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The last county canvass for the 2020 General Election will be finalized today in Wisconsin. The Wisconsin Elections Commission says a statewide recount would cost about seven-point-nine-million-dollars. Chief Election Officer Meagan Wolfe says they haven’t been notified yet about the possibility of a recount, but she says she wants Wisconsinites to know elections officials are prepared to do so if necessary. The deadline to complete a recount would be December 1st.

A Bloomer man is facing charges for allegedly sexually assaulting a child. Charges filed in Chippewa County Court show 35-year-old Duane Swan faces a felony charge of first-degree sexual assault. Swan is accused of assaulting a seven-year-old girl who said he touched her inappropriately. Swan denies the allegations. He’s due in court next year.

Four Western Wisconsin counties are receiving federal money to help address opioid abuse and disorders. Chippewa, Barron, Rusk, and Washburn counties will receive more resources this month through a 200-thousand-dollar grant from the Health Resources and Services Administration. The L.E. Phillips Libertas Treatment Center in Chippewa Falls was awarded the grant in August. 

Our usual traditions might be shuffled around this year, but we will see some of the usual cheer in our area. Get the hot chocolate ready for the cupholders! You will still be able to drive through and look at the lights at Chippewa Falls’ Christmas Village, you just have to stay in the car this year. Organizers yesterday said the village will open in Irvine Park on Thanksgiving night. Cars and trucks are welcome, but there will be no

Wisconsin’s coronavirus count continues to go up. The state’s Department of Health Services yesterday reported four thousand more positives and 12 new deaths. There are 22 hundred people in the hospital with the virus in Wisconsin. Of them, 456 are in the ICU. Since March, more than 316 thousand people have tested positive. More than 75 percent of them have been declared fully recovered. Looking closer at the demographics, we see that currently, people in their 20s are driving Wisconsin’s coronavirus positives.

More than 250 people are being counted as homeless in Chippewa County. Advocates say that number is the highest it’s been all year, and is stressing the network designed to help people who need a place to stay. Chippewa Housing Authority executive director Jessica Oleson-Bue yesterday said the homeless numbers in the county spiked last month. She says service providers are at a crisis point. CLICK HERE FOR MORE FROM THE HOUSING AUTHORITY

Add schools in Ladysmith to the list of schools moving online.  Superintendent Laura Stunkel told parents yesterday that they are moving classes online because of rising coronavirus numbers. Middle and high school students went online yesterday, elementary school students will move online after Thanksgiving.

The swing vote on Wisconsin’s supreme court looks to be leaning away from Governor Evers’ mask mandate and limits on crowds at bars and restaurants. The governor’s lawyers yesterday argued their case before the state’s highest court. The question, the justices say, is not what state government should do about the coronavirus but rather who has the power to do something. Conservative Justice Brian Haegedorn, who may swing the case, yesterday questioned why the governor hasn’t involved lawmakers in any of

A presidential recount in Wisconsin will not be cheap. The Wisconsin Elections Commission yesterday said it will cost eight million-dollars to count the ballots again. President Trump’s campaign has said in the past that it wants a recount. Elections Commission administrator Meagan Wolfe said the recount price tag is so high because the coronavirus will force local election managers to find new space and new ballot counting machines. Wolfe said she has not heard from the president’s campaign if it will request a recount

The Wisconsin Department of Veterans Affairs (WDVA) today announced that U.S. Navy veteran Joanie Dickerson was named its 2020 Woman Veteran of the Year. Dickerson, a Bagley resident, dedicated twenty years (1980-2000) to the Navy, achieving the rank of Chief Petty Officer, which provided the opportunity to serve in a variety of leadership positions. Upon her retirement from the military, she continued her service by improving the lives of others in her community. Created in 2009, the WDVA’s Woman Veteran