Eau Claire will soon have a new dog park. Reports say the city council recently approved the site plan to add the city’s third dog park at the end of Ferry Street near the wastewater treatment plant along the Chippewa River. It will have 16 acres of land and a boat launch for canoes and kayaks. City officials say they hope to break ground on the project sometime next year.
Read MoreThe top man at the University of Wisconsin says nearly 80-million-dollars more in state aid in the next state budget is a kick in the shins. UW System President Ray Cross said lawmakers in Madison let him down yesterday by not giving him the nearly one-hundred-50-million-dollars that he asked Governor Tony Evers for. Republicans on the state’s budget writing panel said they’re giving the UW system 33-million more for raises, and at least another 45-million-dollars more to spend as they see fit.
Read MoreProsecutors in Dodge County say the suspect in a deadly weekend wreck should not have been behind the wheel. Deputies say 39-year-old Eric Hagenbart was speeding down the wrong side of Highway 151 north of Beaver Dam on Sunday when he smashed into 24-year-old Ryan Schultz’s car. Schultz died in the wreck. Hagenbart was seriously hurt as well. Prosecutors say if he survives they’ll charge him with his fifth drunk driving case. They say Hagenbart lost his license after his
Read MoreEmergency crews at the Chippewa Valley Regional Airport say an emergency landing was a better safe than sorry kind of thing. A passenger plane headed to Minneapolis landed in Eau Claire last night after the pilot reported a possible engine fire. There was no fire, crews say it was just a faulty indicator. No one on the plane was hurt during the emergency landing.
Read MoreFolks in western Wisconsin should soon be paying a bit less for electricity. Xcel Energy yesterday said a new rate schedule will lower electric and natural gas bills in the state by about five-percent for the next two years. Wisconsin’s Public Service Commission signed off on the new rates this month. The agreement sets the price structure for 2020 and 2021.
Read MoreA western Wisconsin man who made pot cookies and then let his three-year-old eat the dough isn’t heading to jail. A Chippewa Falls judge last week sentenced Daniel Sykora to two years probation in the case. Police say Sykora’s child ate the pot-laced cookie dough, then ended up in the hospital. He pleaded no contest to disorderly conduct charges.
Read MoreSome of the largest dairy farms in Wisconsin are worried they won’t be able to afford Governor Tony Evers’ new clean water fees. Dairymen pleaded with lawmakers in Madison yesterday not to nearly double the state’s nearly 345 dollars a year CAFO fee. The dairy farmers say with milk prices low and dairy farms going out of business, now is not the time to make their business more expensive. Governor Evers wants the new fees as a way to cover the cost
Read MoreProsecutors and public defenders in Wisconsin are getting a raise in the next state budget. Lawmakers in Madison yesterday voted to spend nearly 26-million-dollars to boost pay in the courtroom. The hourly rate for public defenders will jump from 40 dollars-an-hour to 70 dollars-an-hour. Legal advocates have complained for years that low pay has created a shortage of lawyers who will handle public defense cases, particularly in rural parts of the state.
Read MoreSenator Ron Johnson says he’s proud to co-sponsor a bill to stop robocall scammers. The bill passed the Senate 97 to 1 today. Johnson says scam robocalls aren’t just annoying, they use disgraceful tactics to prey on the most vulnerable. Johnson says 38-million robocalls were made to Wisconsinites last year.
Read MoreIt was just before 1AM on Sunday, May 26th when the Sheriff’s office responded to a report of a UTV crash with multiple injuries. It was further reported that the operator of the UTV was trapped under the UTV. First responders arrived and were able to remove the operator form the UTV. The investigation revealed that a UTV was traveling eastbound on 263rd Ave. east of STH 27 in the township of Lake Holcombe. The operator failed to negotiate a
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