Small Street Journal: January 31, 2020

Wintermission Eau Claire

Wintermission Eau Claire is pleased to announce our second pilot project for the 2019-20 winter: the Community Winter Gear Share, a program where people can check out winter gear from locations around the Chippewa Valley.
 
Follow Wintermission Eau Claire on Facebook to be looped in all Wintermission updates: https://www.facebook.com/wintermissioneauclaire
 
Wintermission Eau Claire is a groundbreaking program to reduce social isolation and support outdoor physical activity in winter. Eau Claire is one of three Wintermission cities and will help set new standards for winter friendly cities in the United States by developing a unique winter city strategy. Wintermission is led by 8 80 Cities, a non-profit organization based in Toronto, Canada and is supported by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Global Ideas Fund at CAF America. The Eau Claire Wintermission core team involves participation from the Cities of Eau Claire and Altoona, the Eau Claire City County Health Department, UW-Eau Claire, Visit Eau Claire, and the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation.

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University of Wisconsin Eau Claire

UW-Eau Claire to celebrate Black History Month throughout February
Please join the campus community as we dedicate the month of February to honor and recognize the accomplishments and contributions of African Americans. Black History Month kicks off with an MLK Celebration and ends with a national leader in antiracism. Full story.
 
On-campus Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration set for Feb. 5
UW-Eau Claire will host a Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration for the campus and community at 5 p.m. Feb. 5 in Schofield Auditorium. The evening of music, talk and inspiration will honor the life and legacy of Dr. King. Full story.
 
Artists Series welcomes 'Brave New Voices' performer Austin Dean Ashford Feb. 11
The UW-Eau Claire Artists Series welcomes Austin Dean Ashford, a poet, playwright, author, hip-hop artist, actor and one-time National College Debate champion, at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 11 in Schofield Auditorium. Full story.
 
UW-Eau Claire – Barron County student teams win top prizes in Foxconn-sponsored competition
Two student teams have excelled in the Smart Cities – Smart Futures Competition. The projects focused on energy-efficient homes and smart traffic signs, earning a top-10 finish and a grand prize. Full story.

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HSHS Sacred Heart and HSHS St. joseph's Hospitals

​HSHS hospitals offer free hands-only CPR classes to the public 
Eau Claire and Chippewa Falls – Seconds count in an emergency. The communities of Eau Claire and Chippewa Falls are encouraged to participate in one of two FREE hands-only CPR classes at HSHS Sacred Heart and HSHS St. Joseph’s Hospitals.
These classes will teach you how to perform hands-only CPR to help deliver life-saving care until professional responders arrive.
 
HSHS Sacred Heart and St. Joseph’s hospitals’ training center coordinator, Peggy Pendergast said CPR can double, even triple a person’s chance of survival. “Cardiac arrest can happen anywhere, at any time, so being prepared is easy,” she said. “Being familiar with the process makes the situation less intimidating if you ever find yourself in a position to help someone. You never know when it could be your own loved one you are able to help.”
 
HSHS Community Health will host these free events:
Saturday, February 22, 10 a.m. in HSHS Sacred Heart Hospital’s Monsignor Klimek Auditorium on the lower level, 900 W. Clairemont Ave., Eau Claire
 
Saturday, February 22, 1 p.m. in HSHS St. Joseph’s Hospital’s McDonald Hall on the lower level, 2661 County Hwy. I, Chippewa Falls.
 
Refreshments will be provided. To register, call 715-717-7300 or visit: www.sacredhearteauclaire.org/Event-Management/Hands-Only-CPR or www.stjoeschipfalls.org/Event-Management/Hands-Only-CPR
 
HSHS hospitals host free Adult Mental Health First Aid class
Eau Claire – It’s easy to recognize the signs of a heart attack or choking, but what about the signs of anxiety or a panic attack? HSHS Sacred Heart and St. Joseph’s hospitals’ Community Health is hosting a free all-day Adult Mental Health First Aid class, open to anyone who would like to learn the common risk factors and warning signs of mental illness and substance use disorders.

The free session will take place Friday, February 28 from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at HSHS Sacred Heart Hospital (900 West Clairemont Ave.) in the Monsignor Klimek Auditorium (lower level). Lunch will be provided. To register, call 715-717-7479 or online at www.sacredhearteauclaire.org/Events-Classes.

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Merchants Financial Group Inc.

