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Wisconsin football players all over thrilling Cowboys-Steelers game, including T.J. Watt’s 100th sack

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Wisconsin football players all over thrilling Cowboys-Steelers game, including T.J. Watt’s 100th sack


Those who stayed up late through the lightning delay saw a thriller of a Sunday Night Football Game, with Dallas scoring in the final 30 seconds to beat Pittsburgh, 20-17.

They also saw a full allotment of Wisconsin-connected football players.

From a milestone for Pewaukee native T.J. Watt to a huge play by a Dallas fullback from rural Wisconsin to another solid day from Cowboys tight end Jake Ferguson, here’s what you missed if you went to bed early.

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T.J. Watt becomes second fastest player to 100 career NFL sacks

If we didn’t already reach this point, it feels safe to start referring to Pewaukee and University of Wisconsin alumnus T.J. Watt as “future Hall of Famer,” just like his older brother.

Watt reached 100 career NFL sacks with a strip sack of Dallas quarterback Dak Prescott in the second quarter, making him the second-fastest player to reach that mark. He turned the feat in 109 games, with only Reggie White (96) reaching that plateau faster. DeMarcus Ware needed 113 games to hit 100, while Bruce Smith needed 115, J.J. Watt 120, Lawrence Taylor 122, Jared Allen 122 and Von Miller 124.

Among those on the list who are eligible, only Allen is not a Hall of Famer.

Not to be lost in the shuffle was that Nick Herbig joined him in registering the half-sack and forced fumble. The Hawaii native played for the Wisconsin Badgers, as well.

T.J. later registered a second sack in the game and now has 4.5 for the year and 101 in his career. Big brother approved of his arrival in the 100-sack club.

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Hunter Luepke puts Dallas on the doorstep of a thrilling win

The only problem is that Pittsburgh didn’t win the game.

Prescott rallied the Cowboys for a 4th and goal touchdown in the final seconds on a pass to Jalen Tolbert, a 4-yard completion that tipped the scales. The Cowboys arrived inside the 5-yard line thanks to a checkdown pass to Hunter Luepke, the 2023 undrafted free agent from North Dakota State who attended Spencer High School and played for the co-op between Spencer and Columbus Catholic.

Luepke already has seven receptions this year for 91 yards, plus four rushes for another 14 yards and eight total first downs. He’s playing just more than half of the Cowboys’ offensive snaps.

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Jake Ferguson continues strong year as Dallas tight end

Former Badgers standout and Madison Memorial alumnus Jake Ferguson closed the year in a big way last year when he caught a career-best 10 passes against the Packers in the postseason, en route to 93 yards and three touchdowns. He’s continued racking up stats in 2024.

Though he missed a game with injury in Week 2, Ferguson is up to 22 catches for 229 yards this season, though he’s still looking for his first touchdown. Against the Steelers, he brought in six balls on seven targets for 70 yards.

Isaiahh Loudermilk blocks Dallas field-goal attempt

Defensive tackle Isaiahh Loudermilk, a native of Kansas who played for Wisconsin, blocked a 38-yard field goal attempt by Dallas star field-goal kicker Brandon Aubrey in the third quarter.

Loudermilk sees the field of 17% of defensive snaps and 31% on special teams; he’s got a pass defended and five tackles this year.

With Watt and Loudermilk, the Steelers all told have four Badgers contributing to Pittsburgh’s defense.

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Keeanu Benton, a native of Janesville, has started four of the five games and has 10 tackles while playing an even half of Pittsburgh’s defensive snaps.

Herbig has started two games this year, with a forced fumble, fumble recovery and 2.5 sacks. He plays regularly on special teams and sees the field for just less than half of Pittsburgh’s defensive snaps.

Did you see Andrew Van Ginkel’s pick-six of Aaron Rodgers in London?

In other action Sunday, Andrew Van Ginkel’s pick-six for Minnesota loomed large when the Vikings defeated Aaron Rodgers and the Jets, 23-17, in London.

