News & Events

The Wisconsin Department of Health Services continues to recommend the current COVID-19 vaccine during pregnancy and for every person 6 months and older to protect from serious COVID-19 illness and to prevent spreading it to others. The current COVID-19 vaccine is safe during pregnancy, and vaccination can protect women and their infants after birth. Newborns depend on maternal antibodies from the vaccine for protection.

Wisconsin Medicaid will also continue to cover the current COVID-19 vaccine for eligible Medicaid members, including children and individuals who are pregnant.

“The current COVID-19 vaccine was thoroughly reviewed for safety and effectiveness and continues to be an important tool in preventing severe illness and death,” said Department of Health Services Secretary Kirsten Johnson.

The current COVID-19 vaccine was approved following rigorous testing and safety review processes, including clinical trials and review by medical experts. The vaccine received medical and safety review and authorization from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), and the CDC director. The recent changes in CDC guidance were not made based on new data, evidence, or scientific or medical studies, nor was the guidance issued following normal processes. Following national approval, the Wisconsin Department of Health Services independently reviews FDA and CDC recommendations to provide clinical guidance to Wisconsin providers and the public.

COVID-19 continues to cause illness, hospitalization, and death. DHS encourages everyone to stay up to date on all recommended vaccinations to protect themselves and their loved ones from vaccine preventable diseases. Wisconsinites can work with their health care provider to determine which vaccines are needed or find a vaccine provider at Vaccines.gov(opens external link).

The Wisconsin Department of Health Services continues to monitor federal updates for COVID-19 vaccine recommendations and how changes could impact the health and safety of Wisconsinites. We will share any updates to Wisconsin COVID-19 vaccine recommendations with the public and our partners.

Learn more about COVID-19 in Wisconsin on the DHS website.

Editor’s note: The above press release was provided by the Wisconsin Dept. of Health Services.

Sheriff Fell is pleased to announce that our second 2025 Cops & Bobbers event will be held on July 14, 2025, from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m., at Leonard Leota Park, 5 Antes Drive, Evansville, WI 53536. Youth participants accompanied by Sheriff’s Office staff will fish Lake Leota from shore. Check-in will start at 9:45 a.m.; an adult guardian must be present at check-in.

There are twenty-five (25) spots available for kids ages 7-12. These spots will fill on a first come basis. Guardians can register their kid(s) online at https://www.co.rock.wi.us/departments/sheriffs-office/recreational-patrol/cops-and-bobbers.

Upon submitting the registration form, review the onscreen confirmation message.

Life jackets, fishing gear, and lunch will be provided during the event. Participants will receive a t-shirt.

The Sheriff’s Office is seeking sponsorships for the Cops & Bobbers Program. These events are free to participants due to the generosity of financial and in-kind sponsors. To learn more about sponsorships, email Deputy Trevor Lund at trevor.lund@co.rock.wi.us.

Please direct any questions to Deputy Borgwardt at 608-7578038.

It’s time once again for #FlashbackFriday with the Whitewater Historical Society. This week’s image is another one taken by historical society member George Scharfenberg of a business change in Whitewater. In this case, it was the “going out of business” of the Clark Office Supply store on North Second Street (you can see the old Armory in the background). An office supply store was advertised as opening in this location (a former laundromat) in June of 1971. It was called the Colony Office Supply and Print Shop. By 1981, the business was a branch of the Clark Office Supply store in Elkhorn and was in business until the summer of 1994, when this photo was taken.

Join us next week for more from the Whitewater Historical Society.

(George Scharfenberg photo collection)

Thursday, Friday, & Saturday, June 26 – 28, 8:00 – 5:00
1236 Tower Hill Pass, Whitewater

Large 3 family rummage sale.

