Local-Regional News March 26

 

The Durand City Council is meeting tonight. Items on the agenda include discussion and possible action on hiring CIT Technologies for IT Services, amending ordinance 6-25 to have animals have e-collars, and reports from the mayor and department heads. Tonight’s meeting begins at 6:30 at Durand City Hall and will be live-streamed on the WRDN Website.

The Durand-Arksansaw School Board is meeting tonight. Items on the agenda include action on breakfast and lunch prices for the 25-26 school year, renewal of dental health insurance and the board will go into closed session to discuss staff and administrative contracts. Tonights meeting begins at 6 in the board room at Durand-Arkansaw High School.

The Pepin County Board is meeting tonight. Items on the agenda include a resolution the Governor and Legislature to support County Courts, a budget modification for the Sheriff’s Department’s purchase of radio backup equipment and a resolution to appoint Karen Amsrud as Administrative Coordinator and Finance Director. Tonights meeting begins at 7pm in the Board Room at the Government Center in Durand.

A send off for 6 Durand Youth Wrestlers headed to the State Tournament will be tonight. The Durand Police, Fire and Ambulance Service and Pepin County Sheriffs Department will escort the team through the city starting at 6pm. The escort will depart the school and head south on Prospect to 4^th Avenue West, then to Main Street, then to 2^nd Ave East and back to Prospect Street toward the high school.

Eau Claire County will be searching for a new County Administrator. Last week, current Administrator Kathryn Schauf sent a letter to County Board Chair Nancy announcing that she will retire on July 10^th. Schauf has been County Administrator since 2015 and the county will now begin a search for the next administrator.

A firefighter was injured in a house fire on Trimble Street in Eau Claire yesterday. Firefighters responded to the blaze around 5pm yesterday and found heavy smoke coming from the front of a single story home. Firefighters quickly extinguished the fire in the kitchen. One firefighter suffered minor injuries but the residents had evacuated the home safely and three pets were rescued by firefighters.

Governor Tony Evers visited the Chippewa Falls area to push his budget proposal in a round table. Evers met with community members at Milestone Early Education Community on Monday. The focus was on the childcare industry. In his budget proposal, Evers calls for 480-million dollars to continue the Child Care Counts program.

A former mental health nurse is being charged with sexual assault of a patient under her care. Melissa Knutson is facing four counts of second-degree sexual assault and one count of obstruction. Knutson claimed in 2022 she was raped by the patient, but did not report it due to retaliation. Knutson told police that she was forced into a relationship with the patient, but messages and screen shots saved by the patient show otherwise. Knutson was arrested last Friday, and posted 25-hundred-dollar cash bond on Monday.

A new bill was introduced to Wisconsin lawmakers would allow sandhill crane hunting. The bill is created to assist agricultural producers in stopping damages to corn crops from the cranes and allowing the hunting of the bird. The sandhill crane is protected by federal law however, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service could open a sandhill crane hunting season to obey the protections.

Great Lakes tribes are withdrawing their cooperation in the construction of a pipeline in northern Wisconsin. The Journal Sentinel reports that construction plans for Enbridge Line 5 line are being fast tracked by the Trump Administration. The line had to be re-routed around the Bad River Tribe reservation in northern Wisconsin after the Canadian company lost its easement through the tribe’s land. Enbridge also plans to run the line under the Straits of Mackinac separating Lakes Huron and Michigan. Last week, six Great Lakes tribes withdrew from the project review process. The tribes in Canada and Michigan said the Army Corps of Engineers had informed them that the permit will likely be issued soon, and that the Corps was no longer acting in good faith. The tribes stated they no longer wished to lend credibility to a project that will endanger the lakes if a leak occurs.

The listing of an empty building on the UW-Oshkosh campus drew no interest from any parties in buying the site. The building which once housed the Campus Center for Equity and Diversity was listed for sale by the Universities of Wisconsin. The deadline for requests for proposals passed earlier this month with no response. The programs which had been in there are now dubbed the Center for Student Success and Belonging, and are located in Reeve Memorial Union. The building was originally constructed in 1968 by the Catholic Diocese of Green Bay as a catholic student center. The building was sold in 2004 to the UW Oshkosh Foundation. UWO purchased the building from the Foundation two years later. A campus spokesperson says they are continuing to explore options for the site.

Unprecedented money continues to pour into the state Supreme Court race. The richest person on the planet, Elon Musk, donated two million dollars to the Republican Party of Wisconsin last week – the largest ever single donation to the state party. On WISN’s ‘UpFront,’ state Democratic Party Chair Ben Wikler said Republicans are trying to goose turnout for conservative Waukesha County Judge Brad Schimel, "by advertising the fact that Schimmel is going to do whatever Donald Trump wants." Republican Party Chair Brian Schimming said Democrats have plenty of millionaire support for liberal Dane County Judge Susan Crawford, and that "suddenly they don't like money in politics. “ The most expensive state supreme court race in U.S. history will be decided when voters go the polls next Tuesday.

A proposed bill in Minnesota is calling for a ban on declawing cats. The legislation, sponsored by State Senator Zaynab Mohamed, would make declawing against the law unless it is for therapeutic reasons. First-time violators would face a 500 dollar fine and one thousand dollars for a second-time offender. The legislation was heard yesterday by a Senate committee and was tabled for a future meeting for consideration. Some pet owners remove claws from their cats to avoid scratches on their furniture or themselves.

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources is encouraging state residents to consider native plants when refreshing landscaping this spring. Wildlife officials say choosing plant varieties that naturally grow in the area can be very beneficial for pollinators like bees and butterflies. Most native plants are also relatively easy to grow in Wisconsin since they have adapted to suit the region. More information on native landscaping is posted on the DNR webpage.

A Minnesota man is the winner of the prestigious Bassmaster Classic bass fishing tournament in Fort Worth, Texas. Easton Fothergill of Grand Rapids won the Ray Scott Trophy over the weekend for the biggest winning weight in the competition's 55-year history. Over three days, he caught 15 bass weighing 78 pounds, 15 ounces. Fothergill also earned a 300 thousand dollar prize.