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was thinking, you know, maybe a hundred people show up and there were over 500 people that showed up.
So many young people.
The protests come in the wake of federal immigration officials fatally shooting Green Bay native Alex Pretty on January 24th, and after five-year-old Liam Conejo-Ramos and his father were detained by immigration officers in Minnesota and held at an ICE facility in Texas a few days prior.
Stencil says Saturday's protests reflected on those events.
She said one person brought a sign that stood out.
The one that struck me the most is somebody had, it was computer generated, but it showed a little boy in the, I call them Nazi pajamas that was behind bars.
And then it showed Liam with his rabbit hat standing on the other side and they're looking at each other.
Across the street, there was, I think, three people over there.
And then there was either two or three younger men standing in the crowd holding a Trump advance sign.
And they just stood there.
You know, they didn't really heckle anybody.
You know, they
She says organizers of the event are planning another protest towards the end of the month.
Its Career and Technical Education, or CTE, Month in Wisconsin, and the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development and the State Department of Financial Institutions are celebrating the role career and technical education plays in preparing students for success.
CTE helps improve academic performance, increases graduation rates, and provides students with the skills and real world experiences needed to succeed in post-secondary education and high demand careers.
CTE programs across the state collaborate with business and industry partners to meet evolving workforce needs, support local economic growth, and prepare students for career fields expected to grow in the coming years.
The Wausau School District offers CTE programs at the high school and middle school levels, including programs in agriculture, family and consumer sciences, technology and engineering, business, marketing, and more.
The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources encourages Wisconsinites to learn about flood risks across the state and available flood insurance options this week during Flood Insurance Awareness Week.
Because flooding has historically been the state's most common natural hazard, homeowners should prepare for the spring season and look into flood insurance.
Most national flood insurance program policies include a standard 30-day waiting period before coverage begins.
You can contact your local zoning administrator or search their address on FEMA's Map Service Center to learn about flood risk in your area.
Additional resources on flood insurance and flood risk mitigation are available on the Wisconsin Office of the Commissioner of Insurance's Flood Insurance and Disasters web pages.
Another candidate for state lawmaker has thrown their hat in the ring.
John Kroll is running to represent the 85th assembly district, which represents large parts of Wausau and Weston.
Kroll currently serves on the Marathon County Board, but is giving up his seat.
In a statement, Kroll took aim at the Republican-controlled state legislature, saying they've, quote, been siding with big corporations and billionaires, leaving hard-working Wisconsinites behind.
Kroll could face incumbent Representative Pat Snyder, who hasn't
has announced re-election plans yet.
Snyder won re-election in 2024 in a race against Yi Langxiang, who has announced his bid for state treasurer.
Marathon County contractors can get free lead contractor training through the county health department and the city of Wausau.
According to an announcement, the trainings are aimed at helping contractors learn lead-safe work practices and earn state certifications required for renovation and lead abatement work in pre-1978 housing and child-occupied facilities.
The courses will take place at the department's office in Wasaw.
They include lead OSHA, lead-safe renovator, lead abatement worker, and lead abatement supervisor training courses.
The courses are free with a $100 deposit cash only if the participant doesn't attend the training.
To register, visit marathoncounty.gov slash health or the Marathon County Health Department's Facebook page.
Dozens of the 575 federally recognized Native American tribes are making it easier to get tribal IDs by waiving fees, lowering the age of eligibility, and printing cards on the spot.
Experts say it's the first time tribal ID cards have been widely used as proof of U.S.
citizenship and protection against federal law enforcement.
It comes after reports of immigration agents stopping and detaining tribal members have popped up in the last month.
I'm Isabela Nieto for WXCO News.
For Civic
Media News, I'm Lisa Hale.
If you noticed a jump in price at your local gas station this week, you're not alone.
Melissa Kay reports.
Average gas prices rose 4.8 cents over the last week, landing at an average of $254 on Monday.
This is 10.2 cents per gallon higher than a month ago and more than 37 cents lower than this time last year.
Officials at GasBuddy say seasonal trends will now begin as the West Coast starts to transition to summer gasoline.
Those pressures are expected to gradually push eastward in the weeks ahead, potentially driving the national average back above the $3 per gallon mark.
GasBuddy officials say average prices could linger at that level for at least part of the spring.
I'm Melissa Kay.
Wisconsin lawmakers haven't done enough to reduce tobacco usage in the state.
That's according to the American Lung Association.
Its data says tobacco use kills nearly 8,000 Wisconsinites every year, making it the leading cause of preventable death and disease both in the state and across the country.
The American Lung Association releases a review on tobacco control each year in which Wisconsin typically receives mostly failing grades.
