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Already? Looks like it’s true…we will be seeing snow in October. Will it be two inches, or five? Forecasters say the snow storm that will blanket Minnesota and western Wisconsin today could drop as much as five inches of snow. It’s not clear just how much of that snow will fall in Eau Claire and Chippewa Falls. The Chippewa Valley is under a winter weather advisory from 10 this morning until 10 o’clock tonight.

Bars and restaurants in Wisconsin are once again going to have to keep a count of their customers. A judge yesterday reinstated Governor Evers’ order that limits bars, restaurants, supper clubs, and more stores in the state to just 25 percent of their capacity. The judge said the state’s Tavern League failed to prove the order actually hurt anyone’s business. Governor Evers yesterday said it is an important ruling that will keep people safe. Behind the bench, it’s a Barron County judge who

The woman who ran Helping Hands for our Children in Eau Claire is now accused of stealing from the charity. Prosecutors on Friday filed charges against Shauna Hanson of Fall Creek. Investigators say she misused or misspent 63 thousand-dollars in donations over the past three years. Hanson is accused of accepting donations, then depositing the money into her personal account. She’s due back in court next month.

The Wisconsin man accused of being part of the plot to kidnap Michigan’s governor is out of jail. Lawyers for Brian Higgins yesterday said he posted ten-thousand-dollars bail and surrendered his passport. Higgins is accused of allowing members of the Wolverine Watchmen to use his night vision goggles to do surveillance at Michigan’s governor’s cottage. Higgins’ lawyer says the evidence against him is thin. He’s hoping to get Michigan prosecutors to drop the charges.

 Wisconsin is turning to Google’s algorithm to help clear the state’s backlog of unemployment claims. The Department of Workforce Development yesterday announced a new partnership with Google Cloud to help speed-up the approval of nearly a half-million unemployment claims. Some of those date all the way back to March. DWD says Google’s computers will use ‘predictive analytics based on historical data’ to figure out who should be paid going forward. There’s no price tag for how much it will all cost.

Work will begin soon on La Crosse’s new classroom project. The city’s schools are looking to spend almost five million-dollars to add classrooms, a new gymnasium, a new library, and community school center at Hamilton Elementary. Hamilton is one of La Crosse’s two year-round schools.

There are already a lot of people who’ve voted in Wisconsin. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel yesterday said its numbers show some communities in the state have already seen half of their voters from 2016 cast a ballot. Some cities are even higher. The report says absentee voting is driving the early voting spike. Those numbers are expected to go up. Today is the first day for in-person absentee voting in the state. The increase in absentee voting is going to come

In lieu of many recent social, safety, and community issues and even national attention regarding a specific situation in Barron County, the Sheriff there has responded with the intent of furthering local dialogue about sensitive issues. Below is the message from Sheriff Chris Fitzgerald regarding the creation of a Citizen Advisory and Action Team that is to be created, along with information about how you can become involed. FULL MESSAGE PER SHERIFF FITZGERALD APPEARS BELOW: Citizen Advisory and Action Team

Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers is happy with a judge’s ruling on bar limits.  The governor tweeted today the now-restored limits will protect people from coronavirus  while also asking people to wear masks and limit travel.  A judge said today the Tavern League of Wisconsin and two bars couldn’t prove they were harmed by the gathering limits because they didn’t prove they were following them. The capacity limits order was issued October 6th in the face of surging coronavirus cases, but a judge blocked

The Eau Claire County Parks & Forest Department announces that in accordance with state guidelines, the annual 0.7-foot (8.4 inches) winter draw down of Lake Altoona will begin on Monday morning, November 9, 2020. The purpose of the draw down is to minimize damage to property from ice shifting and to also create a larger reservoir capacity in anticipation of spring rains and runoff from melting snow. The boat docks at Lake Altoona County Park will be removed for the