The statewide COVID-19 website is a one stop shop that consolidates information from state agencies, and provides up-to-date information and guidance regarding COVID-19. DHS has also offered information on their website on How and Where to Get Tested.
If you're not busy, please make a call, send a card, or write a letter to someone you know who lives alone or may need assistance.
Bless each of you during this difficult time of uncertainty and suffering. Take good care!
Tomorrow is the Online and Postal Registration Deadline for Nov 3
Thedeadline for registrationthrough the mail or online is October 14th. You can register in person at yourmunicipal clerkuntil October 30th at 5:00PM. If you miss these registration deadlines, you can always register at your normal polling place on election day, but do not forget your proof of residence document and ID!
You can check your registration through MyVote.wi.gov.
If you are not currently registered, the easiest way to accomplish this is by visiting: https://myvote.wi.gov/en-us/RegisterToVote, but this can only be done easily if you have a WI driver's license or a WI ID card (See step 1).
Otherwise, eligible Wisconsin voters who do not have a current, valid Wisconsin Driver License or Wisconsin State ID Card may complete the voter registration form on paper or electronically and mail, email, or deliver their form to their Municipal clerk along with a proof of residence document. You can also submit your application for an absentee ballot at the same time (see the next section).If you are having trouble completing this process electronically, consider reaching out to friends and family for help. That way you can talk to them about what their voting plans are too!
Wisconsin's residency requirement has changed from 10 days to 28 days. Meaning that yourproof of residence documentmust provide evidence that you will have resided at that address for 28 or more consecutive days before the date of the election. If you plan on moving within 28 days before the election, you will be able to register and vote from your previous Wisconsin address.
If you know someone moving to Wisconsin from out of state with less than 28 days to establish residency, they will be allowed to vote on a Presidential-only ballot. For more info, contact your municipal clerk or theWisconsin Election Commission.
Wisconsin DHS Reports Record COVID-19 Hospitalizations, New Cases, and Deaths
Since the beginning of the current outbreak of COVID-19 in Wisconsin which began around the start of September and has continued to increase, we have broken records for new cases, rate of infection and hospitalizations. Today we broke the record for new cases in Wisconsin with 3,279 newly reported cases, the record for reported deaths at 34 which pushes our state over 1,500 total deaths due to COVID, and yesterday we reported record hospitalizations at 950.
The record high hospitalizations have led to the activation of the Alternative Care Facility (ACF) at the State Fair Park Grounds in West Allis as a way to relieve pressure from overwhelmed healthcare facilities in Green Bay and the Fox Valley.
On Monday, St. Croix County Circuit Court Judge R. Michael Waterman did not act to strike down the Governor's emergency order requiring face coverings to be worn in public settings.
"The 60-day limit provides an important check against run-away executive power, but it does not prevent the governor from issuing a new executive order when the emergency conditions continue to exist. And, if the legislature is unconvinced that a state of emergency does exist, the legislature has the ultimate power to terminate it... If granted, the temporary injunction will affect every person in Wisconsin by a judicial act that usurps the governor’s power to declare a state of emergency and the legislature’s power to end one. The legislature can end the state of emergency at anytime, but so far, it has declined to do so. As the statewide representative body of the citizens of Wisconsin, the legislature’s inaction is relevant and it weighs against judicial intervention, especially when the requested intervention will have statewide impact."
The plaintiffs who brought the case have indicated that they intend to appeal the ruling.
JCRAR:
Also on Monday, the Legislature's Joint Committee for Review of Administrative Rules (JCRAR) took up Governor Evers' Emergency Order #3 limiting capacity of indoor public events to 25% of the building or room's normal capacity in an executive session. The committee voted along party lines to force the Wisconsin Department of Health Services to promulgate the emergency order in the form of an emergency rule instead, which gives the committee and the legislature greater oversight over the action and the ability to object to the policy indefinitely.
The immediate effect that these actions have is to create an implementation period of 30 days before such a rule could go into effect, although the original order would expire within that timeframe. Extensions can be added to the 30 day period if the committee requests them, giving 6 members of the legislature the ability to indefinitely block Governor Evers' order, unless the full legislature convenes in order to make the order law.
The implications of this strategy remain in question as this type of balancing test has never been attempted under similar circumstances.
WEDC: Foxconn is Not Eligible for Tax Credits Unless its Contract is Renegotiated
In November of 2019, Governor Evers' administration informed Foxconn that the work it was producing in Racine County did not comply with the terms of the contract that they had negotiated with Governor Walker and the previous WEDC Secretary. At that time they were also informed that in order to be eligible for the tax credits made available by the contract, they would either need to comply with the original terms, or renegotiate.
Due to these discrepancies, Foxconn will not be receiving any tax credits this year towards the work that they have completed.
WEDC Secretary Missy Hughes explained that the administration is still supportive of Foxconn's project in Wisconsin, but a new or amended contract is necessary to reflect the substantial changes in the company's project.
October is National Dating Violence Awareness Month
End Domestic Abuse Wisconsin's Dare2Know campaign is drawing attention to the issue of Teen Dating Violence by bringing together survivor stories, and providing information on dating violence and healthy relationships. The issue of domestic and dating violence reaches far beyond the two people who are in a relationship. It affects children, parents, and the community.
1 in 5 Wisconsin youth – 174,000 – experience dating violence.
1 in 4 Wisconsin youth in a relationship say they have been called names, harassed or put down by their partner through mobile devices.
2 in 3 Wisconsin youth who were in an abusive relationship – never told anyone about the abuse.
Visit Dare2KnowWI.org to learn more about how you can help end dating violence.
Woodrow Wilson Caught the "Spanish Flu" during WWI Peace Talks
During a difficult moment of the Paris Peace Conference at the end of World War I, President Woodrow Wilson contracted the "Spanish Flu."
As negotiations deadlocked over how strongly to penalize Germany in the form of reparations, the president became confined to his bed for five days with a 103-degree fever. His doctor told the press that is was a bad cold.
The effects of the flu on the President significantly impacted his ability to achieve his agenda during the negotiations.