The review awards letter grades to states based
on five categories.
Wisconsin received F grades in tobacco prevention and cessation funding.
access to cessation services, and flavored tobacco products, as well as a D grade for tobacco taxes.
Now, the state did receive a B grade in the final category, ensuring smoke-free air.
The American Lung Association is calling on state lawmakers to raise Wisconsin's legal age of sale for tobacco products to 21, protect the statewide smoke-free air law, and create tax parity between cigarettes and e-cigarettes.
Wisconsin Senator Tammy Baldwin is cosponsoring legislation to redirect billions of dollars earmarked for immigration and customs enforcement.
in President Trump's one big beautiful bill to local law enforcement agencies.
Here's civic media's James Kelly with the story.
According to a press release, the Public Safety Act would redirect nearly $75 billion in funding to help hire and train around 200,000 local police officers around the country.
The legislation was originally proposed by Democratic Senator Catherine Cortez Masto from New Mexico.
Of that nearly $75 billion, $45 billion would be reallocated to the Burn Jag program to fund support training, crime victim assistance programs, and crime prevention.
Nearly $30 billion would be reallocated to the COPS hiring program.
In the press release, Senator Baldwin says it's clear that President Donald Trump's ICE is out of control and the influx of masked, armed, and untrained agents is making communities less safe.
She says ICE doesn't need a blank check and the funding should be used to double down on investing in local police to ensure safety.
I'm James Kelly.
A new survey shows Wisconsin employers don't think students are prepared for the workforce.
The survey from the Wisconsin manufacturers and commerce finds that over half of responding employers say Wisconsin's K-12 education system does not adequately prepare students for the workforce.
Survey data shows 64% of employers indicated their employees struggle with reading, math, or both.
30% of respondents say they have to resort to remedial edu...
or tutoring for employees.
According to the survey, only 10% of Wisconsin employers rate the quality of their local school district as excellent.
The city of Green Bay is facing backlash after it cited a nonprofit for housing the homeless.
Civic
Safe Haven Pet Sanctuary got a citation for offering shelter to the homeless during the recent dangerously cold weather.
In a Facebook post offering additional context and clarification, city leaders say it's important to emphasize the city's actions are not intended to discourage compassion or community-based efforts to help people in crisis.
The city says it received formal complaints about activities at the property and city inspectors are required to apply zoning, building and fire safety and public health regulations.
Comments responding to the city's post questioned the safety of unhoused people sleeping outside in the extreme cold.
The city said they'll be reaching out to Safe Haven to work together for a long-term solution.
I'm Connie Feldman.
The
Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources is encouraging Wisconsinites to learn about flood risks across the state and available flood insurance options.
Isabella
Because flooding has historically been the state's most common natural hazard, homeowners should prepare for the spring season and look into flood insurance.
Most national flood insurance program policies include a standard 30-day waiting period before coverage begins.
You can contact your local zoning administrator or search their address on FEMA's Map Service Center to learn about flood risk in your area.
Additional resources on flood insurance and flood risk mitigation are available on the Wisconsin Office of the Commissioner of Insurance's Flood Insurance and Disasters web pages.
I'm Isabella Nieto.
According to the
Wisconsin Initiative on Climate Change Impacts 2021 Assessment Report, the past decade has been the wettest on record.
The Badgers in Illinois tonight.
Hi, I'm Mike Clemens with sports men's college basketball, Wisconsin Badgers in Champaign to take on the fighting ally and I at Assembly Hall now called State Farm Center the Badgers coming off that loss at Indiana on Saturday Illinois has dropped from fifth to eighth ranked in the nation after losing to Michigan State NBA the Bucks losing last night in Orlando 118 to 99 to the Magic those two teams face off again 6 p.m.
Tomorrow night in Florida baseball Brewers manager
Matt Arnold met with reporters about acquiring two left-handed pitchers, but trading away third baseman Caleb Durbin to the Boston Red Sox in the deal.
You know, we really like the defense on our infield.
But you also started looking at the future here with guys like Jesus Maudet and Cooper Pratt and Luke Adams.
And we feel like we have the ingredients now to weather the loss of somebody like Caleb Durbin, who obviously meant a lot to our franchise.
But we feel really good about the infield depth.
That's the Brewers general manager Matt Arnold with Sports.
I'm Mike Clemens.
It is going to be mostly cloudy today with a high in the upper 20s to near 30 this afternoon.
Tonight mostly cloudy.
We're going to drop down into the mid teens for an overnight low.
Tomorrow mostly sunny with a high once again upper 20s to low 30s.
I'm meteorologist Sean Cable.
That's your was on news roundup from WXCO.
Find more news anytime at wxco.fm.
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