As undeniable as a Vladimir Putin election victory, we’re back with another Key Reads.
It’s basketball tournament time. Congratulations to all the schools who participated in the WIAA high school basketball tournaments the past two weekends. Including those who battled in the longest game in tournament history, a four overtime thriller in the boys semi finals.
Much of the state is gearing up for this weekend’s college hoops tournaments. But first, we take a look at what’s happening around Wisconsin…
The recent phenomenon of private grants for the facilitation of public elections, which have been delivered primarily to Democratic strongholds in large urban areas, has come under fire by many Republicans. Next month, voters will have the ability to ban the practice.
Wisconsin voters to decide on banning private money to help fund elections | Associated Press
Wisconsin voters are set to decide next month whether to make it unconstitutional to accept private grant money to help administer state elections, one of two Republican-backed ballot measures that Democrats say are meant to make it harder to conduct elections in the presidential battleground state.
The constitutional amendments on the state’s April 2 ballot also include a change to allow only election officials designated by law to administer elections. If a majority of voters approve, the amendments would be added to the state’s constitution.
Early in-person absentee voting is scheduled to begin Tuesday and can be offered through March 31.
Since 2020, Republicans in at least 27 states have outlawed or restricted private elections grants.
For the last several weeks, we’ve shared news of the sudden and significant closure of several medical facilities in the Chippewa Valley. The community continues to respond, in hopes of avoiding a crisis.
Chippewa County services search for alternatives ahead of hospital, clinic closures | WPR
Hundreds of patients and staff members will be affected by the closure of HSHS St. Joseph’s hospital in Chippewa Falls on Friday, one of only two hospitals located in Chippewa County.
But Hospital Sisters Health System’s exit from the western Wisconsin region is also causing challenges for a variety of public services.
Chippewa County coroner Ron Patten said St. Joseph’s has served as the county’s primary morgue for at least 50 years. He said the county no longer does autopsies at the hospital, but they do use the morgue to examine bodies and store them.
“We have to have somewhere with refrigeration for the bodies that we need to keep for an extended length of time,” Patten said. “Most of our deceased go directly to a funeral home, but occasionally we have bodies that we have to keep for investigative purposes or other reasons, like no one claiming them.”
He said the only funeral home in Chippewa County with refrigerated storage doesn’t have enough space. So Patten said they’ve established a one-year agreement with a funeral home across the county line in Altoona to use their facility while the county works to build their own morgue.
Patten, who also serves as chief of the Boyd-Edson-Delmar Fire Department, said he is worried about how the hospital closures will affect the county’s ambulance services, which are operated through local fire departments like his.
He said emergency rooms in the area are frequently at or near capacity and hospital staff may not be able to handle patients that would have gone to either HSHS location.
Outdoor fire danger remains high | WBAY
The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources reported in the past week it had to put out 72 wildfires across the state, including one in Waupaca County where our news team could see a significant amount of tall, dry brush and crunchy grass.
The total so far this year is 272 after two-and-a-half months, according to the DNR fire management dashboard. A large portion of our state is under a “high” or “very high” fire danger. Much of the state has been drought-stricken since last year.
The DNR wants you to avoid all outdoor burning, because on windy, dry days it’s easy for embers to escape a burn pile or firepit and get out of control.
The DNR said you should leave hot ashes from wood-burning stoves or fireplaces in a metal container until they cool down and be extra careful using any equipment that could create a spark, including off-road vehicles, lawnmowers, and towing chains.
If you have a home or cabin in the northern two-thirds of the state, the DNR is suspending your burn permit in protection areas.
Both Marquette and the University of Wisconsin are sending their men’s basketball teams to the big dance. They will join the UW Green Bay and Marquette’s woman’s teams, which are also playing in the NCAA Division 1 tournament this week.
Marquette continued its impressive season with a Big East Tournament run that fell just short as they lost to the nation’s best team, Connecticut, for the third time this season.
The Badgers’ weekend, was far more surprising. They reached the Big Ten Championship game after a thrilling overtime win against the Big Ten regular season champs, Purdue. While the Badgers fell short to Illinois yesterday, they did earn a 5 seed. Wisconsin will play 30-win James Madison University on Friday night. The second seed Golden Eagles face off against Western Kentucky Friday afternoon. An hour prior, the MU Women tip off against Old Miss. Horizon League Women’s tourney champs UW Green Bay plays at the same time, taking on Tennessee.
For many sports fans, the opening weekend of the NCAA tournaments is the best weekend of the year. Let’s Dance!
But most of us have a week of work and/or school to get through first. So get to it. We’ll be back with more Key Reads tomorrow, and the weekend will get here soon enough.
