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A building was evacuated in downtown Eau Claire yesterday, and Xcel Energy says a contractor hit a gas line while working in downtown Eau Claire, causing a leak. The utility company says a worker pulled a line that caused a gas meter to come off near the area of Grand Avenue while demolishing a building there and a building across the street was evacuated. Crews are repairing the leak and say the area is safe.

The mayor of Neillsville is stepping down. Steve Mabie turned in his letter of resignation Wednesday after a misunderstanding about residency. Mabie lives in a cabin outside the city, but thought he could still vote and hold office in the district because he owns a home in Neillsville. State statute says an office holder must be a resident of the voting district. The council will officially accept Mabie’s resignation next week when they meet.

The last group of state schools is set to receive safety grants from the first round of the program. Attorney General Brad Schimel announced 60 schools and school districts that will be receiving the just over two-and-a-half million dollars remaining in the first set of DOJ Safety Grant program funds. Round two is now open for applications. Nearly 700 private and public schools and school districts are expected to apply.

If you were headed to Arcadia last week at this time for Ashley for the Arts, then you were part of record setting and some big numbers. All said and done, more than 70,000 guests at the three‐day music and art festival in Arcadia’s Memorial Park. The event, celebrating its 10th anniversary, saw an increase of 20,000 visitors in attendance over last year. And a big boost will be back into the community-in dollars, Ashley for the Arts raised $535,500

The Chippewa County board is moving forward with the design phase for a historic Chippewa County bridge.  The board voted Tuesday night to begin designing the replacement for Cobban Bridge.  The county highway department says the newly designed bridge will be made of concrete and will be slightly longer than the current structure.  And, from the bridge to the courthouse:The Chippewa County Courthouse will soon have more security.  The county board approved a measure Tuesday night to create a full-time

Yesterday at this time we had election results and now we know this: The 2018 Wisconsin primary is being called historic.  Officials say more people voted in Tuesday’s primary than ever before.  Democrats drew about 20-percent more voters than Republicans. ..and as you can imagine, local polling places are preparing for a high volume of voters in November.  Turnout in Chippewa County for Tuesday’s primary was the highest its been in over 15 years and some smaller towns faced ballot shortages

TAG-A-LONG while I tell you this story…. The Girl Scouts will be selling a new cookie next year.We all know Girl Scout Cookies are a food group, and now we have more to choose from! They announced the Caramel Chocolate Chip cookie will be joining their 2019 line-up.  It will be the second gluten-free option to be offered, joining the Toffee-tastic cookies. The Caramel Chocolate Chip cookie will have caramel and semi-sweet chocolate chips with a hint of sea salt

A suspect is in custody after a Chippewa County polling place was vandalized. The county Sheriff’s Office says the Edson Town Hall was broken into overnight Monday. The site was used as a polling place on Election Day. Deputies say a juvenile male broke a window after trying to get in through the doors. The suspect tried to start a fire inside. Deputies haven’t said if the vandalism was motivated by yesterday’s election.

LOCAL ELECTION RESULTS: Democrat Jeff Smith will be facing off against Republican Mel Pittman in the November election for the District 31 state Senate seat.  Smith is a former state Assemblyman from Eau Claire while Pittman is a Plum City dairy farmer.  The race is considered a battleground, with Republicans looking to flip the seat. The district is currently represented by Democratic Senator Kathleen Vinehout.  Jodi Emerson is the winner of the Democratic primary for the 91st Assembly District seat.  

Leave room on your shirt for your “I VOTED sticker!” It’s our turn, as voters are casting their ballots in primary elections today-including here.  There are a variety of local elections and as we widen the lens a little bit, we see some key state and national positions as well.  Eight Democrats are facing off to see who will oppose Republican Governor Scott Walker in November.  Republicans Leah Vukmir and Kevin Nicholson are in a dead heat going into today’s