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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.
The 27th annual Nukusa Giant Pumpkin Fest is this weekend at Riverside Park. Garden growing enthusiasts from all over will bring pumpkins and other large fruits and vegetables for the wayoff on Saturday, October 4th.
Not just pumpkins, but then we have the field pumpkins and then we have the tomatoes and we have the watermelons and we have the long gourds.
So it doesn't, it's not limited to just giant pumpkins. We can do basically whatever we even have like a category of miscellaneous category where you don't not really sure what it is, but you can bring it down anyway.
And we'll measure it and we'll weigh it and we'll figure it out.
That's Heather Sayers. She's the vice president of the Nukusa Giant Pumpkin Fest Board and has helped with the event for many years.
It's a serious competition. This year the local wayoff is a great pumpkin commonwealth sanctioned event and the top prizes can bring in a lot of money.
The dedication and hard work of these growers is something Sarah's admirers.
They're huge. I mean it takes a lot to grow these pumpkins. I mean like people out there with umbrellas and one of the our committee members is growing his own and he's out there with a heater when it gets cold at night and he's got a blanket and they're got shade.
It also takes a lot of dedication and support from the community.
So our sponsors we would not be able to do without them because you know it costs a lot of money.
The giant pumpkin drop at the end of each festival day gives anyone a chance to grab a giant pumpkin seed.
Sayers said last year a young lady entered a pumpkin and won in the junior division from a seed dropped the previous year.
But it was quite the story because she got the seed from the drop and grew her own pumpkin.
The Nukusa Giant Pumpkin Fest is October 4th from 9 to 5 and October 5th from 9 to 4. The pumpkin drop happens at the end of each day.
You can find more information and pricing at Nukusa Giant Pumpkin Fest.com.
We have a new candidate and next year's race for the State Supreme Court.
Last year's contest between Susan Crawford and Brad Schimmel became the most expensive state court race in American history.
Savannah tommy Olsen has the details.
Conservative Justice Rebecca Bradley's term is up in 2027.
Liberal appellate judge and former state representative Chris Taylor announced she would be running against Bradley.
But then about a month ago Bradley announced she would not seek re-election.
She called on conservatives to quote, take stock of failures, identify the problem and fix it.
End quote. Liberal judges have won four of the last five Wisconsin Supreme Court elections.
Now a conservative contender is entering the race to replace her.
Maria Lazar has been on the second district court of appeal since 2022. She released her first campaign video.
I am an independent impartial judge who strives to follow the law and constitution in every decision I make from the bench.
It is time to restore that level of judicial dedication to the court that is precisely why I have decided to run for the open seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court.
The court currently has a four to three liberal majority. If a conservative candidate wins that balance would stay the same.
A proposed bill seeking to push back the enforcement date of recently adopted building codes was heard in the state assembly committee this week.
The legislation was proposed by a group of Republican lawmakers and seeks to delay the start of enforcement until April of 2026.
Enforcement was originally scheduled to begin on Wednesday, but the Wisconsin Department of Safety and Professional Services pushed that deadline back to November 1st.
The bill concerns from the construction industry over inflation, workforce shortages and supply chain issues.
Starting on October 1st, Wisconsin households won't have to pay sales tax on their electricity and natural gas bills.
The elimination of the 5% sales tax on residential utility bills is projected to save Wisconsin households more than $178 million over the next two years.
No action is needed from residents to qualify for this change. Sales tax is being automatically removed from all household energy bills due to this bipartisan exemption included in the 2025-27 state budget.
The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources is encouraging hunters to share their passion for the sport with the next generation during this year's Youth Deer Hunt.
The annual event will be held on October 11th and 12th. Hunters ages 15 years and younger have a chance to learn hunting techniques in a less crowded environment than the traditional 9-day gun deer hunt season.
Youth hunters will be eligible to hunt under a mentor's supervision. Mentors must be at least 18 years old, have a current license and have completed a hunter education course.
