Local-Regional News March 24

Menomonie Police are asking for the public’s help in identifying a suspect in an armed robbery of Bob and Steve’s BP Amoco on Saturday night. According to police a male subject entered the business and told the store clerk he had a gun as he went behind the counter and removed cash from the register. He is described as a caucasian male in a brown jacket, grey hooded sweatshirt, blue jeans, red had and was wearing a black face mask. Menomonie Police are asking residents in the area to check their security cameras for footage of the suspect from 8pm-9:30pm on Saturday night and to contact police if they have any information.

For the first time in program history, Cochrane-Fountain City boys basketball are state champions. The Pirates earned a 60-54 win over Sheboygan Lutheran in the WIAA Boys Basketball Division 5 championship game on Saturday to take home their first gold ball. This is also Cochrane-Fountain City’s first state title in any sport other than cross country. The team was escorted back home Saturday by the Buffalo County Sheriff’s Department along with the Cochrane and Fountain City Fire Departments.

The Buffalo County Board is meeting tonight. Items on the agenda include a presentation by the State Jail Inspector, discussion and possible action on a resolution urging the Governor and State Legislature to support county courts, a resolution on an increase in pay for communications and corrections officers and reports from committee chairs. Tonights meeting begins at 7pm in the board room at the Buffalo County Government Center in Alma.

An Eau Claire officer is found legally justified for a deadly shooting last month. The detective shot at an armed suspect last December after responding to a domestic Investigators say the suspect, Matthew Luke, fired multiple times before leaving the scene. Chippewa County deputies followed Luke until he eventually crashed. He's then accused of firing more shots and hitting an armored car. Both an ECPD officer and a Wisconsin State trooper returned fire, and Luke died at the scene. Administrative review found the ECPD detective's use of deadly force reasonable.

Authorities are investigating the cause of a fire that left a home damaged in Eau Claire. Crews responded to the blaze yesterday in an apartment in 400 block of North Barstow Street. No injuries were reported. The fire is believed to have caused 50-thousand-dollars worth of damages.

Changes are coming to the La Crosse Regional Airport next month. Starting April 4th, Air Wisconsin won't be providing services for American Airlines in la Crosse. Instead, Envoy Air will bring in a larger aircraft to take over three daily routes to Chicago. The new planes will provide 25 to 50 extra seats every day.

The Chippewa County Sheriff's Office is receiving federal and state grants. A ten-thousand-dollar grant from the Wisconsin Department of Health Services will fund safe disposal bags for prescription drugs and fund officer training on opioid abuse prevention. A 100-thousand-dollar federal grant will pay for new law enforcement radios that can communicate on digital frequencies.

A Chippewa Falls building has been recognized by the State of Wisconsin. Market on River won 'Best Total Building Transformation' from Wisconsin Economic Development. Last fall the Wisconsin Farmers Union moved into the building after Machine Tool Camp left the historic building empty. Since then, eight permanent vendors have also occupied the space and residential units have been added to the top floor.

A problem with a control valve automatically shut down Xcel Energy Monticello Nuclear Power Plant Wednesday. Plant representatives said "led the system to automatically take the reactor offline, safely shutting it down as it is designed to do." The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission reports that "There was no impact on the health and safety of the public or plant personnel and that the [emergency shutdown] was uncomplicated with all systems responding as expected." Full operations are expected to be back online by this week.

Presidential advisor Elon Musk is using a controversial tactic in Wisconsin that he used last fall in paying voters for their support. Musk's political action committee is paying Wisconsin voters 100-dollars each to sign a petition opposing what he calls activist judges. The move comes ahead of next month's election between Democrat Susan Crawford and Republican Brad Schimel for a critical seat on Wisconsin's Supreme Court. President Trump has blasted a recent court ruling that blocked his agenda, calling the decision the result of an activist judge. The president has called for the impeachment of the judge who issued the ruling. Last fall, Musk paid voters in Pennsylvania to support Trump in his election bid.

Weather balloon launches are being cut in half by the National Weather Service. Weather balloons are valuable resources that tell forecasters about atmospheric pressure, temperature, wind speeds and other critical information. A NWS official said the temporary setbacks are part of the hundreds of employees that were laid off by DOGE last month. The lack of accurate data can negatively impact timely weather forecasting and possibly the ability to warn the public of dangerous weather conditions. Officials said it'll impact six cities and will work with special observations on an as needed basis.

A consent judgment between the Wisconsin Attorney General and the Kroger supermarket chain is settled. The A-G had joined 30 other state generals in a lawsuit over the chain's alleged role in the opioid crisis. The settlement is about one-point-four billion dollars where Wisconsin will receive about 22-million dollars. The A-G said "These and other funds that we've helped to secure will assist Wisconsin communities with this essential work."

A Hennepin County jury is ruling that the Mall of America is not liable for a young boy who fell 30 feet over an escalator handrail. The group of jurists also determined that Sea Life Aquarium was not negligent in connection with the six-year-old's injuries. The jury did rule that the child's father was negligent and failed to use reasonable care. The boy survived the fall that happened in 2019 but suffered a serious brain injury and some fractures. The jury awarded the child 870 thousand dollars but no one will be responsible for paying it since the child's father was not a plaintiff in the lawsuit.

Food trucks will be on hand during Milwaukee Brewers games this season. "The Alley" Food Truck Park will be located on the left-field Loge level of American Family Field, with local vendors offering Mexican and Italian cuisines, as well as grilled sandwiches and gelato. A new bar will also be located near the food trucks. The Brewers open their home schedule March 31st facing the Kansas City Royals.