1410 WIZM

Jesse Herrmann pleads 'not guilty' to homicide and other charges resulting from a collision that killed an Onalaska woman...

The La Crosse County D-A has filed eight charges against Herrmann, for the crash a week ago in which his pickup rear-ended a car carrying five women on Highway 35. Herrmann tells Judge Ramona Gonzalez that he'll waive his right to an evidence hearing.

That means a trial date will be set. The prison terms for all eight charges could be increased by six years, because of Herrmann's status as a repeat offender.

When firefighters go to the scene of a blaze, they wear heavy clothing and waterproof coats.

When bomb squads are called to defuse explosives, those guys wear big 'moon suits.'

So what do you wear on the 4th of July, when you're ready to set off fireworks in the backyard? Dr. Peter Chambers from Mayo guesses you don't have heavy clothes on, but rather shorts and sandals.  Chambers says burns to exposed skin are among the most common fireworks injuries they see at the Franciscan emergency room in La Crosse. He urges people who handle fireworks to consider using skin protection, and safety goggles.

While Minnesota's leaders work to avoid a statewide government shutdown at midnight, some state workers are preparing to close up shop well before that hour.

At Minnesota state parks, the goal is to get campers to leave before 5 p-m. Scott Pengelly, a spokesman for the D-N-R, he tells us that the demand for camping spaces is high this holiday, partly because the 4th of July falls on a Monday.  Even if parks and campgrounds have to be closed due to lack of money, Pengelly says the D-N-R will make sure conservation officers will be on patrol, watching for lawbreakers.

Since the early 1980's. La Crosse has celebrated the 4th of July with a riverfront festival lasting nearly a week...

The 2011 Riverfest is underway now, filling Riverside Park with music, food, beer, and fun. The fest is 28 years old...actually older than La Crosse Mayor Matt Harter, by a couple of years. Harter spoke at the kickoff ceremony this morning.  The mayor wore his honorary 'fleet admiral' uniform for the launch of Riverfest, fitting in with the Commodores and First Mates who have presided over the festival in those 28 years.  The festival closes shortly after the fireworks on July 4th.