News

COVID-19 cases in Black Earth and Mazomanie surged by over 50 percent in the past week. 45 new cases were added to make the total case count 132. Mazomanie and Black Earth's new case per ten thousand rate is 94, highest in the area, including all of Sauk and Dane Counties. On October 5, the Mazomanie and Black Earth area had 30 cases.

Does a much-publicized new law strip journalists and the public of the right to information? A recent statement by the Wisconsin Newspaper Association says it shouldn’t.

Congressman Mark Pocan (D-WI) has been in quarantine since last Tuesday, November 10, after finding out his mother had tested positive for COVID-19. Pocan transported his 91-year-old mother on a two-hour drive to a nursing home she was moving to on Monday, November 9.

In the weeks after the presidential election, ample misinformation has circulated on social media and political websites raising rumors about the integrity of Wisconsin’s election results. Now, election officials are speaking out. 

The saga of a complaint filed against Black Earth Library Director Carolyn Schaffer took on a life of its own after a special Village Board meeting Monday, but it seems the Village is looking to put it to rest. It all started with a Facebook post, and a Town of Black Earth resident’s complaint to Village President Troy Esser.

In a statewide address on Tuesday night, Gov. Tony Evers asked Wisconsin residents to unify against COVID-19 before issuing Executive order #94, advising people to stay home.

On November 6 the Wisconsin District III Court of Appeals ruled that an executive order limiting public indoor gatherings to 25 percent capacity was “invalid and unenforceable in a split decision.

One month ago, the Prairie du Sac area had 12 new weekly COVID-19 cases, its highest weekly total since 18 cases in one week in late July. Over the past week, there were 62 new cases. A week before that, 55. 

There were a total of 51 cases for the entire month of October.

President-elect Joe Biden won the area vote by a near 17 point margin, far more than the 0.6 percent margin for the entire State. Mark Pocan and Dave Considine won their downballot races by roughly the same amount.

There were no troubles at the polls. 

By Claire Campbell and Laura Schultz (Wisconsin Watch)

At one home, the pair corner a young woman who prefers not to be named, dressed in a soiled apron and a black polo shirt as she heads to work. McCurtis and Cross know that if not for their efforts, she probably will not vote on Nov. 3.