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An Altoona police officer is out of the hospital today after his squad car was rear-ended on Highway 53. Police said it happened last night near the Highway 53 bypass when driver Laurie Reardon drove over multiple traffic cones and nearly hit several squad cars before crashing into one.  Reardon was arrested on O-W-I charges. 

Rising temperatures are causing some roads to buckle, and transportation officials are warning people to watch out.  Wisconsin Department of Transportation Chief Material and Pavements Engineer Barry Paye says road buckles can happen any time there’s extreme heat and the first heat wave of the year is the most likely time for this to happen. He says the pavement expands and collapses underground as temperatures fluctuate from cold to hot. The slabs of pavement push against one another causing one to

The University of Wisconsin System is reducing costs and cutting some programs after the COVID-19 pandemic and a shrinking budget presented significant financial challenges. The Board of Regents says the new Blueprint plan will consolidate I.T. services, create an online learning model, and reallocate resources. Some professors think the plan will work in the opposite way, and outsourcing education will only hurt the university’s budget and students. The Board of Regents said they’ll meet tomorrow night to address the issues and identify

 Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers’ first comments since the death of George Floyd focus on race and a new law for police use-of-force. The governor released a four minute video on YouTube yesterday where he said people who look like him need to realize they are part of the system that needs to be dismantled. The governor also asked lawmakers to pass a new law that would allow police officers to use any kind of force only as a last resort. The

It was an active overnight in our bigger cities, but not as voilent as other nights. Milwaukee Police say the latest night of rioting in the city saw rocks, bottles, and a Molotov cocktail thrown at officers. Police say the Molotov cocktail did not light, and no one was hurt. MPD says officers arrested one person in last night’s crowd because they had a gun. There was no curfew in Milwaukee, but officers ordered people off the streets after they

Police in Barron want to know who spray painted Black Lives Matter graffiti on a building in Anderson Park. The painted message says ‘No justice, No peace,’ and ‘BLM.’ Officers say they found it just after midnight on Monday. Barron Police are asking neighbors for any information or help they can provide in finding suspects in the case.

There are more coronavirus tests to report, but the state’s positive-test-rate is about the same.  Wisconsin’s Department of Health Services yesterday said testing bounced-back. DHS reported 374 positive tests and another 10 thousand negative tests. That is an increase over the past two days. But even with the jump, Wisconsin’s positive-test-rate is still under four percent.

The latest contingent of Wisconsin National Guard soldiers is back home in the U.S. Guard commanders yesterday said about 40 soldiers with the 128th Infantry, the Red Arrow troops, returned to Fort Hood, Texas yesterday. They will stay in Texas for a few weeks, and should be back in Wisconsin by the end of the month. Commanders say there are still about 200 Wisconsin citizen-soldiers in Afghanistan providing security for coalition forces there.

The cans and bottles are once again moving out of the Leinenkugel brewery in Chippewa Falls in larger numbers. The brewery this week started shipping more beer. There was a setback because of the coronavirus, and also because of Leinenkugel’s decision to install new equipment in the brewery. That left them about two months behind, and left some store shelves empty.

A city councilwoman in Eau Claire is looking to step-up to a seat in Madison. Councilwoman Emily Berge this week said she will run as a Democrat for the 68th Assembly seat. That district covers Eau Claire’s north side, Altoona, Lake Hallie, and other communities. Republican Jesse James currently holds the seat in the Assembly.