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Members of several teacher and other campus worker unions want no in class instruction this fall at the University of Wisconsin.  Dozens of members of a handful of unions were out around campus yesterday in a rally to call for learn at home online only this fall semester because of COVID-19 concerns.  For the moment school administrators plan to welcome thousands of Badgers students back to class starting September 2.

The Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association is offering alternative sports activity schedules.  One is for the fall and the other delays fall sports until spring.  The WIAA Board of Control says school officials around the state have until September 1 to decide which way to go.  The schedule options per sporting activity are posted on the website with an EASY CLICK HERE.

The President and Vice President have several speaking engagements lined up around Wisconsin the same time the Democrats will be in Milwaukee for their party’s convention.  The 2020 Democratic National Convention is from August 17 through August 20 at the Wisconsin Center.  Joe Biden and Kamala Harris will both speak remotely due to COVID-19 concerns.  Starting the morning of the 17th President Trump and Vice President Pence both will kick off their own string of campaign stump speeches including in Oshkosh and Darien.

Wisconsin sees another spike in new coronavirus cases as well as a rising positivity rate.  Health officials today say more than a thousand new cases of COVID-19 were confirmed in the last 24 hours.  The seven-day average is 780 cases a day.  The positivity rate is the highest it’s been in nearly a month at seven-point-three-percent.  Seven deaths were also reported bringing the total number of people killed by the coronavirus to one-thousand-and-25.

 President Trump will visit Oshkosh on Monday.  The campaign says the president will deliver remarks on Joe Biden’s failures on jobs and the economy.  Trump is scheduled to make his remarks around 4:30 Monday afternoon at Wittman Airport.  The president has a busy day on Monday with stops also planned in Minnesota and Yuma, Arizona.

Juneteenth is now a paid holiday for Dane County employees.  The county board passed a resolution last night recognizing June 19th as a paid day off.  The holiday pay will cost the county about 66-thousand-dollars.  Juneteenth marks the day in 1865 that the last of the slaves learned of their freedom, two years after the Emancipation Proclamation was issued.

Appleton and Fond du Lac have some of the lowest gas prices in the state.  Triple-A says the average cost for a gallon of regular in Wisconsin is $2.08 today.  The national average is 2.17.  Gas is under 2 dollars a gallon in both Appleton and Fond du Lac. 

Almost half of the employees at a produce company in Barron County are COVID-19 positive. The Barron County Health Department says 44-percent of the employees at Seneca Foods in Cumberland are infected with coronavirus. The first case was reported in mid-July, and ten days later the health department reported several cases at the factory. 

Farmers can get a free meal next week. This year’s Chippewa Falls Area Chamber of Commerce Farmer Appreciation Dinner will be a grab and go format, compared to previous years. It’s at the Northern Wisconsin State Fairgrounds next Wednesday, August 18th. Tickets can be reserved by contacting the Chamber before the event. Meals will be served from 4 to 8:30 p.m.

A community program is launching to help the Menomonie police department stop a growing methamphetamine problem in Dunn County.  Project Hope seeks to provide a different approach to solving drug addiction. According to the police department, Dunn County has over one-and-a-half times more meth submissions to the state crime lab than in Milwaukee County. Menomonie Police Chief Erik Atkinson says he’s grateful the community is embracing a culture of rehabilitation to help people who are struggling.