Eau Claire police are making sure University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire students and alumni celebrate homecoming responsibly this year. Reports say there will be extra officers patrolling areas near the school this weekend. Police say they issued 45 citations and arrested six people during homecoming weekend in 2017, but those numbers declined sharply last year. Police believe it’s because law enforcement was more involved.
Read MoreThe city of Mondovi is putting more than six-million dollars in grants toward a new wastewater treatment plant. Two grants were recently given to the city for the development of the plant. The rest of the cost will be covered by loans from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. City officials say they expect residents’ bills to be cut in-third after the plant is built.
Read MoreAn Eau Claire man who thought he was setting-up a sexual rendezvous with a teenager is heading to prison. A judge yesterday sentenced Heath Gullikson to five years in prison and five years probation. Investigators say Gullikson thought he was going to meet a 15-year-old boy, but instead police arrested him. Gullikson will have to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life.
Read MoreThe athletic director at the University of Wisconsin Eau Claire says Eau Claire is a baseball town, and he hopes to use that to his advantage. Athletic Director Dan Schumacher says the school is hoping to bring back baseball, and add men’s soccer and women’s lacrosse to boost enrollment. Schumacher says all three are among the top sports at the schools that feed UW Eau Claire.
Read MoreThe state of Wisconsin is a big step closer to allowing teachers from outside the state to teach in classrooms here. The state Senate yesterday approved a plan to give out-of-state teachers with three years of experience a lifetime teaching license in Wisconsin. Supporters say the change will make it easier to find teachers and deal with the state’s teacher shortage. The plan next goes to Governor Evers.
Read MoreWisconsin’s experiment with hemp may soon be permanent. The Wisconsin Senate yesterday approved a plan that would make the state’s pilot program a permanent program. State Senator Patrick Testin says the idea is to give farmers and businesses more confidence in the new crop. Wisconsin farmers first got the chance to plant hemp last year. The legislation now heads to the state Assembly.
Read MoreThe Department of Natural Resources is giving hunters a heads-up regarding license scams online. Officials say there are at least two sites that claim to offer hunting licenses but once a fee is paid you only get information and not a license. The sites also ask for personal information. The DNR urges anyone who’s been scammed to file a complaint with the State Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection.
Read MoreAuthorities in east-central Wisconsin say a recent drug bust in Outagamie County is one of the biggest ever in their area. Brown County District Attorney David Lasse announced last night the seizure of nearly 60 pounds of methamphetamine from a room at the Wingate by Wyndham in Grand Chute last month. Other narcotics were also confiscated and Derek Liebergen of Kaukauna was taken into custody. Authorities say the bust will have an big impact on the supply of meth in the area.
Read MoreThe former congressman for Wisconsin’s northwoods is a dad, again. Former Congressman Sean Duffy and his wife yesterday announced the birth of their ninth child, a daughter named Valentina StellaMaris Duffy. Duffy left Congress last month to spend more time with his wife and kids. The little girl has two holes in her heart and has been diagnosed with Down syndrome.
Read MoreA Blair man will go to prison after being convicted in an Eau Claire child sexual assault case. Reports say a victim told police Jebediah Johnson assaulted her when she was seven or eight-years-old and again when she was 12. Johnson was found guilty of two counts of first-degree child sexual assault in connection with the case last Friday. He’ll face up to 120 years in prison when he’s sentenced in December.
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