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A Bloomer man is pleading no contest to two counts of possessing child pornography.  WEAU reports Timothy Lauer entered the plea in Chippewa County court yesterday.  It was part of a deal that  helped him get eight other charges dropped.  Lauer is scheduled to be sentenced on March 27th. 

A Durand pig farmer is being accused of animal neglect.  A criminal complaint shows sheriff’s deputies found 49-year-old Jeffery Owen’s farm in poor condition with nearly 20 dead pigs on it and about ten more that were sick.  The deputies say Owen told them he didn’t have the energy to feed the pigs sometimes.  He’s facing ten counts of mistreatment of animals. 

Employment numbers show that many workers are staying in Wisconsin despite neighboring Minnesota having a higher minimum wage.  This week the minimum wage in Minnesota jumped over two-dollars and 50-cents above the Wisconsin minimum wage to nine-86-an-hour, but employment in the Badger State is holding steady.  The executive director of the La Crosse Area Chamber of Commerce says she believes people are staying in Wisconsin because they love their jobs.  In La Crosse in particular, the unemployment is tied for the lowest it’s ever been. 

The Rusk County Sheriff’s Office finally has its phone service back after it was down for nearly two days.  The outage was initially reported on Tuesday afternoon and it continued throughout the day on Wednesday.  For a brief time all non-emergency calls were being directed to the dispatch center but 9-1-1 calls were still working fine.  The sheriff’s office reported the phones were back up and running late yesterday afternoon. 

Eau Claire is set to hold its first primary for city council as a dozen candidates filed nomination papers for five at-large seats.  Acting council president Andrew Werthmann and councilman Terry Weld are seeking the council president job.  The February 19th primary will narrow the list of candidates to ten, with a final vote for all seats April 2nd. 

Clean up is beginning at a popular attraction in Chippewa Falls.  Crews are taking down the Christmas Village at Irvine Park.  The half-mile display took six weeks to put up and included 200 structures and roughly 100-thousand lights. 

HSHS Sacred Heart and St. Joseph’s Hospitals are formally affiliating with OakLeaf Clinics.  The two organizations have had a partnership with each other for several years.  The legal move will allow the organizations to provide “strong and seamless care for patients.” 

Two women have new wheels and a year’s worth of gas, thanks to Eau Claire’s Morrie’s Mazda’s 60 Days of Giving.  Sarah Sturtz is set to begin taking one daughter to chemo in Rochester for a rare bone cancer, while caring for a second daughter living with an aneurysm and heart troubles.  Kirsten Schroeder also received a vehicle and a year’s worth of gas to aid her four-hour commute to Minnesota to attend school for addiction studies.  Kirsten overcame drug

Governor-elect Tony Evers says he will follow new laws curbing his powers.  Evers indicated this yesterday, only a day after saying he would not do so.  The incoming Democratic governor said he thinks he would be sued by those trying to force him to follow the laws if he rebelled against them.  Lawsuits challenging the provisions are expected.  MEANWHILE, Governor-elect Tony Evers is filling out his cabinet.  Former Obama official Andrea Palm will serve as health secretary.  State Representative Peter

Attorney General Brad Schimel announced Wisconsin collected a record-breaking 68,016 lbs. of unused medications at drug disposal boxes and October Drug Take Back events. Wisconsin collected more unused medications than 48 other states, including beating Texas and only falling in second place to California.  Since 2015, Wisconsin has collected and disposed of 469,785 lbs. of unused and unwanted medications.