Wisconsin Rapids Mayor Matt Zacher has proclaimed October as domestic violence awareness month in the city.
Communities across the nation are joining together to raise awareness and support survivors of domestic violence.
As part of the city's observance, the Jackson Street and Grand Avenue bridges will be lit purple from October 1st to the 14th, serving as a visible reminder of the importance of breaking the silence and supporting victims and their families.
The Wisconsin Rapids Elks Lodge is holding a special bingo event this Saturday, October 4th.
Doors open at 10.30 and bingo starts at noon. You can purchase a $5 ticket to reserve your spot. The lodge is open on Wednesdays and Friday nights. The $5 ticket can be used toward the purchase of food on the day of the event.
I'm Melissa K for WFHR and WIRI News.
New faces on the Bucks roster. Hi, I'm Mike Clemens with sports NBA head coach Doc Rivers revealed that when he first arrived in Milwaukee, he told GM John Horst straight up the Bucks roster was too old and too slow.
John knew we talked about it. I feel strongly that hard to win at the pace that we were trying to play at. We still won games and we're good, but you know, I just feel strongly that we need more speed. We need more guys that can guard multiple positions.
The Bucks training camp now underway. College football Wisconsin faces number 20. Frank Michigan kick off 11 a.m. Saturday. Badgers quarterback Daniel Neil has already been sacked 13 times so far in just the first four games of this season. That's one more than the 12 sacks they allowed all last year.
Maybe changing up what we do pre-snap a little bit trying to simplify some things. We know what we're going to see. We just got to be able to go translate it from the film room to the field and from practice to the game.
That's Badgers quarterback Daniel Neil with sports on Mike Clemens.
After his recent suspension and then being put back on the air within a week, Jimmy Kimmel gave an emotion.
The emotional and hilarious monologue upon his return to Jimmy Kimmel live. Not only was it highly rated on TV, Kimmel's monologue set a record on YouTube. The host's opening segment reached almost 18 million views on YouTube within 22 hours of being posted, making it the most watched monologue in the history of YouTube according to variety.
A Wheel of Fortune contestant from Connecticut has won the biggest jackpot in the show's history at a little over $1 million.
Christina Derivionic told Ryan Seacrest that if she won the million dollars, she would put in her two weeks notice at work, at which point Seacrest reminded her her boss was in the crowd.
Derivionic said she is going to pay off her student loans and buy a house with the money. She also won trips to Japan and Montana before winning the million bucks.
In addition to all that, she received a hug from the iconic Vanna White.
Celebrities like Emily Blunt, Ben Stiller, Mark Ruffalo, Tom Hanks, and Scarlett Johansson have all been vocal about their opposition to AI in the entertainment business.
Yesterday in the beats, I mentioned Tilly Norwood, an AI actress who even has an Instagram account and whose creator says that she will probably be signed by a talent agency soon, as you can imagine that did not sit well with actors.
One in particular, Melissa Barrera, who has been part of the screen franchise recently said that any agency that signs an AI performer should be boycotted.
Two prominent talent agencies, the William Morris Endeavor and the Gersh Agency, have vowed they will not sign the Tilly Norwood creation or other AI actors.
According to Yahoo Entertainment, a representative from the William Morris Endeavor says they only represent humans.
That's a very admirable stance, I just wish when they represented me they would have returned my calls quicker.
Seriously though, it is a small victory, I hope the momentum continues.
For more showbiz fun, tune into Nightlight with me, Peach Wabba, weeknights from 6 to 8 p.m. on the Civic Media Radio Network.
This sunny warm summary weather is going to continue for a few more days, but we will feel a lot more like fall by next week.
Today though, sunny high in the upper 70s to low 80s this afternoon, tonight clear with a low in the upper 50s to near 60 tomorrow, sunshine with a high in the low to mid 80s.
I'm meteorologist Sean Cable, right now it's 57!
That's your W-F-H-R-N-W-I-R-I daily news round up from Civic Media.
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