WFHR Wednesday News Roundup

Transcript

WFHR Wednesday News Roundup

WFHR News · Wed Nov 5, 2025

97.5 W-F-H-R and 105.5 W-I-R-I. Your Wisconsin Rapids Home bore locally grown radio.

Here's your Daily News Roundup.

4 W-F-H-R and W-I-R-I News. I'm Alyssa K.

Some Republican lawmakers have proposed a bill that would ban absentee ballot drop boxes in Wisconsin

and it got a hearing in an assembly committee Tuesday.

Wisconsin had more than 500 drop boxes in 2020.

In 2022, the state Supreme Court ruled their unconstitutional less than a year later justices reversed that decision.

Currently, it's up to each municipality and clerk to decide whether to use a drop box.

Last year, according to documents from the Wisconsin Elections Commission, there were 78 across the state.

Now, 20 Republicans have signed on to a bill that would ban the use of drop boxes in Wisconsin.

However, we have a Democratic governor.

So even some Republicans who want to ban drop boxes said they couldn't support this bill knowing it would be vetoed.

Representative Lindy Brill, who wrote the drop box ban bill and representative Scott Krueg, both Republicans.

My first question is, do you see governor Evers signing this bill?

Fair question? No, unfortunately.

But I'm taking the set on because our Republican president believes this is the direction we should be heading.

A handful of clerks testified against the bill Tuesday.

They said at this point, they feel a drop box is safer than the mail.

Rock County Clerk, Lisa Tolofson and Marathon County Clerk, Kim Trueblood.

My husband was a town clerk and during the November election, he had a ballot that should never have left Wisconsin that detoured through South Dakota.

And I have clerks tell me all the time that they are getting absentee ballots returned up to a week after the election.

And based on the postmark, it has taken two or three weeks for that ballot to go through the mail street.

It has been handled by who knows how many people and who knows how many places.

The more popular idea among clerks, Democrats and some Republicans seem to be creating security standards for drop boxes.

For civic media news, I'm Savannah Tome Olsen.

Some SNAP benefits will come to Wisconsinites, but it seems they'll get less than they're used to.

Much later than they're used to. Savannah Tome Olsen has the details.

In previous government shutdowns under different administrations, the government has used emergency funding to keep SNAP afloat.

But this time, the USDA chose to discontinue benefits.

42 million Americans rely on SNAP to put food on the table.

Here in Wisconsin, nearly 700,000 people rely on food share.

Governor Tony Evers declared a state of emergency and Wisconsin joined one of two lawsuits against the Trump administration.

In both those cases, judges have ordered that the government must keep SNAP going.

Now, the Trump administration says they will use more than $4.5 billion in emergency funding.

And that's still only funding about half of what the program usually gets.

And people are expecting payments on November 1st.

In court filings, USDA officials say it'll take weeks to months to process that emergency money,

leaving those almost 700,000 people here in Wisconsin still in limbo.

Another safe haven baby box is coming to Wisconsin.

There are only seven in the state. The furthest east is in Readsburg and the furthest north in Green Bay.

The eighth location will be closer to the center of the state.

I'm so excited that this is going to happen in Wisconsin Rapids and I can't wait to get the ball rolling.

Local resident Linda Casper has been working with city leaders for at least six months to bring a safe haven baby box to the area.

These climate controlled boxes contain a bassinet and are installed in a secure location like a police or fire department.

They allow parents to surrender an infant anonymously without prosecution.

The first baby box in the state to receive an infant happened in Racine last month.

The results of the autopsy's performed Monday on the two men who died in Wisconsin Rapids on Halloween have been released.

Wisconsin Rapids Police Chief Daniel Hostens shared preliminary results showing that 56-year-old Randall E. Harris senior died from multiple gunshot wounds and injuries from an edged weapon.

Police have a suspect in custody at the Wood County jail on a $1 million bond pending charges.

The autopsy results for 34-year-old Antony R. Quinones indicate that his injuries appeared to be self-inflicted.

The police department extends condolences to Mr. Quinones' family and loved ones.

The protest group in Wisconsin Rapids is moving their location after notification of a complaint received from the Aspirus Hospital.

The group has been protesting on the East Riverview Expressway since March, though they've moved from the bridge to the green space along Daily Avenue across from the hospital.

Chris Dow and Howard, one of the protest organizers, said after a conversation with police chief Hostens, they've decided to move their twice-weekly protest location.

Would move up the hill and try out on the corner of Lincoln in the expressway.

There still are open grass areas there.

There's a lot of side streets and we can still park on Daily Avenue.

Dow and Howard said she received confirmation from the nursing director the complaints were received from patients.

There are some people who don't really want to move, but they are willing to move because they want to be able to have people honk at us.

And that caused a problem. That is the way I feel. I don't want to be disturbing patients in the hospital.

The protest take place on Friday from 3 to 4 p.m. and Saturday from 10 to noon.

I'm Melissa K for WFHR and WIRI News.

The Bucks fall in Toronto.

Now my clements with sports, NBA, the Bucks were playing back-to-back games and it showed it lost by 28 to the Raptors, 1-28 to 100.

They're back in Milwaukee today getting ready to host the Chicago Bulls Friday night at 7 in the first round of the NBA Cup.

College basketball, the Wisconsin Badgers need to work more on their defense at Coach Greg Gard after the win over Campbell Monday night.

I thought at times and then got hurt because of it, which is good. It's a good teaching moment for us all shown when they're up in the air, spinning around while the balls getting dribbled by.

That's why we say 90% of the game is played with your feet on the floor. It's hard to move when you're up in the air when the balls get dribbled by you.

Little things that if we continue to clean those things up will become a better defensive team.

They host Northern Illinois on Friday NFL, the Packers placing Tucker Kraft on injured reserve and elevated Josh Wiley, a Titan originally from the Titans from their practice squad to the 53 man roster to replace Kraft with sports on Mike Clemens.

Mostly sunny today are high right around 52 this afternoon. Tonight will be mostly clear with a low dropping down to about 25 tomorrow, mostly cloudy with a high in the upper 40s to right around 50.

I'd be the urologist Sean Cable.