Home

Migrant farm workers in Wisconsin are getting more disease and illness prevention protections. The Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development says the new regulations require employee access to shade and breaks once the temperature is higher than 80 degrees. There will also be updated requirements for urinals and showerheads, and other safety upgrades like access to clothes washers and dryers. Last year, there were more than 260 state regulated migrant labor camps operated in Wisconsin by 125 different employers.

Wisconsin’s attorney general is joining a group seeking to protect people who were brought into this country illegally when they were children. Attorney General Josh Kaul and 23 other attorneys general say they want the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, program to remain in place nationwide. Currently, a lawsuit in the U-S Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit claims DACA is unauthorized by law. DACA currently allows six-thousand people in Wisconsin who were brought to the U-S

An energy company covering Wisconsin may be changing its pricing policies. Xcel Energy, which serves Minnesota, Wisconsin, and several other states, is proposing time-of-use pricing.  It would increase prices in times of high demand — for example, running the air conditioning could cost seven-times more in the afternoon and evening hours compared to overnight. Xcel says customers would save with the new pricing, and the power grid be less strained.

Over the past year the Eau Claire County Sustainability Advisory Committee has been gathering community and stakeholder feedback to develop The Community Climate Action and Resilience Plan (CARP). This plan outlines strategies and action steps to leverage the current work being done in the community and how Eau Claire County can support community action to reach the County’s interim goal of 30% emission reductions by 2030.If you would like to join the conversation, you can be part of three open

The response to a changing healthcare landscape continues as our community prepares to adjust to the exit of HSHS and Prevea. Meetings are lined up and most recently, The Chippewa Falls City Council approved a resolution that requests Hospital Sisters Health System (HSHS) and Prevea Health collaborate and work with partners to continue care and services. The meetings will continue as local leaders address the bog questions of “what is next” for healthcare. Eau Claire is set to meet as

Attorneys for a man accused of committing a 2016 homicide in Eau Claire are asking the court to allow time for an independent competency exam.  Shane Helmbrecht is accused in the shooting death of Jen Ward.  Defense attorneys asked yesterday for four months to have the evaluation completed, though they will likely not have that much time.

A former Chippewa County daycare worker has pleaded no contest to charges in a child abuse case.  Investigators say that Lyndcey Jordheim picked up a 2-and-a-half-year-old child and forcefully dropped them back to the floor leading them to hit their head on a metal door frame.  The incident happened at Spots and Stripes Early Learning Center in Bloomer.  Jordheim has been sentenced to six weeks in jail and been given three years of probation.

A Chippewa County man has been identified as a victim in a fatal vehicle crash in Minnesota.  Two vehicles collided Sunday on Highway 1 in Northhome.  Three people were killed including Riley Scheidecker of Bloomer.  The accident remains under investigation.

Chippewa Falls police are suspending the issuing of parking citations under winter parking rules.  That announcement came Tuesday.  In a statement, the department says that the weather has been so warm for so long, the ground isn’t frozen. So, while they normally don’t pause enforcement once they start it, this time they think it is best to so people are not ripping up their yards.  The suspension will remain in place until further notice.

Wisconsin students who are involved in a worldwide robotics program are lobbying state lawmakers for the money to expand.  Participants with “FIRST”, a tech-centered nonprofit K through 12 development initiative, visited the Capitol Rotunda yesterday, bringing examples of their robotics projects along.  Whitewater High School junior Maddison Lahaie says it takes about 70-thousand each year to fund the activities for her team, money that is typically raised through small grants and sponsors.  She says the group would like to see