
The Marathon County Board will support an application for the county to receive grant funding aimed at bringing new talent to the area.
At a meeting last week, the board voted to authorize a letter of support for an application for the funding submitted by the Greater Wausau Prosperity Partnership.
County Administrator Lance Leonard explained the program to the supervisors.
It's a relocation program that essentially is aiming to bring people to the state of Wisconsin, specifically this
grant would be to Marathon County.
This year is the first for the Talent Recruitment Grant Program, a program organized by the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation.
The program aims to attract households that make at least $55,000 a year in annual income.
A total of $5 million in funding is available statewide with a $500,000 cap on the amount any single municipality can receive.
Applicants have to provide matching funds equal to at least 20% of the total project cost through cash, local investment, and in-kind donations.
The Greater Wausau Prosperity Partnership is responsible for providing the match as they're the grant applicant on behalf of the geographical region of the county.
And as I understand it, there is not going to be a request from municipalities for any of those grant funds.
Earlier this month, Senior Director for the Prosperity Partnership, Renee Krings, gave a presentation on the program to the County Extension, Education and Economic Development Committee.
She said the partnership will turn to local foundations and community partners to provide the matching funds.
The board voted to approve the letter of support for the partnership's application 30-4.
Congressional decisions on health care are hitting Wisconsin families hard.
Maddie Schaefer has more.
The When Big Beautiful Bill Act passed by Congress last year included major reductions in federal Medicaid, with new provisions that could put about 306 people in Sawyer County at high risk of losing health insurance coverage.
According to the Wisconsin Department of Health Services, in Kenosha County, that number rises to nearly 2,000.
At the same time, enhanced Affordable Care Act premium tax credits expired at the end of the year, causing insurance premiums to skyrocket for many Wisconsin families.
Tammy Baldwin excoriated rising costs in a press call on Wednesday, hosted by Opportunity Wisconsin.
She called on Republicans in Congress to take action and hosted Wisconsinites facing rising cuts.
Joe Selsky, a firefighter from Kenosha, says his family relies on Wisconsin's Medicaid program to afford care for his son, who has a rare condition.
I
really think that Congress needs to take action and reverse those cuts immediately and restore health care for the Wisconsinites that are losing
from Mount Pleasant, who lives with multiple chronic conditions, relies on Medicaid funded services for daily care.
And if Medicaid didn't have my back, I wouldn't be able to afford the health care costs that keep me alive.
Dr. Abigail Lanue is an emergency physician in Chippewa Falls and says rural hospitals and the health care system are at risk.
The Wausau Region Chamber of Commerce is accepting nominations for their 2026 Small Business of the Year Awards.
According to an announcement, the awards recognize business growth, community involvement, and innovative efforts in the Wausau Region.
You can nominate a business until next Friday.
The awards will be announced in April at the Chamber's Business Expo at the Central Wisconsin Convention and Expo Center in Rothschild.
The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources released a Wisconsin Food Waste Evaluation Report.
It includes recommendations to reduce food waste going to landfills as part of a statewide goal to reduce per capita food waste disposal in landfills by 50% by 2030 compared to 2020 levels.
Key findings of the report show that 88% of food waste going to Wisconsin landfills is from residential and food service sources, with residential contributing
the largest share at 47 percent.
Infrastructure for hauling food waste to destinations other than landfills will have to expand significantly in order to achieve the statewide food waste reduction goal.
It's the time of year again to look for Black Bear Den locations.
The DNR's Bear Den team is asking for Den reporting from the public to help with an ongoing statewide study on Black Bear reproduction and population.
Bear Cubs are typically born in late January or early February, and the dens are usually spotted because you can hear the cubs squeaking, grunting, or humming.
You're encouraged to report as much information as possible without approaching or disturbing the dens.
Helpful information includes GPS coordinates, photos of the den, and a description of the site and surrounding area, and information on bear activity near the site.
I'm Isabela Nieto for WXCO News.
NBA the Bucks wrapped up the road trip with another loss this time 107 to 79 to the Boston Celtics the fewest points scored by the Bucks in a game this season.
NFL it's Super Bowl week here in San Francisco.
I'll have reports all week on the big game between the Seahawks and the Patriots who held a pep rally in Foxboro quarterback Derek May.
Man we'll be here without you guys.
What a journey and we still have work left to do.
Shout out to these guys.
Love you guys.
So when we get back, go pass, baby.
It is going to be partly to mostly cloudy today with a high right around 22 this afternoon.
Tonight partly cloudy.
We're going to drop down to around zero for an overnight low.
Tomorrow mostly sunny with a high of 19.
I meteorologist Sean Cable.