Friday News Roundup

Transcript

Friday News Roundup

WHSM/WBZH Hayward News · Fri Oct 16, 2026

Maddie 6.9 WBZH and 101.1 WHSM Hayward's home for real news and great conversation.

Here's your Daily News

Roundup.

A No Kings rally is scheduled for this Saturday in downtown Hayward, with organizers encouraging residents to vote in the November general election.

The rally will take place from noon to 1.30 at Democracy Corner, near the intersection of Highway 63 and 27.

The event is organized by Up North Engaged and the Sawyer County and Lakuta Ray Democrats as part of the nationwide No Kings Day of Action.

Organizers say candidate literature and voter registration information will be available.

also collect monetary donations and non-perishable food items for the LCO food pantry.

And speaking of voting, early in-person voting for the November general election begins Tuesday, October 20 in the town of Hayward.

Residents can cast their ballots at the town clerk's office through Friday, October 30.

Voting is available Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays from 9 a.m.

to 3 p.m.

and Wednesdays from 1 to 6 p.m.

Voters are reminded to bring an acceptable photo ID.

Residents can also check their voter registration status or request an absentee ballot by mail through Wisconsin's My Vote website.

Election Day is Tuesday, November 3rd with polls open from 7 a.m.

to 8 p.m.

Lakuta Ray and Sawyer County are teaming up to host a Veterans Fair next week.

The free event will be held Thursday, October 22 from 10 a.m.

to 2 p.m.

at the Seven Winds Convention Center.

Veterans and their families can meet with local, state, and federal organizations and learn more about benefits and services available to them.

Participating organizations include the Wisconsin Department of Veterans Affairs, the VA, the Vet Center in La Crosse, Northwood Technical College, and several other local and regional

groups.

The day will begin with the posting of the colors and an opening prayer at 10 a.m.

Lunch will be provided and attendees can also enter to win door prizes.

October is Cyber Security Awareness Month and several Wisconsin state agencies are reminding residents to take a few simple steps to protect their personal information online.

The Wisconsin Departments of Administration, Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection and Military Affairs are working together to raise awareness about online

security as cyber criminals find new ways to steal personal information.

One recommendation is to use strong, unique passwords for each online account and turn on multi-factor authentication, which adds another layer of protection when logging in.

The agencies are also warning residents to be careful with links and attachments in emails, text messages, and social media posts.

Scammers often pretend to be trusted companies, government agencies, or even people you know to trick you into sharing personal

information.

Another reminder is to keep phones, computers and apps updated.

Software updates often fix security weaknesses that hackers could otherwise take advantage of.

More information on protecting yourself online is available through the Federal Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency's website.

The body of an 83-year-old maple man who went missing last month has been recovered in Douglas County.

According to the Douglas County Sheriff's Office, Robert Miller's body was located Monday afternoon in Cloverland Township, about a mile south of McNeil's Landing Road.

Miller was reported missing September 18th after family members arrived at his home and discovered he wasn't there.

A map and notes left in his kitchen indicated he had planned to visit the Brule River near the Lamprey Weir to look at fish.

His vehicle

was located early the following morning, parked along McNeil's Landing Road.

An extensive search followed involving hundreds of searchers and volunteers from multiple agencies, along with drones, aircraft, and underwater equipment.

An autopsy is planned to determine his cause of death, and foul play is not suspected.

For Muskie101 News, I'm Maddie Schaefer.

Now a look at Northwood's news, I'm Maddie Schaefer.

October is Cyber Security Awareness Month and several Wisconsin state agencies are reminding residents to take a few simple steps to protect their personal information online.

The Wisconsin Departments of Administration, Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection and Military Affairs are working together to raise awareness about online security as cyber criminals find new ways to steal personal information.

One recommendation is to use strong, unique passwords for each online account and

turn on multi-factor authentication, which adds another layer of protection when logging in.

The agencies are also warning residents to be careful with links and attachments in emails, text messages and social media posts.

Scammers often pretend to be trusted companies, government agencies or even people you know to trick you into sharing personal information.

Another reminder is to keep phones, computers and apps updated.

Software updates often fix security weaknesses that hackers could otherwise take advantage of.

More information on protecting yourself online is available through the Federal Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency's website.

The body of an 83-year-old maple man who went missing last month has been recovered in Douglas County.

According to the Douglas County Sheriff's Office, Robert Miller's body was located Monday afternoon in Cloverland Township, about a mile south of McNeil's Landing Road.

Miller was reported missing September 18th after family members arrived at his home and discovered he wasn't there.

A map and notes left in his kitchen indicated he had planned to visit the Brule River near the Lampree Weir to look at fish.

