Eau Claire, Wisconsin - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Eau Claire is a city located in the west-central part of the U.S. state

U.S. state

A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...

of Wisconsin

Wisconsin

Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...

. The population was 65,883 as of the 2010 census

United States Census, 2010

The Twenty-third United States Census, known as Census 2010 or the 2010 Census, is the current national census of the United States. National Census Day was April 1, 2010 and is the reference date used in enumerating individuals...

, making it the largest municipality in the northwestern portion of the state, and the 9th largest in the state overall. It is the county seat

County seat

A county seat is an administrative center, or seat of government, for a county or civil parish. The term is primarily used in the United States....

of Eau Claire County

Eau Claire County, Wisconsin

Eau Claire County is a county located in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of 2010, the population estimate was 98,736. Its county seat is Eau Claire....

, although a small portion of the city lies in neighboring Chippewa County

Chippewa County, Wisconsin

Chippewa County is a county located in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of 2000, the population was 55,195. Its county seat is Chippewa Falls. The United States Census Bureau's Eau Claire Metropolitan Statistical Area includes all of Chippewa County...

. Eau Claire is the principal city of the Eau Claire, Wisconsin Metropolitan Statistical Area

United States metropolitan area

In the United States a metropolitan statistical area is a geographical region with a relatively high population density at its core and close economic ties throughout the area. Such regions are not legally incorporated as a city or town would be, nor are they legal administrative divisions like...

, which is a part of the Eau-Claire-Menomonie Combined Statistical Area

Combined Statistical Area

The United States Office of Management and Budget defines micropolitan and metropolitan statistical areas. Metropolitan and micropolitan statistical areas consist of one or more counties...

.

America's Promise

America's Promise

America's Promise — The Alliance for Youth is a foundation founded by Colin Powell in 1997 to help children and youth from all socioeconomic sectors in the United States.In late April 1997 Presidents Bill Clinton, George H. W...

named the city as one of the 100 Best Communities for Young People in 2007. Eau Claire was among the first Tree Cities

Tree City USA

Tree City USA is a tree planting and tree care program sponsored by the National Arbor Day Foundation for cities and towns in the United States.- Requirements :...

in Wisconsin, having been recognized as such since 1980.

Name origin

"Eau Claire" is the singular form of the original French

French language

French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...

name, "Eaux Claires", meaning "Clear Waters", for the Eau Claire River

Eau Claire River (Chippewa River)

The Eau Claire River is a tributary of the Chippewa River in west-central Wisconsin in the United States. It is one of three rivers by this name in Wisconsin. Via the Chippewa River, it is part of the Mississippi River watershed...

. According to local legend, the river was so named because early French

French people

The French are a nation that share a common French culture and speak the French language as a mother tongue. Historically, the French population are descended from peoples of Celtic, Latin and Germanic origin, and are today a mixture of several ethnic groups...

explorers journeying down the rain-muddied Chippewa River

Chippewa River (Wisconsin)

The Chippewa River in Wisconsin flows approximately 183 miles through west-central and northwestern Wisconsin. It was once navigable for approximately 50 miles of its length, from the Mississippi River, by Durand, northeast to Eau Claire. Its catchment defines a portion of the northern boundary...

, happened upon the Eau Claire River, excitedly exclaiming "Voici l'eau claire!" ("Here [is] clear water!"), the city motto, which appears on the city seal.

Geography

Eau Claire is located at 44°49′N 91°30′W (44.8146, -91.4927), approximately 90 miles (145 km) east of Minneapolis

Minneapolis, Minnesota

Minneapolis , nicknamed "City of Lakes" and the "Mill City," is the county seat of Hennepin County, the largest city in the U.S. state of Minnesota, and the 48th largest in the United States...

and St. Paul

Saint Paul, Minnesota

Saint Paul is the capital and second-most populous city of the U.S. state of Minnesota. The city lies mostly on the east bank of the Mississippi River in the area surrounding its point of confluence with the Minnesota River, and adjoins Minneapolis, the state's largest city...

, Minnesota

Minnesota

Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...

. The city is located on the northern fringes of the Driftless Zone.

The city was founded near the confluence of the Eau Claire

Eau Claire River (Chippewa River)

and Chippewa

Chippewa River (Wisconsin)

rivers as three separate settlements. The main section of downtown is on the site of the original village. West Eau Claire, founded in 1856, was across the river near the present-day county courthouse, and incorporated in 1872. Between a mile and a half and two miles downstream, the Daniel Shaw & Co. lumber company founded Shawtown, which was annexed by the 1930s. By the 1950s, the entire city had spread far enough to the east to adjoin Altoona

Altoona, Wisconsin

Altoona is a city in Eau Claire County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 6,706 at the 2010 census. The city is a railroad terminal on the Union Pacific Railroad.-History:...

.
According to the United States Census Bureau

United States Census Bureau

The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...

, the city has a total area of 32.37 square miles (83.8 km²), of which, 30.28 square miles (78.4 km²) of it is land and 2.08 square miles (5.4 km²) of it (6.46%) is water.

The terrain of the city is characterized by the river valleys, with steep slopes leading from the center to the eastern and southern sections of the city. The lands into which the urban area is currently expanding are increasingly hilly.

There are two lakes in the city, Dells Pond, and Half Moon Lake. Dells Pond is a reservoir created by a hydroelectric dam

Hydroelectricity

Hydroelectricity is the term referring to electricity generated by hydropower; the production of electrical power through the use of the gravitational force of falling or flowing water. It is the most widely used form of renewable energy...

, and was formerly used as a holding pool for logs. Half Moon Lake is an oxbow lake

Oxbow lake

An oxbow lake is a U-shaped body of water formed when a wide meander from the main stem of a river is cut off to create a lake. This landform is called an oxbow lake for the distinctive curved shape, named after part of a yoke for oxen. In Australia, an oxbow lake is called a billabong, derived...

created as part of the former course of the Chippewa River

Chippewa River (Wisconsin)

Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Avg high °F (°C)	24 (-4)	27 (-2)	40 (4)	57 (13)	70 (21)	79 (26)	84 (28)	82 (27)	73 (22)	60 (15)	41 (5)	28 (-2)	55 (12)
Avg low °F (°C)	5 (-15)	7 (-13)	20 (-6)	34 (1)	46 (7)	56 (13)	61 (16)	58 (14)	50 (10)	39 (3)	25 (-3)	12 (-11)	34 (1)
Rainfall in inches (millimeters)	1.1 (28)	1.1 (28)	1.8 (46)	2.7 (69)	4.0 (102)	4.7 (119)	3.4 (86)	3.7 (94)	3.6 (91)	2.5 (64)	1.7 (43)	1.2 (30)	31.5 (800)
Source: Weatherbase

Demographics

Population

As of the 2000 census

United States Census, 2000

The Twenty-second United States Census, known as Census 2000 and conducted by the Census Bureau, determined the resident population of the United States on April 1, 2000, to be 281,421,906, an increase of 13.2% over the 248,709,873 persons enumerated during the 1990 Census...

