Home

Some of Wisconsin’s National Guard units will get a little piece of home while on deployment in Afghanistan. Family members of the troops deployed with the 128th Infantry over the weekend packed boxes full of gifts, snacks, and mementos. The packages will be sent to the troops in time for Christmas. In all, the families sent over 100 boxes to their soldiers.

Not enough people are going to school to be teachers, not enough young teachers can pass the test to get a license, and once teachers get a job they often leave in a few years.  Wisconsin’s Association of School Board says there are a number of reasons for a teacher shortage in the state. The Association released a letter last week detailing the problems. Many schools started this year without enough teachers, and many teachers say they simply don’t make

The good news is that it won’t be freezing cold. But that means Eau Claire and the Chippewa Valley will see some rain, some sleet, and some snow this week. Forecasters say there are two rounds of wintry mix that could make things slick. The first hits late tonight and into tomorrow morning. The second comes late Wednesday. Besides that, forecasters say western Wisconsin will see milder temperatures this week.

Wisconsin football is right back in the mix for the Big Ten West title.  The Badgers beat Nebraska 37-to-21 in Lincoln over the weekend to get to five-and-two in conference play.  Meanwhile, Minnesota lost its first game of the season to Iowa 23-to-19.  If Wisconsin beats Purdue and Minnesota beats Northwestern this weekend, it would set up a de facto championship game for the West title between the two teams on November 30th.

The Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection says last year was the worst for the state’s dairy industry since 2004.  A report issued this week says 638 dairy farms went out of business in 2018.  27 News says the industry has been on a steady decline for a decade-and-a-half, with he number of active farms dropping from nearly 16-thousand, to less than 75-hundred during that time period.

Graduate researchers at University of Wisconsin-Madison are petitioning to stop a suspended professor’s return.  The dean of the engineering department issued a letter this week saying Dr. Akbar Sayeed would be coming back to campus in January after serving a two-year suspension over allegations that his behavior led to a student’s suicide in 2016.  The petition had over 900 signatures as of last night. A new report from the National Science Foundation says UW-Madison is one of the top ten research

The fabled Pabst Blue Ribbon 99-pack is coming to Wisconsin.  The seven-foot long “family pack” will be available at select locations in the Milwaukee area before the end of the year.  An official at Beer Capitol Distributing in Sussex tells WISN the big boxes are available for sale in 15 states, but in Wisconsin you’ll have to win a contest to get yours.  No details about the contest have been released.

The cost for regular gas in Wisconsin remains well below the national average.  Triple-A says the price statewide is two-dollars-and-38-cents today, 22-cents-below the national average of two-60-a-gallon.  The lowest prices are found in the southern counties at two-25 in Kenosha County and two-29 in Racine, Rock and Waukesha.  The highest prices are in northwestern Wisconsin in Washburn County at two-65-a-gallon for regular gas.   

The Food and Drug Administration is asking people to report any adverse reaction from using Dollar Tree’s Assured Brand of cosmetics and over the counter drugs.  The brand is also sold at Family Dollar stores.  The FDA says this week there were multiple violations at some production facilities in China including filthy conditions and the failure to test finished drugs.  There are over 20 Family Dollar stores and 20 Dollar Tree stores mostly in south-central and eastern Wisconsin.

The Eau Claire County Sheriff’s Office recently received three calls in the matter of an hour from citizens who have been contacted by a person claiming to be a representative of the Eau Claire County Sheriff’s Office. This person, who is identifying himself as “Officer Malone, Badge #777, is telling citizens that they have outstanding warrants and is directing them to go to Walmart to post bond on their warrants. The Eau Claire County Sheriff’s Office does not have an