Wisconsin
Swatting call caused temporary lockdown at Rice Lake, Wisconsin health clinic
A health clinic in western Wisconsin was temporarily put into lockdown Thursday afternoon after a threatening phone call.
Just after 2 p.m., Barron County officials received a 911 call from a staff member at the Marshfield Medical Center Emergency Department in Rice Lake, stating that someone called and said two men were going to “shoot up the hospital” in about 20 minutes.
After interviewing the staff member later, it was determined that the man who called had disguised his voice and got upset before hanging up the phone, according to the Rice Lake Police Department.
Rice Lake police, the Barron County Sheriff’s Office and Wisconsin State Patrol responded to the scene, and the medical facility was secured.
Any patients who wanted to leave the facility were allowed to do so, authorities noted.
During the lockdown, law enforcement discovered there were similar threats, known as “swatting calls,” at other places across the state on Thursday.
At about 4:18 p.m., the lockdown was lifted, and authorities cleared the scene. Rice Lake police added that no one was injured during the incident.
The police department said it will continue investigating the threat with other law enforcement agencies.
The Rice Lake health center is roughly two hours northeast of the Twin Cities, and approximately 50 miles north of Eau Claire. The center’s website says it offers both inpatient and outpatient practice, covering a wide range of services.
A spokesperson for the health system told 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS that the clinic was closed for the rest of the day Thursday, but hospital operations have since returned to normal.
“The safety of our patients and staff at Marshfield Medical Center-Rice Lake is our top priority,” the system added.
Wisconsin
Wisconsin’s highest-rated players in EA Sports College Football 27
With the release of EA Sports College Football 27 right around the corner, it’s fun to look at how the video game sees the Wisconsin Badgers.
These past two seasons have been down years, no doubt, but Luke Fickell did a great job in the portal this offseason and has begun to rebuild what was once one of the most prestigious programs in the nation.
This article can’t possibly include every Badgers player in the game, but their overall rankings range from 64 to 85.
Wisconsin’s sixth-highest-ranked player is a kicker, and that should say everything you need to know about how EA Sports feels about this team.
Highest rated Wisconsin Badgers in CFP27
- 85 Overall
- HB Abu Sama III: 85 Overall
- CB Javan Robinson: 85 Overall
- 84 Overall
- QB Colton Joseph: 84 Overall
- 83 Overall
- DT Hammond Russell IV: 83 Overall
- FS Marvin Burks Jr.: 83 Overall
- 81 Overall
- 80 Overall
- HB Bryan Jackson II
- HB Darrion Dupree
- DT Junior Poyser
- WILL Mason Posa
Of the 10 highest-ranked players, three are running backs. In total, five are on defense, four are on offense, and one is on special teams.
Contact/Follow @TheBadgersWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Wisconsin Badgers news, notes, and opinion. You can also follow Jordon Lawrenz on X @jordonlaw_pxp.
Wisconsin
How much will Shawn Eichorst make as Wisconsin Badgers’ athletic director?
Reaction to Shawn Eichorst as potentially the next Wisconsin AD
On the Terrace View podcast, John Steppe and Mark Stewart give initial thoughts on reported connection between Shawn Eichorst and open UW AD job.
MADISON – Shawn Eichorst will start as Wisconsin’s athletic director with a higher annual salary than his predecessor.
Eichorst will make an annual salary of $1.6 million along with built-in annual increases and incentives, a university spokesman told the Journal Sentinel.
That is above Chris McIntosh’s $1.5 million annual salary for the 2025-26 academic year. (That consisted of $1 million from the university and $500,000 from the UW Foundation.) McIntosh’s salary was set to increase by $50,000 for each year of his contract, which would have gone through June 30, 2029.
It also is well above Marcus Sedberry’s $875,000 annual salary for the nearly three months when he was interim AD. Sedberry’s salary is set to return to $334,805 “plus any intervening pay adjustments,” according to the offer letter from April.
An open records request from the Journal Sentinel for Eichorst’s contract, which will include more details about the increases and incentives, is pending.
Eichorst previously served as the deputy AD and chief operating officer at Texas for the last eight years. He also was Miami’s AD in 2011-12 and Nebraska’s AD from 2012-17. Before Miami, the Lone Rock native spent five years working with the Badgers under Barry Alvarez.
Wisconsin
9-year-old drowns at western Wisconsin water park, sheriff says
A 9-year-old child died Tuesday evening after drowning in a western Wisconsin water park.
The Polk County Sheriff’s Office says first responders were called to the Campfire Cove Aqua Park in Rural Balsam Lake, Wisconsin, around 8:15 p.m.
Though they attempted lifesaving measures, the child died at the scene.
The incident is under investigation, the sheriff’s office says.
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