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Flags will fly at half-staff on Saturday to honor a volunteer fire chief who died from coronavirus.  Governor Tony Evers today ordered flags lowered on state buildings in honor of Chief Donald Kittleson of the Clayton Volunteer Fire Department.  Kittleson died December 17th after contracting COVID-19 on the job.

Looking for something SAFE and FUN to do this weekend?  Get out and enjoy the Sculpture Tour, and your last chance to vote for People’s Choice!  To provide an entertainment option for New Year’s weekend, Sculpture Tour has extended the vote for People’s Choice until Sunday night at Midnight.  You can walk off some of those Christmas calories, it’s easy to safe distance, you’re outside, you can hit the after Christmas specials at downtown shops and galleries…AND you get to help

 Joe Clark, who inspired the 1989 movie “Lean on Me,” has died in Gainesville, Florida at the age of 82.  Sara Lee Kessler reports. Photo Credit: deadline.com

Iowa-based Hy-Vee is joining other pharmacies in giving COVID-19 vaccinations to people in long-term care facilities and nursing homes. About a month ago, Hy-Vee advertised for 500 pharmacy technicians for its vaccination program and they gave their first vaccines at a nursing home in Minnesota Tuesday. Hy-Vee says 100 residents and staff at the healthcare facility were given the Moderna vaccine. They’ll get another shot in 28 days.  Hy-Vee is expanding its vaccination outreach in Wisconsin and in eight Midwestern states. 

The Eau Claire City-County Health Department wants to know what your top health concerns are. A community health survey for Chippewa and Eau Claire counties is available online. The health department says they need public input to make health improvement efforts over the next three years.  CLICK HERE TO CHIME IN

Nearly a million people have downloaded Wisconsin’s coronavirus tracking app. The state’s Department of Health Services yesterday said over 937 thousand people have activated the app, though it’s not clear how many people have been notified through the app. DHS continues to insist the app does not track people or expose anyone’s personal information. The app uses Bluetooth to ping phones, then contact traces those phones when someone who was nearby tests positive for the coronavirus.

Prosecutors in Kenosha are adding a curfew violation to the list of charges against Kyle Rittenhouse. The D.A. yesterday added the charge, saying Rittenhouse violated the city’s curfew on the night he shot and killed two people and wounded a third back in August. The curfew violation is a civil matter, meaning it’s a simple ticket. Rittenhouse is facing homicide and weapons charges in the case as well.

Coronavirus relief payments could already be in some Americans’ bank accounts.  Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Tuesday direct deposits could start being deposited last night.  Paper checks will begin being sent out today.  The 600-dollar payments are meant to help boost the economy amid the downturn caused by the pandemic.  The House voted Monday to increase those payments to two-thousand-dollars, but that move faces an uncertain future in the Senate. Meanwhile, President-elect Joe Biden is laying out a number of

The sheriff in Barron County says road rage is to blame for a deadly shooting on Monday. The sheriff says it happened on North Mill Street in Barron about 4:45 Monday afternoon. Deputies arrested 20-year-old Clayton Lauritsen for the crime. The victim is being identified as 45-year-old Lauritz Robertson. Charges and more information expected this week. CLICK FOR MORE FROM THE ORGINAL STORY

The questions and answers at Wisconsin’s unemployment office are about to get a bit simpler. The state’s Department of Workforce Development this week announced plans to ‘simplify’ the unemployment application process. DWD says it will use plain language in the online survey that helps guide people through their jobless claim. DWD says confusion over some of the questions left people waiting for follow-up answers, and that led to Wisconsin’s months-long delay that saw thousands of people waiting for an unemployment check. But