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Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce (WMC) – the combined state chamber and manufacturer’s association – and a coalition of business groups sent a letter to Gov. Evers urging him to launch a talent attraction campaign aimed at addressing Wisconsin’s workforce shortage. The letter calls on the governor to utilize $3 million in funds from the Wisconsin State Budget and additional money from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA).  WMC recommended the talent attraction campaign be modeled after the campaign launched in

Milwaukee Police do not know where three-year-old Major Harris is, but they believe they are piecing together what happened to his mother. Investigators say they’ve arrested several people in connection to Mallery Muenzenberger’s death. She’s from Onalaska, but police found her last Thursday at a home on Milwaukee’s north side, where she had been shot to death. Police say the main suspect in her death killed himself as officers closed in last weekend. No one is saying where her son

It could be next week before we know the suspect in this month’s attack on a young mom in De Pere. The D.A. in Brown County yesterday asked for an extension to file formal charges against the 17-year-old being held for the attack. A judge has ordered the teen held on one million-dollars bond and is allowing prosecutors to wait until next Thursday to file formal charges. The young man is accused of attacking a mom and her baby along

The investigation into Eau Claire County’s Department of Human Services is ramping up. The county’s sheriff this week served warrants to DHS managers as part of the ongoing look into finances at the department. Sheriff Ron Cramer said in a statement yesterday that DHS managers have not cooperated with the investigation. He said deputies have been hit with denials and delays. The sheriff started looking into DHS back in May of 2020 after reports of missing or misspent money started

Eau Claire is hoping to bring a new grocery store and apartment building downtown. The city’s Redevelopment Authority has given the green light for developers to build an apartment building with a grocery store on the first level in the empty parking lot near Phoenix Park off of Barstow Street. The plan calls for 190 new apartments upstairs, and a 98-hundred square foot store for the Menomonie Market Co-op.

Wisconsin’s latest round of building money includes cash for mental health projects in the Chippewa Valley. State Senator Kathy Bernier says some of the 124 million-dollars from the Wisconsin State Building Commission will mean more beds at local hospitals. Yesterday she said Sacred Heart Hospital and St. Joseph’s Hospital will be adding 22 new mental health beds for both adolescents and adults. That will bring the total number of mental health beds at HSHS 33 for adults, and 18 for teens and

 Wisconsin’s latest statewide test scores are trending down. The state’s Department of Public Instruction yesterday said students did worse on the reading, math, science, and social studies portions of last year’s standardized tests even though fewer students took the tests. Reading and math proficiency is down to 39 percent, social studies proficiency dropped to 49 percent, and science proficiency was the best at 52 percent. But those scores are swayed because fewer students actually took the test. DPI says statewide,

Assembly Speaker Robin Vos and Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu are sharing Wisconsin’s new political map. The Republican-drawn map would likely guarantee GOP majorities in both the State Assembly and State Senate. The map would also give Republicans an advantage in Congressional races. The Republican leaders say the map passes all constitutional and legal requirements, while Democrats say they are gerrymandered. There are already lawsuits filed that challenge the Republican-drawn map.

Younger teens in Wisconsin could soon be able to work longer shifts.  The State Senate yesterday quickly approved a plan that would allow people under 16-years-old to work until 9:30 on school nights, and work until 11 p.m. on nights without school. Currently, younger teens can’t work past 7 p.m. during the school year, and 9 p.m. during the summer. The plan still needs to go for a vote in the State Assembly before it can be sent to the governor.

There will be a bit of frost on the pumpkin, but Eau Claire should miss the hard freeze. The city is just north of a freeze warning from the National Weather Service. Temperatures are expected to be in the low 40s this morning but will drop into the 30s tomorrow and into the weekend.