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State program to support training, recruiting more meat processing workers
After the COVID-19 pandemic made the shortage of meat processors in Wisconsin worse than ever, the state is spending $5 million to help train a new generation of workers who can prepare beef, pork and other meats for sale to the public. The Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP) and Gov. Tony […]
COVID-19 hospitalizations continue to soar
The number of patients hospitalized with COVID-19 reached a new peak in Dane County, officials said Tuesday, while in Wisconsin as a whole, it reached a number just short of the record set 14 months ago. The number of people in Dane County hospitals with COVID-19 was at an all-time high of 184 on Monday, […]
Hearing set for three bills to soften employer vaccine mandates
A state Senate public hearing will take up a trio of bills Tuesday aimed at undercutting COVID-19 vaccine requirements. The Senate Labor and Regulatory Reform Committee hearing was postponed from December. According to a published report, the original hearing was canceled in response to a report of COVID-19 in the office of state Sen. Steve […]
Hospitals: Don’t use emergency rooms to get COVID-19 tests
Wisconsin hospitals urged the public Monday not to go to hospital emergency rooms in search of a COVID-19 test. Patients with COVID-19 and people with health emergencies such as stroke, heart attacks, injuries from car crashes and other urgent problems are already overwhelming hospital emergency rooms, according to the Wisconsin Hospital Association (WHA). In a […]
Johnson will seek third Senate term
Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) announced Sunday that he will run for a third term in the U.S. Senate, despite his earlier pledges not to seek re-election. He released a statement Sunday and also explained his decision in an opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal under the headline “Why I’m seeking a third Senate Term: I’d […]
Evers endorses UW Health nurses’ union campaign
Nurses who want union representation at UW Hospital and Clinics amped up their campaign this week, meeting online with Gov. Tony Evers as the governor reiterated his support for their cause. The COVID-19 pandemic “has really underscored how critical your roles are in keeping our state healthy,” Evers told several hundred UW Health nurses and […]
State breaks new COVID record, announces health care help
For the second day in a row, Wisconsin reported a record number of new COVID-19 cases, with 11,574 added to the state’s rolls on Thursday. That follows a previous record, 10,288 new cases that were reported on Wednesday, according to the state Department of Health Services (DHS) The new surge is driven by the fast-spreading […]
As COVID-19 cases top 1 million, legislators seek to loosen vaccine requirements
Wisconsin lawmakers heard more than two hours of testimony Wednesday in favor of a bill that would let COVID-19 survivors claim so-called natural immunity as an alternative to complying with a vaccine mandate from an employer. Only witnesses supporting the bill spoke at Wednesday’s public hearing before the Assembly Constitution and Ethics Committee. Several health […]
Omicron variant drives new, faster spread of COVID-19 in Wisconsin
In the last week, one in four people in Wisconsin who have gone for a COVID-19 test have been found to be infected with the novel coronavirus. As of Sunday, according to the state Department of Health Services (DHS), on average, 24.5% of tests given for COVID-19 over the last seven days were positive. That’s […]
‘A wake-up call for employers’: Survey uncovers dissatisfaction among working women
In the autumn of 2021, Kimberly Kane saw a dramatic data point: One in three women had considered leaving the workforce or cutting back on their careers. That was from a national survey, but there were no state-specific numbers. Kane wanted to know if Wisconsin working women were feeling the same way, so her consulting […]
In Prairie du Chien, Main Street is bouncing back
After six years of cutting hair in his home country of Macedonia, Mendim Tairi emigrated to the United States and began working in the trade in Wisconsin — in Janesville for a year, then moving to Prairie du Chien, where a close friend from his native land owned a restaurant. There Tairi took a job […]
Navy unit to aid Green Bay hospitals amid COVID-19 surge as omicron accelerates
A team of U.S. Navy health care personnel will go to Green Bay to provide support in local hospitals stretched thin by the latest resurgence of the COVID-19 pandemic. The 20-member team is being deployed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Gov. Tony Evers announced Tuesday and will be assigned to Bellin Health System, […]