, there were 61,704 people, 24,016 households, and 13,569 families residing in the city. The population density

Population density

Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...

was 2,037.8 people per square mile (786.8/km²). There were 24,895 housing units at an average density of 822.2 per square mile (317.4/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 93.44% White, 0.70% African American, 0.55% American Indian, 3.66% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 0.34% from other races

Race (United States Census)

Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...

, and 1.28% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.00% of the population.

There were 24,016 households out of which 27.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.4% were married couples

Marriage

Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...

living together, 9.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 43.5% were non-families. 30.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.38 and the average family size was 2.99.

In the city the population was spread out with 21.6% under the age of 18, 22.1% from 18 to 24, 26.1% from 25 to 44, 18.2% from 45 to 64, and 11.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 29 years. For every 100 females there were 90.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.8 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $36,399, and the median income for a family was $49,320. Males had a median income of $32,503 versus $23,418 for females. The per capita income

Per capita income

Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...

for the city was $18,230. About 5.5% of families and 13.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 10.4% of those under age 18 and 7.4% of those age 65 or over.

Metropolitan area

Together with surrounding communities, the Eau Claire metropolitan area

Eau Claire-Chippewa Falls metropolitan area

The Eau Claire-Chippewa Falls metropolitan area refers loosely to the urbanized area along the Chippewa and Eau Claire Rivers, in west-central Wisconsin, with its primary center at Eau Claire and secondary centers at Chippewa Falls and Altoona....

is home to 114,483 people, according to the 2000 census. The city forms the core of the United States Census Bureau

United States Census Bureau

The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...

's Eau Claire Metropolitan Statistical Area

United States metropolitan area

, which includes all of Eau Claire and Chippewa Counties (composite 2000 population: 148,337). Together with the Menomonie

Menomonie, Wisconsin

Two other spellings of the name appear elsewhere, see Menomonee and Menominee. For the town, see Menomonie .Menomonie is a city in and the county seat of Dunn County in the western part of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The city's population was 16,264 as of the 2010 census...

Micropolitan Statistical Area

United States micropolitan area

United States Micropolitan Statistical Areas , as defined by the United States Office of Management and Budget, are urban areas in the United States based around a core city or town with a population of 10,000 to 49,999. The micropolitan area designation was created in 2003...

(which includes all of Dunn County) to the west, the Eau Claire metropolitan area

Metropolitan area

The term metropolitan area refers to a region consisting of a densely populated urban core and its less-populated surrounding territories, sharing industry, infrastructure, and housing. A metropolitan area usually encompasses multiple jurisdictions and municipalities: neighborhoods, townships,...

, forms the Census Bureau's Eau Claire-Menomonie Consolidated Metropolitan Statistical Area

Combined Statistical Area

The United States Office of Management and Budget defines micropolitan and metropolitan statistical areas. Metropolitan and micropolitan statistical areas consist of one or more counties...

, which had a consolidated 2000 population of 188,195. 2004 population estimates place the two-county Eau Claire-Chippewa Falls metropolitan population at 155,680, and the expanded Eau Claire-Menomonie CMSA population at 197,417.

Government

Since switching from a mayor

Mayor

In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....

al system in 1948, Eau Claire has had a city manager

City manager

A city manager is an official appointed as the administrative manager of a city, in a council-manager form of city government. Local officials serving in this position are sometimes referred to as the chief executive officer or chief administrative officer in some municipalities...

-city council

City council

A city council or town council is the legislative body that governs a city, town, municipality or local government area.-Australia & NZ:Because of the differences in legislation between the States, the exact definition of a City Council varies...

form of government

Council-manager government

The council–manager government form is one of two predominant forms of municipal government in the United States; the other common form of local government is the mayor-council government form, which characteristically occurs in large cities...

. The Eau Claire City Council

Eau Claire City Council

The Eau Claire City Council is the non-partisan 11-member governing council of the city of Eau Claire, Wisconsin. Members of the City council are elected at-large and by district.- Members :...

currently consists of five members elected from districts, five at-large from the entire city, and an elected city council president who is also elected at-large. The Eau Claire City Council

Eau Claire City Council

The Eau Claire City Council is the non-partisan 11-member governing council of the city of Eau Claire, Wisconsin. Members of the City council are elected at-large and by district.- Members :...

meets in City Hall, in downtown Eau Claire.

Five of the council members are elected in odd-numbered years from the five different aldermanic districts in Eau Claire. Five additional at-large council members are elected in even-numbered years by Eau Claire residents.

Since Eau Claire has no mayor, Eau Claire City Council

Eau Claire City Council

The Eau Claire City Council is the non-partisan 11-member governing council of the city of Eau Claire, Wisconsin. Members of the City council are elected at-large and by district.- Members :...

Presidents are elected at-large to serve as head of the council. They are elected in odd-numbered years.

Economy

The lumber

Lumber

Lumber or timber is wood in any of its stages from felling through readiness for use as structural material for construction, or wood pulp for paper production....

industry drove Eau Claire's growth in the late 19th century. At one time, there were 22 sawmill

Sawmill

A sawmill is a facility where logs are cut into boards.-Sawmill process:A sawmill's basic operation is much like those of hundreds of years ago; a log enters on one end and dimensional lumber exits on the other end....

s operating in the city.

Since the loss of several thousand manufacturing jobs in the early 1990s (due to the closure of the local Uniroyal

United States Rubber Company

The United States Rubber Company was founded in Naugatuck, Connecticut in 1892. It was one of the original 12 stocks in the Dow Jones Industrial Average, and became Uniroyal Inc...

tire

Tire

A tire or tyre is a ring-shaped covering that fits around a wheel rim to protect it and enable better vehicle performance by providing a flexible cushion that absorbs shock while keeping the wheel in close contact with the ground...

plant), the city's economy was reshaped by the opening of a number of plants engaged in the construction of computer hardware

Computer hardware

Personal computer hardware are component devices which are typically installed into or peripheral to a computer case to create a personal computer upon which system software is installed including a firmware interface such as a BIOS and an operating system which supports application software that...

, such as Hutchinson Technology

Hutchinson Technology

Hutchinson Technology is a company that specializes in the design and manufacture of precision technologies. Hutchinson's primary products are suspension assemblies that hold magnetic read-write heads at microscopic distances above the disks in rigid disk drives.Hutchinson's manufacturing plants...

's largest plant, and is home to IDEXX Computer Systems, a division of IDEXX Laboratories

IDEXX Laboratories

IDEXX Laboratories, Inc. or IDXX is a multinational corporation engaged in the development, manufacture, and distribution of products and services for the veterinary, food, and water testing markets...

.

