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It’s that time of year. Time for the annual warning for drivers to be careful on the road. The Wisconsin State Patrol and the Department of Transportation yesterday said the Memorial Day weekend is the time to remind people to slow down, buckle-up, put down their phones, and never drink and drive. Experts say this will be a lighter year for holiday travel, but that still means millions of people will drive somewhere between today and Monday.

Kohl’s is opening most of its doors in Wisconsin. The company yesterday said it is opening 34 of its 41 stores today. The stores that are not opening are being kept closed because of local Safer at Home orders. The three Kohl’s stores in Madison are on that list. Shoppers will see reminders to stay socially distant, and there will be plenty of hand sanitizer.

You might soon see decals in the windows of your favorite business as we begin to take steps toward re-opening locally. The City of Altoona announced the formation of a task force created as an effort to pull together resources, organizations and talent from across the Chippewa Valley to help our area emerge from this crisis in an orderly, successful, safe and stronger position to support our local economy. One of the Task Force’s objectives is to assure the health

Health officials say increased testing for COVID-19 is also raising the number of confirmed cases.  The Department of Health Services says today there were 472 new cases in the last 24 hours but there were three-thousand-more tests conducted yesterday.  There are nearly 13-thousand-900 cases in the state.  Six more deaths were reported yesterday pushing that total to 487.

Wisconsin’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for April is just over 14-percent.  That’s an eleven point jump from the three-point-one-percent jobless rate in March.  The COVID-19 crisis has decimated jobs and states like Wisconsin face the worst unemployment numbers since the Great Depression.  The national unemployment rate is 14-point-seven percent.

The Eau Claire Police Department has been notified of a Sex Offender being released in our area. 33 year old James T. Jones will be released from prison on May 26th. Jones will be under supervision by the Wisconsin Department of Corrections (DOC). Jones’ previous convictions include:  – 2nd Degree Sexual Assault of a Child (September, 04 2009) – Eau Claire County  Jones will be residing at a DOC monitored residence in the 100 block of Randall Street in the

A man serving 54-years for a deadly crash that killed three Girl Scouts and their mother is sentenced for another crash that happened nearly a month before. Colten Treu was sentenced to an additional 110-days in prison yesterday for a Rusk County crash. Investigators said he was under the influence of a controlled substance when he crashed, and drugs were found in his truck. He was also fined 18-hundred dollars. 

One of the two men involved in a child sex trafficking case is sentenced.  Richard Bye and William Hargrove were charged with sexually assaulting a 15-year-old girl. Yesterday, an Eau Claire County circuit court judge sentenced Hargrove to ten-years in prison. 

A company that provides the Altoona School District with uniforms, t-shirts, and equipment is now also providing students with milk.  BIG Athletics yesterday gave away 150-free milk coupons for students to redeem at any Kwik Trip. The company was originally challenged to donate 100-gallons, but officials said they decided to donate more. BIG Athletics nominated CCF Bank and WNB Financial for the challenge next. 

A juvenile is facing charges after painting a bulldozer in Marshfield. It was on Wedensday, May 20th when it was reported a juvenile was spray painting a bulldozer in the 1500 block of E. 25th St. Officers located several properties that had been spray painted. A 12 year old was located and will be referred to Wood County Human Services for criminal damage to property.