MOSINEE - Only drivers in Illinois and Connecticut have to suffer on worse roads than drivers here in Wisconsin. Seventy-one percent of Wisconsin's roads are in mediocre or poor shape, according to a survey by the American Society of Civil Engineers.
People in northcentral Wisconsin feel the pain.
Price County Highway Commissioner Don Grande says less than 10 percent of his road system is rated "good" or better. But he doesn't have the money from the federal, state, or county government to make major repairs.
At current funding levels, Price County can only replace its road system every 200 years.
"It's extremely frustrating that we can't keep up with the economic demand in Price County," Grande said. "Our system is in such poor shape that we're just throwing anything we can at it just to glue it together."
Grande and dozens of others met in Mosinee on Wednesday to discuss poor roads and funding challenges.
Other communities face similar frustrations. The City of Marshfield will ask residents to raise their own taxes in August to pay for roadwork.
"Oftentimes, when we talk about improving parks or other services, the public will say, 'That's great, but before you do that, what about the streets in my neighborhood? When are they going to be upgraded? When are they going to be maintained more?'" said Marshfield City Administrator Steve Barg.
Marshfield hopes to raise $6.8 million through the property tax referendum to make long-term fixes to roads.
"The long-term success is whether or not you can provide a good long-term surface 30, 40, or 50 years out that's going to be durable," Barg said. "That's the bigger issue, as opposed to just keeping up on the filling of cracks and the potholes."
Many people at the Mosinee meeting, which was hosted by the Transportation Development Association of Wisconsin, complained that last year's state budget did little to help transportation funding for northern Wisconsin.
"Some of the similarities we've heard is, one is, frustration. It shouldn't be this hard," said TDA Executive Director Craig Thompson. "Other states are figuring out a way to fund their transportation system. Wisconsin hasn't been able to yet."
Wisconsin legislators delayed budget talks for four weeks last year while debating the transportation budget. They ended up cutting millions from what Gov. Scott Walker first wanted to spend.
Even so, hundreds of millions will go to repairing the Zoo Interchange in the Milwaukee area.
WISCONSIN - Coronavirus cases are on the rise globally as well -- further stressing the global supply chain for personal protective equipment. Newswatch 12 spoke with Senator Tammy Baldwin on Wednesday. She called the lack of federal response to COVID-19 inexcusable.
"I think about how different things would've been today if in the earliest days President Trump had used the something called the Defense Production Act," said Baldwin.
Senator Baldwin argues this would've made sure all the personal protection equipment we needed would have been produced. She says different hospitals and health care facilities have been competing over the same equipment.
ABBOTSFORD - Marathon County Health Department, Clark County Health Department, and Family Health La Clinica will provide COVID-19 testing on Thursday, July 9 from 12 pm- 8 pm and Friday, July 10 from 7 am to 4 pm with the aid of the Wisconsin National Guard.
PHELPS - The small town of Phelps celebrates the 4th of July in a big way every year. But due to the coronavirus, organizers like Amy Thomason had to get a bit creative this year.
"We felt it was really important to find a way to celebrate 4th of July even with all that's going on," said Thomason.
Rather than cancel its popular parade, the town decided to move it to the lake.
"A lot of our community organizations are decorating boats," said Thomason. "It's just a great way to celebrate the 4th of July and keep our social distance. We're all in our own boats."
RHINELANDER - Strapping on a police vest comes naturally to Thomas Ginter.
"I believe everything I've done in my life up to this point - this is where I was meant to be," said Ginter.
He's one of 14 students in the Nicolet College's Police Academy this summer. Amid national civic unrest over policing, enrollment in the school's criminal justice program is higher than usual.
Today, aspiring officers practiced routine traffic stops, while instructors weave in what Academy Director Tim Gerdman calls cultural competence.
MADISON - The University of Wisconsin System and the Wisconsin Technical College System are making it easier for students to plan credit transfers in Wisconsin by launching a new online credit transfer tool called Transferology.
ONEIDA COUNTY - As the number of COVID-19 cases continues to grow throughout the state, the Oneida County Health Department is proactively looking to partner with local businesses to assist with contact tracing efforts.
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