Today is December 4, 2020 and this is your daily news briefing from The Courier. In today’s update, residents in the Daylesford region have been put on alert for coronavirus after viral fragments were found in the town's wastewater, and more than $2 million worth of roadworks contracts were approved in open council by councillors on Wednesday night - part of a move to consider tenders more publicly.

Today is December 3, 2020 and this is your daily news briefing from The Courier. In today’s update, a synthetic turf school oval, multiple play spaces, two sports areas and places for creative play and outdoor learning will bring the grounds of one of Victoria's oldest schools into the modern age after the announcement of a new round of state funding for 'minor' capital works at schools, and a COVID-shedding Victorian man who returned to the regional town of Colac is the likely source of a positive wastewater sample.

Today is December 2, 2020 and this is your daily news briefing from The Courier. In today’s update, a company that dumped contaminated soil from an old petrol station in Daylesford has been fined by the Environmental Protection Authority, and the community has two weeks left to prepare properties for the upcoming fire season before the fire danger period comes into effect.

Today is December 1, 2020 and this is your daily news briefing from The Courier. In today’s update, Police believe a Ballarat mum who has been missing since April has been murdered, and private security guards are absent from Victoria's new-look hotel quarantine program, which Premier Daniel Andrews describes as the "strongest and safest" scheme in the country.

Today is November 30, 2020 and this is your daily news briefing from The Courier. In today’s update, momentum is gathering for Ararat to lead a minerals boom with a major investment in mineral exploration, and being drunk in public will no longer be a crime in Victoria, with new laws to emphasise a healthcare response rather than a law enforcement one.

Today is November 27, 2020 and this is your daily news briefing from The Courier. In today’s update, Federation University is advertising two senior leadership roles to women only as it works towards a more gender-diverse leadership, and February is shaping up as a booming month for Ballarat with another big event marked for an on-site return.

Today is November 26, 2020 and this is your daily news briefing from The Courier. In today’s update, Councillor Hewitt, the new Birch Ward councillor, was officially sworn in as mayor of Hepburn on Tuesday night, for what will be a huge 12 months of economic recovery for the region, and one of Lake Wendouree's boatsheds will be demolished and rebuilt after the new owner discovered it was beyond restoration or repair.

Today is November 25, 2020 and this is your daily news briefing from The Courier. In today’s update, the Victorian government's unprecedented big-spending budget is targeting more than $8 billion for regional Victoria, and Federation University's Department of Sport Science is celebrating after being ranked in the top 100 sports science schools in the world.

Today is November 24, 2020 and this is your daily news briefing from The Courier. In today’s update, some Alfredton residents have been left with significant repair bills after strong winds left a trail of destruction, with one resident likening the storm to being similar to one of the opening scenes in the Wizard of Oz, and Ballarat’s festival scene is set to return in the new year, with plans well advanced for Beer Fest to be held on February 20.

Today is November 23, 2020 and this is your daily news briefing from The Courier. In today’s update, households are officially allowed up to 15 visitors as of midnight and big family Christmas celebrations are back on after Premier Daniel Andrews outlined the next step out of COVID restrictions, and the state government has moved to dispel concerns that Ballarat and future fast rail would be short changed by its decision to build a Sunshine to airport rail link, over a designated tunnel.