The City of Durand has received a grant from the Clean Water Program for the water filtration plant project. Durand Mayor Patrick Milliren says the grant amounts to close to $400,000. Due to equipment delays, that project is not expected to start until late spring.
The Wabasha Port Authority recently wrapped up a one-year grant program, totaling $18,883 in grants to 5 small businesses, mainly in downtown Wabasha to improve the facades of their buildings, including new paint, new windows, safety improvements to the exterior. The grant required a 50% match and helped create an overall investment of $55,000 in building improvements for the City. The Port was not able to fund all the applications it received due to funding. While the grant program is closed because all funds have been expended, the Wabasha Port Authority hopes to offer the program in the future, as funds become available.
Authorities have identified the suspected cause of a Sunday afternoon fire in Chippewa Falls. Crews were called to a location on Canal Street where a shed went up in flames. Officials now believe a wood stove was the source of the fire. No one was hurt.
Charges are being filed against a Chippewa Falls woman following an investigation into allegations of animal neglect. Earlier this month, police seized 14 dogs of varying breeds from the woman's apartment. Investigators say the dogs were being kept in crates that were too small for the canines and that most lacked access to food and water. The dogs are currently receiving medical care. Suspect Hannah Swanson faces 35 charges, including failure to provide proper shelter to animals, failure to provide proper indoor shelter & ventilation, and mistreating animals.
Firefighters responded to a fire at St. Croix Castings in Woodville on Monday night. When firefighters arrived, they found smoke and flames coming from the building. The fire was knocked down in about 20 minutes, and all employees inside at the time of the blaze evacuated safely. The cause of that fire is still under investigation.
The Durand Fire Department has announced that Santa will be with the Fire Department on December 21st for a ride around town. The ride will begin at 4:30 with firefighters handing out candy canes to the children. The Pepin County Sheriff’s Department will join firefighters and Santa for a food drive and residents are encouraged to give a donation. Visit the Durand Fire Department’s Facebook Page for the route map.
A second person is being charged in connection with an overdose death in Tomah. Fifty-four-year-old Harley Carlson was recently charged with reckless homicide with investigators saying they supplied drugs to someone that later sold those drugs to the eventual 28-year-old OD victim. The victim was found dead at a Tomah home in August. The middle man is now being identified as 47-year-old James Zinsmeister who now also faces charges of reckless homicide.
The Powerball jackpot continues to grow. No one matched all of the numbers announced in last night's drawing. The estimated top-prize jackpot for tomorrow night's drawing is now one-point-two-five-billion dollars. Also, Wisconsin Lottery officials are saying a ticket sold in Eau Claire for this past Saturday night's Powerball drawing did come up a winner. The ticket -- purchased at a North Clairemont Street Kwik Trip -- matched four of the five numbers drawn and puts 50-thousand dollars into the pocket of the winner.
Payments have gone out for Wisconsin's energy assistance program. The Wisconsin Department of Administration estimates 185,000 households will receive assistance paying their energy bills through the Wisconsin Home Energy Assistance Program. The average heating benefit is expected to be around $440, and the average electric benefit is expected to be roughly $244. The heating season began on November 1st, but Wisconsin didn't receive federal funding for the program initially because of the federal government shutdown.
One Wisconsin firefighter is dead and two others seriously injured in an Indiana traffic crash. 26-year-old Oshkosh Fire Department firefighter and paramedic Tom Diener died in the crash last Thursday. Diener was also a lieutenant with the town of Sheboygan Fire Department. Two other members of the Sheboygan department, Carter Haen and Robbie Betts, were seriously injured and transported to a South Bend trauma center. A post from the Professional Fire Fighters of Wisconsin Charitable Foundation says both face a long and challenging road to recovery. The three were traveling to Indiana for a company that installed and maintained emergency warning systems co-owned by Diener and Haen.
The Texas Attorney General has filed suit against Wisconsin based Epic Systems. Ken Paxton, who’s challenging incumbent U.S. Senator John Cornyn in the 2026 Texas Republican Senate primary, filed the suit last week against Epic, the medical software company which employs some 13,000 people at its campus in Verona, outside Madison. The lawsuit accuses Epic of being a “woke corporation” utilizing “anticompetitive” practices to maintain a “monopoly.” Paxton also charges Epic with “restricting parental access to children’s medical records." An Epic spokesperson said the action is action is “flawed and misguided” and that "decisions about parental access to children’s medical records are made by doctors and health systems, not by Epic." Paxton previously filed dozens of lawsuits against the Biden administration and attempted to overturn results of the 2020 presidential election in Wisconsin and other states.
No criminal charges will be filed against a Waushara County Sheriff’s deputy who exchanged gunfire with a man during an October standoff. The Waushara County District Attorney's report states that Deputy Alex Midthun was reasonable in his belief that his life was in danger when 51-year-old Timothy Lehman fired a round directly at him after failing to obey a directive to drop his weapon. Lehman was barricaded in his home the Town of Wautoma. Following attempts to negotiate Lehman was found dead after officers heard gunshots from inside the house. The DA's report said it was determined that Lehman died from the deputy's gunshots.
A cable channel which covers Wisconsin state government has paused operations. WisconsinEye has provided televised access to legislative floor sessions, committee hearings and press conference for more than 18 years. A two month long funding appeal came up short of the needed $1 million to continue operations for the next 12 months. WisconsinEye president and CEO Jon Henkes says conversations are ongoing with state lawmakers to find a solution to the organization’s financial challenges.
Be wary if anyone directs you to use a standalone cryptocurrency kiosk. Wisconsin Consumer Protection administrator Michelle Reinen says very few legitimate transactions are made at one of these booths. Data from The Iowa Department of Justice and the District of Columbia Attorney General office that suggests over 90% of transactions made through these kiosks were tied to fraud. Reinen says that usually happens when a criminal sends a victim to a kiosk to buy crypto and send it to them as part of another scam. No official agency will ask you to pay a bill in cryptocurrency, and these booths are not operated by banks.
The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources is sharing tips on how to reduce waste over the holidays. DNR Waste Reduction and Diversion Coordinator Jennifer Semrau says there are some items that can go in any recycling bin. Those include containers made of steel, aluminum, glass, plastics numbers one and two, as well as cardboard, newspaper, magazines, office paper and other papers. Semrau says things like holiday lights, batteries, laptops, phones and other electronics shouldn't go in the recycling. Visit the DNR's website for a full list of what can and can't be recycled over the holiday season.
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