Wisconsin in Focus: Recent Episodes
The Center Square Wisconsin
A weekly feature of the top TheCenterSquare.com stories of the week, commentary from The Center Square Wisconsin's editors and more! Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/wisconsininfocus/support
Lawmakers at the Wisconsin Capitol say Milwaukee Public School’s financial crisis will cost their schools as well. Republican Rep. Jerry O’Connor, R-Fond du Lac, said MPS’ recently approved property tax increase will shift the way that state school aid dollars are spent. “Under Wisconsin’s equalization aid formula, state tax dollars are distributed to school districts inversely based on property value per student, aiming to ‘equalize’ aid. This formula is expenditure-based, meaning that as Milwaukee increases its expenditures, it receives a larger share of state aid regardless of property tax ‘wealth,’” O’Connor said.
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Full story: https://www.thecentersquare.com/wisconsin/article_cfb0c772-2d77-11ef-a1d5-4f8f499df606.html
There are calls for hearings and action at the Wisconsin Capitol after the state’s public school managers announced a plan to change student reading and math scores. The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction recently updated the asset-based performance levels that are used to see how well students are reading, writing and doing math. Kids who are thriving in reading, writing and math will continue to be rated in the advanced category. But the other terms for performance are changing. That means the current proficient rating will change to meeting. The current basic rating will change to approaching. And the current below basic will change to developing.
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Full story: https://www.thecentersquare.com/wisconsin/article_c66fc760-242d-11ef-928a-df197039392d.html
The new free speech lessons for the University of Wisconsin’s next freshman class will not just be about speaking your mind. UW President Jay Rothman told regents during meeting in Milwaukee he is planning a new curriculum for new students about both sides of the right to freedom of speech. “This fall, all incoming freshmen students will learn more about freedom of expression and about the rights and responsibilities associated with the First Amendment,” Rothman said. “This provides the foundation for any subsequent discussion and debate on a number of possibly contentious topics.”
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Full story: https://www.thecentersquare.com/wisconsin/article_12dd39ce-2731-11ef-836a-47bd304892cb.html
There is now a recall effort to replace Milwaukee’s school board. A group of parents and activists said they are looking to recall half of MPS’ board of directors, including President Marva Herndon, Vice President Jilly Gokalgandhi, Erica Siemsen and Missy Zomber. Tamika Johnson, who spoke for the group, said those four mislead Milwaukee voters about April’s quarter-billion dollar MPS referendum and failed to tell parents and taxpayers about the persistent financial problems inside Milwaukee’s school district.
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Full story: https://www.thecentersquare.com/wisconsin/article_c2a0fb86-2982-11ef-9505-a7c52b9cf7f8.html
None of the Republicans who signed on as one of former President Donald Trump’s Wisconsin electors is being charged in a new fraud case, but three former Trump advisers are. Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul announced forgery charges Tuesday against attorneys Jim Troupis and Kenneth Chesebro. Kaul also filed charges against former Trump campaign aide Michael Roman, who was also indicted in Georgia.
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Full story: https://www.thecentersquare.com/wisconsin/article_fd2c75aa-2298-11ef-aa3d-c30cf3cc45ea.html
Wisconsin’s former governor says Milwaukee Public Schools must be “saved” for the students. Former Republican Gov. Tommy Thompson told a crowd at the Milwaukee Press Club on Wednesday that there is a clear emergency in Milwaukee schools, and he said he’s “damn serious” about solving it. Thompson said he pushed for school choice in Wisconsin in the 1990s because of the poor performance of Milwaukee Public Schools, and he said MPS is not much different today.
Full story:
https://www.thecentersquare.com/wisconsin/article_3ab094ba-226c-11ef-8999-b7efcd938bb7.html
https://www.thecentersquare.com/wisconsin/article_19b180d2-2341-11ef-9830-afc6f3e4a264.html
https://www.thecentersquare.com/wisconsin/article_e81eb76c-2366-11ef-b381-97f78389c8a6.html
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The latest argument against Act 10 has been tried before, but some think this time it could work. Lawyers for the teachers’ union in Abbotsford on Tuesday tried to once again make an equal protection claim in the latest effort to strike down Act 10. Specifically, Karabell says the public safety carve out creates two classes of public employees. But Jacob Curtis, an attorney with the Institute for Reforming Government, told The Center Square the argument has been tested in court once before to no avail.
Full story:
https://www.thecentersquare.com/wisconsin/article_b6d4e776-1db7-11ef-a832-6bf0410c1fd1.html
Wisconsin is putting $50 million towards startups and entrepreneurs in hopes that a lot more companies come to the state to grow. Gov. Tony Evers and WEDC CEO Missy Hughes announced the Wisconsin Investment Fund. Evers said the Wisconsin Investment Fund is using $50 million from the federal government’s State Small Business Credit Initiative. Private investors are kicking in another $50 million, for a total of $100 million fund.
Full story: https://www.thecentersquare.com/wisconsin/article_8d411294-1dea-11ef-b026-e34accdab5be.html
Milwaukee Public Schools are facing a second possible funding suspension, this time over missing state financial reports. MPS Superintendent Keith Posley said Wisconsin’s Department of Public Instruction is threatening to withhold millions of dollars in general state aid and special education money because the city’s school district has not yet turned in financial reports that were due as far back as September. Milwaukee’s school board issued a statement Wednesday that said board members are aware of the threat from DPI and is working to avoid losing any money.
Full story:
https://www.thecentersquare.com/wisconsin/article_142378e4-1e84-11ef-8444-fb27b0a91dad.html
At least one Republican lawmaker wants changes after a new report exposed Wisconsin’s attorney general hired an environmental prosecutor thanks to a grant from Michael Bloomberg’s environmental non-profit. Rep. Jerry O’Connor, R-Fond du Lac, accused Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul of “selling the Department of Justice to the highest bidder.” The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel broke the story that Kaul hired special assistant attorney general Karen Heineman with a grant from the SEEIC. She’s being paid $90,000 annually to handle environmental cases. O’Connor said Kaul needs to answer why he’s using the grant to hire a new prosecutor, and whether the non-profit is driving the prosecutorial agenda here in Wisconsin.
Full story:
https://www.thecentersquare.com/wisconsin/article_42c2fe02-186e-11ef-bb27-fb0952edaf91.html
The Human Rights Campaign wants to spend millions of dollars to connect with equality voters in Wisconsin this election season. The Human Rights Campaign bills itself as the largest civil rights organization working to achieve equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people. It says equality voters are people who share their LGBTQ focus and agenda. In all, the Human Rights Campaign says it is planning to spend $15 million in Wisconsin, Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada and Pennsylvania.
Full story:
https://www.thecentersquare.com/wisconsin/article_c518c330-1776-11ef-997c-df7567b2dbca.html
Wisconsin’s uninstructed, or uncommitted, voters are out with a new poll that says they could keep President Joe Biden from winning the state in November. The Americans for Justice in Palestine-Action group commissioned the poll from YouGov. It says 1-in-5 Democrats and Independents in Wisconsin say they are less likely to vote for the president because of how he’s handled the war in Gaza.
Full story:
https://www.thecentersquare.com/wisconsin/article_ff96e478-1902-11ef-ba30-b38b6e73392a.html
Just days after University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee’s chancellor finalized an agreement with campus protesters, the head of the UW is expressing his disappointment in that deal. University of Wisconsin President Jay Rothman took to social media to explain how the university moves forward after weeks of campus protest camps. “Maintaining viewpoint neutrality on challenging public issues is critically important, especially in situations where students and other university stakeholders on multiple sides of an issue are in vehement disagreement. We also need to ensure that there is accountability and responsibility for actions taken on our campuses,” Rothman wrote on X. “I am disappointed by the course taken by UW-Milwaukee, and I am continuing to assess the decision-making process that led to this result.” UW-Milwaukee Chancellor Mark Mone’s agreement with campus protesters includes a promise to schedule a meeting with UWM Foundation money managers in exchange for a promise not to disrupt this weekend’s graduation ceremony.
