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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.
WFHR and WIRI News. I'm Melissa Cain.
A major bridge in western Wisconsin is open again after its second emergency closure in two years. With more, here's Jimmy Cusca.
A bridge crossing the Mississippi River to the south of La Crosse is open once again. The Black Hawk Bridge, which takes motorists from Wisconsin to Lansing Iowa, reopened Monday morning.
It was closed on May 17th due to one of its peers moving, but Iowa DOT officials said the bridge is safe to cross.
The DOT said that it is planning future closures due to construction of the 94-year-old bridge's replacement, which is set to open in 2027.
The current bridge was also closed last year for nearly two mobs for emergency repairs.
Southeastern Wisconsin is now home to the state's first large-scale battery storage facility. Stuart J. Wattles has more.
We Energy's says the Paris Solar Battery Park in Kenosha County is now fully operational. The site's new battery system stores enough electricity to power more than 130,000 homes for four hours.
Solar panels at that site have been working since last December. We Energy's is leading the project with partners involved including Wisconsin Public Service and Madison Gas and Electric.
Meanwhile, Public News Service reports Southwest Wisconsin is also seeing an increase in clean energy. Those in favor say these large-scale renewable projects are economically beneficial for the community.
Around 10% of electricity in Wisconsin comes from renewable sources. These include biofuels, wind, and solar. Roughly 6,500 people work in the industry, which invests $15.5 million a year in property, state, and local taxes, and more than 15 million annually in land lease payments.
Critics argue renewable energy replaces some of the state's agricultural land. Those in favor claim less than 2% of Wisconsin's ag land is needed to reach the state's clean energy goals.
Governor Evers announces a tourism hat trick in Wisconsin with the third record-breaking year in a row. Wisconsin Department of Tourism Secretary Anne Sayers said the state's tourism industry brought in a record high $25.8 billion in total economic impact in 2024.
This surpassed the previous year's record of $25 billion. This year's tourism hat trick includes a record-breaking amount of state and local revenue, a record-breaking 114.4 million visitors, and a record high economic impact for tourism.
The industry grew 2.2% from last year, supporting 182,000 part-time and full-time jobs across sectors in 2024.
While information from the federal government has changed, state officials are still advising vaccinating for COVID. Lisa Hale has more.
You should still get an updated COVID-19 vaccination despite the guidance changes from the CDC. That's according to the Wisconsin Department of Health Services.
The state health officials say the updated vaccine can help protect against severe cases of COVID-19, especially in pregnant women infants and elderly residents.
DHS Secretary Kirsten Johnson says the updated vaccine was thoroughly reviewed for safety and effectiveness and encourages residents to consult their health care providers on getting the updated vaccine.
In Rome, the public comment period is extended for the aircraft solar project. The plan to construct a solar-electric generation facility with the potential of generating up to 200 megawatts of electricity will be located in the town of Rome in Adams County and the town of Saratoga in Wood County.
You can find the link to the PSC public comments page at roamedwa.gov. Comments close on June 27.
I'm Melissa K for WFHR and WIRI News.
It's the Brewers and the Braves. Hi, I'm Mike Clemens with sports baseball game two of the Brewers and Braves series tonight in Milwaukee.
The Brewers looking to bounce back after losing last night, seven to one. Atlanta's Matt Olson smacking a two-run homer off the first pitch thrown by Brewers lefty DL Hall in the fifth.
On the other hand, you kind of got to, you can't be soft out the gate. You got to go right at them and I kind of eased into the first pitch and he made me pay for it as a good hitter.
So I did what he was supposed to do. I should have been locked in sooner.
The Braves ending their seven-game losing streak, NFL, the Packers begin their three-day mini-camp, quarterback Jordan Lawvast, about facing Aaron Rodgers and the Steelers in October in Pittsburgh.
It's going to be fun. It's going to be awesome. I'm excited for it. I can't wait to be on a different size, meeting up.
And I know we'll talk pre-game things like that and hopefully we can change yours after.
That's Jordan Lawv with sports on Mike Clemens.
On your entertainment beat, I'm Peach Waba. Lilo and Stitch is still the box office champ.
The biggest hit of the summer so far pulled in 32 million last weekend and is now pushing 800 million globally at the box office.
The film is showing some great games with only a 50% drop, despite being in its third week of release.
The number two spot goes to From the World of John Wick, Ballerino, which brought in a less than expected 26 million in its opening weekend and 51 million globally.
The eighth installment of Mission Impossible saw only a 45% drop in its third week of release.
Final reckoning is currently at 450 million globally.
Karate Kid Legends brought in 8.5 million to come in fourth place and grew some horror film, Final Destination Bloodlines,
continues to show incredible staying power by coming in fifth place and pulling in 6.5 million bucks in its fourth week.
The film has now pulled in a quarter of a billion worldwide.
The 2025 Tonys are in the books and the big winner from Sunday Night's event was maybe happy ending.
The production, a love story about two abandoned robots, was named Best Musical and brought in six other awards as well.
According to Variety, the play struggled to find an audience until the reviews came in.
Similar to the moving picture box office, the theater industry seems to be back on track following the pandemic with 1.89 billion in ticket sales,
which is a record.
Brandon Jacobs Jenkins became only the third playwright to win Tonys in consecutive years with this year's purpose.
A hilarious look at a civil rights leader's dysfunctional family, which won Best Play.
Other highlights from the evening include Successions Sarah Snuck, who was named Best Leading Actress in a play for the picture of Dorian Gray.
And in sad Tony news that really isn't that sad, George Clooney was a bridesmaid for Best Performance by a leading actor in Good Night and Good Luck.
Still nice to be nominated, or so I'm told.
Hollywood Oddball Jared Lado has been accused of sexual misconduct from nine women.
According to Air Mail, the Oscar-winning actor has a history of texting underage girls, even calling them in the middle of the night and making inappropriate sexual remarks.
According to Yahoo Entertainment, one alleged victim, a Los Angeles DJ, claims she was assaulted backstage by Lado, even though she was only 17 at the time.
Representatives for the My So-called Life Actor deny all claims.
Netflix has released the trailer for Tyler Perry's latest Medea installment, Medea Destination Wedding.
Please don't turn off the radio.
Say what you want about Perry and this franchise, which is now 20 years old, but it is impressive that not one of the films has ever been rated fresh on Rotten Tomatoes and they keep getting Greenlit.
A franchise started in 2005 with diary of a mad black woman.
For what it's worth, Perry has been part of good films and projects.
For more showbiz fun, tune in to Nightlight with me, Peach Wabba, weeknights from 6 to 8 p.m. on the Civic Media, Radio Network.
Eddie's going to be partly cloudy and a bit warmer today, or high in the low to mid-70s this afternoon.
Tonight, mostly clear, we're going to drop to around 60 for an overnight load tomorrow, sunny, and even warmer with a high in the upper 70s to near 80s scattered showers and thunderstorms.
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