EAU CLAIRE — Altoona agreed to pay a higher annual fee to continue getting ambulance service provided by the Eau Claire Fire Department for the next four years.

The neighboring cities signed an amended contract this month after Eau Claire had pushed in recent months to renegotiate terms due to rising costs for providing emergency medical service.

Contact: 715-833-9204, andrew.dowd@ecpc.com, @ADowd_LT on Twitter

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Local government reporter/Business editor

A lifelong Wisconsin resident, Andrew Dowd graduated from Verona Area High School in 2000. From there he attended UW-Eau Claire, earning his bachelor's degree in 2004 with a major in print journalism and minor in political science. During college, he was on staff at the school newspaper, The Spectator, and also worked part-time at the Leader-Telegram. Following graduation, he spent nearly a year as a reporter for The Stevens Point Journal before taking a job at the Leader-Telegram in August 2005. He's focused on reporting on local government, but has covered a variety of subjects including business, area development and human interest stories. In addition to writing for the daily newspaper, he also is editor of the quarterly Business Leader magazine.