Full story:
https://www.thecentersquare.com/wisconsin/article_c536dab0-12b6-11ef-b121-3b6587c6e93b.html
Most of the argument for again allowing ballot drop boxes in Wisconsin hinges on what the state’s absentee voter law did and did not say. The new liberal-majority Wisconsin Supreme Court heard oral arguments Monday on whether it should overturn a 2022 decision from the then conservative-majority court that outlawed ballot drop boxes. “[The 2022 court] read a restriction into the statute that simply is not there and in doing so made it harder for municipal clerks to carry out their duties and for Wisconsin voters to return their ballots for no adequate legal reason,” David Fox, attorney for Priorities USA told the court Monday morning.
Full story:
https://www.thecentersquare.com/wisconsin/article_760fef88-115a-11ef-9c8c-cf3b1f86abc7.html
It doesn’t look like the Secret Service is going to change the security plan for the Milwaukee Republican National Convention. Wisconsin Republican U.S. Senator Ron Johnson met with Secret Service officials Tuesday to press for a new protest zone and other security changes. Johnson said there are fears in Milwaukee that protesters will not only disrupt the convention, but they could threaten RNC attendees and delegates.
Full story:
https://www.thecentersquare.com/wisconsin/article_15cd43d4-12b6-11ef-878a-3752f06b44f9.html
The head of the University of Wisconsin says there will be an end to part of the protests on campuses across the state, but he’s not saying how or when. UW President Jay Rothman was a guest on UpFront over the weekend. He said the tent communities that have popped up on the campuses in Madison and Milwaukee "will ultimately be gone.” Monday marks a week since the pro-Palestinian protests began.
Full story:
https://www.thecentersquare.com/wisconsin/article_84d7bca6-0ba3-11ef-b55c-c758d3758d94.html
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President Joe Biden’s latest campaign stop in Wisconsin came with more than just a quick speech and some pictures. The president was in Racine on Wednesday to help announce Microsoft’s latest data center expansion. Last fall, Microsoft announced plans for a $1.4 billion data center site. The $3.3 billion site announced Wednesday would build on that original investment.
Full story:
https://www.thecentersquare.com/wisconsin/article_3075f282-0d64-11ef-8fab-8bb3a110c620.html
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Wisconsin Republican lawmakers want to know exactly what diversity, equity and inclusion is doing in state government and what it is costing. The Joint Legislative Audit Commission on Tuesday began an audit of DEI programs throughout the state’s executive agencies. Sen. Eric Wimberger, R-Green Bay, opened the first audit hearing with a blistering rebuke of DEI, which he says is nothing more than a fancy term for discrimination.
Full story:
Wisconsin legislature launches DEI audit
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Milwaukee Public Schools are proposing a new budget that would cut nearly 300 positions and spend hundreds of millions of dollars less. MPS’s superintendent unveiled his budget for the 2024-2025 school year recently. The proposed 288 position cuts are getting most of the headlines. Nearly half of those positions are teaching positions. But those announced cuts are for positions, not necessarily people.
Full story:
https://www.thecentersquare.com/wisconsin/article_91a0f7d4-065a-11ef-b8f4-271e790fbafe.html
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Former President Trump isn’t saying much about his Wisconsin strategy, but he is talking about one potential rival. Trump appeared on News Talk 1130 WISN’s Jay Weber show Wednesday morning to talk about Robert F. Kennedy Jr. The former president said some Republicans see Kennedy as a possible alternative because of his stance on the COVID vaccine. Trump said that’s a mistake.
Full story: https://www.thecentersquare.com/wisconsin/article_8848a4d6-07d4-11ef-8535-2f4f8c30d3cf.html
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The University of Wisconsin says protesters are more than welcome to continue their pro-Palestinain demonstrations, but they will do so without their tents. UW-Madison Police removed dozens of tents from the University’s Library Mall early Wednesday morning. Officers also arrested about a dozen people. UW-Madison Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin told the university in a letter Wednesday that protesters were reminded for days that camping on campus is illegal. Mnookin said protesters were also warned before police moved in.
Full story: https://www.thecentersquare.com/wisconsin/article_f68f5978-07e6-11ef-9089-d71115acdb95.html
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High school athletes in Wisconsin will not be paid to play their sport, at least not yet. The Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletics Association, the group that manages high school sports in the state, on Wednesday voted down a name, image and likeness proposal. Brent Jacobson, the WIAA’s legal counsel, said NIL is coming to high school sports and suggested allowing for some payments now could head off either a state law or a wave of lawsuits.
Full story: https://www.thecentersquare.com/wisconsin/article_07c02980-026e-11ef-9854-6f51b38f32d4.html
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Homes keep selling in Wisconsin but prices and the cost to get a mortgage are keeping some from being able to afford a new home. The Wisconsin Realtors Association is out with its latest look at the state’s housing market. Their report says home prices jumped in March by 3.2% compared to March of last year. Meanwhile, the median price of a home rose 10%.
Full story: https://www.thecentersquare.com/wisconsin/article_b5d32a7c-02ff-11ef-97a2-97ee4954c11e.html
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Sturgeon season in Wisconsin will continue. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said it will not add the lake sturgeon to the endangered species list. “After conducting a thorough species status assessment using the best available science, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service determined lake sturgeon do not require listing under the Endangered Species Act,” Fish and Wildlife said in a statement on Monday. A federal judge in Illinois ordered Fish and Wildlife to consider the lake sturgeon as a way to protect the species. State Rep. Ty Bodden, R-Stockbridge, said the problem was never in Wisconsin.
Full story: https://www.thecentersquare.com/wisconsin/article_3800e59e-01a1-11ef-89fb-33a2089c4578.html
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One of the biggest critics of Wisconsin’s election administrator says no one should be threatening her and says threats don’t help fix election integrity issues. State Rep. Janel Brandtjen, R-Menomonee Falls, on Tuesday offered her thoughts after the Wisconsin Elections Commission confirmed elections administrator Meagan Wolfe is receiving extra security protection. "Threatening Administrator Meagan Wolfe, or any election official, is unacceptable and counterproductive. Venting frustrations on individuals like Wolfe, clerks, or poll workers is not only illegal but also harmful to rebuilding trust in our elections,” Brandtjen said. “Threats only undermine our republic and empower the courts and media. It's essential to address any concerns about election processes through legal channels. Threats have no place in our democracy.”
Full story: https://www.thecentersquare.com/wisconsin/article_25d0b044-fc19-11ee-acda-1f9959a16caf.html
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A new report says Wisconsin is in its best fiscal position in decades. The Wisconsin Policy Forum released its latest report this week. It looks at the state’s debt, budget health, general fund reserves and what the future may hold for the state. “Overall, the state’s finances ended 2023 in outstanding fashion. Wisconsin has improved its fiscal condition substantially since the Great Recession years, a period marked by severe budget challenges in which the state raised taxes, cut aid to schools and local governments, delayed debt payments, and decreased benefits and take-home pay for state and local workers,” the report noted. The Policy Forum’s report makes a special note that Wisconsin’s long-term debt, or pension debt, has fallen dramatically since the Republican reforms of 2011.
Full story: https://www.thecentersquare.com/wisconsin/article_93e8fe30-fcee-11ee-83fa-8770e1d07f1a.html
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There is now a legal challenge to Gov. Tony Evers’ 400-year school funding veto. The WMC Litigation Center on Monday asked the Wisconsin Supreme Court to take up their challenge to the governor’s summer veto that increased per-pupil funding for the next four centuries. The WMC Litigation Center is an affiliate of Wisconsin Manufactures & Commerce (WMC), the combined state chamber and manufacturers’ association. Litigation Center Executive Director Scott Rosenow said while Wisconsin’s governor has an incredibly powerful veto pen, there are limits.
Full story: https://www.thecentersquare.com/wisconsin/article_dfa5fb8a-fb62-11ee-920e-130845430b23.html
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Wisconsin Republicans filed an election complaint about the balance of poll workers in Madison and Milwaukee. The RNC, along with the Dane County and Milwaukee County Republican Parties, filed two complaints with the Wisconsin Elections Commission that allege election managers in Madison and Milwaukee didn’t hire enough Republican poll workers. State law requires election managers to work off a list of approved poll workers, but the Republican complaint accuses Madison and Milwaukee of ignoring hundreds of qualified Republican workers.
Full story: https://www.thecentersquare.com/wisconsin/article_e1b022b8-f7fa-11ee-957c-bb6d89752da2.html
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There is pushback to the University of Wisconsin’s decision to make the SAT and ACT optional for students for the next few years. State Sen. Duey Striebel, R-Cedarburg, on Tuesday said the plan to accept students’ high school grades only is short-sighted and politically motivated. UW regents approved an extension of the test-option policy. The university will not require the SAT or the ACT until at least the fall of 2027.
Full story: https://www.thecentersquare.com/wisconsin/article_435ce892-f69e-11ee-9be4-43e11ea192b5.html
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Most voters in Wisconsin support their local schools’ requests for more tax money. A new report from the Wisconsin Policy Forum says a little more than 60% of the local school referendum questions that were on the ballot so far this year have passed. But the Policy Forum says that number is low. “Voters across Wisconsin approved 62 of the 103 school district referenda placed on primary and general election ballots this spring. The 60.2% approval rate was the lowest in a midterm or presidential election year since 2010, with the most ballot questions for spring elections since at least 2000,” the report stated.
Full story: https://www.thecentersquare.com/wisconsin/article_05e3d2ea-f7f3-11ee-90d4-bb692a382a55.html
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Wisconsin Republicans are up in arms about Gov. Tony Evers latest wave of vetoes. The governor scuttled 40 Republican proposals. The list includes vetoes of a tax cut for retirees in the state, a plan to set a wolf hunt number and vetoes of a child care tax credit and a proposal to keep road salt out of the state’s drinking water, both of which Evers has said were his biggest priorities. Republican lawmakers said the governor is simply playing politics.
Full story: https://www.thecentersquare.com/wisconsin/article_f1733b0c-f059-11ee-be48-8beba1ca2c3b.html
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Voters across Wisconsin said yes to a lot of things on their ballots Tuesday. Both of the state’s proposed constitutional amendments to keep outside money and poll workers out of election operations passed, and a quarter-billion-dollar tax increase for Milwaukee Public Schools also likely gained approval. The first amendment, which bans so-called “Zuckerbucks,” passed with about 54% of the vote. The second question, which bans outside election workers from working in Wisconsin, passed with about 58% of the vote.
Full story: https://www.thecentersquare.com/wisconsin/article_409bbb7c-f1aa-11ee-bc19-9bbc059b5a2c.html
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Gov. Tony Evers on Tuesday vetoed the Republican-backed legislation that would have banned trans athletes from girls sports in the state. “I will veto any bill that makes Wisconsin a less safe, less inclusive and less welcoming place for LGBTQ people and kids, and I will continue to keep my promise of using every power available to me to defend them, protect their rights, and keep them safe,” Evers said in a statement. The legislation would have kept anyone born a male out of girls sports in middle school, high school and at the college level.
Full story: https://www.thecentersquare.com/wisconsin/article_a1b4cc18-f115-11ee-a0e1-879a45ebf151.html
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The price tag for the University of Wisconsin is set to go up next year. UWE President Jay Rothman on Thursday said regents will vote next week on a plan to raise tuition for Wisconsin students by 3.75%. The proposed tuition increase means in-state students in Wisconsin will pay $11,604 at UW-Madison, $10,398 at UW-Milwaukee and between $8,200 and $9,800 for the state’s other, smaller campuses. The proposed tuition increase also comes after a 5% tuition increase at the beginning of the current school year.
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Gov. Tony Evers signed more than two dozen new laws, including bans on child sex dolls and child porn created by artificial intelligence. One of the new laws creates the new crime of possession of virtual child pornography. Prosecutors say the law is needed because even AI generated images feed into child pornography and often the pictures or videos are created based on real images. Another new law bans the sale, possession, manufacture or advertisement of child sex dolls.
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Republicans’ advantage in the U.S. House of Representatives will be only 217-213 after April 19, following Friday’s decision by U.S. Rep. Mike Gallagher to resign. The resignation means no more than one Republican can cross the aisle on party-line votes. Wisconsin’s 8th Congressional District representative, just 31 when he first won his seat in November 2016, had already said he would not seek a fifth term this election cycle.
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The former Milwaukee election manager who sent three fake military ballots to a state lawmaker back in 2022 is claiming to be a whistleblower, but the lawmaker who got those ballots isn’t sure. Kimberly Zapata’s trial began this week. She’s the former Milwaukee Election Commission supervisor charged with official misconduct after she mailed three military ballots to state Rep. Janel Brandtjen ahead of the 2022 election. Zapata’s lawyers said she is “political whistleblower” who simply wanted to ensure a “fair and secure” election.
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The latest opposition to Milwaukee Public Schools’ proposed quarter-billion-dollar tax hike is a calculator. The Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty on Tuesday launched its property tax calculator to let people in Milwaukee know just how much more they will pay if the $252 million tax increase passes in April. MPS says it needs the money to avoid deep cuts to school programs. But WILL's Kyle Koenen said Milwaukee Public Schools have seen record amounts of money, mostly from the federal government, over the past few years.
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The Green Party’s Jill Stein says she’s not going to be a spoiler in November. Stein, who has not yet been formally nominated by the Green Party, was a guest on UpFront on Milwaukee television over the weekend. She said Democrats have abandoned their voters, and those voters are looking for somewhere else to go.
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The effort to unseat Wisconsin’s assembly speaker is now in the hands of the state’s Elections Commission. The group that is looking to recall Assembly Speaker Robin Vos on Monday submitted 10,700 signatures. Wisconsin law requires it has at least 6,850 valid signatures to move ahead. Those trying to oust Wisconsin’s assembly speaker say they are on board with an investigation into possible fraud in their recall effort.
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Wisconsin’s governor is promising to veto a proposal that would keep girls sports in Wisconsin for biological girls only. The Wisconsin Senate approved the plan Tuesday. The legislation would ban anyone born a male from competing in girls sports in middle school, high school or college in Wisconsin.
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Wisconsin’s push to help children in the state’s schools read better took its next step forward Monday. The budget-writing Joint Finance Committee approved four new reading programs for the state’s public schools. JFC co-chairman Mark Born, R-Beaver Dam, said more than 60% of Wisconsin fourth-graders currently cannot read or write at grade level. Born said changing the way Wisconsin teachers teach reading is the obvious first step.
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The top Republican in the Wisconsin Assembly says he’s not afraid of this fall’s election. Assembly Speaker Robin Vos told News Talk 1130 WISN’s Jay Weber he’s actually looking forward to running under the new legislative maps the Gov. Tony Evers drew. Evers’s maps pit dozens of incumbent Republican lawmakers against each other, many in new districts.
