This is your WFHR Daily News Roundup for locally grown radio 97.5 FM and 13.20 AM and
WISC country 105.5 FM WIRI in Wisconsin Rapids.
Civic media news.
I'm Terry Bell.
Here's what Wisconsin needs to know.
Many school districts across Wisconsin can expect more money from the state next year.
87% of districts will get increased aid, but 30% will get less.
The Milwaukee school district is getting an $81 million cut.
It's mostly because of past overpayments, while the district failed to properly report
financial data to the state.
A plea hearing is set for the 18th for the mother of missing three-year-old Elijah
Vu.
Katrina Bauer and her boyfriend, Jesse Wang, are facing child neglect charges unrelated
to Elijah's disappearance in February.
Bang is due back in court in September.
The Republican National Convention starts in less than two weeks.
Milwaukee is busy getting ready for 15,000 delegates and other guests.
Allison Prangie leads the host committee.
She spoke with WISN TV's up front.
We want to wow them.
I think a lot of people coming to this convention have never been maybe to Wisconsin, maybe
the Midwest.
They don't really know that much about our state.
But not everybody's busy.
The PAPS theater group tells the Recombobulation Area website that most of its venues have
no events booked for the RNC.
Governor Evers is turning up the pressure on state lawmakers to release $125 million for
PFAS pollution cleanup.
Lawmakers counter the governor vetoed their plan to spend that money.
Evers is making stops around the state saying something needs to be done about the harmful
chemicals turning up in Wisconsin's water supply.
Blue by electric bicycles in Minnesota are getting rebates from the state.
Lena Reynolds is with the environmental law and policy center.
She says e-bikes are a good alternative to gas powered vehicles for short trips around
town.
In places that have done e-bike rebate programs like this before, I know Denver.
Their average participant replaced 22 miles of car trips a week.
So that's a lot of gas that they're not burning.
The rebates are meant to make e-bikes more affordable for more people close to one and
a half million people will drive somewhere in Wisconsin for the 4th of July holiday.
The Department of Transportation predicts peak travel times late tomorrow and again late
Sunday.
Information about traffic, construction and crashes are on the 511 Wisconsin app or online.
I'm Terry Bell, Civic Media News.
Now here's what you need to know closer to home.
For WFHR and WIRI News, I'm Alyssa K.
Six people died in a house fire in Nasida on Sunday.
When officials arrived at 2.30 a.m. on June 30th, the house was fully engulfed in flames
and several people were in the driveway.
Three adults and three children were unaccounted for.
Fire departments battled the fire for approximately three hours and stayed on the scene for more
than 12 hours.
Wells President Mark Schrader identified the six people as members of the church who
had been vacationing near Wisconsin Dells.
They are Pastor Steve Wittie, Lydia Wittie, Karris Kiel, Stella Kiel, Lena Henslin and
Mercy Henslin.
The Juno County Sheriff's Office believes the fire to be accidental, however the investigation
is ongoing.
Portage County Executive John Pawelski continues to be on temporary medical leave of absence.
The county is still asking that people do not contact him during this time.
A Portage County inmate is on the run.
28-year-old Matthew J. Gershamski was granted a three-hour furlough on June 28th.
He was released from jail at approximately 10.30 a.m. on Friday for a specific purpose
in location.
Gershamski was supposed to report back to the jail around 1.30.
He was last seen heading north on Strong's Avenue in Stevens Point.
Gershamski is a white male, six-foot-one and weighs 200 pounds.
Matthew is brown hair and hazel eyes.
If you have any information on Gershamski's whereabouts, please contact the Portage County
Sheriff's Office at 715-346-1400.
You can mark your calendars for blood drives in Wisconsin Rapids.
The first is this Friday at VFW Post 2534 from 9-2.
Later this month, you can donate at the former East Junior High School, Tuesday, July 16th
or Monday, July 22nd.
We're approaching the one-year anniversary of a missing woman from Juno County.
Leah Stewart went missing on July 4th, 2023.
Her family is still searching for her.
There's a $2,000 reward offered for information leading to the direct recovery of the body
of Leah Stewart.
You can find out information about Mid-State's Directed Mission Program later this month,
parents, guardians and supporters of class 2025 students, as well as the graduating seniors,
are invited to Mid-State Technical Colleges' Parent Information Sessions to learn about
the Directed Mission Program.
After the program high school seniors are automatically accepted to Mid-State if they
graduate within the district, they don't even need to apply.
The next session is Monday, July 15th, from 5-6 on the Wisconsin Rapids campus, or you
can attend virtually.
There are future sessions on September 25th and October 15th.
You can find out more at mstc.edu.
Setting off fireworks can cause serious eye injuries.
Just last year, doctors say that 19% of firework injuries were to the eye.
