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Democrats confident of refugee vetting process at Fort McCoy

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Wisconsin Democrats who visited Fort McCoy on Tuesday said they’re certain of the vetting process Afghan refugees being housed there have undergone.

“We were hearing, at least anecdotally, that there’s just nobody who’s popped up that has any red flags,” said  U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin

“There are no 100 percent guarantees with any of this, but I am comfortable with the extreme vetting process that we were briefed on today,” said congressman Ron Kind of La Crosse.

Congressman Mark Pocan and several state lawmakers were also part of the delegation. Fort McCoy is one of eight military bases temporarily housing Afghan refugees.

As of Friday, more than 8,700 people had arrived at the base in central Wisconsin, which has a potential capacity of some 13,000. Kind said Tuesday that the number of refugees was no longer being updated by officials at the base.

Drive safely around school zones

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With students back at school in-person around Wisconsin, drivers are urged to remain aware of pedestrians in and around schools. Shawn Koval is schools coordinator with UW Health’s Healthy Kids Collaborative.

“The volume of traffic, and the volume of students and staff on those streets in front of schools and by schools is going to be much increased this year,” Koval said. “It’s especially imperative that those drivers stay off their devices, that they keep their head on a swivel and are aware in these school zones.”

Koval said it’s also imperative to pay attention to crossing guards signs, especially if you’re dropping kids off. “It’s really, really important to pay attention not only to the busses and things like that, but to the crossing guards, and to anybody that’s in yellow and orange, to follow their directions and follow the signage right around school buildings.”

Koval added that drivers and pedestrians alike should stay off their phones in school zones, so they can give full attention to their surroundings.

September is National Preparedness Month

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September is National Preparedness Month. Andrew Beckett with Wisconsin Emergency Management explains the goal:

“To get people to think about the ways that they can ‘prepare to protect.’ Prepare to protect themselves, the ones they love, their property. Basically all the steps they can take in order to make sure that they are protected in the event an emergency takes place.”

Beckett says you can find preparedness resources can be found online at Ready Wisconsin, and   through the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s “Ready.Gov” campaign.

This year’s theme for National Preparedness Month is “prepare to protect.”

Wisconsin’s 7-day average of new COVID-19 cases is at its highest in more than 6 months

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Wisconsin’s 7-day average of new COVID-19 cases is at its highest in more than 6 months.  Ahead of Labor Day weekend, the state Department of Health Services encourages Wisconsinites to continue taking steps to protect themselves and others against COVID-19.

The state is seeing very high case activity, with the 7-day average of new confirmed cases at 1,699 and cases continuing to rise. Getting vaccinated against COVID-19, wearing a mask, avoiding indoor gatherings, staying home if you feel sick, and following other public health best practices are important steps everyone can take to stay safe and help prevent further spread.

“COVID-19 cases are rising in Wisconsin due to the more contagious Delta variant. People who are not yet fully vaccinated continue to make up the significant majority of COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations, and deaths,” said Dr. Ryan Westergaard, Chief Medical Officer and State Epidemiologist for Communicable Diseases. “It is critical that we take action now to prevent further spread of the virus.

Tommy Thompson rejects Republican oversight of UW System COVID-19 protocols

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Interim UW System President Tommy Thompson

Interim University of Wisconsin System President Tommy Thompson says he won’t back down, in the face of demands by Republican lawmakers who want to weigh in on any campus COVID-19 protocols.

“I’m not abdicating my responsibility, and I will contest it aggressively,” Thompson said during a call with reporters on Tuesday.

“Even though I don’t want to pick a fight with the legislature, I am going to stand my ground to make sure that we maintain our colleges and make sure that our students are able to get the best education possible, in as safe and a healthy way as possible.”

Majority Republicans on the Joint Committee for Review of Administrative Rules have directed the UW System to submit its pandemic protocols for approval. Thompson said that’s not going to happen, and predicted the UW will win if the issue ends up in court.

“We will contest it,” Thompson said. “I don’t want to fight with the legislature, but we will contest it aggressively, whether it be in the circuit court, court of appeals or the Supreme Court.”

