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The Wisconsin State Patrol says drunk driving is up slightly in northwest Wisconsin.  During the State Patrol’s Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over Campaign, it says impaired driving arrests were up in the Northwest Region which includes Eau Claire.  The campaign ran from December 13th through the end of the month.

Claire officially has a new chief of police.  Former chief Gerald Staniszewski retired on New Year’s Eve, giving way to knew chief Matt Rokus.  Staniszewski spent 28 years with the Eau Claire Police Department.  He recently posted a video on Facebook saying he’s honored to have served the city of Eau Claire.

Local figure skaters are raising money for the Chippewa County Humane Society.  The Chippewa Figure Skating Club held its free Skate for a Cause show and accepted donations for the Humane Society Wednesday.  Reports say the club raised about 500 dollars during the event last year.

Four people are starting 2020 with a drunk driving arrest in Eau Claire. Police say they made four arrests New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day. The busts came as part of a crackdown on drunk drivers for the holiday season. Eau Claire Police say they saw about the same number of OWI arrests to start last year as well.

Wisconsin’s governor used his pen a lot during his first year in office. A new report says Governor Tony Evers signed 61 executive orders in 2019. That’s the most executive orders signed by a governor in one year since 1965. Some of the executive orders are rather tame, but others have meant policy changes for the state. Republican lawmakers in Madison say the number of executive orders show that the governor has failed to work with the legislature during his

Police in La Crosse say one person is in jail after a shooting on New Year’s Eve day. No one was hurt in the shooting at a home a couple blocks north of the Clinton Street Bridge. La Crosse Police say they initially detained five people, but let four of them go after talking with the suspect in the case. There is no word why the suspect started shooting.

Firefighters in Ladysmith say a local concrete plant is a total loss after a fire on New Year’s Eve. It took crews from several fire departments in Rusk County about an hour to put out the flames at the Haas Redi-Mix plant on Highway 27. No one is saying what started the fire. No one was hurt.

Eau Claire’s firefighters are doing a little celebrating of their own. The fire department says they didn’t have a single structure fire during the entire holiday season. Deputy Chief Allyn Bertrang says it’s a stat they should be proud of. Eau Claire’s fire department tracks fires with lights on a wreath outside the main firehouse. This year, firefighters didn’t have to add a single red bulb to that green wreath.

Wisconsin’s four turnovers turned the game against them in the Rose Bowl. The Badgers lost to Oregon yesterday, 28-27, despite dominating most of the game. Oregon turned three of those Wisconsin turnovers into three touchdowns, including one late in the fourth quarter.

Racine County’s sheriff has a warning for people who buy legal marijuana in Illinois and bring it into Wisconsin: Don’t. Sheriff Christopher Schmaling yesterday said he will arrest people who bring drugs into his county. Illinois begins recreational marijuana sales today. Schmalling says what may be legal in Illinois is still illegal in Wisconsin.