WXPR: Keep off exposed lakebeds, say DNR wardens (RHINELANDER)
D N R wardens are warning people from driving on exposed lake beds in the northwoods. W X P R reports low water levels on the Rainbow Flowage in Oneida County have exposed parts of the lakebed, and people have been riding out on the surface in ATVs and vehicles. Wardens say that can permanently damage the lake once the water fills the reservoir again, and is illegal in any case. People caught on the lake could face fines and citations.
No more bagged milk at Kwik Trip (LA CROSSE)
It’s the end of a tradition as Kwik Trip is set to discontinue bagged milk. The convenience store chain has been offering milk in bags for 40 years, a practice more common in Canada than the US. But company officials say fewer and fewer people have been buying the bags, and they’ll be ending sales in May. Shoppers will continue to be able to buy milk in plastic jugs.
More homeless Wisconsinites after pandemic, says new report (MADISON)
Wisconsin’s homelessness rate is trending upwards according to a new report. The Wisconsin Policy Forum says the number of homeless Wisconsinites is up after years of decline. W P F says pressures from the pandemic pushed many people out of their homes as they lost their jobs, and the sudden rise in home prices and rent has only made it harder for people to get back into a permanent home. The Forum says Wisconsin communities need to look at expanding transitional housing for homeless people, and try to make up the difference in lost federal stimulus funds to continue to provide shelter.
Ships as large as one that collapsed bridge don’t call on Wisconsin ports (UNDATED)
Ships as large as the vessel which struck the Key bridge in Baltimore do not call on Wisconsin’s Great Lakes ports. The Singapore registered cargo ship which collided with and collapsed the bridge is 984 feet long with a beam of 158 feet. That’s considerably bigger than vessels that call on Wisconsin ports. A statement from Port Milwaukee says it receives oceangoing ships of roughly the same length, but only only half the width. Ships up to 875 feet in length call on the Port of Green Bay, about 100 feet shorter than the ship that struck the bridge. And vessels like that which struck the bridge in Baltimore do not call at the Port of Duluth-Superior, where they wouldn’t fit through the locks.