His vehicle

was located early the following morning, parked along McNeil's Landing Road.

An extensive search followed involving hundreds of searchers and volunteers from multiple agencies, along with drones, aircraft and underwater equipment.

An autopsy is planned to determine his cause of death, and foul play is not suspected.

For Northwood's News, I'm Maddie Schaefer.

For Civic Media News, I'm Connie Feldman.

Despite national debates over election rules and security, Wisconsin election officials say voters can't expect the same procedures at the polls this November as in the past.

At a forum hosted Wednesday by Keep Our Republic and UW-Stevens Point, Wisconsin Elections Commission Administrator Megan Wolfe outlined safeguards already in place.

Those included paper ballots, public testing of voting equipment, and post-election audits to verify results.

The discussion also addressed possible federal changes.

Former U.S.

Attorney John Votery pointed to the proposed SAVE Act, which would require documentary proof of citizenship to register to vote in federal elections.

The legislation has passed the U.S.

House but has not become law.

With yesterday's rainy, gloomy weather moving in, it can be easy to forget much of our state is in a serious to severe drought right now.

As Civic Media's Maddie Schaefer tells us, the wildfire risk doesn't go away with just a few drops of

rain.

The

Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources is warning of increased wildfire danger across northern Wisconsin as drought conditions continue.

The lack of rain has left much of the region an extreme or exceptional drought, making it easier for wildfires to start and spread.

The DNR says nearly 20 wildfires have occurred across the state in the past week, most caused by sparks from equipment and downed power lines.

Warm, dry and windy conditions are expected to keep fire danger elevated.

is reminding residents to check daily burning restrictions before starting outdoor fires and to avoid operating machinery during the hottest part of the day.

Campfires and debris burns should also be completely extinguished as hot embers can start fires hours later.

Elevated fire danger is expected to continue until the state receives significant rain or snow.

For Civic Media News, I'm Maddie

Schaefer.

Nearly a thousand wildfires across Wisconsin this year alone have already burned more than one

A prominent Wisconsin businessman has been identified as one of the six people killed in Tuesday's plane crash near Wisconsin Dells.

Menominee Airport Commission Chairman Daniel Johnson says Ron Rieke, an experienced pilot and local warehouse owner, was killed in the crash after ice built up on the wings during a thunderstorm.

Rieke owned the plane that went down, killing five others, ranging in age from 13 to 67.

All six in the plane were from West Central Wisconsin, the National Transportation

Safety Board said preliminary information indicated the plane was flying at 24,000 feet when the pilot reported icing and requested to descend.

The plane crashed in a densely wooded area in the town of Delona, just southwest of the Dells.

Just weeks before Wisconsin's midterm elections, mail with a white powdery substance is showing up at election offices around our state.

The Wisconsin Elections Commission just reported their office received the suspicious mail on Wednesday afternoon, and a staffer noticed the white powder that appeared to match mailings in other states.

Election officials say staff did not open the mail, and the commission alerted authorities.

The FBI is among the agencies investigating.

Authorities say they believe there are more than 100 letters in circulation that appear to be designed to scare officials.

Game times were just announced for the highly anticipated frozen tundra face-off college hockey doubleheader at Lambeau Field this coming February.

The Wisconsin Badgers women's hockey team will take on the Ohio State Buckeyes at 2 p.m.

on Saturday, February 20.

Later that day, it's the men's turn to face the Michigan Wolverines under the lights at 6 p.m.

This marks the first hockey event at Lambeau Field in more than two decades.

Wisconsin defeated Ohio State back in 2006 for the inaugural Frozen Tundra Hockey Classic.

And that's your state news update.

I'm Connie Feldman for Civic Media

News.

Mitchell sends a fly ball to right center field.

Tucker's going.

Another home run by David Hamilton in the ninth as the Brewers beat the Dodgers six to four completing a four game sweep winning the National League pennant Dodgers manager Dave Roberts after the loss.

Honestly they just outpitched us they out hit us they played defense better you know they didn't make any mistakes and they didn't walk many guys and you know whether it's Bowers, Contreras

We got the

Brewers manager Pat Murphy

right now.

They got a bunch of Hall of Famers.

We got a bunch of games.

That's Pat Murphy.

The World Series begins a week from tonight in Milwaukee with sports on Mike Clemens,

lingering showers, mostly cloudy and a little breezy this morning, becoming partly cloudy and not as windy by later this afternoon.

Our high today upper 40s to near 50.

Tonight, it is going to be frosty, mostly clear with a low dropping into the mid to upper 20s.

Tomorrow, mostly sunny with a high in the mid to upper

50s.