St. Croix County Wisconsin is on fire with the virus

Number of weekly new cases in St. Croix County is up 125% since mid-October.

Wisconsin Department of Health Services

45% of all St. Croix County residents are fully vaccinated compared with 59% statewide. 

New York Times (and below)

St. Croix County is currently no. 2 (of 72) on the Wisconsin Hot Spots hit parade.

St. Croix's 7-day average of new Covid cases is as high as it was a year ago at this time.

New York Times

St. Croix County Public Health Covid webpages  are useless, considering the situation the county is in right now.

 

Related posts:
Burnett County.  (11/27/2021)

Clark County.  (11/9/2021)

Dodge County.  (11/22/2021)
Dunn County.  (11/9/2021)

Fond du Lac County.  (11/23/2021)

Jefferson County.  (11/23/2021)
Juneau County.  (11/15/2021)
Manitowoc County.  (11/9/2021)
Marathon County.  (11/9/2021)
Marinette County.  (11/9/2021)

Monroe County.  (11/24/2021)

Polk County.  (11/27/2021)
Price County.  (11/9/2021)
Sawyer County.  (11/9/2021)
Washbutn County.  (11/9/2021)

Waupaca County.  (11/27/2021)

Wood County.  (11/24/2021)

Waupaca County Wisconsin is on fire with the virus

 

Number of weekly new Covid cases in Waupaca County is up more than 200% during the past 3 weeks.

Wisconsin Department of Health Services

50% of all Waupaca County residents are fully vaccinated compared with 59% statewide. 

New York Times (and below)

Waupaca County is currently no. 9 (of 72) on the Wisconsin Hot Spots hit parade.

Waupaca's 7-day average of new Covid cases is as high as it was in mid-November 2020.

New York Times

Partial screenshot from Waupaca County Public Health Covid webpage.  "High".  Might as well be a greeting.

 

Related posts:
Burnett County.  (11/27/2021)

Clark County.  (11/9/2021)

Dodge County.  (11/22/2021)
Dunn County.  (11/9/2021)

Fond du Lac County.  (11/23/2021)

Jefferson County.  (11/23/2021)
Juneau County.  (11/15/2021)
Manitowoc County.  (11/9/2021)
Marathon County.  (11/9/2021)
Marinette County.  (11/9/2021)

Monroe County.  (11/24/2021)

Polk County.  (11/27/2021)
Price County.  (11/9/2021)
Sawyer County.  (11/9/2021)
Washbutn County.  (11/9/2021)

Wood County.  (11/24/2021)

Polk County Wisconsin is on fire with the virus

Number of weekly new cases is up 70% since mid-October.

Wisconsin Department of Health Services

47% of all Polk County residents are fully vaccinated compared with 59% statewide. 

New York Times (and below)

Polk County is currently no. 8 (of 72) on the Wisconsin Hot Spots hit parade.

Polk County's current 7-day average of new Covid cases is as high as it was a year ago at this time.

New York Times

Polk County's Public Health Covid homepage doesn't really let on how bad things are.

 

Related posts:
Burnett County.  (11/27/2021)

Clark County.  (11/9/2021)

Dodge County.  (11/22/2021)
Dunn County.  (11/9/2021)

Fond du Lac County.  (11/23/2021)

Jefferson County.  (11/23/2021)
Juneau County.  (11/15/2021)
Manitowoc County.  (11/9/2021)
Marathon County.  (11/9/2021)
Marinette County.  (11/9/2021)

Monroe County.  (11/24/2021)
Price County.  (11/9/2021)
Sawyer County.  (11/9/2021)
Washbutn County.  (11/9/2021)

Wood County.  (11/24/2021)

Burnett County Wisconsin is on fire with the virus

Number of weekly new cases is up more than 100% during the past 2 weeks.

Wisconsin Department of Health Services

53% of all Burnett County residents are fully vaccinated compared with 59% statewide. 

New York Times (and below

Burnett County is currently no. 3 (of 72) on the Wisconsin Hot Spots hit parade.

Burnett's 7-day average of new Covid cases is as high as it was a year ago at this time.

New York Times

Partial screenshot from Burnett County Public Health Covid webpage.  The whole thing is Boilerplate City.

