Wednesday News Roundup

100.9 and 107.7 country and community in Richland Center.

Here's your Daily News Roundup.

For Civic Media News, I'm Connie Feldman.

If you loved sitting around a campfire this time of year, the DNR has an important reminder about firewood.

Civic Media's Maddie Schaefer tells us how you can help protect the woods at the cabin or the campground.

If you're heading out camping this fall, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources is reminding people to be careful about bringing firewood along.

October is National Firewood Month, and the DNR says moving untreated firewood can also move invasive insects and diseases that can damage or kill trees.

Pest can hide on or inside firewood and emerge after its move somewhere new.

That includes spongy moths, emerald ash borers, and the fungus that causes oak wilt.

The DNR is asking campers to buy local, burn local.

Buy firewood at or near where you're staying and leave any unused wood behind instead of bringing it home.

Wisconsin State Parks and other state-managed lands generally don't allow firewood brought in from more than 10 miles away.

The exception is wood that's been certified as treated by the State Department

Department of Agriculture Trade and Consumer Protection.

The DNR says all staff state parks and forests with campgrounds offer local firewood for sale.

For Civic Media News, I'm Maddie

Schaefer.

If you're looking for a place to buy local firewood, you can find a list of approved vendors at firewoodscout.org.

As we reach the end of Suicide Awareness Month in September, the Wisconsin Department of Health Services announces new and expanded partnerships to help reduce suicide deaths across the state.

In addition to extending its four-year collaboration with Aspirus Health, DHS has entered into a new partnership with Calm America, a group focused on safe storage of firearms and dangerous medications.

Health workers say together these groups will help provide health care workers, mental health professionals, and local communities with vital resources and training to save lives.

With a national spotlight focused on an alleged sexual assault at a Cornell fraternity, UW Madison officials are reporting two suspected drugings and sexual assaults linked to off-campus fraternity houses.

Authorities say one victim reported being drugged and fondled at two different Greek life properties over the weekend, prompting a referral to

Madison police.

A second reported incident involved a victim who said they were drugged at a fraternity house earlier this month before being sexually assaulted in a campus residence hall.

University leaders reiterate that sexual violence and exploitation are strictly prohibited and violate both state law and campus policies.

The Appleton Area School District has approved plans to borrow a total of $35 million.

The district says they are opening a line of credit with the city for $20 million and borrowing another $15 million in the meantime.

The money will help the district get by until it receives its state funding, which usually comes between six to eight months into the school year.

District leaders say they don't have enough cash reserves for mid-year operational costs, such as payroll.

They plan to repay the money before the end of the fiscal year.

If you're looking forward to watching the oldest rivalry in the NFL at Lambeau Field on October 11th, you'll need to move your plans up by a couple hours.

The NFL announced yesterday the Packers-Bears game has been moved to a noon kickoff time.

It was originally set to start at 3.25 central time.

The last of four kangaroos that escaped along I-39 near Portage last month

may have been hit by a semi.

Columbia County Sheriff's deputies say a driver called to report seeing a semi hit a kangaroo yesterday afternoon.

Deputies searched the surrounding area but didn't find the animal.

A local online search group posted that someone did find the kangaroo deceased.

This is the third of the four kangaroos reportedly hit and killed after escaping a trailer during a transport transfer.

Authorities say the fourth was found the same day and returned to its owners.

And that's your state news update.

I'm Connie Feldman for

for Civic Media News.

A setback for the Badgers.

High on Mike Clemens with sports, college football, Wisconsin flying high after that win over Penn State.

But head coach Luke Fickle says defensive back Cal Bates.

A transfer from Florida State is out for the year with a torn ACL.

I'm not going to dwell upon it.

Injuries happen, things happen.

It's all about continuing to develop the guys that you got.

You know, that back ends got some multiple people that can play some different positions if we get into situations we need.

The Badgers host the Michigan State Spartans Saturday morning at 11 30.

Baseball, the Brewers holding a workout session.

Will Jacob Mizorowski and Logan Henderson start games one and two of the playoffs this weekend?

Pat Murphy.

I mean, I think

that pretty much everyone realizes that we're going to go with Miz and Henderson predominantly in the, you know, is the obvious there are two top starters right now.

So probably be the way we go.

I mean, subject to change.

You never know how things go.

Meanwhile, the Cubs lost to the Padres in San Diego 8 to nothing in game one of the wild card best of three series with sports on Mike Clemens.

Cloudy with scattered showers today are high in the upper 60s to low 70s this afternoon.

Scattered showers will kind of dwindle off here by later this afternoon.

Tonight, Cloudy scattered showers upper 50s to low 60s.

Tomorrow, mostly Cloudy scattered showers with highs in the upper 60s.

I'm meteorologist Sean Cable.

That's your news roundup for Richland Center from WRCE and WRCO.

Find more news anytime at wrco.com and wrce.fm.

Subscribe to this podcast on Spotify, Apple, or wherever you find your podcasts.

Today is September 30th.

These are today's vital statistics.

David Daniel Higbee, 65 of Richland Center, died Wednesday, September 16th.

Funeral services will be held today at 3 p.m.

at the Pratt Memorial Chapel with burial to follow in the Richland Center cemetery.

Visitation will be held today from 1 p.m.

until the time of service at 3 at the Pratt Memorial Chapel.

David Daniel Higbee, 65.

of Richland Center.

Peter Pete Crook, 65 of Bear Valley, died unexpectedly Thursday, September 24th in a work accident.

A funeral mass will be held Thursday, October 1st at 10.30 a.m.

at St.

Luke's Catholic Church in Plain with burial in the St.

Killian's Catholic Cemetery.

Visitation will be held today from 4 p.m.

until 7 p.m.

at the Richardson Stafford Funeral Home in Spring Green.

Peter Pete Crook 65 of Bear Valley.

Carolyn Josephine Janney Freeman 102 of Richland Center died September 2nd at Schmidt Woodland Hills.

A celebration of life for Carolyn will be held Saturday October 3rd at 11 a.m.

at the Pratt Memorial Chapel with a private family burial to follow in the Richland Center Cemetery.

A live stream of the service can be viewed at the Pratt Funeral Incremation Service website.

