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The Menomonie Police Department is giving some safety tips following another suspected home burglary.  The department says a burglar used an item to break a window at the home and sneak in and steal several items inside.  Police are reminding residents that they should install some form of light outside their house in order to detract home invaders.  Residents are also being asked to make sure they report any suspicious activity. 

The Altoona City Council is officially approving plans for a Casey’s General Store to be built.  The council originally voted three-to-two against the plan last night but one member changed his vote after a modification was made to the store’s operating hours.  The store will be built on the southwest corner of U.S. Highway 12 and St. Andrews Drive but there’s currently no timetable for when it will be built.

Multiple mobile food pantries are popping up in parts of Dunn County.  The Stepping Stones Food Pantry and Feed My People Food Bank are working together to create pop-up pantries that will be offered to people struggling to find food near Ridgeland.  The pantries will be giving away free food on the first and third Thursdays of every month at the Sand Creek Arts Building and the Ridgeland Community Center.  Anyone seeking food is being asked to bring their own

Art students at Osseo-Fairchild High School are helping impoverished kids in Central America make lasting memories.  Through The Memory Project,students painted portraits of kids from Columbia to be sent to them so they would know that people around the world care for them.  The class says the kids should have already received their portraits and they’re waiting to receive back a video of their reactions. 

An Eau Claire police K9 is being credited with helping officers find a theft suspect hiding in a swamp.  Authorities say 52-year-old Steven Luken fled from Menards South after punching a Loss Prevention Officer while attempting to steal a tablet.  Luken hid in a nearby swamp but was found by K9 Jake and his handler Officer O’Connell.  He was taken into custody without incident.  He faces charges of strong armed robbery, battery, disorderly conduct, and has a felony warrant. 

Experts say the Eau Claire housing market is doing well, despite a dip nationally because of increasing mortgage rates.  Staff at the Realtors Association of Northwestern Wisconsin say several reasons the Eau Claire market is doing well are that the Midwest tends to be further behind national trends and that there is a higher inventory of homes being sold.  The median price of homes in Eau Claire has gone up five-thousand dollars since last year. 

A new study is exploring replacing gas powered cars with electric vehicles.  Xcel Energyis partnering with Eau Claire and several other communities to look at eco-friendly alternatives to gas powered vehicles.  The company is collecting data through a FleetCarma device in certain community members’vehicles to test if replacing them with electric vehicles would save money and time in the long run.

The Eau Claire Area Chamber of Commerce is focusing on business and government through an event led by their Governmental Affairs staff.  The information session was held yesterday to help local business leaders understand the impact of government policies.  The workshop was part of the chamber’s Business Advocacy Initiative partnering with Young Professionals of the Chippewa Valley. 

A group of seventh graders from DeLong Middle School in Eau Claire is learning about psychology with rats.  The students traveled to UW-Eau Claire Wednesday where a psychology professor showed them how they could use treats to encourage new behaviors in rats.  The demonstration showed the students how most animals and humans can learn based on motivation.  The students also learned about social psychology, cognitive psychology, and developmental psychology.     

The deadline is fast approaching for state residents to register for federal disaster assistance.  Nine counties were approved for individual assistance with renters, homeowners and businesses eligible to apply if they were affected by storms and flooding between mid-August and mid-September.  The deadline is December 17th to apply for assistance and more information is available either at FEMA or at disaster assistance-dot-gov-CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION.