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As the coffee is poured and chainsaws are fired up, clean up continues in our area. The National Weather Service yesterday confirmed the storm that rolled across western Wisconsin Tuesday evening and produced an EF0 tornado that hit Cadott. EF0 tornadoes have wind speeds of up to 85 miles-per-hour. The storm knocked down some trees and removed some roofs, but didn’t leave any people hurt.

It’s the latest sign that a lot more people are going to vote from home this year. The Wisconsin Election Commission yesterday said absentee ballot requests for the August primary have topped 740-thousand. That’s more than all of the ballots cast in 2016’s August primary, and almost six-times as many absentee ballots from that same year. Of the over 700-thousand ballots mailed this year, the Wisconsin Election Commission says almost 200-thousand have already been returned. Milwaukee County, as you’d expect, leads the state in

Milwaukee County is officially recognizing Juneteenth as a major holiday. County Executive David Crowley signed an order to officially add Juneteenth to the county’s holiday schedule yesterday. That it is a major holiday means county offices will close for Juneteenth, which will be celebrated June 19th.

There is some good news in the coronavirus numbers released Wednesday.  One day after setting a record for new COVID-19 cases the state Department of Health Services says positive tests declined today.  The 712 new positive tests is one of the lowest totals of the month.  The positivity rate of four-point-eight-percent is the lowest since early July.  There were six new deaths reported,  bringing that toll to 865.

The Menominee Tribe is asking for help solving two missing persons cases.  The tribe is offering rewards of five-thousand-dollars in each case for information regarding tribe members Katelyn Kelly and Robert Lyons.  The 22-year-old Kelly disappeared in Shawano on the morning of June 17th this year.  Lyons was 25-years-old when he disappeared three years ago on June 4th, 2017.  He was last seen riding an ATV in the Long Marsh area on the reservation.

State agencies across Wisconsin need to tighten their budget belts.  Governor Tony Evers today directed agencies to find 250-million-dollars in savings in the next fiscal year.  The COVID-19 crisis has crushed government budgets.  The governor says he is hopeful the federal government will adopt proposals to stabilize funding for state and local services, but the reality is the state has to take steps to make significant cuts.

At its Monday meeting, the Eau Claire Area School District Board of Education approved an instructional model for the 2020-21 school year. The model aligns with the Eau Claire City-County Health Department’s Respond Together Eau Claire. That plan includes seven steps, designated as Safer at Home and Steps A through F, based on the risks posed by COVID-19 in our community. The district’s newly approved instructional delivery model outlines how teachers and staff will approach teaching and learning based on

Some roads are closed in Cadott this morning while road crews clean up after storms. Police Sergeant Daryl Pries said there’s several trees in the road around Highway-27 that they’re trying to clear out. There were also reports of downed power lines and leaning trees, posing a danger to people around them. Pries said police will also move door to door this morning to check on residents and offer help from the Red Cross. 

A second person is dead from coronavirus in Barron County. The Barron County Public Health Department said the person was in their 70s with preexisting health conditions. The health department has confirmed 76-cases of COVID-19 in the county to date. 

A judge rules a Chippewa Falls man isn’t competent to stand trial after his eighth O-W-I. Court records show Timothy Gould was arrested last July. The judge suspended the case until November.