Items

• 
  2021

  Changes in the House--Anti-Vaccine Mandate Bill

  South Carolina House changes its rules and advanced a bill against the federal vaccine mandate. On December 9th, 2021, the House Ways and Means Committee amended House Bill H. 3126 that blocks employers in state and local governments and school districts from firing or suspending unvaccinated employees. House Bill H.3126 will make workers who were fired or suspended due to their unvaccinated status eligible for unemployment benefits. This bill would also allocated $10 million dollars to the department of Health and the Medical University of South Carolina to fund COVD-19 testing for private employers. The House Republicans argue that an employer's right to fire an unvaccinated employee is "discriminatory" in nature. They also attest that private businesses and public offices cannot mandate an "unlawful" mandate that violates the individual freedoms of employees. Thus, the House Bill H.3126 signifies a growing concern of individual autonomy in the State. As the pandemic continues to variate and spread, some civilians feel that COVID-19 protection should stop at the doorstep of private business owners. As Republican Russell Ott argued, South Carolina now faces the possibility of growing liability lawsuits if this law is passed. While this bill may protect employees, it would not protect employers and private business owners from being sued in the event that one of their employees contracted COVID-19 and passed it to a consumer.
• 
  2022-06-06

  Arkansas Prisoners and COVID Relief Payments

  This article details a court ruling that requires the Arkansas Department of Corrections to pay out over $2.5 million dollars in withheld COVID relief money from the federal government. When COVID stimulus relief checks were rolled out, any money going to those incarcerated in Arkansas was immediately confiscated by the Arkansas Department of Corrections and placed within the state prison budget. Several inmates then sued the Department of Corrections demanding the payment of their stimulus. While the Department of Corrections alleged that they were entitled to the money due to the inmates being under their jurisdiction, this ruling requires the immediate repayment of all stimulus money. This story demonstrates not only a conflict within the Arkansas prison system, but also the tremendous legal questions the pandemic opened as well as the questionable conduct spurred by government officials in response.
• 
  2022-06-10

  Arkansas prison doctors and ivermectin

  This is a story detailing Arkansas' Medical Board dismissing charges against a Washington County prison doctor for treating prisoners with ivermectin. Arkansas' Medical Board has not explicitly denounced the drug as a treatment for COVID-19, and many physicians prescribe the drug. This particular physician treated several unknowing prisoners with ivermectin in order to combat rising covid cases in the Washington County Jail in April. This dismissal of charges by the Medical Board reveals a deeper skepticism of the pandemic in Arkansas and a willingness of the board to allow physicians to treat their patients as they ultimately see fit with minimal regulations. I feel it also reveals a deeper understanding of Arkansas' prison system due to the prisoners not being informed of what was given to them, and therefore without consent.
• 
  2022-07-11

  COVID Cases Once Again On the Rise in Arkansas

  This article details a recent surge in Arkansas COVID cases. The shocking nature of the rise is the fact that the state's active cases jumped from 197 to 15,125 in a single day. I think this primarily demonstrates the state and the world's rush to reopen, particularly keeping in mind the July 4th holiday, have allowed a sense of deep comfort. However, this comfort can be deadly when individuals who are feeling unwell fail to take precautions to assure the health and safety of themselves and others. While it is encouraging to see life return to a sense of normalcy, this shows that the pandemic is still a present part of our lives.
• 
  2022-06-17

  Victoria pressed to scrap two-jab Covid vaccine mandate amid worker shortage

  This is a news story from The Guardian by Adeshola Ore. The Victorian government has been pressed to stop the two-jab vaccine mandate due to a worker shortage. "While some industry groups have called for the two-dose mandate to be abolished to help ease the skilled workers shortage, the Victorian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) said the decision was up to health officials." "Almost 95% of Victorians aged over 12 have received two doses of a Covid vaccine."
• 
  2020-05-23T09

  Sampling a dystopian world

  We lived in a very town in western Illinois as the pandemic arrived in America. Covid-19 seemed abstract until circumstances caused us to travel to a major international airport. The eerie quiet, in place of what should have been a noisy, madcap atmosphere, elevated sounds I normally would not have heard. It was as if a scene from a science fiction film had jumped off the screen and into my life. The experience had a nightmarish quality that has stayed with me two years later.
• 
  2022-05-19

