Before streaming services disrupted the world of at-home entertainment, Summer was the season of reruns. Baseball games and the Olympics were the exception to this, of course. But for the most part, the summer meant reruns. We have some rerun stories in today’s Key Reads as well. They are new stories, but the issues are familiar. In some cases, all too familiar.
Green Bay’s is full of mischief, especially when it comes to elections. The notoriety is now national.
City At Center Of ‘Zuckbucks’ Scandal Looks To Tap Leftist Lawfare Groups Ahead of Election | The Federalist
The leftist-led Wisconsin city at the epicenter of the 2020 “Zuckbucks” scandal is again looking to enlist the assistance of far left lawfare firms ahead of November’s election.
A deeply divided Green Bay City Council last week voted 7-4 to retain the services of outside legal counsel to assist the city attorney in the expected litigation surrounding Green Bay’s administration of the contentious election….
City Attorney Joanne Bungert told council members she simply wanted to be proactive in seeking approval for outside law firms to assist her…
But it’s the legal company Bungert seeks to keep that has raised eyebrows from wary council members. She is pushing to hire Law Forward, States United Democracy Center, and Stafford Rosenbaum, arguably three of the more left-leaning activist law firms in the country.
…“Democrats wasted no time in hiring professional Left activists to ‘save’ Wisconsin from democracy in the event of a Trump victory this November. This is the power of the Left’s political machine in action, and it’s why conservatives must demand the Green Bay Common Council fire Law Forward and its allies and replace them with a reputable, non-ideological law firm that won’t warp the will of the people to suit Democrats’ needs,” said Hayden Ludwig, director of research for the Restoration of America PAC, a conservative committee that advocates for strong election integrity laws.
Every few years we get stories like this one.
Wisconsin warns of pending nurse shortage | The Center Square
There is a warning about a pending lack of nurses in Wisconsin.
The state’s Department of Workforce Development last week said it expects Wisconsin to be short nearly 20,000 nurses by 2040.
DWD says the numbers could be as low as 12,000 nurses, but the agency is worried nonetheless.
The report says 88% of licensed registered nurses in Wisconsin are working, and 12% are not. For LPNs, the report says 90% of licensed LPNs are currently working. The report notes that 10% are not.
The report shows the largest chunk of licensed nurses in Wisconsin who are not working because they have retired. But the data also shows many have left nursing as a profession, though there are some nurses who are simply just not working.
The report looks at COVID’s impact on nursing in the state, but not entirely.
The data tracks COVID training, patient care, and physical and mental health both before and after the outbreak.
“Almost half of the sample of RNs (47.76%) and 26.86% of LPNs report to be worse or much worse than before the pandemic. The statistics suggest the pandemic has exacerbated the longstanding concerns over a nursing shortage and the impact that has on nurses’ overall health,” the report states. “In the case of RNs, the younger the nurses, the higher the proportion of RNs identifying themselves as worse or much worse than before the pandemic. As the age range increases, a higher proportion of RNs feel their health is about the same or better than before the COVID-19 pandemic.”
The report, however, does not track how many nurses in Wisconsin were fired during COVID for refusing to get the COVID vaccine.
DWD said the challenge will be finding new nurses, and making sure the nurses who are working are prepared to cover the shortage.
“The report acknowledged many possible approaches to these health care workforce challenges, including placing extra emphasis on retaining existing nurses, advancing measures that make it possible for nurses to care for more patients, and supporting public health to reduce the number of patients,” DWD added.
This, unfortunately, is now a regular occurrence.
First Confirmed West Nile Virus Activity in Wisconsin | WEAU
The Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS) announces the first West Nile virus (WNV) infections in Wisconsin this year in a healthy blood donor from Washington County, whose blood screened positive for WNV, and in a dead bird from Chippewa County that tested positive for the virus. The positive blood donor is not considered a human case because they never developed any symptoms of WNV, which is required to be a probable or confirmed case.
…WNV is spread to humans, birds, and other animals through the bite of an infected mosquito. Mosquitoes acquire WNV by feeding on infected birds. The virus is not spread directly from person to person, animal to animal, or animal to person.
Getting this team to play in front of huge crowds is something we hope happens more regularly.
Volleyball returns to Kohl Center with showdown between Wisconsin and Marquette | Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Last year the Wisconsin-Marquette volleyball rivalry took over the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee.
This year it’s coming to the Kohl Center.
The Badgers will host the Golden Eagles on Tuesday, Sept. 17 at 7 p.m. The match will be the first at the Kohl Center since Wisconsin hosted Florida in 2022 and set an NCAA indoor attendance record of 16,833.
…UW will make 18 appearances on national TV. Twelve games will be shown on the Big Ten Network, two will be on NBC, two on FOX and one on ESPN2 and FS1.
See, not all reruns are bad. Bring on more nationally televised games in front of large crowds. Those women are among the most elite players in the world. It’s great seeing them get greater exposure.