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New legislation at the Wisconsin Capitol would put local communities in charge of local wind and solar projects. State Rep. Ty Bodden, R-Stockbridge, has introduced a plan that would require local leaders to sign off on wind and solar farms before regulators at Wisconsin’s Public Service Commission could move forward. Currently, the PSC makes the decisions about wind and solar farms in Wisconsin. But that has, at times, put state regulators in charge of projects that don’t have unanimous local support.
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Just days after scuttling Republican-written tax cuts for families and retirees in Wisconsin, Gov. Tony Evers signed a tax credit that will send more money to parents. Evers on Monday signed the child and dependent care tax credit. The plan doubles Wisconsin child care tax credit, from 50% of the federal level to 100%. The governor’s signature means families can claim up to $10,000 for one child, and up to $20,000 for a second child.
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Wisconsin’s governor is offering a compromise on PFAS pollution that would give him $125 million and allow him to ignore the plan Republican lawmakers say would protect landowners across the state from fines, fees and lawsuits. Gov. Tony Evers promised to veto the latest plan to deal with PFAS chemicals, while also demanding that Republicans release the $125 million included in the doomed legislation. The Republican-controlled legislature last week approved a plan, Senate Bill 312, which would use that $125 million to start a grant program to help local communities test their water for PFAS, and help those communities clean their water if it's found.
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There are new claims the University of Wisconsin has not stopped using race to make decisions on its campuses. The Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty on Wednesday sent a letter to the university, asking the school to stop prioritizing one race over the other. WILL’s letter said the UW’s latest offenses came with the awarding of several awards and fellowships.
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Expansion in the way Wisconsin prepares new teachers has passed the state Assembly and awaits a decision from second-term Democratic Gov. Tony Evers. His decision has yet to be signaled. Only nine technical colleges and one university offer apprenticeship programs. It's small and Assembly Bill 1005 adds to it.
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Some of the first questions about Wisconsin’s race for U.S. Senate are about California. Democrats hammered businessman Eric Hovde about his banks and home in California. Democrats also accuse Hovde of living in California, and only returning to Wisconsin to run for office. Hovde, who announced he is running for the U.S. Senate, on Wednesday told News Talk 1130 WISN’s Jay Weber that’s ridiculous.
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Wisconsin is considering a massive shift in how public and choice schools get their money. The Wisconsin Assembly approved the plan to decouple the Racine and statewide school voucher programs, replacing the local property tax money that currently pays for those programs with state dollars. That would shift millions of dollars for choice schools in Wisconsin from local school districts to the state. It would also mean a steadier and more reliable stream of dollars for choice schools.
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The court fight over Wisconsin’s new political maps is likely over. Second-term Democratic Gov. Tony Evers on Monday morning signed into law new legislative maps he drew that take away the need for the Wisconsin Supreme Court to draw new boundaries for state Assembly and state Senate districts. Evers insists he didn't sign because he drew the maps or because they favor Democrats.
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The latest discussion about political maps in Wisconsin saw state senators from both parties crying foul about hypocrisy and partisan politics. The Wisconsin Senate passed Gov. Tony Evers’ political maps Tuesday to head off potentially worse maps from the Wisconsin Supreme Court. Democrats, as expected, objected to the maps drawn by the Democratic governor.
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The latest attempt to codify who makes the decisions for children in Wisconsin is headed for an almost certain veto after the Wisconsin Senate approved AB 510, also known as the Parental Bill of Rights. The proposal spells out 16 specific rights reserved for parents, including the right to make medical decisions and the right to decide what name their child uses in school. The legislation also gives parents the right to see what their children are taught in school and the right to opt out of any class they object to.
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Voters in northeast Wisconsin will likely be seeing more political ads in the next few months. Current Republican Congressman Mike Gallagher on Saturday shocked the state and announced he is stepping down at the end of his current term. His decision not to run touched off a weekend scramble to jump into the race to replace him.
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Western Wisconsin’s congressman wants the governor to help with the planned hospital closures in the Chippewa Valley. Republican Congressman Derrick Van Orden asked Gov. Tony Evers to use any state or federal resources that can be tapped to make sure the people who use HSHS’ hospitals or Prevea’s clinics in and around Eau Claire and Chippewa Falls are not left without medical care. The two hospitals announced last month they will be closing their hospitals and clinics by mid-April.
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Wisconsin’s new liberal-majority Supreme Court has agreed to take up a case that could limit the state legislature and give Gov. Tony Evers a more leeway to accomplish his priorities. The Supreme Court agreed to hear part of his challenge to legislative vetoes. The governor sued the Republican-controlled legislature in October over its use of statehouse committees to stop a massive conservation project expansion and to block pay raises for University of Wisconsin workers.
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Wisconsin Republican Mike Gallagher is not backing away from being one of the decisive votes against the impeachment of the nation’s Homeland Security secretary. Late Tuesday, Gallagher joined two other Republicans to stop the impeachment of Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. Gallagher argued impeaching Mayorkas wouldn’t stop the crisis at the southern border. In fact, Gallagher argued impeaching Mayorkas could lead to more problems in the future.
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Wisconsin’s open enrollment period begins next week, and again thousands of parents are getting ready to send their children to a different school. The state’s Department of Public Instruction this week said open enrollment begins Monday. Open enrollment allows parents to send children to different public schools. In Wisconsin that meant more than 70,000 students for the current school year.
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As expected, Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers vetoed the political maps that he mostly drew. Evers on Tuesday said he scuttled the so-called 99% maps because they were too favorable to Republicans. The maps the governor drew moved dozens of incumbent Republicans into new districts. Republicans moved some of those lawmakers back but largely left the governor’s maps unchanged.
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Act 10, the law that fundamentally weakened Wisconsin’s public school teachers’ unions, is headed back to court. And again there is an effort to save it. The Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty on Monday filed a motion to join the new case that seeks to end Act 10.
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The latest report on school choice in Wisconsin again shows choice schools outperform public schools in Milwaukee’s biggest cities and rural areas. The Apples to Apples report from the Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty compares proficiency rates in math and English language arts in public schools, charter schools and private schools part of Wisconsin’s voucher program. The report says the idea is to put “schools on a level playing field to fairly assess education.”
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Wisconsin Republicans continue to try and make their point about politics, gerrymandering and compromise over the state’s new political maps. The State Assembly on Wednesday approved the maps drawn almost entirely by Gov. Tony Evers. Assembly Democratic Leader Great Neubauer said the effort to adopt Evers’ map is a Republican effort to continue to gerrymander the state and an effort to rush a decision on redistricting.
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Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers’ sixth State of the State speech was not all that different from his previous five. The governor late Tuesday night again asked lawmakers to spend more on cleaning the state’s lakes and rivers, to focus more on LGBTWQ mental health and to expand the state’s Medicaid program. Again, Republicans said no.
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The former head of Wisconsin’s Republican Party and the man in charge of this summer’s Republican National Convention says he doesn’t see anyone but Donald Trump getting the nomination. Reince Priebus told News Talk 1130’s WISN that after the former president’s resounding win in the Iowa Caucuses, Trump is the presumptive nominee. Trump doubled the vote totals of both Ron DeSantis and Nikki Halley in Monday night’s caucuses. Priebus said that kind of victory will make it tough for either challenger to find a path forward, especially DeSantis, Priebus said.
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The Wisconsin Supreme Court is now being asked to overturn the state’s other political maps after asking for new legislative maps. The Elias Law Firm, headed by lawyer Mark Elias, asked the state’s high court to redraw Wisconsin’s congressional maps. Elias has ties to the Hillary Clinton campaign network and has filed several election-related lawsuits across the country.
