Here's your daily news roundup from 97.9 WGBW.
From the 97.9 WGBW newsroom, I'm Connie Feldman with this local news update.
If your giving spirit has been rekindled by the holidays,
now's a great time to think about giving the gift of life by donating blood.
As people focus on family, deal with winter weather and travel,
blood donations tend to drop around the holidays.
Scott Martyr from the American Red Cross says data shows only about 3 percent
of eligible Wisconsinites give blood.
The need for blood is constant. Every two seconds someone in this country needs a blood
transfusion, and it could be for any one of a bunch of reasons. People battling cancer,
mothers who are facing complications during childbirth or accident victims who need emergency
surgery. The Red Cross urges donors during the holiday months to come out and donate.
If you've ever been curious about where your blood goes or how it's used when you donate,
now there's even a way to track that using the Red Cross app.
Health workers say the process to give blood is simple and it only takes about an hour.
They say it can even become a gratifying holiday tradition for family and friends to go together
make it more fun. There are 744 hours in the upcoming month of January.
Red Cross workers say setting aside just one of those hours to donate blood can save a life.
To find a blood drive or appointment time here in Wisconsin, just go to redcrossblood.org.
The Packers will close out their regular season in Minnesota this weekend,
kickoff is set for noon on Sunday, January 4th. The Packers are locked into the NFC's
seventh and final playoff seed regardless of whether they win or lose against the Vikings.
The Vikings are eliminated with an eight and eight record.
Right now, about a million Wisconsin kids are on winner break.
The holidays are supposed to be a jolly time,
but when young people are already in crisis, they can be especially vulnerable this time of year.
The latest data shows more than half of kids surveyed say they're dealing with anxiety
and a third have recently felt hopeless. Psychologist Megan Kanye says symptoms of mental health
struggles don't always look like sadness. Sometimes they're conflict.
All of a sudden they go from being a really easygoing kids, all of a sudden they are arguing,
they're talking back, they're refusing to do school work, there may be a lot of school avoidance
or refusal. They may have stopped doing chores, they may be having trouble getting out of bed.
The Wisconsin Office of Children's Mental Health began its work more than 10 years ago,
and in that time they've seen a 42% rise in depression among young people.
Mental health professionals say disruption in routines like over the holidays when there's no
school can exacerbate struggles. Providers often see seasonal spikes in anxiety and depression
between Thanksgiving and New Year's Day. Kanye says how parents talk to kids and young adults
about mental health issues matters. She advises parents to avoid calling anxiety bad or negative.
Anxiety is a natural emotion meant to keep us safe. When channeled appropriately it can help
motivate us. Kanye encourages families to help kids build what she calls distress tolerance.
Learning to stay grounded when emotions run high. With news at the top and bottom of the hour
all day and on demand anytime at wgbw.fm, I'm Connie Felman, 97.9 wgbw news.
The Badgers beat the Panthers. Hi, I'm Mike Clemens with sports, men's college basketball,
Wisconsin over Milwaukee 80 to 60 at the Cole Center, the Badgers Greg guard,
thank the Panthers head coach Bart Lundy for adjusting their schedule.
Bart's got a good team. I think they're going to do very well in their league and to be able to
fit this game in with their league playing games here between the holidays. So it's credit to them
to still want to play the game and now obviously we wrap up the non-conference and head into league play
starting Saturday night and get ready for games coming next year. Wisconsin holds produced Saturday
7 p.m. NBA. It's the Bucks and the Wizards tonight at Pfizer Form. Milwaukee looking for their third
win in a row and a foul. The Packers making roster changes defensive tackle Jordan Riley and
defensive back Kamal Hayden placed on season ending IR after their injuries against the Ravens.
Safety Zane Anderson recovering from an ankle injury. So they promoted two defensive backs from
the practice squad for Sunday's game in Minnesota with sports on Mike Clemens.
Cloudy with a little light snow this morning, gradual clearing this afternoon with falling
temperatures today will hit our high of about 18 around noon dropping into the single digits by
late this afternoon. Tonight mostly clear down to one below tomorrow partly cloudy with a high
of 13. I'm meteorologist Sean Cable. That's your Green Bay news round up from 97.9 WGBW
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