was given on the dog park. The park is proposed to be on 2-5 acres of land across from the Tarrant Park Ball Fields. Organizers of the park have received permission from Pepin County Zoning and the Wisconsin DNR. The park would not be made until after the forestry inventory the city is doing and any logging is complete. If the project goes forward it will be completed sometime in 2026.

A ribbon cutting and open house was held yesterday at the new Alcivia Grain Terminal in Hagar City. The terminal sits on 40 acres of land adjacent to the BNSF main line and has 3.9 million bushels of storage which will allow Alcivia to ship corn and soybeans to anywhere year round. Alcivia CEO Jim Dell says the company is focused on the domestic market, particularly the southwest.  Each train consists of 110 cars and one train can be loaded in about 10 hours.

Mondovi residents keep asking when is Hwy 10 through town going to be re-constructed? Mondovi Mayor Brady Weiss says the city has been in contact with the state, but unfortunately the project has been moved back once again.  The city did do some repair work with Buffalo County last year on parts of Hwy 10 and is looking at possibly do that again this year.

One person was injured in a two vehicle accident in Oak Grove Township on Sunday. According to the Pierce County Sheriff’s Department, 70yr old Robert Gaertner of Bloomington, MN was traveling westbound on Hwy 10 when he collided with a vehicle traveling southbound on Hwy QQ driven by 18yr old Madison Mahmoud of River falls. Gaertner was taken to Regina Hospital in Hastings.

A Western Wisconsin man has been indicted by a federal grand jury on gun charges. 34Yr old Demetrius Howard of Menomonie was indicted for possessing a firearm and ammunition as a felon in 2024. The charges are a result of a traffic stop by Dunn County Sheriff’s Deputies where deputies found Howard had a loaded handgun in the vehicle. If convicted, Howard faces up to 15yrs in prison.

A former Western Wisconsin restaurant owner is accused of setting his own business on fire. Police say 71-year-old Jeffrey Root, the former owner or Dana's Bar and Grill, set fire to the establishment in 2021. The fire department says the building had more than 350-thousand dollars of damage. Root sold the business the following year for 295-thousand. If convicted, he faces 40 years in prison and a hundred-thousand dollar fine. Root will be back in court next month.

The Eau Claire City Council officially voted in favor of a resolution asking that some federal programs don't face cuts. The resolution, introduced by Councilmen Andrew Werthmann and Roderick Jones, asks Congress not to cut SNAP, Medicare, Madicaid, and Social Security. The Council heard from the public on the motion yesterday and voted this morning.

UW Health says it's agreeing to extend its participation in the Anthem Blue Cross network. Anthem members will still be able to get in-network coverage until July first. The agreement was initially set to expire next month. UW Health says the new agreement will affect Medicaid and Medicare patients looking to get treatment from UW Hospitals and Clinics.

A woman from Laona is facing one charge after stealing over 95 thousand dollars from her dad. Heather Robinson was listed as the guardian for her dad who is living in a long-term nursing home facility in Forest County. In court documents, it states that she took money out of his account from 2023 until 2024. Documents also state that she spent over 67 thousand dollars for online gambling. Robinson's initial court date is April 15th.

Madison's city clerk has been put on leave. Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway announced Wednesday that Clerk Meribeth Witzel-Behl has been suspended as part of the investigation into uncounted ballots during the November 2024 election. City Attorney Michael Haas will serve as acting clerk until the investigation is over. The clerk's office failed to count nearly 200 ballots after polls closed last November, and did not report the incident to state elections officials until December, after official counts were finalized. The mayor's office did not elaborate on what the investigation has discovered.

A bill prohibiting trans student athletes from participating in high school and college sports in Wisconsin had a public hearing on Tuesday. State Assembly Republican Barb Dittrich of Oconomowoc is the author. Dittrich says an executive order from President Trump on the subject doesn't go far enough. She wants to prevent trans students from using or entering their selected gender's locker rooms and changing areas, and impose penalties on any school district that ignores the ban.

Minnesota Governor Tim Walz is sounding off about President Trump's dismantling of the U.S. Education Department. The former teacher spoke today at Haze Elementary School in Fridley. Walz said the layoffs would hurt students in Minnesota. He also criticized Education Secretary Linda McMahon for her lack of awareness of what programs are being cut. Yesterday, the Department of Education started the process of layoffs. They expected to cut half of their workforce.

The Pepin County Historical Society will have its annual membership meeting and spring education event on Sunday, March 23, 2025 at 2:00 p.m. at the Durand-Arkansaw High School Cafeteria. The meeting and presentation are open to the public. Following the annual meeting, there will be a presentation by Gary Sweeney on the history of the Durand School District from 1857 through 2011. Bill Yingst will conclude the program by discussing the current growth of the school district.