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The people in charge of hiring in Wisconsin are souring on the state’s economy. Just 22% of employers in Wisconsin think the state’s economy is strong, according to the latest Employer Survey from Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce released Thursday morning. The vast majority of employers, 70%, think the state’s economy is moderate, and 9% think its weak. The 22% strong number is near historic lows.
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Wisconsin’s powerful Assembly speaker doesn’t appear worried about the effort from a Racine County voter to oust him from office before the November election. Matthew Snorek, of Burlington, filed a petition with the Wisconsin Elections Commission to begin a recall campaign against Speaker Robin Vos. Vos said he’s not afraid to face voters in June.
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A pair of conservative senators at the Wisconsin Capitol don’t like that the state’s Department of Transportation wants to get into the business of regulating office cubicles. Both Sens. Duey Stroebel, R-Cedarburg, and Steve Nass, R-Whiterwater, are speaking out against a new plan that would force more regulations on auto wholesalers in the state. The plan, AB 625, quickly cleared an Assembly Committee on Tuesday without much debate.
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The latest plan to legalize marijuana in Wisconsin isn’t making either side happy. A group of Republicans on Monday introduced the outline for a new, medical marijuana program in the state. It would be limited to just severely or chronically ill patients, like people with cancer or multiple sclerosis, and the program would limit what kind of medical marijuana people can use.
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A judge in Dane County says absentee ballots in Wisconsin don’t need a full address to be counted this year. Judge Ryan Nilsestuen ruled local election managers need not reject absentee ballots if the absentee witness’ address is incomplete. The ruling comes after a judge in Waukesha County ruled last year local election clerks could not count ballots with missing address information. The Waukesha County ruling also forbade clerks from “curing” those ballots by adding the missing information. Nilsestuen said the state law that deals with absentee ballots and witness addresses isn’t clear.
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One of the men in charge of the legislature’s audit committee says he’d been forced to use the audit process to get the answers the Evers administration is reluctant to provide. Rep. Bob Wittke, R-Racine, told The Center Square that agency directors under Gov. Tony Evers have made a habit out of ignoring questions from lawmakers. Wittke has specific questions about two recent audits – the audit into Wisconsin’s broadband spending, and the audit into empty offices and the number of people working from home.
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A letter from Whitewater’s police chief is getting new attention as two of Wisconsin's congressmen are again focusing on illegal immigration. Northwoods Congressman Tom Tiffany shared the letter with a warning about the flood of illegal immigrants who’ve come into the U.S. during President Biden’s three years in office. Tiffany included a link to a story published about the 1,000 immigrants from Nicaragua and Venezuela who’ve come to Whitewater over the past few months.
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Wisconsin's State Assembly speaker, on a Tuesday radio show, said he doesn't think drawing new political maps will change things. Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, told Jessica McBride on the Dan O’Donnell Show that Democratic Gov. Tony Evers is likely to veto any maps drawn and only wants "lap dogs" to do his bidding. The conversation comes in the wake of Friday's state Supreme Court ruling calling for a redraw.
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There is a plan at the Wisconsin Capitol to create a new statewide Office of Violence Prevention. Rep. Shelia Stubbs, D-Madison, wants to set-up the new office in the state’s Department of Health Services. Milwaukee and Madison are both seeing increases in crime, including violent crime. Milwaukee set records for homicides in 2020, 2021 and 2022.
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A pair of Republican lawmakers are promising to hold hearings into why so many state and University of Wisconsin workers aren’t in their offices. A pair of audits from the Legislative Audit Bureau looked at telework and office space trends. Auditors found that nearly 20% of state employees are allowed to work from home, some as many as five days a week. That number jumps to more than 30% of UW workers who do not have to come into an office each day.
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Not everyone is on board with the plan to start counting absentee ballots before election day in Wisconsin. Critics lined up Tuesday to press lawmakers not to approve the so-called Monday count legislation. Another election reform proposal came up this week before the Senate Committee on Elections. They heard a plan to introduce ranked choice voting in the state, which was criticized by many Republicans.
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Democrats at the Wisconsin Capitol are furious with Republican lawmakers after Universities of Wisconsin regents voted to accept the deal that will roll back some diversity, equity and inclusion jobs. Regents voted Wednesday night to accept the deal that repurposes a little more than 40 DEI administrators in exchange for $800 million for UW pay raises, a new engineering building on the Madison campus and millions more in other university needs. Gov. Tony Evers said regents were essentially forced to take the deal.
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A judge says Wisconsin’s near total ban on abortions does not apply to consensual abortions. Dane County Judge Diane Schlipper last week ruled the 1849 law that bans almost all abortions in the state only applies to people who intentionally kill a baby, what she called feticide. Schlipper said the law does not apply when a woman agrees to end her pregnancy. The Sheboygan County district attorney is promising a quick appeal, saying the state’s 1849 abortion law is perfectly clear.
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Wisconsin taxpayers are officially on the hook for $500 million for the Milwaukee Brewers’ ballpark. Gov. Tony Evers last week signed the ballpark funding plan. Evers high-fived the Brewers’ racing sausages after he signed the deal. The public funding package means $366 million from state taxpayers and $135 million from taxpayers in Milwaukee and Milwaukee County will be earmarked for American Family Field over the next 27 years.
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The man who signed Act 10 into law is predicting an expensive turnaround if the Wisconsin Supreme Court overturns it. Former Gov. Scott Walker was a guest on Madison television over the weekend. He told Channel 3000’s For the Record that ending Act 10 would weaken voters, parents and communities, and give more power to Wisconsin’s public sector unions.
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A Wisconsin congressman is warning about possible Chinese spying at the nation’s ports. Republican Congressman Mike Gallagher, who leads the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, said his committee is looking into whether the Chinese are using giant port cranes to spy. Gallagher said the Department of Homeland Security is looking into possible vulnerabilities at the nation’s seaports, including whether the CCP is monitoring activity.
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Many children in Wisconsin schools have not returned to class since the COVID outbreak. A new report from the Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty looks at the spike in chronic absenteeism, particularly since the start of the 2020 school year. The report shows truancy rates in Wisconsin public schools have more than doubled since 2012.
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Wisconsin’s governor might have to make his secret email account, and the 17,000 emails he sent through it, public. The Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty on Tuesday filed a formal request to see the Gov. Tony Evers’ warren.spahn@wisconsin.gov emails. Evers’ office has defended the email account as an “email alias,” that was necessary for “enhanced security.”
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The effort to end school choice in Wisconsin through the state’s supreme court has failed to convince Gov. Tony Evers. The Evers Administration late Friday submitted a brief with the high court, explaining there is no emergency basis for the Supreme Court to take the case. Progressive activist and often-candidate Kirk Bangstad filed the lawsuit last month, claiming school choice and Wisconsin’s voucher programs are both unconstitutional and hurt traditional public schools by sending money to private schools.
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The top Republican in the Wisconsin Assembly says he is encouraged by the University of Wisconsin’s plan to focus on in-demand degrees, but it's not enough to move him off his block of the university's pay raises. Speaker Robin Vos told reporters at the Capitol that without an agreement to pull back on diversity, equity and inclusion spending there won’t be any movement on raises for university workers. Republican lawmakers put a hold on those raises last month. That came after Vos ordered a $32 million cut to the university’s budget over DEI. Vos says the school spends about $32 million a year on nearly 200 DEI administrators.
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Despite test scores that show nearly 60% of students in Wisconsin schools cannot read or do math at grade level, more than 90% of school districts in the state meet the state’s expectations. The Department of Public Instruction recently released its school and school district report cards. Of the 378 public school districts in the state that received a report card this year, 357 met or exceeded expectations.