Playing at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, where the Packers played two seasons ago, the former UW player picked off Rodgers and ran 63 yards the other way for a touchdown that spotted the Vikings a 10-0 lead. It was one of three interceptions Rodgers threw in the loss.

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Van Ginkel played his first five NFL seasons with the Miami Dolphins before joining the Vikings this year on a two-year deal. He’s started all five games at linebacker, with now two interceptions returned for touchdowns, three sacks, 19 tackles and three total passes defended.

Alec Ingold scores go-ahead touchdown for Dolphins

Bay Port High School alumnus and former Badgers fullback Alec Ingold got into the end zone for a huge Dolphins score Sunday, plowing up the gut on 1st and goal for a fourth-quarter score that gave his team a 15-10 lead over New England with 4:24 to play.

That wound up being the final score

Ingold only has three receptions and six rushes this year, but his primary task is to block, which earned him a spot on last year’s Pro Bowl roster.

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Insider: Wisconsin Man Charged With Possession Of Virtual Child Pornography

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Insider: Wisconsin Man Charged With Possession Of Virtual Child Pornography


POLK COUNTY (DrydenWire) – An investigation by the Wisconsin Department of Justice, Division of Criminal Investigation, into multiple cybertips from Google about suspected child sexual abuse materials has resulted in felony charges for a Wisconsin Man.

Cody Struemke, age 27, of Amery, WI, is facing nearly a dozen charges for possessing child pornography, including Felony Possession of Virtual Child Pornography.

The criminal complaint against him alleges that Struemke saved a photo from Facebook of juveniles known to him, and digitally edited the photo to make it appear they were nude.

Insiders can read the full post below:

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Last Update: Dec 16, 2025 9:27 am CST





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Wisconsin health professionals share tips to protect against respiratory illnesses

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Wisconsin health professionals share tips to protect against respiratory illnesses


MADISON, Wis. (WMTV) -Respiratory illness season has begun in Wisconsin, with health professionals reporting increased flu cases and higher demand for medications and vaccines.

Over-the-counter medicines are flying off the shelves at Forward Pharmacy in McFarland, according to manager Tony Peterangelo.

“We’ve had to increase like how much of some of that stuff we’ve kept on hand,” Peterangelo said. “We had to make some special orders to really bulk up on some of it too.”

Forward Pharmacy manager Tony Peterangelo filling prescriptions as the respiratory illness season begins.(WMTV/Camberyn Kelley)

Upland Hills physician Benjamin Hecht said the respiratory illness season typically begins after Thanksgiving.

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“As of right now, we are just starting in the last week or two to see some Influenza A. Last year was a pretty tough flu year for us, influenza in Wisconsin. It’s still to be seen how severe of a year this is going to be in 2025-26,” he said.

Respiratory viruses are hard to avoid according to the Upland Hills physician.

“You can wear masks and wash your hands a ton, but you’re going to get exposed to these viruses at some point,” Dr. Hecht said.

RSV poses concern for young children

Dr. Hecht said another concern this season is RSV, particularly for young children with developing immune systems.

“The kids that get this, especially the really young kids, that don’t have a mature immune system, they can get pretty sick from RSV. That’s a particularly scary one. If you’re in a position where you qualify to get that vaccination or perhaps your kids do, please consider that,” Dr. Hecht said.

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Forward Pharmacy is meeting demand for vaccines, which Peterangelo said can help protect against viruses.

“All of that stuff reduces the need to scramble on the back end to get antibiotics and cough suppressants. It doesn’t completely reduce your risk, but it reduces it enough that your likelihood of getting that is down,” Peterangelo said.

Forward Pharmacy is meeting demand for vaccines, which Peterangelo said can help protect...
Forward Pharmacy is meeting demand for vaccines, which Peterangelo said can help protect against viruses.(WMTV/Camberyn Kelley)

The pharmacy has given out dozens of flu and covid shots in a day.

