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Today is Ash Wednesday, the start of the holy period of Lent for Christians.    Scott Pringle reports. CLICK HERE FOR MORE

A Lake Hallie man is accused of running from sheriff’s deputies.  Reports say Jackson County sheriff’s deputies tried to pull over Dennis Decker in Black River Falls early Monday morning.  Decker tried to drive off, but he crashed into some parked cars then ran away.  Decker was found in another parking lot hours later and charged with fleeing and possession of meth.

Eau Claire will sell the former Fire Station Number Ten.  The City Council voted unanimously last night to sell the station to SVEE Metalworks for 225-thousand dollars.  SVEE plans to move Outlaw Auto Sales into the station.  It will also rent out part of the building for office space.

Eau Claire’s renewable energy action plan is passed through the City Council.  This plan will lay the groundwork for the city to become carbon neutral by 2050.  The plan details dozens of steps for the city to take including launching bike and scooter share programs and incentivizing public transportation.

Former Eau Claire County Clerk Larry Lokken isn’t getting out of prison early. The Wisconsin Supreme Court yesterday refused to review Lokken’s case. Lokken is about four years into a nine-and-a-half-year prison sentence for stealing almost a million-and-a-half dollars from taxpayers. Lokken has filed several appeals to try and cut his sentence short. The state Supreme Court did not offer a reason for why it declined to review Lokken’s sentence.

A school worker in Fountain City is off the job after school leaders say they shared some inappropriate pictures with a student. Cochrane-Fountain City School District Superintendent Michele Butler sent a letter home to parents yesterday. The letter doesn’t say who the worker is, or just what kind of pictures they shared with the high school student. Butler says the school is working with the Buffalo County Sheriff’s office on the matter.

There are some folks in Eau Claire who hope a shuttle to Tomah is the first step toward train service to Eau Claire. The city council last night agreed to a resolution that supports proposed shuttle service to the Amtrak station in Tomah. From there, riders could jump on a train to Minneapolis or even Chicago. Council Member Emily Anderson hopes there is enough interest in train travel to eventually get a train line from Tomah to Eau Claire.

Western Wisconsin’s congressman wants to know what comes next when it comes to trade and China. Congressman Ron Kind yesterday sent a letter to USDA Secretary Sonny Perdue asking for answers about the next phase of trade negotiations with China. Kind says if the Trump Administration is not going to provide more aid to farmers, they must provide more details about trade. Kind says farmers in Wisconsin have not yet seen the trade benefits of the Phase One trade agreement with China.

Wisconsin’s Democratic U.S. Senator wants to see some help for hardwood growers and lumber outfits in the state. U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin yesterday wrote a letter to the President asking that he do something for tree growers and lumber distributors who have been hurt by Chinese tariffs. Baldwin says Wisconsin tree farmers have seen a steep drop in sales because of the retaliatory tariffs in place in China.