Wisconsin

Penn State Faced Communications Tech Issues at Wisconsin

Published

1 year ago

October 30, 2024

Penn State Faced Communications Tech Issues at Wisconsin

Penn State faced issues with its communications equipment last week at Wisconsin, to the point that head coach James Franklin said the sideline lost contact with the coordinators and players on the field in the fourth quarter. Coach-to-player communications equipment has become an issue in college football, as ESPN and The Athletic reported Wednesday that Big 12 teams are returning devices to address “technological concerns.”

After practice Wednesday in State College, Franklin said that coaches on the sideline could not connect with cooordinators Andy Kotelnicki and Tom Allen in the press box or quarterback Beau Pribula and middle linebacker Kobe King on the field. Pribula and King wore the in-helmet earpieces, through which coaches relay play calls. Franklin said the blackout occurred in the fourth quarter of the Nittany Lions’ 28-13 win over the Badgers. It’s an issue Penn State will want to fix before Saturday’s game against No. 4 Ohio State at Beaver Stadium.

“Last week at the end of the game, we lost contact with the booth, so we had no contact with the coordinators at the end of the game, we had no ability to communicate with the quarterbacks and the linebackers on the field,” Franklin told reporters. “We’ve been working on that, coming up with a soliution, but we did have a problem at the end of that game at a very critical moment.”

Asked how long the issue persisted, Franklin said, “if it’s one play, it’s too many plays.”

Penn State’s issue was different than those of other programs reporting concerns with the technology. According to The Athletic, Big 12 officials asked teams to return their coach-to-helmet devices because of concerns about encryption. The Athletic reported that teams believe others might be able to listen to their in-game discussions.

Texas Tech Athletic Director Kirby Hocutt told ESPN that he learned his football team’s in-game conversations might be accessible to anyone with a scanner. Hocutt told ESPN that it’s about operating a game “whose integrity is not questionable in any way on a Saturday afternoon.”

Penn State has had issues with its in-helmet communications system this season, though apparently not regarding encryption. In early games at West Virginia and the home-opener against Bowling Green, Franklin said that Penn State’s defense had trouble with the audio. Penn State solved that in part by moving Allen, the defensive coordinator, to the coaches booth and having defensive analyst Dan Connor call plays to the linebacker.

“I think the other thing that’s a big one for us that we got settled in the second half [against Bowling Green] is the communication,” Franklin said in September. “We were trying to rely specifically on the headset communication, and at home that can be a little bit more challenging with the linebacker trying to verbally communicate to all 11 guys on the field. It’s very similar to what I had explained to about-no huddle teams on offense trying to get the quarterback to communicate to everybody. That was still going to be challenging unless you’re huddling.”

This is the first season in which college football teams can use coach-to-player communications equipment to make play calls. Franklin has said that he’s uncertain whether the technology will curb the sign-stealing concerns it was meant to address.

“The interesting thing is, all of this got pushed because of the whole sign-stealing [issue], and for the offenses that are no-huddle, it doesn’t change them at all,” Franklin said before the season. “Because you still have to get the information to the wide receivers. How do you do that? You signal. Do I think we should have had helmet mics? They’re good changes, but I don’t know if they’re necessarily solutions to some of the challenges out there.”

More Penn State Football

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How Ohio State is preparing for the Nittany Lions

Penn State on SI is the place for Penn State news, opinion and perspective on the SI.com network. Publisher Mark Wogenrich has covered Penn State for more than 20 years, tracking three coaching staffs, three Big Ten titles and a catalog of great stories. Follow him on X (or Twitter) @MarkWogenrich.

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Wisconsin

Wisconsin warns of “sextortion,” online crimes against kids

Published

3 hours ago

December 23, 2025

Press Room

Wisconsin warns of “sextortion,” online crimes against kids

MILWAUKEE – The FBI calls it an online crime against kids – perpetrators convincing kids to send sexual images of themselves and then blackmailing them.

Online crime against kids

The backstory:

The reality is settling in. This will be Brittney Bird’s first Christmas without her son, Bradyn Bohn, since he was born. That is because just nine months ago, the 15-year-old died by suicide, just hours after telling his family good night.

“This winter has been pretty heavy,” Bird said. “This will be a lot of first this year.”

Bird said Bradyn was the kind of kid who would always try to make you launch. The teen had a lot of friends, played sports, did well academically, and had big plans for the future.

“Definitely a kid who we were just so proud of,” Bird said. “Bradyn never struggled with or suffered from mental illness or depression or anything of that nature so immediately we knew, you know something’s wrong.”

Once police went through Bradyn’s phone, she said it came out he was the victim of the cyber crime, sextortion.

What is sextortion?

What we know:

“Sextortion is a form of online child exploitation where a child is coerced by a perpetrator to send compromising images,” said Jesse Crowe from the Wisconsin Department of Justice.

This week, the Wisconsin Department of Justice sent out a public service announcement on sextortion.

Officials say suspects often pose as someone else online. While exchanging messages, they convince a child to send images of themselves. Once they have explicit images of the child, they use the photos or videos to blackmail the child into sending even more images, money or ask for sexual favors.

FBI data, change in Wisconsin law

Dig deeper:

The FBI said victims are typically males between the ages of 14 and 17, but any child can be a target.

This crime led to at least 20 suicides between October 2021 and March 2023.

In the months after Bradyn’s death, change would come to Wisconsin. Earlier in December, Gov. Tony Evers signed Bradyn’s Law. It creates a new crime of sexual extortion in Wisconsin. It aims to ensure harsh penalties for those who exploit children online.

“It will bring, hopefully statewide, eventually nationwide attention to where every family is having this conversation with their kids,” Bird told FOX6 News.

Take action

What you can do:

The Department of Justice said the best thing to do if a child finds themselves in this situation is the following:

Block the perpetrator
Report the account, but do not delete the messages
Tell a trusted adult
Do not send any money

Resources available

The Source: Information in this post was produced by FOX6 News.

Crime and Public SafetyMilwaukeeNews

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Wisconsin

Trump names Christmas Eve, Dec. 26 federal holidays. What does that mean for Wisconsin?

Published

15 hours ago

December 22, 2025

Press Room

Trump names Christmas Eve, Dec. 26 federal holidays. What does that mean for Wisconsin?

President Donald Trump declared Christmas Eve and Dec. 26 to be federal holidays this year.

The Dec. 18 executive order deems the days as work holidays for all federal departments and agencies, but adds some of them will remain open. Certain offices may stay open on one or both days for “national security, defense, or other public need,” the order reads.

But, what does this mean for other federal workers and services?

Here’s what to know in Wisconsin:

Are Christmas Eve, Dec. 26 official federal holidays?

Even though Christmas Eve and Dec. 26 have been declared federal holidays in 2025, they are not permanent additions to the holiday schedule.

Legislation must be passed by Congress and then signed into law by the president for a federal holiday declaration to be official.

Who gets Christmas Eve, Dec. 26 off in Wisconsin?

Only federal agencies are set to be closed on Christmas Eve and Dec. 26, according to USA TODAY.

Since these two days have not been designated permanent federal holidays, many businesses that follow the schedule will likely not give their employees a last-minute extended Christmas break.

Wisconsin state government and Milwaukee city offices are closed on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, but will be open on Dec. 26.

Will mail still be delivered on Christmas Eve, Dec. 26 in Wisconsin?

Yes. The U.S. Postal Service will deliver mail and post office locations will remain open on Christmas Eve and Dec. 26, according to its website. Mail will not be delivered and locations will be closed on Christmas.

Will banks be open on Christmas Eve, Dec. 26 in Wisconsin?

Yes. Banks will follow the typical schedule of being open on Christmas Eve and Dec. 26, according to the U.S. Federal Reserve. Banks will be closed on Christmas.

Mary Walrath-Holdridge of USA TODAY contributed to this report.

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Wisconsin

Wisconsin Lottery Pick 3, Pick 4 results for Dec. 21, 2025

Published

1 day ago

December 22, 2025

Press Room

Wisconsin Lottery Pick 3, Pick 4 results for Dec. 21, 2025

The Wisconsin Lottery offers multiple draw games for those aiming to win big. Here’s a look at Dec. 21, 2025, results for each game:

Winning Pick 3 numbers from Dec. 21 drawing

Midday: 0-7-9

Evening: 4-2-5

Check Pick 3 payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Pick 4 numbers from Dec. 21 drawing

Midday: 9-7-3-0

Evening: 7-7-5-4

Check Pick 4 payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning All or Nothing numbers from Dec. 21 drawing

Midday: 03-06-08-09-10-14-15-16-19-20-22

Evening: 02-05-07-12-13-14-15-16-20-21-22

Check All or Nothing payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Badger 5 numbers from Dec. 21 drawing

03-08-19-25-28

Check Badger 5 payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning SuperCash numbers from Dec. 21 drawing

04-10-27-30-33-39, Doubler: N

Check SuperCash payouts and previous drawings here.

Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results

Are you a winner? Here’s how to claim your lottery prize

Prizes up to $599: Can be claimed at any Wisconsin Lottery retailer.
Prizes from $600 to $199,999: Can be claimed in person at a Lottery Office. By mail, send the signed ticket and a completed claim form available on the Wisconsin Lottery claim page to: Prizes, PO Box 777 Madison, WI 53774.
Prizes of $200,000 or more: Must be claimed in person at the Madison Lottery office. Call the Lottery office prior to your visit: 608-261-4916.

Can Wisconsin lottery winners remain anonymous?

No, according to the Wisconsin Lottery. Due to the state’s open records laws, the lottery must, upon request, release the name and city of the winner. Other information about the winner is released only with the winner’s consent.

When are the Wisconsin Lottery drawings held?

Powerball: 9:59 p.m. CT on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday.
Mega Millions: 10:00 p.m. CT on Tuesday and Friday.
Super Cash: 9:00 p.m. CT daily.
Pick 3 (Day): 1:30 p.m. CT daily.
Pick 3 (Evening): 9:00 p.m. CT daily.
Pick 4 (Day): 1:30 p.m. CT daily.
Pick 4 (Evening): 9:00 p.m. CT daily.
All or Nothing (Day): 1:30 p.m. CT daily.
All or Nothing (Evening): 9 p.m. CT daily.
Megabucks: 9:00 p.m. CT on Wednesday and Saturday.
Badger 5: 9:00 p.m. CT daily.

That lucky feeling: Peek at the past week’s winning numbers.

Feeling lucky? WI man wins $768 million Powerball jackpot **

WI Lottery history: Top 10 Powerball and Mega Million jackpots

This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a Wisconsin editor. You can send feedback using this form.

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