 

Related posts:
Clark County.  (11/9/2021)

Dodge County.  (11/22/2021)
Dunn County.  (11/9/2021)

Fond du Lac County.  (11/23/2021)

Jefferson County.  (11/23/2021)
Juneau County.  (11/15/2021)
Manitowoc County.  (11/9/2021)
Marathon County.  (11/9/2021)
Marinette County.  (11/9/2021)

Monroe County.  (11/24/2021)
Price County.  (11/9/2021)
Sawyer County.  (11/9/2021)
Washbutn County.  (11/9/2021)

Wood County.  (11/24/2021)

GET ME REWRITE: South Africa Minister of Tourism Lindiwe Sisulu laments that rest of the world prioritizes public health over tourism dollars

 

Photo credit:  Wikipedia

New York Times, 11/26/2021

In South Africa, officials and business owners reacted bitterly to the international response. The nation put its sophisticated disease surveillance and research systems to good use, and quickly shared the results with the world, only to have its transparency repaid with damaging travel bans.  

“Perhaps our scientists’ ability to trace some of these variants has been our biggest weakness,” said Lindiwe Sisulu, the tourism minister. “We’re finding ourselves punished for the work that we do.”

Pet adoptions during COVID: Myths and reality

 

That was then.

Washington Post, 8/12/2020

This is now.

Minneapolis Star Tribune, 11/25/2021

Some veterinarians say one reason for the uptick in demand is likely that more people got pets while hunkered down at home. But data from the Humane Society in Minnesota and a national veterinary organization indicate a pandemic pet boom may be overstated. 

[snip]

Nationally, the approximate 2.3 million animals adopted in 2020 from more than 4,000 shelters was the lowest number in five years, according to the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association. The decrease likely was because COVID restrictions slowed the adoption process, fewer animals were available in part because the number of people who relinquished pets was down and animal control was less active in picking up strays, according to the journal article.

Actually, it appears that 58% of Iowans, many of them nice, are slowly being poisoned to death

 

Iowa Environmental Council )April 2019)

Between 2002 and 2017, unsafe levels of nitrate, coliform bacteria and fecal coliform bacteria were found in thousands of wells across Iowa. Farms are among the main source of the contamination, especially in rural areas of the state. 

Almost three-fourths of private wells polluted by these contaminants were in rural counties. Nitrate from fertilizer and animal manure and bacteria from manure applied to farm fields seep through soil or run off poorly protected fields to contaminate drinking water. 

Contamination of Iowa’s private wells poses serious health hazards, including elevated cancer risk and birth defects. Yet no state or federal agency requires testing or regulation of private wells. The state requires testing only once, for newly dug or repaired wells.

Des Moines Register, 11/24/2021

Fifty-eight percent of Iowans say that in their experience, Iowans are generally nicer than people from other states, the new poll finds. Another 36% say there’s generally no difference, and just 4% say Iowans tend to be ruder than people from other states.

Related series of posts:

What's the matter with Iowa?

This week in the cereal aisle: Give your kids a sugar buzz with a new Elf on the Shelf tradition

 

Photo by Retiring Guy

Sugar, sugar

If you're like Retiring Guy, you'll need to read up on Elf on the Shelf (R).

Related cereal aisle posts:

2021

Limited Edition Kellogg's Frosted Flakes Apple Jacks Mashup,  (10/3)

Fall is here and so are limited edition pumpkin spice choices.  (9/28/2021)

Kellogg;s adds another variety to the Frosted Flakes brand.  (7/12)
Team Cheerios.  (7/9)

Remembering the Apple Jacks bullies jingle.  (6/1)

Kellogg's shamelessly promotes major breakfast sugar buzz.  (5/19)

Kelloggs Crayola gets the puff piece treatment @ BestProducts.  (4/5)
Grape Nuts.  (2/22)
Kix just keep getting harder to find.  (1/23 update)
Cheez-It horns in.  (1/10)

2019
This box wants to party with you.  (6/4)
Blueberry Cheerios.  (5/16)
Snap, crackle and redpop.  (2/26)
Kellogg's Honey Oat Frosted Flakes.  (2/19)
Kellogg's All Bran fights for shelf space.  (1/22)
 
