Local-Regional News June 20

 

One person is dead and another is arrested after an incident in Wabasha County on Wednesday. According to the Wabasha County Sheriff’s Department, deputies were called to the West Newton area for a woman severely injured. Deputies found 36yr old Melissa Hunt injured but she later died at St. Elizabeth’s Heath Care. The suspect, 44yr old Craig Hameister of Rochester was later arrested by Olmsted County Sheriff’s Deputies in the Chester Woods Area and Is being held in the Wabasha County Jail while the investigation into Hunt’s death continues.

The Durand-Arkansaw School Board has approved a preliminary budget for the 2025-2026 school year. The budget is expected to be balanced due to savings from new hires, and expenses are expected to be the same. The district is also expecting a slight increase in state funding, specifically for special education. The final budget will be approved in October during the annual meeting.

Severe storms moved through Western Wisconsin last night. There were reports of golf ball-sized hail near Exile in Pepin County. Other reports of damage to crops and trees due to the hail were also reported. The weekend is expected to bring heat with temperatures in the 90’s and heat indices above 100. An excessive heat warning is in effect for the entire WRDN listening area for the weekend.

The Pepin County Board has approved camping rates at the Holden Park Campground. Supervisors approved the rates this week. The nightly rate for the standard campsites will be $20 a night, the 4 premium sites $25 a night. A new monthly rate was established at $500 a month, and for special events, the entire campground can be rented for $300 a night. Supervisors also approved a $25 cleaning fee if a campsite is left and is not cleaned up.

Menomonie is celebrating the opening of a new overlook near downtown. A ribbon cutting was held Thursday at the Hydro Dam and Tainter Gate Historic Overlook Plaza. Xcel Energy began the project in 2023 to stabilize the dam and protect the embankment from erosion. The new overlook offers views of the dam, the lake and the river.

Internet provider CenturyLink will be paying Wisconsin 450-thousand dollars to settle allegations of price misrepresentation. The state Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection alleges the internet provider committed 240 violations of a Wisconsin law. CenturyLink didn't admit to misrepresenting prices but agreed to pay the civil forfeiture and investigative costs. Customers in Wisconsin were notified of their eligibility to file a claim following a 2020 class-action lawsuit in Minnesota.

New child sexual assault charges are filed for a Trempealeau County man already on the sex offender registry. Prosecutors say 57-year-old James Devenport was charged earlier this week, facing ten counts of sexual assault of a child. Police say a now 36-year-old victim told them Devenport assaulted her hundreds of times before she turned 13, causing permanent physical damage. The victim says the assaults only stopped when he was in prison for another sexual assault case. Devenport is currently incarcerated and is due in court for the new charges in September.

While home sales fell across WI in May they were up here in Western Wisconsin by 2.4%.  According to the WI Realtors Association, Pepin County had 15 homes sold in May, Buffalo 17, Trempealeau 22, Pierce 33 and Dunn County had 54 homes sold. The median price of a home sold in Western Wisconsin was $310,000. Statewide, home sales fell 2.1%.

A LaCrosse man is accused of possessing child pornography. Arresting documents says Daniel Oyer was taken into custody Wednesday during a traffic stop. This is after the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children received a CyberTip earlier this month. The 35-year-old is facing two counts of possession of child pornography. He's been released on bond and has a pre-trial hearing set for next Wednesday.

Wisconsin DOT is advising drivers to stay alert for cracks in the pavement. Temperatures in the state are expected to hit the 90s which the department says can cause pavement to buckle. Drivers are asked to drive carefully around highway crews. Serious pavement issues should be reported by calling 911.

Minnesota's battle against the spongy moth will hit southeastern parts of the state next month. The Department of Agriculture says it will spray seven sites from July 1st through 3rd. The affected counties include Fillmore, Winona and Houston. Low-flying planes will spray a non-toxic waxy substance that contains pheromones. These are supposed to confuse the male moths and reduce mating.

A Rochester prison worker is pleading guilty to using a co-worker's photo in a child solicitation case. Joseph Solak was arrested in an undercover sting late last year. He is still listed as a human resources employee at the Rochester Federal Medical Center. Solak pleaded guilty yesterday to stalking by false impersonation after using a co-worker's photo to conduct sexual photos with children online. He has agreed to serve 15 days in the Olmsted County Jail on work release and spend five years on probation. Solak's sentencing date is set for September 8th.

Governor Tony Evers is awarding the city of Green Bay grant funding that will offset costs from hosting the NFL Draft this year. Evers says the nearly two-million-dollar grant will support Green Bay, Brown County and the Ashwaubenon village in covering security costs incurred from hosting. The event brought in 600-thousand attendees for the three-day event. Last week lawmakers voted against reimbursing the city for public safety spending ahead of the draft.

The trial of a Milwaukee County judge accused of helping an illegal immigrant evade ICE agents is delayed. A Federal District Court Judge pushed Hannah Dugan's trial back since the court still needs to consider Dugan's motion to dismiss. Her lawyers are arguing she should have judicial immunity. Prosecutors say Dugan was overseeing the case of a man in the US illegally, learned that ICE agents were in the courthouse, and led the men out of the building through a private exit. Dugan's trial was initially scheduled to start July 21. A new date hasn't been announced.

Republicans propose an $87 million cut to the Universities of Wisconsin. Assembly Minority Leader Greta Neubauer of Racine calls that “completely unacceptable,” and said Wednesday "that would have serious consequences for economies across Wisconsin. A cut like that could mean closed campuses.” That propsed cut is a far cry from the UW System’s requested $856 million budget increase, but something Assembly Speaker Robin Vos says his Republican caucus supports . Vos said "it's not about cutting money. What it is about getting some kind of reforms to the broken process that we currently have.” Vos referenced “too much political correctness on campus,” and hate directed at Jewish students, without explaining how cutting the budget would address those issues. Any budget containing that large a cut to the system could face a veto from Democratic Governor Tony Evers.

Authorities are charging two people in connection with an attempted cyanide poisoning in Wisconsin. Paul Van Duyne and Andrea Whitaker are accused of plotting to poison Van Duyne's ex-girlfriends. A month ago, one woman told authorities someone had broken into her car, and her water tasted strange after she returned to the vehicle. The water bottle was submitted to a lab and investigators found cyanide in the water. Authorities exercised search warrants at the suspects' homes earlier this week in raids that required hazmat teams. Van Duyne is now charged with attempted homicide and Whitaker is accused of aiding a felon.

Two Minnesota campgrounds are rated among the best in the Midwest. The camping app The Dyrt ranks Split Rock Lighthouse State Park number two in the region, while Superior National Forest Fall Lake is ranked fourth. Ohio's Sandy Springs Campground gets the number-one ranking in the Midwest. Wisconsin's Copper Falls State Park and Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore Backcountry Sites in Michigan round out the top five.

The Department of Natural Resources is encouraging you to help out pollinators. It's Pollinator Week and the DNR says you can help year-round with a few simple lawn care habits, volunteering and supporting the Endangered Resources Fund. Most of Wisconsin's pollinators are bees, butterflies, and moths; but pollinators also include hummingbirds and some beetles and flies. You can help them by planting native plants and trees, adding host plants for butterfly larvae, and maintaining a yard free from pesticides and herbicides. More pollinator tips can be found on the DNR's website.