This is your WFHR Daily News Roundup, for locally grown radio 97.5 FM and 1320 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.
The former warden at the Wapun State Prison is waving his preliminary hearing.
Kendall Hepp's lawyer is also withdrawing a motion to have a felony charge of misconduct
dismissed.
Eight other former prison employees also face charges for allegedly mistreating inmates.
People are speaking out about long-running problems at Wisconsin State Prison.
Cindy Sherwin is a former prison guard who was let go after 27 years.
She says it was retaliation for whistle blowing.
As soon as Act 10 went into place, the supervisors and administration from my experience became
their own higher powers.
The assembly's corrections committee held a hearing yesterday after several guards were
charged in the recent deaths of two inmates.
Rebecca Abarth's husband is doing time at the Stanley Prison.
There isn't capital punishment in Wisconsin, and people are dying.
Former staffers describe sexual harassment and retaliation by supervisors, and former inmates
talked about being denied food in medicine.
Studies which lost their two-year university Wisconsin branch campuses could now get
up to $2 million in grants.
The legislature's joint finance committee released the money yesterday.
Six two-year campuses are closed or planned to close soon.
Leaders blame lower enrollment and budget cuts.
Expanded Amtrak service in Wisconsin is a hit with passengers.
More than 18,500 people rode the Borealis trains between St. Paul and Chicago during its
first month of running.
It's about 300 passengers each trip.
Marriage equality is making gay people happier and healthier.
That's according to a new study from UCLA.
Abby Goldberg is a psychology professor who says same-sex relationships are stronger and
more secure.
They have access to health insurance.
They are physically and mentally healthier.
They're able to share the challenges and work of raising children.
The same study finds 80% of same-sex couples are concerned politicians and courts could
take their rights away.
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 Melissa K.
Lincoln High School has a new principal.
Dr. Rod Watson comes from a background of public school experience, professional development
and military training.
He comes to LHS after three years as principal of Pitzville High School.
Dr. Watson has a master's degree in teaching and leadership and a doctorate in curriculum
and instruction.
He's currently serving with the National Guard as an intelligence officer in Madison.
Former LHS principal Ronald Rasmussen accepted the position of superintendent of the WRPS
school district after former superintendent Craig Warren accepted the same position in
St. Croix Falls.
Newsy's junior opens at the Wisconsin Rapids Community Theatre this Thursday.
They have shows at 7 on Thursday and Friday, Saturday shows at 2.
The Pitzville Area Community Theatre's production of the Tin Woman opens on Friday and runs
for two weekends at the Margaret Worshawgransky Fine Arts Center.
A low-boy trailer was stolen from the Pitzville area over the 4th of July holiday, and the
Wood County Sheriff's Office is asking for your help.
The owner describes it as being very beat up with a worn-out license plate, a winch on
the front, rotted side rails, and one of the front stabilizing legs was broken off
when it was stolen.
If you see this trailer, please contact the Sheriff's Department at 715-421-8701.
People in Wisconsin Rapids can see the longest-running water ski show tournament next week.
The 58th annual Wisconsin State Water Ski Show Championships are July 18th to the 21st at
Red Sands Beach on Lake Waziccia.
The four-day-long family-friendly event will feature 23 of Wisconsin's premier water
ski show teams and 72 individual competitors, all aiming for the coveted state title and
a shot at the National Water Ski Show Championships.
Older adults and people with disabilities have the opportunity to give DHS feedback on
their IRIS program.
The Wisconsin Department of Health Services wants to hear your thoughts on how to make
the include, respect, and self-direct program the best it can be.
You can complete the survey at dhs.wisconsin.gov or attend two online public comment sessions
on July 30th and 31st.
Taste and Glow is just a few days away in Waziccia.
This year they have a new attraction.
For the first time ever, they will have a professional drone show as well as new food vendors
and new balloons.
They'll only have 17 hotter balloons on display for the festival, but they're all going
to be brand new and from out of state.
Taste and Glow will run from Friday to Saturday, gates open at 11 on Friday morning, on Saturday
the gates open at 6.30 a.m.
The state is seeing a spike in ruffled ground strumming.
Brittany Merlot has the story.
Wisconsin DNR released a roadside survey saying that the spring showed a 57% increase compared
to last year.
They say the most influential factor is that the late spring and summer of 2023 were abnormally
dry, which resulted in prime nesting conditions for the roughed grouse.
The DNR said that we are also likely entering the up phase of our 10 year population cycle,
which peak sometime in 2029 to 2031.