Eau Claire is home to several national and regional companies including Menards

Menards

Menards is a chain of home improvement stores in the Midwestern United States.The privately held company headquartered in Eau Claire, Wisconsin has 262 stores in 13 states: Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, Nebraska, Kansas, South Dakota, North Dakota, and...

, Cascades Tissue Group

Cascades (company)

Founded in 1964, Cascades produces, converts and markets packaging and tissue products composed mainly of recycled fibres. Cascades employs more than 11,000 men and women in more than 100 modern, versatile operating units in North Amercica and Europe....

, National Presto Industries, Inc., Midwest Manufacturing, Erbert & Gerbert's

Erbert & Gerbert's

Erbert & Gerbert's Sandwich Shop is a restaurant franchise that mainly sells submarine sandwiches. The chain was founded in Eau Claire, Wisconsin in 1987 . The company now has 47 locations throughout Colorado, Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wisconsin . A new location is expected to...

, and Open-Silicon

Open-Silicon

Open-Silicon is a semiconductor solutions company founded in 2003 to provide traditional ASIC design, derivative and platform SoCs, and production handoffs where Open-Silicon provides manufacturing operations.-Corporate history:...

.

Today retail, health care and education are the primary employment sectors in Eau Claire.

Major highways

Rail

Eau Claire is located on freight rail lines owned by the Union Pacific Railroad

Union Pacific Railroad

The Union Pacific Railroad , headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, is the largest railroad network in the United States. James R. Young is president, CEO and Chairman....

, formerly owned by the Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis and Omaha Railway

Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis and Omaha Railway

The Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis and Omaha Railway or Omaha Road was a railroad in the U.S. states of Nebraska, Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin and South Dakota. It was incorporated in 1880 as a consolidation of the Chicago, St. Paul and Minneapolis Railway and the North Wisconsin Railway,. The...

(Omaha Road), and later part of the Chicago and North Western Railway

Chicago and North Western Railway

The Chicago and North Western Transportation Company was a Class I railroad in the Midwest United States. It was also known as the North Western. The railroad operated more than of track as of the turn of the 20th century, and over of track in seven states before retrenchment in the late 1970s...

. C&NW operated passenger trains from Chicago through Eau Claire to the Twin Cities area until 1963 when the Twin Cities 400
Twin Cities 400
The 400 was a named passenger train operated by the Chicago and North Western Railway between Chicago and Saint Paul, with a final stop in Minneapolis...

ended service. Passenger rail service to Eau Claire is seen as critical by the Minnesota Department of Transportation

Minnesota Department of Transportation

The Minnesota Department of Transportation oversees transportation by land, water, and air in the U.S. state of Minnesota. The cabinet-level agency is responsible for maintaining the state's trunk highway system The Minnesota Department of Transportation (Mn/DOT, pronounced "min-dot") oversees...

and Wisconsin Department of Transportation

Wisconsin Department of Transportation

The Wisconsin Department of Transportation, abbreviated as WisDOT, is a governmental agency of the U.S. state of Wisconsin responsible for planning, building and maintaining the state's highways...

, and they plan to return trains to the city by 2030.

Education

Eau Claire is home to two public colleges (University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire and the Chippewa Valley Technical College

Chippewa Valley Technical College

Chippewa Valley Technical College is one of the 16 technical and community colleges in the Wisconsin Technical College System, centered in Eau Claire, Wisconsin...

) and two private colleges (Immanuel Lutheran College

Immanuel Lutheran College (Eau Claire)

Immanuel Lutheran College, located in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, and open since 1963, is a high school and college campus for the Church of the Lutheran Confession....

and a campus of Globe University/Minnesota School of Business).

Eau Claire has two public high school

High school

High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....

s within the Eau Claire Area School District

Eau Claire Area School District

The Eau Claire Area School District is a school district that covers all of the city of Eau Claire, Wisconsin. The Eau Claire Area School District, with an enrollment of approximately 10,700 students, is the eighth largest school district in Wisconsin. It covers approximately . There are 12...

: Memorial High School

Memorial High School (Eau Claire, Wisconsin)

Memorial High School is one of two public high schools in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, the other being North High School. Built on a three-block campus, its enrollment is 1737, with a staff of over 150. AP classes are offered in English, science, social sciences, math, and foreign language...

and North High School

North High School (Eau Claire, Wisconsin)

North High School is one of two public high schools in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. It has a student body of about 1,500. North's course offerings include five foreign languages and several Advanced Placement courses. It also has a foreign exchange program...

. Two public charter

Charter school

Charter schools are primary or secondary schools that receive public money but are not subject to some of the rules, regulations, and statutes that apply to other public schools in exchange for some type of accountability for producing certain results, which are set forth in each school's charter...

high school

High school

s exist in Eau Claire: McKinley Charter School, a non-traditional school serving 120 students; and Technology Charter School, a non-traditional school serving 193 students. Eau Claire also has two private high school

High school

s: Catholic Regis High School

Regis High School (Eau Claire, Wisconsin)

Regis High School is a co-ed Catholic high school located in Eau Claire, Wisconsin United States in the Diocese of La Crosse. Bishop John Joseph Paul helped establish the present school....

and the Lutheran

Church of the Lutheran Confession

The Church of the Lutheran Confession is a conservative Christian religious body theologically adhering to confessional Lutheran doctrine. Founded in 1960 in Minnesota, it has approximately 75 congregations in 24 U.S...

Immanuel Lutheran High School

Immanuel Lutheran College (Eau Claire)

Immanuel Lutheran College, located in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, and open since 1963, is a high school and college campus for the Church of the Lutheran Confession....

Religion

In a 2000 study conducted by the Association of Religion Data Archives, they found 39,017 people in Eau Claire County do not claim any of the 188 faiths represented in their study. However, Eau Claire is home to a large number of religious congregations:

Apostolic
Apostolic
Apostolic may refer to:An Apostle meaning one sent on a mission*The Twelve Apostles of Jesus, or something related to them, such as the Church of the Holy Apostles...

Faith - 1 congregation
Assemblies of God
Assemblies of God
The Assemblies of God , officially the World Assemblies of God Fellowship, is a group of over 140 autonomous but loosely-associated national groupings of churches which together form the world's largest Pentecostal denomination...

- 2 congregations
Baptist
Baptist
Baptists comprise a group of Christian denominations and churches that subscribe to a doctrine that baptism should be performed only for professing believers , and that it must be done by immersion...

- 8 churches variously unaffiliated (including 1 SBC
Southern Baptist Convention
The Southern Baptist Convention is a United States-based Christian denomination. It is the world's largest Baptist denomination and the largest Protestant body in the United States, with over 16 million members...

congregation)
Catholic
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...

