Home

Authorities released additional information regarding a homicide investigation in Eau Claire County. A suspect in the case was named today. The update is below: UPDATE #2 06/21/22:The victim in this homicide is identified as Eddie L. Banks, age 46. The manner of death appears to be a gunshot wound. Through evidence and interviews, the Eau Claire County Sheriff’s Office has identified a suspect, Philip R. Novak, age 36. See attached photo of Novak. Novak is believed to have fled the

To accommodate traffic control for the Blue Ox Music Festival, Crescent Avenue between North Town Hall Road and Eagle Lane will be closed beginning at 6:00 A.M. on Thursday, June 23rd . The road will reopen at 10:00 P.M. Heavy traffic for the music festival is expected on Crescent Avenue. Commuters who usually use Crescent Avenue may prefer to use an alternate route. The Blue Ox Music Festival runs from Thursday, June 23rd through Saturday, June 25th .

Eau Claire’s sheriff is now calling the investigation into a body found in a ditch last week a homicide investigation. The sheriff’s department yesterday said it looks like a ‘targeted and isolated incident,’ but did not provide any other specifics. Deputies found a 46-year-old man’s body in the ditch along Mallard Road last Thursday. There is no word yet how the man died, or why the sheriff’s office is now treating the case as a homicide.

The trial for the Waukesha Christmas Parade suspect will stay in Waukesha. A Waukesha County judge yesterday denied Darrell Brooks Jr.’s request for a change of venue. The judge said she will instead expand the jury pool in order to find a fair jury in the case. Brooks is, of course, charged with murder and over 80 other charges after police say he drove through the Christmas Parade in downtown Waukesha last November. Six people died, over 60 others were

They are changing the rules for pot in Stevens Point. The city council last night voted to reduce the fine for anyone over 18 who is caught with under 25 grams of marijuana to just five dollars. The original fine was 100 dollars. There were some in Stevens Point who wanted to lower the fines for 17-year-olds as well, but the city council balked at that as lowering the age and fine too much. Young teens will continue to face

Chickens and ducks are making a return just in time for fair season. The state’s Department of Agriculture yesterday lifted its ban on poultry at live events in Wisconsin. The state put the restrictions into place back in the spring as a check against the bird flu, but Wisconsin hasn’t reported a new bird flu case in over a month. Still, more than two-and-a-half million birds were put down during the bird flu outbreak in the state.

They are keeping the pool in Chippewa Falls open. City leaders yesterday said they have found enough money to keep the Bernard Willi Pool open for another two or three years. Chippewa Falls announced this spring that it was going to close the pool after this summer because it was just too expensive to maintain and repair. But a huge swell of community support appears to have changed some minds. No details on how much money Chippewa Falls has found

We’re going to get some answers about the August election today.  Wisconsin Elections Commission Administrator Meagan Wolfe has a news conference scheduled for this afternoon to talk about the August Primary. She says she will  discuss preparations for the election. Her Q&A comes as Republicans in Wisconsin continue to question how Wolfe and the Elections Commission handled the presidential election back in 2020.

 Add a new frigate to the ships being built in Wisconsin. The Navy has awarded Marinette Marine the contract to build a new 536 million-dollar Constellation-class frigate at its shipyard in Marinette. The new ship is just part of a five-and-a-half billion-dollar ship building program for the Navy. Marinette says the new order will mean thousands of jobs in northeastern Wisconsin for years to come.

Reports of an erratic driver lead to an arrest and discovery of a stolen vehicle. It was on June 20, 2022, at approximately 11:55a.m., a Lake Hallie Police Officer, received a call about white Chrysler 300 driving erratically on westbound on Hwy 29. The officer learned that the vehicle had just been stolen from Clark County. The Lake Hallie Officer attempted to stop the Chrysler with his emergency lights and sirens, but the vehicle failed to stop and increased its’