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This is your WFHR Daily News Roundup for locally grown radio 97.5 FM and 13.20 AM
WS Country 105.5 FM WIRI in Wisconsin Rapids.
For WFHR and WIRI News, I'm Brittany Merlot.
A 28-year-old was on man is dead after a car crash on December 30, where two cars collided near the intersection of state highway 52 and county road X and wasaw.
Elroy Hendrickson was transported to a local hospital with life threatening injuries.
The Marathon County Medical Examiner's office says that Mr. Hendrickson did die from his injuries.
And only one baby was born in wasaw on New Year's Day. Derek Tretz has the details.
Vincent Joseph Brugano entered the world on January 1, 2025 at 139 PM in the Aspirus wasaw hospital, hugging all the local spotlight for himself.
Last year, the hospital welcomed zero new babies on New Year's Day.
Well, it's tradition for many of us to learn about the first babies born into the world each year, having a birthday on New Year's Day is rare, and is the second least common birthday behind Christmas, according to data from the National Center for Health Statistics.
Brugano is not only one of the first to be born in the New Year, but is also among the first to join the new generation, Generation Beta.
Energy experts say that Wisconsin is expected to see over a $4 billion investment in clean energy projects over the coming years.
A number of long-term energy projects are planned in the Midwest that will either be completely or partially located in Wisconsin.
One of those projects includes the construction of long-range transmission lines for transporting clean energy.
Experts say the construction on the projects alone could support thousands of jobs and when completed, they could produce over six and a half gigawatts of clean energy.
And GasBuddy recently released its 2025 fuel price outlook, forecasting a third consecutive year of lower gas and diesel prices.
GasBuddy projects that the yearly national average for gas in 2025 will decline to $3.22 per gallon.
Today in Central Wisconsin, prices range from 279 to 285.
Eric Huffdy's defamation suit against several Wisconsin TV stations continues. Lisa Hale has the story.
Eric Huffdy, the Republican who ran for Senate against Tammy Baldwin, accused several TV stations of defamation for airing commercials by the Democratic Political Action Group, Wind Senate PAC.
Brown County Judge Donald Zweed Mulder heard arguments Thursday on a motion to dismiss the lawsuit.
He gave no ruling, but instead gave the attorneys more time to submit written arguments.
The suit names the parent companies of Channel 7, WSAW TV, Gray Media, Next Star, and Scripps Media.
It also named Sinclair Broadcasting. Zweed Mulder anticipates issuing a ruling in the coming weeks.
And the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has reported an increase in homelessness of nearly 4% in the state last year.
According to their data, over 5,000 people experienced homelessness at some point in 2024.
The report also found that over 200 unaccompanied kids experienced homelessness.
The unhoused population has grown across the country over recent years as people struggle with rising home prices, stagnant wages, and inflation.
And a 50-year-old Port Edwards Boxing Club is looking for a new home.
Ken Hilgers and his Boxing Club have used the Port Edwards YMCA for the past 13 years.
But because of the aging building, they've been forced to close down as of the beginning of the year.
Now when a search for a new space, Ken Hilgers has trained over 15,000 boxers, and he averages 30 new faces per year.
And the WSAW Fire Department is now offering an apprenticeship program to become a firefighter or a paramedic.
Making livable wages with full-time benefits, you'll get $10,000, an early engagement benefits, and $5,000 in tuition reimbursement for paramedic training.
It's a 12-month program to complete, but you do earn a certificate.
The application can be found at governmentjobs.com.
A Wisconsin-based restaurant chain is stepping up to support families.
They were affected by last month's tragic school shooting in Madison.
Jimmy Cusca has the story.
Dozens of Culver's restaurants in Wisconsin will be contributing a percentage of their sales today toward support for the abundant life Christian school community.
The nearly 70 confirmed Culver's restaurants taking part will have a make-your-meal matter sign displayed.
On December 16, three people, including the shooter, died, and six people were hurt in a shooting at the school in Madison.
A Culver spokesperson said they were deeply moved to see so many locations taking part in the fundraiser.
And family and friends of Ruby Vergara, the student killed in the shooting at Abundant Life Christian School, are raising money through a GoFundMe on behalf of Ruby's mother.
They say that the funds will 100% go towards the brother's future educational needs and endeavors.
And Wisconsin, unlike 20 other states in the union, has no way for voters to propose new laws or referenda on the ballot.
Governor Evers wants to change that. Lisa Hale has more.
Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers wants to give residents more say in creating laws.
Evers announced his intention to include a mandate in the new state budget that would require state legislators to consider a constitutional amendment allowing voters to petition for ballot proposals.
