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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 Kaye.
The City of Wisconsin Rapids still does not have a contract with the Southwood County Humane Society.
SWCHS Board President Tim Kritz spoke at the Finance and Property Committee meeting on Tuesday.
He shared again how the contract has been refigured for municipalities that contract with the Humane Society.
The new contract is based on use, making it a fairer charge for services rendered.
Committee members discussed revisions they want to make to the contract.
These include requiring a photo ID and a copy of the driver's license for anyone picking up an animal from SWCHS.
This allows the municipalities to build their residents for shelter services.
The shelter will also track how many days the animals are kept at the shelter and include that in the reports they share with municipalities.
Tim addressed rumors that are being spread in the community regarding the renovations that are happening at the shelter and where that money is coming from.
The shelter has a new septic and they have updated the dog room.
Upgrades are continuing with news, safer office spaces.
They will have their own surgical center and are working to have a full-time vet on site.
They will include a community room in the new addition where the public can attend informational classes.
Tim said someone is spreading rumors that the shelter has hidden money and is gouging the city.
That is not true. The money for these upgrades are not part of the shelter operating budget.
The money came from the Legacy Foundation by a grant or was donated by people who willed it to the shelter for these upgrades.
SWCHS hopes to complete the new addition by spring and will be able to give tours to municipalities who contract with them.
A motion was made to pass the revised 2025 contract with the Southwood County Humane Society.
There was no second, so the motion died for lack of a second.
The contract may come back as a Finance and Property Committee meeting item next week and the Common Council meeting is on December 17th.
A 32-year-old woman from Marshfield sentenced to a year in a day in prison on a conviction of conspiracy to distribute cocaine and methamphetamine.
Shandell L. Moore was sentenced this week after pleading guilty to the charge on August 20th.
During a multi-year investigation on a methamphetamine and cocaine trafficking organization operating in Wasa, Moore was identified as a regional cocaine dealer in the Marshfield area.
Eight others were also charged in connection with this drug trafficking organization.
Tila Cumbaro was convicted and sentenced to 54 months in prison.
Four others have pleaded guilty and will be sentenced in the coming months. The cases for the remaining three are still pending.
Joint replacement has become a more common surgery to reduce pain and improve mobility. Some question if age is a limiting factor.
Joe Miller, DO, an orthopedic surgeon with a spirus health says there is no age too young or too old for joint replacement.
It's really more of what your life expectations are and needs in your level of disease.
Dr. Miller said having a new joint can be life-changing, reducing pain and allowing more freedom of movement could allow someone to retain their independence rather than needing constant assistance.
Deciding if somebody is appropriate for surgery has multiple different levels, level of pain. We use X-rays to determine your level of disease and severity.
But also your overall physical health and ability to go through a fairly large surgery safely.
He said one of the biggest concerns is a patient's ability to take care of themselves after surgery.
You may need a little bit of help in the first few days around your house just to prevent falls.
If you're considering the procedure to restore your quality of life by reducing pain and increasing mobility, you should start by talking with your health care provider.
The U.S. Supreme Court is currently deciding whether to take a Wisconsin case about school policies on gender. Savannah Tome Olsen reports.
The Eau Claire Area School District updated their policy to say that if a child wants to be addressed by a different name or pronoun, staff would respect that and would not notify parents without the child's consent.
Advocates for LGBTQIA youth say that can protect queer kids whose families may not understand them.
But a group of parents represented by the Conservative Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty sued the district.
They claim the policy usurps their rights as parents. Luke Berg representing the families who filed the lawsuit.
This can do harm to children in our view. That's why parents need to be involved.
Meanwhile, Haley Archer, attorney for the Wisconsin ACLU says it's not a black and white issue.
I believe one of the reasons that this question is debated is because it is complex. We're balancing the rights of parents.
Parents were balancing the rights of schools. We're balancing the rights of students and ultimately the safety of the student is, in my opinion, the most important of these rights.
The Wisconsin Office of Children's Mental Health reports nearly half of LGBTQIA youth in the state seriously consider suicide.
Nationally, according to the Trevor Project, those rates dropped significantly for trans and non binary young people who feel accepted at home.
Now, this lawsuit has been dismissed and Wisconsin courts twice. Judges have said while the parents are genuinely concerned, the policy hasn't impacted them or their kids.
So the suit has no standing. The parents have now asked the US Supreme Court to review their case, but the court only takes on less than a percent of requested cases.
For civic media news, I'm Savannah Tomay Olsen.
The Wood County jail will have their ribbon cutting on Tuesday, December 17. It will begin at 11 a.m. in the new Wood County boardroom on the third floor.
An open house and refreshments will follow. Don't be a victim of a holiday scam this season. Here's Lisa Hale with more.
The most common scams people become victims of during the holidays are fake charities gift card scams, holiday vacation scams and look alike online stores.
Grant Wheat, the vice president of risk management at Verva Credit Union said holidays are a risky time.
The reason this is so big during the holidays is that people are just happy to give, right? This is a great time. Everybody feels rejuvenated.
When it's in the holidays, everybody seems upbeat and you just want to get right. You want to help out scammers take advantage of that.
Wheat encourages consumers to slow down, talk to someone they trust and look for red flags such as spelling, grammar and odd eating.
