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Four part-timers at the Chippewa County Public Health Department are losing their jobs.  The county last week announced that it is cutting positions in the health department.  An unfilled full time job is also being eliminated.  The job cuts come as county leaders are giving the health department’s director a raise.  Public Health Administrator Randy Scholz is getting a raise that will take his salary from 125 thousand-dollars next year to 144 thousand-dollars in 2023. 

Prosecutors are losing some of their evidence against the man they say killed a mother of two last year.  A judge on Friday said La Crosse Police didn’t read Erik Sackett his Miranda rights when questioning him about Erin Somvilai’s death.  Sackett’s lawyers also wanted police searches of his phone tossed out, but the didn’t go that far.  Sackett’s trial is supposed to start in October. 

The March to Madison is underway.  Several Democratic politicians, public school union leaders, and kids started their 60 mile march to the state capital on Saturday.  They will make several stops along the way, then arrive in Madison tomorrow.  The group is hoping to convince Governor Tony Evers and lawmakers to agree to spend more money on public schools in the next state budget. 

Governor Tony Evers’ administration is recommending strict water standards.  The move comes after a harmful group of chemical compounds have been found in groundwater and drinking water in Wisconsin, including in Madison.  The compounds include chemicals which can last in the environment for long periods of time and can be very damaging to human health.  The state Department of Health Services recommended safe limits in groundwater for about 27 new substances.  The limits would essentially regulate the cleanup of polluted sites.  

It’s HERE! Wishing you a little fun in the sun on this first FULL day of summer.

Democratic Governor Tony Evers is vetoing four abortion bills passed by the GOP.  In a Friday tweet, Evers said he has vetoed AB 179, AB 180, AB 182, and AB 183 because “everyone should have access to quality, affordable healthcare, and that includes reproductive healthcare.”  Evers also added that, “politicians shouldn’t be in the business of interfering with decisions made between patients and their healthcare providers.”  Evers had promised in the past to stop the measures from becoming law. 

Governor Tony Evers says he is disappointed in the state Supreme Court decision to uphold lame duck laws passed before he took office.  Some of those laws limited the power of the governor.  Although today’s decision marks a Republican victory, there are other challenges to the laws that were passed quickly before former Governor Scott Walker left office. 

The average price for a gallon of regular gas in Wisconsin is down a nickel-a-gallon from a week ago.  Triple-A says the average price statewide is two-dollars-and-65-cents today, a penny below the national average.  Drivers in Kenosha County are paying the highest price at the pump at two-78-a-gallon.  The lowest average price is posted in Appleton at two-50 for regular gas. 

An Eau Claire County man facing charges after a dispute over a hotdog is now accused of having a gun at a school.  A criminal complaint filed yesterday claims police found Isaac Thompson with a loaded rifle outside Fairchild Elementary School back in January.  Thompson allegedly claimed the gun belonged to his brother and that he forgot it was in the car.  Thompson is also accused of pointing a gun at his brother during the hotdog dispute earlier this month. 

The Eau Claire Shopko has an official closing date.  It was announced yesterday that the store on Clairemont Avenue will close by 6:00 p.m. on Sunday.  A store employee says they hope to have everything sold by then.  The store announced it would be closing back in March but it didn’t give an official date.