Visitation will be held Saturday at the Pratt Memorial Chapel from

9 30 a.m.

until the time of service at 11 a.m.

memorials in Carolyn's memory can be made to the Town and Country Presbyterian Church, Schmidt Woodland Hills Foundation Scholarship Fund, or the Myratoni Pine River School Restoration Handicap Accessible Project, Carolyn Josephine Janney Freeman 102 of Richland Center.

Good evening everyone for WRCO News.

I'm Todd Copernall.

The Richland Center Kiwanis Club is currently holding an event at the Richland Center Community Center that helps raise money for a good cause.

Steve Colestead is the soon-to-be outgoing president of the Kiwanis and is an organizer of the event.

We always have a fall pancake supper and we use the money that we raise for that to support our Coats for Kids program.

We've been running a Coats for Kids program in this county for 15 years and we hand out some place around 200 coats to needy kids in our community that just don't have a coat and this year's probably no difference.

but this pancake supper will start at 4.30 because some of the seniors and the senior center they kind of get in line at 4.30 and rather than have them wait till five o'clock we'll just feed them and then we'll run until seven o'clock.

It's a Goodwill offering and what I like about a Goodwill offering is that you can bring your whole family for a few bucks.

sit around the table, have as many pancakes as you want and sausages and apple sauce and warm cherry sauce and a beverage to go with it and just have the chance to catch up.

Money raised from the supper will help keep kids in need of a coat

warm

during the upcoming cold months.

The money that we raise, the donation that comes in your donation for a meal goes directly to this

coats for kids program because not all the same sizes are donated.

I kind of think about a couple of the coats that I gave out last year to young men in our community who are still in high school and you know, I'm a double X. And so some people think that I'm really kind of a big guy, but I'll tell you what, I drowned in four X coats and we had to purchase a few four X coats last year for kids who needed them.

And so that's what this money is used for.

The coats we don't have on hand from donations, that type of thing, to fit the holes that are left in the request.

And so we go out and we actually buy brand new coats for the kids that need them.

Enjoy a great meal and help support the Coats for Kids program at the Richland Center Kiwanis Club Pancake Supper from now until 7 p.m.

at the Richland Center Community Center.

The cost of the All You Can Eat meal is a goodwill donation.

ATHS Southern Wisconsin Chapter and Hill Country Classic Power CC will present the 43rd annual Wheels of Time Truck and Tractor Show Friday and Saturday from 8 to 5 and Sunday from 8 to 3 at the Richland County Fairgrounds.

This year's event will feature a classic tractor.

Paul Posh is an organizer of the event.

Plenty of things to do and plenty of things to do yet.

I mean we're getting ready to go.

We got everything pretty much in place.

Hope to have a really good show.

We got Alice Chalmers this year, and we usually have a really good turnout of trucks, many old, all the way to brand new ones, and we welcome all.

There will be a wide variety of classic trucks and tractors on display.

During the three-day event, there will be a truck drive on Friday morning at nine.

The cost to be a part of the drive is $25 per vehicle.

Saturday morning, there will be a tractor and ATV drive.

Bill Geer is also an organizer of Wheels of Time.

We have our tractor ride Saturday morning.

Mine up's around 9.

We leave the fairgrounds 9.30.

We got about a 16, 17 mile route we take.

Taking it the same route we did about five years ago.

We've been asked to go down to Pine Valley.

We can go through the parking lot where the residents can view the tractors.

We have some former members down there and they specifically asked us to come down there.

So that's the plan this year.

We'll be leaving the fairgrounds, heading into Richmond Center and heading out County

Y and up around down to the

Ash Creek area and down to Pine Valley.

Costs to be a part of the tractor and ATV drive is $10.

Also on Saturday there will be threshing at 12.30 and a parade at four o'clock.

Sunday Cowboy Church will be held at 8.30 and threshing will be at 12.30.

Saturday and Sunday there will be breakfast.

All weekend there will be food by 4-H,

a HCCP pie stand, a youth exhibit for under 16, a silent auction and more.

If you have any questions or want more information call Paul Posh at 608-647-8064 or Kelly Schaefer at 608-604-3621.

More information about the event can be found at greaterrichlandtourism.com.

At last night's Richland Center City Council meeting officials addressed major fiscal challenges regarding municipal health insurance coverage and made key decisions on grant applications.

The council faced an October 1st deadline to submit a resolution to the Department of Employee Trust Funds, or ETF, indicating any intent to change its current insurance plan, which currently covers 42 municipal employees.

In the upcoming 2027 general fund budget, wages and benefits are projected to cost the city $3.96 million, representing approximately 46% of the general fund budget and 57% of the total operating budget.

Soaring premiums have created significant budgetary pressure.

While ETF Reserve funds previously helped suppress rate increases through 2023, ETF currently offers only one Tier 1 plan in Richland County.

As a result, the city absorbs the full brunt of rate increases rather than benefiting from cost averaging across multiple plans.

Remaining on the current health plan would have triggered a $216,000 increase in total municipal costs, a 17.4% rise.

With state law capping the city's allowed levy growth at just $21,146, the general funds share of the health insurance increase alone stood at more than six times the permitted levy expansion.

while leaving ETF for the private market carried steep penalties for returning up to 40% in the first year, 30% in the second, and 20% in the third.

The city has already exhausted options like cutting services, restructuring, and sharing department resources to stay within legal limits.

Following extensive discussion, the council voted unanimously to transition to a mid-tier health insurance plan, moving away from a zero-deductible model while avoiding a high-deductible plan.

Council members Schultz and Martinick were not present for the vote.

In other business, the council considered the Connect Communities grant application alongside a request for municipal accounting and bookkeeping services to assist with the grant.

Council member Chris Jarvis noted that Southwest partners had already submitted an application for the same grant, meaning a separate municipal application would directly compete against the local effort.

Despite Mayor Teplie arguing in favor of approving the Connect Community's application, Alderperson Melanie Walters seconded a motion by Jarvis to deny it.

The council ultimately voted 5-1 to deny the application, with older person Ryan Cairns casting the sole dissenting vote.

The 2026 Canyon of Lights Parade will be held Saturday at 7 o'clock in downtown Richland Center.

The theme of this year's parade is Under the Harvest Moon.

The parade will follow the same route as last year.