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It looks like taxpayers in Wisconsin will continue to pay for the Brewers’ baseball stadium. The Wisconsin Senate on Tuesday morning approved the plan to spend about $500 million on future renovations and maintenance at American Family Field. To make it happen, the Republican sponsor of the plan had to work a few changes.
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Tuesday was a day for Republicans at the Wisconsin Capitol to show their frustrations with the University of Wisconsin. The State Assembly was scheduled to vote on a series of plans that would force changes upon the Universities of Wisconsin. The biggest proposed change would create a punishment for UW campuses that do not respect the free speech rights of students – particularly conservative students, according to Rep. Amanda Nedweski, R-Pleasant Prairie.
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Democratic lawmakers at the Wisconsin Capitol are framing free school lunches for all students as a way to get more farm fresh vegetables into schools, as a way to hire more school workers and as a way to make sure no children go hungry. They are not, however, saying it will be cheap. The Healthy School Meals for All Wisconsin Coalition and several Democratic lawmakers Monday pitched a plan to maximize the federal free and reduced school lunch program to cover all children in the state.
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The latest poll shows President Joe Biden winning Wisconsin in 2024, but only if his opponent is Donald Trump. A new Marquette Law School poll gives the current president a 2-point lead over the former president, 50-48, in Wisconsin. President Biden trails, according to the poll, both Ron DeSantis and Nickey Haley.
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A new report says Wisconsin is outpacing the rest of the country when it comes to smaller families. The Wisconsin Policy Forum is out with a new report that says Wisconsin families have shrunk faster than other states for about the last 50 years. The report says longer lives and a shift away from larger families both contribute to the change. Wisconsin is not alone in the shift to smaller families. The Policy Forum report notes many other states are seeing declines as well.
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Republicans at the Wisconsin Capitol say students need free speech protections on University of Wisconsin campuses. The Assembly Committee on Colleges and University held a public hearing on a pair of plans Republicans say will not only make sure the Universities of Wisconsin are respecting the First Amendment but will also open the campus to more students.
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Wisconsin’s governor is accusing Republican lawmakers of hijacking power at the State Capitol. Gov. Tony Evers on Tuesday filed a lawsuit that challenges the Republican-controlled legislature’s Joint Committee on Employment Relations, Joint Finance Committee and Joint Committee for Review of Administrative Rules for thwarting his power by refusing to approve pay raises for University of Wisconsin employees and for blocking a handful of conservation projects in the state.
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There is traditional support for and opposition against a series of constitutional amendments that deal with voting in Wisconsin. The Joint Senate Shared Revenue, Elections and Consumer Protection and Assembly Campaigns and Elections Committees held a public hearing Tuesday on three amendments. Senate Joint Resolution 71 / Assembly Joint Resolution 76 sets the voting age at 18, and limits voting in Wisconsin to only US citizens, Senate Joint Resolution 73 / Assembly Joint Resolution 78 enshrines voter ID in the Wisconsin Constitution, and Senate Joint Resolution 78 / Assembly Joint Resolution 77 prohibits the use of outside money from being used in state elections.
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The plan to spend $500 million in taxpayer money on the Milwaukee Brewers’ stadium may look different once it gets through the Wisconsin Senate. A Senate panel held a hearing on the stadium funding proposal Wednesday and immediately hit supporters with questions. Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu said before the hearing that there are not enough Republican votes to get the ballpark package through the Senate.
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Republicans at the Wisconsin Capital are moving forward with their child care agenda that doesn't include new money. A senate panel heard testimony on six different pieces of legislation that would change regulations or rules for child care providers in the state. Sen. Joan Ballweg, R-Markesan, said the idea is to make it easier for daycare providers to open up, or expand, and provide parents with more spots in daycares across the state as opposed to spending more money.
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Few at the Wisconsin capital are happy about the University of Wisconsin's decision to end in-person classes at two regional campuses, though they are not shocked. University president Jay Rothman announced the university will end face-to-face classes at UW-Milwaukee Washington County and UW Oshkosh Fond du Lac. Rothman also announced the UW Platteville Richland campus will close permanently.
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Several groups promised to fight a new lawsuit that challenges school choice in Wisconsin. Kirk Bangstad, the owner of the Minocqua Brewing, last week filed a lawsuit that accuses Wisconsin's voucher programs of harming public schools in the state. Bangstad is challenging school choice based on Wisconsin's Constitution
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A lawmaker has a plan at the Wisconsin Capitol to make sure children are away from and cannot ride in Madison's Naked Bike ride. State Sen. Chris Kapenga, R-Delafield, is shepherding the proposal. He said Wisconsin needs a new state law after a 10-year-old-girl rode her bike naked during Madison's Naked Bike Ride this summer.
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Nearly 60% of students in Wisconsin's Public Schools continue to be unable to read, write or do math at grade level. The State's Department of Public Instruction released the latest standardized test scores Tuesday, and they show 39.2% of public school students are proficient or better in reading, while 41.1% are proficient or better in math. But those are the statewide averages. Individual schools saw differing results, and the numbers show low-income students did worse across the board.
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Republican lawmakers are not being shy with their criticism of the plan for Milwaukee's mayor to raise salaries at city hall. Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson recently proposed a sweeping pay raise policy that would boost his salary from $147,000 to $169,000 a year. The proposal would also mean pay raises for Milwaukee's police chief, fire chief city treasurer, city council president and aldermen.
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The woman in charge of Wisconsin's Department of Health Services said public health managers in the state made mistakes in the early days of the COVID-19 outbreak. DHS Secretary Nominee Kirsten Johnson on Thursday defended the decisions she and other public health department leaders made during the early days of the coronavirus outbreak in 2020. “We certainly made mistakes. Part of this is it was a novel virus, we didn't know what we didn't know, and we were making the best decision we could out of a host of bad decisions,” Johnson said.
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Supporters of the plan to use taxpayer money to pay for renovations and upkeep at American Family Field are out with a new poll they say shows most people in Wisconsin agree. Milwaukee’s tourism office, Visit Milwaukee, and the city’s Chamber of Commerce and the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce released the poll Wednesday morning.
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Opponents of two plans at the Wisconsin Capital to declare girls and women's sports for biological girls and women only are painting a dire picture of what would happen if they became law. Two assembly committees held hearings on the plans. One would ban trans athletes from sports in the University of Wisconsin system, and the other would ban trans athletes from sports in Wisconsin public schools.
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Wisconsin's other baseball teams are on board with the latest plan to keep the Brewers in Milwaukee. The nine members of the Northwoods League, a summer collegiate baseball league, all signed a letter as part of the Home Crew coalition that encourages lawmakers at the Wisconsin Capitol to come to an agreement to pay for updates and renovations at American Family Field.
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There is immediate pushback to a proposal at the Wisconsin Capitol that would ban sex change surgeries and gender-affirming care for children. The Wisconsin Legislative LGBTQ+ Caucus condemned the plan from a handful of Republicans, calling it “cruel.”
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Republican lawmakers want to use the state's Constitution to do what they cannot do at the Wisconsin Capital. Four Republicans have introduced a pair of constitutional amendments they say will close loopholes in or protect the state's electoral process. Sen. Van Wanggaard, R-Racine, and Rep. Patrick Snyder, R-Schofield, are pushing a constitutional amendment they say would protect voter ID.
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Two Republicans at the Wisconsin Capitol want to make it clear people have the right to grow vegetables and flowers in their yard. State Rep. Shae Sortwell, R-Two Rivers, and State Sen. Andre Jacque, R-DePere, appeared before an Assembly committee to pitch their plan that would guarantee a right to garden in Wisconsin.
