Here's your Daily News Roundup from 97.9 wgbw
From the 97.9 wgbw newsroom, I'm Connie Falman with this local news update.
Three former O'Conto Falls students filed a federal lawsuit against the district yesterday
alleging years of sexual misconduct by staff.
The lawsuit identifies eight current or former district employees.
It claims they were part of a known pattern of teacher,
student grooming, sexual conduct and sexual abuse at O'Conto Falls High School.
Attorneys say there are at least 14 known victims from 2005 to 2025, a span of 20 years.
One former staff member named in the lawsuit was convicted of sexually
assaulting a child and served prison time.
Another was arrested last December on allegations of misconduct.
School officials point out that teacher was immediately removed from school when allegations
came to light and relieved of his duties.
District officials released a statement that reads in part, quote,
the district's staff of excellent professional educators strive every day to deliver a great
educational experience for all students.
This is not diminished by the inexcusable actions of these identified former employees.
Attorneys say the lawsuit is focused on the institution rather than individual staff members
with the goal of creating policies to prevent it from happening again.
Things eventually cleared up yesterday after an icy morning commute caused
multiple accidents and road closures.
Now we're gearing up for round two.
Snow is expected to move in tonight with winds ramping up overnight,
gusting 30 to 40 miles per hour, according to the National Weather Service.
A winter storm watch has already been issued for counties to our north,
but we should only see an inch or two in the Green Bay area,
until Sunday, that is, when forecasters say we could get more than a foot of snow,
details are coming up in the forecast.
Wondering where your favorite ABC shows have gone?
If you're a dish network customer, you've lost access to WBAY programming.
For now, as we first told you on Tuesday,
dish dropped WBAY channel two programming after failing to reach an agreement
to carry the ABC channel on their network.
These carriage disputes are not uncommon in local broadcast television,
WFRV local five went through a similar blackout in 2019.
Fox 11 has also dealt with the issue.
As viewers increasingly have more options on where to watch,
cable and satellite providers are asking local television stations
for more money to carry their channel.
When an agreement can't be reached,
the result is a blackout of that channel on the provider's network.
The blackouts are usually resolved in a matter of weeks.
Television stations often remind viewers they can watch broadcast
television channels for free with an antenna or on the station's app,
which is what channel two is saying now.
As for one channel two, maybe back on dish for Northeast Wisconsin customers,
for that, you'll have to just stay tuned.
Ever wonder how our state stacks up and gender equity?
As civic media stays keen tells us, not bad.
Wisconsin women are living in a great state for strong opportunities.
That's according to a recent study by Finance website,
Wallet Hub, which ranked the best and the worst states for women.
The research looked at more than two dozen indicators of women's living
standards, including median incomes, health care, and more.
Wisconsin ranked 12th overall in the country and received a top 10 ranking
in the economic and social well-being category.
So which state came out on top for women?
That would be Massachusetts.
With news at the top and bottom of the hour,
all day in on demand any time at wgbw.fm, I'm Connie Feldman, 97.9 wgbw news.
For civic media news, I'm Lisa Hale.
Governor Tony Evers sent a letter to Wisconsin's Congressional delegation this week
urging them to revise the new federal hemp law, which bans the sale of most hemp products in
the United States starting in November of 2026.
It was passed as part of the plan to reopen the federal government last year
after the longest federal government shutdown in U.S. history.
According to Evers, the new federal hemp law is projected to jeopardize $700 million
and economic impact for the state and nearly 3,500 jobs in Wisconsin.
The impacts of the new federal hemp bill will be further intensified in Wisconsin
due to the fact that Wisconsin has not yet legalized medical or recreational marijuana.
The growing of hemp has become a strong diversification option for Wisconsin farmers
and as of November 2025, Wisconsin had 470 federally licensed hemp producers.
Meanwhile, a bill that would allow Wisconsin law enforcement agencies to conduct roadside drug tests
is on Governor Tony Evers' desk for consideration.
Civic Media's James Kelly reports,
13 people could face criminal charges tied to the failed recall of Wisconsin assembly speaker
Robin Boss two years ago. Officials say those who tried to oust boss allegedly listed fake addresses
on petition forms and other submitted signatures from people who didn't actually sign.