All veterans of our military organizations, along with non-organization members still serving, or those who have served in good standing, are encouraged to join in leading with the colors in the Canyon of Light Parade.

Line up no later than 645 with the parade beginning at 7 o'clock.

Also, the Chapter 7 troop carrier will be at American Legion Post 13 for veterans needing a ride who cannot march in the parade.

Please arrive prior to 630 at the American Legion.

Since the troop carrier will be leaving the Legion at 630, head it up to Park Street.

The Richland School District Board of Education has officially scheduled a special board meeting for Monday, October 5th.

The meeting is set to begin at 6.30 p.m.

and will take place in the Richland School Board Conference Room.

The agenda for the evening will open with standard preliminary procedures, including the official call to order, roll call of board members, and confirmation of public notice.

Following these opening items, the board will consider a motion to transition into closed session to conduct pupil expulsion hearings and engage in deliberations pursuant to relevant Wisconsin state statutes.

Action on these matters is expected to be taken while in closed session prior to adjournment.

The Richland County Executive and Finance Standing Committee and the Richland County Campus Reconfiguration Committee will hold a joint meeting Monday, October 5th at 5 p.m.

in the Richland County boardroom at the courthouse in Richland Center.

Key agenda items include a presentation by the City of Richland Center regarding the future of the campus property.

The committees may also convene into closed session pursuant to Wisconsin statute to deliberate or negotiate the sale of the campus property before returning to open session for any potential action.

The American Red Cross urges donors to get blood or platelets now to help hospitals and transfusion centers stay prepared to help all patients.

A Red Cross blood drive will be held tomorrow from 9 30 to 2 o'clock at the Gays Mills Community Building.

Appointments may be made by calling 800 Red Cross, visiting RedCrossBlood.org, or by using the Red Cross blood donor app.

Walk-ins are always welcome.

A neighboring landowner has officially appealed Lafayette County's approval of a livestock facility license for a proposed site located at 1-4-274 Fort Defiance Road in the town of Willow Springs.

The appeal brings the decision before Wisconsin's Livestock Facility Citing Review Board for evaluation.

The challenging landowner contends that the county improperly applied setback rules, accepted an inaccurate odor score calculation and relied on incorrect estimates for manure generation and storage capacity.

Under Wisconsin law, residents and property owners located within two miles of the proposed expansion have until October 30th to submit a formal statement of position regarding the matter.

These statements will be reviewed by the board to determine whether to uphold or reverse the local decision.

Submissions must directly address the specific issues raised in the appeal, remain under 10 pages, and contain no new arguments or evidence unless specifically requested by the board.

The Livestock Facility Citing Review Board functions as an independent citizen body

tasked with reviewing local government decisions on livestock permits when appealed by eligible parties.

The board will issue a final decision within 60 days of receiving certified records from Lafayette County following internal deliberations without further public testimony.

Vital statistics right after this.

It's the Midweek Roundup.

Wednesday's Roundup brought to you by Richland Hospital, Cardinal Glass EG, Badgerland Flooring, and by Julie Kieran State Farm.

Today, it's Henko or facto.

Hanks got the questions, and Phil, he's got the final say on whether it's fact or something cooked up over a cup of bad coffee.

Confidence?

Absolutely.

Accuracy?

That's where things get adventurous.

Play along and see if you can out-guess Phil, because the truth is out there, and Phil is doing his best to find it.

Wednesdays roundup, where Factos, Hankos, and Phil... Oh, collide!

Move them on!

It's time for the roundup!

There he is!

Good morning, young man!

How you been?

Well, you got paper everywhere, Philip.

The Pride of Peeridge,

ladies and gentlemen.

Right there he is.

Boy, I'll tell ya.

Yeah.

Big night Saturday night.

I think you're gonna have a visitor from Peeridge.

You think so?

Yeah.

Yeah.

Really?

Okay.

Wow.

She should be coming up so.

She?

Yeah.

Okay.

Yeah.

Any, do you have any idea who it may be?

Miss P. Ridge?

It is.

How did you know that?

Miss P. Ridge?

Wow.

Yeah.

Boy, that's going to be pretty special.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Good.

Huh.

Can't wait for that, can't you?

She said she's going to wear a tooth.

She related to you?

I'm not going to say at this point, but pretty close related.

You know, down there everybody's related somehow.

Right.

Right.

Okay.

Anyway.

Yes.

Yeah.

A lot of things to get through your first question though.

Oh, if you saw your coworker pick their nose and then hold their hand out for a handshake, what would you do?

I would bumpfist.

Well, yeah.

No, I want to shake hands.

Let's get in here and just this.

Yeah, that's tough.

Did you do anything fun last night?

Well, I had volleyball

last night.

Did you?

Yeah, I think it's good to get there and I didn't get in too much trouble.

Although I, you know, I look for things with what as June terms it, my man eyes.

So, you know, we have two different kitchens.

We have one for the daycare and one upstairs for the living area.

And I couldn't find my, my coveted bottle of soy sauce cause

we

were old and she said there's one downstairs, you know, so I go down there and I looked and I looked and I actually pulled things out of the fridge.

I don't know.

go back upstairs and I say, well, we must not have any.

She goes, well, it's in the top shelf.

I said, I pulled like everything out.

I didn't see it.

So she went down there and of course found it in like one second.

So I was looking with my man eyes.

Yeah.

See, my son's the same way.

Dad, have you seen the milk top shelf son?

Yeah.

No, I don't see it.

Well, milk's easier to find them.

But I'm just giving you an example.

Yeah.

And it's like, dad, I can't find the milk.

You have to move the bottle of water that's sitting in front of it son.

Oh yeah.

Oh.

I did that, but it was kind of, in my defense, it was kind of tipped over in the back.

And in my defense, we need a new refrigerator light too.

Phil, not happening.

You're not going to buy that over me.

I'm going to get her a new refrigerator light, then watch her face light up.

Yeah.

Make sure it's not as bright that way.

When you eat it, it doesn't brighten the whole house.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Well, you know, when she's looking for soy sauce, she'll be able to find it easier.

So would you.

Yeah, right.

You might be from Mark or you might be from Peerage, Phillip.

If your wedding vows include third times of charm.

I'm not going to say.