2018
Cheerios adds to its long list of flavors. (12/31)
General Mills offers two flavors of Dippin' Dots.  (11/28)
Kellogg's vanilla latte Frosted Mini-Wheats.  (10/1)
Nutter Butter.  (6/24)
Still a little bit of shelf space provided for boxes of Big Biscuit Shredded Wheat.  (4/3)
Chocolate Frosted Flakes.  (3/30)
It's just peachy, part 2 (with probiotics).  (3/26)
It's just peachy (Cheerios).  (3/25)
Snap, Crackle and Pop shrug off competition from Fancy Friends Cereal Treats.  (2/23)
Lucky Charms wants you to have a daily dose of yellow 5 and blue 1.  (3/9)
The takeover of Mom.  (3/1)
Hoopla over rainbow marshmallows added to Lucky Charms.  (2/22)
Kellogg's Donut Shop in your choice of flavors.  (2/14)
Just a spoonful of sugar helps the shredded wheat go down.  (2/6)
General Mills offers yet another flavor of Cheerios -- chocolate and peanut butter.  (1/30)
I suspect this special edition Cocoa Puffs isn't exactly flying off the shelves.  (1/16)
What's really going on with this General Mills blend.  (1/10)
Giant size bargains to kick off the new year.  (1/3)

2017
Satisfy your craving for chocolate.  (12/22)
Pumpkin Spice runs amok.  (11/7)
Danger lurks.  (11/2)
Dan G. wets himself over Special K Blueberry with Lemon Clusters.  (9/20)
Limited Edition Mocha Crunch.  (7/16)
Kellogg's Frosted Flakes with Marshmallows.  (2/1)
A marriage between General Mills and Girls Scouts of America.  (1/19)

2016
Alpha-Bits is getting squeezed out.  (11/23)
Special K continues to branch out.  (10/23)
Wedding bells chime.  (10/5)
The price of convenience (22.54 cents per ounce).  (8/19)
Make up your mind already!  (8/14)
Remember Nabisco Shredded Wheat?  (7/13)
Features Batman and Superman.  (7/7)
Post wants you to have ice cream for breakfast.  (6/30)

Tiny Toast.  (6/21)

2015
Fewer of us are starting the day with a breakfast "hoop-de-do"!  (2/13)

2014
Kellogg's wants you to put out the box at bedtime.  (12/20)
Decline in cereal sales bite into Kellogg's results.  (Fortune, 10/30)
Americans aren't eating their Wheaties.  (CNN Money, 9/18)
Cereals Begin to Lose Their Snap, Crackle, and Pop.  (The New York Times, 9/10)
Why Don't Americans Like Breakfast Cereal Anymore? The once-loved product whose sales went soggy.  (Adweek, 8/14)
I imagine General Mills has done the research, but what if this is the case?  (7/1)
Maybe it's the rainbow colors.  (7/1)
They still call it 'breakfast cereal'.  (2/14)

2013
Cereal killers:  Americans' new breakfast habits.  (CNBC, 8/23

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

Menu requirements for a Retiring Guy kinda Thanksgiving.

Dinner rolls.  Pumpkin pie.

Apple-cranberry pie.

Robert Hampson (1933-2021) Warren High School class of 1951

  1951 Dragon yearbook

Source:  Donald Lewis Funeral Home

1967 Warren City Directory

• Hampson Harold S (Hampson & Hampson) h424 Conewango Avenue
• Hampson H Robert (Janet D; Hampson & Hampson) r271 Follett Run Road 

1983 Warren City Directory,

• Hampson H Robert & Janet D;  lawyer 400 Market Street h115 East Fifth Avenue

The popularity of Robert as a baby name is graphed here.  Let's take a look at son-in-law Christian.

Social Security Administration

Christian bounced around, losing ground, during the first third of the 20th century, but turned things around and has now spent the past 35 years in the top 100, peaking at #21 in 2006.

Other members of the WHS class of 1951 (31):
2021

Barbara Gray Lauffer.  (5/18)

Dorothy Cook Hanson. (5/5)

Alice Hollabaugh Lindell. (3/23)

Dorothy Anderson Barstow.  (3/2)

Doris Whipple Cunningham.  (1/29)

2020
Doris Mason Sadler.  (8/21)

Sarah Irving Crecraft.  (8/10)
Mary Cotillion Young Shaffer.  (6/9)
Richard Campbell.  (5/14)
Patricia Hamm Suppa.  (4/27)

2019
John Steele Sr. (9/9)
Josephine Gregerson Baker.  (6/1)
Tilda Hildum Hulteburg.  (2/7)
George Gern (2/6)

2017
Patricia Elaine Black Williams.  (10/12)
Marilyn Albaugh Frycklund.  (9/23)
Carol Amacher.  (5/30)
John Wood.  (5/28)
Catherine Collins Sheldon.  (4/22)
Ronald McCain.  (4/13)
Elaine Crecraft McDunn.  (3/1)
Albert Kondak.  (2/28)
Richard Cook.  (2/16)
Marilyn Pasquino Nyberg.  (1/19)

2016
Mark Bevevino.  (8/26)
Diedra Peterson Andersen.  (6/8)

Marilyn Lyke Bonace.  (6/6)
John Tingwell.  (6/5)

2015
Donald Quiggle.  (12/19)
Genevieve Larson McKown.  (12/16)
Franklin Reiff.  (7/14)

Mary Ann Font Schafer.  (6/29)

Monroe County Wisconsin is on fire with the virus

  

Number of new cases in Monroe County has increased nearly 50% in three weeks.

