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Here's a statement that I read about the reopening of businesses that I totally agree with: "The protective steps we all took as part of the Safer at Home order were working. Prior to Safer at Home, the number of Wisconsinites testing positive for COVID-19 was doubling every 3.4 days. By April 14, that rate of doubling had fallen to about every 12 days. Now is not the time to stop our successful protective steps - they are working. Please continue to practice smart prevention measures even as you re-engage in business and community life. The success of our community in avoiding a resurgence of COVID-19 lies with all of us making the right decisions to protect ourselves, our neighbors, and our customers."
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We do need to reopen, but we must do it smartly and safely or we just may be right back to where we started some three months ago and I would hate to see that! See above for a proper meeting set up!
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I know we won't be able to track down all the area businesses that are reopening completely, reopening under certain guidelines or stating the same as the Safe At Home guidelines. Our readers need to know your status, so it wouldn't hurt to place an advertisement with us stating such. I'm not begging, but we can't get to everybody and people are asking. We are interested in promoting and growing your business!
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Every now and then I stumble onto the "Susan Boyle" episode of Britain's Got Talent on youtube. If you've never seen her original performance in front of the judges, you should watch it. She came out of nowhere at age 47 to become a singing star!
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With the weather warming up pretty much daily - oh there's always a hiccup or two along the way - people are getting out more. The state parks are open for a lot of things, but camping and swimming are on everyone's radar - hopefully soon. I do notice a lot more vehicles on the roadways and especially passing through the downtown areas in every community I get to. Hopefully life will be back on track soon, especially for the school-age kids. Baseball and summer sports season is still a question. Some are still hoping July 1 may be a time for things to start up - the decisions of how and where are still questionable!
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I have to toot my family's own horn! My daughter-in-law Jolisa (Michael's wife) recently received the "Medal of Valor" for saving a woman's life in Muscatine, Iowa. She is a police officer there and saved a woman who was trying to jump from a bridge to commit suicide back in February. The rescue is quite the story! I'm very proud of her!
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And Michael is still working at HyVee there and also bartends at a brewery. The bar is open fully, but only at half capacity.
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We salute all the area EMS (first responders and more) during this week, EMS Week, and everyday! See separate pages in this issue honoring them!