The city of Marshfield will be working on their crosswalks on South Central Avenue next
week.
The project runs from 3rd Street to 17th Street.
Traffic will be reduced to one lane heading north.
Traffic heading south will not be affected by the project.
Pedestrians using South Central Crosswalks should avoid intersections at 3rd, 4th, 9th,
11th, and 17th Streets.
And that's what you need to know.
I'm Alyssa K, WFHR and WIRI News.
The Brewers get clovered at home high.
I'm Mike Clemens with sports.
It was one of the worst losses of the year.
The pirates beat the Brewers 12-2 Pittsburgh with five home runs in the game, including
a grand slam by the pirate's catcher, Joey Bart, in front of over 26,000 fans at American
Family Field, manager Pat Murphy, after the debacle.
The two teams playing again tonight, closer Devon Williams, making progress, throwing
to live batters during warm-ups, he's coming back from stress fractures in his back.
NBA, the Bucks-evetted former Detroit Pistons guard, Stanley Uwude, 6'6", appeared in
28 games for Detroit, racing Brad Mueller, named the winner at the slinger nationals early
this morning, after Andrew Morrissey disqualified because his car did not beat standard measurements
with sports.
I'm Mike Clemens.
On your entertainment beat, I'm Pete Schwabba.
Have you had explosive diarrhea when staying in a celebrity's house?
If so, you are not alone.
Apparently, Ozempik is causing tubby-rich people to **** themselves.
The most recent incident took place at Gwyneth Paltrow's house, where according to Paltrow,
her friend and socialite Derek Blasberg had two rooms worth of diarrhea.
Blasberg apparently ****ed the bed and the bathroom.
Then instead of fessing up, ran like a thief in the night and got himself the HE double
hockey sticks out of town without facing the consequences for his paint job.
At least his friend Gwyneth had his back and only told a handful of really famous people,
like Oprah, Larry David, and Jerry and Jessica Seinfeld, that Blasberg blamed it on Ozempik,
but that it was really just a good old fashioned blowout.
I will say it can be very intimidating being in a celebrity's house and can really loosen
things up down there.
Poor guy, that is something one never lives down.
I'm told.
The important thing to remember is if you crash at a famous person's crib, always have
a change of clothes, a litter box, or depends.
Miranda Priestly is headed back to the big screen.
Disney is developing a devil-were's proudest sequel according to Variety.
Meryl Streep played Priestly, a boss who made the lives of her assistants played by Anne
Hathaway and Emily Blunt, a living hell.
Details about returning cast are scarce, but sources say the plot of the new film will
center around Priestly, butting heads with Blunt's character, who is now a high-powered
fashion executive herself.
The news breaks just as a live musical of the story is set to open on London's West End
in October.
Leonardo DiCaprio came to the rescue of a fellow Hampton's partier.
The Oscar-winning actor saw a drunk person leaving a party and came to the aid of the
inebriated man.
According to a fellow party-goer, DiCaprio helped the man steady himself on a pole and
told the man to stay there.
Page Six reports that the drunk guy obeyed the orders of the famous actor.
There's no word yet if the man is still clinging to the pole, or if he was Justin Timberlake.
John Cena has announced he is retiring from professional wrestling.
Cena, a 16-time WWE champion, first made a name for himself in the early 2000s as rapper,
the doctor of thuganomics, and recently appeared naked behind a suspiciously small piece
of cardboard at the Oscars.
The Ricky Stenicke star says he will focus more on acting, but will give wrestling fans
a farewell tour and that he's just physically at the end.
Cena, even cooler, is that he will host Discovery's Shark Week 2024.
Willie Nelson received a warm welcome on July 4 in Camden, New Jersey.
His first appearance after a health scare, according to the New York Post, the 91-year-old
music legend took the stage at his annual 4th of July picnic event after having had to
take a musical knee for a couple of weeks due to doctors orders.
Nelson performed two shows in Wisconsin in mid-May in Madison in Milwaukee.
He is back with the Outlaw Music Festival tour, performing with Bob Dylan, Robert Plant,
and Alison Krause.
For more showbiz fun, tune in to Nightlight with me, Peach Waba, weeknights from 7 to 9
p.m. on the Civic Media radio network.
We have a slight chance of isolated thunderstorms this afternoon, otherwise mostly sunny today
high of 83 this afternoon, tonight clear with some patchy fog low of 60 tomorrow sunshine
84.
We're going to keep cranking it up toward the weekend with upper 80s to low 90s by Saturday
and Sunday.
I'm meteorologist Sean Cable, currently at 71.