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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. Wisconsin voters have already broken a record for this election before we even get to April 1st. Savannah Tome Olsen explains.
About half a million Wisconsinites have already cast their ballot for the spring election. Looking at the data, that's about double the number of people who voted absentee in the 2023 state Supreme Court race.
It's part of a growing trend that kicked off during the pandemic. More people are exercising their right to vote before Election Day. According to numbers from the Wisconsin Elections Commission about half the people who voted early voted absentee in person, the other half return their ballot directly to the clerk's office through the mail or via Dropbox.
We'll get the final count of absentee ballots for this election on Monday.
Early voting continues through this weekend, but not all municipalities offer absentee in-person voting on the weekends. You should check with your local clerk's office, but if you want to vote early, you must already be registered.
Early voting wraps up on Sunday. Election Day is Tuesday, April 1st. Poles are open from 7 AM to 8 PM.
A recent study by CloudWards found that Wisconsin students have one of the lowest levels of interest in using artificial intelligence cheating tools of any state in the country. According to the report, Wisconsin saw about 355 AI assistance searches in academic settings per 1 million people.
The highest was Washington, DC, which saw over four times more searches at nearly 1,800 per million. Experts say Wisconsin's school environments that promote critical thinking could be discouraging students from using the AI tools.
There's a blood drive in Wisconsin Rapids on Monday. You can donate with the Community Blood Center from 2 to 7 PM at the former East Junior High School on March 31st.
Wisconsin voters needn't be put off by President Donald Trump's latest executive order. Civic Media's Joanne Croulotte reports.
Trump's executive action requires providing proof of citizenship to register to vote in federal elections.
Jay Heck with Common Cause in Wisconsin said Wednesday that the April 1st election in Wisconsin for the Supreme Court for the Department of Public Instruction and many, many local races is a state election, not a federal election.
Heck said it's also unclear whether the order is constitutional and will withstand challenges in court. He said the intent appears to be to sow confusion ahead of Wisconsin State Supreme Court election in which Trump has endorsed conservative Waukeshaw County Judge.
Brad Shimmel Trump is also demanding that all ballots be received by election day. Ballots received later than that are not counted in Wisconsin.
Over 40 people gathered at Hotel Mead on Wednesday night this week and learned how to line dance. Wisconsin Country Style Dancers taught three or four different line dances during the 90 minute event on March 26.
Dancers ranged in age from 6 to mid 70s. The instructor cautioned kids younger than 10 might have a harder time keeping up, but everyone had a fun time.
The Riverside A ballroom at Hotel Mead was packed with people and the instructor moved around a lot so everyone could see the steps.
One attendee said the instructor broke the steps down and repeated them several times so it was good for all levels of dancers.
Wisconsin Country Style Dancers are based in Marshfield but travel all around Central Wisconsin to select locations once a month.
The next time they'll be in Wisconsin Rapids is Wednesday April 16. They'll be at the Hotel Mead from 7 to 8 30 p.m.
I'm Melissa K for WFHR and WIRI News.
The Brewers lose to the Yanks. Hi, I'm Mike Clemens with sports. The Brewers losing 4-2 on opening day at Yankee Stadium. A positive was Vinny Capra getting to start at third base and hitting a home run on his first at bat of the season.
I thought it was a pretty special moment. Yeah, I mean a witness will be trying for the first at bat to want to do such a plan and kind of end up working out.
Brewers pitcher Freddie Peralta on Capra shot that sailed over the left field wall.
It was impressive, you know, and the same time is a little weird because we can get a little used to see him doing it during spring training.
Hopefully that he keeps doing it in that way. I think that he has a lot of teams to prove new teams for him, for his career and for the team.
The crew loaded the bases top of the ninth but former brewer Devon Williams got out of the jam, retiring Jackson Turiel and Christian Yelich for the save.
The two teams have the night off. They'll play tomorrow at noon. NBA bucks basketball tonight. They host the Knicks in Milwaukee with sports on Mike Clemens.
On your entertainment beat, I'm Pete Schwabbo. If you're headed to the theater this weekend, here are some flicks that might be worth a look.
If you're in the mood for a horror comedy, check out Death of a Unicorn starring Paul Rudd and Jenna Ortega.
As a father, daughter duo headed to a party when they accidentally kill a unicorn.
The film is pulling an almost fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes at 57% and it's rated R.
Another horror film opening is The Woman in the Yard about an ominous-looking woman who mysteriously appears in a family's yard and gives dire warnings.
No reviews in yet, so proceed with caution.
Action fans might want to check out Jason Statham's new movie called A Working Man, where Statham's character is a mild-mannered construction worker with a special forces military background.
You might think you've heard this story before, but no. This is much different than his last film where he was a trained killer hiding his identity as a beekeeper.
In A Working Man, Statham goes after the human traffickers who have kidnapped his boss's daughter. Be careful out there, folks.
Pretty much everyone with a mild-mannered job is a trained killer.
Let's go to the movies.
Actor Bill Murray does not have many regrets over his 50-year career, but the Lost in Translation star appeared on The Howard Stern Show recently and did say he regrets turning down Clint Eastwood.
Murray was enamored with some of Eastwood's earlier work and called him. Eastwood asked Murray if he would ever do another military role along the lines of Stripes.
Murray told Stern he had sort of a been there, done that attitude, and passed on what was most likely the film Heartbreak Ridge.
And to this day, he still apologizes to Eastwood.
Apparently, the phrase raw-dogging has more than one meaning. Actor Patrick Warburton has taken credit for creating the practice by way of his character putty from Seinfeld.
Raw-dogging refers to a travel trend in which a passenger boards a flight with no form of entertainment and doesn't even sleep.
They just sit there and stare like putty did on Seinfeld.
Sound fun? It might be until it drives a lane crazy and she breaks up with you.
Yellowstone appears to be birthing yet another spin-off.
Luke Grimes will revise his role as Casey Dutton. There are no storylines available yet, but the show will be produced by MTV Studios.
Other Yellowstone spin-offs include 1883 and 1923, which is currently in its second season on Paramount Plus.
Another anticipated Yellowstone spin-off will star Cole Hauser and Kelly Riley as Rip and Beth.
It does not yet have a title.
Ageism is still alive in Hollywood, but it's not as bad as it used to be for women, according to actress Kate Blanchett.
The actress recently told Business Insider that when she started in the biz, an actress had a shelf life of five years.
In Blanchett's case, it probably doesn't hurt that she's an Oscar winner.
The actress is in the midst of a 30-year run with no sign of let up in sight.
The Elizabeth Star credits more women producers and writers in positions of power that are more likely to develop roles and content for women.
For more showbiz fun, tune in tonight light with me, Peach Wabo, weeknights from 6 to 8 p.m. on the Civic Media Radio Network.
Mochely Cloudy today with a high in the mid-60s this afternoon.
Tonight, an isolated thunderstorm possible this evening, otherwise Cloudy scattered showers likely tomorrow.
Cloudy with showers 47, the high with more rain likely tomorrow night into Sunday.
I'm meteorologist Sean Cable, current tip now 37.
That's your WFHR and WIRI daily news roundup from Civic Media.
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