- 5 parish
Parish
A parish is a territorial unit historically under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of one parish priest, who might be assisted in his pastoral duties by a curate or curates - also priests but not the parish priest - from a more or less central parish church with its associated organization...

es in the Diocese of La Crosse
Roman Catholic Diocese of La Crosse
The Roman Catholic Diocese of La Crosse covers an area of west-central Wisconsin, including the city of La Crosse and 19 counties: Adams, Buffalo, Chippewa, Clark, Crawford, Dunn, Eau Claire, Jackson, Juneau, La Crosse, Marathon, Monroe, Pepin, Pierce, Portage, Richland, Trempealeau, Vernon, and...

' & Eau Claire Deanery, which has 3 other parishes, one each in Altoona, Elk Mound
Elk Mound, Wisconsin
Elk Mound is a village in Dunn County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 785 at the 2000 census. The village, named for Elk Mound, is located within the Town of Elk Mound.-Geography:Elk Mound is located at ....

and Brackett
Brackett, Wisconsin
Brackett is an unincorporated community located on U.S. Route 53 in the town of Washington, Eau Claire County, Wisconsin, United States.-In popular culture:...
Church of Christ, Scientist
Church of Christ, Scientist
The Church of Christ, Scientist was founded in 1879 in Boston, Massachusetts, USA, by Mary Baker Eddy. She was the author of the book Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures. Christian Science teaches that the "allness" of God denies the reality of sin, sickness, death, and the material world...

(Christian Science
Christian Science
Christian Science is a system of thought and practice derived from the writings of Mary Baker Eddy and the Bible. It is practiced by members of The First Church of Christ, Scientist as well as some others who are nonmembers. Its central texts are the Bible and the Christian Science textbook,...

) - 1 congregation
Church of Christ
Church of Christ
Churches of Christ are autonomous Christian congregations associated with one another through common beliefs and practices. They seek to base doctrine and practice on the Bible alone, and seek to be New Testament congregations as originally established by the authority of Christ. Historically,...

- 2 congregations
Episcopalian - 1 congregation (The Episcopal Diocese of Eau Claire
Episcopal Diocese of Eau Claire
Episcopal Diocese of Eau Claire is the diocese of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America located in the western half of Wisconsin. It is in Province V .The see is in Eau Claire, Wisconsin...

has its see
Episcopal See
An episcopal see is, in the original sense, the official seat of a bishop. This seat, which is also referred to as the bishop's cathedra, is placed in the bishop's principal church, which is therefore called the bishop's cathedral...

in Eau Claire.)
Hmong Christian Alliance - 1 congregation
Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...

- 0 congregations, although there is 1 mosque
Mosque
A mosque is a place of worship for followers of Islam. The word is likely to have entered the English language through French , from Portuguese , from Spanish , and from Berber , ultimately originating in — . The Arabic word masjid literally means a place of prostration...

in neighboring Altoona
Altoona, Wisconsin
Altoona is a city in Eau Claire County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 6,706 at the 2010 census. The city is a railroad terminal on the Union Pacific Railroad.-History:...
Jehovah's Witness - 2 congregations (both of which share the same Kingdom Hall)
Judaism
Judaism
Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...

- 1 synagogue
Lutheran
Lutheranism
Lutheranism is a major branch of Western Christianity that identifies with the theology of Martin Luther, a German reformer. Luther's efforts to reform the theology and practice of the church launched the Protestant Reformation...

- about 20 churches representing 6 synods
Evangelical Lutheran Synod
Evangelical Lutheran Synod
The Evangelical Lutheran Synod or ELS is a US-based Protestant Christian denomination based in Mankato, Minnesota, USA. It describes itself as a conservative, Confessional Lutheran body.-Membership:...

(ELS)
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America is a mainline Protestant denomination headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. The ELCA officially came into existence on January 1, 1988, by the merging of three churches. As of December 31, 2009, it had 4,543,037 baptized members, with 2,527,941 of them...

(ELCA)
Church of the Lutheran Brethren of America
Church of the Lutheran Brethren of America
The Church of the Lutheran Brethren of America is a Lutheran denomination of Christians rooted in a spiritual awakening at the turn of the 20th century. A spiritual revival swept through a large part of the Midwestern United States in the 1890s. Lutherans who were influenced by this fervor...
Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod
Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod
The Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod is a traditional, confessional Lutheran denomination in the United States. With 2.3 million members, it is both the eighth largest Protestant denomination and the second-largest Lutheran body in the U.S. after the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. The Synod...

(LCMS)
Church of the Lutheran Confession
Church of the Lutheran Confession
The Church of the Lutheran Confession is a conservative Christian religious body theologically adhering to confessional Lutheran doctrine. Founded in 1960 in Minnesota, it has approximately 75 congregations in 24 U.S...
Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod
Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod
The Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod is a North American Confessional Lutheran denomination of Christianity. Characterized as theologically conservative, it was founded in 1850 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. As of 2008, it had a baptized membership of over 389,364 in more than 1,290 congregations,...

(WELS)
Methodist
Methodism
Methodism is a movement of Protestant Christianity represented by a number of denominations and organizations, claiming a total of approximately seventy million adherents worldwide. The movement traces its roots to John Wesley's evangelistic revival movement within Anglicanism. His younger brother...

- 4 congregations (one of which is located in nearby Altoona)
Lake Street United Methodist Church
Mennonite Church USA
Mennonite Church USA
The Mennonite Church USA, or MCUSA, is an Anabaptist Christian denomination in the United States. Although the organization is a recent 2002 merger of the Mennonite Church and the General Conference Mennonite Church, the body has roots in the Radical Reformation of the 16th century...

- 1 congregation meeting two Sundays per month
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints - 1 congregation
Nazarene
Nazarene movement
The name Nazarene was adopted by a group of early 19th century German Romantic painters who aimed to revive honesty and spirituality in Christian art...

- 1 congregation
Pentecostal - about 10 variously affiliated congregations
Presbyterianism
Presbyterianism
Presbyterianism refers to a number of Christian churches adhering to the Calvinist theological tradition within Protestantism, which are organized according to a characteristic Presbyterian polity. Presbyterian theology typically emphasizes the sovereignty of God, the authority of the Scriptures,...

- 2 congregations
Society of Friends
Religious Society of Friends
The Religious Society of Friends, or Friends Church, is a Christian movement which stresses the doctrine of the priesthood of all believers. Members are known as Friends, or popularly as Quakers. It is made of independent organisations, which have split from one another due to doctrinal differences...

(Quakers) - 1 congregation
Salvation Army
The Salvation Army
The Salvation Army is a Protestant Christian church known for its thrift stores and charity work. It is an international movement that currently works in over a hundred countries....

- 1 congregation
Seventh-day Adventist
Seventh-day Adventist Church
The Seventh-day Adventist Church is a Protestant Christian denomination distinguished by its observance of Saturday, the original seventh day of the Judeo-Christian week, as the Sabbath, and by its emphasis on the imminent second coming of Jesus Christ...

