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Chippewa Falls’ new Erickson Park is officially open to the public.  A ribbon cutting ceremony was held yesterday for the 15-acre, two-point-three-million dollar park near Glen Loch Lake.  The park includes picnic, pavilion, and play areas, trails, a bridge connecting it to Irvine Park, and multiple fishing areas. 

The Eau Claire Children’s Museum has a new exhibit teaching kids how to be safe in the kitchen.  The Let’s Get Cooking Lab allows kids to cook their own healthy snacks and shows them how to be safe with dangerous kitchen elements such as hot surfaces and knives.  Getting a spot in the lab will be difficult though.  Summer cooking programs are already full.  

Kenosha County’s sheriff says the suspect in Racine Police Officer John Hetland’s murder went to jail in Hetland’s handcuffs.  The sheriff announced an arrest in the case yesterday.  No one is naming the suspect yet, and the sheriff wouldn’t say where and how officers arrested them.  Hetland died last week when a masked man tried to rob the bar where he was eating dinner.  Hetland was laid to rest Wednesday. 

There is just one Y in the Chippewa Valley.  Managers from the YMCA’s in Eau Claire and Chippewa Falls yesterday held a ribbon tying ceremony to mark their official merger.  The two chapters came together about a month ago.  The Y’s Theresa Hillis says it just makes sense to share people and resources.  YMCA facilities in both communities will stay as they are for now. 

Ethan Witscher has a new entry for his resume.  The 14-year-old from Cumberland is this year’s Hoards Dairyman Magazine cow judging junior champion.  Witscher beat out other teens from 48 states to take home the crown.  He says it’s an honor to be recognized.  Witscher’s family has been working with cows for five generations.  He says he wants to be a dairyman as well, after he goes to college.  

Police say there’s no reason to be worried that Wisconsin is ranked high on a national crime tracking website.  The folks at Asecurelife.com rank Wisconsin fifth in the nation when it comes to the number of sex offenders.  The site says Wisconsin has 435 sex offenders for every 100-thousand people in the state.  But,police say that’s not a reflection of an abnormally large number of offenders, rather it shows how well police are doing in catching sex offenders.  

Christian Yelich is really popular.  The Brewers’ star led all National League players in All Star votes this year.  The league last night said Yelich earned a starting spot on this year’s All Star team with more than 930-thousand votes.  He’s the only the Brewer to make the starting lineup, but baseball writers say there should be more Brewers joining him on the full All Star roster. 

Barron County Sheriff Chris Fitzgerald was on “THE BILL MICHAELS SHOW” today and spoke about Jayme Closs and her continued recovery. They were live from RICE LAKE  and you likely recognize the name from our own broadcasting of the BILL MICHAELS SHOW here on our popular sports station SPORTS TALK 105.1. If you would like to hear portions of the interview CLICK HERE.

Governor Tony Evers says the U.S. Supreme Court ruling on political redistricting is devastating for our democracy and system of government.  The High Court ruled today that federal courts should have no role in redistricting, leaving it mostly up to state legislatures.  Governor Evers says that solution leads to partisan gerrymandering which hurts people’s right to participate in the Democratic process.