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Authorities say just because Eau Claire is ranked in Wisconsin’s top three cities for sex crimes, doesn’t mean there are more sex offenders in Eau Claire than anywhere else.  Sheriff Ron Cramer yesterday said the report from the state’s Department of Justice highlights the number of reported sex crimes per-capita.  Eau Claire had 157 sex crimes per person from 2014 to 2018.  Sauk County had the most, followed by Lincoln County.

Guards at six Wisconsin prisons are getting a five-dollar-an-hour raise to keep them on the job.  Governor Tony Evers ordered the raises this week.  He says he wants to fight long running staff shortages at the Columbia, Dodge, Green Bay, Taycheedah and Waupun [[ whu-paan ]].  Guards will see their pay spiked through at least June of next year.  The extra five bucks an hour comes to about an extra ten-thousand-dollars a year. 

The city of Eau Claire says it knows there are some gaps in the local housing market.  Advocates want the city to find more affordable housing.  Downtown Eau Claire Inc. hosted a meeting yesterday to focus on housing needs in the city.  Eau Claire’s Economic Development Manager, Aaron White, said there are different challenges for different people.  He said that makes finding one solution difficult.

When Wisconsin gets warmer, a lot of people will be out on the side of the road.  The Wisconsin Department of Transportation is warning people now to get ready for folks who are out picking-up trash along the side of the road later this summer.  WisDOT says the adopt a highway program is very popular, and it will have a lot of people out across the state.  WisDOT says drivers need to pay attention and give workers plenty of room. 

Governor Tony Evers is sounding a lot less pessimistic about Foxconn after a meeting with the company’s CEO.  The governor met with Terry Gou yesterday.  Gou stopped in Milwaukee after visiting with President Trump.  Evers said after the meeting that he was ‘never not supportive’ of Foxconn or their plans to bring 13-thousand jobs to the state of Wisconsin.  But it was just weeks ago that the governor said he didn’t think Foxconn would ever hire that many people.

Fans will get their first look at the Packers in late July.  The team yesterday said training camp will start July 25th.  Green Bay is planning a number of fan friendly events for the first few days of camp.  The Green Bay shareholders meeting will convene just before camp opens, on July 24th.  The Packers will play their first preseason game August 8th against the Houston Texans. 

The first meeting between Governor Tony Evers and the head of Foxconn is wrapped up.  The two men met today, a day after Foxconn CEO Terry Gou met with President Trump at the White House.  There’s been controversy brewing around the deal between the state and the technology giant.  The governor is uncertain Foxconn will meet it’s investment and jobs goals, while Foxconn says it remains committed to its plan.

Senator Tammy Baldwin says Wisconsin should accept a federal investment in the BadgerCare program.  That would expand health care coverage to 82-thousand more Wisconsinites.  She says Governor Evers has a plan to accept federal investments that will save taxpayer money and help close coverage gaps.  Baldwin says it’s fiscally and morally irresponsible for the state Legislature’s Republicans to say they won’t take up the issue of expanded medicaid. 

Nearly 200 drug take-back events across the state collected over 58-thousand pounds of unused medication.  The state held a drug take-back day last Saturday with around 300 police agencies participating.  Officials warn against flushing or pouring pharmaceuticals down the drain as trace amounts remain in rivers and lakes.  Chippewa County added nearly a thousand pounds of medication to Wisconsin’s unused medication take-back.  Attorney General Josh Kaul stopped by Chippewa County yesterday to talk up the take-back programs success. Across the state,

The Pablo Center at the Confluence is adding a news face to the downtown team. A new Marketing and Communications Manager has been filled. Stephanie LaBair, a resident of downtown Eau Claire and Pittsburgh native, has started at the Pablo Center. She brings her experience and talents to the Pablo Center and its team. She has built her career on the idea that creativity and strategy are a symbiotic relationship that can further the mission of a non-profit.