97.5 W F H R and 105.5 W I R I, your Wisconsin Rapids Home or locally grown radio.
Here's your Daily News Roundup.
From the Wisconsin Rapids local newsroom, I'm Melissa K.
Death will get slightly more costly under new fee increases from the Wood County Corner's office.
The Wood County Board signed off unanimously on increases to cremation and death certificate fees at their December meeting.
The Corner's office is not some place that is, you know, profit driven or profit motivated.
It is somewhere where we need to break even for those services.
And as those costs have increased from all the providers, we have to cover those costs.
That's Wood County Board Chair Lance Plymouth. He and every Wood County Board member voted to pass these fee increases.
Plymouth says without them, the Corner's office could face a potential budget shortfall.
The increases are modest. Death certificate signing and cremation fee permits will go up by $3 each from $112 to $115.
In total, the fee increases are expected to add another $3,700 for the Corner's office.
We were fined this past year going in, but as we see increased costs on cremation and all those other services,
we have to adjust our cost to be able to cover that.
In a memo recommending the change, Wood County Corner, David Patton, said the cost of everything from body bags to postage is increasing.
Still, he says the increases will keep Wood County, quote, in the middle of the pack, unquote, when compared to other funeral homes.
As of December 2nd, there were 1,103 deaths in Wood County.
The Corner's office assigned 284 deaths certificates and 829 cremation permits.
At the same meeting last month, the Wood County Board also approved a plan for releasing opioid reimbursement money and another plan from the highway department to buy property.
The Wisconsin DNR is hosting six career fairs across the state in January and February.
Attendees will have a chance to speak one-on-one with current DNR staff.
You'll be able to ask questions, explore a variety of natural resources and an environmental protection roles, and learn how to apply online as job postings become available.
There's no age or educational background requirements, and you don't need to pre-register.
The six career fairs will be held in Spooner, Woodruff, Oshkosh, Millador, Milwaukee, and Fitchburg.
The first is held in Spooner on January 17th from 10-3.
You can find a full list of dates and times for these career fairs at dnr.wi.gov.
The Winter Free Fishing Weekend is coming up in January. The Wisconsin DNR is hosting the annual event on January 17th and 18th.
This free fishing weekend gives everyone an opportunity to give winter fishing a try without purchasing a fishing license, trout stamp, or salmon stamp, with only a few exceptions.
Bag limits, size limits, and species restrictions remain in effect. Most trout streams are open, but there are several that remain closed to fishing.
For the trout streams that are open, only artificial lures are allowed, and you must release all trout that you catch.
If you plan to keep other caught fish, review the DNR's Safe Eating Guidelines as there are consumption advisories impacting some water bodies throughout the state.
Remember that ice safety should be a primary consideration, and no ice is ever 100% safe.
Check with local bait chaps and fishing clubs for ice conditions before venturing out.
The Aspirus Home Delivered Meals program is still looking for volunteers to help deliver hot meals to people who can't prepare meals for themselves.
Volunteer coordinator Ann Marie Ott says they deliver 50-60 meals daily Monday through Friday.
It's just a really awesome opportunity to be at service. You know, it's about an hour and a half, maybe two hours max depending on the route you have and where it's located.
Each volunteer can commit to as much or as little as they have time for. Meal deliveries are ready to be eaten right away or refrigerated to reheat later.
They're delivered with kind of a TV dinner style, kind of microwave dinner style, kind of container that's filled while the meal is hot.
Volunteers can also let hospital staff know if a client needs additional help.
The other beauty of the program is that some of these folks that are elderly and live alone. It's also an opportunity for a wellness check.
Because sometimes we've had situations where a client when our driver got their head fallen. And so we were able to call emergency services for them and get them the help they needed.
Ott says these volunteer delivery drivers are sometimes the only person checking an on clients daily. They receive training on what to do if they find someone in need of medical help.
Not providing the medical care, but getting the medical care there for them.
If you're looking to give back in 2026, Ott says this is a rewarding way to help in the community.
You can contact Anne Marie Ott at 715-421-7963.
Travon Diggs is now a Packer. Hi, I'm Mike Clemens with Sports NFL, defensive act Travon Diggs is in Green Bay and practicing with the team.
The 27-year-old cut by the Cowboys after five seasons in Dallas. Diggs says after he got the call from the Packers, the first person he called was his friend and former teammate, Micah Parsons.
He told me it's work. It's a lot different. He said I'm going to like it a lot and I'm going to enjoy it.
So far I've been enjoying it a lot. My first day was out there today and I had a lot of fun and it's a great thing to be here.
Do you want to play Sunday? Can you play Sunday?
The Packers play the Vikings in Minnesota. Sunday at noon, Matlow Flurr has decided to start 3rd string quarterback Clayton Tune and rest Jordan Love and others to get ready for the post season.
Basketball tonight, the Bucks at home against the Charlotte Hornets, College Hoops, the Badgers host Perdue tomorrow night at the Cole Center with sports on Mike Clemens.
Mostly sunny today are high right around 15 this afternoon with wind out of the West Northwest at around 5 to 15.
Tonight mostly cloudy. We're going to drop to around 7 for an overnight load tomorrow. Mostly cloudy, maybe a little light snow with a high near 20.
I'm meteorologist Sean Cable.