  Everything You Need to Know About DC Black Pride 2022

  This is a news story from Metro Weekly by Joseph Reberkenny. For the first time since COVID started, DC Black Pride will be back in-person. It is organized by the Center for Black Equity and it includes over 25 events highlighting the Black LGBTQ community in Washington. During the height of the COVID outbreak, the Center for Black Equity held events online instead. The organizers say that in-person events are special for this community and has planned safety precautions for people attending. There will be things like masks available at the event in addition to rapid test kits.
• 
  2022-05-21

  Arizona governor OK’s ban on school COVID-19 vaccines

  This is a news story from Fox 10 News by Bob Christie. Governor Doug Ducey has recently signed legislation that would prevent state health officials from adding COVID-19 vaccines to list of required school vaccines. This legislation was done by the GOP to prevent government overreach.
• 
  2022-05-09

  Brett Reinert Oral History, 2022/05/09

  Brett Reinert is from Springdale, Arkansas. He works at a toner company as a deliverer. He delivers copier toner for a small business in Northwest, Arkansas. Brett talks about his home state of Arkansas and how the state government reacts differently to the pandemic. Brett and his family take the pandemic very seriously and made sure that his two grandmothers are not exposed to it. Brett also talked about his observation of the changes around him as many restaurants in the state started to require a proof of vaccination to eat in. And the changes with the requirement of masks felt weird to him. Although there were changes, he has seen what the pandemic brought to his life and the people around him, he hopes that people will take the pandemic seriously if we experience another one in the future
• 2022-05-06

  Plastic bag ban stalls in Chihuahua, a casualty of the pandemic

  This is a news story from El Paso Matters. This story is about Mexico's environmental issues that have risen due to COVID. In August 2019, Chihuahua became the latest state to ban single-use plastic bags. This changed with COVID, when household and medical waste rose to 80,000 tons per day. Fines for violating Chihuahua’s plastic bag ban range from 2,000 Mexican pesos ($97) to 250,000 pesos ($12,200). But authorities have refrained from enforcing it, noting that single-use items were necessary to meet coronavirus safety requirements. The pandemic’s negative impact on the economy and available workforce also presented obstacles, says Gilberto Wenglas Lara, director of ecology at the Ministry of Urban Development and Ecology.
• 
  2020-05-18

  Essential Worker Hard Hat Sticker

  The attached picture is a part of my story during the pandemic. I work in the semi-conductor industry at a site that makes a large amount of important computer chips that are vital throughout the world. Our site was experiencing the pandemic just like everyone else, parallel to a time when everything we manufactured was in extreme demand due to many people working from home, schools teaching from a distance, cars needing chips, and medical equipment in high demand. It was absolutely critical that our site continued to operate safely and could not shut down. Our site and corporate managers made policies to ensure that only the minimum number of critical employees were on site to limit the chances of COVID-19 transmission, while following state-mandated essential rules during the early pandemic shutdowns. I was given a form to travel with and this sticker, additionally our badges would not let us in the site without specific essential worker access. This sticker is a daily reminder of what a crazy time I was part of, working on our site with minimal people pulling together to enable people to have the technology the needed to keep the world moving, from home...
• 
  2020-04-24

  Gluten-Free Vegan Perogies

  My fiancé is vegan, so it's hard to find comfort foods that are also vegan and gluten-free. We spent a lot of quarantine days finding and messing around recipes that were gluten-free. We eventually ended up making the recipe, and even though the perogies were a little thick on the dough side (gluten-free dough can annoyingly do this sometimes). Many days were spent with my fiancé that I cherished, even though we never knew when I was going back to work. During this time, I'm sure most people felt like this. I think what was important was the reset we got when the stay-at-home orders were put into place. I think it made everyone realize the things we took for granted and the people that we saw every day.
• 
  2022-03-27

  American Samoa COVID Cases Situational Report #18

  This is the eighteenth report released by the American Samoa Department of Public Health regarding the rise of covid cases in American Samoa. As of March 27, 2022, positive cases have risen to 3381 from 2953 on March 25, 2022.
• 
  2022-03-25

  American Samoa COVID Cases Situational Report #17

  This is the seventeenth report released by the American Samoa Department of Public Health regarding the rise of covid cases in American Samoa. As of March 25, 2022, positive cases have risen to 2953 from 1932 on March 22, 2022. On this report, a number of 7 individuals are hospitalized to covid and there is 1 death related to COVID-19.
• 
  2022-03-22