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Milwaukee Brewers President Rick Schlesinger understands $600 million is a lot of money. He also understands American Family Field is running out of money, quickly. Schlesinger didn’t downplay the cost to taxpayers after Republicans at the Wisconsin Capitol introduced a plan to spend $600 million over the next 25-plus years to maintain and upgrade the Brewers’ ballpark.
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Democrats at the Wisconsin Capitol may be trying to roll back school choice in the state after presenting a package of legislation they say would reinvest in public schools and bring transparency to voucher school spending. “This is about public dollars, public schools and public oversight,” Sen. Chris Larson, D-Milwaukee, told reporters.
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Wisconsin Republican lawmakers continue to say their $3 billion tax cut is pretty much what Gov. Evers wanted. Assembly Republicans said their plan, which cuts taxes for most people in Wisconsin and makes retirement essentially tax-free in the state, is in line with the governor’s campaign promise of a middle class tax cut.
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Wisconsin Assembly Speaker Robin Vos is asking former members of the Wisconsin Supreme Court for guidance on the possible impeachment of Justice Janet Protasiewicz. Vos told News Talk 1130 WISN’s Jay Weber on Wednesday he is not “foaming at the mouth” to impeach Protasiewicz. He said he’d rather not impeach her at all.
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School choice supporters in Wisconsin say the latest look at school finances show their schools are a better bargain than their public school counterparts. Public school leaders, however, want to make sure all financial aspects for both public and private schools are shown. School Choice Wisconsin recently released its analysis of the latest financial data from the state’s Department of Public Instruction.
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Wisconsin Democrats announced late Tuesday a $4 million plan to target Republican lawmakers who talk about impeaching Supreme Court Justice Janet Protasiewicz. The announcement came in a closed-media call by Wisconsin Democratic Party. WisPolitics quotes Wisconsin Democratic Party Chairman Ben Wikler as saying “The anti-democratic, unconstitutional threat to impeach Janet Protasiewicz would constitute a political disaster for the Republican Party and for our system of government at large.”
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The second attempt from Wisconsin Republican lawmakers to cut taxes will end the same as the first Gov. Tony Evers said Wednesday. Evers took to social media to promise a veto for the $3 billion tax cut that began its journey through the legislature Wednesday.
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The latest plan for Milwaukee’s American Family Field would use tax money to keep the stadium up to date, but those taxes wouldn’t come from the people of Wisconsin. Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, on Wednesday told News Talk 1130 WISN’s Jay Weber they are looking at a plan to tax ballplayers to pay for the ballpark.
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Two Republican state senators are talking about impeachment of Wisconsin’s new liberal-majority Supreme Court. Sen. Dan Knodl, R-Germantown, said he’s willing to consider impeaching Justice Janet Protasiewicz because of what she said about the state’s political maps during her run for the Supreme Court in the spring.
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One Wisconsin Republican state senator wants the state’s Public Service Commission to “do their job,” and question a half-billion-dollar utility rate increase. Sen. Duey Stroebel, R-Cedarburg, said on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, on Thursday that Wisconsin’s utility regulators are weighing rate hike requests for 2024 that range from 1.6% to 8.4%. The PSC will decide by December on requests from the major utilities in Wisconsin.
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The heads of the legislature’s audit committee are again asking how Wisconsin’s Department of Health Service spent millions of dollars in coronavirus aid. The Joint Legislative Audit Committee met at the Capitol on Tuesday to press DHS about an audit from May that found the agency lost millions of dollars and misplaced at least six of the ventilators bought during the early days of the outbreak.
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On Wednesday, Milwaukee, WI hosted the first Republican Presidential Debate. It served as a sort of trial run for Milwaukee ahead of hosting the Republican Party Convention next year. Aside from front runner and former President, Donald Trump, the other top 8 Republican candidates were in attendance.
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Business and policy groups believe Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers used a recent veto to protect government bureaucracy, leaving many waiting on professional licenses from the state in limbo. The bill would have required the state’s Department of Safety and Professional Services to investigate a weeks-long backlog for people needing license and report to the legislature. Instead, Evers vetoed it, saying it would move department resources away from processing applications.
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On paper, the Biden Administration said the president was coming to Milwaukee on Tuesday to talk about the Inflation Reduction Act. It took about 15 minutes, however, for President Biden to shift the focus to Bidenomics. “The Financial Times and The Wall Street Journal started calling my plan, and not initially as a compliment, Bidenomics,” the president told the crowd at the Ingeteam, a clean energy manufacturer that makes wind turbine generators and is the kind of green energy job creator the president wanted to praise.
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A Milwaukee County supervisor took to social media Tuesday to oppose an idea to revive a sales tax to pay for upgrades and renovations at American Family Field, home of the Milwaukee Brewers. County Supervisor Peter Burgelis shot down the plan in a tweet after it was suggested Monday by Supervisor Sheldon Wasserman.
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A lawsuit over ballot dropboxes, absentee ballots, and the deadline to cure ballots in Wisconsin could get more crowded. The Republican National Committee, along with the Republican Party of Wisconsin, and the Republican parties of both Rock and Walworth counties asked to join the suit as defendants Tuesday.
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Gov. Tony Evers on Tuesday ordered lawmakers back to the Wisconsin Capitol to take-up his workforce development agenda, including a $365 million boost for child care workers across the state, but Republican lawmakers aren’t eager for the special session.
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Taxes are going up in Milwaukee County.As expected, county supervisors on Thursday approved a 0.4% sales tax increase. “Today, the County Board of Supervisors shaped the future of Milwaukee County for years to come by avoiding a devastating fiscal cliff that posed to threaten irreparable harm to our community," Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley said on Twitter. "After years of advocacy, Milwaukee County finally has the additional revenue needed to avert financial disaster."
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A new report puts Wisconsin’s state debt load as the second-highest among the state’s neighbors. The Institute for Reforming Government on Thursday released its look into Wisconsin’s debt and finances. “As of June 2022, Wisconsin holds $13,122,300,000 in debt which equates to roughly $2,226 per capita,” the report states.
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There are a lot of expectations about what a new liberal-majority Supreme Court will mean for Wisconsin. But not everyone is expecting change right away. Judge Janet Protasiewicz took her oath of office Tuesday, and with that Wisconsin’s Supreme Court flips from a 4-3 conservative court to a 4-3 liberal court. Fellow Supreme Court Justice Brian Hagedorn, who is often the conservative-leaning swing vote, said on UPFRONT on Milwaukee TV over the weekend that Protasiewicz’s arrival will not radically change the court in the short term.
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The top Democrat in the Wisconsin Senate is no longer talking about ending Wisconsin’s pink tax. Senate Minority Leader Melissa Agard wants to end the sales tax on menstrual products, but on Wednesday she was at the Wisconsin Capitol talking about “menstrual equity.”
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Taxes are going up in Milwaukee County. As expected, county supervisors on Thursday approved a 0.4% sales tax increase. “Today, the County Board of Supervisors shaped the future of Milwaukee County for years to come by avoiding a devastating fiscal cliff that posed to threaten irreparable harm to our community," Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley said on Twitter. "After years of advocacy, Milwaukee County finally has the additional revenue needed to avert financial disaster."
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Wisconsin Republicans want to make sure churches in the state are kept open during the next emergency. State Sen Cory Tomczyk, R-Mosinee, along with Rep. Ty Bodden, R-Hilbert, and Rep. Karen Hurd, R-Fall Creek, took a proposed constitutional amendment to a Senate committee on Tuesday. If the amendment becomes law, it would stop public health managers from closing churches.
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Gov. Tony Evers has signed a new law that will change how kids in the state are taught how to read. The governor on Wednesday signed the plan that will return Wisconsin schools to teaching phonics, and place a huge emphasis on making sure kids can read at grade level before the fourth grade. “We have to ensure our kids have the reading and literacy tools and skills to be successful both in and out of the classroom,” the governor said.