Every time you get married, that happens, right?

Every yes.

It does.

Anyway.

Oh, well.

Well, we have a couple of things here.

I have your, um, questions, your, your, um, rapid fire questions, rapid fire, rapid fire questions.

Do you look in the tissue after blowing your nose?

No, I don't think so.

Do you smell clothes to decide whether they're clean?

Yes.

Do you talk to animals like they understand English?

Oh, sure.

Do you rehearse arguments in the shower?

I don't think so.

I'm better on the fly.

Do you relive them then?

Oh, I could have said this.

Oh, yeah.

Oh, I do that all the time.

You do.

Oh, sure.

Right.

Exactly.

Would it much better if I would have termed it a little bit differently?

Do you push the

elevator button even though it's lit?

Probably.

Yeah.

Yeah, probably.

I hit four like 10 times.

Yeah.

All right.

$500 cash or a year of free groceries?

Oh boy, you're a free groceries because that would total a lot more than 500 bucks.

I spend that like in one visit.

Free gas or free electricity for a year?

Free gas.

Never wait in line again or never set in traffic again.

Oh boy, that's a tough one.

Probably traffic.

Okay.

Always find a parking spot or always hit green lights.

Oh, I think green lights.

I'm with you on that one.

Free breakfast.

I don't mind

walking

a little bit.

Free breakfast or free supper forever.

Oh,

that's a good one.

Well, being that I don't get a chance to actually eat a breakfast, I'm going to say the other goes separate.

Yeah.

Right.

Well, you failed all 10 questions.

Oh, thank you.

Oh man, you're very, I mean, we're close on that.

Oh sure.

Yeah.

All right.

So that's done, Phillip.

All right.

So so many things on the agenda

today.

Yeah.

All right.

So,

We, we started a new one last week.

I forgot the name of it, but you know, something that makes old people happy.

I should say older people like myself.

Yeah.

Right.

All right.

Are you middle aged?

I don't know what aged I am.

Yeah.

I'm never, I'm never, I'm always confused by that middle age thing.

Cause you never know when you're going to die.

So you never know what middle it is.

Right.

Exactly.

Are you in the middle?

Are you a three quarters?

I'm going to say three quarters at this point.

Do you have the low

fuel light on?

I mean, what's going

on?

So, um,

This is what we look forward to other than you know, a new car or a new new video game It's what what older people look for a pill organizer filler filler with a full week of compartments.

Oh, there you go.

Yes.

Yeah

Taking a few yeah, I don't have anything except Flintstones vitamins right now, but poor thing what else Oh finding ripe tomatoes in the garden.

Yes

this time of year

and they

are

delicious.

Yeah, it really is.

Prescription glasses that finally let you read the menu.

Oh,

there

you go.

Yeah, that's good.

Yeah,

that's really

so

right.

Seeing that the gas tank is still half full.

Yes, yes, especially in today's world.

Right.

Let's see here.

With

the vibe, I'd probably still have

good 300 miles.

Do you really?

How often do you fill up?

about every two weeks.

Really?

Mostly just driving around here and not taking long trips.

Oh,

yeah.

Yeah.

All right.

Finding the correct screw on the first try out of your screw drawer.

Oh, yeah, that's true.

or a nut that goes on the screw.

It actually goes, yeah.

That's like a victory.

Oh, 100%.

I knew I kept this for something.

I knew

it, because here it is, it fits on there.

It almost fits.

I actually did that last night.

It's sideways, but

still worked.

Yeah.

So, discovering there's one more piece of pie.

Yes.

That would be one of mine.

Yeah, it probably is.

Right.

Like any pie?

Apple pie.

Yeah.

Realizing tomorrow,

It's not garbage day.

Oh,

yeah, that's that's true.

Yeah, I always forget and I don't mark what day is recycling because they

are cycling every

week.

And I'll be like, I don't

know.

I don't

know.

And then I looked, I looked to see what the neighbors are doing.

I

don't know, man.

I'll never forget was it was a couple of weeks ago.

You know, I was excited.

Yeah, my trash is out.

Good to go.

Yeah.

Yeah, it was Wednesday night.

Wednesday night.

Yeah, my trash gets picked up on Wednesday.

Oh,

well, the other thing is during a holiday week, like Labor

Day or Memorial week, it pushes it

back and I always forget that too.

It's like, wait a minute.

Oh, it's not.

Oh, and the wind blew it over in the middle of the

night.

Yeah, that's great.

Yeah, that's great.

Yeah.

Thank you.

My garbage can has become basically kids walk by and throw their garbage in the trash.

Do they really?

Yeah.

Well, it's

nice of you.

Good public service

for you to do that.

For

the community.

Yeah.

You

have

any more?

Are you good for that?

I think I'm good.

Okay.

In terms of exciting things.

Right.

All right.

And you have the word for Hanked on phonics.

Hanked on phonics.

Okay.

This is a tough one.

Okay.

Here it is.

Oh.

P-e-i-g-n-o-i-r-n-o-r-n-o-i-r-n-o-i-r-n-o-i-r-n-o-i-r-n-o-i-r-n-o-i-r-n-o-i-r-n-o-i-r-n-o-i-r-n-o-i-r-n-o-i-r-n-o-i-r-n-o-i-r-n-o-i-r-n-o-i-r-n-o-i-r-n-o-i-r-n-o-i-r-n-o-i-r-n-o-i-r-n-o-i-r-n-o-i-r-n-o-i-r-n-o-i-r-n-o-i-r-n-

Those were the days on

Saturday night.

It goes back to the early days of WRCO announcing and we used to have a lot more live commercial reads than we do now.

And we would have Hornet Highcasters.

And

so

we'd do live reads at the board, you know, and play songs.

But anyway, an announcer wasn't me, said they have lots of ladies

Oh

my goodness.

Ladies, ladies, pig

newer.

That would be Henry.

Well,

you didn't do too badly.

I'd say, you know, you were,

you were.

I blew that thing.

It wasn't even close.

It wasn't even close.

But what can you do?

What else do you know

today?

Well, we got some hanker fact over here.

I let

you go because I know you, you're a busy guy.

You got to get back and

get

your

nap.

I'm trying to get.

miss peers to come in and flying in the sextonville airport.

Oh,

right.

You know what I mean?

I'm missing some shit.

She

has her own plane.

That's pretty cool.

Oh, when pigs fly.

Yeah.

All right, buddy.

All right.

An obscure law in Arizona from 1909 allows a U S senators identical twin to replace them for the remainder of their term.

That can't be true.

It's not.

It's twice as Hanco.

Oh, here's, here's a scorecard for you that I need to order more

score one point for each day.

Yeah.

Researchers indicate that people who choose to live in brick houses are cycle psychologically more stable than those who reside in wood houses.

That can't be true.

That's Hanco.

That's dumb as a brick statement.

Oh boy.

You said it.

You said it.

Yep.

During the sixth century, the Chinese learned how to harness horses without strangling them and that the same time in India, chess was being played for the first time.

Um, that sounds about right.

Say it's true.

Smart move.

Smart move.

Yeah.

Very good.

Competitive events in the 1900 summer Olympics in Paris included cannon shooting,

firefighting, life-saving and angling.

Cannon saving, catch it, catch it, catch it.

I wouldn't say that's not true.

That's a bunch of

Hanko.

Cannon shooting, firefighting, life-saving and angling were official sports, but were not Olympic events at the 1900 symbol Summer Olympics in Paris.

No medals for guessing this one right, don't feel.

I'll give you a medal.

Yeah, interesting.

I'll give you a medal.

Yeah, it's interesting to look back.

If you look back at the history of the WIA and some of the state sanctioned sports, one of them was actually cycle riding like way back in the day.

Yeah, I was reading a thing because they would give schools, they would compensate schools like let's say there's an up north team and they had a youngster make it to the state cycling tournament.

They'd give them money to bring their bike on the train because they would ride the train to Madison, you know, and then

ride their bike in the state tournament.

Yeah, yeah.

That's kind of cool.

Probably had the big balloon tires, you know.

Well, they have those now.

Have you ever seen some of those tires on these bikes?

They're bigger, they're wider than my mini.

Crazy.

But they say they're easier to ride.

Peddling is a lot easier than those old

bikes.

But why though?

To me, it would be harder to pedal, but no.

It's geared differently, I think.

But they say, no, you go through snow easier.

I mean, they just say it's a

lot easier to go.

Right, right.

Well, maybe

that's

what I should bring to

work.

If you have

a little motor around there, too, about a few of them do now, too.

Hey, this is no lie.

Did I tell you about the little girl that's on her?

I don't know.

It was a little bored.

I mean, she was zooming up and down the street, because I live on a one-way street.

I mean, she, when I saw her, it was like, boom, it's like, what the heck?

It was like on a little, little board.

Hoverboard?

Yeah.

But it was on, I mean, it was on wheels and electric.

Okay.

Yeah.

And she's combined, turned around and I said, how fast does that thing go?

She goes, huh, my, I think my dad said 35.

And I said, what happens when you're ex?

She goes, it's going to hurt.

35.

That's pretty fast.

35 mile an hour.

Wow.

And it's like,

Interesting.

I mean, I'm afraid to go 35 mile an hour down that street on my car.

Yeah, man.

I don't think the vibe goes

that way.

Boom.

I mean, it was amazing what she was doing.

But anyway, good luck to her.

Yeah.

And I said, if you do fall, I said, please, I said, if you do fall, please do it down the street because I don't want to see that.

So anyway, my friend, have a good day and be kind and you know what, Phil, stay dry.

Good morning, everyone.

For WRCO News, I'm Todd Copernol, 63 degrees with some light rain in Richland Center right now.

Forecast says cloudy and humid today with light rain tapering off as the morning plays out high today, 73 degrees in the news.

At last night's Richland Center City Council meeting officials addressed major fiscal challenges regarding municipal health insurance coverage and made key decisions on grant funding applications.

The council faced an October 1st deadline to submit a resolution to the Department of Employee Trust Fund's ETF, indicating any intent to change its current insurance plan, which currently covers 42 municipal employees.

In the upcoming 2027 general fund budget, wages and benefits are projected to cost the city $3.96 million, representing approximately 46% of the general fund budget and 57% of the total operating budget.

Soaring premiums have created significant budgetary pressure, while ETF reserve funds previously helped suppress rate increases through 2023.

ATF currently offers only one Tier 1 plan in Richland County.

As a result, the city absorbs the full brunt of rate increases rather than benefiting from cost averaging across multiple plans.

Remaining on the current health plan would have triggered a $216,000 increase in total municipal costs, a 17.4% rise.

With state law capping the city's allowed levy growth at just $21,146, the general fund's share of the health insurance increase alone stood at more than six times the permitted levy expansion.

While leaving ETF for the private market carried steep penalties for returning,

Up to 40% in the first year, 30% in the second and 20% in the third.

The city has already exhausted options like cutting services, restructuring and sharing department resources to stay within legal limits.

Following extensive discussion, the Council voted unanimously to transition to a mid-tier health insurance plan, moving away from a zero-deductible model while avoiding a high-deductible plan.

Council members Schultz and Martinick were not present for the vote.

In other business, the Council considered the Connect Communities grant application alongside a request for municipal accounting and bookkeeping services to assist with the grant.

Council member Chris Jarvis noted that Southwest partners had already submitted an application for the same grant, meaning a separate municipal application would directly compete against a local effort.

Despite Mayor Tapley arguing in favor of approving the Connect Communities application, Alderperson Melanie Walters seconded a motion by Jarvis to deny it.

The council ultimately voted five to one to deny the application with Alderperson Ryan Cairns casting the lone dissenting vote.

The U.S.

Highway 14 project is planning to switch to the final stage of construction next Wednesday, October 7.

Traffic in both the east and westbound lanes will be restricted to the outside lane in each direction as crews work to finish the median in between the east and westbound lanes.

Access through the median will be greatly reduced, meaning left turns into and out of businesses will be difficult and completely restricted at some points.

As the weather cools, it takes concrete longer to cure and achieve required strengths, resulting in longer closures.

The intersections of U.S.

14 Bowman Drive and County O will both need to be closed again for excavation and final concrete installation.

Please use the marked D-Tour on County RC to State Highway 80.

Again, the project team thanks you for your support and patience during these final weeks.