- 0 congregations, although neighboring Altoona and nearby Chippewa Falls each have 1 congregation
Unitarian Universalist - 1 congregation
United Church of Christ
United Church of Christ
The United Church of Christ is a mainline Protestant Christian denomination primarily in the Reformed tradition but also historically influenced by Lutheranism. The Evangelical and Reformed Church and the Congregational Christian Churches united in 1957 to form the UCC...

- 3 congregations
Unity School of Christianity - 1 congregation
Wesleyan Church
Wesleyan Church
"Wesleyan" has been used in the title of a number of historic and current denominations, although the subject of this article is the only denomination to use that specific title...

- 1 congregation

Print media

The Eau Claire Leader-Telegram has a daily circulation of 26,901 during the week and a circulation rate of 38,824 for the Sunday paper. Volume One, an alt-weekly magazine published 26 times per year with a circulation rate of 15,000 and an estimated readership of 45,000. Volume One can be found online at http://VolumeOne.org
.

Television

Nielson Market Research lists Eau Claire/La Crosse as the 127th largest television market area. The major broadcast stations serving the area are:

Radio

FM
AM

Local music scene

The Chippewa Valley, especially Eau Claire, has groups and performers in the indie rock, metal/hardcore, hip hop, jam, and jazz genres. Bands such as Bon Iver, Laarks, and The Daredevil Christopher Wright have achieved varying levels of national success. Pop-punk has created a following in the Eau Claire area, and hip-hop artists also claim Eau Claire as their homeland.

Amble Down, an Eau Claire based record label has released many local albums by bands such as The Daredevil Christopher Wright, Michael Perry and the Long Beds, Meridene, The Gentle Guest, The Cloud Hymn, We Are The Willows and Cranes & Crows.

Eau Claire is also home to one of the best jazz programs in the nation. Its top university jazz ensemble has been awarded the prestigious "DownBeat Magazine Award" for best college jazz ensemble in the nation six times, the most recent being in 2010. The community also hosts the Eau Claire Jazz Festival, which has been in existence since 1968.

Popular destinations for live music in The Chippewa Valley include: The State Theatre, The Grand Little Theater, The House of Rock, Infinitea Teahouse, Phoenix Park, The Acoustic Cafe, The Mousetrap, The Cabin and Higherground on the UWEC Campus, Hoffy's Skate America, and the Sarge Boyd Bandshell

Sarge Boyd Bandshell

The Sarge Boyd Bandshell of Eau Claire, Wisconsin, as home to the city's oldest community musical organization, has played a significant role in the cultural development of the entire Chippewa Valley. The structure was designed by city engineer Alex Garnock for the purpose of showcasing the Eau...

in Owen Park where the Eau Claire Municipal Band

Eau Claire Municipal Band

The Eau Claire Municipal Band of Eau Claire, Wisconsin presents free family-oriented programming throughout the summer at the Sarge Boyd Bandshell in Owen Park. Seating is provided but some concertgoers prefer to bring their own. In the event of rain, performances are held at the Eau Claire Masonic...

presents free family-oriented programming throughout the summer.

In 2006, during a concert in Milwaukee, Wisconsin Bob Seger

Bob Seger

Robert Clark "Bob" Seger is an American rock and roll singer-songwriter, guitarist and pianist.As a locally successful Detroit-area artist, he performed and recorded as Bob Seger and the Last Heard and Bob Seger System throughout the 1960s...

revealed that he had written the song "Turn the Page" in a hotel room in Eau Claire, Wisconsin.

Country Jam USA was formed in Eau Claire in 1987. In 1990 the first Country Jam was held in Eau Claire and often attracts visitors in the summer months.

Performing Arts

Eau Claire has a modest but active theatre community. Although no professional theatre groups make their home in the region, amateur and community theatres have a significant presence; the most visible of these are the Chippewa Valley Theatre Guild (CVTG) and the Eau Claire Children's Theatre (ECCT). In addition, the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire has a robust theatre program, and traveling professional shows frequently make stops in the city. The Kjer Theatre and the State Theatre

State Theatre (Eau Claire, Wisconsin)

The State Theatre is a nonprofit venue for the performing arts and entertainment, located in downtown Eau Claire, Wisconsin with seating for 1100 people. It was first opened as a vaudeville theatre in 1926, then several years later converted to a movie house that closed in 1982...

are the primary indoor performing arts venues, although both CVTG and ECCT have recently established their own independent venues, in 2006 and 2010 respectively.

Recreation

There are several large parks in the city: Owen Park, along the Chippewa River

Chippewa River (Wisconsin)

, home to a large bandshell where open air concerts are held throughout the summer; Putnam Park

Putnam Park

Putnam Park is a natural area owned by the University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire. The park is located in the middle of the city of Eau Claire and follows the course of both the Chippewa River to the west and Little Niagara Creek to the east. Much of the park lies on the boundary of the Third Ward...

, which follows the course of Putnam Creek and Little Niagara Creek east from the UWEC campus; Carson Park

Carson Park (Eau Claire, Wisconsin)

Carson Park is a park in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. It contains a baseball stadium, football stadium, and museum. The park and its stadiums are owned and operated by the City of Eau Claire....

, situated in the middle of an oxbow lake; and Phoenix Park

Phoenix Park (Eau Claire, Wisconsin)

Phoenix Park is a public space in downtown Eau Claire, Wisconsin. Located at the confluence of the Chippewa River and the Eau Claire River, the park serves as the trailhead for the Chippewa River State Trail. The park also offers a walking labyrinth, a natural amphitheater, and is home to Eau...

on the site of the old Phoenix Steel plant at the confluence of the Eau Claire and Chippewa River. Phoenix Park is the host of a weekly farmers market and open air concerts during summer months. Riverview Park is also a common summer swimming destination, as well as one of the local boat landings. This park includes picnicking areas and grills, as well as public restrooms.

The City of Eau Claire also operates Fairfax public pool, and Hobbs Municipal Ice Center

Hobbs Municipal Ice Center

Hobbs Municipal Ice Center is an indoor ice arena complex located in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, USA. The arena is home to the UW–Eau Claire Blugold Men's & Women's Varsity Hockey teams and Men's Club Hockey team, as well as the Eau Claire Memorial & North High School Hockey teams...

, an indoor ice center.

Eau Claire is at the head of the Chippewa River State Trail

Chippewa River State Trail

Chippewa River State Trail is a 26-mile urban-rural trail system in western Wisconsin the follows the path of the Chippewa River. The trails runs from the spot of the confluence of the Chippewa with the Eau Claire River, at Phoenix Park in downtown Eau Claire to the town of Durand where it meets up...

, a biking and recreation trail that follows the lower course of the Chippewa River.

