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The two women charged with beating a state lawmaker to the ground outside the State Capitol back in June are heading for trial. A judge in Madison yesterday found there is enough evidence against Samantha Hamer and Kerida O’Reilly to go to trial. Prosecutors say they are the two who led a mob against state Senator Tim Carpenter after he took a picture of them rioting outside the statehouse.

Students, faculty members, and other workers at UW System schools can expect to be tested for the coronavirus when they return to campus next month. The university yesterday said it is getting 350 thousand testing kits from the state. The kits are being paid for with 32 million-dollars from Wisconsin’s share of the federal coronavirus stimulus. UW President Tommy Thompson says parents should be confident in the university’s testing plan. Students who live in UW dorms will be tested for the

The deepest cuts to the HSHS system in Wisconsin will not come in Eau Claire. The hospital yesterday announced it is making cuts amid the coronavirus pandemic. Overall, this 10% reduction is across all 15 hospitals within the HSHS system which serves WI and IL.  The majority of the employees are non-clinical.  Closest to our area, St. Joe’s hospital will see cuts that mean there will no longer be an ICU, or a women and infant’s center for the foreseeable future.

Graduates at Eau Claire North and Eau Claire Memorial high schools finally have their diplomas. Both schools held graduation ceremonies for their seniors last night. Both schools had a drive thru ceremony, but there were parents and teachers in the parking lot to cheer them along. School leaders say they felt they owed the Class of 2020 a more personal goodbye than just a virtual ceremony back in May.

The Lambeau Leap will hurt more than usual with no fans to catch the players. It’s going to be November before Packer fans can set foot in Lambeau Field. The team yesterday said it will not allow fans at the first two home games, September 20th against the Lions and October 5th against the Falcons, because of the coronavirus. The third home game, on November 1st, is up in the air. Packer team managers say they will reassess the coronavirus

A local steel bridge fabricator that does work all across the nation is sending the last piece of a bridge to Washington D.C after 18 months of manufacturing on Friday. “I have worked at Veritas Steel for almost 31 years now, and the most interesting project I have worked one is the New Fredrick Douglass Memorial Bridge. It was the most complex bridge I have seen here and was a nice challenge,” said Gary Connell, Welding Fabricator at Veritas Steel.

A new report shows milk sales are up nationwide. Experts say more people are buying milk to cook and use at home. According to Neilsen data, U.S. milk sales were up eight-percent from this time last year. Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin say milk sales are up 10-percent.

Parks, Recreation, and Forestry is offering Water Safety Packs to EauClaire families. These packs include complimentary life jackets and are presented tofamilies through the generosity of community donations, activity funding, and the creativity of the recreation team, making sure the fun doesn’t dry up this summer! Water Safety Packs will be distributed, on Friday, August 7 from 3-5pm at Fairfax Pool while supplies last. Lifejacket sizes remaining are: child 30-50 pounds, youth 50-90 pounds, and adult XL.

A fourth person has died from COVID-19 in Eau Claire County. The Eau Claire City-County Health Department announced the death in a news conference yesterday. Director Lieske Giese said the fourth death was reported on the state website yesterday. She says the person was under 65-years-old, and they’re waiting to get more information. Giese said there have been an increasing number of double-digit counts of positive test results in recent days. This is the first person to die from coronavirus

Eau Claire students will be learning about solar energy this year. The Eau Claire School Board voted to approve a donation of around 360 solar panels Monday night. The solar panels will be installed at both North and Memorial High Schools with no cost to the district. The Public Schools Foundation said the panels will be introduced into their STEM curriculum to help students learn about environmental engineering. The school board said they hope to have them installed by October.