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Today is the shortest day of the year.  It’s known as the Winter Solstice as it happens when the North Pole is tilted in its furthest possible position away from the sun.  However, there is a ray of good news amid the long night ahead.  From now until the Summer solstice in June, we will be gaining daylight each week.

Governor Tony Evers says Wisconsin is expecting shipments of the Moderna vaccine to begin arriving at hospitals and clinics across the state this week.  The initial shipment is expected to be 16-thousand doses.  State health officials plan to receive a total of 100-thousand doses in the upcoming weeks. Wisconsin Department of Health officials confirm eight more deaths from COVID-19 over the last day.  There have been 14-hundred-35 positive COVID tests in that time and 48 more people admitted into hospitals.  Since the beginning

LifeLink 3 plans to open a new air medical base at the Rhinelander-Oneida Airport.  The company announced today it plans round-the-clock operations beginning in the spring.  This will be the third base for Life Link 3 in Wisconsin with other bases in Marshfield and Rice Lake.  LifeLink helicopters have advanced clinical capabilities and are considered airborne intensive care units.

The Altoona Fire Department is announced the department was awarded and has accepted a three-year grant in the amount of $587,560.32 from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) under the Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) grant program. The most recent submission was Altoona’s second attempt at applyingfor the FEMA SAFER grant. The FEMA SAFER grant will allow the Altoona Fire Department to hire two additional full-time Firefighter / EMS staff by covering the cost over a three-year

There’s a more than a 50-percent chance Eau Claire will see a white Christmas. The National Weather Service Twin Cities says the coldest air of the season so far is moving across the region Wednesday with northwest winds gusting 30-to-40-miles an hour. They say Eau Claire has a 56-percent chance for at least an inch of snow or more Wednesday into Thursday. 

Three men are facing charges after a year-long drug investigation in Northwest Wisconsin. The Pepin County Sheriff’s Office says 27-year-old Matthew Schumacher of Menomonie, and 32-year-old Anthony Nelson, and 44-year-old Chad Marson of Arkansas were arrested Friday. They’re charged with delivery of meth, and possession of meth and drug paraphernalia. Nelson was also charged with maintaining a drug house. The sheriff’s office says more arrests are likely. 

CVS Pharmacy will soon distribute COVID-19 vaccines to Wisconsin’s long-term care facilities. Through a federal pharmacy partnership, CVS is administering the first doses of the Pfizer vaccine across 12-states this week. Starting the week of December 28th, Wisconsin is slated to begin vaccinations of the initial shot and the booster. CVS expects to finish vaccinations within four-weeks. 

The University of Wisconsin Badgers men’s basketball team takes on the Nebraska Cornhuskers in their Big-Ten season opener tomorrow night. The number-12 Badgers play the Huskers at the Kohl Center in Madison. The Huskers are four-and-three. Tip-off is at 6 p.m.

Everything is pointing to a House vote today on a 900-billion-dollar coronavirus relief package. The deal congressional leaders announced Sunday night includes another round of payments up to 600-dollars for most Americans and 300-dollars a week for enhanced unemployment benefits. Word from the White House strongly suggests President Trump will sign a coronavirus relief package after it’s approved by Congress.  A White House spokesman said Trump has been pushing for more relief for Americans for months.  

 The giant numerals for “2021” are arriving today in Times Square ahead of the New Year’s Eve celebration that will have no crowds this year due to the pandemic. Jennifer Pulsone reports.