  American Samoa COVID Cases Situational Report #16

  This is the sixteenth report released by the American Samoa Department of Public Health regarding the rise of covid cases in American Samoa. As of March 22, 2022, positive cases have risen to 1932 from 1565 on March 21, 2022.
• 
  2022-03-21

  American Samoa COVID Cases Situational Report #15

  This is the fifteenth report released by the American Samoa Department of Public Health regarding the rise of covid cases in American Samoa. As of March 21, 2022, positive cases have risen to 1565 from 1188 on March 17, 2022.
• 
  2022-03-17

  American Samoa COVID Cases Situational Report #14

  This is the fourteenth report released by the American Samoa Department of Public Health regarding the rise of covid cases in American Samoa. As of March 17, 2022, positive cases have risen to 1188 from 433 on March 10, 2022.
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  2022-03-10

  American Samoa COVID Cases Situational Report #13

  This is the thirteenth report released by the American Samoa Department of Public Health regarding the rise of covid cases in American Samoa. As of March 10, 2022, positive cases have risen to 433 from 343 on March 9, 2022. The DOH advised that elders are strongly recommended to get the booster shot.
• 
  2022-03-09

  American Samoa COVID Cases Situational Report #12

  This is the twelfth report released by the American Samoa Department of Public Health regarding the rise of covid cases in American Samoa. As of March 9, 2022, positive cases have risen to 343 from 291 on March 7, 2022. The people of American Samoa are still advised to get their vaccine shots and booster shot. The numbers jumped by 52 cases after two days. The report also shows how many doses of vaccine and booster were administered.
• 
  2022-03-07

  American Samoa COVID Cases Situational Report #11

  This is the eleventh report released by the American Samoa Department of Public Health regarding the rise of covid cases in American Samoa. As of March 7, 2022, positive cases have risen to 291 from 243 on March 6, 2022. The people of American Samoa are still advised to get their vaccine shots and booster shot. It is also heartwarming that within these reports that are released to the public, the DOH encourages people to send text messages, video messages, or groceries to someone who tested positive.
• 
  2022-03-06

  American Samoa COVID Cases Situational Report #10

  This is the tenth report released by the American Samoa Department of Public Health regarding the rise of covid cases in American Samoa. As of March 6, 2022, positive cases have risen to 243 from 229 on March 5, 2022. The people of American Samoa are still advised to get their vaccine shots and booster shot. And if they are to get tested, there are clinics on the East and West of the island to get tested if people are positive. The DOH released these reports daily or weekly to inform the public about the number of cases on the island.
• 
  2022-03-05

  American Samoa COVID Cases Situational Report #9

  This is the ninth report released by the American Samoa Department of Public Health in regards to the rise of covid cases in American Samoa. As of March 5, 2022, positive cases have risen to 229 from 215 on March 4, 2022.
• 
  2022-03-04

  American Samoa COVID Cases Situational Report #8

  This is the eighth report released by the American Samoa Department of Public Health in regards to the rise of covid cases in American Samoa. As of March 4, 2022, positive cases have risen to 215 from 154 on March 3, 2022. The DOH also changed the look of the Situational Report to show the map of American Samoa and color-coded villages with their number of cases.
• 
  2022-03-03

  American Samoa COVID Cases Situational Report #7

  This is the seventh report released by the American Samoa Department of Public Health in regards to the rise of covid cases in American Samoa. As of March 3, 2022, positive cases have risen to 154 from 135 on March 2, 2022.
• 
  2022-02-25

  American Samoa COVID Cases Situational Report #3

  This is the third report on the COVID cases in American Samoa. The public is informed to get their vaccination and booster shots and to practice good hygiene social distance and wear masks. The number of cases is now 63.
• 
  2022-02-25

  American Samoa COVID Cases Situational Report #2

  This is the second report from the American Samoa Department of Public Health in regards to reporting the number of cases in American Samoa. After a day, the number of cases jumped from 22 to 53.
• 
  2022-02-24

  American Samoa COVID Cases Situational Report #1

  This is a report from the American Samoa Department of Public Health in regards to reporting the number of cases American Samoa has with COVID reaching the island. Ever since cases began to rise on the island, the American Samoa Department of Public Health has been releasing these situational reports on COVID cases publicly and weekly. The importance of these reports was to keep the public inform and we could see just how fast the disease spread in a significantly high amount weekly or even in a couple of days.
• 
  2021-11-05

