Wisconsin News Digest

Here’s a look at AP’s general news coverage in Wisconsin. Questions about coverage plans go to News Editor Doug Glass at 612-332-2727 or dglass@ap.org. Dave Kolpack is on the desk.

This information is not for publication or broadcast, and these plans are subject to change. Expected stories may not develop, or late-breaking and more newsworthy events may take precedence. Advisories, digests and digest advisories will keep you up to date.

For up-to-the minute information on AP’s coverage, visit Coverage Plan at newsroom.ap.org.

Some TV and radio stations will receive broadcast versions of the stories below, along with all updates.

TOP STORY:

ELECTION 2020-WISCONSIN

MADISON, Wis. — Wisconsin Republicans who oppose making it easier for people to vote absentee have taken advantage of the opportunity to vote by mail in recent elections, with more than 80% of GOP members of the Legislature doing it in April. That’s according to an analysis of absentee voting records provided to The Associated Press by the liberal advocacy group A Better Wisconsin Together. It showed a dramatic increase in absentee voting in the April presidential primary and state Supreme Court election. By Scott Bauer. UPCOMING: 700 words.

AROUND THE STATE:

EXCHANGE-NEW OBSERVATORY STEWARDS

WILLIAMS BAY, Wis. — The round, wooden floor here has been a platform for some of the biggest names in science. Albert Einstein walked its surface in 1921. But this is no ordinary floor. It is 73 feet in diameter, considered the world’s largest indoor elevator and can rise 26 feet. It would make for a fantastic dance floor, but the 37.5-ton platform’s sole purpose at Yerkes Observatory in Williams Bay is to provide convenient access to the world’s largest refracting telescope. A $20 million effort by a local nonprofit is trying to make sure the elevating floor, the 40-inch telescope and the rest of the historic facility remain viable for another century after it was gifted last month to the Yerkes Future Foundation by the University of Chicago, which no longer had a need for the facility. By Barry Adams, Wisconsin State Journal. SENT: 1,127 words, photos.

EXCHANGE-VIRUS OUTBREAK-RESTAURANT ADAPT

MADISON, Wis. —Patio or bar stool, sidewalk cafe or upholstered banquette, sitting or standing — safety recommendations for public dining are the same. Stay six feet apart from people you don’t live with. Sanitize your hands. Wear a mask when you can. “Outdoor seating rules are the same as indoors,” said Bonnie Koenig, an environmental health services supervisor with Public Health Madison & Dane County. On June 15, Dane County moved into phase two of the Forward Dane plan, a structured, data-driven reopening schedule to slow the spread of the coronavirus. Restaurants with adequate space for the six-feet-apart guideline can now open their dining rooms to 50% of capacity. Madison has also relaxed its permit rules (temporarily) for outdoor seating all over the city. By Lindsay Christians, The Capital Times. SENT: 1,532 words.

IN BRIEF:

WISCONSIN DROWNINGS

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