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 Alyssa Kaye.
Today nine head start locations across Wisconsin are preparing to close because of the government
shutdown.
The Head Start program provides childcare preschool and support for about 15,000 children
across Wisconsin.
It gives low-income families early education, but also things like health screenings, dental
care, and support to connect them with resources, like food benefits or job training.
They're predominantly working families, working in the retail sector, they're working in hospitality,
they're working in our hospital, so they're a part of the foundation of our economy.
Head Start is a critical part of our state and our communities and for structure.
That's Jenny Maurer, the executive director of the Wisconsin Head Start Association.
The program is largely funded by the federal government, and because of the federal shutdown,
two organizations that run Head Start in their communities are not getting their funding.
The Southwestern Wisconsin Community Action Program operates nine locations in Grant,
Green, Iowa, Lafayette, and Richland Counties.
Without money to pay their bills and their staff, those nine centers, close Monday, leaving
kids without their safe place to grow and learn and leaving their parents scrambling.
Parents do their best to find safe places for their children, but we know that what often
ends up happening is that children are shuttled between lots of different care situations,
and that oftentimes children get watched by other children.
Parents get increasingly desperate when they're trying to make things work.
The Head Start program in Shaboygan will continue for two more weeks, but will likely close
after the 14th, that will leave a total of nearly 400 children without care in Wisconsin,
and if the shutdown continues in December, 1000 more could lose their Head Start programs.
For Civic Media News, I'm Savannah Tomay Olsen.
Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kahl has announced a temporary hold on federal cuts to
mental health grants to schools.
The preliminary injunction reinstates funding that had been cut by the Department of Education.
The injunction is the result of a multi-state lawsuit filed in June, which argued that
the cuts were approved since funds had been approved by Congress.
In a statement, Attorney General Kahl said the ruling was a win for the safety and
while being of students in Wisconsin and elsewhere.
The Wisconsin Department of Transportation is joining partners across the state and across
the country in urging drivers to put their seat belts on and put their phones down.
Joanne Krulotz has more.
The effort urges drivers to model safe driving behaviors and commit to the buckle-up phone
down pledge to buckle up and put the phone down every trip every time.
Distracted driving is a leading cause of traffic crashes in Wisconsin.
In 2024, there were 9,068 crashes related to distracted driving across the state, resulting
in 44 deaths and 3,530 injuries.
Buckling up is one of the easiest and most important things a driver or passenger can do to stay
safe in a crash.
In 2024, there were 7,648 crashes involving unbelted occupants, resulting in 176 deaths
in 2022 injuries.
Always buckle up every trip every time, remind friends and family to do the same.
The DNR is reminding hunters to consider donating deer they harvest to the agency's
deer donation program.
The venison will go to food pantries across the state.
Hunters interested in donating their deer must feel dressed as they usually would, test
it for chronic wasting disease, and contact a participating processor.
The Southwood County Humane Society is seeing much-needed improvements after years of functioning
in a space not originally intended as a shelter.
Some necessary additions and fixes have happened over the past 15 years in the old auto-body
shop location, but the full redesign is almost ready to be unveiled to the public.
Mike Graper is the current Southwood County Humane Society Board President.
He says they couldn't have made these improvements without donors stepping up.
The funding for the whole remodel came through Legacy Foundation and other donors to step
forward with specific parts of the deer.
The addition gives staff more storage for food, a laundry room with industrial-sized
washers and dryers, a surgical room, and a larger reception area and office space.
Director of Operations Denise Mase says the shelter is staffed from 7am to 9pm daily
with only three full-time employees, the rest are part-time and volunteers.
There's 18 staff here and all of them are young.
Most of them are young.
We have some amazing volunteers that help us out every day.
We couldn't do it without them.
Next year, the City Council questioned the cost of the contract with SWCHS, but did
eventually sign it.
This year's contract received the approval of the Finance and Property Committee last
night on a two-to-one vote.
It still needs to be approved by the City Council.
When municipalities, you know, they're stretched for budgets just like everybody else.
I never feel put out to have to come and say, this is why we're doing what we're doing.
You know, if you want us to do this, this is what it's going to take.
The public hearing on the City's 2026 budget is November 17th at 5pm.
I'm Alyssa K for WFHR and WIRI News.
The Butspeak Golden State High on My Clevans with Sports, Pfizer, Form, was rockin'
last night.
The chance of Let's Go Bucks as Milwaukee beat Golden State 120-110, and that's with
Yannis out for the night with a sore knee.
Ryan Rollins stepped up, shooting a career high 32 points, and was asked what was it like
guarding Steph Curry?
It was nice.
It was fun, man.
That's probably the best way I could put it was fun, just being able to, you know, just
coming up with the win and just bumping with him.
The Bucks are now 4-1, NFL, Micah Parsons named NFC, Defensive Player of the Month, even
though they had a by-week this month.
Yeah, I was impressed.
I was like, damn, dude, I even, like, I can say, what games did we play?
Like, it kind of threw me all too.
Like, I was a little bit in shock, but, you know, we just ready.
I just feel like I'm really getting into a groove and rhythm right now, and I'm excited
to go play again.
The Packers host of the Panthers Sunday at noon was Sports on Mic Clemens.
Mostly cloudy today with a chance of scattered afternoon showers are high in the upper forties
to low fifties here this afternoon.
Tonight's scattered showers possible, maybe a flurry or two mixing in are low in the
thirties tomorrow, partly to mostly cloudy with a high in the mid to upper forties.
I'm meteorologist Sean Cable.