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Be safe with your fireworks this coming Fourth of July Weekend

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We’re coming up on the Fourth of July and Wisconsin Emergency Management is reminding people to be safe with store bought fireworks.

Spokesman Andrew Beckett says you need to not only keep your fireworks safe and sane, you need to ensure that they’re allowed where you live.  

“Many communities have pretty strict bans on what is allowed within a municipality or even within a county so you want to make sure that you are observing what is allowed in your area.”

Beckett reminds people to only buy fireworks from reputable sellers and to make sure that kids aren’t using fireworks without supervision. 

“In the state last year there were 91 emergency room visits from people who were injured because of fireworks. Nationally we’re looking at an average of about 180 people a day who go to the emergency room.”

As always, be mindful of where you’re using your fireworks and that people are staying clear and enjoying themselves from a distance.

“It’s something to take very seriously and ensure that you’re using safety. You’re not putting other people or yourself at risk just because you’re celebrating.”

Find more safety tips at Ready Wisconsin.

National Guard ends public safety deployment in Wisconsin cities

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The Wisconsin National Guard has concluded its public safety mission in the state’s largest cities. Governor Tony Evers’ office said Tuesday that nearly 1,500 Guard personnel were mobilized, beginning May 30 in Milwaukee.

The Guard completed its work there on Monday, along with Madison, Green Bay and Racine. The mission in Kenosha wrapped up last week.

All the deployments came at the request of local officials in response to urban violence and looting that was largely separate from peaceful protests over the killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police.

Remnants of Tropical Storm Cristobal to dump heavy rains across Wisconsin

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Wisconsin will be seeing the remnants of Tropical Storm Cristobal moving through the state.

National Weather Service meteorologist Logan Lee says we should expect to see extended amounts of rain and possible severe weather through Wednesday. 

“One to three inches of rain especially across parts of Southwest Wisconsin through Central Wisconsin and there could be localized pockets of more than that.”

Lee says we’ll see the perfect conditions for flash flooding and possible tornadoes. 

“We’re kind of getting that influx of the tropical moisture and the remnants of that tropical system so it’s a really juicy environment for heavy rain.”

Lee says it’s a good idea to have your weather radio running or have access to other ways to get storm alerts in the case that a tornado forms or if there’s flash flooding in your area.

National Weather Service to investigate weekend tornado spottings

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It could be Tuesday before we know more about storms that cut through Rock and Grant counties on Saturday.

A tornado was reported near the Interstate in Beloit on Saturday. The Lancaster Fire Department reported a funnel cloud as well.

Teams of National Weather Service investigators will look at damage on Tuesday, and try to figure out exactly what kind of storms hit those areas.

DNR cautions of continued high wildfire conditions

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Despite scattered rain showers this weekend, elevated fire conditions continue today through Wednesday. That’s especially true in northern Wisconsin, where the fire danger is high to very high due to low relative humidity and slower progression of green-up. Fires under these circumstances can start easily and spread quickly.

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources responded to 16 wildfires over the weekend and now anticipate a slightly longer than average fire season.

COVID-19 deaths now at 14 in Wisconsin, first death reported in northern Wisconsin

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The death toll from COVID-19 is now up to 14.

New deaths were reported in Milwaukee, Ozaukee and Iron Counties. That death in Iron County was also the first positive detection in the county.

The Department of Health Services says the total number of confirmed cases is also up to 842, but is probably a lot more. Dr. Ryan Westergaard says that the likely total number of people with the infection could be up to 10 times as many people, but that most people who have the disease are not being tested for it. 

All of the state’s counties are listed as having a high chance of infection at this point. Dane County health officials put out an alert on Friday stating that community spread is in place in the county, and that anyone who ventures out into public should assume they’re being exposed to COVID-19.

 

Gov. Evers confirms first two deaths from COVID-19 infection

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State health officials and the Governor’s office are confirming the first deaths of the COVID-19 coronavirus.

Governor Tony Evers and staff from the Department of Health Services confirmed Thursday night that two people have died from the COVID-19 coronavirus.