Merchants Financial Group, Inc. Announces Earnings of $19,760,000 for 2020
WINONA, Minn. – Merchants Financial Group, Inc. (MFGI) announced year-end earnings for 2019 with net income of $19,760,000, according to MFGI President & CEO Gregory M. Evans. The earnings exceeded MFGI’s plan for the year by more than $2.6 million and is an increase of 4.7% over 2018 earnings.

“I’m extremely proud of our long track record of repeatable, sustainable earnings growth. Our success resulted from a total team effort, with each of our 480 teammates intensely focused on an extraordinary service orientation and a tremendous spirit of collaboration,” said Evans.

Key contributors to Merchants’ core earnings for 2019 included strong business growth in both loans and deposits, mortgage loan volume significantly above plan and a net income contribution from First National Bank of Northfield, which was acquired by MFGI in August. Evans also credits an intense focus on credit quality and Merchants’ unique community banking approach for another strong year.

Total year-over-year deposit growth for Merchants Bank from 2018 was 12.13%, and consolidated deposits when factoring in the Northfield acquisition increased 26.49% to just over $1.8 billion. Organic loan growth for Merchants Bank was 7.54% in 2019, and the addition of Northfield’s loan portfolio to the consolidated balance sheet contributed to total loans at year-end being $1.7 billion (growth of 20.6%).  

Merchants Bank is a full service community bank with 19 bank locations in southeastern Minnesota, two bank locations in west-central Wisconsin and a leasing division, Merchants Bank Equipment Finance, in Edina. Merchants Financial Group, Inc. (MFGI) also owns the First National Bank of Northfield, with two banking offices in Northfield and a loan production office in Bloomington, Minn. Headquartered in Winona, MN, MFGI has more than $2 billion in assets. Merchants was founded in 1875.

Merchants Financial Group, Inc. is a publicly traded company. Ownership is made up of its more than 480 employees and mostly individuals and families from southeastern Minnesota and west-central Wisconsin. Member FDIC.

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L.E. Phillips Memorial Public Library

ACT Prep Workshop
The L. E. Phillips Memorial Public Library in Eau Claire is offering high school students a free, three-hour workshop designed to help prepare for the ACT. The workshop will be held on Sunday, February 2, from 1:30 to 4:30 p.m. in the Eau Claire room on the library’s lower level. The workshop will be presented by Ruth Harris, M.S., Director of the Northwest Reading Clinic. Specific ACT strategies presented include: basic test-taking skills, analysis of directions, pacing, practice samples, when and what to “guess,” and essay writing.
 
Registration is required. Contact Youth Services at 715-839-5007 or ysstaff@eauclaire.lib.wi.us to register. Participants should bring a notebook and pencil. Light refreshments will be served.
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For more information, stop at Youth Services on your next visit to the library, call 715-839-5007, or email ysstaff@eauclaire.lib.wi.us. To learn more about library programs, check the library’s website at www.ecpubliclibrary.info.
 
If you have a need for a sign language interpreter or other special accommodations, please notify Youth Services (715-839-5007) at least 48 hours before the program

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Wisconsin Public Radio

The Chippewa Valley Rally on “The West Side” February 3
The Chippewa Valley Rally, in which government and business leaders from western Wisconsin visit legislators and staff about issue that matter to the region, will be previewed on “The West Side” at 10 a.m. on Monday, Feb. 3 on The Ideas Network Stations of Wisconsin Public Radio: 88.3 WHWC-FM/ Menomonie-Eau Claire and 88.7 WRFW-FM/ River Falls.

Host Dean Kallenbach will welcome Amy Forcier-Pabst, chair of the Chippewa Falls Chamber of Commerce; Scott Rogers, governmental affairs and workforce director for the Eau Claire Area Chamber of Commerce; and Melissa Janssen, who supervises high school youth apprentices for Royal Credit Union. The group will preview points of emphasis delegates plan on bringing forward to legislators during their meetings on Feb. 25 in Madison. Workforce development is a key theme for the 2020 Chippewa Valley Rally.
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“The West Side” is a call-in program focused on issues specific to western Wisconsin. The show is broadcast at 10 a.m. Mondays on The Ideas Network stations 88.3 WHWC-FM Menomonie/Eau Claire and 88.7 WRFW-FM River Falls and via an online live stream on 88.7 WRFW-FM University of Wisconsin River Falls via wrfw887.com/listen-live.html. Listeners may call in with questions and comments during the program at (800) 228-5615. Archives of “The West Side” are available at wpr.org/programs/west-side.