97.5 W-F-H-R and 105.5 W-I-R-I. Your Wisconsin Rapids Home for locally grown radio. Here's
your Daily News Roundup.
4 W-F-H-R and W-I-R-I News, I'm Isabelignato.
The Wisconsin State Climateologist's Office is looking for input on how to prepare rural
areas for changes in climate and extreme weather.
Amanda Latham is an outreach specialist for the climatologist's office.
We've organized this series of road shows in rural parts of Wisconsin because we want to hear
from people living in rural Wisconsin about what types of extreme weather they're seeing,
what types of weather changes, that they're seeing how those things are impacting them, whether
that's for their career or whether that's just impacts in their daily life.
Their first road show in Rhinelander on Tuesday saw around 40 residents.
Latham says attendees included public works employees, emergency management,
and representatives from tribal nations.
We really just want to hear from those rural places that often don't get as much attention
as those larger cities where there are more people to really talk about those impacts and see
those impacts as we really want to focus on what's happening in rural Wisconsin.
The State Climateologist's Office is working on several tools to help residents better understand
the climate in their area and changes that could be coming. These tools are aimed at building
weather resiliency, helping communities be better prepared for changes in the climate and
extreme weather. Latham says one project spearheaded by UW-Madison is expanding a network of weather
and soil monitoring stations across Wisconsin called WISCOnet.
So that's helping fill in some data gaps so people don't have to rely on
data that's coming from the airport, which may be dozens of miles away.
Tuesday's road show kicked off a series that will continue with another meeting in West Salem
next month. A third meeting in February will take place in the Central Sands region of the State.
A date and location still has to be set.
Things are beginning to look festive in Madison. Savannah's homemade Olsen reports.
You know it's the holiday season when there's a big tree in the Wisconsin State Capitol.
Every year there's a special ceremony to turn on the lights. The lacrosse central high school
band had the honor of kicking things off. This year's celebration centered around the governor's
proclamation that 2025 is the year of the kid. The tree's called the learning tree and honors
students and educators all over Wisconsin. The guests of honor included Mr. Peanut's real name Rodney
Esser. He's been the custodian at Park Elementary School in Cross Plains for 61 years.
I just love what I do. Every morning these little people will come into school and it isn't limited
just a little people who throw hugs at me and high fives and fist bumps staff as well.
Green Bay West high school teacher Ellie Hines for Dew talked about what's kept her going after
more than three decades. 36 years in the classroom I think you can trust me when I say it's love.
The 30-foot tall balsam fir came from farmers in O'Conto County. It's decorated with hundreds
of ornaments made by students from all over the state. Elmer Moore Jr., the executive director of
the Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority, got to do the countdown.
Wisconsin's Capitol Holiday Tree has been nominated for USA Today's 10 Best Public Holiday Lights
displays. We'll find out who makes that top 10 list on Wednesday. For civic media news,
I'm Savannah Tomay Olsen. Buckley Baldwin VFW Post 2534 is one of only three in the state who
continue to hold a ceremony to honor a day that will live in infamy. Post commander Sean Plant.
Sunday is our annual Pearl Harbor Remembrance Ceremony. It starts at 10 o'clock. It's at the
Donald V. Knuth Memorial Hall in Wisconsin Rapids and it is a little bit of history and a little bit
of celebration about the remembrance of Pearl Harbor Day. On December 7th, 1941, Japanese planes
destroyed or damaged 19 U.S. warships and 300 aircraft in less than 90 minutes according to
the National World War II Museum. More than 2400 U.S. service members were killed, almost half
from the USS Arizona. The battleship sank within minutes after a bomb ignited more than a million
pounds of ammunition in its forward magazine. During last year's ceremony at VFW Post 2534,
special guest Mike Gunner Poll, a U.S. Coast Guard veteran with Fleet Reserve Association,
Branch 238. The number of survivors of those who served in Pearl Harbor during the attack
are dwindling as many are now into their 90s or 100s. In April of this year, one of the oldest
known survivors, Vaughn P. Drake Jr. died at the age of 106. Plant said the remembrance and
storytelling help keep their memories alive. Food and Fellowship would be at the Wisconsin
Rapids Elk Slodge, number 693 following the ceremony. Both venues are open to the public to attend.
I'm Melissa K for WFHR and WIRI News.
The Bucks at Home. Hi, I'm I Clemens with Sports NBA. The Bucks host the 76ers tonight.
They'll be without Yannis and Tadacupo for the next two to four weeks. He's got a
strain calf muscle in his right leg. The Bucks are 10 and 13, but Doc Verr says at least he's
got Kevin Porter Jr. back finally. We haven't had him all year, you know, and then, you know,
having him and Yannis out for that long stretch explains our record.
Now we're back at it, you know, we have him back now and we may have Yannis out.
We just got to figure out a way of winning games when all these guys are injured and if we can
get healthy and I keep saying that, I like our team. NFL, the Packers holding practice outdoors
in eight degree temperatures. They'll host the Bears Sunday. Jordan Love nominated for the Walter
Peyton Man of the Year award. The quarterback says helping kids from low income families goes with
the territory. I think all of it kind of plays part into it and it's just it's fun to be able to
give back and to be able to impact people's lives. That's the Packers Jordan Love with sports on
Mike Clemens. It is going to be cloudy today with some light snow less than an inch of accumulation
with a high in the mid 20s. Tonight more light snow possible enough to make things a little slick.
We're going to drop down into the mid to low teens tomorrow partly sunny with a high near 20.
I'm yourologist Sean Cable that's your Wisconsin Rapids news roundup from WRI and WFHR
locally grown radio. Find more news anytime at WFHR.com and WRI.FM.
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