Latest news with #EauClaire
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Yahoo
Investigation in one case leads to charges in another
EAU CLAIRE — An Eau Claire man with a long history in the court system — and three currently open cases — was in court Friday for another felony prosecution. The three earlier cases against Jason Rezarch, 52, involved charges ranging from driving with a revoked license and misdemeanor theft to drug possession. In April a new filing brought six counts of possession of child pornography. According to the criminal complaint officers were searching Rezarch's cell phone as part of one of the other cases, though it does not specify which. The officers flagged potential child pornography and sought a search warrant for that specific offense. The images were among many more pornographic files depicting adults. But these showed prepubescent children, both male and female. When investigators spoke with Rezarch about the images, he said any nude photos were from a nudist website and that he assumed everyone in them was over the age of 18 since they were publicly accessible. When shown a sanitized version of one of the pictures, Rezarch conceded the person shown was 'very young.' He continued to insist he had downloaded the images from a nudist site and said he didn't 'understand why I would have saved that image.' Each of the charges is a Class D felony. Such offenses are punishable by up to 15 years in prison and 10 years' extended supervision. Fines can reach $100,000. Rezarch has pleaded not guilty. He is next due in court on Sept. 9. The application for a second search warrant, even though the police were already searching the phone illustrates one of the ways searches and evidence work. Generally speaking, warrants must be limited in scope, addressing an effort to find evidence for a specific offense. So, when the officers found evidence that pointed to an offense that went beyond the original warrant's limits, a new one was needed. By way of example, if a search warrant specifies a specific room of a house, officers can't search the others. If the warrant covers all of the house, but only the house, they can't search a detached garage or back yard shed. If officers ignore that and collect evidence that lies outside the scope of the warrant the court may find it to be inadmissible, potentially ruining the case. Justia, a website that specializes in legal information, notes that the U.S. Supreme Court has found that warrants are required for digital devices, but 'cloud storage remains a subject of contention, with different courts reaching different conclusions.' Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
13-07-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Wisconsin State Patrol scheduled for aerial enforcement in 3 counties, including Fond du Lac
(WFRV) – The Wisconsin State Patrol has announced four upcoming days when they will be amping up aerial enforcement over three counties beginning next week. In an effort to keep an eye out for traffic violations from the air, Wisconsin State Patrol pilots will be monitoring from the sky in Eau Claire, Fond du Lac, and Trempealeau counties starting on July 14. FCC requesting info, experiences from Cellcom customers impacted by long-term outage Dates and locations include: Monday, July 14 Trempealeau County – WIS 93 Tuesday, July 15 Fond du Lac County – WIS 26 Wednesday, July 16 Fond du Lac County – WIS 26 Thursday, July 17 Eau Claire County – US 53 The primary mission of the Wisconsin State Patrol's aerial enforcement is public safety, which includes enforcing traffic laws to help make sure drivers reach their destinations safely. Wisconsin high-speed pursuit of over 100mph ends in 21-year-olds arrest for OWI Many aerial enforcement missions are announced publicly to reinforce the State Patrol's goal to improve safety through voluntary compliance with traffic laws, not simply to stop or cite drivers. The aerial enforcements are weather-dependent. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
08-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Gov. Evers visits Eau Claire following adoption of 2025-27 Biennial Budget
EAU CLAIRE — Less than a week after the 2025-27 state budget was adopted, Gov. Tony Evers visited Eau Claire as part of a tour following the biennial budget signing. During his stop, Evers visited the Eau Claire Downtown YMCA, as it is one of many organizations in the Chippewa Valley who provides childcare and other services to the community. 'It is good to be in Eau Claire,' he said, 'it is one of my favorite places. The Y is obviously really important to kids and families in this area. We were talking about some possibilities of doing some new things downtown going forward and also talking about our ability to get childcare money for childcare providers.' While the amount proposed in the Governor's original budget was not matched, the adopted state budget did include $360 million to support Wisconsin's childcare industry and help lower childcare costs. Evers said he believes it puts the state in a good place and that it will give childcare facilities who are struggling hope as conversations about supporting childcare will likely continue. 'Whenever we do things well in Madison, the best way to do it is as a purple state and we need help from both sides of the aisle to make that happen,' Evers said. 'That happened this time, and I think people are going to say, 'Yes, this is something that we want to continue funding.'' The budget also allocates dollars towards healthcare access, along with continued funding for BadgerCare. During the budget process, access to a proposed $15 million set aside to help western Wisconsin in the wake of the HSHS and Prevea Clinic closures expired on June 30. Evers said there was too much difference of opinions on the allocation of those funds, but now they are all on the same page. 'The money that was set aside is no longer there,' he said. 'The good news is that we worked really hard to get the budget done in time so that our hospitals are in better shape going forward. That is what is going to happen here in Eau Claire, as well as any other place in the state. That was a huge win for Wisconsin, not only just for the Eau Claire area. We should have stability for all our hospitals.' Shortly after arriving, Evers was greeted at the Eau Claire Y by kids holding signs welcoming him to the area. Earlier in 2025, Evers declared this year 'the Year of the Kid', with one of the top priorities being to pass a pro-kid budget. Alongside childcare, the budget also allocates funds towards K-12 schools with $1.4 billion in spendable revenue and an increase to special education funding. 'It was a huge win,' Evers said. 'I know some people were thinking it should have been distributed in a different way, but we have always heard from the school folks that we need more money for special education for several reasons. One is to serve those kids. But second of all, in the past the state did not supply the money in a way that was helpful and the school districts had to backfill for special education, and now they will have to backfill less or maybe not at all. 'For us, it was a $1.4 billion infusion of money. Is it something that is going to solve all the problems? No, but it is a good start.' The 2025-27 Biennial Budget includes other items that highlight discussed areas of concern throughout Wisconsin, including tax cuts for working and middle-class families and eliminating sales tax on household energy bills. Gov. Evers said a decision to run for reelection would likely be made sometime after the budget was adopted. While he made no official statement on Monday, Evers said an announcement of his decision will happen in the coming weeks.
