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If your Independence Day suddenly went dark, it might trace back to a furry friend. Just about everyone in and around Eau Claire has their power back.  Xcel Energy says at one point yesterday afternoon, nearly four-thousand people were in the dark.  Xcel is blaming a squirrel at a substation for the sudden loss of power. 

The suspect whose release angered La Crosse police will not have to wear a GPS tracker.  A judge earlier this week denied a request to track Ronald Crosby Jr.  He’s accused of raping, then threatening a 16-year-old girl.  His release on bond sent La Crosse’s assistant police chief to Twitter last week to complain that judges in La Crosse are too lenient.  Crosby is still free on a signature bond. 

Wisconsin’s top Republican in the state Assembly must convince the top Republican in the state Senate to endorse medical marijuana.  Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald says he’s still opposed to allowing people to use marijuana as medicine.  Assembly Speaker Robin Vos last week said he wants lawmakers to take a serious look this fall at what it will take to create a medical pot program in Wisconsin.  

There may not be a press conference the next time someone in Wisconsin wins a record-breaking lotto jackpot.  Lawmakers in Madison will hold a hearing next week on whether to allow lotto winners to remain anonymous.  Speaker Robin Vos started talking about the idea after a West Allis man won 768 million-dollars back in April.  Wisconsin Lottery managers say they name winners to make sure that players know real people win the games, and to make sure the lotto is transparent. 

If you are planning to “Oooooohhhhh” and “Ahhhhhh” tonight, you know the drill. Massage that neck and don’t wait too long to grab a seat for Eau Claire’s fireworks show.  City leaders say they expect Carson Park to fill-up early.  Police say they will allow cars into the park till about 5 p.m., but they expect the park to start to fill-up by about noon.  The fireworks will start at about 9:30.  Wherever you plan to take in the show

A homeless man in Eau Claire is looking at jail time after agreeing to a plea in a case involving city wifi and child porn.  Police say Bradley Stevens used Eau Claire’s wifi network to download over 50 images of child pornography last August.  Google tipped the city to Stevens’ crime.  He pleaded no contest yesterday to possessing child porn.  A judge sentenced him to three years in jail and a lifetime of sex offender registration. 

Everyone is okay after a chemical mishap sent workers at the Great Lakes Cheese plant streaming out of the building yesterday.  Firefighters say someone mixed two chemicals together, and that caused a cloud.  Hazmat teams were able to quickly clear the building, and everyone eventually went back to work.  Two workers were checked-out by paramedics, but did not go to the hospital. 

A Chicago Cubs cap displays his baseball allegiance as Dustin Peterson, the lead groundskeeper at Chippewa Valley Technical College as he goes about his duties, which include taking care of the lawns at five Eau Claire campuses. He loves baseball and is especially a fan of how ballpark groundskeepers create amazing designs in the outfield grass. Now he has created one of his own. For the Independence Day holiday, Peterson and assistant Jake Sabel created an American flag in the

Leave the fireworks to the professionals.  That’s the advice of first responders across Wisconsin.  Fireworks cause over 18-thousand fires in the United States each year and about 13-thousand people were sent to the hospital with firework injuries in 2017.  Sparklers are among the most dangerous fireworks, burning up to two-thousand-degrees and accounting for more than 25-percent of emergency room visits for firework injuries. 

Governor Tony Evers signs the two-year state spending plan, but not before using his veto power on several provisions.  The governor’s vetoes include eliminating work requirements and drug testing for those who receive FoodShare benefits and investing over 100-million-dollars more in per-pupil funding for schools.  Evers says the budget also delivers on his campaign promise of a ten-percent tax cut for working families.  Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers says he thought about vetoing the new state budget, but decided against it.  The