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A Wisconsin woman who lost her fiancée in a wrong-way crash is advocating for tougher OWI laws in the state.  The Dodge County Sheriff’s Office says Ryan Schultz was hit by a wrong-way driver with four OWI convictions just north of Beaver Dam last Sunday, killing him.  His fiancée Alyssa Van Gorder is now supporting two bills that are in the state House that would create stricter penalties for people convicted of OWI and deadly OWI crashes.  Schultz’s funeral is scheduled for

A bill is in the state legislature that would crack down on white collar crimes like phone scams and money laundering.  Reports say the bill would create an up to ten-year prison sentence for any scam topping ten-thousand dollars.  Anything over 100-thousand dollars would create an up to 12-and-a-half-year prison sentence. 

A Chippewa Falls campsite is under new ownership.  The Pine Harbor Campground held a ribbon cutting ceremony yesterday afternoon for owners Brett and Suman Bullock.  The couple plans to add cabins and seasonal sites and make space to host weddings and events.  Pine Harbor is hosting an open house on June 15th to show off its planned additions. 

An Eau Claire health organization has officially opened a new facility for men.  Yesterday Hope Gospel Mission held a ribbon cutting ceremony for its new Hope Renewal Center for Men on Mercantile Drive.  The facility will help men in the area who struggle with addiction and homelessness.  Hope Gospel Mission also hopes to have a women and children’s center open across the street by this fall. 

The coroner in Las Vegas says the death of an Appleton man in the city’s jail is a homicide.  Nicholas Farah died in restraints in the Clark County Jail back in March.  He’d been arrested for acting strangely at a local hotel.  The coroner says Farah died from asphyxia during the restraining process, but also said that meth contributed to his death.  It’s unclear what the ruling will mean for the two jail guards who are being investigated for Farah’s

Schools across the state of Wisconsin could soon be banned from giving kids who can’t pay for lunch something different than those who can.  A legislative panel yesterday held a hearing on the so-called Lunch Shaming law.  Milwaukee State Senator Lena Taylor says the state should not be punishing kids because mom and dad didn’t send some lunch money.  But other lawmakers worry that if kids don’t have to pay for lunch, then they won’t pay for lunch.  

Wisconsin’s state treasurer wants to give private sector workers a public retirement option.  Treasurer Sarah Godlewski yesterday proposed a state-run retirement plan.  She says most people don’t have much saved-up for retirement, and a good number of people don’t have anything saved.  Godlewski points to Oregon’s state-run plan which has 20 thousand people enrolled and five million-dollars invested. 

A judge in Chippewa Falls is trying to figure out how to move forward with a case against an 11-year-old girl accused of stomping a baby to death last year.  Lawyers for the girl say she’s not competent enough to stand trial, but they’re not sure how to handle her preliminary hearing.  The case will be tried in juvenile court, if or when it gets to that point.  The young girl is accused of stomping six-month-old Jaxon Hunter late last

Eau Claire County is one of a handful of western Wisconsin counties that could get a new prosecutor.   Wisconsin lawmakers earlier this week approved just over three-and-a-half-million dollars to hire new assistant district attorneys across the state.  Eau Claire, Dunn, Polk, Pierce, Buffalo, and La Crosse counties are on the list to get new prosecutors. 

A pair of plans that would get somewhat tougher on drunk drivers in Wisconsin are headed forward at the state Capitol.  A legislative panel yesterday approved a plan that would have people arrested for their first OWI appear in court.  Right now, first time OWI’s are treated essentially as traffic tickets.  Lawmakers also approved a plan that would guarantee that anyone who kills someone in a drunk driving wreck would spend a minimum of five years behind bars.  State Rep. Jim Ott