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A Florida man will spend the next four years behind bars in connection with child sex crimes in Chippewa County in 2021. A judge pronounced sentence on Friday for Frank Facasse, who had pleaded no contest as part of a plea deal last week. Facasse was originally charged with sexually assaulting an eleven-year-old girl, as well as showing pornographic videos to her and two other children. Facasse will also spend eight years on probation following his prison sentence.

A man from Eau Claire County will spend nine years in prison for stabbing his neighbor and holding a standoff with police. Adam Langiewicz pleaded no contest to his charges in exchange for reducing a charge of attempted homicide. Prosecutors say he stabbed his neighbor in Boyd before returning to his home and participating in a four hour standoff, before he set his house on fire. The judge believes drugs and alcohol were factors in the crime.

Wisconsin’s clergy and faith leader abuse hotline has received almost 275 calls since it was launched three years ago. Attorney General Josh Kaul says people who previously reported to law enforcement or religious authorities were able to get more help with their cases through the tip line. Tips have resulted in the arrests of several religious leaders. Kaul says victims are encouraged to report either online or by phone.

A sturgeon tagged in Wisconsin has made a record-breaking swim. The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources says the fish initially tagged in the Chippewa Valley was found by the Missouri DNR in Illinois along the Mississippi. The sturgeon traveled more than 650 miles, the longest known distance a Chippewa Valley lake sturgeon has traveled. The DNR says lake sturgeon are rare on the Mississippi, but live long lives. The oldest in the state was 152 years old.

The dresses and dinners, tuxedos and ties. Whether it’s a creative invite or a group of friends looking to memories, Prom season is underway and a special time of year for many area students.  For this week’s Friday Feel Good we visit Pennsylvania where a certain Girl Scout is making sweet splash not in cookies, but in clothes!  A Girl Scout in Pennsylvania organized a prom dress giveaway on Sunday and collected over 150 dresses, plus shoes.  She’s only in fifth grade but decided

The University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire has earned a silver rating in a reporting process that measures the sustainability performances of universities and colleges around the world. UW-Eau Claire is one of 355 institutions to receive a valid Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System (STARS) designation from the Association for the Advancement for Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE). The ratings include universities from around the world, including Australia, Canada, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Mexico and United Arab Emirates. The STARS global sustainability

An upcoming event brings bargains and giving back together. Faith Lutheran Church, 733 Woodward Ave is hosting a thrift sale to benefit the families of Southview Elementary School lunch balances. If you are interested, you can see the details below:

A field trip to Minneapolis ended at the hospital for a couple of middle schoolers from Eau Claire. The kids were on a school bus that crashed into the back of a gas truck on I-94 yesterday. Six of the kids from DeLong Middle School were slightly hurt when the bus hit the back of the truck. Two of those kids were taken to a local hospital in Hudson as a precaution. Traffic cam video caught the crash. It shows

Some of Eau Claire’s older parks are getting a refresh this spring. Parks director Steve Plaza yesterday said two basketball courts at Demmler and Grover Heights Park are getting new surfaces. So are the tennis courts in Carson Park that were vandalized by fire over the winter. Plaza says work should start on the basketball courts in a week or so. He’s not saying when the work on the tennis courts could begin.

The price of a home in Wisconsin is up 10 percent from a year ago. The Wisconsin Realtors released their latest report yesterday. It says sales are up just over three percent compared to March of 2023, but prices are way up. The report blames both a low supply of homes for sale, and much higher interest rates. The median price for a home in the state is now just under 300 thousand-dollars, though it’s higher than that in both