Local-Regional News Sept 2

 

Four people were injured in a two-vehicle accident in Wabasha County on Monday. According to the Minnesota State Patrol, a vehicle driving southbound on Hwy 2 in Elgin Township collided with another vehicle at the intersection of Hwy 247. 72yr old Nikki Werner and 72yr old Marie Hangsleben, both of Pepin suffered life-threatening injuries, while 89yr old Paul Dicke and 88yr old Janice Diercks, both of Goodhue received non-life-threatening injuries.

The Durand-Arkansaw School board has a vacancy. The vacancy occurred due to the resignation of board member Cathy Asher. The board will conduct interviews of interested candidates in late September. The seat will be up for election on the April 2027 ballot for a two-year term. For more information, contact Durand-Arkansaw School Superintendent Ryan Nelson or Board President Bill Yingst.

Dunn County is asking the FCC to change its official local TV Market to Eau Claire. In a formal request, The Dunn County Board of Supervisors is asking the Federal Communications Commission to give county residents television programming from the La Crosse-Eau Claire TV market rather than from the Twin Cities. The request is intended to ask the FCC to ensure that television viewers, local businesses, and communities across Dunn County are served by a media market that better reflects the region's daily realities and local interests.

The Madison Street Project in Durand continues to move forward. Crews are laying the first coat of blacktop today. Crews will also begin to complete landscaping and sign replacement along Madison Street over the next few weeks. The project is expected to be completed by this fall.

A new online survey is asking Chippewa Valley residents questions to help shape their health in Chippewa, Dunn and Eau Claire counties. The responses will help decide the biggest community health issues that local health coalitions will work on from 2028 to 2030. The 2026 Community Health Survey will be open through next month.

Two people are hurt after a crash in the Town of Pigeon Falls. The Trempealeau County Sheriff's Office says Stacey Lisowski was traveling north on Hwy 53 and stopped for a school bus when she was rear-ended by Addisyn Feyen who didn’t see Lisowski due to foggy conditions. Lisowski was hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries; Feyen suffered minor injuries.

The Trempealeau County Sheriff’s Department is asking for the public’s help in identifying the person who stole items from the Express Mart in Eleva on Sunday night. According to the department, the man entered the store wearing a black hoodie and black mask, stole the items he wanted and then fled the scene. If anyone has any information, they are to call the Trempealeau County Sheriff’s Department.

The Wisconsin State Patrol will conduct aerial enforcement in several Western Wisconsin Counties through Labor Day Weekend. Troopers will conduct the enforcement operations over I-94 in Eau Claire County on Thursday, and over Hwy 29 in Chippewa County on Friday. Troopers will be looking for impaired drivers and those drivers speeding and driving dangerously.

A Viroqua farmer is dead following a farming accident. The Vernon County Sheriff's Office says the incident happened yesterday at a farm on Cherry Grove Road in rural Viroqua. Investigators believe the victim entered a grain bin to clear corn and became trapped. The grain then collapsed around him.

Measles cases continue to climb in southwestern Wisconsin. The number of confirmed cases has jumped to 102 in the region, an increase of ten compared to last Friday's report. The majority of those cases are located in Iowa and Lafayette counties, with the former leading the way with 55 confirmed cases. Health officials are urging people to get vaccinated for the illness as it is very contagious. Employers are also being asked to have employees show records of their last vaccination.

Minnesota and Wisconsin officials are launching the Blatnik Bridge replacement project. Hundreds attended Monday's groundbreaking for the one-point-eight-billion-dollar project. Each state is contributing 400-million dollars, while the federal government is providing one-point-zero-five-billion dollars. The existing bridge will remain open until early 2027, with the replacement expected to open in fall 2031. Officials say the project will strengthen Upper Midwest supply chains and connections to global markets.

Employment service wait times may be decreasing for Wisconsinites with disabilities. A new round of federal funding could help clear a long waitlist. Democratic Governor Tony Evers says funding from the US Department of Education will allow the Department of Workforce Development's Division of Vocational Rehabilitation to serve all eligible participants through at least 2027 without restarting a waitlist. The program helps people with disabilities prepare for and find work. About 7600 people were on the waitlist earlier this year after demand outpaced available funding. State officials say the new federal money will help remove barriers to employment, with a goal of eliminating the waitlist entirely by June of next year.

Tony Romo is not contesting his O W I arrest. Romo pleaded no contest in Milwaukee County court to the charges against him, including a citation for first time O W I. He was arrested in July after a traffic stop. Romo's drivers license has been revoked for 6 months and he'll have to pay a fine and undergo a drunk driving diversion program. Romo is off the air at C B S for now, former Badgers all star J J Watt has replaced him on the announcing desk for N F L games.

A Portage County woman accused of repeatedly poisoning her ex-husband has been formally charged. Court records show Jessica Meis was arrested after allegedly putting eye drops into his drinks in May 2025, causing extreme fatigue, dizziness, headaches and more. Investigators say the victim installed a camera in his kitchen in mid-July after suspecting he was being poisoned. Officers reviewed the two videos and determined Meis was poisoning the victim. She was arrested and has now been charged with aggravated battery and placing foreign objects in edibles, with a preliminary hearing set for Wednesday.

A Delta flight leaving Minneapolis had to return after the pilot became ill. The plane was headed to Orlando from Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport yesterday returned. Delta did not provide details about the medical issue or the pilot's current condition. The flight eventually took off again for Orlando.

Help for people experiencing mental health and substance use concerns is just a call, chat or text away. Caroline Crehan-Neuman with the Wisconsin Department of Health Services says the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline provides free and confidential support with trained counselors, who can help people work through a myriad of issues that they may be facing. Crehan-Neuman says the assistance available has proven to be helpful, with less than half a percent of all contacts to the 988 center in Wisconsin requiring any type of additional intervention. In Wisconsin, calls, texts, and chats are answered by the 988 Wisconsin Lifeline, a service of Family Services of Northeast Wisconsin contracted with the Department of Health Services.