Yahoo
08-07-2025
- Yahoo
Dunn County delay postpones Eau Claire child pornography proceeding
EAU CLAIRE — Developments in a local child pornography prosecution show how entanglements in other counties can affect proceedings. Branden Molinaro, 24, faces five counts of possession of child pornography, along with single counts of exposing a child to harmful material and use of a computer to facilitate a child sex crime. Those charges are in Eau Claire County, where a hearing had been scheduled for Monday. But the court postponed the hearing at the request of the defense, which wanted the hearing delayed until after Molinaro's sentencing in another case in Dunn County. The catch? The Dunn County case was reactivated by the prosecution in Eau Claire County. In January 2023 Molinaro reached a deferred acceptance of guilty plea agreement involving charges of second degree sexual assault of a child and sexual intercourse with a child 16 or older when the offender is age 19 or older. He pleaded no contest to the latter charge in exchange for a deferred sentencing on the sexual assault charge. Under the agreement, Molinaro could have seen the charge expunged had he stayed out of trouble for three years. The Eau Claire County charges, filed slightly more than two years later, prompted prosecutors to ask the court to revoke Molinaro's release. Judge Luke Wagner agreed in March, sending Molinaro to the Dunn County Jail. His sentencing is scheduled for Sept. 24. The sexual assault charge is a Class C felony, which could carry a penalty of up to 40 years in prison and fines of up to $100,000. That sentencing, in turn, could have an effect on the Eau Claire County case. Molinaro's attorney wants to see what the outcome is in Menomonie before the other case proceeds. She asked for a hearing 45-60 days after the sentencing. Court records show Judge John Manydeeds approved the request. So why, knowing the sentencing could affect the Eau Claire County case, was a hearing set for July? At the time of scheduling that fit the sentencing, which was originally scheduled for June 9. A May motion saw it pushed back by more than three months. The criminal complaint in the Eau Claire case says authorities got a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children about someone using Snapchat for child enticement and child pornography. Investigators linked the account to Molinaro, who they say posed as a teen when communicating with the victims. In one conversation he sent a photo of his genitals and received the reply 'WTF IM 13.' He responded with a claim he was 15. In all, investigators said they found more than 30 cases in which Molinaro sent pornographic images and videos to 'individuals who made comments stating they were under 18.' When investigators spoke to Molinaro, he immediately asserted his right to an attorney. He was subsequently arrested.
CBC
02-07-2025
- Business
- CBC
Eau Claire Plaza billed as 'postcard location in downtown Calgary' ahead of reopening
Underground fog emitters and an urban beach are among the newest additions to the redesigned Eau Claire Plaza. The downtown Calgary space will reopen to the public on Canada Day, with an official opening celebration scheduled for July 2 from noon to 2 p.m. The Eau Claire Plaza aims to be "that iconic postcard location in downtown Calgary," said city project manager Dennis Hoffart, during a sneak peek of the redesigned space. "It connects the urban fabric of downtown to the natural environment of the Bow River, and we see that collision of urban and nature throughout the space," he said. It's a new design aiming to incorporate as many elements of the old plaza as possible, including keeping the iconic Olympic Arch and creating furniture using trees cut down during development of the new space. The plaza's wading pool has been "reimagined" as a fog-emitting water feature, Hoffart said, calling it "a more modern interpretation of water play." He said replacing the wading pool with fog emitters uses less water and comes with reduced maintenance and operation costs. Also new is an urban beach with umbrellas and lounge chairs atop sand, which along with the water feature is designed to further connect the plaza to the Bow River with an urban-natural aesthetic. The historic Eau Claire and Bow River Lumber Co. building has undergone restoration and is now back in the plaza after being relocated in 2021 to make way for construction. A playground structure will be completed later this summer to replace the old one. With the plaza meant to welcome locals and visitors year-round, accessibility was a driving factor behind the redesigned layout. "We wanted to keep the area as flat as we possibly could to encourage accessibility and access in all directions, but we also wanted to create a sense of grandeur and a sense of awe," said Hoffart. Plaza ready to welcome events The redesigned Eau Claire Plaza is poised to be a significant event venue, with Mexifest and the Fiestaval Latin Festival among the prominent events set to be held at the plaza this July. Mexifest, a Mexican cultural celebration, runs from July 4 to 6 at the redesigned space. Mexifest organizer Christian Greiffenstein is looking forward to returning to Eau Claire Plaza, where the event was first hosted in 2018. "We're going to be able to accommodate maybe twice as much people as we had before, so we're happy about that," he said, adding that the redesigned plaza offers more flexibility for event organizers. The plaza renovation, which cost $47 million according to Hoffart, is part of the city's Eau Claire area improvement project, which has included redesigning Jaipur Bridge in 2022 and completing the Eau Claire Promenade and Downtown Flood Barrier in 2023.
