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The work has finally begun on Foxconn’s Wisconsin factory.  Crews broke ground yesterday in Mount Pleasant.  The hope is to have the plant up and running before the end of next year.  Foxconn is still promising 15 thousand jobs for southeast Wisconsin.  There were fears earlier this year that Foxconn may not build the plant, or at least scale it down. 

The 2019 baseball season is underway for the Milwaukee Brewers.  A soldout crowd at Miller Park watched the Brewers fall behind early against the St Louis Cardinals when the Redbirds hit two home runs in the second inning to take a 2-0 lead.  But the Brewers pounded out a few homers of their own to take a two-run edge midway through the game.  For many Brewers fans the only thing better than the beer and the brats of Opening Day

A demonstration at Beloit College created enough chaos to force the cancellation of a scheduled speaker.  Former Blackwater head Erik Prince was slated to talk on the campus last night when students piled chairs on the stage and pounded drums in protest.  The talk was cancelled.  In 2007 Blackwater employees were implicated in the death of some civilians in Iraq.  When contacted by the Beloit Daily News, Prince said his free-speech rights were violated.

An Altoona man is accused of watching pornography on a public library computer.  A criminal complaint filed yesterday claims 57-year-old Kevin Towle was recently using a computer near the children’s activity room at L.E. Phillips Library in Eau Claire when someone says he was looking at porn and printing pornographic images.  He was released on 500-dollars bond and is due back in court on May 8th.

A La Crosse man is in custody after police say he was caught with more than two pounds of methamphetamine.  Police say they searched a home on Avon Street earlier this week and found meth, drug packaging material, a large amount of an unknown white substance, and over 14-thousand dollars in cash.  After the search, Andrew Henke was arrested and charged with possession of meth with intent to deliver.

The Eau Claire Waterways and Parks Commission is approving a new construction project and the naming of a new park.  Reports say last night the commission approved rezoning and a site plan for the new visitor center at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire.  It also approved naming an area along Forest Street Veterans Tribute Park.  Both plans still need to be approved by the city council.

It’s opening day for Major League Baseball and the Brewers are hosting the Cardinals this afternoon.  The last time the two teams met, Milwaukee swept St. Louis in three straight games as part of its eight-game winning streak to close out the regular season.  First pitch from Miller Park is scheduled for 1:10. 

The top Republicans at the statehouse in Madison are saying a bit of ‘I told you so.’ A three-judge appeals court yesterday ruled that the reforms that lawmakers approved in December are not unconstitutional.  The ruling reverses a Madison judge’s order from last week that blocks the law.  But it’s unclear how the ruling will be enforced.  Governor Evers already ordered the state out of a lawsuit that challenges Obamacare, and he’s already moved to fire 82 people appointed under

The man who took Jayme Closs and killed her parents is waiting to go to prison for the rest of his life.  Jake Patterson yesterday pleaded guilty to kidnapping and homicide charges.  The only sentence available is life in prison.  Closs was not in court, but Patterson said ‘Bye Jayme’ as he was led out of the courtroom.

The police chief in Bloomer will spend the next two weeks without a paycheck, but will get to keep his job.  The city’s police commission yesterday said they didn’t find any evidence that Chief Jared Zwiefelhofer used a police department rifle to illegally shoot a deer last year.  Zwiefelhofer pleaded no contest to the charges, and stepped down as Chippewa County Board chairman.  He says he can still be an effective police officer in Bloomer.