Residents would be able to petition to repeal existing state statutes or create new ones and would be able to place binding referenda on the ballot.
Governor Evers proposed a similar plan back in 2022 after the overturning of Roe v Wade temporarily triggered an abortion ban in the state.
And the Central Wisconsin Model Railroaders is having its 27th annual Arctic Run Model Railroad Show at the Holiday Inn Convention Center Hotel, off of Amber Avenue.
It's taking place this weekend.
Hours are Saturday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday 10 to 3.
Many layouts, swap sales tables and fenders will be there.
I'm Brittany Murlow for WFHR and WIRI News.
The Packers lose to the Bears.
I'm Mike Clemens with sports.
The Packers lost at home to the Bears 24 to 22.
It's the first time in six years.
Matt Loflore has ever lost a game to Chicago and he confessed calling a time out with 15 seconds left to play.
Probably helped the Bears get in position to kick a winning field goal.
And then at the end of the game, that's that's squarely on me.
Hindsight's 2020. I wish I wouldn't have taken the time out because it gave him obviously way too much time to go down and operate.
The win snapped the Bears 11 game losing streak to the Packers and helped rookie quarterback Kayla Williams get a win on his first trip to Lambo field.
I would say I think four times, five times a season and those situations didn't go our way.
Whether it was the Hell Mary or a bunch of other things.
Being able to do it this way versus Green Bay, two-minute drive, you know, couldn't ask for a better way.
Up next, the Packers face the Eagles in Philly on Sunday at 3.30 in the wildcard playoffs.
NBA, the boxer on the road tonight against the Toronto Raptors with sports on Mike Clemens.
The Harry Potter franchise was interested in having David Fincher direct.
When all was said and done, they said no thank you after hearing that the director of Seven and Gone Girl told Warner Brothers he wanted to make Harry Potter more creepy.
I am hoping the producer director does bring an element of creepiness to his upcoming project Chinatown.
A series he developed with Robert Town before the legendary director of the film Chinatown passed away last July.
A 4K re-release of Seven is currently in theaters.
We are all late to the party on certain bingeable shows.
For me, Letter Kenny is one that flew under the radar.
The show has a rabid cult following.
A hockey-based spin-off of the show called Shorze has just been renewed for a fifth season according to the Hollywood Reporter.
If you want to play catch-up on the show, you can check out the previous four seasons on Hulu as well as all seasons of Letter Kenny.
To some people, life is just downtime between superhero movies.
Ultra fans of Spider-Man are experiencing that downtime and probably trying to decipher rumors regarding their favorite web-spinning superhero.
Andrew Garfield addressed his potential involvement in Spider-Man 4, which is currently in the works.
Tom Holland is signed on to the project, but other than that little else is known.
Garfield disappointed his fans and put the kibosh on his potential appearance, telling GQ the only thing that might bring him back one day would be if he had five kids and needed to pay for tuition.
Two words for you, Andrew, Community College.
Jeremy Allen White is getting high praise for his portrayal of Bruce Springsteen by none other than Bruce Springsteen.
The bear actor plays the boss in the upcoming Bruce-based biopic, Deliver Me From Nowhere.
In a recent interview on Sirius XM, Springsteen said not only does he think White is a good actor, but praised his singing as well.
Deliver Me From Nowhere will be released sometime in 2025.
Mamma Mia, there is a new champ when it comes to stage musical adapted to the big screen.
Wicked has been a box office juggernaut since its release in November, and now it's just passed Mamma Mia as the number one musical stage adaptation, according to puberty.com.
The results of the poll apparently sent fans of Mamma Mia into a lather on social media.
The friendly competition and debate between the two films should continue as Mamma Mia has a third installment in the works, and the Cynthia Arrivo Ariana Grande led Wicked will see chapter two hit theaters next November.
If you don't like to watch horror films, there is the option to sidestep the blood and creep and just read the script.
Deadlines Read The Screenplay series has made the script for the recently released Nosferatu available at Deadline.com.
The screenplay was adapted by Robert Eggers, who was also the director.
Nosferatu stars Bill Scarsgard and has received rave reviews and is currently in theaters.
For more showbiz fun, tune in to Nightlight with me, Peach Waba, weeknights from 6-8pm on the Civic Media Radio Network.
Central Wisconsin weather, I'm Corey Hartman for today, mostly sunny, highs near 23, for tonight, mostly cloudy and alone near 8.
Partly sunny, highs near 20 on Tuesday.
For Tuesday night, mostly cloudy and lows in the single digits.
Midteens on Wednesday, mostly sunny Thursday, 22.
Right now, 12 degrees.
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