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Local health departments are hosting free COVID-19 testing this weekend. Testing sites are available today and tomorrow for Pierce and Saint Croix Counties. Testing is at Western Wisconsin Health in Baldwin today (Friday, May 8th) from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., and tomorrow (Saturday, May 9th) at the Saint Croix Valley Business Innovation Center in River Falls from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Testing for Dunn and Eau Claire Counties is also happening Sunday and Monday at Prevea Health on Clairemont Avenue

An Eau Claire woman is found guilty of stealing from an Eau Claire animal shelter. Court records show Nicolle Wilson pleaded no contest to two counts of theft and one count of fraud. A criminal complaint shows Wilson was the bookkeeper for the humane society. She was accused of trying to cash a 60-thousand-dollar check. 

A woman was arrested for her 7th OWI. It was just after 8 on Thursday evening when 49 year old Tracie Lee Masuca, from Shell Lake, was arrested after a trooper stopped to assist adisabled vehicle on Interstate 94 in Jackson County. The driver of the vehicle was identified as Tracie Lee Masuca and after an investigation, including standardized field sobriety tests, Masuca was arrested for operating a motor vehicle while under the influence 7th offense.

Prosecutors in Missouri want the death penalty for the man who they say killed two Wisconsin brothers. Joey Nelson is facing murder charges for the deaths of Nick and Justin Diemel. The brothers from Shawano disappeared last summer after traveling to Missouri to collect a debt from Nelson. Nelson has asked for a new judge in his case, and to have his trial moved.

A lot more people are testing negative for the coronavirus in Wisconsin. The state’s Department of Health Services said over five-thousand people tested negative for the virus yesterday. That’s the largest single day total since the state started testing people. By comparison, 314 people tested positive. Wisconsin’s negative-test-totals have been inching-up since Sunday. CLICK HERE FOR LOCAL TESTING SITE INFORMATION

Republicans in the Chippewa Valley say it’s not reasonable to keep Chippewa Falls closed down because people in Milwaukee are testing positive for the coronavirus. A group of Republican lawmakers yesterday got together in Chippewa Falls to push for a regional reopening of Wisconsin. State Representative Rob Summerfield says businesses, farmers, and manufacturing plants need to get back to work. Summerfield says reopening the state will be gradual, but he says lawmakers need to start working on it now.

More workers at the UW Eau Claire are being sent home. Chancellor Jim Schmidt yesterday sent furlough notices to 88 more employees. That brings the total number of UW Eau Claire workers sent home to 222. Schmidt says people who have seen their workload decrease or people who can’t work from home are the ones being furloughed. Schmidt says the coronavirus outbreak will cost UW Eau Claire at least ten million-dollars this year.

The Packers will get a lot of national attention this season. The NFL released the schedule for the upcoming season last night, and Green Bay has five primetime games. The Packers play three Sunday night games, one Thursday night game, and a Monday night match-up. In all, the Packers have just seven noon games all season. Green Bay starts the 2020 season against the Vikings in Minneapolis, and ends the season against the Bears in Chicago.

Governor Tony Evers says the state is adding staff and working hard to process unemployment claims.  The governor today says he knows many people have waited for checks but requests have been overwhelming.  Evers said calls about unemployment benefits topped four-point-seven-million last week alone.  The Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development says the state is looking at a fast dwindling unemployment trust fund balance.  The balance yesterday was one-point-eight-billion dollars, but the state is receiving over 300-thousand jobless claims per week.  Workforce Development

Program cuts and layoffs are on the horizon for all campuses in the University of Wisconsin system.  System President Ray Cross today directed officials to prioritize courses and programs and prepare for a reduction in staff for the 2021 school year.  On another front officials are looking at the possibility of temporarily suspending standardized tests like the ACT and SAT for freshman admission.