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An Eau Claire tech company is laying off over 100 employees. Hutchinson Technology Inc., says they’ve notified 112-employees that they would be laid off. The State of Wisconsin Workforce Development says the worker reduction is expected to happen May 16, 2020. Hutchinson currently has 550-employees at the Eau Claire location. Hutchinson’s HR Director Sara St. John says the layoffs are due to a discontinuation of a department within the company. 

A State order to limit the number of children at Wisconsin daycare centers goes into effect today. Governor Tony Evers yesterday restricted the number of children allowed in a day care center at one time. The governor says centers may not operate with more than ten staff present at one time or more than 50-kids. The order is in an effort to limit the spread of COVID-19 in the state. There are now over 100-confirmed cases of coronavirus in Wisconsin.

An Eau Claire food bank is holding another pop-up food drive tomorrow to help families affected by the COVID-19 outbreak. Feed My People Food Bank is packing emergency food bags that provide for nearly 100-families in Eau Claire. Assistant Director Suzanne Becker says the volunteers are taking precautions to reduce the potential spread of coronavirus by limiting the number of volunteers at once. The food bank held an event Wednesday at the Brewing Projekt. The next pop-up drive is at

Construction staff on a new Chippewa Falls school in Lafayette are concerned with Governor Evers new restrictions to limit the spread of COVID-19. Construction on the multi-million-dollar Stillson Elementary School project is moving forward, but Business Manager Chad Trowbridge says he’s keeping an eye on changing conditions as more people are diagnosed with coronavirus in the state. Trowbridge says students being out of school helped the project continue, though now he’s concerned about the restriction of groups of ten people

Bars and restaurants in Chippewa County will get one warning if they break the rules about crowd size or closings. After that, Sheriff Jim Kowalczyk said there could be consequences. The sheriff yesterday said if the violation is bad enough, a bar or restaurant could lose their liquor license. The sheriff says deputies will use their judgement and common sense, but he added that they will enforce the rules.

Chippewa County is emptying part of its jail to try and halt the spread of the coronavirus. Sheriff Jim Kowalczyk yesterday sent work release prisoners home. The sheriff says no one who is being sent home is a threat or was being held on a serious charge. There are usually about 130 people in the Chippewa County Jail, yesterday it was down to 50.

It would take a lot to move Wisconsin’s primary. The state’s Election Commission yesterday talked about the possibility of moving the April 7th primary to another day. Commissioner Ann Jacobs said she thinks the state is putting people at risk by having them vote in person during the coronavirus outbreak. But other election officials say it would take the governor, the legislature, or a judge to change the election date. The commission, and Governor Evers, have told people to vote early

Add Harley Davidson to the list of companies closing because of the coronavirus. Harley yesterday said it is temporarily suspending production. The company says a worker at the plant in Menomonee Falls tested positive for the coronavirus. Harley is asking headquarters employees to work from home if they can. No one is saying when the company will start making motorcycles again.