Local-Regional News April 1

So far students in the Durand-Arkansaw School District are adjusting to the new e-learing. Durand Arkansaw School Superintendent Greg Doverspike says one reason the e-learning is working well is that administration talked with students on how the school day should go. Doverspike said that in addition to the student input, the district had been preparing for e-learning classes to make up for snow days since last year.

If Pepin County has a Covid-19 positive test, how will the health department handle it? Pepin County Health Officer Heidi Stewart says the department will do an extensive interview with the patient.  That interview and investigation could take some time so additional information to the pubic will not come right away. Stewart says that the health department would not release the patients name for not only their safety, but because if they did, it would discourage people from asking for a test for fear of their identity being revealed to the public if the test came back positive.

Many people have questions on Covid-19 and have seen different cures or ways to protect themselves on social media. WRDN in conjunction with Advent Health of Durand will hold an on air town hall type of meeting on April 7^th to answer your questions. If you have a question on Covid-19, email it to brian at realcountry1430.com by Friday at 5pm. On April 7^th at during the 9am hour, Jane Poeschel from Advent Health of Durand will answer your questions. Again email your questions to brian at realcountry1430.com by Friday at 5pm.

The City of Eau Claire is receiving over $300,000 from the federal government to help in the fight against covid-19. The money will come in the form of community development block grants and will be used for community development initiatives to support workers and families during the public health crisis. La Crosse is receiving over $500,000 in cdbg grants.

Just a month ago the average price of a gallon of gas in Wisconsin was more than two-dollars, 40-cents.  Now, the national average has fallen below two dollars and some pump prices in this state are down to as low as a dollar-50.  GasBuddy-dot-com credits a price war between foreign producers for increasing the supply of fuel and pushing the price lower.  The experts say the low prices aren’t good for petroleum producers and they may be frustrating for customers who aren’t supposed to be doing any traveling right now.

The Mayo Clinic and C-D-C are warning that smokers could suffer more severe infection from COVID-19 than people who don't light up.   Doctor Taylor Hays of the Mayo Nicotine Dependence Center says early data from China show smoking causes a reduction of lung defenses that could mean challenges in treatment and recovery.    A recent study in the New England Journal of Medicine suggests smokers were more than two times more likely to have severe coronavirus symptoms.  Doctor Hays says this pandemic is a good time for smokers to kick the habit and protect their family.

The slowdown in the economy because of the response to COVID-19 is hurting the ag industry in Wisconsin. Alice in Dairyland Abigail Martin says more and more, people need to be looking for and buying Wisconsin-made food.  Martin says one in nine people in Wisconsin works in agriculture or food production, and that the longer the shutdown lasts, the harder it will be to rebound for farmers.

Congressman Collin Peterson discussed the federal response to the coronavirus pandemic Tuesday with U-S-D-A Secretary Sonny Perdue.   The House Agriculture Committee chair said he spoke by phone with Secretary Perdue about what farmers and producers need nationally as well as what he's hearing from Minnesotans.    He says they talked about "volatility in the commodity markets, particularly for our livestock and poultry industries, the bleak conditions for dairy farmers and the status of our food supply chain." 

Governor Tony Evers is requesting a presidential disaster declaration for all 72 of Wisconsin's counties due to the COVID-19 pandemic.  In a letter to FEMA, Evers wrote, "the response to this virus has required a tremendous response from the state and all of its communities that far exceeds the resources currently available to us."  Evers also said, "this outbreak has caused multiple deaths, resulted in record unemployment claims, and taken a toll on the community infrastructure that is in place to protect the public."  He's seeking federal funds to support several programs including Public Assistance, Direct Assistance, Hazard Mitigation, Individual Assistance and Community Disaster Loans.

 The Wisconsin Election Commission hasn’t decided whether to take action against clerks in Milwaukee and Madison who say they won’t require voters I-Ds with absentee ballots.  The commission isn’t doing anything right now and the next election is coming up in seven days.  The clerks in the state’s two biggest cities say Governor Evers’ Safer at Home order has essentially left voters "indefinitely confined."  The Legislative Fiscal Bureau joins Republican leaders in saying the order does no such thing.  The dispute is the latest one in the political maneuvering leading up to next week’s primaries.

Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers says the worst is yet to come with COVID-19.  Evers says the coronavirus will get worse before it gets better.  He and his team are saying the virus could peak later this month, but they’re not saying what that peak may look like.  D-H-S Secretary Andrea Palm is refusing to back away from her comments last week that as many as 15 hundred people could die from the coronavirus by next Wednesday.

The Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development is asking people to do their filing for unemployment benefits online.  The state says it had to deal with a record number of calls and claims last week.  At one point last Thursday the D-W-D says it received 400 thousand calls over a four-hour period.  The office has been swamped with more than one-and-a-half-million contacts and more than 115 thousand claims were filed for unemployment benefits.

Thousands of workers at Kohl's stores across the country are about to miss a paycheck or two. The Wisconsin-based department store chain says it's extending its closings until further notice. Store employees who had been paid for the past two weeks will be furloughed. Kohl’s CEO Michelle Gass says she made the decision to keep the stores closed to keep shoppers and workers safe. Some corporate employees will also be furloughed.

Steps are being taken to increase Wisconsin’s COVID-19 testing capacity by forming a public-private partnership.  The Marshfield Clinic Health System, Exact Sciences, Promega and U-W Health will join the Wisconsin Clinical Lab Network to bring most of the testing online.  The groups plan to share resources, knowledge and technology.  The Wisconsin Clinical Lab Network has reportedly been averaging 15-hundred-to-two-thousand tests-a-day.  Initially, the partnership is expected to double that capacity.

As farm markets contniue to struggle due to the Covid-19 outbreak, dairy has been hit particulary hard. Farmers needing someone to talk to are encourage to visit the National Milk Producers Federation Website. Chris Gale of National Milk says there is a stress and wellness resource link.

Galen says NMPF is also working with USDA to find ways to help dairy farmers financially during these tough times.

 At a time when thousands of workers are losing their jobs, Wisconsin-based Roundy’s supermarkets are recruiting.  Roundy’s locations around the state will be hosting job fairs Wednesday from 10:00 a-m to 4:00 p-m.  A company spokesman says hundreds of workers are needed to meet the increased demand for online ordering.  The company is reacting to a surge in demand for delivery service also.  Positions include health insurance, a flexible spending account, life insurance, a 401-K savings plan, tuition reimbursement, vacation and time off the job, and an employee assistance program.

The first day of distance learning in Minnesota was a challenge for both educators and students.  Two online programs that many schools use for virtual learning crashed due to high usage.  The programs called Schoology and Seesaw were both down for several hours Monday.  Minnesota’s governor order state schools to close due to the COVID-19 outbreak several weeks ago.  Distance learning is expected to be used until at least May 4th.