Home

The following comments were released by County Administrator Randy Scholz: CHIPPEWA COUNTY BOARD INVESTIGATION REGARDING SHERIFF TRAVIS HAKES On Tuesday, October 3, 2023, records responsive to public records requests from news organizations were released regarding an investigation authorized and directed by the Chippewa County Board at their meeting on Tuesday, June 20, 2023, involving allegations of misconduct by Chippewa County Sheriff Travis Hakes. The responsive records released include a redacted version of the investigation report, the public record request response

The St. Croix County Emergency Communication Center received a call at approximately 9:35 a.m. on October 3, 2023, of a fishing boat that was going in circles on the St. Croix River, near Troy Beach. A witness reported there was a body in the water near the location of the boat. Deputies with the Washington County Sheriff’s Office arrived by boat, however, they could not locate anyone in the water. The unoccupied boat was a 1997 Smokercraft Pleasure/18 foot fishing

The investigation into Chippewa County’s new sheriff involves memes and what the sheriff says are political motivations. The county released a 100-page report into Sheriff Travis Hakes yesterday. The report focuses on texts between the sheriff and a 911 dispatcher. The report also looks into complaints that Hakes was often out of the office. Hakes says he was simply trying to be friendly with the dispatcher and says many of the complaints are based on interoffice politics or just regular

For the first time in the state of Wisconsin a judge has sided with parents when it comes to a school district’s gender policy. A Waukesha County judge yesterday ruled against Kevin Marine Schools’ handling of a middle school girl who was socially transitioned at school. The girl’s parents asked school leaders to call the girl by her given name, but teachers in school administrators called her by a different name. The judge said this is not about parents controlling

There will be a lot of talk at the State Capitol today about keeping girls sports in Wisconsin for biological girls only. Two different Assembly panels will hold hearings on two different proposed laws that would set the rules for transgender athletes in the state. One would deal with sports at UW schools, while the other would deal with sports at high schools. State Rep. Barb Dittrich, who is the author of both plans, says the idea is to make

Some of Wisconsin’s Republican members of Congress are upset about how Speaker Kevin McCarthy lost his job. Western Wisconsin Congressman Derrick Van Orden, and northwoods Congressman Tom Tiffany both took to Twitter yesterday to blast Florida Republican Matt Gaetz for the vote that pushed McCarthy out as speaker. Van Orden said Gaetz voted with every Democrat in the House to push McCarthy out, yet Gaetz claims that he’s the conservative. Tiffany said Republicans had some concerns about McCarthy, but questioned

There is another Democrat in the race for congress in western Wisconsin. State Representative Katrina Shankland yesterday joined the field to eventually take on Republican Congressman Derrick Van Orden next fall. Shankland is the fourth Democrat in the race, former La Crosse County Board chairwoman Tara Johnson, business owner Rebecca Cooke, and Harvard Law School student Aaron Nytes are all also running. Van Orden is in his first term in congress, and is considered a possible vulnerable candidate. Western Wisconsin

There is a plan at the Wisconsin Capitol to name the Monarch Butterfly as Wisconsin’s official butterfly. State Senator Rachael Cabral-Guevara introduced the legislation yesterday. She says Monarch Butterflies migrate through Wisconsin each and every summer, and thanks to conservation efforts their numbers have grown in the state. Cabral-Guevara says an official designation will build on Wisconsin’s tradition of conservation and enjoying the outdoors. The Monarch Butterfly is currently the official butterfly of the state of Alabama, Idaho, Illinois, Minnesota,

UPDATE: **UPDATE** 10.04.2023 Maxwell Luebeck has been safely taken into custody by the Wisconsin State Patrol on Hwy 53 near Superior WI. There is a continued investigation into an armed robbery at a local bank. Below is the release from local officials and you can see photos and read more WITH AN EASY CLICK HERE we well. Eau Claire Police Investigate Armed Robbery at Westconsin Credit Union: On October 2nd, 2023 at 12:48PM, ECPD officers responded to a holdup alarm

Wisconsin’s school safety tip line is getting nearly double the calls.  The Wisconsin Department of Justice says Speak Up, Speak Out got 3,754 tips in the most recent school year. That’s 95 percent more than the year before.  The state says bullying and vaping are the most reported tips in the last year.