Thursday News Roundup

Transcript

Thursday News Roundup

WCFW News · Thu Oct 15, 2026

Kathryn Lake

This is your WCFW Daily News Roundup for 105-7 CFW in Chippewa Falls and 93-5 The Tap in Eau Claire.

James Kelly

For 105-7 CFW News, I'm James Kelly.

Local residents, non-profit leaders and city officials gathered at the Ellie Phillips Memorial Public Library in Eau Claire last week for a discussion on affordable housing.

The events ought to highlight some of the ways those local organizations have worked to increase affordable housing options in the region.

City of Eau Claire Community Development Director Aaron White was featured as a panelist during the discussion and shared examples of some recent projects that saw sites like healthcare facilities converted into affordable housing units.

The Mount Washington Development.

So that was a former senior living center prior to that.

It was actually historically a sanitarium for tuberculosis patients years ago.

That one is being renovated into housing.

The Eau Claire Academy is currently being renovated into housing.

Past project, the Howard Johnson, the hotel that was down by Shotco has been turned into efficiency apartments.

Those are a lot of your really key facilities that try to go.

You're looking at former nursing home or senior care facilities, former hospitals, former schools, elementary schools, high schools.

James Kelly

White also highlighted why facilities like former nursing homes or schools are easier to target for those kinds of conversion projects than unused commercial sites.

The reason those types of facilities are looked at a lot is because they are typically found in an area that allows for housing from a zoning standpoint and their design has a little bit better extension of water and sewers and drains and things to the facility.

You can convert straight commercial into residential

But you're going to face a lot more challenges, a lot more costs.

James Kelly

One of the most significant obstacles to improving the affordable housing market in Eau Claire is its low vacancy rate, leaving those conversion projects or the construction of entirely new housing units as some of the only available options to do so.

For 1057 CFW News, I'm James Kelly.

Connie Fellman

For Civic Media News, I'm Connie Feldman.

We're hearing more and more about the Enbridge energy company's work on a pipeline in Wisconsin's Northwoods and the growing controversy surrounding it.

Enbridge is replacing about 41 miles of oil and natural gas liquid pipeline across Ashland and Iron Counties.

The project has been in the works for seven years after a federal judge ruled Enbridge was trespassing on the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Reservation.

The company was ordered to remove or reroute the line outside the reservation.

Recently, multiple fires on Enbridge construction sites have destroyed company equipment.

Now, as civic media's Maddie Schaeffer tells us, Wisconsin's DNR is accusing the company of violating environmental laws.

Maddie Schaffer

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources has issued a formal notice of violation to Enbridge Energy Company over its Line 5 work in Iron and Ashland counties.

The notice involves alleged permit violations during construction of the Line 5 reroute, along with environmental law violations related to an unpermitted bypass built around the August 25th spill site near Saxon.

When an unoccupied vehicle rolled into an excavation site and struck the existing Line 5 pipeline, releasing natural gas

liquids.

The notice also includes alleged air pollution violations related to the August spill.

According to the notice of violation, the DNR cites several incidents during reroute construction, including multiple releases of drilling fluid into Vaughan Creek and nearby wetlands.

It also alleges that Enbridge placed timber matting in wetlands and temporary bridges over waterways without the required permits while building the bypass.

Civic media has reached out to Enbridge for comment, but has not yet received a response.

For Civic Media

Connie Fellman

News, I'm Maddie Schaefer.

Inbridge will have a chance to respond to the allegations at a meeting with the DNR on October 26th.

Kamala Harris is coming to Wisconsin.

The former vice president is set to campaign with Democratic Governor candidate David Crowley.

Wisconsin is one of several states Harris is visiting in her fall campaign blitz on behalf of Democrats running for governor and U.S.

Senate.

The time and location have not yet been released.

The event is set to take place October 26th.

Crowley was campaigning for himself in Eau Claire last weekend.

As civic media's James Kelly tells us, the Democrat talked with people about what's become an important issue for voters all across Wisconsin.

James Kelly

Democratic gubernatorial candidate and Milwaukee County executive David Crowley spoke with local residents at Forage in downtown Eau Claire on Sunday morning, thanking them for their support and energizing them for the final stretch of the campaign.

He also shared his plans to address data center development in Wisconsin, an issue that has risen to the forefront of voters' minds over the last year.

I mean, I can't

Connie Fellman

believe I'm

now data center David Crop.

Kathryn Lake

That would

be very clear.

We're going to be extremely aggressive about protecting our land, protecting our air, protecting our water quality.

But it's also important that every single community have a seat at the table.

Data centers need to earn their way.

And if a community doesn't want a data center, they will not be forced to have a data center.

And there's no if, ands, or buts.

James Kelly

Health care is another issue of particular interest to the Chippewa Valley after years of working to address the sudden closure of two hospitals and a number of clinics.

So my goal is to expand badger care, make it as a turn it into an alternative to for-profit insurance allowing people to pay into this pool to make sure that people don't fall through the cracks.

Incentivizing our providers to make sure that people are within network and no longer have to travel hours away just to get the care that they need.

It needs to be available whenever and wherever they need it.

James Kelly

Crowley will face off with Republican Congressman Tom Tiffany for Wisconsin Governor in the November election.

I'm James Kelly for Civic Media News.

Connie Fellman

And that's your state news update.

I'm Connie Feldman for Civic Media News.

Mike Clemens

Game four tonight.

Hi, I'm Mike Clemens with Sports Baseball.

It's the Brewers of the Dodgers in game four of the National League series.

If Milwaukee wins again, they're headed to the World Series.

The crew with another victory last night, 6-2 in LA.

Jackson Churrio with a home run on the very first pitch of the game.

Manager Pat Murphy.

In no moments too big for Jack Jack.

This exact date, I guess last year, right, hit a first pitch homer.

He's special.

No, he's a special cat.

Mike Clemens

So the Dodgers now down three games to nothing.

The only

team to ever come back from that deficit was the 2004 Red Sox Dodgers manager Dave Roberts was a player on that team.

Are you going to maybe reminisce with your team tomorrow about the time you came back from 03?

I don't

Mike Clemens

think so.

I think that they've seen the documentary

so they know it can

Mike Clemens

happen.

NFL for the first time since Thanksgiving last year, the Packers have won back-to-back games.

Up next is the Cowboys.

You can't hide from the work.

You got to put the work in each and every day.

Mike Clemens

That's Matt Loeffler with Sports on

Mike Clemens.

It is going to be cloudy with rain today, especially this afternoon.

Our high in the mid fifties tonight, scattered showers.

We're going to drop down into the low to mid forties tomorrow, mostly cloudy and breezy with scattered showers and a high in the low to mid fifties.

I'm meteorologist Sean Cable.

Outside now it's 53.

That's

Kathryn Lake

your WCFW and the TAP Daily News Roundup from Civic Media.

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