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A former Barron firefighter who admitted to starting three fires this spring will spend the next two years on probation for his crimes. A judge yesterday sentenced Justin Cloud to probation and community service. Investigators say Cloud lit three fires, and responded to one as a firefighter. Prosecutors allowed him to plead down to charges of negligent handling of burning materials.

A Chippewa County sex offender is no longer living on the streets. The sheriff in Chippewa Falls says 74-year-old Donald Newell will now be living in a home on Beaver Street, which is just a few doors down from the city’s senior center. Newell served time for sexual assault from a 2008 conviction. He was released last month, but was homeless because the state’s prison system couldn’t find him a home.

There is a new lawsuit challenging Governor Evers’ limits on bars, restaurants, and stores. The Tavern League yesterday filed a suit that calls the governor’s order to limit bars and restaurants to just 25-percent of capacity a ‘defacto closure.’ The Tavern League’s Scott Stenger says the governor’s response to the coronavirus has ‘wiped away’ generations of businesses. The lawsuit seeks to have lawmakers step into the debate. The governor said last week that his order isn’t closing anything, and dismissively

The ACLU is pressing the state of Wisconsin for an update on the coronavirus in the state’s prison system. The ACLU yesterday filed an open records request that asks about the number of cases, the number of deaths, the number of people in the hospital, and how well the state is quarantining sick inmates. The ACLU’s Chris Ott says the state may need to release older and less violent inmates to minimize the risk for the virus.

The young man accused of killing two people and wounding a third during Kenosha’s nights of violence back in August will not face weapons charges in Illinois. Prosecutors in Lake County yesterday said the rifle that Rittenhouse used in Kenosha never left the state of Wisconsin, therefore there is no crime in Illinois. Rittenhouse continues to sit in jail in Illinois, and his lawyers are fighting his return to Wisconsin to face homicide charges for the shooting in late August.

The question about late absentee ballots in Wisconsin could soon have a national answer. Democrats in the state, along with advocates in Washington, D.C., yesterday asked the United States Supreme Court to decide whether absentee ballots that come in after Election Day should be counted. A federal appeals court last week said they should not be counted. But the Supreme Court may take the case because courts in other states or other federal regions have said that late ballots can be counted.

The Wisconsin Department of Health Services confirms a new record for COVID-19 deaths in one day.  A total of 32-hundred-and-79 new coronavirus cases were reported today which is also a single-day record.  The 34 deaths today to bring the death toll to over 15-hundred Wisconsin residents killed by the virus.

Governor Tony Evers says there will be an additional round of Child Care Counts payments.  The governor announced 50-million-dollars in funding for early childcare and education.  Qualified programs can get applications and eligibility information beginning October 26th. 

If you are a nursing student or have one in your life, this may be a familiar sight to you. The Chippewa Valley Technical College-led effort that resulted in the recentpublication of the first open education resource (OER) Nursing textbook has earned the Best OER Award of Excellence from Open Education Global, a non-profit supporting the development and use of open education around the world. The electronic version of the textbook, Nursing Pharmacology, became available in June and the print

A new COVID-19 testing site is coming to our area. Beginning next week there will be walk or drive through site in Winter, WI. Details are below: WHEN : STARTING OCTOBER 21 Wednesdays 9am – 1pm WHERE: Winter Fire Hall5116N Crawford St, Winter WI WH0: Ages 5 and older. Testing symptomatic and asymptomatic persons.No ID needed—anyone is welcome! HOW: Drive thru or walk thruNo appointment needed. First come first served. If you are interested in pre-registering for a test CLICK