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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.
For WFHR and WIRI News, I'm Melissa K.
Before you head out to the woods, be sure you're checking your stand for safety.
Tree stands are the leading cause of hunting related injuries and deaths in the US.
Statistics show that about one in three hunters risk falling and facing serious injury.
This is higher for archery hunters at 28% and firearm hunters around 13% of falling or nearly falling.
You should inspect your equipment thoroughly before you plan to start hunting.
Use a lifeline every time you climb. You should wear a full body harness at all times.
Always follow the three point rule. Use a haul line for your gear and have a hunting plan that you share with someone you trust.
A busy food pantry in the bearboot area is being forced to find a new space.
Beyond blessed pantry executive director Shannon Howley tells us the lease isn't being renewed despite more families asking for help.
So prior to the last two weeks, I would have told you we were averaging between 675 households to 700 households.
And currently the last couple weeks we've been over 775 households.
The pantry has to relocate by January. Howley worries it will have to close during a typically busy holiday and winter season.
There's a blood drive on Tuesday in Wisconsin Rapids and another the following Monday.
The Community Blood Center will collect blood donations at the former East Junior High School on Tuesday, November 19th, from 10 to 3, and Monday, November 25th from 2 to 7pm.
You can schedule an appointment by calling 715-842-0761 or 800-280-4102. Appointments are appreciated, but walkins are also welcome.
You can find out more information at communityblood.org.
Average gas prices rose slightly last week, with a 1.7 cent bump. The average across the state is 283 today.
This is 14 cents lower than a month ago and over 19 cents lower than this time last year.
According to officials at gas buddy, the slight rise is to be expected after the significant drop in prices for several weeks.
Several states saw gas prices jump or cycle last week. They will likely see prices decline at the pumps this week.
The national average could potentially fall below $3 per gallon just before Thanksgiving.
Prices in central Wisconsin today range from $259 to $279 per gallon.
Chief Justice says courts face judge and attorney shortages. Joanne Croulott's reports.
Wisconsin's court system faces a case backlog and attorney shortage.
State Supreme Court Chief Justice Annette Ziegler raised both issues.
Turner stated the judiciary addressed this week. Ziegler said some counties have actually increased their backlog.
The felony backlog currently stands at about 12,000 cases, which is a slight increase from where the courts were this time last year.
Ziegler said a pool of reserve judges is helping address the backlog, but a shortage of attorneys contributes to that problem, particularly in rural counties.
In 2021 state bar report found seven counties with no attorneys. Ziegler said access to justice is seriously compromised.
When members of the public who are exercising their constitutional right to be represented by counsel with an attorney cannot obtain one.
Many municipalities are starting to enforce parking bans even before the snow starts flying. Make sure you know the parking laws in your area so you don't wake up to a ticket.
The Menominee tribe in Wisconsin has seen a decrease in overdose incidents. Lisa Hale reports.
There's good news out of the Menominee tribe who in 2022 declared a state of emergency due to the impacts of drug use and addiction.
So far this year the tribe has seen a nearly 70% decrease in overdose incidents.
Ben Moreington, the co-chair of the Menominee Indian tribe drug addiction intervention team, said the decrease is a result of providing education and resources to those struggling with addiction and substance abuse.
While the decrease is good news, there's more to do.
Many clinics and treatment centers have seen an increase in the number of patients seeking assistance for mental health and or addiction issues.
Officials say wanting to change is a very positive development, but some hurdles such as access to care and treatments, program funding, adequate provider staffing, law limitations and limited resources within jails and prisons still remain.
Starting next year, Wisconsin will place a tax on electric vehicle charging stations. Most businesses will have to register their charging stations and pay three cents per kilowatt hour delivered.
Everyday owners of EVs and charging stations at their homes are not subject to this tax or registration.
It mostly applies to ones at businesses, even ones where they're not used by the public. The new tax begins January 1st.
Meanwhile, Cryptrip has its first electric charging stations, a pair has been installed in West Salem, and soon there will be more scattered throughout the state.
The system will run off an app called Quick Charge. The stations will offer plugs for both major vehicle standards and can charge at 150 kilowatts.
The effort matches a push for expanded electric vehicle service in Wisconsin, which has seen fewer charging installations than other states.
The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources invites all Wisconsin libraries to participate in the checkout Wisconsin State Parks at your library program in 2025.
The partnership program is a collaborative effort between the DNR, the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction, and more than 150 libraries across the state to provide library card holders the opportunity to check out a daily pass to state parks, forests and recreation areas.
Libraries interested in participating in this program and community partners interested in supporting their local libraries participation should visit the checkout Wisconsin State Parks at your library webpage.
Check out Wisconsin State Parks at your library was launched in the fall of 2022 with 20 public libraries participating in the pilot program.
