News – April 23, 2020


(Dodge County) Wisconsin has seen its largest single day increase in COVID-19 cases since the start of the pandemic. The state Department of Health is reporting 225 positive cases from Tuesday to Wednesday with 4845 now confirmed. There four additional deaths, bringing the total to 246. Of those who have tested positive, 1302 people required hospitalization, which is 27-percent. To date, nearly 50-thousand Wisconsinites have been tested and were found not to have coronavirus. Dodge County now has 20 positive cases while the number of negative results increased from 661 on Tuesday to 689 on Wednesday. Dodge County reported its first death last week; a resident who died out of state. A fourth death was announced for Washington County today (Wednesday) with 88 people testing positive. Fond du Lac County has three deaths on record with 65 positive tests. There is one death on record in Columbia County and 27 positive cases including two inmates at Columbia Correctional. Jefferson County is at 35 positive cases. Green Lake County has one positive case.

(Madison) The state Department of Health Services is asking everyone who tests positive for COVID-19 whether they were at the polls on April 7. But Deputy Secretary Julie Willems Van Dijk (van dike) says they cannot contact everyone. But Van Dijk says people standing in line and practicing social distancing would have posed a lower risk of exposure. As of Wednesday, 19 people who’ve tested positive for COVID-19 were either voting in person, or working at a polling place on April 7.

(Fond du Lac) The availability of testing for the COVID-19 virus is going to play a key role in the reopening of business in Wisconsin. Fond du Lac County District Attorney Eric Toney is a member of the county’s task force creating a plan for reopening. He says testing is still the best way to find out if a person has or had the pandemic. But he’s also aware that there is a disparity in the relationships counties have with labs for testing. He says the safety needs of Fond du Lac County will not always align with other parts of Wisconsin.

(Beaver Dam) While the governor’s extended “Safer at Home” order does permit public libraries to conduct curbside pickup, the Beaver Dam Community Library will not be able to comply with the provision. Officials with the library say due to their buildings configuration and the access points to it, they have determined they will not provide curbside services to the community. The library is still closed to the public while virtual programs, remote services and the digital library are available online. More information can be found on DailyDodge.com.

(Madison) A coalition of Wisconsin agriculture groups have asked Governor Tony Evers to direct 50-million federal dollars to direct farmer payments. Wisconsin Farm Bureau President Joe Bragger says they have provided the Governor with numbers from each ag sector to show the need. Bragger says those direct payments are needed now. The federal coronavirus relief package known as the CARES Act designated 1.9 billion dollars to help Wisconsin’s economy.

(Green Bay) The state Republican Party has rescheduled its convention. The move, first reported by WisPolitics.com, pushes the annual gathering from three days in mid-May to July 10th and 11th in Green Bay. Party chair Andrew Hitt said the party’s Executive Committee voted this week to change the date. Democrats have already cut back their state convention to one day, June 12, in the Dells, and may yet decide to make it a “virtual” event.

(Wisconsin) Coronavirus is driving a drop in traffic on Wisconsin roads. A new report from the Wisconsin Policy Forum says traffic across the state has fallen nearly 40 percent during the outbreak. The biggest drops are in Madison and Milwaukee. The report says the steep drop in driving will hurt Wisconsin, because the state uses gas tax revenues to pay for road projects and with fewer people driving fewer miles, there will be less gas tax money.

(Juneau) The Dodge County Highway Department Commissioner is urging the public to drive carefully in road construction and maintenance zones. This week is National Work Zone Awareness Week. Brian Field says road workers do an important job that benefits everyone and they want to make it home to their families at night. He says drivers are asked to stay alert, patient and give workers additional space to work. According to preliminary state figures, there were more than 2,400 work zone crashes throughout Wisconsin in 2019 causing 899 injuries and 18 deaths.

(Juneau) A Milwaukee man, who was involved in a murder in Horicon 48 years ago, was denied conditional release yesterday (Wednesday). Gregory Kozlowski is currently incarcerated at the Mendota Mental Health Institute in Madison. The 69-year-old has been committed since 1973 after being found “Not Guilty By Reason of Insanity” for the June 1972 killing of 21-year-old Kenneth Glasse of Milwaukee. Because the murder took place in Horicon, the Dodge County District Attorneys office has followed the case for decades. Attorneys for Kozlowski filed a petition for conditional release but it was denied after the court found the defendant would (quote) “pose a significant risk of bodily harm if conditionally released.” Kozlowski was last denied conditional release in 2011.

(Fond du Lac) In honor of 50th Anniversary of Earth Day Wednesday Focus on Energy presented its annual Energy Efficiency Excellence Awards. Thirteen businesses were recognized for their efforts to reduce energy waste. Among them was Mercury Marine in Fond du Lac. Through projects from 2018 to the present, Mercury Marine is saving 2.7 million kilowatt hours of electricity and 169,000 therms of natural gas annually, enough to power 478 homes a year. The company is also saving more than a quarter of a million dollars annually from energy reduction.

(Beaver Dam) The city of Beaver Dam will be the featured community on the latest episode of Around the Corner with John McGivern. The show offers a unique fieldtrip through towns and neighborhoods in Wisconsin. The episode, which was filmed last August and September, will highlight a segment of Beaver Dam Area Community Theatre’s production of “Annie.” It will also cover local seamstress Lois Levenhagen who spent decades creating and altering the colorful jackets worn by retired UW Madison Marching Band Director Mike Leckrone. The episode will air tonight (Thursday) on PBS at 7pm.