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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

Another member of the Monfils 6 is a free man.  A day after co-defendant Rey Moore was released, 71-year-old Michael Johnson walked out of the Sanger Powers Correctional Center in Oneida today. He was greeted by family, including his wife and sisters.  Johnson and five others were sentenced to life in prison for the 1992 killing of Tom Monfils at a Green Bay paper mill. 

The Eau Claire Area School District will be getting an increase of state aid in the coming year.  According to the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction, the district is estimated to receive more than 63-million-dollars for the 2019-2020 school year, up from more than 60-and-a-half-million-dollars last year.  However, Chetek-Weyerhaeuser will see over 15-percent less funding.  Pepin also will receive 15-percent less funding while Osseo-Fairchild receives just under four-percent less funding. 

The challenge to Wisconsin’s political map is over.  A three judge panel yesterday dismissed the lawsuit that said the state’s map is too political.  The dismissal was expected.  The U.S. Supreme Court last week ruled that federal courts should not overrule state legislators in how politically the maps are drawn. 

Several buildings in the Eau Claire Area School District will be under construction this summer.  If you were watching the news, you likely saw on WEAU that 13 of the 22 buildings managed by the district will have some form of work done.  Some of the work being done includes new roofs, new parking lots, secure entrances and a new ventilation system.  The projects are expected to cost the district about six-and-a-half-million dollars, will be paid for through referendum money

Haymarket Plaza is now open in downtown Eau Claire.  The city hosted a ribbon cutting yesterday to unveil the newly designed plaza, which connects the Pablo Center and the Haymarket Landing Development.  The new plaza has green space, seating, water fountains and a bridge that leads to Phoenix Park.  The nearly two-million-dollar project was slated to be finished last November, but cold temperatures halted construction. 

The Women’s Fund of Greater La Crosse is giving out more than 60-thousand-dollars in grants to local programs that help support women and girls.  A record number of applications were received this year.  A total of 27 organizations will receive grant money.