PADDLE ON: How local paddlers can embrace the Eau Claire River’s more exciting waters

Lauren Fisher, design by Taylor McCumber, photos by Andrea Paulseth, Roy Atkinson

How can a community of pond paddlers and lake lovers embrace the challenges and opportunities presented by more exciting waters?

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October Sky

Mike Paulus, illustrated by Shannon Sorenson

At night. Sometimes I get dizzy looking up at the sky. When I look past the black tree branches and past the moon. When I look up to the tiny grains of light littering the atmosphere ...

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Threshing Time on the Farm

when rural neighbors banded together to work and eat

Connie Russell

Although the combine had been invented, in the ’40s and early ’50s, threshing – or thrashing, as it was often called – was the method most small farmers still ...

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Fall Starts With Fresh Art

catch some culture with the 21st Fresh Art Tour

Barbara Arnold

Thirty artists are opening their home studios and galleries for the 21st annual Fresh Art Tour just as Mother Nature is painting the color of leaves to from green to red, orange, gold, and brown ...

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Let’s Get Crafty, Y’all

AR Workshop in Chippewa offers creative DIY options

Stephanie Janssen, photos by Andrea Paulseth

‘Love well, work hard, and play harder,” has always been the motto of the Bergs. Kathie Berg and her daughter, Taylor, consider Chippewa Falls their hometown. With a vibrant downtown area filled ...

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Eaux My! New Eau Claire Boutique Offers Home Goods & Furniture

Maddy Mortimer, photos by Andrea Paulseth

Sparreaux Boutique is taking flight: The Chippewa Valley’s new unique boutique hosted its grand opening Sept. 27-28 and is officially open for business. Molly Filipczak, owner of the boutique and co-owner ...

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For Whom the Belfry Tolls

former church housing gift shop to be demolished

Nathan Hopp, photos by Tom Giffey

At the busy intersection of North Farwell and East Madison streets in downtown Eau Claire stands a lonely former church that will soon be demolished. This is the shared location of the Belfry House of Gifts ...

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Altoona Aims to Add Affordable Housing With City-Owned Apartments

Tom Giffey

The City of Altoona’s approach to ensuring affordable housing to Chippewa Valley residents is radical in its simplicity: The city bought a building, remodeled it with the help of donors and nonprofits ...

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Can a Lake Have Rights?

Voters in Toledo say it can. What does this mean for our waterways?

Tori Johnson

Four years after the water supply for 500,000 people in Toledo, Ohio, was reported as toxic and unsafe for drinking in 2014, a small community group decided enough was enough ...

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Sweet Creams: Eau Claire's Casey’s Creamery makes its own ice cream, popcorn, and fudge

Tom Giffey, photos by Andrea Paulseth

Step into Casey’s Creamery on Keystone Crossing and the first thing that greets you is the aroma. In this case, it’s the delicious smell of fresh-based caramel apple pies. On a recent afternoon, manager/baker/ice cream maker Ralph Couey ...

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My Office, Your Office

downtown tavern gets new name, new vibe

Maddy Mortimer, photos by Andrea Paulseth

If your coworker said “I’m going to My Office” on a Friday evening, you might be taken aback. Who would want to spend Friday night at their office? Well, the clever play on words is exactly the point of the new ...

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The Nostalgic Bean: Restored for Pours

coffee, croissants, and kismet at Altoona coffee shop

Steph Mickelson, photos by Andrea Paulseth

In April 2018, Jennifer Rust Anderson and her husband, Matt, purchased the former barber shop at the corner of Lynn Avenue and Division Street in Altoona. With a flaking pink paint ...

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The Right Age to Play

Chippewa Valley seniors are recognizing the benefits of an active lifestyle – and for many of them, pickleball is key

Tom Giffey, photos by Andrea Paulseth

About five years ago, the City of Eau Claire was poised to remove worn-out, rarely used tennis courts at McDonough Park, a narrow strip of green space tucked away off Centre Street on the city’s near ...

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Feed Your Brain With the MIND Diet

local dietician advocates for memory-preservation diet

Briana Novacek

As we age, many factors can affect how our bodies function. These factors may seem out of our control, but there are actually things one can do to boost physical and mental functioning. Pam VanKampen of Chippewa Falls has been a registered dietician for 32 years ...

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Living Well With Dementia

making every season of life count when you are experiencing memory loss

Russell Martoccio

Autumn in Wisconsin seems to come without warning at a time when the fruitful days of midsummer are beginning to wane but when it still seems as though food, endless plenty, and the warmth ...

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Cholesterol: Know Your Numbers

nearly one-third of Eau Claire residents has high blood cholesterol

Eau Claire City-County Health Department

Heart disease accounts for 1 in 4 deaths across the country, and high cholesterol is one of the largest risk factors for heart disease. While the body can make all the cholesterol that it needs ...

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Time to Review Your Medicare Plan

Medicare open enrollment period begins Oct. 15

Eau Claire County Aging & Disability Resource Center

Medicare’s Annual Open Enrollment Period is coming soon: It begins Oct. 15 and ends Dec. 7. Be sure to add this to your fall checklist if you have a Medicare Part D plan or a Medicare Advantage Plan ...

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Online Medicare Plan Finder Gets Upgrade

V1 Staff

For the first time in a decade, the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has launched a modernized and redesigned Medicare Plan Finder at www.medicare.gov/plan-compare ...

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