In the most severe cases, fireworks can rupture the globe of the eye and cause chemical and
thermal burns.
Doctors say all these injuries can cause permanent eye damage and vision loss.
If you're setting off fireworks, it's best to wear safety goggles.
Even if you're not setting off your own fireworks, there are many professional displays happening
this week.
If you have pets, this can be a stressful time for them.
It's important to keep them secured inside the home, but also make sure their IDs and
microchips are updated just in case.
You can set up a safe place for them to hide and use ambient noise to mask the sounds.
It's good to keep them busy.
You could give them a special toy for distraction.
You could also skip the celebration and stay home with them for their comfort.
And that's what you need to know.
I'm Alyssa K, WFHR and WIRI News.
The Brewers bow to the Rockies.
Hi, I'm Mike Clemens with sports.
The Colorado Rockies have the worst record in the National League, but last night they
beat the Brewers 8-7 in 10 innings.
He's got weird in the 5th.
Game tied 3-3, Joey Ortiz lays down a bun and is safe at first, but called out for
running outside the base path on Valley Sports, Wisconsin.
Bunt attempt by Ortiz, tough play, Gombard.
Mistom, they're going to say that Joey Ortiz is out of the running lane and he's going
to be out and now Pat Murphy is going to come and argue this play.
Pat Murphy on getting ejected, even though the replay showed it was a bad call at first.
The first base on par said that he went more than 3 feet away from the player.
After a tough loss to the Rockies, what's next?
Joey Ortiz.
Go in some polygons, that's Brewers 3rd baseman Joey Ortiz with sports on Mike Clemens.
On your entertainment beat, I'm Pete Schwabba.
There is finally life in the summer box office with some consistency.
Theater owners were happy for the 4th week in a row thanks to Inside Out 2, which kept
the top spot for a 3rd straight week and the performance of Quiet Place Day 1.
Inside Out 2 brought in 57 million at the domestic box office this past weekend, followed
by Day 1, which pulled in 53 million, which was more than expected.
Kevin Costner's Horizon, American saga chapter 1, was a bit of a disappointment when it came
to both reviews and box office take, pulling in just 11 million.
Bad boys ride or die, hung tough with 10 million this past weekend.
The film that will not seem to drop out of the top 10 is the Kingdom of the Planet of
the Apes, which took in almost 2 million and its 8th week of release grossing a total
of 168 million dollars at the domestic box office.
Inside Out 2 is the fastest nominated film ever to reach 1 billion in ticket sales.
Will Inside Out 2 be number 1 for a 4th straight week?
Very possible, but we shall see.
Kevin Costner says he is aware he only makes movies for men.
Costner told the happy sad confused podcast that making movies for men is what he does.
He admitted that men love to watch him in cowboy hats and he loves to be watched while
wearing cowboy hats.
Costner also said men are more dismissive of mediocre reviews as long as the men they
are watching are wearing cowboy hats.
I took liberties with a lot of that except the part of him acknowledging he likes to make
movies for men.
Here's a peak pick you might want to take advantage of for some midweek movie watching
fun.
Check out Aquia Place Day 1.
The film has no huge stars but is really well directed and paced.
The scares and feels are first rate and the best part?
Making it with a crowd where no one is making a peep because they feel like they are actually
in the movie and will be attacked by aliens if they do.
This is the third installment of the Aquia Place franchise and third film in a row that
has reviewed very well.
It doesn't disappoint.
As predicted, Inside Out 2 became the fastest animated film ever to reach 1 billion dollars
in global sales.
The film is a hit with parents and kids alike.
It's been number 1 at the box office for 3 weeks in a row.
If it keeps up this pace, it will pass the Incredibles 2 as the highest grossing animated
film ever.
Inside Out 2 is the 11th animated film to cross the 1 billion dollar mark.
Eight of them have been from Disney Pixar.
Chaa-ching.
Michael J. Fox continues to be an inspiration despite dealing with Parkinson's disease.
The former family ties in back to the future star joined Coldplay to jam on stage at the
Glastonbury Festival.
If that weren't cool enough, Coldplay frontman Chris Martin introduced Fox as the guy who
punched a biff.
In fact, the future was one of his inspirations in becoming a musician.
Michael J. Fox has been battling Parkinson's disease since his diagnosis in 1991.
For more showbiz fun, tune in to Nightlight with me, Peach Wabba, weeknights from 7 to 9
p.m. on the Civic Media radio network.
Rain and thunderstorms are likely today and tonight and there could be some locally
heavy rain amounts of a half inch to an inch or more possible by the time it all winds
down late tonight.
Otherwise, it'll be Cloudy 73 windy today tonight, 65 tomorrow sunny and warmer with a high
near 83.
I'm meteorologist Sean Cable, currently it is 60.