They're not just a summer, an odd email addresses or contact methods before acting on anything that seems too good to be true.
World AIDS Day was earlier this week. People living with HIV still face lots of stigma adding to their burden. Savannah Tomay Olsen reports.
About 7400 Wisconsinites are HIV positive. The number of newly diagnosed people had a 10 year high in recent years.
Treatment has come a long, long way. According to data from the Wisconsin Department of Health Services, 94% of people got care services they need within three months of their diagnosis.
HIV and AIDS have been massively stigmatized since they were first discovered in the 80s, which harms the people who need help and support, according to Boston University Social Scientist Anthony Petro.
When you think about public health itself, it is the application of medicine to a public and that depends upon us knowing who the public is that we care about.
When they weren't getting support from the government, local activists helped advance the awareness movement.
There was no funding for treatment and prevention until researchers learned it was a virus. I'm Melissa K for WFHR and WIRI News.
The Bucks Winning Street comes to an end. Hi, I'm Mike Clemens with sports. The Bucks lost at home to the Hawks 119-104. At Snap the Bucks 7 Game Winning Street, the Hawks have now won five in a row.
Doc Rivers said after playing the pistons in Detroit the night before, the Bucks looked tired.
I thought we were deadlake at most of the game. You know, we didn't think well, which is a direct sign of fatigue.
Keep very well. Our passes were really late. I didn't think we passed the ball well at all tonight.
We had guys open and then we passed it. You know, it felt like that the entire night.
College volleyball, six players from the Badgers women's team named to the Big 10 All Conference team.
And for the second year in a row, the Badgers Sarah Franklin named Big 10 Player of the Year, NFL, the Green Bay Packers on Thursday night football.
Lucas Van Ness before boarding the team flight on what to expect from the lines and the Packers.
We know it's going to be a physical brand of football. I think over there in Detroit and here in Green Bay,
we're both two football teams that, you know, want to come out and play a physical brand of football and kind of just dominate you.
And we saw that in the first game and granted that was some crazy elements that we were dealing with.
So I think we're looking forward to getting a second opportunity improving ourselves.
As Packers defensive and Lucas Van Ness with sports on Mike Clemens.
I'm your entertainment beat. I'm Peach Wabba.
If you're looking for a new binge watch gem, it's always good to check award nominations.
In this case, the independent spirit awards for the best TV show noms include To Know and Surprise Showgun,
which cleaned up at the Emmys earlier this year.
The twisted and at times hard to watch baby reindeer, Atlantic Pictures and BET's DRA from Detroit and FX's The English Teacher.
The National Board of Review has selected Wicked as the best film of the year.
Wicked director John M. Chu was also named best director by the NBR.
And the organization gave a special award to Cynthia Arrivo and Ariana Grande for their creative collaboration.
Daniel Craig received the best actor award for his role in the film Queer and Nicole Kidman took home the best actress award for Baby Girl.
The National Board of Review will hold their celebratory event January 7th in New York City.
The other actor you like to watch, even if he or she is in a TV show or movie that isn't great,
that's how I feel about Coleman Domingo, who is the star of the show Madness.
Domingo plays an outspoken TV personality who rents an Airbnb in the secluded Pennsylvania woods to work on a book but stumbles upon a murder.
He ends up fighting for his life while trying to clear his name after being framed for the crime.
I can't give it rave reviews, but it's not a bad thriller, mostly because of the performance of Domingo.
Season 1 of the Madness is available to stream on Netflix.
Speaking of Domingo, his film Singsing is one of five nominees for Best Picture by the Independent Spirit Awards.
Other nominees include the Demi Moore horror film The Substance, Modern Day Cinderella Critics Darling Anora,
A24s I Saw the TV Glow, and Amazon MGM's Nickel Boys, which will be in theaters December 13th.
Many more nominations for many more award shows will be announced right around the corner folks.
If it's huge blockbusters or holiday films you're looking for in theaters this weekend,
you will have to see films that are already released.
But if you're not ready to throw yourself into the world of holiday films just yet, or in the mood for some offbeat quirky flicks,
this could be your weekend.
Comedy sci-fi Y2K rolls out Friday and takes us back to 1999 when the world was in a panic over what would happen
when the clock struck midnight on New Year's Eve.
The film follows two high schoolers who crash a New Year's Eve party and end up fighting for their lives.
If you're in the mood for a Lou Diamond Phillips movie, and who isn't,
check out the horror film Where Wolves, which also stars Frank Grillo, but has not yet been reviewed.
So beware.
If you're looking for a comedy horror, the film Night F*** opens this week and wide release as well.
The film stars Amy Adams, playing a mom who takes time off work to stay home with her kids,
but finds herself turning into a dog.
I did not misspeak.
Despite the offbeat storyline, the film is pulling a 63 on Rotten Tomatoes.
Let's go to the movies.
From our show, it's fun.
Tune in to Night Light, with me.
Pichwava.
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Still a little breezy this morning, but the wind will die down this afternoon.
Sunny and cold, but not windy.
We'll get into the upper teens to load 20s today.
Tonight partly cloudy, around 8 degrees for a load tomorrow.
Mostly cloudy, mid to upper 20s.
We'll be back in the 30s to 40s by the weekend.
I'm meteorologist Sean Cable.
Right now, it's 15!
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