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 Most federal employees are getting today off to observe the new Juneteenth holiday.  President Biden signed it into law ahead of tomorrow’s anniversary marking the end of slavery in the U.S.  He said “Great nations don’t ignore their most painful moments,” but embrace them to help heal and grow stronger.  Vice President Harris added the country has come far, and there’s still far to go.  This is the first federal holiday since 1983. 

The young Rusk County man who police say pulled the trigger in last Memorial Day Weekend’s shooting in Eau Claire is going to prison. A judge sentenced Kyle Baker to four years in prison on an endangering safety charge. Police say Baker shot a man in the stomach outside a mobile home on Eau Claire’s north side on May 24th of last year. The shooting victim survived.

Former Eau Claire County Treasurer Larry Lokken hasn’t paid back much of the money he stole from taxpayers. The latest numbers show Lokken paid just 356 dollars over the past year. To date, he’s paid just over 18-thousand-dollars of the 700-thousand-dollars he and his former assistant Kay Onarheim were ordered to pay as part of their prison sentences. Onarheim has repaid nearly 90-thousand-dollars. They were convicted of stealing about one-point-three-million-dollars from taxpayers over a number of years. Lokken is asking

The two armed and dangerous men who had Bayside Police scouring the city are in jail. WTMJ-4 reported yesterday that authorities arrested the two yesterday morning, about five hours after the pair touched-off a shelter in place order. Police say the two ran from DEA agents who tried to stop them along I-43 early yesterday morning. No one is saying anything about that part of the case.

Today is the last day for Eau Claire County’s coronavirus call center. The county’s health department is closing the center after 15 months. The health department’s Audrey Boerner says the call center handled over 10-thousand calls, or an average of 24 calls per-day during its tenure. Anyone who has questions about the virus, the vaccine, or anything else related to the coronavirus is being told to call the state’s Department of Health Services. CLICK HERE FOR MORE. Wisconsin’s coronavirus count

Today is the last day for smaller communities in Wisconsin to ask for their share of the state’s coronavirus stimulus. The state’s Department of Revenue yesterday said about 300 smaller communities have not yet applied for any money. There are about 18-hundred communities with under 50-thousand people who are eligible for some of the state’s American Rescue Plan money. Revenue Secretary Peter Barca says the remaining 300 communities have till midnight to get their applications to the state.  

The plan from Republicans at the Wisconsin Capitol is to cut both income and property taxes. The Republican-controlled Joint Finance Committee yesterday added three billion-dollars’ worth of tax cuts into the next state budget. The cuts include changing income tax brackets, as well as a cut to property taxes. Lawmakers say the budget replaces any losses for local schools with state money. Democrats say the income tax changes are pushing Wisconsin toward a flat tax. Governor Evers has not said whether he will sign

There’s another big change coming to Lambeau Field this year. Green Bay yesterday said the team is switching to digital tickets. The Packers say they are making the move to try and cut down on counterfeit tickets. The Packers say they will send commemorative stubs to season ticket holders this year, but everyone else will lose-out on their piece of gameday history.

 Of all of the things you will need to bring to Summerfest this year, dollar bills will not be one of them. Summerfest managers yesterday said they are going cashless this year. That means only debit or credit cards will be accepted for food, drinks, and tickets. There will be an option to use cash for a pre-paid debit card at Summerfest. This year’s Summerfest kicks-off September 1st, and runs for three straight weekends.

A convicted sex offender is in police custody after being on the run for the past year-and-a-half.  Lloyd Pitzen cut off his monitoring bracelet and escaped from transitional living in Oshkosh in 2019.  He was arrested over the weekend by U.S. Marshals who tracked him down to a casino in Las Vegas.  Pitzen also escaped from transitional housing in Wautoma in 2015 when he cut off his monitoring device and walked away.