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ABOVE PHOTO: Award recipients Jamie Arenz (left) and Mai Khou Xiong (right) at the Universities of Wisconsin reception in Madison on Nov. 9. Photo provided by Jamie Arenz. Two University of Wisconsin-Stout staff members have been named special award recipients by the Universities of Wisconsin and were honored at a ceremony on Nov. 9, in Madison. Academic Advisor Jamie Arenz is one of 13 honorees of the Dr. P.B. Poorman Award for Outstanding Achievement on Behalf of LGBTQ+ People. Executive Director

 State Sen. Jeff Smith and State Rep. Jodi Emerson, along with Chippewa Valley advocates, will speak at the Chippewa Valley Free Clinic about the local impacts posed by this legislative session’s only comprehensive bill to curb the skyrocketing healthcare costs. The plan would lower healthcare costs throughout the state and create more affordable healthcare options for Chippewa Valley families. All told, the BadgerCare Public Option Bill opens Wisconsin’s BadgerCare program for everyone who does not have good coverage through their

A Chetek woman has agreed to plead guilty in an Eau Claire County murder case from last year. Vanessa Ketteman agreed to the plea yesterday. She will be sentenced for felony murder-false imprisonment for her role in the June 2022 shooting death of Eddie Banks. Investigators say Ketterman and two other people lured Banks to a meeting after he failed to deliver 500 dollars worth of drugs. Ketterman says Banks died when he grabbed for the gun and it went

Jessy Kurczewski is heading to prison. A jury in Waukesha County yesterday found her guilty of poisoning her friend with eye drops back in 2018. Jurors also convicted her of stealing nearly 300 thousand-dollars from her friend as well. Kurczewski wept as the verdict was read, she had insisted that her friend killed herself. Kurczewski is facing a mandatory life sentence, she’ll be sentenced early next month.

Chippewa County’s DA says he doesn’t have enough facts to make a decision about possible charges for the county’s sheriff. DA Wade Neweel yesterday wrote to the county’s administrator, explaining that he doesn’t have enough evidence to make an official misconduct case against Sheriff Travis Hakes. Hakes has faced a wave of criticism for his behavior and his outside job selling guns since he took office earlier this year. The county sent an investigation to the DA for review, but

The Brewers are staying in Milwaukee, and taxpayers are going to pay to fix their ballpark. Lawmakers yesterday approved the package that will spend about 500 million-dollars in public money on renovations and improvements to American Family Field. Half of the Republicans in the State Senate voted against the plan, they don’t want to see taxpayers pay so much for the stadium. The new plan includes some tweaks for the board that controls the stadium, and a new ticket tax

The new overhaul of Wisconsin’s liquor laws will change the “happily ever after” for some wedding barns. The legislature yesterday approved a rewrite of the state’s depression-era liquor code. In addition to changing some of the rules for breweries, wineries, and liquor distributors, the plan affects wedding barns by limiting them to six events per-year, or forcing them to get a liquor license. Supporters say the idea is to ensure safety at wedding barns that have been BYOB for years.

Despite test scores that show 60 percent of kids in Wisconsin schools cannot read or do math at grade level, just 21 school districts in the state fail to meet the state’s expectations. The Department of Public instruction yesterday released its school and school district report cards. Of the 378 public school districts in the state, 357 met or exceeded expectations. They track how schools across the state did on last year’s standardized tests. Locally, we see that Eau Claire

Wisconsin is a step closer to having a new baby box law.  The State Assembly yesterday unanimously approved a plan that would allow parents to surrender a baby within the first three days. State Rep. Ellen Schutt says the plan would allow cities to install a box at a fire station or other city building that is open and staffed 24/7, and allow parents to anonymously surrender a baby. Wisconsin allows parents to turn-over their babies in-person, but this would

Inmates at two of Wisconsin’s prisons will be getting out of their cells more, and some may be going home under a new push from the governor. Governor Tony Evers yesterday announced plans to move away from the lockdowns at the prisons in Waupun and Green Bay. Inmates have been confined to their cells for months because of safety worries and a lack of guards. The governor yesterday said inmates will soon be allowed access to more prison programs, and