Newscast – September 1, 2020

(Beaver Dam) A grenade pulled from the Beaver Dam River was disposed of by a bomb squad yesterday (Monday) afternoon. Around 4:40pm, the Beaver Dam Police Department was dispatched to 222 Madison Street near the dam for a report of a grenade being retrieved from the water by an individual who was “magnet finishing.” Local law enforcement, contacted the Dane County Bomb Squad who sent a team to dispose of the grenade. While the team could not confirm if the grenade was “live,” they did remove it and rendered it safe. The bridge over the dam was shut down for roughly two hours during the incident.

(Beaver Dam) Do not send your kids to school if they are sick. That’s the word from educators as they begin work today to navigate through the challenges of teaching students during a pandemic. We asked Beaver Dam School Superintendent Mark DiStefano last week on WBEV’s Community Comment if it is a good idea to send children back to school during a pandemic. His answer was (quote) “yes definitely” as long as the district exercises its due diligence in following safety practices and as long as parents do not send children to school who are exhibiting any symptoms of illness. DiStefano says the benefits of sending kids to school outweighs the drawbacks.

(Wisconsin) Wisconsin health officials say they will not publicly identify schools with coronavirus outbreaks. The Department of Health Services says it will disclose the number of active investigations at schools, but not the number of cases. Schools are directed to report outbreaks to their local health departments, which will then report them to the state. – WRN

(Wisconsin) A reminder to drive safely around school zones this fall. With back-to-school time across Wisconsin, local transportation officials say law enforcement will conduct regular patrols of schools during pick-up and drop-off times. Laws require all drivers to obey traffic signs, and flashing lights on school buses — and to be careful passing them. – WRN

(Dodge County) Wisconsin health officials are reporting 266 positive coronavirus cases in Monday’s daily update, which is 7-percent of the 3,800 tests announced. There are 7,229 active cases in the state, a decrease of 269 from Sunday. State health officials recorded no deaths Monday and that number remains unchanged at 1,122. Dodge County has five deaths on record and 1,162 cases, an increase of 29 from Sunday. County health officials are actively monitoring 179 people.

(Waupun) Additional coronavirus cases have been reported at a Dodge County prison, according to the Wisconsin Department of Corrections. Dodge Correctional has more than doubled its positive tests among inmates over the last several days and that number now stands at 72 confirmed cases. 51 of those cases are still active while 21 have recovered. The spike in cases comes as the Wisconsin National Guard announced that they will be on site today (Tuesday) through Thursday collecting specimens.

(Wisconsin) Governor Tony Evers says he’s disappointed with Republican leadership in the legislature after a skeletal session on police reform. Both the state Senate and the state Assembly gaveled into session and then out of session on Monday in response to Governor Evers call for a special session on police reform. Republicans said that they will get to police reform in the New Year, and that the assembly has a task force in the works on the issue. – WRN

(Wisconsin) An effort to recall the governor got underway over the weekend. The effort to recall Evers and Lieutenant Governor Mandela Barnes will require collection – in 60 days – of signatures equal to at least 25 percent of the vote cast in the last election for governor – about 670,000. Organizers say they launched the effort because of Evers’ response to unrest in Kenosha and his statewide mask order. – WRN

(Poynette) A stretch of Highway 51 in Columbia County will be closed for several weeks for a resurfacing project that starts today (Tuesday). Highway 51 between Highway 60 and Tomlinson Road will be open to local traffic, but all other traffic will be detoured onto highway 22 and 16. Construction is currently scheduled for completion in October 2020, weather depending.

(Beaver Dam) The Beaver Dam Community Library will be implementing new hours beginning today (Tuesday). Effective Tuesday, the library will be open Monday through Friday from 9am to 6pm and Saturdays from 9am to 1pm. Library officials say at this stage of reopening, they offer essential services that include browsing and checking out of library materials as well as public internet and Wi-Fi access. They say there is no in-person programming at this time. Mailbox Library Service is available by request by calling the library (at 920-887-4631 and press 3).