Local News – WGLR-FM 97 Seven Country

Tuesday’s storm confirmed as derecho; three tornadoes in Delaware County in Iowa

Courtney Chaffee — Wed, 12 Aug 2026 18:37:04 +0000

The storm complex from Tuesday morning has been preliminarily confirmed as a derecho, with most of the damage due to straight-line winds, with some significant damage. The derecho started in Iowa and ended in central Indiana and southeastern Ohio with maximum wind gusts measured at 99 MPH in Gary, Indiana. Three EF1 tornadoes were determined in Delaware county in Iowa, though there were at least a few gustnadoes on the leading edge of the strongest winds determined via reports and camera footage. In Wisconsin, the Iowa County Communications Center reported three separate calls of structure fires from possible lightning strikes from this storm system. The first was just before 9 AM in the 3000 block of State Road 23 in Dodgeville. The second occurred around 9:40 AM in the 300 block of Prairie Hills Dr in Dodgeville. The third fire occurred in the 600 block of State St in Moscow. No injuries were reported from any of the fires.

DHS confirms measles case in Iowa and Lafayette County

Courtney Chaffee — Wed, 12 Aug 2026 18:36:08 +0000

The Wisconsin Department of Health Services confirmed measles cases in Iowa and Lafayette counties. Two cases of measles were confirmed through testing at the Wisconsin State Lab of Hygiene; one in each county and they are not related to any previously confirmed cases. DHS said the cases are believed to have been exposed in Wisconsin, suggesting there may be additional measles cases in communities that have not yet been identified. The investigation is ongoing and public health officials are working to identify and notify people who have been exposed to the virus. No public exposure locations have been identified yet in connection with this case.

Wisconsin DOT: US 61/US 151 project in Grant County completion scheduled for October

Courtney Chaffee — Wed, 12 Aug 2026 18:35:21 +0000

The Wisconsin DOT says the pavement replacement project US 61/US 151 between Kieler and Dickeyville is scheduled for completion in late October. After making improvements on six bridges, crews are working on guardrail removal, bridge approaches removal and structure repairs at US 61/US 151 with County H and County HH. Lane closures will continue along US 61 from the Dickeyville exit to WIS 11. The DOT asks everyone to please slow down in the work zone and be alert for crews.

Platteville street closed this afternoon

Courtney Chaffee — Wed, 12 Aug 2026 18:33:41 +0000

The City of Platteville is alerting residents that West Pine Street will be closed between Bradford Street and South Hickory Street today from 2:00–5:00 p.m. for construction related to the new St. Augustine building. The closure is necessary while the contractor pours concrete. Barricades will be in place, and drivers are asked to use an alternate route.

Green County faced election server issues delaying results

Courtney Chaffee — Wed, 12 Aug 2026 18:33:03 +0000

Green County was dealing with a server issue Tuesday night that delayed the county’s election results reporting. County officials said results were successfully sent from 16 municipalities to the server, but the county’s election equipment vendor, Liberty Vote, is reporting an issue between the server and results reporting program. The problem is keeping transmitted results in encrypted files that County staff are unable to access. Staff was working to resolve the issue, but county officials said a complete set of unofficial results may not be available until Wednesday. Municipal clerks will bring results to the County Clerk’s Office on flash drives or other physical memory devices to be loaded directly into the County database.

2026 Wisconsin Primary election results

Courtney Chaffee — Wed, 12 Aug 2026 18:31:59 +0000

Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley won the Democratic nomination for Wisconsin governor Tuesday, marking an unexpected comeback after suspending his campaign earlier in the race. Crowley won with 39.8% of the vote and Francesca Hong took second with 39.4% of the vote. The Associated Press declared Crowley the winner once Hong’s concession removed the possibility of a recount in the exceptionally close race. Hong could have requested a recount since Crowley’s margin of victory was less than 1 percentage point. But because it was wider than 0.25 points, Hong’s campaign would have had to pay for it.

Tom Tiffany will be the Republican nominee for Wisconsin governor in November. The Associated Press called the race for Tiffany at 8:21 p.m. At the time, he had over 51,000 votes compared to Andy Manske who had just over 1900. David Varnam won the GOP primary for lieutenant governor.

Rebecca Cooke will face off against Derrick Van Orden once again. AP called the primary race between Cooke and Emily Berge around 9:20 p.m. Unofficial results at the time of the race showed Cooke ahead of Berge by a 15-point margin. Results from the District 17 Congressional primary have Jenna Jacobson winning the primary with over 9,900 votes compared to Corrine Hendrickson’s just over 4,000 votes and Lisa White’s a little over 2,600 votes as of 11:30 p.m. Rep. Mark Pocan easily won the Democratic primary as he seeks re-election in Wisconsin’s 2nd Congressional District. The Associated Press called the race for Pocan at 8:30 p.m. By 8:55 p.m. he had over 100,000 votes compared to challenger Douglas Alexander with just over 13,000.

Corey Ruiz funeral arrangements announced

Courtney Chaffee — Wed, 12 Aug 2026 18:30:24 +0000

A funeral for Corey Ruiz, the man shot and killed by a Madison police officer, is scheduled for Friday. Rev. Al Sharpton will deliver the eulogy. The funeral will begin at 11 a.m. at the Fountain of Life Church in Madison. Ruiz’s family, their attorney Ben Crump and Sharpton’s National Action Network announced the arrangements Tuesday. Ruiz was shot and killed by Officer Kiel Baitinger-Peterson on July 22 at the intersection of Williamson and South Baldwin streets. Police said Ruiz was seen checking vehicles in the Marquette neighborhood and used a knife to injure one of the four officers who were trying to take him into custody. The Wisconsin Department of Justice Division of Criminal Investigation is examining evidence in the case and will turn its findings over to the Dane County District Attorney’s Office.

Construction worker killed in Grant County accident identified

Courtney Chaffee — Tue, 11 Aug 2026 22:00:36 +0000

The Grant County Sheriff’s Office on Tuesday identified the construction worker who died after a fall last week. The incident occurred Friday morning on County Q in Highland. The victim was 44-year-old Joel Antonio Alverez Renderos of Darlington. Deputies responding to the scene learned that a construction crew was repairing the roof of a farm building. While crew members were on the roof, Alverez fell through it about 30 feet to the concrete floor below. First responders administered life-saving measures, but he died at the scene. The investigation remains ongoing.

Dubuque City Council holding work session on data center ordinance

Courtney Chaffee — Tue, 11 Aug 2026 21:59:50 +0000

The Dubuque City Council will hold a work session to discuss public input as they work on a data center ordinance. During the August 17 work session, city staff will present the results of a data center ordinance survey, which was conducted throughout the month of July. The session begins at 5:15 PM and will be open to the public and will conclude by 6:30 p.m.

Last beagles leaving Ridglan Farms

Courtney Chaffee — Tue, 11 Aug 2026 21:58:06 +0000

The last beagles will be leaving a Dane County research farm this week. Blue Mounds-based Ridglan Farms will be transferring the last 155 animals on its property to Big Dog Rescue Ranch this week, which will effectively shut down the facility. Fifty partner organizations across the country have relocated 2,115 beagles from Ridglan Farms since April 29. Of the 155 remaining dogs, 141 puppies are believed to be about 4 months old. Ridglan gave up its license to operate voluntarily this summer rather than face felony animal abuse charges.