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It was tornadoes that caused much of the damage in Stanley and Neillsville. The National Weather Service yesterday confirmed two tornadoes in western Wisconsin as part of yesterday’s windstorm. Forecasters say the Neillsville tornado was an EF-2, with tops winds around 120 miles-per-hour. There is plenty of damage in both communities, but there are no reports of any serious injuries. There’s also damage across the Chippewa Valley. Crews are expected to be back out today to try and clear what remains.As clean

Highway 141 in Marinette County is back open after Wednesday’s chain-reaction-crash tipped a train on its side. The sheriff’s office reopened the road yesterday. One person died and several others were hurt in Wednesday’s crash. Deputies are blaming the fog for a series of crashes that pushed at least one vehicle into a moving train. That caused the train to derail, and closed the highway for about 24 hours.

There will be more police officers in Eau Claire schools today out of an abundance of caution. Eau Claire Superintendent Michael Johnson is trying to calm parents about an anonymous threat about school violence on Tik Tok. The threat mentions ‘every school in the USA,’ but doesn’t specifically say anything about Eau Claire schools. Johnson says kids will be in class today as scheduled. But he also says there will be an increased police presence just in case.

Families across the state who missed free school lunches because their kids’ schools were closed are getting some extra food stamp benefits. The state’s Department of Health Services yesterday announced a plan to make-up for what was missed because of the coronavirus. Families will get just over seven-dollars per-child, per-day for missed meals. The money is coming from the federal government. DHS says Wisconsin families who are enrolled in food stamps can expect a letter soon that explains just when they will

There’s a plan to end Wisconsin’s income tax. Former Governor Scott Walker, along with UW economist Noah Williams and a handful of reform groups in the state are making a serious pitch to lawmakers to end the state’s personal income tax and replace it with a slightly higher sales tax. The former governor says not only would it save the average family about 17-hundred-dollars-a-year, it would create jobs and likely bring more people to the state. He says eliminating the income

Wisconsin is ending the week with nearly 17 hundred people in the hospital with the coronavirus. The state’s Hospital Association yesterday said just over 16-hundred and 50 people are hospitalized, including 410 in the ICU. Those numbers are just about where the state was to begin the week. The Hospital Association, of course, doesn’t track the number of people hospitalized with the virus, compared to the number of people hospitalized because of it. Meanwhile, public health managers in Madison are telling people

It’s now Ambassador Tom Barrett. The U.S. Senate yesterday confirmed Milwaukee’s mayor as the new ambassador to Luxembourg. President Biden nominated Barrett for the post back in August, but he’s been waiting for an official vote. That vote came yesterday. Both Wisconsin Senator Tammy Baldwin and Senator Ron Johnson helped move Barrett’s nomination forward. Barrett’s departure kicks-off a special election for Milwaukee mayor. That field is already crowded.

There’s another chance to remember the people lost or hurt in the attack on Waukesha’s Christmas Parade. Downtown Waukesha business owners are hosting a lantern walk tonight, from 6 til 8. Organizers say the idea is to bring ‘light and hope’ to the city’s downtown that has been so dark and sad since police say Darrell Brooks Jr. drove through the parade nearly  month ago. You can bring your own lantern, or there will be some for sale in downtown.

Governor Tony Evers is celebrating good news on the employment front.  The Department of Workforce Development released U.S. Labor Statistics today showing the state’s preliminary unemployment rate tied for a record-low three-percent in November.  That is down two-tenths of a percent from October.  The last time the jobless rate was as low as three-percent was in November of 2018. 

Expansion and new jobs are coming to Green Bay.  Georgia Pacific is planning to invest 500-million-dollars to build new equipment using air-dried-technology.  The construction project alone will utilize up to 500 workers.  The new paper machine is expected to be in operation in 2024.