  HERMIT HERALD, ISSUE 131

  Analyzing Democratic election
• 
  2020-07-13

  Covida

  A comic strip about Covid-19
• 
  2020-06-25

  Florida

  A comic strip about Covid-19
• 
  2020-06-08

  Thank you card

  A comic strip about Covid-19
• 
  2022-03-08

  Florida Will Urge Parents Not To Vaccinate ‘Healthy’ Kids, Going Against CDC Advice

  This is a news story from Scary Mommy, written by Lauren Levy. This story deals with Florida's position on vaccinating children and going against CDC guidelines. The author, Levy, is very against this and thinks it is irresponsible to be contrary to what the CDC suggests, claiming that it will make things more dangerous for kids if they don't take the vaccine. Some have been raising concerns that people are taking politicians words over those of doctors. Opponents have reminded parents that this is just a suggestion from Florida politicians, and not a mandate, meaning that they can discern for themselves if the vaccine is right for their kids. Ultimately, Levy believes parents should ignore what Florida politicians say and listen to doctors instead on what to do.
• 
  2022-04-05

  Jerry Gryglak 'humbled' to receive Governor's Citizenship Medal for daily Reddit COVID updates

  This is a news story from The Denver Gazette by Lindsey Toomer. Since June 2020, Jerry Gryglak has posted COVID updates on the subreddit r/CoronavirusColorado, and breaking down the information to be more user-friendly. This has helped Redditors get better information on the virus. Due to his diligence, Governor Jared Polis is recognizing Gryglak as one of Colorado's COVID Heroes and will get the Governor's Citizenship Medal. Gryglak left posts on Reddit with updates on deaths, hospitalizations, vaccines, and other such information. Gryglak is unsure how much longer he will be posting these updates.
• 
  2022-04-05

  Big Changes to a Small Island

  At the "heart" of Polynesia, (referring to its geographic location in the Polynesian triangle) American Samoa appears as another tiny dot on the map. Nevertheless, it means the WORLD to its 55,000+ people, and to some, it is all they have ever known as their home. It is also the southernmost territory of the United States (below the Equator) and the second to the last place on earth to always welcome the New Year LAST. Perhaps it coincidently depicts the slow-paced nature of the island to which many visitors claim that "it feels like time slows down", here at a piece of heaven on earth that is deeply rooted in the Christian faith and the "Fa'aSamoa", a.k.a the Samoan culture or literally, the "Samoan way of life". The people of our island are like a big tight-knitted family--we are all related anyway--when something good or bad happens on the west side of the island, news travels to the east faster or about the same as the speed of light! It has its disadvantages, but for the most part, it is a beautiful thing to see the collective reaction of our people when it is of happiness, support, and sympathy. When the coronavirus started spreading rapidly in the United States in early 2020, our territory continued its commercial flights until mid-March when Hawaii's cases started to rise. Since March 2020, our borders were closed to commercial travel for the next 11 months, not including cargo flights and ships. Residents were stuck in the States for nearly a year. The first of many repatriation flights finally began in February 2021. The repatriation flights took place once a month, during which passengers would undergo a strict process of testing and reporting, a quarantined stay in Hawaii for 12 days, and another 2-weeks quarantine upon arrival in American Samoa. Throughout all repatriation and medical flights, the quarantine process was still a requirement, which was how positive cases were caught and taken care of to prevent community spread. Fast forward to February 2022, exactly a year later, news of a COVID outbreak quickly spread when it was leaked on social media that the family of a Department of Health worker tested positive for COVID at the main hospital. The general public was seeking answers and taking their concerns on social media until later on that same evening the said family tested positive, the local news channel held a Livestream in which the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, and the COVID-19 Task Force officially announced the community outbreak of the virus. People rushed to the stores to buy necessities and food before the lockdown was set to begin at midnight. The lockdown was marked as Code Red, with curfews from 9pm to 4:30 am, and business hours to be from 8am to 4pm, while all government workers and non-essential employees are to stay home, except essential workers and first-responders. Students transitioned to virtual learning and now interact in class with options such as "raise hand" and/or "mute/unmute". Our people had to adjust very quickly to the new reality we now face. A small island once free with family gatherings, church services, and close human interaction as we are known for...now all of that sounds like a distant memory that will take some time to experience again. Beaches and parks used to be crowded with people and all the happiness they offer their surroundings, now empty and eerily quiet with a "CLOSED" sign nearby. We are masking up everywhere--with little to no physical interaction--so far with 4,700+ cumulative positive cases and a total loss of 7 souls, which has hit our dearest island with extreme sorrow. While the world has moved forward and learned to live with COVID, even opening back up and unmasking, our island is once again a little behind with the experience. It is only the beginning for us! Fortunately, our unwavering faith in God continues to be our ultimate Hope, along with the support of our loving families, beloved people, the United States, and our fellow Pacific islands. One thing we are sure of is that WE ARE RESILIENT PEOPLE, having overcome many challenges for centuries! This too shall pass...on the bright side, in order for it to pass, our journey with COVID had to begin. Now we must go through it, endure it, and overcome together AS one like we always do! God be with us...God IS with us.
• 
  2022-03-10

