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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.
There's a winter weather advisory that starts at 4pm today and continues through 6am on Saturday.
Three to seven inches of snow are expected and snow may become heavy at times.
This winter weather advisory covers marathon, portage, wood and other surrounding counties.
You can plan on snow covered and slippery road conditions. The heavy snow will cause reduced visibility at times.
Visibility may fall to one half mile or less. These hazardous conditions could impact your drive home Friday night.
An alarming number of heart attacks are linked to shoveling snow and the risks increase with age.
Meteorologist Brittany Merlot explains heart attack snow.
With the combination of cold temperatures and sudden physical exertion, the problem is created.
The cold temperatures constrict blood vessels, making it harder for the blood to flow efficiently.
So when you pair this with a physical strain of lifting heavy snow, this increases blood pressure and heart rate, forcing the heart to work much harder.
And for someone with underlying heart disease or risk factors like high blood pressure, diabetes or obesity, this sudden exertion can trigger a heart attack.
So people should pace themselves and take regular breaks probably every 10 to 15 minutes.
And using a smaller shovel will help to limit the weight of each load.
And if you can, push the snow rather than lifting and tossing it, that will help reduce strain on the heart.
Several Clark County snowmobile trails opened at 8 a.m. on Friday.
You can expect poor early season riding conditions. You should use extreme caution when riding as there are areas with icy patches, thin base and very rough agricultural fields.
You must yield to all trail groomers. Remember that riding on closed trails is trespassing.
ATV-UTV use is not permitted at this time.
Crafts store Joanne Fabrics is closing 500 stores across the country, including 16 here in Wisconsin.
The Stevens Point location as well as the Marshfield store will be closing in a couple of months.
The company had sought Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection last year, but now will be making the move to close underperforming stores.
Only 300 locations will remain open nationwide.
Liquidation can take anywhere from 2 to 3 months, but they will still take credit card payments until closer to the store actually closing.
We may not like the cold very much, but our cranberry sure do.
Brittany Merlot has more information on how the cold is good for our cranberry farmers and necessary to keep cranberry beds healthy.
Wisconsin is the number one cranberry producer growing over 400,000 tons of crop every year.
Once the harvest is over, they start flooding the cranberry beds with water and freezing them.
And when the bed's freeze, it gives the crop a protective layer of ice, which is crucial for it to survive.
And when it's finally all ice, it's time to sand the beds.
This protects the vines, stimulates root growth and renewal.
And if the cranberry vines don't get enough water, they may die and cause issues for the farmers.
This can also impact you, especially if you love to eat or use cranberries.
So sometimes we have to weather the cold for a good reason.
Cranberry season starts mid-September.
Two Lincoln high school students will have their artwork on display at the Milwaukee Art Museum.
Ella Pander and Angel Holmes received the Scholastic Art Silver Key Award.
Their work titled Green and Glowing Burst of Curiosity will be displayed at the Milwaukee Art Museum through early March.
You can see pictures of these award-winning artwork pieces on the Wisconsin Rapids Public School Facebook page.
Scammers don't seem to take a day off and elders are often a target.
The Grandparent scam has been making the rounds again in our area.
The caller claims to be a loved one asking for bond money because they've been in a car accident.
They'll try to explain why they don't sound like your loved one by saying they were injured in the crash or they're suffering from a cold.
If you receive a call like this, do not give them any personal information and contact the police.
Another scam to watch out for.
If you like to visit HoChunk Gaming in Wisconsin Dells, be warned they do not have a mobile app.
If you see an app that says HoChunk Gaming Casino official online, it is a scam.
A former Capitol Police Officer speaks in Green Bay about January 6th.
Lisa Hale has more.
Harry Dunn, author, activist and former U.S. Capitol Police Officer, has called out legislators, candidates and leaders who do not condemn the over 1,500 pardons issued for the January 6th insurrectionists by President Donald Trump.
Listen, anytime I get the opportunity to push back against individuals that are downplaying, whitewashing, diminishing, flat out lying or trying to erase what happened that day.
So me and my co-workers went through that failed to condemn these pardons.
That should be easy. That should be easy. It's not left or right. It's right or wrong.
Dunn was in Green Bay last week, encouraging people to get involved with democracy locally.
There's a Red Cross blood drive at McMillim Memorial Library next week, Thursday, February 20th, from 10 to 3.
You can register at redcrossblood.org or by calling 1-800-Red Cross.
A proposal to expand Medicaid coverage for postpartum mothers is once again being considered in the Wisconsin State Senate. Here is Savannah Tome Olson.
The bill would give low-income moms a full year of postpartum Medicaid coverage on badger care, as opposed to the 60 days currently allowed.
