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.
COVID-19 activity is running high in parts of Wisconsin that's based on wastewater data,
hospital admissions and lab testing.
State epidemiologist Tom Halt says late summer COVID spikes are now the norm.
That could be due to the fact that people's immunity is starting to win from last fall's
vaccinations or other men infected before.
The new booster shot is rolling out at Halt says it should be effective against the current
strains going around.
It inmate at the state prison in Green Bay is dead.
Corrections officials say it appears his cellmate killed him Tuesday.
It's the latest in a string of inmate deaths of Wisconsin's oldest maximum security prisons
since last year.
The presidential campaign returns to battleground Wisconsin.
Last night in to peer, Republican running mate JD Van spoke against the high cost of
living.
Wages have failed to keep pace with the price of groceries, the price of housing.
So you've got people working harder and harder feeling like they can't get ahead to
peer democratic assembly candidate Christy Welch blames businesses for keeping costs high
after the pandemic.
You know, that is referred to as greed flation.
She's running against Republican Benjamin Franklin Donald Trump campaigns in lacrosse tonight
civic media has special coverage starting at six Wisconsin state tax collections for the
fiscal year that just ended rose by more than 1%.
That's $275 million additional dollars for the state officials weren't necessarily expecting.
There's no word on why tax collections were higher than projected.
The Department of Revenue is working on final numbers that will come out in October.
Governor Evers changes to school spending in the state budget will stand.
Dane County Judge Steve Adelky ruled this week the changes Evers made are allowed under
state law.
Evers used his partial veto to transform spending on school literacy into a general spending
increase for the Department of Public Instruction.
He also cut grants for school vouchers and private schools.
I'm Terry Bell, civic media news.
Evers let you need to know closer to home.
For WFHR and WIRI news, I'm Brittany Marlowe, a fire caused $25,000 in damage to Wisconsin
Rapids cold storage facility earlier this week.
The Wisconsin Rapids Fire Department responded just after 5 p.m. on Monday to 21st Avenue
where the WR cold storage building had an active water flow alarm sounding from a sprinkler
activation.
No one was in the building at the time that the crews arrived, but they found heavy smoke
and evidence of an active fire that was extinguished by the onsite fire suppression
system.
It was reported that someone had been welding in that area earlier in the day.
The fire department is still investigating the cause of the fire, which is believed
to be accidental.
And construction is paused across the state to ease travel over Labor Day weekend.
However, drivers are told to remain cautious and expect slower traffic in work zones and
along major travel corridors.
Peak travel times are expected between 1 p.m. and 730 today, and 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. tomorrow.
Travel over Labor Day weekend is expected to be busier than last year, while the cost
to travel is cheaper, gas prices are still a concern.
Right now, the state's average price today is $3.23, that's $0.30 cheaper than it was
this time last year.
Experts say that the best time to hit the road will be early in the mornings, as traffic
is expected to be crowded in the mid to late afternoon and early evening hours, particularly
today and tomorrow.
Drivers are also reminded to be courteous of emergency responders and roadside assistance
workers who may be on the road helping those in need.
And remember, don't drink and drive.
The drive sober or get pulled over campaign runs through the holiday.
And the Sarah-Mar Park pavilion in Stevens Point opened to the public yesterday.
The community is invited to the grand opening later in September, on Saturday the 21st.
The transformation of this property began in 2017 after it had sat vacant for 15 years.
Midside Elementary has hired a new principal.
Wisconsin Rapids Public Schools announced William Oswald has been hired and replaces Julie
Kolderick.
Oswald recently served six years as associate principal of Wisconsin Rapids Area Middle
School.
He has previous experience teaching at middle and elementary school levels.
He also served as a summer school principal for WRPS.
Oswald began his duties at Woodside this week.
He said he's looking forward to making connections with students and families.
In a horse in Clark County has tested positive for the West Nile virus.
Health department officials say the presence of a horse with West Nile confirms that there
are mosquitoes in the area infected with a virus.
And they can spread it to people or other animals.
These mosquitoes pick up the virus by feeding on infected birds.
And 80% of people do not get sick from the virus.
And those who do get sick usually experience mild symptoms like a fever, headache, muscle
ache, rash, and fatigue feelings.
Holiday weekend mishaps happen.
But as you cast off this Labor Day by boat, do it sober and always wear a life jacket.
There have been 13 boating deaths so far this season and nine of them were not wearing
life jackets.
The law requires one wearable and correctly sized life jacket to be readily available for
each person on board.
And leave the alcohol at the dock until you're done boating for the day.
Officials say alcohol affects people very differently on the water than dry ground.
The constant exposure to sun, waves, and wind all increase the speed at which alcohol
affects you.