“I would say maybe in the 60 to 80 range,” Peterangelo said.

Dr. Hecht said influenza B will come later in the season. He recommends people with severe respiratory symptoms like breathing troubles to see a doctor.

“The big thing is just living a healthy lifestyle, staying well hydrated, getting good sleep, doing what you can with physical activity and exercise to make sure your immune system is in tip top shape,” Dr. Hecht said.

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According to new CDC data, doctor visits for flu-like symptoms rose to more than 3% in the last two weeks. The majority of flu cases are caused by a mutated strain that causes more severe illness, particularly among older adults.

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Former Trump aides appear in Wisconsin court over 2020 election fraud charges

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Former Trump aides appear in Wisconsin court over 2020 election fraud charges


MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Two attorneys and an aide who all worked on President Donald Trump’s 2020 campaign appeared in court Monday for a preliminary hearing in Wisconsin on felony forgery charges related to a fake elector scheme.

The Wisconsin case is moving forward even as others in the battleground states of Michigan and Georgia have faltered. A special prosecutor last year dropped a federal case alleging Trump conspired to overturn the 2020 election. Another case in Nevada is still alive.

The Wisconsin case was filed a year ago but has been tied up as the Trump aides have fought, unsuccessfully so far, to have the charges dismissed.

The hearing on Monday comes a week after Trump attorney Jim Troupis, one of the three who were charged, tried unsuccessfully to get the judge to step down in the case and have it moved to another county. Troupis, who the other two defendants joined in his motion, alleged that the judge did not write a previous order issued in August declining to dismiss the case. Instead, he accused the father of the judge’s law clerk, a retired judge, of actually writing the opinion.

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Troupis, who served one year as a judge in the same county where he was charged, also alleged that all of the judges in Dane County are biased against him and he can’t get a fair trial.

Dane County Circuit Judge John Hyland said he and a staff attorney alone wrote the order. Hyland also said Troupis presented no evidence to back up his claims of bias and refused to step down or delay the hearing.

Republican U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson asked the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate the allegations.

The same judge will determine at Monday’s hearing whether there’s enough evidence to proceed with the charges against the three.

The former Trump aides face 11 felony charges each related to their roles in the 2020 fake elector scheme. In addition to Troupis, the other defendants are Kenneth Chesebro, an attorney who advised Trump’s campaign, and Mike Roman, Trump’s director of Election Day operations in 2020.

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The Wisconsin Department of Justice, headed by Democratic Attorney General Josh Kaul, brought the felony forgery charges in 2024, alleging that the three defrauded the 10 Republican electors who cast their ballots for Trump in 2020.

Prosecutors contend the three lied to the Republicans about how the certificate they signed would be used as part of a plan to submit paperwork to then-Vice President Mike Pence, falsely claiming that Trump had won the battleground state that year.

The complaint said a majority of the 10 Republicans told investigators that they were needed to sign the elector certificate indicating Trump had won only to preserve his legal options if a court changed the outcome of the election in Wisconsin.

A majority of the electors told investigators that they did not believe their signatures on the elector certificate would be submitted to Congress without a court ruling, the complaint said. Also, a majority said they did not consent to having their signatures presented as if Trump had won without such a court ruling, the complaint said.

Federal prosecutors who investigated Trump’s conduct related to the Jan. 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol riot said the fake electors scheme originated in Wisconsin.

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The Trump associates have argued that no crime took place. But the judge in August rejected their arguments in allowing the case to proceed to Monday’s preliminary hearing.

Trump lost Wisconsin in 2020 but fought to have the defeat overturned. He won the state in both 2016 and 2024.

The state charges against the Trump attorneys and aide are the only ones in Wisconsin. None of the electors have been charged. The 10 Wisconsin electors, Chesebro and Troupis all settled a lawsuit that was brought against them seeking damages.

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This story has been corrected to show that the attorneys who are charged formerly worked on Trump’s campaign, but are still practicing attorneys.

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