Local-Regional News June 29

 

A motorcycle rider is dead after a Friday crash in Dunn County. Authorities say the rider collided with a semi truck on County Road K in the Town of New Haven. That person was taken to Regions Hospital where they later died. The crash occurred while both the semi truck and motorcycle were negotiating a curve on Hwy K. The driver of the semi was unhurt.

Get ready for extremely hot temperatures across Wisconsin this week. The National Weather Service has issued an extreme heat warning for the southern half of the state through at least Tuesday including the entire WRDN Listening Area. Heat indexes are expected to reach over 100 degrees today . Meteorologists remind you to stay hydrated if you have to be outside, take breaks if working in the heat, and to never leave pets or children in cars even for a few minutes.

Construction on Hwy 10 from the Pepin-Buffalo County Line to Hwy A in Mondovi will begin today. Crews will be replacing the pavement surface and overlay the roadway with asphalt. The work includes cleaing and repairing or replacing culvert pipes and cleaning ditches. Hwy 10 will remain open to traffic but there will be single lane closures controlled by flagging operations. The project is scheduled to be completed in August. The cost of the project is approximately $3.5 million.

The city of Durand has received $10,000 for snow removal costs from the spring snowstorm. Durand Mayor Patrick Milliren says the money came from a state disaster declaration.

A new rideshare service is coming to Mondovi. American Phoenix Transportation Services will provide transportation to Eau Claire two times a week. Mondovi Mayor Brady Weiss believes the service is needed.  The company hopes to begin that service in July.

Wisconsin State Patrol is reporting the recent arrest of an Osseo man on OWI charges. Fifty-one-year-old James Lusk was stopped for a moving violation when officers say he showed signs of impairment. This was Lusk's seventh time being arrested for OWI.

Officials say a pilot has died in a plane crash at the Winona Airport. The 74-year-old pilot, Wayne Ledebuhr of Winona, was the only person on board when the aircraft went down on Thursday night. First responders attempted life-saving measures, but he died at the scene. Federal officials say the aircraft crashed while trying to land around 8 p.m. The National Transportation Safety Board and Federal Aviation Administration are investigating.

Prison for a Rice Lake man convicted of sex crimes involving a child victim. Investigators say that Jonathan Scheel sexually assaulted a 12-year-old child multiple times. Scheel pleaded guilty earlier this year to a charge of second-degree sexual assault of a child and was sentenced Friday to eight years in prison.

Wisconsin leaders are restarting efforts to bring Amtrak service to the capital city. Governor Tony Evers and the Department of Transportation explained yesterday a grant application was submitted to expand the Amtrak line to include service to Dane County and others. The proposal would see the twice-daily Hiawatha line from Chicago to Milwaukee go to Madison, Watertown, and Pewaukee. The Evers administration believes a successful move forward would create dozens of permanent jobs and have a positive impact on the Badger State economy.

Dane County prosecutors are expected to charge 51 more animal rights activists in connection with protests and rescues at the Ridglan Farms beagle breeding facility. Court officials say the charges are expected to be filed next week. Four activists already face charges tied to the March rescue of 22 beagles. Ridglan Farms is set to surrender its breeding license on July 1st under an agreement to avoid animal cruelty charges. The company also plans to release the remaining dogs to rescue organizations by August and permanently close its breeding and experimentation operations.

State wildlife officials say conflicts involving gray wolves, livestock, and pets are declining. The Department of Natural Resources paid about 200-thousand-dollars in damage claims this year, almost 100-thousand-dollars less than in 2024. Officials say complaints and verified wolf conflicts are down across the board. The DNR credits predator-proof fencing with helping protect livestock from wolf attacks. This comes as two federal bills seeking to remove gray wolves from the Endangered Species List remain pending.

Rochester is receiving 500-thousand dollars from the Environmental Protection Agency to assess polluted sites downtown. KTTC reports that the money comes through the EPA's Brownfields grant program. The program helps cities evaluate and clean up contaminated properties for possible redevelopment. The grant will fund assessments at sites including the former Mr. Muffler property, the former Rochester City Mill and the Silver Lake Power Plant. City officials say identifying environmental concerns can reduce risk for future developers, investors and city projects.

Students at UW-Madison are losing robot delivery service. Starship Technologies says delivery robot operations are going to stop in Madison and at other colleges around the country. Officials noted they are shifting their focus to hot food delivery and grocery chains in cities across the U.S. and Europe. UW-Madison students have had access to the robot delivery service during each school year since 2019.

Wisconsin is in the middle of the road when it comes to patriotism. A recent WalletHub survey recently ranked the 50 most Patriotic states in the country based on military and civic engagement. The finance website looked at items such as the number of military enlistees and veterans and how many people voted in the 2024 election. The Badger State was ranked 25th in the survey, but was listed at 15th in the civic engagement category. In case you were wondering, Virginia was ranked as the most patriotic state.