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Eau Claire’s drive-thru polling place is open. The city clerk’s office started allowing people to vote from their cars yesterday. In-person early voting for the August primary started yesterday. Eau Claire City Clerk Carrie Riepl says the drive-thru poll works like any other in the city. Though, Riepl says you do not need a car to use the drive-thru, she says people can walk or bike or even scoot their way through.

There will be no in-person graduation ceremony for the Class of 2020 at UW Eau Claire. The university yesterday officially canceled the ceremony that had been postponed back in May. The school’s Corry Mahnke says limits on crowd sizes and social distance requirements made an in-person graduation ceremony impossible. The hope was to have a graduation during homecoming at the school this year. Now, Mahnke says the plan is to do something online.

Democratic National Convention planners expected 50 thousand people to flood the city to see this summer’s convention. Now they are talking about hundreds of people.  Milwaukee TV station Channel 12 reported that DNC planners expect as few as 300 people to attend the convention in person. DNC organizers moved the convention from July to August, then moved most of it online because of the coronavirus. The report last week was that Joe Biden may be the only person to actually

Wisconsin reaches a grim milestone in the fight against the coronavirus.  Health officials today say the 762 new cases confirmed in the last 24 hours pushes the total number COVID-19 cases above 50-thousand.  There were 13 more deaths in last day which brings the death toll 906.  The positivity rate today was five-point-three-percent and health officials want to see that fall below three-percent. 

State Senator Chris Larson wants a statewide mask mandate.  The Milwaukee Democrat has begun a petition campaign and says today there are already eight-thousand signatures from towns across the state.  Larson says wearing a mask is the simplest and most effective way to control the spread COVID-19 right now.  He says he values freedom tremendously but with freedom also comes responsibility and we are not free to make health decisions that will negatively impact others.

The Menominee Tribal Government is closing its offices because of coronavirus concerns.  The tribal offices are closed today through August 11th.  The reservation has 17 confirmed cases of COVID-19.  Officials say the staff will work remotely and the tribe will conduct business.  There is also a curfew which goes into effect on the reservation beginning tomorrow night from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. and extending to the end of August.

A woman was arrested for going nearly 100 miles and hour.   It was on Tuesday morning just before 7:30 when a Trooper from the Wisconsin State Patrol stopped 24 year old, Wykuriesona Russell, for going 91 in a 70 MPH zone. The Trooper noticed a strong odor of THC emitting from the vehicle. Russell stated she had smoked marijuana two hours before being stopped. Through a subsequent investigation, Ms. Russell was arrested for OWI 1st offense with an 11

There will be some financial assistance coming to Eau Claire. The City of Eau Claire received confirmation that it will receive a $509,831 EDA CARES Act Recovery Assistance grant to capitalize and administer a Revolving Loan Fund (RLF) to provide loans to help coronavirus-impacted businesses in Eau Claire. Aaron White, City of Eau Claire Economic Development Manager, was notified of the opportunity to apply for these funds a few months ago and put together a program with input from additional

A man who robbed a local bank and gas station at gunpoint is sentenced to eight years in prison. Dunn County Judge Rod Smeltzer sentenced David Hoffman yesterday, and ordered him to repay the money he stole. Hoffman pleaded guilty to armed robbery last October. When he gets out, he’ll have eight more years on extended supervision.

The Chippewa County Health Director is warning people against spreading false information about the coronavirus.  Director Angela Weideman said a lot of false information isn’t spread intentionally, but it happens. She recommends considering what’s posted to social media, as much of that information hasn’t been reviewed by a licensed physician.  CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION FROM THE CHIPPEWA CO. HEALTH DEPARTMENT.