The Durand City Council is meeting tonight. Items on the agenda include discussion and possible action on financing for the 6th Avenue East Project in 2026, a request for street closures for Brews on the Chippewa on October 11th and reports from the Mayor and City Department Heads. Tonights meeting begins at 6pm at Durand City Hall and will be live streamed on the WRDN Website.
Buffalo County has hired a part time Economic Development Director. Dave Carlson was hired for the position and will work 10-20 hrs a month. He will be developing an economic plan for the county. Over the next few months he will be reviewing tourism marketing, an affordable housing strategy, and taking an inventory of available buildings in the county. He will also be looking at how the county can promote industrial parks in the county to those wanting to open or expand a business.
Xcel Energy will begin a major dredging and foundation reinforcement project at the Cedar Falls Dam north of Menomonie this week and continuing through November. This work is a critical step in preparing the dam for future construction, including the installation of a coffer dam. As part of the project, crews will deploy 60-foot-by-60-foot barges anchored to the riverbed at the top of the dam to remove sediment that has built up over the past century. The material will be pumped to shore, dewatered and hauled to a disposal site. Increased truck traffic can be expected on Hwy BB, 708th Avenue and 540th Street. Following the dredging phase, divers will begin pumping concrete to reinforce the front side of the dam, strengthening it to safely receive the coffer dam structure.
Minor injuries were reported after a one vehicle accident in Trempealeau County on Tuesday. According to the Trempealeau County Sheriff’s Department, a truck was traveling on Tuff Coulee Road at a high rate of speed, and failed to negotiate a sharp curve, struck a guardrail and hit several trees. The vehicle was found abandoned and the occupants came forward later in the day to report only minor injuries as a result of the accident.
Ladysmith City Administrator Alan Christianson and his sister have been arrested on charges in Rusk County. The two are accused of trying to record a closed session of the county board back in August. An investigation of the incident continues.
A defendant charged in connection with a violent incident in La Crosse County is pleading guilty. Prosecutors say that -- in an October 2024 incident in the parking lot of a West Salem Kwik Trip -- Paul Stokes cut the throat and chest of another truck driver. The 60-year-old Stokes pleaded guilty yesterday to a second-degree charge of recklessly endangering safety. He will be sentenced at a later date.
One of three people accused of attacking an elderly man inside his La Crosse home has learned her fate. According to police, an 84-year-old man was beaten inside his 6th Street South residence in November of 2023. The victim was then tied up and locked inside his basement. Defendant Kaylan Cave has pleaded guilty to charges that include intimidating a victim with threats of force and been sentenced this week to three years of probation. The cases of the two other defendants remain pending.
Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers was in La Crosse on Tuesday. The governor visited the UW - La Crosse campus and received an update on the Prairie Springs Science Center project. The first of two buildings planned for the center opened seven years ago and the second building is being funded through money allocated with the budget signed by the governor this year. Construction is expected to begin next spring.
The Wisconsin D N R is hoping to get more deer carcass samples to test for chronic wasting disease this hunting season. Herd health specialist Erin Larson says they're targeting areas that only recently tested for C W D. That includes most of the Highway 51 and 29 corridors, and counties on a line from La Crosse to Sheboygan. You find out more and find a local testing site online at D N R dot W I dot Gov, and search for C W D Testing.
Republican Congressman Tom Tiffany has launched a bid to become the next governor of Wisconsin. The 67-year-old has represented the state's seventh congressional district since 2020. His entrance into the race further expands the crowded field of candidates for the open seat in the crucial swing state. According to Tiffany's launch video, "Madison politics may smell like the barn," but he knows "how to clean up the bull" and "deliver results for every Wisconsinite."
Wisconsinites
statewide are being asked to turn off their lights tonight.
Conservation group Save Our Songbirds says about 21 million birds
will be migrating across Wisconsin overnight. A press release from
the group says the light disorients migrating birds and may draw them
into urban areas. A Lights Out Alert asks residents to turn off all
non-essential outdoor lighting between 11 p.m. and 6 a.m tonight.
Ten rural hospitals in Wisconsin are teaming up to improve patient care and reduce costs. A release shared last week says the network hopes to enhance clinical outcomes as well as provide more care for the communities they serve. The network was created by Cibolo Health, which has networks in North Dakota and Minnesota. Some of the participating hospitals include Vernon Health, Black River Health, and St. Croix Health.
An effort by the Trump administration to force states to turn over personal data on food benefit recipients has been blocked by a federal court. Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul says the White House has proven it's not able to protect personal information. Last month a whistleblower in the Department of Government Efficiency told Congress that a DOGE staffer uploaded a live set of Social Security information to an unprotected website, potentially leaking the personal information of 300 million people. The White House and the U S D A were trying to get information like Social Security numbers and the last five addresses of every SNAP recipient in the country. The ruling in California federal court stops that collection while a full hearing is held on the lawsuit.
At the Capitol, proposed legislation calls for a major new investment in biofuels in Wisconsin. State Senator Mary Felzkowski says state funding could facilitate a new plant located in Hayward to produce aviation fuel from woody biomass. During a Monday press conference at the Capitol, Felzkowski said it would be a investment of about $200 million with enterprise tax credits from WEDC and about 150 million in bonding and that bonding will be supported through the forestry account. Felzkowski said the new plant to be built in conjunction with Germany’s Synthea Fuels could bring 350 jobs to the area and over a billion dollars in annual economic development. She said Minnesota and Michigan are also potential locations, so there’s some urgency for Wisconsin to act. Henry Schienenbeck (SHEN-en-beck), Executive Director at Great Lakes Timber Professionals Association, noted forestry remains the number two industry in the state, and Wisconsin is still the nation's leading paper producer. He called the biofuels proposal a win win.
A Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources conservation fund hits a major milestone. The Cherish Wisconsin Outdoors Fund has raised over $3 million since being created by the State Legislature in 2013. The fund provides a permanent source of funding for habitat improvement and ecological restoration across the state at places like state parks, trails, and recreation areas. For every $1 million in the endowment, approximately $50,000 per year is distributed for land stewardship. You can learn more about the fund by visiting the DNR's website.
Minnesota is defying federal COVID vaccine guidance. The State Epidemiologist Dr. Ruth Lynfield issued a standing order Monday that allows pharmacists to give the COVID-19 vaccine without prescriptions to anyone over 12 years old. Until now, pharmacists in Minnesota could only give the latest shots without prescriptions to people 65 and older or anyone with underlying health conditions. This state vaccine policy is an unprecedented break from federal vaccine recommendations. Dr. Lynfield said vaccines are one of the greatest public health achievements in modern medicine.
The La Crosse Public Library is being recognized for programming. The library is receiving the Governor's Archives Award for Archival Innovation for its Dark La Crosse Stories series. The series -- that began as a walking tour and now is the basis for a video and podcast program -- covers topics including local true crime tales. The Governor's Archives Award is presented by the Wisconsin Historical Records Advisory Board and the Wisconsin Historical Society.
No comments:
Post a Comment