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Altoona residents are invited to the city hall this week to meet with the candidates for police chief.  According to the Leader-Telegram, the public session is scheduled from 5:00 to 6:00 p.m. Thursday at the city hall community room.  All five candidates will introduce themselves and attendees will be able to submit comment cards about them.  The police and fire commission is expected to offer one of them the job early next month. 

Menomonie High School is nearing its fundraising goal for its new sports complex.  The school’s athletic director said at a board meeting yesterday that the project needs about 45-thousand more dollars in community funding before funding will be complete.  Construction bidding won’t start until after the funds are raised, but it’s expected to cost over 250-thousand dollars. 

Mount La Crosse will be closed this week due to the extremely cold weather.  A representative with the ski hill says just a couple weeks ago it was closed because of warm rainy weather but today and tomorrow it will be closed due to subzero temperatures.  She says there’s no magic number for when the hill gets closed but that the decision gets made when considering the safety of employees and skiers. 

A State of Emergency throughout Wisconsin is being declared by Governor Evers in response to recent snow and the upcoming extreme cold.  High temperatures for Tuesday through Thursday are expected to dip to 14 below zero, not including the windchill.  The governor’s order directs all state agencies to help with any emergency response and recovery efforts related to the snowstorm and cold.  The order also allows Wisconsin’s Adjutant General to call soldiers and airmen from the Wisconsin National Guard to active duty to support local

Emergency crews are performing road rescues across Eau Claire after the first heavy snow of the season.  Tow truck crews stayed busy as the State Patrol reported just 17 crashes and 20 slide offs by early yesterday evening.  Eau Claire police are reporting 13 crashes around town.  The owner of Adams Automotive says most crashes are caused by drivers who are not able to see curbs covered by snow.      

The trial is underway for a woman accused of letting men sexually assault two children in exchange for money and drugs.  Michelle Mayer is facing six counts, including repeated sexual assault of a child and physical abuse of a child.  An Eau Claire district attorney pointed out in her opening statement that the jury would need to rely on victim testimony with no physical evidence available.  The defense says the lack of physical evidence proves Mayer is innocent. 

Governor Evers will be using private attorneys to defend his position in a lawsuit over lame-duck laws limiting his powers and those of Attorney General Josh Kaul.  Kaul has declined to represent Evers in the suit.  Republican lawmakers will also be hiring private attorneys for the legal fight.  Fees on both sides will be covered by taxpayer money.     

A state of emergency is in effect in Wisconsin.  Governor Tony Evers issued the order Monday as winter storm Beth rumbles across the state.  It’s already dumped several inches of snow and will be followed by extremely cold weather.  The governor’s order directs all state agencies to help any emergency response and recovery efforts and allows for the Wisconsin National Guard to be activated if necessary.  Communities across Wisconsin are opening warming centers as temperatures plummet.  Wind chills are expected well below zero and officials

U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin wants federal workers affected by the government shutdown to receive full back pay plus any interest accrued.  Baldwin says today it’s only fair if the federal government can charge you interest for being late on your taxes, then it should be paying interest on late paychecks.  Baldwin says she’s calling on Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to bring the “Back Pay Fairness Act” to the floor for the vote. 

A new addition to the local social scene is set to sink a hole soon. Skill Shot, a coffee & pinball lounge, will open on February 19.  The lounge, which is located at Artisan Forge Studios, (1106 Mondovi Rd) will offer hand-crafted coffee drinks, tea, craft beer, wine, healthy grab-and-go food, and a selection of pinball machines. Upon opening, the hours of Skill Shot will be from 7:00 am-7:00 pm Monday through Friday, and Saturday from 8:00 am-2:00 pm.