Baseball

Eau Claire has three amateur baseball teams. The Eau Claire Express

Eau Claire Express

The Eau Claire Express is a collegiate summer baseball team playing in the Northwoods League. Their home games are played at Carson Park, in Eau Claire, Wisconsin ....

are a team that plays in the Northwoods League

Northwoods League

The Northwoods League is a collegiate summer baseball league comprising teams of the top college players from North America and beyond. All players in the league must have NCAA eligibility remaining in order to participate...

, an NCAA

National Collegiate Athletic Association

The National Collegiate Athletic Association is a semi-voluntary association of 1,281 institutions, conferences, organizations and individuals that organizes the athletic programs of many colleges and universities in the United States...

-sanctioned summer baseball league. Their home games are played at Carson Park

Carson Park (Eau Claire, Wisconsin)

Carson Park is a park in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. It contains a baseball stadium, football stadium, and museum. The park and its stadiums are owned and operated by the City of Eau Claire....

. The Eau Claire Cavaliers, also plays home games at Carson Park

Carson Park (Eau Claire, Wisconsin)

Carson Park is a park in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. It contains a baseball stadium, football stadium, and museum. The park and its stadiums are owned and operated by the City of Eau Claire....

. The Eau Claire Bears play in the Chippewa River Baseball League. Also, three of Eau Claire's High Schools have baseball teams. Eau Claire North H.S.

North High School (Eau Claire, Wisconsin)

won the 2011 state championship.

Football

The Chippewa Valley Predators and the Eau Claire Crush, adult amateur football teams in the Northern Elite Football League, play their home games at Carson Park

Carson Park (Eau Claire, Wisconsin)

Carson Park is a park in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. It contains a baseball stadium, football stadium, and museum. The park and its stadiums are owned and operated by the City of Eau Claire....

Soccer

The Eau Claire Aris FC

Eau Claire Aris FC

Eau Claire Aris FC is an American soccer team based in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, United States. Founded in 2009, the team plays in National Premier Soccer League , a national amateur league at the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, in the Midwest Division.The team plays its home games at...

are Eau Claire's team in the NPSL

NPSL

NPSL may stand for:*National Premier Soccer League - a soccer league considered to be at the 4th level of the American Soccer Pyramid*National Professional Soccer League - a 1960s U.S. outdoor soccer league....

. Eau Claire United is a competitive youth soccer team competing in the MYSA.

Every summer, Eau Claire United hosts a soccer tournament that brings around 100 teams to the community.

Kubb

Eau Claire hosts the U.S. National Kubb Championship. The tournament was started in 2007 and is the largest kubb tournament outside of Europe and one of only two two-day kubb tournaments in the world, along with the Kubb World Championship in Sweden.

Figure Skating

Eau Claire also has a Figure Skating
Figure skating
Figure skating is an Olympic sport in which individuals, pairs, or groups perform spins, jumps, footwork and other intricate and challenging moves on ice skates. Figure skaters compete at various levels from beginner up to the Olympic level , and at local, national, and international competitions...

club at Hobbs Municipal Ice Center
Hobbs Municipal Ice Center
Hobbs Municipal Ice Center is an indoor ice arena complex located in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, USA. The arena is home to the UW–Eau Claire Blugold Men's & Women's Varsity Hockey teams and Men's Club Hockey team, as well as the Eau Claire Memorial & North High School Hockey teams...

.

Notable natives & residents

See Also
:Category:People from Eau Claire, Wisconsin.

Notable University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire graduates

General

Musicians

Sarge Boyd
Sarge Boyd
Donald I. "Sarge" Boyd, award-winning band director and teacher, was born in Wendell, Minnesota in 1901 and died in Eau Claire, Wisconsin on March 1, 1987....

, award-winning conductor of the Eau Claire Municipal Band
Eau Claire Municipal Band
The Eau Claire Municipal Band of Eau Claire, Wisconsin presents free family-oriented programming throughout the summer at the Sarge Boyd Bandshell in Owen Park. Seating is provided but some concertgoers prefer to bring their own. In the event of rain, performances are held at the Eau Claire Masonic...

for nearly half a century
Geoffrey Keezer, jazz pianist—the last to play with Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers
Mark Kosower
Mark Kosower
Mark Kosower is an internationally renowned cellist. Kosower is currently Solo Cellist of the Bamberg Symphony Orchestra in Germany and was Professor of Cello and Chamber Music at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music from 2005-07. He studied with János Starker at Indiana University and Joel...

, cellist
Justin Vernon of Bon Iver
Bon Iver
Bon Iver is a Grammy nominated folk band founded in 2007 by American indie folk singer-songwriter Justin Vernon. It includes Michael Noyce, Sean Carey, and Matthew McCaughan. Vernon released Bon Iver's debut album, For Emma, Forever Ago independently in July 2007. The majority of that album was...
Peter Phippen, Grammy nominated world-flutist

Media

Waldemar Ager
Waldemar Ager
Waldemar Ager , was a Norwegian-American newspaperman and author.-Early life:...

, Norwegian-American newspaperman and author
Ann Landers, advice columnist (during her time in Eau Claire she served as chair of the Democratic Party of Eau Claire County, Wisconsin
Democratic Party of Eau Claire County, Wisconsin
The Democratic Party of Eau Claire is the affiliate of the Democratic Party in Wisconsin. As of 2011, it is headed by Jeff Smith and Kristen Dexter, the co-Chairs. The party is currently the minority....

).
Julie Nelson, TV News anchor affiliated with KARE-TV in Golden Valley, Minnesota
Abigail van Buren, advice columnist

Sports

Hank Aaron, baseball
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...

player, played in Eau Claire for the Eau Claire Bears
Eau Claire Bears
The Eau Claire Bears were a minor league baseball team from Eau Claire, Wisconsin. From 1933 until 1942 and 1946 until 1953, the team was a member of the Northern League. The Class C team was affiliated with the Chicago Cubs until 1939, and re-affiliated with the Boston Braves in 1947...

during his first professional baseball season in 1952. Aaron has returned to the city several times since, including in 1994 for the dedication of his statue at Carson Park, and again in 2006 as a campaign speaker for governor
Governor of Wisconsin
The Governor of Wisconsin is the highest executive authority in the government of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The position was first filled by Nelson Dewey on June 7, 1848, the year Wisconsin became a state...

Jim Doyle
Jim Doyle
James Edward "Jim" Doyle is a Wisconsin politician and member of the Democratic Party. He was the 44th Governor of Wisconsin, serving from January 6, 2003 to January 3, 2011. He defeated incumbent Governor Scott McCallum by a margin of 45 percent to 41 percent; the Libertarian Party candidate Ed...

's gubernatorial reelection
Wisconsin gubernatorial election, 2006
The Wisconsin gubernatorial election of 2006 was held on November 7, 2006. Incumbent Democratic Governor Jim Doyle defeated Republican Congressman Mark Green. Doyle served between 2007 and 2011...

