High
School Graduation ceremonies could be much different this year. The
Department of Health Services is recommending people avoid all large
gatherings. Pepin County Health Officer Heidi Stewart says the
Department will continue to monitor the situation but the
recommendation could last the entire summer. School
District Superintendents will be meeting via conference call today to
discuss the recommendation from DHS.
As
small businesses across the area continue to struggle due to the
covid-19 pandemic, some that did receive loans with the Payroll
Protection Program are concerned that the loan may not be forgiven.
Wisconsin 3rd
District Congressman Ron Kind says he believes congress will make
some additional adjustments to the PPP Program. Congress
is currently working on the 4th
round of relief due to the covid-19 pandemic.
Eau
Claire bus driver Mike Steinke was in the right place at the right
time Tuesday to save a small girl he spotted wandering in the
street. Steinke was driving on his route when he stopped his
bus, got out and retrieved the child who was less than two years
old. He called dispatch to get some help. Meanwhile, the
girl’s mother realized there was a problem when she saw her front
door was open and a bus was parked in the road. She was
thankful to find her child was safe.
Assembly
Speaker Robin Vos says Wisconsin needs a regional approach to
re-opening businesses during the coronavirus pandemic.
Republican lawmakers from Western Wisconsin held a news conference
yesterday in Chippewa Falls pushing to re-open
the state in places that have not seen a big impact from COVID-19.
Vos said, "let’s
start to turn the dial, as opposed to keeping every part of the state
like it was Milwaukee. Because if we wait for Milwaukee and Brown
County to be the indicator, it’s going to be a long time
potentially before Wisconsin can open up." The Republican
speaker also said, "we certainly want to minimize the number of
people who die, but whenever we reopen the state, it is not going to
be possible for us to prevent all deaths." Vos believes
Governor Tony Evers is doing the best he possibly can, but says he
needs more input.
Minnesota-based
3-M has a new 126-million-dollar deal with the Pentagon to produce
26-million N-95 masks per month. The contract is intended to
re-supply the Strategic National Stockpile beginning in October and
ensure a sustainable supply chain. 3-M will expand
its plant in Aberdeen, South Dakota to increase its capacity and also
expand production of respirators in Wisconsin. The
company received a 76-million dollar contract in April from the
Department of Defense to make N-95 masks. Vice President Mike Pence
visited 3-M in Maplewood in March.
Most
of Wisconsin is being warned that Friday night into Saturday morning
will bring freezing temperatures a second time in-a-row. The
National Weather Service says this is not all that unusual. The
latest recorded frost for Madison was June 10th in
the 1970s. Meteorologists are talking about a hard freeze as a
possibility for much of the Badger State. It’s also likely
the cold night temperatures stay with us until early next week.
Just four years ago, southern Wisconsin experienced its final freeze
on May 15th.
Democratic
members of the Wisconsin congressional delegation are asking FEMA to
direct more federal aid to the state’s minority communities.
Mark Pocan, Ron Kind, Gwen Moore and Tammy Baldwin have written a
letter to the agency demanding it deal with the “disparities”
that come with federal aid. Baldwin says more money should be
going to the African American and Latin communities because they are
being hit harder by the coronavirus pandemic.
Dunn
and Eau Claire Counties are partnering to host a community Covid-19
drive thru testing site in Eau Claire this Sunday from 9-5 and Monday
from 11-7 at the Chippewa Valley Technical College/Prevea Health
Clinic. Any Wisconsin resident 5yrs and older who is currently sick
with any of the covid-19 symptoms are eligible for testing.
Following the testing people should return directly home and isolate
themselves until they receive the test results usually in 24-48hours.
For more information, call 715-831-74-25.
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A
Cudahy alderman says the 500-dollar ticket he got for a fight with
the mayor is worth every penny. Police say Alderman Justin
Morales grabbed Mayor Tom Pavlic April 14th and
pushed him up against his car. The mayor came away with some
bruises and Morales was ticketed. He says he grabbed Pavlic
because he was bullying the city’s public health officer.
Morales says he has no regrets about the incident. The mayor
hasn't commented.
The
University of Wisconsin-Madison will distribute almost 85 hundred
degrees to its graduates during a virtual commencement ceremony
Saturday. The taped event will be posted online at noon.
The event will feature remarks from Chancellor Rebecca Blank, senior
class officers and keynote speaker and author James Patterson.
University officials had earlier called off commencement activities
for the spring due to the coronavirus pandemic.
A
Northwoods TV station is calling a lawsuit filed by the Trump
campaign frivolous. The Trump administration filed suit last month
against WJFW in Rhinelander over a political ad that aired which
sought to tie President Trump's words against the rising death toll
of COVID-19. The campaign called it defamatory, but WJFW says long
standing First Amendment protections absolve them of wrongdoing. They
state that a political opinion is protected and that his campaign has
no standing to sue. They're asking the federal court to dismiss the
suit entirely.
The
U-S Department of Agriculture will provide more than 100-million
dollars in grants to expand the availability and sale of renewable
fuels. Senator Amy Klobuchar says this funding will help ensure
that more Americans have access to higher blends of biofuels like
E-15 and E-85 which will reduce carbon emissions, save money at the
pumps and boost local economies across Minnesota and the country.
Senator Tina Smith said the biofuel industry was already
suffering before COVID-19, but expanding higher blend infrastructure
now will help the industry get back on its feet when people start
driving again.
Sun
Country Airlines is increasing safety measures on its planes due to
the pandemic. The Minnesota-based carrier is requiring
customer-facing employees to wear face masks and recommending
passengers wear face coverings. Sun Country is also
limiting "middle-seat" assignments to minimize contacts
between passengers that are not family. Crews are cleaning and
disinfecting the surfaces on the aircraft to eliminate viruses and
bacteria. Hand sanitizer is given out at ticket counters and
boarding gates.
The
Minnesota State Patrol says drivers are putting the “pedal to the
metal” while the coronavirus pandemic keeps traffic volumes light.
Three times as many drivers have been cited for going more than 100
miles-an-hour when compared to last year. Troopers handed out
78 tickets to drivers going more than 100 between March 27th and
April 13th. Last year, during the same three-week period, that
happened 22 times. One driver was clocked at 122 miles-an-hour
April 11th in Edina, more than twice the posted speed limit.
Less
than three weeks from the end of the Safer at Home order, Wisconsin
is losing its mojo when it comes to social distancing. The data
analytics company Unacast is using cell phone data to determine how
well the states are doing. When social distancing was measured
for the first time six weeks ago Wisconsin got a grade of “B.”
Now, it’s a “D.” Dane County dropped from an “A” to a
“C,” and Rock County got an “F” on the newest Unacast
scoreboard. The grades are falling even before the state has
fully re-opened.
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