Local-Regional News March 4

 

No injuries were reported from a house fire at W424 Pansy Pass in the town of Glencoe Saturday night. According to the Buffalo County Sheriff’s Department, two off duty first responders were driving through the area when they noticed the house on fire. The off duty first responders went to the house, forced entry and found a 50yr old male resident asleep inside. The assisted the resident and his dog out of the house. Fire Crews were able to extinguish the fire and contain it to one corner of the home. The fire is believed to have started from the area of a chimney on the side of the home.

No one was injured when a BNSF train caught fire in the village of Nelson on Sunday night. According to the Buffalo County Sheriff’s Department, BNSF notified authorities the train would be stopping along Hwy 25 and the fire was isolated to one locomotive and there were flammable materials were in cars 17 cars down from the fire. Fire crews extinguished the fire and the train continued under its own power. The railroad crossing in Nelson was closed for 45 minutes while fire crews extinguished the fire.

One person was injured in a truck fire at S725 Hwy BB on Sunday afternoon. According to the Buffalo County Sheriff’s Department, 25yr old Brandon Fernholz of Mondovi and his father 45yr old Edmund Frenholz of Mondovi were on their way home when they noticed smoke in the cab of the truck. A short time later, they noticed flames coming from the dashboard. Both ment got out of the vehicle and went down an embankment and became fully engulfed in flames. The passengers suffered a minor injury.

Two people are injured and several people are displaced after a structure fire in Chippewa Falls. Fire crews were called to the scene shortly after 5 a.m. Sunday on North Herschel Street. Two people were treated on scene, with one going to a local hospital. Fire crews did rescue one cat from an upper unit in the building. Cause of the fire is still under investigation, however, estimates of the damage are around 150-thousand-dollars.

The Eau Claire County Sheriff's Office responded to a car versus train crash on the 22600 block of Krueger Road. The crash took place early Sunday morning. When law enforcement showed up, they found the driver of the car with no injuries. Officials also made contact with the train crew, with no one having injuries on the train. Preliminary reports by police say the car failed to yield to the train. The investigation into the crash is still ongoing.

Two kids are safe after their father was arrested for OWI in Eau Claire. A state patrol trooper pulled over David Em Young for speeding on Highway 312 at Jeffers Avenue Saturday, and determined he was driving under the influence. He also had drug paraphernalia on him. Two children, one who was four-years-old, the other, a one-year-old, were in the car. The kids were turned over to their mom, and Young was taken into custody.

A new audit shows no errors on Wisconsin voting machines during the 2024 general election. The Wisconsin Elections Commission says local election officials audited almost 330-thousand ballots by hand to validate voting equipment. Results show that there's no evidence of incorrectly counted or altered votes. Five errors with Wisconsin ballots were found to be human error and not related to electronic voting equipment.

Wisconsin Supreme Court candidate Brad Schimel Monday says he supports a president's right to pardon but disagrees with President Donald Trump's decision to pardon those who committed violent acts against police during the January 6th Capitol attacks. During a January visit to the State Capitol former U.S. Capitol police officer Harry Dunn said Schimel is playing both sides with his comments on Trump's pardons. Schimel faces Dane County judge Susan Crawford in the April election.

UW Health is taking issue with Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield. UW Health has been in talks for several months to renegotiate their agreement with the health insurance provider. The deal is set to expire on April 15th. The hospital says Anthem's current offer isn't fair to their members or their care teams. If an agreement isn't reached by April 15th, UW Health will no longer be in-network for patients with Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield Wisconsin insurance.

A MAGA aligned group says locations of some in-person early voting locations in Wisconsin are “unfair.” That assertion is made in letters from the America First Policy Institute to the Wisconsin Elections Commission and local elections officials in Madison, La Crosse and Oshkosh – all of which have significant numbers of college students who tend to vote Democrat. AFPI claims sites located near college campuses violate state law and amount to something called “early-voting poll-location gerrymandering.” The letters urge local officials to “remedy” the issue by providing early voting locations that don’t provide an advantage to either political party. Early voting begins March 18 for the April 1st election which includes a crucial seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court.

Democrats are raising questions about the Wisconsin Legislature’s “GOAT” committee. It stands for Government Accountability and Transparency. The committee has yet to hold any hearings, but co-chair Representative Shae Sortwell is making records requests of all 72 counties and the state’s 50 largest cities regarding diversity, equity and inclusion. There’s nothing illegal about that, but committee member Representative Mike Bare says Sortwell is acting on his own. without any task before the committee and without the knowledge of other members. Sortwell’s office did not respond to a request for comment. Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, who established the GOAT committee, said he's the subject of open records requests "at least weekly," and that responding to requests is part of what makes Wisconsin government open. Representative Bare said an initial meeting for the GOAT committee has yet to be scheduled.

Authorities in Kansas arrest a juvenile wanted in a Wisconsin homicide investigation. Police in the city of WaKeeney in northwest Kansas stopped a vehicle stolen out of Wisconsin that ran a stop sign. The wanted youth was behind the wheel and was taken into custody after a Wisconsin sheriff's office informed Kansas law enforcement that he could be armed. Investigators found evidence in the vehicle that was "consistent with the information" received from Wisconsin. The youth is being held in a detention center awaiting extradition. It's not clear when he was taken into custody or where the homicides took place.

The Lac du Flambeau Tribe is backing off a threat to issue trespassing citations to people using contested roads on their reservation. Tribal elders said in January that anyone caught travelling on several disputed roads without authorization would be issued citations. This is after the tribe agreed not to block those roads while litigation over an easement dispute continues. A judge will hear arguments in the dispute on Monday. The Lac du Flambeau tribe says the easement for those roads expired over a decade ago, and has been seeking payment from the Town of Lac du Flambeau for repairs, upkeep, and continued access.

The Elk Season application is underway. Applicants are required to select either the Black River Elk Range or the Clam Lake Elk Range. Hunters can purchase an elk license application online through the Go Wild license portal or in person at a license sales agent. The application fee is $10 and is limited to one per person. Only Wisconsin residents can be issued an elk license, and only one authorization will be issued per person in their lifetime. Winners will be notified by early June. More information is available on the Department of Natural Resources website.