  Politics wrecked America’s response to COVID. Don’t let it put transgender kids in danger, too

  This is a news story from The San Francisco Chronicle, written by Stephen M. Rosenthal and Diane Ehrensaft. This is an opinion piece comparing the government response to COVID and the politics surrounding it to ruining the response. The authors warn that following politics over science is dangerous. It later goes on to talk about the anti-trans legislation being passed through different states, such as: Idaho, Texas, and Florida. The authors believe that science proves that trans kids have no real threat from puberty blockers. A study is also quoted, where it says that gender affirming care for trans youth is linked to lower instances of depression. The point of this article is not so much about COVID itself, but fear of what was done during the peak of COVID being repeated on other types of legislation, and in this case, using politics over science with trans kids.
• 
  2020-05-09

  What is a mask?

  A comic strip about Covid-19
• 
  2022-03-25

  Virginia's Law Barring Mask Mandates Does Not Apply to 12 Children with Disabilities

  A news article from NPR talks about the parents of 12 children that challenged the newly signed law by Governor Glenn Youngkin to halt the enforcement of that law because it violated the children's rights under the federal American with Disabilities Act. This law would only give parents the right to choose for their own children. The group of parents have kids with health conditions that range from asthma to cystic fibrosis, which put them at heightened risk for COVID-19. What about other kids that have health conditions that make them a heightened risk for COVID whose parents didn't say their federal rights were violated?
• 
  2022-03-21

  In Hanover, the anti-LGBTQ school board needs discipline, not protesting students

  This story is about the school board of Hanover County in Virginia needing discipline instead of letting it's students protest and participate in walk-outs during school hours because of the policies against their transgender students. The school board is accused of having no intentions of supporting the non-binary and transgender students of Hanover. This is important because it is once again showing discriminatory policies that the school board keeps bringing up against transgender students during the COVID-19 pandemic.
• 
  2022-03-16

  COVID Surge in American Samoa

  American Samoa, a small U.S territory located in the South Pacific, was the last place to experience the surging numbers of covid cases. When the coronavirus was declared a pandemic at the beginning of 2020, American Samoa was the only place on earth not to have any cases of COVID. To combat the disease, the government of American Samoa barred incoming flights for a whole year from the United States and their neighboring island of Western Samoa. Although the island did not have any COVID cases, the government promoted and maintained the restrictions throughout the island. However, after opening the borders for inbound flights after a year, American Samoa did not report its first Covid case until September 2021. Since then, travel restrictions and quarantine for travelers were enforced, but eventually, a big surge of cases began to be seen in mid-February of this year. The opening of borders to inbound flights brought the disease into the island. Coronavirus cases jumped from only a hundred to 555. It is still considered relatively low worldwide, but it is high for a small island. Fortunately, no fatalities are reported, with more than 80 percent of the population vaccinated. The attached image is data reported weekly by the American Samoa Department of Health to the public to show how many cases are positive in each village and totaled in American Samoa. The people were worried that the disease might cause some fatalities, the government was quick to impose a lockdown restriction called "CODE RED," which barred social gatherings, schools, traveling, and work on February 22. Although the public panicked with the news of coronavirus cases on the island, the government worked to assure the safety of the people by making sure people were aware of the number of cases and the situation with live news updates and weekly data by the Department of Health. I was also worried when I first heard of the surging number of COVID cases at home. Although I moved to the states for school, I made sure I am kept up to date with what is happening back at home. With the fatalities I saw here in the states with Covid, I was also worried for my parents. But it was comforting to see the live updates by the government on social media which kept me closer to home.
• 
  05/07/2021