• Household items
• Holiday items, Christmas lights
• Name brand men’s and woman’s clothing
• Shoes
• Lia Sophia jewelry, thirty-one, scentsy, pampered chef, coach, grace adele purses
• Bedding, queen box spring, queen bed frame
• Movies, Xbox games, PlayStation games
• Pokémon cards, sports cards
• Board games
• Blow up boat, toys
• Snow blower, tool chest
• End table
• Toaster oven
• Air hockey table game
• Lots of miscellaneous items 

The question every dementia family asks is “How long do we have?”

Reza Hosseini Ghomi, MD, MSE, a neuropsychiatrist and health tech expert, used to give textbook answers about averages and stages.  Now he tells them about the Three Clocks.

Clock #1: The Medical Clock     
This is what families expect doctors to discuss. Stages, timelines, progression rates. The answer is “mild cognitive impairment progresses to dementia at the rate of 10-15% annually.”  But this clock is largely useless for real-world planning.   What does that mean for Tuesday’s grocery shopping? Nothing.

Clock #2: The Functional Clock     
This is what actually matters for daily life.  When will driving become unsafe?   When will living alone become risky?  When will complex financial decisions need supervision?  When will medication management require help?  This clock runs differently for everyone. Some patients drive safely for years after diagnosis, others need to stop driving immediately.

Clock #3: The Family Clock   
This is the clock we don’t talk about but everyone lives by:  How long can the spouse manage caregiving alone?  When will siblings need to have “the conversation”?  How much time before difficult decisions become urgent?  When will family dynamics crack under pressure?

Here’s what Dr. Ghomi has learned after 1,000+ dementia consultations:

• The Medical Clock gets all the attention but provides the least useful information for families.
• The Functional Clock determines actual quality of life and safety.
• The Family Clock determines whether the first two clocks matter at all.

Averages and generalities are not of much use to families dealing with dementia. The three questions they need answers for are:  What shall we watch for?   What specific milestones?  How do we prepare as a family to face these changes?

The most important clock isn’t ticking in the patient’s brain. It’s ticking in the family’s capacity to adapt.  When families ask “How long do we have?” they’re really asking “How do we make the most of whatever time remains?”

This article is submitted by Dementia Friendly Community Initiative, a program of Whitewater Seniors in the Park to help educate the community about dementia and to support patients and caregivers.  New committee members are very welcome! 

Contact Jackson@whitewater-wi.gov or call Jennifer at 262 473 0535       
https://www.whitewater-wi.gov/273/Seniors-In-the-Park

For more information on family dynamics and dementia:  https://www.caregiver.org/resource/holding-family-meeting/

Whitewater Fire/EMS would like to invite the public to a “Push-In Ceremony” to commemorate placing their newly delivered fire engine into service for our community.

The event will occur at the Whitewater Fire Department following the annual Whitewater 4th of July parade. There will be brief remarks by department staff, followed by a fire service tradition known as a Push-In, where members of the community are invited to help us “push” the new apparatus into the bay. Following the event, the department will offer fire station tours, as well as question and answer opportunities as emergency call volume will allow.

On behalf of Whitewater Fire/EMS, we wish everyone a safe and fun Independence Day.

Whitewater Fire Department
312 W. Whitewater Street
07/04/2025
12:00 pm

For additional information contact:
Assistant Chief Ryan Dion
rdion@whitewater-wi.gov

The following area students have been named to the Dean’s List at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse for the spring semester of the 2024-25 academic year, ending in May:

Ethan Dugan, International Business Major
Caroline Skindingsrude, Elementary/Middle Education Major
Catherine Skindingsrude, Biology Major

Qualification for the Dean’s List is limited to students who have attained outstanding academic achievement. To be eligible, students must have earned at least a 3.5 semester grade point average and carried a minimum of 12 credits. 

The University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, founded in 1909, is one of 13 four-year institutions comprising the Universities of Wisconsin. UWL offers 130-plus degree programs from undergraduate to doctoral levels in arts, social sciences and humanities; science and health; business; and education. UW-La Crosse – www.uwlax.edu – is a top-ranked national university. It is the No. 1 public university in Wisconsin with fewer than 25,000 students, according to Niche’s 2025 ranking of the best U.S. colleges and universities.