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The water around us is high and fast. Firefighters rescued the five yesterday in two separate rescues. Battalion Chief Joe Kelly said the Chippewa River is moving very fast, and that makes it dangerous. He said if you are going out on the river, you are reminded to wear a life vest and be aware of your surroundings.

Wisconsin’s coronavirus numbers continue to inch up. The state’s Department of Health Services yesterday reported 333 positive tests. That’s up from 285 on Wednesday, and 270 on Tuesday. Many more people are testing negative, yesterday that number was nearly nine thousand. DHS says the daily positive-test-rate is now just over three-and-a-half percent.

Folks in Chippewa Falls got their first chance of the season to grab some farm fresh tomatoes and other farmers market goodies yesterday. The city’s farmer market opened in Allen Park. The market is open each Thursday of the season. Organizers waited until yesterday because of the coronavirus.

We now know who was recovered from the Chippewa River. The body that was recovered earlier this week was identified as 66 year old Steven L. Feld. He was currently homeless residing in the City of Eau Claire.At this time the autopsy indicates the death is consistent with fresh water drowning. There were no traumatic injuries to the body. The matter remains under investigation by the Dunn County Sheriff’s Office and Eau Claire Police Department.

 The state will take 40-million-dollars from the federal Cares Act to help hospitals cover lost revenue caused by the coronavirus crisis.  Governor Tony Evers said today the Wisconsin Department of Health Services will distribute the funding.  The payments to the hospitals are expected to begin next month. 

Utility companies across the state will once again be able to disconnect customer service for non-payment.  The state had restricted disconnections during the COVID-19 pandemic.  The Wisconsin Public Service Commission has lifted the restriction effective July 25th.

A local mustang may have just just hit the millions! A lucky winner hit the jackpot in Menomonie. A winning Powerball ticket for $22 Million was sold by Synergy Coop Exit 45 on 2100 County Rd. B in Menomonie.  The winning numbers are 10, 33, 41, 52, 54, and the Powerball number 18.

The Chippewa Valley Veterans Tribute is coming, and you will be able to see the first steps flying high this week. On Friday June 12, at 3pm the Veterans Tribute Foundation will break ground for a new 140’ flagpole.  It is the first piece of the Veterans Tribute to go in and marks the start of a long awaited addition to our community. This is a groundbreaking for the feature flagpole that will be placed on the North East side

Lawmakers are introducing legislation to support farmers during the pandemic. Democratic Senator Tammy Baldwin introduced the legislation to the Small Business Administration with South Dakota Republican Senator John Thune to help farmers so far denied by the federal payment protection program or have had smaller returns. The bipartisan legislation would let farmers report total revenue before deductions, so farmers can get out of the red. 

Some Wisconsin residents are still without work and waiting for their unemployment checks. The Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development says just over 626-thousand unemployment claims were filed from March 15th to June 6th. The department says over 15-percent of those claims are still “pending.”