The project is still currently on schedule to meet the contracted completion date in November.

The Richland Hospital and Clinics will join forces with local and regional emergency response agencies Thursday tomorrow to conduct a comprehensive disaster training exercise.

The planned drill aims to test real-time communication, interagency coordination, and incident command operations to evaluate and strengthen local response capabilities.

Throughout the day, community members will notice heightened activity surrounding hospital grounds, including emergency vehicles, response personnel, and volunteer actors participating in realistic simulated scenarios.

Hospital officials emphasize that this is strictly a training event and that patient care services will continue without interruption.

Lyle Cranowill, Risk Management Director for the Richland Hospital and Clinics, highlighted the importance of routine drills in maintaining community readiness.

He noted that evaluating strengths and addressing areas for improvement in a controlled setting ensures staff and regional partners remain fully prepared for real emergencies.

Following the exercise, participating agencies will complete a full debrief to refine future response strategies.

The Richland County Ad Hoc Jail Committee will be meeting Thursday, October 8th at 11.30 a.m.

in the Richland County boardroom of the courthouse located at 181 West Seminary Street in Richland Center.

Members of the public and interested parties are encouraged to attend.

attend to stay informed about critical developments concerning local county infrastructure and public safety facilities.

Key topics scheduled for discussion include reports from the jail inspector, a comprehensive overview of the current jail status, and details regarding a potential new jail referendum structure.

Virtual attendance options and additional meeting documentation are available through the Richland County website.

The 2026 Canyon of Lights Parade will be held Saturday at 7 p.m.

in downtown Richland Center.

The theme of this year's parade is Under the Harvest Moon.

The parade will follow the same route as last year.

All veterans of our military organizations along with non-organization members still serving or those who have served in good standing are encouraged to join in leading with the colors in the Canyon of Light Parade.

Line up no later than 645 with the parade starting at 7.

Also, the Chapter 7 troop carrier will be at American Legion post 13 for veterans needing a ride who cannot march in the parade.

Please arrive prior to 630 at the American Legion since the troop carrier will be leaving the Legion at 630 headed up to Park Street.

The Richland School District Board of Education has officially scheduled a special board meeting for Monday, October 5th.

The meeting is set to begin at 6.30pm and will take place in the Richland School Board Conference Room.

The agenda for the evening will open with standard preliminary procedures, including the official call to order, roll call of board members and confirmation of public notice.

Following these opening items, the board will consider a motion to transition into closed session to conduct pupil expulsion hearings and engage in deliberations pursuant to relevant Wisconsin state statutes.

Action on these matters is expected to be taken while in closed session prior to adjournment.

The Transportation Coordinating Committee of Richland County has scheduled a public hearing to gather community feedback regarding its application for the 2027 Specialized Transportation Assistance Program grant.

The hearing will take place Wednesday, October 7th at 2.30 p.m.

Attendees can participate in person in Conference Room AB at the Community Services Building or join virtually via Microsoft Teams.

The meeting agenda will commence with calling the public hearing to order, followed by an overview of the program's purpose.

Members of the public will then have the opportunity to share their comments and input before the hearing is officially closed.

In a 51 to 48 vote, the U.S.

Senate rejected a Congressional Review Act resolution brought forward by Senator Tammy Baldwin aimed at overturning a Trump administration health care rule.

The defeated resolution sought to halt policies that critics warn could end coverage for up to 2 million Americans, elevate out-of-pocket costs, and reduce essential health benefits across the country.

The contested regulation encourages the expansion of catastrophic health plans with high deductibles, eases network requirements for physicians and permits insurers to offer non-network coverage.

Opponents argue that these changes allow insurance providers to increase financial burdens on working families while weakening access to crucial services such as addiction treatment and hearing care.

During floor debate, Senator Baldwin criticized the administration's approach, characterizing it as a backdoor effort to erode the Affordable Care Act without presenting a viable alternative

for the millions relying on the marketplace.

According to CMS estimates, the policy would result in maximum out-of-pocket expenses, reaching $15,600 for individuals in 2027, while increasing administrative burdens on nearly 4.7 million policyholders.

UW-Madison is investigating reports of sexual assaults at off-campus fraternity housing.

The report comes just days after two men were arrested for allegedly leading the hazing of 30 pledges at Alpha Epsilon Pi.

According to campus officials, one victim was drugged and assaulted at two different locations last weekend.

While another was assaulted on campus earlier this month by someone they knew.

UW Madison police spokesperson Mark Lava cot says that they've been notified of both incidents, but there's no word on any investigations as of Tuesday afternoon.

UW Madison police have not released which fraternities were involved.

Not that not have given any information about the victims.

The Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection, that cap.

has officially confirmed that samples taken from non-lactating dairy cattle in Waukesha County tested positive for episodic hemorrhagic disease, EHD.

The virus has also been identified in local wild and captive deer populations.

EHD is a reportable condition that livestock owners and veterinarians must disclose to DatCap within 10 days of discovery.

transmitted primarily by biting midges and flies.

EHD typically resurfaces during late summer and early autumn when insect populations peak.

Cases generally decline following the season's first hard frost.

While Wisconsin last identified an EHD case in cattle in 2013,

clinical symptoms in cattle remain uncommon.

When signs do appear, they may include fever, excess salivation, weight loss, lameness, and lesions on the mouth.

Because these symptoms can mimic foreign animal diseases, thorough testing is essential.

Although no specific treatment exists for EHD,

Livestock owners are advised to partner with their veterinarians to manage herd health, focus on insect control, ensure optimal nutrition, and prevent overcrowding.

That cap emphasizes that EHD poses no health threat to humans and consuming meat or dairy products from infected animals is safe.

Today's vital statistics are sponsored by Krause Monument.

Krause Monument Company designs and produces granite headstones, gravestones, grave markers, monuments, and memorials.

Today is September 30th.

These are today's vital statistics.

David Daniel Higbee, 65 of Richland Center, died Wednesday, September 16th.

Funeral services will be held.

Today at 3 p.m.

at the Pratt Memorial Chapel with burial to follow in the Richland Center Cemetery.

Visitation will be held today from 1 p.m.

until the time of service at 3 at the Pratt Memorial Chapel.