One of the victims was a man in his 50’s from Fond Du Lac County. The other victim was a man in his 90’s from Ozaukee County.

Evers says that his heart goes out to the families of the victims, and to everyone who’s dealing with the infection in Wisconsin. “We are committed to fighting the spread of COVID-19 in Wisconsin. Together we will get through this historic health challenge.”

Over 150 people have tested positive for the virus in Wisconsin as of Thursday afternoon.

Help your kids cope with COVID-19 isolation with tips from UW-Madison

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A disease outbreak can be scary for many people, but fear and uncertainty can really harm a child’s growth as well. 

UW-Madison psychology professor Travis Wright says it’s best to focus on what people can do to help each other in a crisis, rather than on the crisis itself. 

“These kinds of opportunities are moments that we can frame for children how to think about the world.”

Wright says that giving kids a gloom and doom vision of the world without a good way to frame it so that they have some way to control or help things is a good way to foster bad mental habits into the future. Kids can easily pick up on the fears of people around them, so it’s good to try and focus on things that they can handle. 

“If we frame this as a time of hysteria, as a time of self interest, as a time of fear? I think that’s a message that kids are going to internalize about the world.”

“In every sort of scary moment there’s an opportunity to see how strong we are, and I definitely think that’s a message we can share with children right now to help them feel safer and also more connected to each other and the world.”

Wright suggests limiting TV and social media time while your kids are out of school, and be sure to work with your school to continue the learning process once school districts get up to speed with long distance learning. 

Other general tips include: 

-Make yourself available when children do raise concerns.

-Avoid excessive blaming of the government, other countries, etc.

-Monitor social media and television viewing to prevent children from becoming saturated with scary messages.

-Maintain a normal routine.

-Know the symptoms of COVID-19.

-Review and model basic hygiene and healthy practices for protection.

-Communicate with your child’s teacher to ensure that your messages are aligned.

Mayor says incident in Superior shows need for regional bomb squad

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It was not a pipe bomb that shut down a main thoroughfare in Superior for hours on Tuesday. But Mayor Jim Paine told KDAL that the object spotted outside the city’s fire hall was deemed a credible threat.

“That means that we can’t rule out that it’s a hoax. We got an actual suspicious device that could be a bomb. That’s what a credible bomb threat means.”

A Police Department robot was able to handle the device and determine it to be inactive, but containing a grainy residue. It will be sent to the Wisconsin Crime Lab for testing.

Paine said the incident highlighted the fact that the nearest bomb squad is more than three hours away, in Marathon County.

“I’m aware that there’s one at the airbase in Duluth, but that is part of the Minnesota Air National Guard and therefore can’t operate in Wisconsin right now. So we’ve got a little bit of a political challenge trying to make the partnership there, or a financial challenge trying to create a regional bomb squad that can serve us up here in the north.”

The pipe bomb was spotted by a passerby at about 9:15 AM on Tuesday, outside the city’s new fire hall. The response blocked off Tower Avenue/WI 35 for several hours.

KDAL contributed to this report 

Bipartisan lawmaker group seeks to increase funding for UW-System MIA recovery program

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The UW System’s Missing In Action Recovery and Identification program could be getting a boost from lawmakers.

State Senator Mark Miller is part of a group that wants to help secure more state funding to bring home lost and missing soldiers. “Most of us recognize the significance of bringing back out missing members of the military. This legislation will provide additional resources to help make that happen.”

State Senator Dale Koyenga says it’s a mirror to efforts being made by the Defense Department.

“Wisconsin will be the only state in that country that has a designated funding source and statutory language to help out the University of Wisconsin to support these efforts.”

MIA-RIP team leader Charles Konsitzke says they’re working to help identify and bring home Wisconsin’s 15-hundred M I A soldiers. 

“With this bill it is time for the state of Wisconsin and the University of Wisconsin to lead this great nation to recover, repatriate and identify our lost service members.”

The bill would increase funding for the program by 180-thousand dollars a year and make Wisconsin the only state to have it’s own fully dedicated M I A recovery program.