News – September 25, 2020

(Dodge County) Wisconsin health officials are reporting 2,392 positive coronavirus cases in Thursday’s daily update, the second highest daily total ever and is 18-percent of the 13,200 tests announced. There are 16,315 active cases in the state, an increase of 1,053 from Wednesday. State health officials recorded six deaths Thursday, for a total of 1,265. Dodge County has 14 deaths on record and 1,728 cases, an increase of 51 from Wednesday. County health officials are actively monitoring 339 people.

(Madison) Governor Tony Evers is urging all Wisconsinites to take the coronavirus pandemic seriously, as positive cases and hospitalizations continue an upward trajectory across the state. The governor says public health measures like masking, social distancing and good hand hygiene have worked previously to slow the spread of COVID-19, and can again if everyone does their part.

(Madison) A new poll from the UW-Madison Elections Research Center shows that Joe Biden has held onto a lead over President Trump in several key battleground states. The polling comes from Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania, and shows that Democrat candidate Joe Biden is getting support from about half of the voters in all three states. Researchers call the leads ‘persistent, but surmountable’ for Trump, but say that Trump didn’t even reach the 50 percent margin in his victories in 2016.  Nearly half of Biden supporters said the COVID-19 pandemic was the most important top issue while Trump supporters named the economy the top issue.

(Wisconsin) A federal judge has delayed a ruling over what sorts of IDs college students need to vote in Wisconsin. Judge James Peterson said that for this November’s election, students will need to have an id that conforms to the state standards in order to vote. Common Cause of Wisconsin had filed a lawsuit, saying that the state’s Voter ID regulations are an undue burden on students, but Peterson said that making a ruling now, just six weeks before the election would put too much chaos on the voting process.

(Juneau) The Dodge County Board has supported another application for grant funding to help expand the county’s broadband capabilities. Governor Tony Evers dedicated $48-million-dollars in his biennial budget to a broadband expansion grant. In March, the county learned that they were not awarded funding during the first grant cycle. During the Dodge County Board meeting this week, a resolution was passed to again apply for round two funding. Due to the competitiveness of the grant, the resolution says the county will allocate $100-thousand-dollars in the next two budgets.

(Wisconsin) More schools and businesses are connecting digitally and remotely as the pandemic continues, and that’s a problem for people who don’t have the resources to get broadband. The Public Service Commission is opening up a helpline to get people the connections they need, and State consumer protection administrator Lara Sutherlin says it’s especially important for rural communities. If you need help with establishing broadband service, call the P S C at 608-267-3595.

(Dodge County) The Dodge County Sheriff is warning residents of an iCloud scam that is making the rounds. Sheriff Dale Schmidt says scammers will send messages that a person’s iCloud account has been compromised. Schmidt says they will ask you to download an app called TeamViewer so they can access your device remotely to steal information. He says the sheriff’s office is not asking the public to report these calls but recommends hanging up if you get a similar call because it is a scam.

(Beaver Dam) Property owners around Beaver Dam Lake may want to remove their piers a little earlier this year because of lake level changes approved by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. The DNR approved the permit application establishing lower levels from mid-October to April 1, or whenever the lake is free of ice, whichever is later. Beaver Dam Director of Utilities Rob Minnema says that means this year, the lake will be around seven inches lower than previous years starting on October 9, instead of just a few weeks in late spring. Beaver Dam has had one of the few lakes in the state without a winter reduction. Bill Foley with the Beaver Dam Lake Improvement Association says the change should prevent winter damage including ice-heaving and shoreline erosion, keeping phosphorus in the sediment and not in the water.