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There’s one way to come out of a closet. Open the door and step out. Augustus “Gus” Hinton knows that. He’s done that. The gap between knowing what to do, however, and developing the inner strength to take that step — into the light — is a broad, dark expanse when you’re young and about to alter the course of your life. Hinton, a University of Wisconsin-Stout alum, lived in that shadow world throughout his teenage years in La Crosse.

The City of Eau Claire is asking for your input. They announced “Empower Eau Claire”, the first Participatory Budgeting program by a city in the state of Wisconsin. Participatory Budgeting is a democratic process that gives residents the power to directly decide how to spend part of the City’s budget on community projects that will impact their lives. Empower Eau Claire, the City of Eau Claire’s participatory budgeting program, will kick off with an event on Tuesday, October 5, 2021

There are no ICU beds immediately available in Northwestern Wisconsin. The Wisconsin Hospital association reports there are zero ICU beds available out of 26 hospitals in the region.  They say many of the beds are taken by COVID-19 patients.  Nine COVID patients were hospitalized in the region at the end of July, but the number is now at 112. CLICK HERE FOR MORE FROM WI WHA.

The Eau Claire Plan Commission has voted to recommend the rezoning of a motel and adopt a plan to turn it into an apartment.  The motel has been reported as a problematic property in the area.  A new owner of the motel says he wants to turn the image of the motel around and create apartments to make it a desirable place to live.  The city council will make its final decision at their meeting on September 27th. 

The Chippewa Falls Parks, Recreation and Forestry Department is looking to add more programs.  The department director says there’s been a decline in participation of the programs they currently offer.  He says they want the public’s feedback on what programs they want to see.  The Chippewa Falls Parks and Rec department is already looking at implementing a new hiking program for the fall.

Investigators in Dunn County’s quadruple murder say the four people found dead in an SUV two weeks ago were dead when they arrived in our area. Detectives yesterday said the four were killed in St. Paul, then left in a cornfield in rural Dunn County. The news means that St. Paul Police will take the lead on the case, and it means that the trials of the two suspects will be held in Minnesota and not in Menomonie.

The National Weather Service will be in Trempealeau County today to see if a tornado caused yesterday’s storm damage. A line of severe storms cut across western Wisconsin yesterday afternoon. Folks south of Strum saw the worst of the damage. Forecasters say they saw rotation on the radar, but they’re not sure if a tornado actually touched-down. There are no reports of any serious injuries, though there are plenty of reports of storm damage.

Eau Claire’s school board says its next meeting will be online because some people didn’t want to wear masks to last night’s meeting. School board president Tim Nordin almost immediately canceled last night’s meeting after a few people showed-up without masks. Nordin says he refuses to meet with people who are going to make the school board less safe. The school board meeting will now be held online, next week.

More than a quarter million people in Wisconsin could be getting 100 bucks for getting their coronavirus shot. The state’s Department of Health Services updated its vaccine numbers yesterday. Governor Evers announced plans to give people 100-dollar gift cards for getting vaccinated back on August 22nd. Since then, over 250-thousand people got their shots. That comes to just over 25-million-dollars in gift cards. It’s unclear how many people have gotten paid. Everyone who got their shot had to also register with the