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We could know by the end of next week if Wisconsin will see new gun laws.  Governor Evers’ office yesterday said the governor will meet with the top Republicans in the state legislature sometime next week to talk about possibly adopting a red flag law or stricter background checks.  Assembly Speaker Robin Vos and Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald have opposed tougher gun laws in the past.  The meeting comes after the weekend shootings in El Paso, Texas and Dayton, Ohio. 

The Wisconsin Department of Justice (DOJ) Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI) has been investigating an officer involved shooting in the city of La Crosse on the afternoon of Saturday, August 3, 2019. La Crosse Police Officers responded to a domestic disturbance complaint at a residence on 9th Street South. Upon arrival, the subject confronted and shot the first responding officer, La Crosse Police Officer Dustin Darling, striking the officer’s ballistic vest on the chest. Officer Darling, 6 years of service with La

An Eau Claire teenager is charged with sexually assaulting two girls.  Reports say 17-year-old Joseph Bailey is accused of assaulting one girl when she was in the seventh grade and when she was 16.  He’s also accused of assaulting another 16-year-old and asking other girls for topless photos.  He’ll return to court next month. 

An Altoona man will spend time behind bars after being convicted of his seventh OWI.  Reports say an officer pulled over John Ellis after he ran a stop sign and nearly hit a squad car back in February.  Ellis didn’t take a field sobriety test because he reportedly said he’d fail it.  Ellis pleaded no contest to operating while intoxicated last Friday and was sentenced to three years in jail. 

Eau Claire School Board member Joe Luginbill will serve as an ambassador to the 2019 International Forum on Youth Services.  Luginbill will head to India for the global summit in September.  He’s expected to participate in discussions on what roles youth can play in helping sustainability, entrepreneurship, and inequalities. 

Jordy Nelson is officially retired from the NFL.  The former Green Bay Packer wide receiver signed a one-day contract and retired in a Packers jersey this morning.  He was selected by the Packers in the second round of the 2008 draft out of Kansas State and played in 136 regular-season games over ten years in Green Bay.  Nelson ranks second in touchdown receptions, third in overall receptions and fifth all-time in receiving yards for the franchise. 

Wisconsin’s paper industry is booming.  A study by UW-Stevens Point, funded by the Department of Economic Development, shows Wisconsin is tops in the country for the number of paper mills and for the number of employees statewide in the industry with 30-thousand.  The paper industry has an economic output in the Badger State of over 18-billion-dollars. 

The state fair continues in West Allis this week and that has officials rechecking security.  In the aftermath of mass shootings in El Paso and Dayton, authorities are reviewing security measures and feeling things are in order.  The state fair has more than 100 officers on its own force and there are about 400 Public Safety officers on the grounds and manning metal detectors.  There are also over 200 security cameras being monitored constantly.  

As storms continue in our area, Governor Tony Evers wants the Federal Emergency Management Agency to look at damage across the state.  Evers sent a request to FEMA earlier this week that covers 19 counties including Barron, Polk, Clark, and Rusk.  These counties may be able to apply for federal disaster aid after FEMA reviews the damage. 

The sheriff in Chippewa Falls says Laile Vang never met the man who shot and killed her.  Sheriff Jim Kowalczyk said Ritchie German Jr sent Vang just four text messages before he went to her house, shot her parents, and then shot her in the head.  The sheriff says Vang’s parents confirmed they never saw him before in their life.  Investigators are still not 100-percent sure what German’s motives were.