But the state's election commission ruled that there's not enough proof
that organizer Matt Snorick or the recall committee violated the law.
The committee is recommending charges to the Racine County District Attorney's office
which will decide whether to take the matter any further.
One of the partisan races coming up in November 2026 as a repeat 2022 election.
In 2022, Attorney General Josh Kall narrowly defeated Fondaleck County District Attorney
Eric Tony. This year, Tony seeks to unseat the two-term incumbent again.
The latest Marquette law school poll finds that 10 months before the election,
voters view both candidates favorably.
Poll Director Charles Franklin.
We love us some Attorney General candidates. I exaggerate a little bit, but not hugely.
Both Eric Tony and Josh Kall have slightly net positive favorability ratings. Both of them have
a plus five. Franklin says Kall is the better known of the candidates with 56 percent of
poll respondents saying they had no opinion of him. That's compared to 75 percent with no opinion
of Tony. The most recent Marquette poll was conducted between February 11th and February 19th
with a margin of error of plus or minus 4.3.
Governor Tony Evers and the Wisconsin Department of Military Affairs have announced
$2 million in grant funding to bolster flood resilience across the state.
Civic Media's James Kelly has the story.
According to a press release, the funding through the pre-disaster flood resilience grant
program is meant to help communities identify and mitigate flood vulnerabilities
with strategies like reconnecting streams and flood plains or reducing erosion hazards.
Two types of grant funding were made available through the program,
one for assessing vulnerabilities, and one to implement the mitigation methods.
The goal is to naturally manage flooding before disasters like in Milwaukee,
Washington, and Waukesha counties last August strike.
The Onida Nation received the largest funding award at $300,000 to create a culvert inventory
and study water flow and hydraulic structure. The City of Madison, Ozaki County, and City of
Stevens Point also received significant funding awards of over $200,000. For Civic Media News,
I'm James Kelly. How much will it cost to see the Packers play?
Civic Media's county filming has that answer.
The price to see the Packers play has gone up for this season.
The team announced the new pricing on Friday. Depending on where you sit in the ball,
you'll be paying between $4 and $22 more per ticket. Packers president and CEO Ed
Policies said the ticket prices for a game at Lambo are around the middle of the NFL's
pricing range, with the new increases, face value prices for regular season tickets are between
$143 and $196. Preseason tickets are cheaper, but tickets sold through a third-party ticket broker
can be substantially higher. Packers fans don't seem to be priced out, though, with more than
155,000 people on the waiting list to buy Packer season tickets,
most wait decades for their chance to buy that 18 inches of pure aluminum pleasure.
I'm Connie Feldman for Civic Media News.
Beat USC yesterday, 83-79 and overtime to advance to today's game. NBA, the Bucks and Miami
tonight to play the Heat. Yannis and Teta Kupo played 30 minutes toes tonight,
as he's trying to get to 100% as soon as possible.
I love the challenge. Obviously, we have 18 games left and hopefully we can have fun and
help the team keep on going to games.
Baseball, the Brewers play the Cleveland Guardians out in Arizona. Jake Bowers having a good spring
training at the plate, nine for 17, five walks and three home runs. NFL, the Packers make a move
in free agency. As soon as the Vikings release nose tackle, Javan Hargrave for salary cap relief,
Green Bay signs him to a two-year deal worth $23 million. Hockey, the badger men's season is over,
they lost to Ohio State 701, the Buckeyes jumping out to a five to nothing lead.
I'd say, you know, it didn't start good and it got worse. You know, I mean, a lot of things that
happened tonight on the negative were deserved. That's the badger's hockey coach, Mike Hastings,
with sports on Mike Clemens. Sunny this morning, becoming mostly cloudy this afternoon,
we'll get to around 40 for a high today. Tonight, some rain mixing with snow. It's going to be very
windy. We could end up with a half inch to an inch of wet, slushy snow, our low 31 tomorrow.
Gradual clearing, decreasing wind with a high of 38. I'm meteorologist Sean Cable.
That's your Green Bay News Roundup from 97.9 WGBW.
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