This is your WCQM Daily News Roundup for 98Q Country 98.3 FM and Trail Mix 103.1 FM and 980 AM WPFB in Park Falls.
Now a look at Northwood's news, I'm Maddie Schaefer.
With the holidays just around the corner and Wisconsin's first death related to measles, state health officials say it is more important now than ever to protect yourself from the highly contagious disease.
Here's
Civic Media's Connie Feldman.
Ryan Westergaard is an infectious disease doctor with UW Health in Madison.
Westergaard says the baby who died was less than a year old.
It's the first measles-related fatality in our state in more than three decades.
Right now, the Health Department has 477 confirmed cases of measles across our state.
Westergaard says while that may not seem like a lot, considering the state's population, it's important to remember what it was like before we had a measles vaccine.
In the era before vaccines,
The percentage of people who get infected with measles was approximately 100%.
It's so effectively transmitted.
And when that happens, the number of severe cases and hospitalizations and death was not rare.
It was very common.
So a disease that can spread that quickly can't go from a small problem to a big problem very quickly.
Columbia, Green Lake, and Salk counties are the latest to report confirmed cases of measles.
The
Wisconsin State Climatology Office wants to hear from Northwest Wisconsin residents about how extreme weather has affected their communities.
The office is working with the Rural Partnerships Institute in Wisconsinet to hold meetings across the state.
One of those meetings is scheduled for Wednesday, December 9th at Northwood Technical College in Rice Lake from 4 to 6 p.m.
The meeting will focus on discussing the impacts of extreme weather, including flooding, drought, and severe winter storms.
Organizers say they especially want to hear
from farmers, tribal nations, emergency managers, local officials, and others who have experienced extreme weather firsthand.
The information gathered will be used to develop weather and climate resources and help communities better prepare for future weather events.
You can find more information on the Wisconsin State Climatology Office's website.
For Northwood's News, I'm Maddie Schaefer.
For Civic Media News, I'm Connie Thelman.
Shawnaw County is the latest to join the growing list of Wisconsin counties where measles is now confirmed.
The Shawnaw Menominee County Health Department confirmed a measles case there yesterday.
The Health Department is not releasing any further information.
Last week, the State Health Department announced the first death related to measles in more than three decades.
Just one day later, they named the first potential public exposure site at Marshfield Medical Center's Western Emergency Department.
They say a person infected with measles visited the location while they were contagious.
The most recent numbers from state health officials confirm 477 cases of measles across our state.
Updated numbers are expected later today.
Wisconsin drivers are getting a pleasant surprise at the pump for a change.
Gas prices dropped below 4 bucks a gallon for the first time since September.
Civic Media's Maddie Schaefer has more.
Gas prices are continuing to fall across Wisconsin, with the state once again seeing one of the largest weekly declines in the country.
According to GasBuddy, Wisconsin's average gasoline price dropped nearly 29 cents over the last week, the fourth largest decline nationwide.
The statewide average is now about $3.90 per gallon.
Patrick DeHaan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, says prices are falling as refineries finish seasonal maintenance and increase production while demand slows with
cooler weather," he says.
Increased oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz are also helping bring prices down, and the national average could remain below $4 in the coming weeks.
For Civic Media News,
I'm Maddie Schaefer.
Dahan also says where you buy your gas matters right now.
Busier stations that go through gas faster can replenish their supply at current market rates, but slower stations still need to sell their more expensive shipment without taking a loss.
For consumers, that just means it'll pay to shop around over the next few weeks.
WeE Energy's recent announcement of rate hikes is prompting significant local government action in southeastern Wisconsin.
The Milwaukee Common Council voted unanimously last week to approve up to $1.35 million in borrowing for a comprehensive feasibility study.
The study will evaluate the potential replacement of WE Energy's service within the city by creating municipal, city-owned public utility.
Meanwhile, Alliant Energy, which serves areas in the southern, eastern, and central part of our state, recently disclosed ongoing talks for seven potential new sites and three expansions to existing data centers.
Over the next six months, the utility anticipates securing contracts for an additional one gigawatt of data center power supply to accommodate the rapid
increase in AI and data center electricity demand, which is projected to raise peak system load by approximately 60% by 2031.
Alliant has expanded its four-year capital expenditure plan to $15.9 billion.
The U.S.
Department of Energy's Office of Energy Dominance Financing finalized a $5.1 billion loan package for Alliant Energy to support grid reliability and power generation expansion across Iowa and Wisconsin.
This federal package aims to lower electricity costs and deliver more than $1 billion in savings to regional consumers while funding natural gas-fired facilities, energy storage systems, and infrastructure upgrades.
The rapid expansion of data centers has drawn significant local pushback in communities all around the state.
Milwaukee recently joined places like Superior, Madison and Wisconsin Rapids in passing their own data center construction moratorium.
Many smaller communities have done the same thing at the local level.
Grassroots groups and political figures have advocated for rate payer protections and moratoriums to ensure that large corporate energy demands do not result in higher utility bills for local residents.
That's your state news update.
I'm Connie Feldman for Civic Media News.
A setback for the pack.
Hi, I'm Mike Clemens with Sports NFL.
The Green Bay Packers coming off that impressive win over New England, now dealing with the news that running back Josh Jacobs suffered a severe broken finger while carrying the ball Sunday.
Will it require surgery?
Head Coach Matt will floor.
He does.
It should happen sometime this week.
And then as far as how long he'll be out, I think that's too big.
Determined.
Estimates are a three-week recovery.
Meanwhile, backup Caleb Johnson could get more reps at running back.
What's he
been working on to improve?
Protection, past protection.
You know, me knowing my stuff.
And I feel like I've been doing that very, very well since I got here.
You know, I've been knowing it and, you know, just been applying myself every day to it and showing them that I can be reliable on every down.
I feel like to me, you know, that's my confidence right now.
So I feel like I can do it.
The Packers host the Viking Sunday.
NBA, the Bucks in New York tonight, taking on the defending champions, the Knicks, College Hoops,
The Badgers at the Cole Center.
They're playing the Fairfield Stags out of Fairfield, Connecticut with sports on Mike Clemens.
I'm meteorologist Brandon Bormans, another mild November day today with mostly sunny skies, high temps in the mid fifties.
Showers becoming likely tonight with mostly cloudy skies, lows in the mid thirties, a lingering shower Wednesday morning, otherwise partly sunny with highs in the mid forties.
That's your WCQM and WPFP Daily News Roundup from Civic Media.
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