Month: September 2022

Nobody was injured following a chemical  reaction at an apartment complex swimming pool.   Fond du Lac firefighters were called Thursday afternoon to the Countryside Village Apartments on Security Drive where a small amount of  sulferic acid and chlorine liquid mixed, resulting in a strong smell of chlorine gas.  A contractor was on site conducting work within the apartment complex pool area and mechanical room when the chemical liquid pumps inadvertently operated causing […]

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The Wisconsin Legislature’s budget committee approved a spending plan Thursday for $31 million the state expects to receive this year from a multi-state settlement with drug manufacturers over their role in the opioid crisis. Republicans blocked Gov. Tony Evers' proposed spending plan last month and came back with a new plan that prioritizes funding for law enforcement. The approved plan also includes funding for Narcan, a […]

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Wisconsin's 1,800-plus election clerks are racing to understand a judge’s ruling nine weeks before the election that some fear could lead to absentee ballots being counted in some parts of the battleground state but rejected in others. A judge on Wednesday barred the bipartisan Wisconsin Elections Commission from issuing guidance to clerks, in place since 2016, about how to handle absentee ballots that are missing all […]

The Fond du Lac County Public Health Officer says her o ice has received the newly updated COVID-19 booster shots.   Public Health Officer Kim Mueller says people who want the new booster shot can call the Public Health Department at (920) 929-3085 to schedule an appointment.   Meanwhile, Mueller says she is not surprised that federal health officials said this week they expect the COVID-19 booster  shot to become an annual vaccine […]

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A group of parents is suing the Eau Claire Area School District for guidance it issued to staff members on supporting transgender students. Parents Protecting Our Children, a group of parents with children in the Eau Claire school system, argued in a complaint filed in federal court Wednesday that the school’s policies for supporting transgender students violate constitutional protections for parental rights and religious freedom. A […]

WISCONSIN RAPIDS, Wis. (AP) — A Wisconsin prison inmate has been charged with first-degree murder in a 37-year-old cold case. The state Department of Justice announced the charge Wednesday against Donald Wayne Maier, now 60, in the 1985 slaying of 28-year-old Benny Scruggs. Scruggs was found stabbed to death in his bed in his Wisconsin Rapids home. Maier is serving 15 years in prison for six counts of stalking in […]

Today is the last day on the job for Fond du Lac County Emergency Management director Bobbie Hicken.  Hicken is stepping down after five years at the helm after accepting a job in the private sector.  Hicken says while she is proud of what she was able to accomplish and enjoyed her work, it will be nice not having to be on call around the clock.  Hicken says the county […]

LONDON (AP) — Buckingham Palace says Queen Elizabeth II, Britain’s longest-reigning monarch, has died. She was 96. Elizabeth spent more than seven decades on the throne as the U.K. rebuilt from war, lost an empire, transformed its economy and both entered and left the European Union. She was a constant presence, the only monarch most Britons have ever known, and she guided the institution of the monarchy through choppy waters. […]

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention  is encouraging health care providers to to be on the lookout for polio cases and to reinforce routine childhood polio  vaccination  following the recent polio outbreak in New York state.  The Wisconsin Department of Health and Human Services sent out a statewide memo recently  to health care providers about a Clinician Outreach and Communication Activity call to discuss how to report suspected cases and recommendations for polio […]