.
Lemoine Batson
Lemoine Batson
Lemoine H. Batson was a ski jumper from the United States in the ski jumping competition at the 1924 Winter Olympics in Chamonix. He was later selected for the 1932 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, but would not compete.-Olympic results:-References:...

, Olympic
Olympic Games
The Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate...

athlete
Mike Peplinski, Olympic
Olympic Games
The Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate...

athlete
Dick Bennett
Dick Bennett
Dick Bennett is an American college basketball coach who is best known for revitalizing the Wisconsin Badgers basketball program...

, Former Wisconsin
Wisconsin Badgers
The Wisconsin Badgers are the collegiate athletic teams from the University of Wisconsin–Madison. This NCAA Division I athletic program has teams in football, basketball, ice hockey, volleyball, soccer, cross country, tennis, swimming, wrestling, track and field, rowing, golf, and softball...

and Washington State
Washington State Cougars
The Washington State Cougars are the athletic teams at Washington State University; the term applies to any of the school's varsity teams. Washington State University is a member of the Pacific-12 Conference, which participates in the NCAA Division I...

basketball coach; coached Eau Claire Memorial High School Old Abes (1973–1978)
Cub Buck
Cub Buck
Howard Pierce Buck was a professional American football player who played offensive tackle for four seasons for the Green Bay Packers. He was born in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. Buck was inducted into the Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame in 1977...

, NFL player and head coach of the Miami Hurricanes football
Miami Hurricanes football
The Miami Hurricanes football program competes in the Atlantic Coast Conference of the NCAA's Division I Football Bowl Subdivision for the University of Miami. The program began in 1926 and has won five AP national championships...

team
Jake Dowell
Jake Dowell
Jacob Dowell is an American professional ice hockey center who currently plays for the Dallas Stars of the National Hockey League.-Playing career:...

, NHL player
Clifford Fagan
Clifford Fagan
Clifford B. "Cliff" Fagan was a high school basketball referee who became executive director of the National Federation of High School Athletic Associations and eventually president of the Basketball Hall of Fame and board member for FIBA, the international governing body for the sport of...

, member of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame
Marv Harshman
Marv Harshman
Marv K. Harshman is a former college men's basketball coach native to Eau Claire, Wisconsin, USA.-Collegiate career:Harshman started coaching at his alma mater of Pacific Lutheran University , where he also was the head football coach from 1951 to 1957, compiling a 27-26-2 record...

, former college men's basketball coach for Washington
University of Washington
University of Washington is a public research university, founded in 1861 in Seattle, Washington, United States. The UW is the largest university in the Northwest and the oldest public university on the West Coast. The university has three campuses, with its largest campus in the University...

, Washington State
Washington State University
Washington State University is a public research university based in Pullman, Washington, in the Palouse region of the Pacific Northwest. Founded in 1890, WSU is the state's original and largest land-grant university...

, and Pacific Lutheran
Pacific Lutheran University
Pacific Lutheran University is located in Parkland, a suburb of Tacoma, Washington. In September 2009, PLU had a student population of 3,582 and approximately 280 full-time faculty...
Alex Hicks
Alex Hicks
Alexander W. Hicks is a Canadian former ice hockey player who played in the National Hockey League for the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, Pittsburgh Penguins, San Jose Sharks and the Florida Panthers...

, National Hockey League
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States...

, a University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire Blugold, played in the NHL for the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, Pittsburgh Penguins
Pittsburgh Penguins
The Pittsburgh Penguins are a professional ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . The franchise was founded in 1967 as one of the first expansion teams during the league's original...

, San Jose Sharks
San Jose Sharks
The San Jose Sharks are a professional ice hockey team based in San Jose, California, United States. They are members of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League...

, and the Florida Panthers
Florida Panthers
The Florida Panthers are a professional ice hockey team based in Sunrise, Florida, in the Miami metropolitan area. They are members of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . They play their games at the BankAtlantic Center in Sunrise and are the...

. Hicks was, and remains, the only University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire Blugold (a division III school) to play in NHL regular season and playoff games.
Mike Hintz
Mike Hintz
Mike Hintz is a former defensive back in the National Football League. He played with the Chicago Bears during the 1987 NFL season.-References:...

, NFL player
Herm Johnson
Herm Johnson
Herm Johnson , is a former driver in the CART Championship Car series. He raced in 7 seasons , with 35 career starts, including the 1984 Indianapolis 500. He also raced at Indy in 1982, but the race was not part of CART that year...

, former CART
Champ Car
Champ Car was the name for a class and specification of open wheel cars used in American Championship Car Racing for many decades, primarily for use in the Indianapolis 500 auto race...

/ Indy 500
Indianapolis 500
The Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, also known as the Indianapolis 500, the 500 Miles at Indianapolis, the Indy 500 or The 500, is an American automobile race, held annually, typically on the last weekend in May at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana...

race car driver
Vic Johnson, MLB player
Steve Lingenfelter
Steve Lingenfelter
Steven Rodney Lingenfelter is a retired American professional basketball player. A 6'9" forward, he played collegiately at for the Minnesota Golden Gophers before transferring to South Dakota State University....

— NBA player
Paul Menard
Paul Menard
Paul Menard is a NASCAR driver. He currently drives the #27 Menards Chevrolet in the Sprint Cup Series for Richard Childress Racing and runs part-time for Kevin Harvick Inc. in the Nationwide Series. He is the son of Menards founder John Menard, Jr., whose company is his sponsor...

, NASCAR
NASCAR
The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing is a family-owned and -operated business venture that sanctions and governs multiple auto racing sports events. It was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1947–48. As of 2009, the CEO for the company is Brian France, grandson of the late Bill France Sr...

driver
Chuck Mencel
Chuck Mencel
Charles "Chuck" Mencel is a former professional basketball player with the Minneapolis Lakers.Mencel played collegiately at the University of Minnesota, and was named the Big Ten MVP in the 1955 season, his senior year with the Golden Gophers. He was drafted in the second round of the 1955 NBA...

, NBA player
Pat O'Donahue
Pat O'Donahue
James Patrick Michael "Pat" O'Donahue is a former American football defensive end in the National Football League. He played for the San Francisco 49ers and the Green Bay Packers...

, NFL player for the San Francisco 49ers
San Francisco 49ers
The San Francisco 49ers are a professional American football team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the West Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team was founded in 1946 as a charter member of the All-America Football Conference and...

and Green Bay Packers
Green Bay Packers
The Green Bay Packers are an American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Packers are the current NFL champions...
Willis S. Olson
Willis S. Olson
Willis Stuart Olson was an American ski jumper who competed during the 1950s. He was born in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. He won the NCAA ski jumping championships for the University of Denver and finished 22nd in the individual large hill event at the 1952 Winter Olympics in Oslo.Olson was inducted...

, Olympic
Olympic Games
The Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate...

ski jumper, member of the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame
Sis Paulsen
Sis Paulsen
-Biography:A native of Eau Claire, Wisconsin, Paulsen attended the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where she was a team captain on the women's ice hockey team.-Coaching career:...