And the special Olympics Wisconsin fall games return to the delves with more than 800
botchy flag football and softball athletes from across the state returning to the Woodside
Del sports complex on September 6th through the 8th.
Competitions begin Saturday at 9 a.m. and more than 100 volunteers are still needed for
multiple roles throughout the weekend and each will receive a free t-shirt.
And that's what you need to know.
I'm Brittany Merlot.
A big inning leads to a big win in Milwaukee.
Hi, I'm Jimmy Cusco with sports.
The breweries used a five run fifth inning to win five to three over the San Francisco
Giants Wednesday night.
Manager Pat Murphy said that they got some timely hitting in the middle of the game.
I like the fact that we got a big two out hit opposite field ground ball by Cheerio and
Perkins who had a great night.
And then Contreras put an exclamation point on it.
William Contreras hit a two run home run in the inning while Freddie Peralta struck out
eight in six innings of work as Milwaukee climbed to 20 games over 500.
The series finale is Thursday afternoon.
The Green Bay Packers cut their roster down to 53 this week, including making some big
decisions at Kicker and running back.
Head coach Matt LaFleur said it's disappointing to lose AJ Dylan for the season.
Yeah, it's really discouraging because we had a pretty clear vision for what he could
do.
And it wasn't just going to be as a runner.
I thought he was the versatility was what I was most excited about.
The Packers opened the season a week from tomorrow against the Eagles in Brazil.
And the Wisconsin Badgers kick off their football season tomorrow night against Western
Kentucky at 8 p.m.
For Civic Media Sports, I'm Jimmy Cusca.
On your entertainment beat, I'm Pete Schwabba.
It's official.
The Gallagher brothers Liam and Noel were fighting, but are out of money.
So they put together a tour plan in the UK for summer in 2025.
A press release from the Gallagher stated that there was no great revelatory moment that
has ignited the reunion, just the gradual realization that the time is right.
Translation, we need money.
They were able to make their riches last for 15 years, but now we'll end their family
feud and go for that sweet, sweet reunion, do ray me.
If you have trouble remembering all your streaming at passwords, you are not alone.
It even happens to celebrities.
Committee on Aubrey Plaza says she never watched season 2 of The White Lotus, of which
she was one of the stars because she couldn't remember her max password.
She hasn't seen too stressed out about it, even though she was nominated for an Emmy.
Plaza says she gets so frustrated with streaming platforms and trying to remember her passwords
that she prefers to just buy the series.
That is a rich people solution to a rich people problem.
It only makes sense that there would be no sequel to a movie called It Ends With Us.
But it's a strong possibility as stars Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni appear to be
feuding according to variety.
The insider mag claims that inside sources say there is no way to salvage the relationship
between the two actors.
Complicating things is the fact that Baldoni directed the film and Lively produced the film.
Baldoni owns the rights to both of Colleen Hoover's books, It Ends With Us, and it starts
with us.
Seems like the first one should be the sequel.
I might be the only person who likes the Kelsey brothers, but it's also had enough of
them.
Thanks to Amazon, they are not going anywhere and are about to become a lot richer.
According to Variety, Travis and Jason Kelsey just signed a $100 million deal with Amazon's
Wondry, which gives them exclusive rights to the brothers Kelsey's new Heights podcast
for the next three years.
Meaning all that money they make playing football and the Travis will make doing buddy
cop films is pretty much just walking around money.
Sometimes the network can't afford not to bring a show back, such as the case with Ted
Lasso on Apple TV.
That's right, Lasso fans.
The show that helped us all get through COVID might be coming back for another season.
Series co-creator Bill Lawrence said in a recent interview that several of the cast members
have agreed to return, but there is no word yet on whether or not Jason Sadekis will
come back as the title character.
Sadekis is one of the show's creators as well.
Deadline.com reports that they believe Sadekis is already in, which would only leave one
non-committal cast member, Juno Temple.
Stay tuned.
Disgraced actor, Army Hammer says he is selling his truck because he can no longer afford
the gas.
Former says he loves the truck he treated himself to in 2017 intensely.
In an awkward Instagram video, Hammer posted, it was hard to decipher if he was talking
to his truck or the audience at times as he described his love for his vehicle.
He added that his kids won't miss the truck, but they are adaptable.
I wonder if they've heard the cannibalism accusations.
For more showbiz fun, tune in to Nightlight with me, Peach Wamba.
Weeknights from 7 to 9 p.m. on the Civic Media Radio Network.
Mostly cloudy today was scattered showers and thunderstorms this afternoon, and tonight
some locally heavy rain possible, an inch or more in spots are high today, 81 after that
heading into a fantastic weekend, sunny, more comfortable.
We're talking highs in the low 70s by Sunday at Labor Day.
I'm meteorologist Sean Cable, current temp 62.
ISCountry.com