Local-Regional News May 7

 

The Durand-Arkansaw School Board has approved a plan to have a late start for Wednesday Classes to allow for teacher collaboration. The plan would have teachers report to work on Wednesday at 7:30am for collaboration until 8:15 with classes starting at 8:20. Dismissal times for students would remain the same. The new plan for teacher collaboration will begin with the new school year.

One person was injured in a motorcycle accident in Rock Elm Township on Monday. According to the Pierce County Sheriff’s Department, 69yr old Jeffrey Kerg of Elmwood was traveling westbound on Hwy 72 when he struck a deer. Kerg was taken to Mayo Hospital in Menomonie.

Two people were injured in a motorcycle accident in Clifton Township on Monday. According to the Pierce County Sheriff’s Department, 46yr old Charles Cook of Gem Lake, MN was traveling southbound on Hwy F when he lost control and entered the ditch. Cook and passenger 23yr old Alexis Cook were taken to Regions Hospital in St. Paul.

Residents in Trempealeau will soon see a price hike in their utility bills. The Trempealeau Municipal Electric and Water Utility has put forth an application with the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin to get a tweak with rates that would increase it by 12 percent. This would be the first price hike since 2023.

Fire crews are investigating how a fire started at Bush Brothers in Augusta. Crews responded to the building yesterday in the early evening. Smoke damage can be seen on the outside of the building as crews were putting out flames. Employees were seen outside of the building. It is unclear of injuries as well as how the fire first started.

An investigation is underway in Monroe County after two people were found dead in a river. Monroe County deputies say the bodies of a man and a woman were found Sunday afternoon in a river just northeast of Fort McCoy in Wyeville. The pair went missing the night before from a nearby bar. The Medical Examiner's office has not identified the victims, but deputies are not suspecting foul play at this time.

The Minnesota State Patrol confirmed that a man is dead after riding his e-bike and being hit by a car in Winona. The incident took place at the intersection of 6th Street and Liberty Street Monday night. Police say another man was driving and turning on to 6th street when he hit the victim riding an e-bike. The man hit was pronounced dead at the scene. Police say the sun may have played a role in the crash, and that alcohol did not play a role.

Minnesota State Senator Matt Klein is running for Congress. The Mendota Heights Democrat is hoping to replace Southeast Minnesota Congresswoman Angie Craig, who is running for U. S. Senate. Klein believes his experience as a doctor and his nine years as a state legislator will help him to serve voters in the congressional district. He has already gained endorsements from the Minnesota Pipe Trades Association and Iron Workers Local 512.

Burn permits are suspended in 30 Wisconsin counties. The Department of Natural Resources says no precipitation for much of the state, combined with low humidity, makes for increased fire danger. The majority of fire danger is in the northern third of Wisconsin, with parts of central and southwestern Wisconsin affected as well. Here in the WRDN Listening Area, Pepin, Buffalo, Dunn and Pierce Counties are under a Moderate Fire Danger while Eau Claire and Chippewa Counties are under a High Fire Danger. More than 650 wildfires have burned in Wisconsin so far this year, burning more than 22-hundred acres of land. Current fire danger and burn restriction information is available on the DNR's website.

The deadline is finally here, and you'll now need a Real ID to be federally compliant. AAA Representative Brynna Knapp says you need one to fly domestically, enter a military base or some federal buildings. Knapp says you must bring several Department of Motor Vehicles accepted documents that help verify your identity, U.S. legal residents and citizenship status, and then your current address that you live at now. You can visit your local Wisconsin DMV office to get your Real ID. You can also make an appointment, which can speed up the process. More info is available on the Wisconsin Department of Transportation website.

The CDC is announcing a multi-state outbreak of salmonella involving backyard poultry in six states including Wisconsin. Seven people have reportedly gotten sick from contact with infected ducks or chickens. CDC health experts are offering tips for reducing risk of salmonella, saying wash your hands for 20 seconds after touching birds, their supplies, or collecting eggs. They also recommend using a pair of dedicated boots or shoes for your chicken coop and take them off before entering your house. Salmonella symptoms include fever, diarrhea and stomach cramps six hours to six days after being exposed.

Wisconsin joins 19 other states in a lawsuit against the U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary. Attorney General Josh Kaul announced that the state will join the suit which aims to stop Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and the Trump administration from making cuts to HHS. Kaul says that's “…resulting in increased and unnecessary risk to people’s health and wellbeing.” Kaul also argues that the Trump administration can’t authorize the cuts, since Congress already approved the funding. Kennedy eliminated 28 departments from the agency and decreased its workforce by 25% during a restructuring last month.

Governor Tony Evers appoints three new members to the UW Board of Regents. The Democratic governor has appointed Tom Palzewicz, Linda Terwilliger and Noah Fritz to fill vacancies created by terms ending for the last three regents appointed by former Republican governor Scott Walker. Evers says the appointments come at a critical time, calling this a make-or-break moment for the Universities of Wisconsin and institutions of higher education across the state. Palzewicz and Terwilliger's terms end in 2032, Fritz's will end in 2027. State law requires the UW Board of Regents to be made up of at least one member from each of Wisconsin's congressional districts.

Police officers from Ohio are cleared of any wrongdoing in the death of a man during last year's Republican National Convention In Milwaukee. The Milwaukee County District Attorney's office won't be charging the five Columbus officers involved in the shooting death of 43-year-old Sam Sharpe during the RNC last July. The officers who killed Sharpe were among nearly 4,000 non-Milwaukee officers who assisted during the convention. Investigators said Sharpe was trying to attack another man with two knives when he was shot and killed by the Columbus cops. The DA found their use of force permissible under Wisconsin law.

A mental health grant designated for the Rochester Public Schools is terminated. RPS Superintendent Kent Pekel says he learned that the one-point-nine-million dollar grant will be cut off in the middle of a multi-grant period, effective December 31st. He added that students in need of counseling for depression, anxiety, and thoughts of suicide will not get the needed support. The federal grant covers tuition in the social work program at Winona State University, substitutes pay for staff while they complete internship experiences, while earning their degrees, and provides mentoring and supervision to support mental health practitioners.

A Minnesota company is planning to auction some of the possessions of late country music star Johnny Cash. Edina-based Karats by Auction House took bids online yesterday on such items as rings, furniture, belt buckles, and handwritten lyrics. The businesses owner says the auction was breaking records as it had well over 15-thousand potential buyers in the virtual room. Cash's daughter Cindy is donating a portion of the proceeds to the conservation group Sea Shepherd and St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.