Wisconsin Department of Health Services

48% of all Monroe County residents are fully vaccinated, compared to 59% statewide.   That puts the county in the bottom quartile.

New York Times

Monroe County's current 7-day average of new Covid cases is as high as it's been since early December 2020.

New York Times

Monroe County Public Health Covid homepage.  

Vaccination percentages do not match WI Department of Health Services and New York Times tallies.

 

Related posts:
Clark County.  (11/9/2021)

Dodge County.  (11/22/2021)
Dunn County.  (11/9/2021)

Fond du Lac County.  (11/23/2021)
Juneau County.  (11/15/2021)
Manitowoc County.  (11/9/2021)
Marathon County.  (11/9/2021)
Marinette County.  (11/9/2021)
Price County.  (11/9/2021)
Sawyer County.  (11/9/2021)
Washburn County.  (11/9/2021)

Wood County.  (11/24/2021)

Wood County Wisconsin is on fire with the virus

New cases are up nearly 200% during the past month.

Graph created from data found at

WI Dept. of Health Services

57% of Wood County residents are fully vaccionated compared to 59% statewide.

New York Times

Wood County's 7-day average of new Covid cases is as high as its been since around Thanksgiving of last year.

New York Times

Wood County has the 4th highest rate of new Covid cases per 100,000 resident during the past 7 days.  You wouldn't know it from the county's public health Covid information homepage

Related posts:
Clark County.  (11/9/2021)

Dodge County.  (11/22/2021)
Dunn County.  (11/9/2021)

Fond du Lac County.  (11/23/2021)

Jefferson County.  (11/23/2021)
Juneau County.  (11/15/2021)
Manitowoc County.  (11/9/2021)
Marathon County.  (11/9/2021)
Marinette County.  (11/9/2021)
Price County.  (11/9/2021)
Sawyer County.  (11/9/2021)
Washbutn County.  (11/9/2021)

GET ME REWRITE: Trumpiest counties in Minnesota are sickest with the delta variant virus

 

New York Times

No surprise that a St. Cloud hospital needs medical reinforcements.

New York Times (white boxes added)

Star-Tribune, 11/23/2021

Federal medical teams this week are starting to help at Hennepin Healthcare's HCMC in Minneapolis and will soon arrive at CentraCare's St. Cloud Hospital. New facilities are creating space so hospitals can discharge patients to the next level of care, Walz said, and Minnesota National Guard members are being trained to support long-term care providers. 

But even with those efforts, the governor said during a news conference at HCMC that the state faces a critical time in the coming weeks.

Original 10/13/2021 post starts here.

59% of Minnesota residents are fully vaccinated.  The10 counties listed in the first bar graph are well below this percentage.  Todd County is the worst offender at 36%, followed by Clearwater County at 37%.

New York Times (Covid, election)

6 of 10 of Minnesota's counties with the lowest number of Covid cases per 100,000 residents voted for Biden.  (Only 11 of the state's 87 counties did so.  60% of Minnesota population lives in the Twin Cities metro area, which includes 4 of the counties listed in the bar graph below: Hennepin, Ramsey, Washington, and Dakota.)

Mapped

Minnesota 7-day average of new Covid cases is as high as it's been since December 15, 2020.

Welcome to the Trump Endorsements Hall of Shame

 

Earplugs available at the concession stand.

USA Today, 11/22/2021

Sean Parnell, the candidate endorsed by former President Donald Trump for U.S. Senate in Pennsylvania, on Monday suspended his campaign after he lost a court fight over custody of his three children in which the judge said he believed allegations of abuse by Parnell’s estranged wife. 

[snip]

The judge, James Arner, wrote in an order Monday that Parnell's estranged wife, Laurie Snell, will have sole legal custody of the school-age children, as well as primary physical custody. Parnell will have physical custody on three weekends per month, Arner wrote. 

Snell was “the more credible witness,” Arner summed up in his 16-page opinion, saying she could remember and describe details in a convincing manner.