In 2024, 160 libraries with over 200 library locations provided daily Wisconsin State Park and Forest vehicle admission stickers for checkout to library patrons at no cost.
During the presidential campaign, Donald Trump accused the Biden administration of fraudulently reporting more job creation than actually happened, but it wasn't fraud and the same thing happened during the first Trump term.
Wisconsin watches Trisha Young explains.
Donald Trump claimed in Milwaukee that the Biden administration, quote, fraudulently claimed, unquote, to create over 800,000 jobs.
The government routinely revises job numbers as new data emerges. The Bureau of Labor Statistics estimated in August 2024 that 818,000 viewer jobs were added for the year ending in March 2024 than originally reported.
Another revision under Trump found 514,000 fewer jobs for the year ending in March 2019.
I'm Melissa K for WFHR and WIRI News.
Badgers fire a coach. Hi, I'm Mike Clemens with sports. After just two years, the Badgers fired offensive coordinator Phil Longo, Wisconsin losing at home to Oregon Saturday, 16 to three, had coach Luke fickle.
A lot of things that you can kind of point a finger at. Obviously, it's easiest to talk about the quarterback position, but I just think as a whole, there's just so many of those things that we just got to get better at in order to put ourselves in a position where it's not all on the shoulders of a quarterback.
NFL, the Packers with a dramatic 20 to 19 win over the Bears after Green Bay defensive lineman Carl Brooks blocked Chicago's attempt to kick the winning field goal.
I'm just realizing myself blocking kick. I just wanted to more just fired off the ball. Beyond this, I ain't seen anything. They ran the same formation and I just got penetration and just wanted to more got a hand up.
The NBA has fined the Bucks Doc Rivers $25,000 after complaining about a controversial call by the refs in their loss to Charlotte.
I thought the final play was the ref blowing a call. This is back to back games now.
That's the Bucks Doc Rivers with sports on Mike Clemens.
On your entertainment beat, I'm Peach Wabba. If you're looking for big, big savings and comfort this holiday season, you can buy Oprah's favorite cheats and PJs for up to 30% off.
Her favorite pajamas have been marked down from $230 to just $160 Buku Dolores. It isn't cheap, but who doesn't want to go to bed feeling like Oprah Winfrey?
HBO's wildly popular The Last of Us broke records for viewership on the streamer. Season two of the post-apocalyptic show will drop in spring of 2025 according to HBO Chairman Casey Blois.
The Last of Us is based on the popular video game of the same title. The show stars Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey, who will both return for the second season.
Ramsey tees that the second season will be even darker than the first, if you're a Pascal fan and can't wait until spring of 2025 to watch him on screen, check him out in Gladiator 2, which opens November 22nd.
The 2025 Oscars have made their choice for an MC and his name is Conan O'Brien.
The gangly, awkward but hilarious, O'Brien follows Jimmy Kimmel, who hosted the event the last two years and a total of four times.
The Academy calls O'Brien the perfect choice to lead their global celebration of film.
Oscars' ratings have slowly been building again after a dip about five years ago. O'Brien released this statement.
America demanded it, and now it's happening. Taco Bell's new cheesy chalupa supreme.
In other news, I'm hosting the Oscars.
Its official Hollywood is officially out of original ideas. The show Friday Nightlights is getting a revisit according to variety.
None of the original cast members are expected to return. The original show ran for five seasons from 2006 to 2011 on NBC.
Before that, it was a movie that came out in 2004. The 2020s will be known as the age of the reboot and sequels.
There's been lots of talk in the news lately about celebrity biopics. Some that make you go, really? Mariah Carey, however, has a great bio with many elements that would make an interesting drama.
She had a toxic marriage to a record producer, has the most popular modern Christmas song ever, is loaded with grit and resilience and seems to value privacy unlike some other pop icons.
Most importantly, when it comes to her career, she holds the record for the solo artist with the most number one hits on the Billboard Hot 100.
That's right folks, she's got more number one hits than Elvis. Director Lee Daniels hinted at the possible film on social media which would be based on the 2020 book about Carey titled The Meaning of Mariah Carey.
Staying in the world of biopics, Boys to Men is also working on a film about their 30 year career. The influential R&B group with hits like it's so hard to say goodbye to yesterday and end of the road are four time Grammy winners.
There is no release date at this time. For more showbiz fond tune in tonight light with me, Peach Waba, weeknights from 6 to 8 p.m. on the Civic Media Radio Network.
Becoming mostly cloudy this afternoon with rain developing later today and there could be some heavy rain with a half inch to an inch of rain possible late today, tonight into early tomorrow.
Our high today 53 will drop into the mid 40s tonight, rain ending windy tomorrow with a high in the upper 50s.
I'm meteorologist Sean Cable. Currently it's 28.
That's your WFHR and WIRI daily news roundup from Civic Media. Subscribe to this podcast on Spotify, Apple or wherever you find your podcasts.
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