Dave Higbee is survived by two children, Daniel Higbee and Angela and Ryan Larson.

Four stepchildren, Karina Fish, John Butler, Rod and Lauren Harris and Simon and Kristen Harris.

12 grandchildren,

three great grandchildren, brother Gary and Becky Higbee, aunts and uncle, nieces, nephews, cousins and friends, David Daniel Higbee, 65 of Richland Center.

Peter Pete.

Crook 65 of Bear Valley died unexpectedly Thursday, September 24th in a work accident.

A funeral mass will be held Thursday, October 1st at 10.30 a.m.

at St.

Luke's Catholic Church in Plain with burial in the St.

Killian's Catholic Cemetery.

Visitation will be held today from 4 p.m.

until 7 p.m.

at the Richardson Stafford Funeral Home in Spring Green.

Pete is survived by his wife Dolores.

Four children, Daniel and Brittany Crook, Monica and Isaiah Rickert, Jessica and Jesse Lenz, and Brittany and John Killoy.

Five grandchildren, four siblings, Mary and Alois Clary, Dale and Pat Crook, Dawn and Bruce Reeve and Chris and Jeff Sorg.

Many nieces, nephews, other relatives and friends.

Peter Pete Crook, 65.

of Bear Valley.

Carolyn Josephine Janney Freeman 102 of Richland Center died Wednesday September 2nd at Schmidt Woodland Hills.

A celebration of life for Carolyn will be held Saturday October 3rd at 11 a.m.

at the Pratt Memorial Chapel with a private family burial to follow in the Richland Center cemetery.

A live stream of the service can be viewed at the Pratt Funeral and Cremation Service website.

Visitation will be held Saturday, October 3 at the Pratt Memorial Chapel from 9.30 a.m.

until the time of service at 11.

Memorials in Carolyn's Memory can be made to the Town and Country Presbyterian Church, Schmidt Woodland Hills Foundation Scholarship Fund, or the Myra Tony Pine River School Restoration Handicap Accessible Project.

Carolyn is survived by her children Sherry and Larry Kwame, Jean and John Hopkins, and Vicki and Jerry Wisniewski.

Seven grandchildren, 13 great-grandchildren, two great-great-grandchildren, many nieces and nephews.

Carolyn Josephine Janney Freeman, 102 of Richland Center.

Joseph Joe B. McEvac.

92 of Muscaday died Friday, September 25th peacefully in his sleep.

Funeral services will be held at 12 noon Saturday, October 10th at St.

John the Baptist Catholic Church in Muscaday.

Visitation will be held Friday, October 9th at the Pratt Funeral Home in Muscatay from 6 p.m.

until 8.30 p.m.

and again Saturday, October 10th from 11 a.m.

until 11.45 a.m.

Also at the Pratt Funeral Home in Muscatay.

Burial immediately following the funeral mass will be held at St.

John the Baptist Catholic Cemetery in Muscatay.

A luncheon will be served after the burial at St.

John the Baptist Catholic School Gymnasium next to the church.

Joe was survived by his siblings, Donald and Sandra McEvec and Anna Marie Fuller.

His children, Deborah and Jose Lucas Nader, Susan and Bill Rogers, Barbara and Terry Pliner, Lisa and Thomas Buell, Nancy and Mark Kramer, and Joseph and Caitlin McEvec.

14 grandchildren, nine great-grandchildren, several nieces and nephews, Joseph, Joel, B. McEvec, 92 of Muscatay.

Welcome back to the news at noon.

The US Highway 14 project is planning to switch to the final stage of construction next Wednesday, October 7th.

Traffic in both the east and westbound lanes will be restricted to the outside lane in each direction as crews work to finish the median in between the east and westbound lanes.

Access through the median will be greatly reduced, meaning left turns into and out of businesses will be difficult and

completely restricted at some points.

As the weather cools, it takes concrete longer to cure and achieve required strengths, resulting in longer closures.

The intersections of US-14 and Bowman Drive and County O will both need to be closed again for excavation and final concrete installation.

Please use the marked detour on County RC.

to reach State Highway 80.

Again, the project team thanks you for your support and patience.

During these final weeks, the project is still currently on schedule to meet the contracted completion date in November.

At Wednesday night's Richland Center City Council meeting, officials addressed major fiscal challenges regarding municipal health insurance coverage and made key decisions on grant funding applications.

The council faced an October 1st deadline to submit a resolution to the Department of Employee Trust Fund's ETF, indicating any intent to change its current insurance plan, which currently covers 42 municipal employees.

In the upcoming 2027 general fund budget, wages and benefits are projected to cost the city $3.96 million, representing approximately 46% of the general fund budget and 57% of the total operating budget.

Soaring premiums have created significant budgetary pressure.

While ETF reserve funds previously helped suppress rate increases through 2023, ETF currently offers only one Tier 1 plan in Richland County.

As a result, the city absorbs the full brunt of rate increases rather than benefiting from cost averaging across multiple plans.

Remaining on the current health plan would have triggered a $216,000 increase in total municipal costs, a 17.4% rise.

With state law capping the city's allowed levy growth at just $21,146, the general fund's share of the health insurance increase alone stood at more than six times the permitted levy expansion.

While leaving ETF for the private market carried steep penalties for returning up to 40% in the first year, 30% in the second and 20% in the third year.

The city has already exhausted options like cutting services, restructuring and sharing department resources to stay within legal limits.

Following extensive discussion, the council voted unanimously to transition to a mid-tier health insurance plan moving away from a zero deductible model while avoiding a high deductible plan.

Council members Schultz and Martinick were not present for the vote.

In other business, the council considered the Connect Communities grant application alongside a request for municipal accounting and bookkeeping services to assist with the grant.

Council member Chris Jarvis noted that Southwest partners had already submitted an application for the same grant, meaning a separate municipal application would directly compete against a local effort.

Despite Mayor Tepley arguing in favor of approving the Connect Communities application, older person Melanie Walters seconded a motion by Jarvis to deny it.

The council ultimately voted five to one to deny the application, with older person Ryan Cairns casting the sole dissenting vote.

The Richland Center Kiwanis Club will be holding an event tonight at the Richland Center Community Center that helps raise money for a good cause.

Steve Colstead is the soon to be outgoing president of the Kiwanis and is an organizer of the event.

