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A garage fire in Rice Lake was knocked down in a little over an hour. It was a bit before 6 on Monday morning, December 6th, when the Rice Lake Fire Department was dispatched to a reported structure fire at 2186 21 1⁄2 Street in the township of Rice Lake. Upon arrival of the first fire department unit at approximately 05:50 am, we found a garage completely involved in fire. Firefighters utilized two 1 3⁄4” attack lines and a 2

It will be the Badgers in Vegas on December 30th. Wisconsin accepted an invitation to the Las Vegas bowl yesterday. The Badgers will take-on Arizona State the day before New Year’s Eve. This is the 20th year in a row that Wisconsin has made it to a bowl game.

You are waking up to the white stuff and a windy start to the week. It’s all coming back to us now… It will be cold in the Chippewa Valley, but Eau Claire will miss the worst of the winter weather in western Wisconsin. The National Weather Service is allowing a winter storm warning for the northwestern tip of the state to expire early this morning. In Eau Claire it will be windy and cold. Highs will be in the teens

Wisconsin’s governor is turning down a plan that would allow parents to see just what their kids are learning in school. Governor Tony Evers on Friday vetoed the classroom transparency act. Governor Evers says he vetoed the plan because lawmakers didn’t include any new money to pay schools to list their lesson plans. Lawmakers say parents need to know the specifics of what their kids are being taught. They are promising to try again next year.

No one is saying why Whitewater’s police chief is off the job. The city’s police department on Friday announced that Chief Aaron Raap has been placed on paid leave. The city also announced that there is an internal investigation into the chief. Whitewater says they are looking into what Raap did outside of the city, but no one is offering any specifics. Whitewater’s deputy police chief will step-up in Raap’s absence.

Wisconsin ended last week with over 14 hundred people in the hospital with the coronavirus. The state’s Hospital Association says just over 14-hundred people are hospitalized with the virus. There are just under 400 people in ICUs across the state with the virus as well. The Hospital Association says there are just 41 ICU beds that are immediately available across the state. The Hospital Association does not track how many people are hospitalized with the virus as opposed to those who

Eau Claire’s downtown loop finally has a name. Downtown Eau Claire Inc says voters chose the name Eau Claire Riverwalk. City leaders made the announcement on Saturday during Downtown’s Haymarket Holiday event on Saturday. DECI’s Sara Larsen says people are also weighing-in on the Cannery District and its new park. That park is set to be built between the Madison Street Bridge and the High Bridge.

Fort McCoy is becoming one of Wisconsin’s sewing hubs. The fort has opened two sewing centers so Afghan refugees can make their own clothes. Most of the work is done by Afghan women for Afghan women. The women say they are making dresses and pants for fellow refugees. Commanders at the Fort say there are nearly eight thousand refugees left at Fort McCoy. At one point there were nearly 13 thousand.

It’s another sign of the return to normal. Eau Claire’s Run Santa Run 5K welcomed runners back on Saturday. Race organizers had to cancel the 5k last year because of the coronavirus. Runners say it was great to get back to it, and great to raise some money for a cause this holiday season.

COVID-19’s new omicron variant is present in Wisconsin.  Over the weekend, state health officials confirmed the single case.  A man in Milwaukee County who recently returned from a trip to South Africa has tested positive for omicron.  He is fully vaccinated including having already gotten his booster as well.  The case is unrelated to another incidence of a COVID-19 infection at a wedding last weekend which is still under investigation by the Wisconsin Department of Health and the Milwaukee County