, ice hockey and softball coach
Ralph Pond
Ralph Pond
Ralph Benjamin Pond was an American professional baseball outfielder who played briefly for the Boston Red Sox during the season. Pond threw right-handed...

, baseball player
Tom Poquette
Tom Poquette
Thomas Arthur Poquette is a former Major League Baseball outfielder. He played all or part of seven seasons in the majors, between and , for the Kansas City Royals, Boston Red Sox, and Texas Rangers...

, MLB
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...

player for Kansas City Royals
Kansas City Royals
The Kansas City Royals are a Major League Baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals are a member of the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. From 1973 to the present, the Royals have played in Kauffman Stadium...

(1973, 1976–79, 1982), Boston Red Sox
Boston Red Sox
The Boston Red Sox are a professional baseball team based in Boston, Massachusetts, and a member of Major League Baseball’s American League Eastern Division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight charter franchises, the Red Sox's home ballpark has been Fenway Park since . The "Red Sox"...

and Texas Rangers
Texas Rangers (baseball)
The Texas Rangers are a professional baseball team in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, based in Arlington, Texas. The Rangers are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League, and are the reigning A.L. Western Division and A.L. Champions. Since , the Rangers have...
Brad Radke
Brad Radke
Brad William Radke is a former Major League Baseball right-handed pitcher who played his entire 12 season career with the Minnesota Twins. Radke won 148 career games and was one of the most consistent pitchers in the Twins organization during the late 90's...

, MLB pitcher for the Minnesota Twins
Minnesota Twins
The Minnesota Twins are a professional baseball team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. They play in the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. The team is named after the Twin Cities area of Minneapolis and St. Paul. They played in Metropolitan Stadium from 1961 to 1981 and the...

born in Eau Claire on October 27, 1972.
Dominic Berlin, National Football League
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...

, Punt, Pass, and Kick 2011 National Champion.
Bill Schroeder
Bill Schroeder
William Fredrich Schroeder is a former American football wide receiver in the NFL. He attended Sheboygan South High School and then went on to the University of Wisconsin–La Crosse, where he starred in track and field. He last played with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2004...

, NFL
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...

wide receiver
Wide receiver
A wide receiver is an offensive position in American and Canadian football, and is the key player in most of the passing plays. Only players in the backfield or the ends on the line are eligible to catch a forward pass. The two players who begin play at the ends of the offensive line are eligible...

(1994–2004)
John Stiegelmeier
John Stiegelmeier
John Stiegelmeier is an American football coach, currently the head coach of the South Dakota State University Jackrabbit football team....

, head coach of the South Dakota State Jackrabbits football
South Dakota State Jackrabbits football
The South Dakota State Jackrabbits football team is a Football Championship Subdivision program that competes in the Missouri Valley Football Conference. The Jackrabbits were a Division II program in the North Central Conference until moving to Football Championship Subdivision in 2004...

team

Jerry Wunsch
Jerry Wunsch
Gerald Wunsch is a former offensive tackle and offensive guard in the NFL. He played for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Seattle Seahawks. He played college ball at Wisconsin. Jerry played high school football at Wausau West High School....

, National Football League
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...

, offensive guard for Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football franchise based in Tampa, Florida, U.S. They are currently members of the Southern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League – they are the only team in the division not to come from the old NFC West...

(1997–2001) and Seattle Seahawks
Seattle Seahawks
The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle, Washington. They are currently members of the Western Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team joined the NFL in 1976 as an expansion team...

(2002–2005)
Reed Zuehlke
Reed Zuehlke
Reed Zuehlke, born Reed Johann Zuehlke on October 26, 1960 in Eau Claire, Wisconsin., was an athlete from the United States in the ski jumping competition at the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid and the 1984 Winter Olympics in Sarajevo.-Biography:...

, Olympic
Olympic Games
The Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate...

ski jumper

Fictional

Bernice, the protagonist
Protagonist
A protagonist is the main character of a literary, theatrical, cinematic, or musical narrative, around whom the events of the narrative's plot revolve and with whom the audience is intended to most identify...

of F. Scott Fitzgerald
F. Scott Fitzgerald
Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald was an American author of novels and short stories, whose works are the paradigm writings of the Jazz Age, a term he coined himself. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest American writers of the 20th century. Fitzgerald is considered a member of the "Lost...

's short story Bernice Bobs Her Hair
Bernice Bobs Her Hair
Bernice Bobs Her Hair is a short story by F. Scott Fitzgerald, written in 1920 and first published in the Saturday Evening Post in May of that year. It appeared shortly thereafter in the collection Flappers and Philosophers.- Background :...

.
John Rusk, a character from the Alexander Payne
Alexander Payne
Alexander Payne, born Alexander Constantine Papadopoulos is an American film director and screenwriter. His films are noted for their dark humor and satirical depictions of contemporary American society.- Early life :...

film About Schmidt
About Schmidt
About Schmidt is a 2002 American comedy-drama film directed by Alexander Payne, starring Jack Nicholson in the title role. It is loosely based on the 1996 novel of the same title by Louis Begley. Many of the scenes were filmed on location, especially in Omaha, Nebraska and Denver, Colorado...

mentions that he owns a Famous Footwear shoe store in Eau Claire, Wisconsin.
Teddy Ballgame, the infamous alter-ego of the Eau Claire native Ted Carlson. Also a placekicker for the 1992 New York Jets.

Sister cities

Eau Claire is sistered
Town twinning
Twin towns and sister cities are two of many terms used to describe the cooperative agreements between towns, cities, and even counties in geographically and politically distinct areas to promote cultural and commercial ties.- Terminology :...

with Lismore, New South Wales
Lismore, New South Wales
Lismore is a subtropical town in northeastern New South Wales, Australia. Lismore is the main population centre in the City of Lismore local government area. Lismore is a regional centre in the Northern Rivers region of the State.-History:...

, a rural town in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

.
In July 2007, Eau Claire also sistered with Miramar, Costa Rica
Costa Rica
Costa Rica , officially the Republic of Costa Rica is a multilingual, multiethnic and multicultural country in Central America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, Panama to the southeast, the Pacific Ocean to the west and the Caribbean Sea to the east....

, a rural town in the Montes de Oro
Montes de Oro
Montes de Oro is the name of the fourth canton in the province of Puntarenas in Costa Rica. The canton covers an area of 244.76 km² , and has a population of 11,806. Its capital city is Miramar....

canton in Puntarenas Province
Puntarenas Province
Puntarenas is a province of Costa Rica. It is located in the western part of the country, covering most of Costa Rica's Pacific Ocean coast, and it is the largest province in Costa Rica. Clockwise from the northwest it borders on the provinces Guanacaste, Alajuela, San José and Limón, and the...

, Costa Rica.

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