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You’re going to have to park on just one side of the street in most Eau Claire neighborhoods starting next month. Eau Claire’s city council last night approved a plan for alternate side parking during the winter. That means people will park on just one side of the street from November 1st through the end of April. City leaders made the change after hearing that parking on both sides of the street made it tough to keep the streets clear

The Post Office is open and everyone is okay after a car crashed through the front of Eau Claire’s Post Office yesterday. Police say it looks like the driver hit the gas instead of the brakes. The car poked through a broken window in the lobby. PHOTO CREDIT: WEAU 13 NEWS

Eau Claire is moving its flood gauge on the Chippewa River. City leaders last night voted to move the gauge from behind the streets department on Forest Street to a spot in Phoenix Park. Forecasters say the new location will give Eau Claire a better read on flooding along the river and should help keep the gauge safe from vandals.

WRITE IT OUT: School kids in Wisconsin could soon be taking cursive classes. Republican lawmakers in Madison are looking at a cursive requirement for public schools. State Rep.  Jeremy Thiesfeldt says kids need to learn the basics of reading and writing cursive to be more successful in school and in life. It’s just an idea so far, there’s no formal legislation. School groups across the state say they always worry about more mandates from Madison. The push comes as the latest state

There will be a new restaurant at Miller Park next season. The team yesterday said the Friday’s Front Row Sports Grill will be replaced with The Restaurant To Be Named Later. That’s the name of restaurant. It’s a play one the old baseball line a player to be named later. The company that runs the rest of the food services at Miller Park will run the new restaurant.

Wisconsin now officially has a day celebrating indigenous people.  Governor Tony Evers signed an order naming the second Monday in October Indigenous Peoples Day to recognize and appreciate tribal nations and indigenous people and their contributions to our state.  Evers says it’s important to read about the significance of native-nation sovereignty, culture and history.

The Wisconsin Senate is passing a bill changing the penalty for engaging in sexual contact with an animal.  Under current Wisconsin law such an act is a misdemeanor, but Tuesday’s passage would make that contact a felony.  Senate Bill 139 deals with any behavior regarding sexual contact with an animal including promoting others to participate, creating or distributing obscene material or harboring or obtaining an animal for the purpose of having sexual contact.  The bill also criminalizes forcing children to engage in such contact.  

Fall colors should peak next week in west-central Wisconsin.  According to Travel Wisconsin’s Fall Color Report, both Eau Claire and Chippewa Counties are at around 50 percent of their fall color.  Those colors should peak sometime next week.  Areas north of Eau Claire are already in peak period.

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources has found traces of dangerous chemicals in some bodies of water in the state.  The DNR says it found elevated levels of per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances in Starkweather Creek in Madison and Silver Creek in Monroe County.  Lesser levels were also found in three other Wisconsin bodies of water, including the Mississippi River.  The Environmental Protection Agency says consuming these chemicals can cause cancer, thyroid disease, and low birth weight.

Xcel Energy customers could see their heating bill drop this winter.  Xcel says customers spent an average of 626 dollars between November and March of last winter.  This year, Xcel says it expects that average to drop by 12 percent to 556 dollars for the winter season.