Joint Committee for Review of Administrative Rules co-chair, state Senator Steve Nass (R-Whitewater), said he’ll ask legislative leaders to begin legal action against the UW System following a September 2nd deadline to submit those pandemic plans to the committee.

New state website provide details on tax allocations

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A new website can show you where your state tax dollars are spent. The information is provided by the Wisconsin Department of Revenue.

It reveals that 36 percent of state taxes go to K-12 schools, 16 percent to health-care programs like BadgerCare, eight percent to local property tax relief, 7 percent to the Department of Corrections (prisons), 6 percent to the UW System and 5 percent to local governments.

The site is the result of legislation (Act 66) from Senator Rob Cowles (R-Green Bay) and Representative Samantha Kerkman (R-Salem), the co-chairs of the legislature’s Joint Audit Committee.

“The website prepared and published by DOR, months in advance of the deadline we set by law, meets the requirements in Act 66 and exceeds my expectations,” Cowles said. “I encourage all Wisconsinites to visit the dashboard learn more about where their tax dollars are being used in Wisconsin State Government. I want to thank Secretary Barca and his team at DOR for their efforts to make the dashboard readily available.”

 

Wisconsin offers $100 gift card as vaccination incentive

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Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers hopes FDA approval of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine, and a new state vaccine reward program, will drive up the state’s vaccine numbers.

“This is a double header for us, a double header win. One is, we’re providing this incentive, we think it’s going to make a difference. And we do believe that the approval of Pfizer is going to make a huge difference, too,” Evers said Monday during a press conference in Oshkosh. “You hear it all the time, people will say ‘well, they’ve just been emergency approved, now this one has been approved fully.”

Now through Labor Day, Wisconsin residents who get a first dose of a COVID vaccine will get a hundred dollar VISA gift card.

“With the COVID-19 vaccine reward program, you’re not only going to protect your communities and save lives, but you’re also going to get a hundred dollar VISA gift card to spend any place you want to, and for whatever you want to,” Evers said.

 

DNR reports 26 fatal ATV/UTV crashes this year

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More than two dozen people have died so far this year in ATV/UTV crashes in Wisconsin. According to the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources says most of those 26 crash victims were not wearing helmets or seatbelts, which are two things the agency recommends for safe operation of the off road vehicles.

Alcohol was also a factor in a number of fatal crashes.

Lieutenant Martin Stone, DNR Off-Highway Vehicle Administrator, said nearly half of this year’s fatalities were due to rollover crashes, and that monitoring speed and using caution on rough terrain is critical. He said some terrain in Wisconsin is too steep for ATVs and UTVs.

The DNR also recommends riders take a safety certification course.

New DHS data shows continued efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines

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New data shows the number of fully vaccinated people in Wisconsin who tested positive for COVID-19 more than doubled between February and July.

But Traci DeSalvo, Director of the state Bureau of Communicable Diseases, says the more contagious delta variant remains a much greater threat to the unvaccinated.

“This data really does help to demonstrate the value of vaccines in preventing cases, and especially in preventing those more severe outcomes like hospitalizations and deaths,” DeSalvo said Thursday. “We do want to continue to show people the value of vaccines, and really encourage everyone who is not vaccinated to go get their vaccine.”

Those unvaccinated are three times more likely to get COVID, and four times more likely to be hospitalized.

The Department of Health Services COVID-19 information online now includes case counts and other information comparing the vaccinated with the unvaccinated.
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‘I’m out of gas’ – Ron Kind announces he won’t run for reelection

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Congressman Ron Kind will not seek reelection. The La Crosse Democrat making the announcement Tuesday in front of his childhood elementary school.

“The truth is I’ve run out of gas. At the end of this term it’ll be 26 years of running back and forth to Washington D.C., of traveling around in my humble opinion the most beautiful district in the nation, the Third Congressional District.”

Kind is the longest serving member of Wisconsin’s House delegation.

“The other sad truth is, besides me being out of gas, is I’m part of a dying breed in public service today, in Washington and certainly in Madison. Someone who who tried to be reasonable, pragmatic, thoughtful. Someone who worked hard to find common ground with my colleagues. Work in a bipartisan way.”

Kind’s decision not to seek another term comes with the the 2022 primaries just a year away, and sets up a wide-open race in Wisconsin’s most competitive congressional district.