Another strong spring storm will move through Western Wisconsin and Eastern Minnesota late Tuesday and Wednesday. According to the National Weather Service, the storm will start out as rain before changing to snow with snow rates of one inch per hour possible. A winter storm watch has been issued for late Tuesday night and Wednesday.
The Elk Mound School District is gearing up for another state basketball tournament, this time with the boys team. Elk Mound defeated Amery 54-52 on Saturday to earn a trip to the WIAA Boys Basketball Tournament in Madison. Elk Mound will face Freedom in the WIAA Division 3 State Semi-Final, Thursday afternoon at 1:35. WRDN will have coverage of that game on Thursday starting at 1:10.
The Trempealeau County Sheriff’s Department is looking for a missing Whitehall man. 51Yr old Brian Walz was last seen around 7:30am on Sunday morning in La Crosse. He never returned home from a family visit and is described as 6’1, 190 pounds, and wearing a dark-colored shirt, blue jeans, and brown boots. According to the Wisconsin Crime Alert Network, Walz does not have his belongings or medications with him. If anyone has any information they are to contact the Trempealeau County Sheriff's Department.
The remaining Mega! Co-op gas station locations are closed. The CEO of the supermarket chain announced the closures were made due to a financially difficult year. The company has been working through restructuring after declaring bankruptcy in 2023 and closing several stores. Mega! Co-op was founded in Eau Claire in 1935.
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz is holding a town hall meeting in Eau Claire tomorrow. The Democratic Party of Wisconsin announced the event, but no time or location has been released. The town hall will highlight Elon Musk's multi-million dollar influence in the Wisconsin Supreme Court race. The stop is part of a tour of town halls in Republican controlled congressional districts.
No one is hurt after a fire over the weekend. Sunday the Eau Claire Fire Department responded to a structure fire in the 600 block of Fleming Ave. When crews arrived they found smoke coming from the roof vents of the house and an active fire on the first floor. No one was in the home but 3 cats were found alive and given medical aid on scene. Several additional cats and dogs were found dead.
A Holcombe man charged in a violent domestic assault in December is in custody. Michael Smith has been taken into custody and is being held in the Chippewa County Jail. He was charged in Chippewa County Court with attempted strangulation and suffocation, intimidating a victim, three counts of battery and domestic abuse. Prosecutors say a woman told an investigator in January about a domestic assault involving Smith that happened three days before Christmas. The woman still had a black eye from the incident.
Wisconsin food pantries and farmers want the U S D A to restore programs to help buy local produce. The agency announced last week it was ending the Local Food Purchase Assistance and the Local Food For Schools programs. That's part of cuts initiated by billionaire Elon Musk and President Trump. Over 280 farms and 250 food pantries in Wisconsin took part in the L F P A program in 2023 and 2024, with 4 point 2 million dollars in food distributed to food pantries. The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction got 3 point 4 million dollars for the school food program. U S D A officials say the programs were meant only as pandemic support and no longer serve the agency.
Early in-person voting starts in Wisconsin Tuesday. State supreme court, state superintendent, and local races will be on the ballot. Online registration deadlines have passed, but voters can still register on Election Day or during in-person voting, which runs from March 18 through the 28th.
A
bidder for a soon-to-close UW campus gets support from two county
executives. The Winnebago and Outagamie County executives issue a
statement affirming their support for plans to sell the UW Oshkosh
Fox Cities campus to the Menasha Joint School District. Jon Doemel
and Tom Nelson say the districts’ plan to convert some of the
buildings to childcare centers is the best use of the campus and
provides a needed service in the area. The statement comes after the
Winnebago County Board sent out a notice Tuesday morning that it
would be holding a press conference on Wednesday to address the UW
Fox plan. A notice sent out by the county board Tuesday afternoon
later indicated that news conference had been cancelled, though no
reason was given. The Menasha School board heard from several
residents at their meeting Monday night concerned about the cost of
the campus purchase and conversion. The UW system is closing the
campus at the end of June.
A former state supreme court justice has one last chance to appear for a deposition. The State Journal reports Michael Gableman was supposed to answer questions for Wisconsin's Office of Lawyer Regulation in connection to his failure to turn over records from an investigation into the 2020 presidential election which he oversaw. Gableman refused to appear for a previous deposition, citing his 5th Amendment right against self incrimination. An independent referee handling the complaint against Gableman says he's not allowed to do that, and must invoke that right to questions individually rather than skipping the whole deposition. Gableman could face contempt of court charges and fines if he skips another deposition. Gableman was hired by Assembly Speaker Robin Vos to conduct the investigation. It failed to uncover any widespread fraud or irregularities in Wisconsin's 2020 election.
A DEI bombshell at UW Madison. The university removed Levar Charleston, the chancellor overseeing diversity equity and inclusion initiatives, after he demonstrated “a significant lapse in leadership and fiscal responsibility.” That included giving substantial bonuses to staff without consulting others. Records released to WisPolitics also show Charleston spending three times more than any other division per employee in travel and event expenses. Charleston opted for temporary leave following his removal from the DEI position in January.
Mayo Clinic is settling with the Minnesota Attorney General's office over charity care and medical debt limits. The nonprofit provider will now change its debt collection practices at the close of a two-year investigation. The probe was in response to allegations that Mayo Clinic was suing to collect debts from patients who were eligible for charity care. Clinic officials admitted no wrongdoing in the settlement with the state. Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison released a statement that says in exchange for their tax exemption, nonprofit hospitals are supposed to give back to their communities by providing free or reduced-cost health care for low-income patients.
Increasing fears about Wisconsinites driving while high. A recent survey of drivers by Triple-A Wisconsin finds 85 percent of people who use cannabis say they are driving the same day, with 53 percent saying they drive within the same hour. Triple A spokesman Nick Jarmuz says that's alarming, because T H C and marijuana can impair your driving just as much as alcohol.
More spring turkey authorizations are available in Wisconsin. The Department of Natural Resources says the new passes will be available on GoWild-dot-WI-dot-gov, or in person with DNR license sales agents. The season will start on Monday.
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