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Today is the first day for drive-through early voting in Eau Claire.  The city clerk’s office yesterday said people can drive up and cast a ballot in the parking lot at city hall.  The drive-thru voting is open from 9 a.m. til 4 p.m. on weekdays. You can register to vote if need be as well. Voters will be deciding the races on the April ballot.

Chippewa Falls is lifting its winter parking rules.  The city yesterday said on Facebook that ‘Winter Parking has ENDED!!’  The change means people can go back to parking on the street as usual.  Chippewa Falls Police say they made the decision after looking at the forecast and seeing warmer temperatures in the days to come.

UW-Eau Claire will need a new athletic director next year.  Dan Schumacher yesterday announced his retirement.  He has been with the university since 2014.  Schumacher’s legacy includes the upgrades to UW-Eau Claire’s sports facilities, including Simpson Field.  Schumacher is leaving at the end of this semester, the school will launch a search for his replacement later this spring.

The latest plans to get tougher on reckless driving in Wisconsin take their next step forward this week.  The Wisconsin Senate is set to vote on a couple of pieces of legislation aimed at repeat reckless drivers.  One would double the fines for reckless driving, while another will allow cities and towns to seize cars from reckless drivers who don’t pay their fines and tickets.  The plans are all written by Republicans, but there is hope at the Capitol that they will be signed

The GoFundMe for that injured Milwaukee firefighter and his daughter is at nearly 72-thousand-dollars, and growing. Firefighter Jeff Rothmeier’s family started the GoFundMe after he fell off a roof while fighting a fire on Saturday. He is recovering from serious injuries, including a spinal fracture and tenbroken ribs. His daughter is also hospitalized with kidney problems. The family says more than one-thousand people have donated to the GoFundMe so far, including one anonymous donor who chipped-in three thousand-dollars. The Rothmeier

There’s a new ice cream shop for dogs opening in Milwaukee’s Third Ward. Salty Paws owner Linda Smith says she got the inspiration for her shop from her dog, a French Bulldog named Coconut. There are plans for a nearby tap room and other projects as planner hope to create a ‘dog district’ downtown.

 Wisconsin gas prices look to be going back down.  According to Triple-A the statewide average sits at three dollars and 23 cents a gallon, down eight cents from this time last week.  In Madison the average is at three-26 a gallon.  Triple-A points to dropping oil prices, which are at their lowest point since August 2021.

Today the U.S. Department of Energy is renewing funding for the Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center at University of Wisconsin-Madison.  The Department of Energy says the research center could get over 147-and-a-half-million dollars over the next five years.  The money will be used to find sustainable alternatives to gasoline.

Wisconsin is a top-five state for doctors.  That’s according to WalletHub, which says Wisconsin is the fourth-best state to practice medicine.  WalletHub says it uses 19 key metrics to make its rankings.  Wisconsin ranks second in opportunity and competition and has the second-cheapest annual malpractice liability insurance.  WalletHub says the best state for doctors is Montana and the worst is Hawaii.

The National Safety Council (NSC) reports more than 90% of all poisonings happen at home. Cosmetics and personal care products lead the list of most common substances implicated in pediatric poison exposures. According to the most recent data from the NSC, one poison exposure was reported to U.S. poison control centers every 15 seconds in 2020.  As part of National Poison Prevention Week, March 19-25, HSHS Sacred Heart and St Joseph’s hospitals remind you about the dangers of potentially poisonous