Local-Regional News July 24

 

The City of Durand announced a free admission Fridays at the Tarrant Park Pool. Durand Mayor Patrick Milliren says an anonymous donor made the free admission possible. During the open swim in the afternoon, the first 100 people will receive free admission and the first 50 people during the evening swim from 6-9pm will also receive free admission on Fridays through the end of the swimming season.

The City of Mondovi is looking at expanding the areas allowed for the hunting of geese in the fall. During this weeks council meeting the council approved expanding the area for hunting as long as it will be safe for residents. The city will allow goose hunting during the Wisconsin early goose season. Hunters will have to register with the city before going out on the hunt. For more information contact Mondovi City Hall.

Dunn Economic Development has announced its role in a statewide initiative to secure a federal Historically Underutilized Business Zone designation for Dunn County. As part of a formal petition submitted by Governor Tony Evers to the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), this designation would unlock critical resources for local small businesses, helping them compete for federal contracts and bringing significant investment into the community. The SBA’s HUBZone program is designed to fuel small business growth in historically underutilized business zones by providing preferential access to federal contracting opportunities. If approved by the SBA, the designation would remain in effect through at least July 2028, providing a window for Dunn County businesses to compete in the federal marketplace.

The Goodhue County Sheriff's Office is releasing the identity of a Rochester man who drowned in the Mississippi River. The body of Ronald Highet was recovered on Sunday. Witnesses say he was wading in the water with a 12-year-old girl before they were both swept away by a current. The girl was safely rescued from the river, but Highet went under the water and never surfaced.

Authorities are sharing the name of the person killed in a Saturday vehicle collision in Eau Claire. Seventy-eight-year-old Fall Creek resident Dale Soltwisch died after a two-vehicle crash on Highway 12 in Lincoln. Thirty-eight-year-old Eau Claire resident James Jones has since been charged in Soltwisch's death.

Eau Claire County is launching a new program for folks seeking help with their recovery goals. The Eau Claire County Deflection Program is a voluntary program through which eligible individuals seeking assistance are matched with peer support services. More details on the initiative can be found at eauclairecounty-dot-gov.

The Dunn County Fair is underway in Menomonie. This year's fun includes carnival rides, live music, truck and tractor pulls 4-H and FFA exhibits and more. The fair runs through Sunday with more info available at dunncountyfair-dot-org.

A missing graduate student in Wisconsin has been found dead. Officials said the body of 22-year-old Eliotte Heinz was found in the Mississippi River on Wednesday. She had been missing since Sunday when she was last seen walking in La Crosse. Her body was discovered more than 12 miles from where she was last seen. Police are still investigating her death and are waiting for the results of an autopsy. Heinz was a student at Viterbo University.

New highway signs in Lac du Flambeau won't just be in English. Signs unveiled Wednesday revealed an extra line with the tribe's name in the Ojibwe language It's a collaboration between the Wisconsin Department of Transportation and the Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians. Tribal members tell WSAW they're really proud of the signs and hope they bring back some of the culture previously taken from them.

Despite the Dunn County Highway Department posting a load limit of 20 tons on the Hwy BB Red Cedar Bridge in Cedar Falls loaded semi trucks continue to use the bridge. According to the Highway Department the loaded semi’s pose a risk to the structural integrity of the bridge. The county is working with the Dunn County Sheriff’s Department and Wisconsin State Patrol to increase enforcement of the load limit and to have alternate routes available to avoid the bridge.

Wisconsin is giving 110-million-dollars to child care providers over the next year. The funding was approved as part of the 2025-2027 biennial state budget. Providers will be able to use the money to pay their staff and keep their businesses open. Applications for the funding will open Saturday, July 26 and will remain open until Sunday, August 3. Payments to approved providers will start in mid-August.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy was at EAA Airventure in Oshkosh on Tuesday, where he said the recently passed “big beautiful bill” includes $12.5 billion for modernization of the FAA’s air traffic control system. Duffy said that will include updating the FAA's telecom system and replacing aging radar. Duffy, a former Wisconsin congressman also serving as interim director of NASA, says it will take some time to complete all the work – but it will get done, or President Donald Trump "will fire me." Duffy also announced a new FAA rule that removes what he called outdated regulations that have impeded innovation and safety in the recreational Light Sport aviation sector.

The chairman of Wisconsin’s Oneida Nation is speaking out on President Donald Trump’s call for the NFL Washington Commanders and MLB Cleveland Guardians to return to their previous team names. The Commanders used to go by Redskins, a term Chairman Tehassi Hill said has connections to race wars. Hill said the former team name "harkens back to the early days of the colonists paying money for scalps," and remains a negative term for Native Americans. Trump called for the team names to revert on his Truth Social platform, and even threatened to halt a stadium deal that would bring the Commanders back to the former RFK Stadium site in Washington D.C. if they fail to revert. He’s also calling for the Guardians to revert to the Cleveland Indians.

New duties and tariffs on overseas purchases may hamper your online buying. Lisa Schiller with the Wisconsin Better Business Bureau says it is buyer beware with overseas shopping right now, and that if you need refunds or relief from a US agency, you might be out of luck. Criminals have also been sending out phony messages saying you may owe duties on a package. If you're expecting a delivery, check with the seller or delivery service directly before paying a fee.

Researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison are looking into the effectiveness of nicotine pouches. One research director says the pouches could serve as healthier option for people who smoke. The group wants to recruit 300 smokers who don't plan to quit for a four week study. They'll be asked to use pouches for four weeks and will be compensated for their time.

More turkeys were harvested during this year's spring season than last year's. The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources says almost 50-thousand-300 birds were registered, a 14-percent increase. The spring turkey season started with a two-day youth hunt on April 12 and ended in late May. Applications for next year's hunt are due December 10 on GoWild-dot-WI-gov.

An abandoned boat off Milwaukee's lake front will be auctioned off. Milwaukee County's Parks Department launched the auction Tuesday, and its highest bid sits at eleven-hundred dollars. It'll be sold as is, and the buyer is responsible for its transportation and removal. The boat, named "Deep Thought," sat abandoned in the lake until May when officials pulled it out.