There are only two states in the nation where Medicaid has not been expanded to moms for a full year. That's Wisconsin and Arkansas.
State Senators heard testimony on the issues from medical providers this week. The proposal has wide bipartisan support in the legislature, but Assembly Speaker Robin Voss opposes the bill.
Because of that, he has not put it up for a vote in the Assembly, and even with that bipartisan support with no vote, it can't pass.
Intribute to Bob Euker, the Milwaukee Brewers, have introduced a special patch for the upcoming season. Stuart J. Wattles has more.
It's adorned with Euker's signature on a golden Navy plaid design. It'll be worn by the team during spring training and throughout the regular season.
It'll first appear February 22nd during the team's preseason game against the Reds and Phoenix.
Powers bluff tubing hill will be opened this weekend from 10 to 4 both Saturday and Sunday.
Sessions are 10am to 1pm or 1 to 4pm. Tickets are $13 per session or $22 for the day. Tubes are provided.
If you don't want to tube, maybe you want to volunteer. The Arpan Lions Club is looking for volunteers to help run the concession stand. The job includes free food and soda.
Snowmobile trails will open in Portage County on Saturday morning. Zone 1 of the Portage County Snowmobile Trail System will open at 8am on February 15th. All other zones are closed.
Zone 1 trails are thin and in fair to good condition, but watch for hazards.
I'm Alyssa K for WFHR and WIRI News.
On your entertainment beat, I'm Pete Schwabba. Forever Bros. Travis Kelsey and Patrick Mahomes are coming under fire from Kansas City Chiefs fans for having a double date with their best girls, Taylor Swift and Brady Mahomes, fairly certain it was in that order, just 24 hours before the Super Bowl.
What? Word in the street is that Taylor Swift ordered a huge Kobe burger and French fries and according to Chiefs fans on social media, that could be exactly why the Chiefs laid an egg in front of a worldwide audience while trying to three-peat.
No idea what Kelsey and Mahomes had to eat, but after seeing the way they played during the big game, I'm guessing it had lots of trip to fan.
I rate Chiefs fans, most of whom I'm guessing probably never played in a Super Bowl, disapproved of the double date insinuating that said date and hanging with girls so close to the big game was obviously the reason the Chiefs lost.
If only, Kansas City Sports Fans provided the two football players with this information beforehand. It just seems like a no-brainer to me.
You can't eat two days before the big game. There's nothing funnier than irrational sports fans.
Lord of the Rings, rings of power fans have been on pins and needles since October 3rd.
That's when season 2 ended, and with multiple cliffhangers.
Rest easy ringlets because the news you've been waiting for has arrived.
Variety reports that Amazon MGM Studios has given the green light for a season 3.
The show will shoot in London and is currently in pre-production.
When season 3 drops, it will be on prime.
Here's a quick best picture nominees rundown.
Sean Baker's Anora is about a young exotic dancer who marries the son of a Russian billionaire after a week-long courtship.
Things are going swimmingly until Anora's new husband finds out his rich parents are not happy with the marriage.
Some mobgoons show up and hold Anora hostage while her new husband shows a serious lack of bravery and runs away.
The film has a few funny moments, but too much of it is spent with Anora being kept hostage until the marriage can be annulled.
I might have enjoyed it more if it didn't come with best picture expectations. Go see for yourself though.
Everybody has their favorite Saturday Night Live sketches from the past 50 years.
If you're older, you might think Lanshark, the Basimatic, or Bill Murray's Lounge singer might be at the top of the list.
But that's not the case.
A new list from therap.com lists the 10 funniest Saturday Night Live sketches and the oldest one is from 29 years ago.
It's important to note the rap's list only uses sketches from Saturday Night Live's YouTube page.
Football fans hate the Kardashians.
Those are the words of Kardashian leader Kim, who was referring to Tom Brady's roast last year at which she was mercilessly booed.
The booze were so thunderous, Netflix edited most of them out.
Kardashian still claims she had nothing to do with that.
On an episode of the Kardashians earlier this week, the former Mrs. Kanye West said she would never do a roast again,
because they are not good for the soul, adding that she never imagined that she would get booed.
She obviously never watches her own TV show.
For more showbiz fun, tune in to Night Light with me, Peach Wabba, weeknights from 6-8pm on the Civic Media Radio Network.
We have more snow on the way late to day tonight through much of Saturday.
We could get four to seven inches by the time everything winds down late Saturday into Saturday night.
Today, snow in the afternoon up to 23, snow tonight 18-29 tomorrow with much colder temperatures for most of next week.
I'm meteorologist Sean Cable. The temperature now is zero!
That's your WFHR and WIRI Daily News Roundup from Civic Media.
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