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Deputies in Dunn County don’t know what happened just before a train hit a woman’s pickup truck yesterday. It happened in a rural part of the county. The sheriff’s office says the pickup driver is from Colfax, the Canadian National Train hit her truck yesterday morning. The woman was taken to a local hospital for treatment. No one else was injured.

Eau Claire County’s open board seat is now full. The county last night named Katherine Schneider to the open seat for District 22. Schneider is a retired clinical psychologist. She is also blind and currently heads Eau Claire’s aging and disability services council.

Firefighters in Eau Claire want you to add the fire hydrant to your shoveling list this winter. The Eau Claire Fire Department yesterday reminded people that shoveling the snow away from hydrants will make it easier for them to get to the hydrant in case of an emergency.

Property taxes for Wisconsin school districts are up by the highest rate in the country.  A report by Wisconsin Policy Forum says school districts have levied over five-point-two-billion dollars in property tax bills sent this month, an increase of about four-and-a-half percent from last year.  Reports say that’s the largest increase since 2009.

It looks like raises for state troopers in Wisconsin are dead, at least for now. A proposed four-percent pay-bump for current troopers, and a 23-percent raise for new troopers is not part of a package that lawmakers are set to vote on today. Republican Senate President Roger Roth says lawmakers want more time to look at the long-term costs. He says there could be a vote at a later date.

The Governor of Wisconsin has ordered flags to fly at half-staff, December 18 – December 19, 2019, in honor of former Oneida Nation Chairman Rick Hill.  Chairman Hill was instrumental in developing and implementing national regulatory standards and policies for tribal government gaming, and under his leadership, the Oneida Nation signed its first gaming compact with the state of Wisconsin. 

A former Eau Claire man is going to jail after pleading no contest to drunk driving and sexual assault charges.  Reports say Jason Lucht was sentenced to one year and nine months in jail for battery and his sixth OWI charge.  He had two sex assault charges dropped as a result of his plea.  Lucht was accused of sexually touching a woman before driving drunk in February of 2018.

The Wisconsin State Patrol is holding another recruitment workshop in Sparta today.  The state patrol held an open house at its command post in Eau Claire Monday where people could learn about what it takes to become a part of the state patrol.  Tonight’s workshop is from four to seven o’clock at the Sparta weight enforcement facility.

The mayor of Onalaska is retiring due to medical reasons.  Mayor Joe Chilsen announced his retirement early Monday morning, saying doctors encouraged him to do so.  Chilsen was elected mayor in 2012.  City council president Diane Wulf will serve as acting mayor until a replacement is chosen.

The man who ran down three Girl Scouts from Lake Hallie could spend the rest of his life in prison. Colten Treu agreed to a plea deal yesterday for the deadly wreck along the highway in Chippewa County in November of last year. He pleaded guilty to one count, and no contest to four others. Police say Treu was high on air duster fumes when he ran down the scouts and one of their mothers. Treu is due to be