Local-Regional News June 16

 

The City of Durand found a serious issue with a downtown sewer line while working on the Madison Street Project. While installing a temporary by-pass for the Madison Street Sewer lines crews found a collapsed manhole and collapsing sewer line at 5^th Avenue West and Main Street. Durand Mayor Patrick Milliren says the city was lucky to find the issues now.  Milliren says the city will continue to provide access to Durand Fresh Market while those repairs are being made.

One person is dead and another is facing charges after a Monday morning fire in Eau Claire County. Crews responded to a fire on Skyview Drive in Altoona at around 9:30 a.m. and recovered a body from the scene once the flames were out. An autopsy is pending. Altoona Police say they have taken one person into custody on arson-related charges.

An Osseo man is in custody after being suspected of driving impaired with three young children in the vehicle. Officials received multiple reports Saturday night about an SUV being driven erratically on I-94, with a trooper later finding the vehicle on Highway 95 and witnessing multiple moving violations. The officer initiated a traffic stop and reported the driver showing multiple signs of impairment, as well as open intoxicants being scattered throughout the front and back passenger seats. Three children were not properly restrained inside the vehicle. Jayson Olson was arrested on suspicion of operating a motor vehicle under the influence, first influence, with a child under 16 in the vehicle.

Four teens are accused of stealing from vehicles in Altoona. Officers stopped a suspicious vehicle in the Hillcrest Estates Community off Highway 12 over the weekend, interviewed several individuals and let them go. Police then received reports Sunday of thefts from vehicles in the same area and re-interviewed the suspects, recovered stolen property and referred four teenagers for criminal charges. Altoona police are encouraging people to keep their vehicles locked and to contact officials if stolen property from their vehicles are discovered.

 A new stature commemorating US Navy and Coast Guard Veterans has been installed at Wabasha Veteran’s Park. The statue was donated by Jim and Tram Matias in celebration of Jim’s 50^th year since he left for boot camp in the Navy which led to a 22yr career in the Navy. Matias was a 1976 graduate of Wabasha-Kellogg High School and moved back to Wabasha in 2020.

Gas prices are down slightly this week in Western Wisconsin. Triple-A reports the average price of regular fuel in Eau Claire is now three-74 per gallon -- nine-cents less than where it stood just a week ago. In La Crosse, the average cost of a gallon of regular fuel is three-81 per gallon -- three-cents less versus the price last week. The average cost of a gallon of regular fuel in the State of Wisconsin is three-85 per gallon.

Governor Tony Evers and state health officials are rolling out 40 million dollars in grants to improve healthcare in rural Wisconsin. The funding will support projects focused on care coordination, community health workers, and expanding access to dental care. Department of Health Services Secretary Kirsten Johnson says the goal is to reduce gaps in care and strengthen services in underserved areas. $20 milion is set aside for community health worker programs, with additional funding for care partnerships and dental clinics adopting new technology. Applications are now open, with deadlines scheduled throughout July and August.

Wisconsin's Attorney General says President Trump can't force states to turn over their voter rolls to engage in mail-in voting. A G Josh Kaul has joined a lawsuit by multiple states to stop the White House's directive to prevent the US Postal Service from handling any ballots unless the Postal Service has access to voter rolls. While the President says his goal is to stop voter fraud, Kaul tells Fox 11 Green Bay it's just another attempt to disenfranchise voters. "The President and his administration need to stop trying to tell states how to run elections." The lawsuit argues that the states and Congress, not the president, are the ones to set election laws.

An electrifying performance at a festival in northwestern Wisconsin. Lightning struck a utility pole and stage at Rice Lake’s Aquafest concert Friday night, as the band and audience sought shelter from a thunderstorm. Thousands of people were attending the concert with 90s country band BlackHawk. Fortunately, no one was injured by the strike, but several crew members were checked out by EMS. The rest of the concert was canceled, and the grounds were evacuated. Damaged stage equipment was replaced and music continued Saturday night.

Ridglan Farms is releasing the rest of its beagles. The research facility in the Dane County Village of Blue Mounds will be selling another 325 beagles to Big Dog Ranch this week and handing over the remainder of its testing animals by the end of August. In a statement issued on Monday the facility said all the dogs have passed inspection by both USDA and Wisconsin DATCP and that they are happy and healthy. Ridglan will lose its breeding license at the end of the month after the company agreed to surrender it as part of an investigation into long standing allegations of animal cruelty. This agreement completes the successful rescue and relocation of 2,110 beagles carried out on April 29.

University of Minnesota students, staff and faculty are opposing proposed budget cuts and a tuition hike. The proposal would raise tuition by three-point-eight-percent and eliminate about 165 jobs. It would mark the sixth consecutive year of tuition increases. University officials blame flat state funding, uncertain graduate enrollment and rising employee benefit costs. The Board of Regents will vote on the five-point-four-billion-dollar budget on June 26th.

How many new homes will Wisconsin need by decade’s end? A recently released report from Forward Analytics, the research arm of the Wisconsin Counties Association, suggests that number is around around 84,000 housing units. Just three years ago, Forward Analytics projected a need for 140,000 units by the end of the decade to meet housing demand. The new number is based on revised population projections from the Wisconsin Department of Administration using 2020 Census data. Researchers found that new data shows Wisconsin’s prime working-age population — those aged 25 to 64 — is likely to drop by around 200,000 by 2030. Still, researchers believe the state should build more than that 84,000 unit target, to both retain younger residents and attract new ones.

U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar appears to be the frontrunner in the race for Minnesota governor. A recent Star Tribune/KARE 11/ Hubbard School of Journalism and Mass Communication Minnesota poll shows the lawmaker will defeat any of the Republican candidates. The closest contest would be between Klobuchar and Lisa Demuth. The U.S. senator's polling numbers are less than her huge margins of victory in four of her past elections. The poll also shows Minnesota Lieutenant Governor Peggy Flanagan leads in the race to replace retiring U.S. Senator Tina Smith. She is facing Congresswoman Angie Craig in the DFL primary. Meanwhile, Adam Schwarze will contend against Michele Tafoya and Royce White in the Republican primary. Pollsters recognized Tafoya's name more than Schwarze, who won the Republican endorsement.