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Lead the LEAD OUT. That’s the goal as The City of Eau Claire is increasing the amount of money it provides for people to replace lead-lined pipes on their property. The city says around 12-hundred properties in town still have lead-lined pipes, but officials say water quality is not an issue because the water is treated with lime, which  coats the inside of the pipes and adjusts the PH.

Both Eau Claire and Chippewa Counties are looking more closely at security measures in local courtrooms. The discussions are underway, but early ideas from Eau Claire County include having a screening area before entering the courtroom floor to keep out weapons and sharp objects, in Chippewa they are considering adding a courthouse security officer that would sometimes serve as a bailiff.

The static continues in Trempealeau County as the DA, Taavi McMahon says he will continue to fight a recall effort. Osseo Police Chief William Prudlick and Officer Daniel McQuillan are leading the campaign to recall McMahon, saying he is unprepared for court, reluctant to listen to law enforcement, and reducing too many serious charges. McMahon says he’s supported by police, about a dozen district attorneys, and the public.

Do you have to psych yourself up to log on to Facebook? Have you been experiencing scroll-rage lately? We might have a solution…Facebook users will soon be able to keep certain topics from appearing in their timelines. The social network announced a new feature yesterday called “keyword snooze” that will remove specific words from news feeds and groups for up to 30 days.  Facebook is currently testing it out with a small percentage of users, and plans to make it

A Supreme Court ruling is affecting Wisconsin labor unions. The five-to-four decision says that “fair-share” fees public workers pay unions for collective bargaining is unconstitutional.  The ruling on an Illinois case strikes down our states exemption for public-safety unions. Wisconsin passed Act 10 in 2011, which severely limited union power, but still allowed “fair-share” payments for public-safety workers.

A peek behind the political curtain shows us that Tony Evers is working to maintain his position as front-runner in the governor’s race. Evers was in our area yesterday with a stop in Eau Claire, positioning himself as the only Democratic candidate who can put together a successful state-wide campaign against Republican incumbent Scott Walker.

Air Force One landed about five minutes after the Summerfest fireworks concluded during the opening night of the festival and now President Trump is in Milwaukee to take part in today’s ceremonial groundbreaking for the Foxconn plant in Mount Pleasant and to attend a fundraiser this morning. Trump will speak to an invited audience this afternoon as part of the groundbreaking for the company’s first factory outside of Asia.

A new chapter is about to begin in Whitehall, as the Public Library is planning to construct a new building.  The library’s director say the temporary space on downtown Main Street is getting cramped.  The organization just received funds from the RCU Foundation’s “Rock the Riverfront” event, which raised more than 27-thousand for three local charities. The library is starting a capital campaign to pay for a new facility and just received a generous gift from a donor who had

Get out the red pen! We have a correction and an update from City Hall as Eau Claire City Council is using another approach to replace former president Kerry Kincaid than was proposed before. We had been talking about a plan to take applications and hear from candidates, followed by a vote for the winner –and that direction was rejected by the Council last night.  Opponents worried about the possible lack of experience of potential candidates.  So the edit is this:

Washington heads to Wisconsin! Trump will be here tomorrow for a big event at electronics manufacturer Foxconn.  The visit comes amid a controversy over Harley Davidson as the Wisconsin-based motorcycle company is having to ship some production overseas because of European tariffs. At the White House yesterday-conflict REVVED up, as Trump said Harley-Davidson is using the tariffs as an excuse to do something they planned to do already.