Local-Regional News Nov 17

 

Western Wisconsin and Southeast Minnesota could see the first accumulating snow overnight. A weather system will bring rain into the area tonight and then turn to all snow. Accumulations of 1-3 inches is possible for areas south of I-94 by Tuesday morning. The snow wont last long as temperatures in the 50’s are expected by Thursday.

A Trempealeau County woman is dead after a weekend vehicle crash in Jackson County. Wisconsin State Patrol says that 32-year-old Cortney Schultz was one of two people in a pickup truck that crashed early Saturday near West Blair Road and County Highway N. Schultz suffered injuries that proved fatal. There was no word on the condition of the other person.

Dunn County’s 2026 capital improvement plan includes squad trucks and a new Hvac System. The 2026 capital improvement plan includes $10.3 million for replacing four squad trucks and equipment in the Sheriff’s Department; updating the Judicial Center’s HVAC system; performing park and facility maintenance; and replacing aging network switches to maintain security and performance.  The projects were included in the 2026 county budget approved last week.

The Wabasha County Board is meeting tomorrow morning. Items on the agenda include approval of an agreement between the county and MnDot, approval of 9 different highway projects for 2026, reconsideration the salary for the county attorney and reports from committee chairs and department heads. Tomorrow’s meeting begins at 9am at the old courthouse annex in Wabasha.

Authorities are sharing the name of a person found dead last week at the scene of a La Crosse house fire. Crews dispatched to a Taylor Street blaze early Thursday morning found the body of 27-year-old Alexis Pickett. There has been no word on the cause of the fire.

C-and-M Home Builders have donated 250-thousand dollars to help build a New Day resource center in downtown Eau Claire. The money goes toward the Western Dairyland Economic Opportunity Council's capital campaign for the center, which will help families and individuals dealing with homelessness. The council is working with Hope Gospel Mission, the city and local community groups in the six-point-four million dollar renovation work on the center.

Plans to develop the last undeveloped plot of land in Altoona's River Prairie District have received the green light from the city. The city's planning commission approved the plan earlier this week. The development proposal calls for a Chipotle's restaurant and another commercial building on the lot. The River Prairie District has seen significant growth over the last decade.

In Vernon County, the trial of a man accused of beheading a UW-La Crosse student has been set for October of next year. Twenty-four-year-old Terry Dolowy went missing in February of 1985 and was found dead days later in a Mohawk Valley Road Culvert. Tomah resident Michael Popp was arrested last year in the case and is charged with 1st degree murder.

The Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development awards 500-thousand dollars to Rochester agriculture industry. The funds will help Workforce Development in Rochester create farming training programs. Over two million dollars was sent to six additional organizations across the state for similar training. Minnesota's Department of Agriculture said the state is not seeing as many people as they'd like working in the agriculture field, hence the need for the funding.

The Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program is facing delays in receiving federal funding. The pause may affect state residents who rely on the program to access heating bill support. State leaders are encouraging people to apply now to check their eligibility for benefits. Crisis funding and utility protections are helping ensure households do not lose heat during the delay. Funds are expected to be available in several weeks.

Democratic state lawmakers are working on bills they're calling the "Keep Wisconsin Fed" package. They say it will protect food access if there is another federal government shutdown. Lawmakers want the bills to protect and expand access to food for Wisconsinites. Democrats say they don't want more uncertainty about Wisconsin's FoodShare program. The bills would match Farm to School grants and would also create a new program that would give grants to food banks so they can purchase locally grown food from farmers.

President Donald Trump recently said banks might have a solution to lowering the price of home ownership for new buyers: a 50-year-mortgage. Madison-area realtor Dave Stark says one of the real issues with the market is that mortgage rates were too low for too long. That lead too many people to buy out homes and take them off the market, which pushed up prices. Now that rates are back to "normal levels" Stark says that's priced a lot of buyers out of the market. It's unclear if any bank will take up the President's suggestion. Stark says adding another 20 years on the existing 30-year mortgages would significantly raise the price of that loan over the long term.

A spokesperson with Appleton Police says a police officer is recovering after his legs were run over by a vehicle. Officers responded to a call about a fight in a parking lot. Officials say they tried to approach driver Katrina Kitzman but she accelerated toward officers, hitting one of them. He was taken to a hospital and has been released. Kitzman is facing felony reckless endangerment, battery and other related charges.

With the federal government opening again, Minnesotans may have to wait a month for energy assistance. The Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program helps over 120-thousand households keep the heat on in Minnesota. State officials say receiving the federal funds could take up to 30 days. However, the Department of Commerce says there has been great collaboration between energy providers, Xcel Energy and Minnesota Power. Starting on October 1st, Minnesota's Cold Weather Rule went into effect, protecting eligible customers from disconnections during colder months.

Milwaukee is the place to grab a meal that involves a cheeseburger. That's according to DoorDash's "Cheeseburger Index," which was recently released in the food delivery company's "State of Local Commerce" report. It looked at 100 cities and how much consumers spent on food, orders delivered to commercial buildings, and other factors. The index showed Milwaukee is the second-cheapest place to grab a cheeseburger, fries, and soda from a variety of restaurants, including fast food. The average cost was eleven dollars and 36 cents.