Good morning.
Sunday in Whitewater will be cloudy with a high of 10. Sunrise is 7:16 and sunset is 4:58 for 9 hours 42 minutes of daytime. The moon is a waxing crescent with 43.6 percent of its visible disk illuminated.
On this day in 1964, Blue Ribbon Sports, which would later become Nike, is founded by University of Oregon track and field athletes.
DeForest, Wisconsin has decided to refluoridate its water supply. It’s one small step, from one Wisconsin community, back from crackpottery:
The action follows a protracted controversy that inflamed local politics in the village of some 12,000 people.
Fluoride can be naturally present in drinking water, and many communities in the U.S. add fluoride to their water supply to maintain levels that are ideal for preventing tooth decay.
Fluoride strengthens teeth, which helps stop cavities. For that reason, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has previously celebrated water fluoridation as one of the greatest public health achievements of the 20th century.
But fears about the effects of fluoride in water supplies have been spreading for decades in communities across the country, including DeForest. And U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy is among those promoting false information about fluoride.
Last February, DeForest trustees voted 4-3 to stop adding fluoride to the village’s water supply. This week, trustees took another step toward reversing that decision.
The board voted 5-2 on Tuesday night to direct village staff to prepare a resolution that would rescind the prior anti-fluoride resolution. Trustees are expected to approve the new resolution during a meeting next month. After that, it will likely take several months before added fluoride is re-introduced to the water, Village Administrator Bill Chang wrote in an email to WPR.
See Sarah Lehr, DeForest prepares to reintroduce fluoride to its water after protracted controversy, Wisconsin Public Radio, January 22, 2026.
We live in a time beset by ignorance, intemperance, and outright idiocy. DeForest now looks to be on the mend, and one wishes that community a full recovery.
Moment Alex Honnold climbed to the top of Taipei 101 skyscraper without ropes: