News

This month, Dane County Executive Joe Parisi introduced his 2021 County Budget: Resilient, Resolved, Continued Commitment to Community. It works to address the impact of COVID-19 on Dane County residents and business, while continuing to prioritize human services, equity, renewable energy, conservation, and more.

The Mazomanie and Black Earth region have seen their COVID-19 cases double in the past two weeks, hitting 42 on Monday, October 12. For two and half months starting in July there were only 21 cases. The current count puts the cases per thousand figure at 8.7, equivalent to where Dane County was at in Mid-August.

A Judge’s changes to Wisconsin’s election laws, extending the dates for voter registration and turning in absentee ballots, has been overturned by the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals. After a few weeks of judicial back-and-forth, the November election will go on unchanged.

In the midst of increasing infections and deaths due to COVID-19, Sauk County is lost its Health Department Director. Tim Lawther resigned on Wednesday, October 14.

Potential changes to absentee voting in Wisconsin will come before the Wisconsin Supreme Court in the coming days. The 7th Circuit Appellate Court, while debating a lower court ruling, asked the upper court to intervene.

The legal process has been convoluted.

By Howard Hardee (Wisconsin Watch)

September 25, 2020

Information comes so fast on social media that it’s hard to know what to believe. 

The entire area is on the fringe of COVID-19 hotspots in Dane and Sauk Counties, and while numbers remain low in Sauk Prairie for now, the Mazomanie/Black Earth community saw cases jump from 23 to 30 in one week. The Prairie du Sac region increased by seven cases, and Sauk City saw two new cases.

Two classes were quarantined at Grand Avenue Elementary School in the wake of two positive COVID-19 cases at the school in mid-September. The information comes from emails obtained by the Star News from a Grand Avenue parent who wishes to remain anonymous.

Sauk County Public Health (SCPH) reports that, in the past 14 days, 214 new cases of COVID-19 have been diagnosed in Sauk County residents, for an average of 15.3 new cases every day in that period.

NOTE: 7th Circuit Court upheld Conley's ruling. Look for an update in next week's issue.