  Holly Tremble Oral History, 2021/05/07

  Holly Tremble lives in Hudson, Wisconsin a suburb of the Twin Cities and is currently unemployed but also is a care worker once a week at a nursing home in Northfield, Minnesota so that she can see her father during this pandemic. In this interview, Holly discusses how COVID-19 has affected her life, her employment status, and family and community life. She shares what it has been like to go through this pandemic as well as the different approaches to the pandemic that she experienced being on the border of Minnesota and Wisconsin and the difference in policies in the area.
• 
  12/09/2020

  Reed Engle Oral History, 2020/12/09

  C19OH
• 
  05/03/2021

  Kyle Sauley Oral History, 2021/05/03

• 
  05/19/2020

  Trent Jansen Oral History, 2020/05/19

  An oral history interview with Trent Jansen. Trent discusses how family and friends have been impacted by the COVID pandemic. He also talks about how his day-to-day work life has evolved during the pandemic. Trent additionally discusses his views that it is time to reopen businesses and get people back to work. He theorizes that mental health issues caused by shutdowns will result in worse long-term issues than the virus itself.
• 
  05/18/2020

  Stanton Webster Oral History, 2020/05/18

  An oral history interview with Stanton Webster who discusses his background opening a distillery in Knoxville, Tennessee before the pandemic. He discusses how his business reacted to the COVID-19 Pandemic and his efforts to keep employees paid while finding new revenue streams. In this business-focused interview he also illustrated how a small group of local business banded together to navigate the pandemic and government funding pitfalls. He also discusses family life and changing roles in the home.
• 2020-03-30

  Having to wear masks

  The news article I put is an article about having to wear masks through the pandemic. This was a big change for America with many people wearing masks to help slow the spread and keep ourselves and those around us safe from covid. Many states had laws on when to wear masks, this was a historic moment for America when they announced we had to wear masks because the covid illness is very serious.
• 
  12/11/2020

  Shawnda Kaeding Oral History, 2020/12/11

  C19OH
• 
  10/27/2020

  Henry Wathan Oral History, 2020/10/27

  This interview was recorded as part of The Covid 19 Oral History Project, a project of the IUPUI Arts and Humanities Institute associated with The Journal of a Plague Year: A Covid 19 Archive. This interview was conducted through the University of Cincinnati in partial fulfillment of credit for HIST3158 under the supervision of Dr. Rebecca S. Wingo.
• 
  03/19/2021

  Jeff Litsey Oral History, 2021/03/19

  Jeff Litsey is a resident of the Fountain Square Neighborhood in Indianapolis with his wife and two children. Jeff discusses how the pandemic has affected his family life and schedule while also discussing how the neighborhood dynamics have evolved during the pandemic. Jeff talks about the challenges of running a small, locally owned, coffee shop during the pandemic in the Fletcher Place neighborhood of Indianapolis. This includes revenue, business plan evolution, government assistance, adjusting employee’s hours and pay, and helping employees and customers feel safe during the pandemic. He also illustrates how the neighborhood community helped his employees through tips that rolled into a community employee assistance plan. Additionally, Jeff discusses his anxiety that increased during the pandemic from running a business and worrying about how his shop could affect others and himself. This extended to worrying about his family. He discusses how the hobbies of art, hiking, and birdwatching helped him feel better. The interview ends with his hopes for all people to have healthcare and a home.
• 
  09/30/2020

  Joseph Spataro Oral History, 2020/09/30

  This interview consists of a perspective of a white male from Vermont living in Florida for the school year, whom has experienced COVID from the rural suburbs of Vermont, to the maskless warzone that is Florida. His perspective is one from a gamer, only knowing the interviewer though playing videogames together.
• 
  05/26/2020

  Michael Mike Michalski Oral History, 2020/05/26

  In this oral history interview, Alexander Michalski interviews Mike Michalski in Pewaukee, Wisconsin. Mike discusses his job and how it was affected by covid, the impact the virus has had on his friends and family, and home life. He touches on media and how the news is covering the virus. He also discusses local and federal government responses to the virus as well as his hopes for the future.