We always have a fall

pancake supper.

And we use the money that we raise for that to support our Coats for Kids program.

We've been running a Coats for Kids program in this county for 15 years.

And we hand out some place around 200 coats to needy kids in our community that just don't have a coat.

And this year's probably no difference.

but this pancake supper will start at 4.30 because some of the seniors and the senior center they kind of get in line at 4.30 and rather than have them wait till five o'clock we'll just feed them and then we'll run until seven o'clock.

It's a Goodwill offering and what I like about a Goodwill offering is that you can bring your whole family for a few bucks.

sit around the table have as many pancakes as you want and sausages and apple sauce and warm cherry sauce and a beverage to go with it and just have the chance to catch up.

Money raised from the supper will help keep kids in need of a coat warm during the upcoming colder winter

months.

The money that we raise, the donation that comes in, your donation for a meal goes directly to this Coats for Kids program because not all the same sizes are donated.

I kind of think about a couple of the coats that I gave out last year to young men in our community who are still in high school and you know I'm a double X and so some people think that I'm really kind of a big guy but

I'll tell you what, I drowned in 4x coats and we had to purchase a few 4x coats last year for kids who needed them.

And so that's what this money is used for.

The coats we don't have on hand from donations, that type of thing to fit the holes that are left in the requests.

And so we go out and we actually buy brand new coats for the kids that need them.

Enjoy a great meal and help support the Coats for Kids program at the Richland Center Kiwanis Club Pancake Supper tonight from 4.30 until 7.00 at the Richland Center Community Center.

The cost of the all-you-can-eat meal is a goodwill donation.

The Richland County ad hoc jail committee will be meeting Thursday, October 8th at 1130 a.m.

in the Richland County boardroom of the courthouse in Richland Center.

Members of the public and interested parties are encouraged to attend to stay informed about critical developments concerning local county infrastructure and public safety facilities.

Key topics scheduled for discussion include reports from the jail inspector, a comprehensive overview of the current jail status, and details

regarding a potential new jail referendum structure.

Virtual attendance options and additional meeting documentation are available through the Richland County website.

The 2026 Canyon of Lights Parade will be held Saturday at 7 p.m.

in downtown Richland Center.

The theme of this year's parade is Under the Harvest Moon.

The parade will follow the same route as last year.

All veterans of our military organizations, along with non-organization members still serving, or those who have served in good standing, are encouraged to join in leading with the colors in the Canyon of Lights Parade.

Line up no later than 645 with the parade beginning at 7 o'clock also.

The chapter 7 troop carrier will be at American Legion post 13 for veterans needing a ride who cannot march in the parade.

Please arrive prior to 630 at the American Legion since the troop carrier will be leaving the Legion at 630 headed up to Park Street.

The Richland School Board has officially

scheduled a special board meeting for Monday, October 5th.

The meeting is set to begin at 6.30 p.m.

and will take place in the Richland School Board Conference Room.

The agenda for the evening will open with standard preliminary procedures, including the official call to order, roll call of board members and confirmation of public notice.

Following those opening items, the board will consider a motion to transition into closed session to conduct pupil expulsion hearings.

and engage in deliberations pursuant to relevant Wisconsin state statutes.

Action on these matters is expected to be taken while enclosed session prior to adjournment.

The Richland County Executive and Finance Standing Committee and the Richland County Campus Reconfiguration Committee will hold a joint meeting Monday, October 5th at 5 p.m.

in the Richland County Boardroom at the Courthouse and Richland Center.

Key agenda items include a presentation by the City of Richland Center regarding the future of the campus property.

The committees may also convene in the closed session pursuant to Wisconsin statute to deliberate or negotiate the sale of the campus property before returning to open session for any potential action.

In an effort to streamline dispatch operations and maintain focus on critical emergencies, the Ozaki County Sheriff's Office Consolidated Communications Center

has introduced a new artificial intelligence system named AVA, developed by Aurelian.

The AI platform is now actively handling routine and non-urgent calls for service, freeing up human dispatchers to concentrate on radio traffic and urgent 911 situations.

Callers contacting the non-emergency line are encouraged to speak naturally with AVA rather than navigating it like

a traditional automated phone tree.

Instead of pressing buttons or requesting specific departments like dispatch or jail, users should simply state the exact reason for their call.

Whether reporting a complaint or asking to post bond for an inmate, providing clear details allows AVA to quickly route the caller to the appropriate division or personnel.

Sheriff Knowles emphasized that the transition will not lead to job cuts or reduce the quality of public safety services.

Instead, the technology is intended to build additional capacity within the system to better handle peak call volumes.

As a consolidated dispatch center serving seven police departments, seven fire departments, and the sheriff's office across Ozaukee County,

The facility processed 113,538 non-emergency calls and 17,612 emergency 911 calls in 2025.

With emergency call volumes up 17% this year, workload management tools have become increasingly essential.

AVA.

is fully equipped to transfer callers directly to 911 if an emergency is detected during the interaction.

The platform has undergone rigorous training and features full Spanish language proficiency.

By handling routine inquiries, the system helps alleviate operational pressures while ensuring dispatchers remain dedicated to managing life-saving emergency responses.

ATHS Southern Wisconsin Chapter and Hill Country Classic Powers CC will present the 43rd annual Wheels of Time Truck and Tractor Show Friday and Saturday from 8 to 5 and Sunday from 8 to 3 at the Richland County Fairgrounds.

Paul Posh is an organizer of the event.

Plenty of things to do and plenty of things to do yet.

I mean, we're getting ready to go.

We got everything pretty much in place.

Hope to have a really good show.

We got Alice Chalmers this year.

And we usually have a really good turnout of the trucks, many old, all the way to brand new ones.

And we welcome all.

There will be a wide variety of classic trucks and tractors on display.

During the three-day event, there will be a truck drive on Friday morning at 9.

The cost to be part of the drive is $25 per vehicle.

Saturday morning, there will be a tractor and ATV drive.

Bill Geer is also an organizer of Wheels of Time.

We have our tractor ride Saturday morning.

Mine up's around 9.

We leave the fairgrounds 9.30.

We got about a 16-17 mile route we take.

Taking it the same route we did about five years ago.