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The cause and origin of the fire which occurred at 1515 Haugen Avenue in the City of Rice Lake has been classified as ACCIDENTAL; no evidence of arson exists.  The cause of the fire is attributable to the improper disposal of burning materials (ashes) into the trash container located in close proximity to the southwest corner of the garage. The fire traveled up the exterior of the garage and into the garage attic.

Barron County authorities are notifying the public of a sex offender being released in the area. This sex offender has served the sentence imposed on him by the courts. He is not wanted by law enforcement at this time. Below is more information regarding Joseph Janota and the details of his crimes. Name: Joseph Janota (Date of Photograph 11-18-2020)Age: 65Sex: MaleHeight: 5’9”Weight: 218 lbsHair: GreyEyes: BlueRelease date: 02/23/2021 Joseph Janota will be residing at 1451 1 st Ave Ridgeland WI

Its cold here, but we are not alone in the winter weather. Winter storms are grounding or delaying thousands of flights and knocking out power to millions of Americans.  More than two and-a-half million homes and businesses are without power this morning and more than two-million are in Texas.  Oregon has 290-thousand power outages and Virginia has more than 146-thousand.  Widespread outages are the rule in North Carolina, Louisiana, Nevada, Washington, and Kentucky.  Meanwhile, many Americans are being grounded as

Candidates running for state superintendent will find out the finalists by Wednesday. The primary election is set to be held tomorrow and the top two candidates will be voted on once again in April. Candidate Deborah Kerr made a campaign stop in Eau Claire over the weekend, as did candidate Troy Gunderson.

The first ever United States Crokicurl Championship winners beat eight other teams over the weekend. The championship was held at River Prairie Park in Altoona. The game is similar to curling, but it combines aspects of a popular Canadian board game crokinole.  Curious? CLICK HERE FOR MORE.

Governor Tony Evers says there’s a chance his legal marijuana proposal will become law. CLICK TO HEAR MORE 715 NEWSROOM COVERAGE WITH Jon DeMAster: The governor was a guest on UPFRONT on Channel 12 yesterday. He said he is not pessimistic about his chances for the proposal to become law. Republican lawmakers have said there could be a conversation about medical marijuana, but they are not interested in full legalization. The governor said legal pot could be an economic boom

The man who oversaw Kenosha’s police department during last summer’s nights of violence is calling it a career. Police Chief Daniel Miskinis says he is going to retire at the end of April. Miskinis has spent more than 25 years with the Kenosha PD. Community activists have been calling for Miskinis to be fired since Jacob Blake’s shooting back in August. The chief said in his resignation email that the past six months in Kenosha have been very stressful.

The Chippewa Valley is not done with the dangerous cold just yet. The National Weather Service is leaving Eau Claire, Chippewa Falls, and the rest of western Wisconsin under a wind chill warning until 10 a.m. this morning. Forecasters say wind chills could hit 40-below. That’s cold enough to cause frostbite in as little as 10 minutes. Local forecast here.

Eau Claire police are asking prosecutors to add homicide charges to the list for last week’s deadly shooting. Police want the case against Selwyn Smith upgraded. Originally, police arrested Smith on a weapons charge. Investigators are not saying just what happened, but do say Smith shot a man he knew at a house in the 500-block of Dodge Street around Friday afternoon.

Hunters and trappers in Wisconsin will be able to take 200 wolves this month. The state’s Department of Natural Resources on Friday set the harvest numbers. This is the first year for a wolf hunt in Wisconsin since the gray wolf was taken off of the endangered species list. DNR will meet today to talk about when wolf season will begin.