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Wisconsin law gives governors in the state immense veto power, but it is not unlimited. For example, the Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled last year in Bartlett v Evers that some of Gov. Tony Evers’ 2019 budget vetoes went too far.
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It’s the latest snapshot of a slowing economy in Wisconsin. Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce on Monday said less than half of businesses in the state expect to add new workers in the next six months.
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The University of Wisconsin says it doesn’t yet know what the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling to end affirmative action university admissions will mean for UW schools. UW-Madison Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin on Thursday said she will need some time to examine the university’s admission policy, and determine if any changes are needed.
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Gov. Tony Evers on Wednesday signed the new two-year $99 billion state budget. The governor is keeping all of the spending in the new state budget while getting rid of almost all of the tax cuts that Republicans wanted.
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It doesn’t sound like Republicans at the Wisconsin Capitol are going to trust Gov. Tony Evers anytime soon. Assembly Speaker Robin Vos told News Talk 1130 WISN’s Jay Weber Thursday that the governor broke his word when he excised a few words and numbers to create a 400-year education funding increase.
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The 2024 presidential race in Wisconsin is tightening in some circumstances. A new Marquette Law School Poll shows the Republican presidential primary, Donald Trump vs. Ron Desantis, in a one-point race. “Among Republicans and independents who lean Republican, the GOP presidential primary is a near-even divide, with 31% supporting former President Donald Trump and 30% supporting Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis,” pollsters noted. “Former Vice President Mike Pence is the choice of 6% and South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott receives 5%. A substantial 21% say they have not decided whom to support.”
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The majority of Wisconsin Republican state senators are on board with the new $99 billion state budget. Almost every Republican voted for the two-year spending plan Thursday night. "Overall, our budget invests in core priorities and returns a record amount of money back to the taxpayers,” Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu told lawmakers during the vote.
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The plan to allow Milwaukee and Milwaukee County to raise their sales taxes and take themselves off a fiscal cliff are now state law. But the city of Milwaukee is preparing to go to court to fight the spending restrictions that are also now law. Assembly Speaker Robin Vos told reporters at the Wisconsin Capitol Wednesday that’s a bad idea.
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The president of the University of Wisconsin is not ruling out closing more two-year campuses as he continues to debate the university’s budget with state lawmakers. President Jay Rothman testified before the Senate Committee on College and Universities on Monday, and hinted that UW-Platteville's Richland County campus may not be the only one to close or see cuts.
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Democrats at the Wisconsin Capitol are furious with the Republican plan to cut diversity, equity, and inclusion money from the University of Wisconsin. Gov. Tony Evers on Tuesday said the plan to cut $32 million in DEI money from the UW System’s $6.5 budget is part of a “decade-long war on higher education.” “It’s clear Republicans have no real or meaningful solutions to address our state’s longstanding workforce challenges, and that includes making the necessary investments to educate and retain talented students across our state,” the governor said in a statement. “These cuts will be disastrous for our UW System, almost certainly causing cuts to campuses and critical programs statewide, and will only hurt our kids, our state’s economy, and our state’s workforce in the process.”
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The plan to share $500 million with local governments across Wisconsin has begun its quick journey to Gov. Evers desk. The budget-writing Joint Finance Committee on Tuesday approved the Assembly version of the shared revenue plan with several Democrats voting against it.
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The retention policy requirement in a Republican-backed education proposal is a "non-starter" and opposed by the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction. The literacy bill, Right to Read, would provide $50 million to train Wisconsin teachers on new methods of reading. Sen. Duey Stroebel, R-Cedarburg, said the focus would be on phonics and the science of reading.
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The Institute for Reforming Government says its analysis of IRS data shows most of the people who left Wisconsin went to states with either flat, or no income taxes at all. “We found that 92,000 people, in the latest numbers from back in 2021, left the state,” IRG Vice President Chris Reeder told The Center Square. “When you look at where they left, they went largely to states that had a better tax climate.”
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Wisconsin’s members of Congress are pretty much exactly where you’d expect them to be on the debt ceiling proposal on Capitol Hill. Republicans support the agreement, while Democrats have concerns. Western Wisconsin Republican Congressman Derrick Van Orden said on Twitter that the deal handles the nation’s debt without risking default or draconian cuts.
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The state of Wisconsin could soon be expected to return as much as $447 million in federal funds to the government as part of the debt ceiling agreement brokered by President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy. Gov. Tony Evers told reporters his administration is now planning for the possibility of returning the untapped funds, which were originally part of the windfall the state received from the federal pandemic funds that were issued to states that helped them recover from the impact of COVID-19.
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Two of Green Bay’s state lawmakers are asking for millions of dollars to welcome the NFL Draft to town. The NFL on Monday announced that Green Bay will host the 2025 Draft. On Tuesday, state Rep. David Steffen, R-Green Bay, and state Sen. Robert Cowles, R-Green Bay, submitted a formal request for $2 million to help “offset” the costs.
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Milwaukee’s mayor is predicting bankruptcy within two years, as well as possibly hundreds of layoffs for police officers and firefighters if Wisconsin lawmakers can’t come to terms on a shared revenue deal. Mayor Cavalier Johnson was one of several people to speak at the Senate’s first hearing on the plan to send as much as $500 million to local governments across the state, “Without question, my city’s budgetary situation is dire,” Johnson told senators. “My city is on a path to catastrophic budget cuts.”
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There are complaints, and at least one possible lawsuit brewing about Milwaukee’s new proposed food truck rules. Two aldermen, Jocasta Zamarripa and Johnathon Brostoff, last week proposed a new two-zone approach for food trucks in the city. “This heavy regulation seems to be picking winners and losers. And is set-up in a way that only the connected are able to get it,” Chris Reader, executive vice president with the Institute for Reforming Government, told The Center Square Tuesday. “It literally says that people who have more seniority are going to get the favored spots.”
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Democrats in the Wisconsin Assembly used a routine resolution to honor fallen police officers to try and make a point about gun control. Rep. Deb Andraca, D-Whitefish Bay, spoke during the usually perfunctory debate time for the resolution recognizing May 2023 as Law Enforcement Appreciation Month in Wisconsin. “Acts of appreciation, like this joint resolution, are important. But actions speak louder than words,” Andraca said Wednesday. “How can this legislature express appreciation for the men and women in law enforcement when the majority party actively seeks to pass laws that put their lives in more danger than they already are?”
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The top Republican in the Wisconsin Assembly says six months of negotiations over the plan to send more money to local governments is enough. Speaker Robin Vos on Wednesday said the latest version of their shared revenue proposal is pretty much a take-it-or-leave it proposal. “We are done negotiating,” Vos told reporters Wednesday. “We are not going to make changes. We are not going to change the bill substantially. What we have before us is the deal that we are going to send to our colleagues in the State Senate, and hopefully Gov. Evers agrees this historic investment is worth signing.”
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There is zero early support on the Milwaukee County Board to spend taxpayer funds on the hundreds of millions of dollars of improvements at the Brewers’ ballpark. The county’s Committee on Intergovernmental Relations on Monday unanimously voted for a resolution opposing the use of any local tax dollars to pay for upgrades at American Family Field.
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Last weekend’s murder of a St. Croix County deputy has made 2023 the deadliest year for law enforcement in Wisconsin in the past 20 years. Deputy Kaite Leising died during a drunk driving stop Saturday night. Investigators with the Wisconsin Department of Justice say a convicted rapist and registered sex offender pulled a gun and shot her.
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Wisconsin’s weekend TV shows provided a stark difference between Republicans and Democrats at the State Capitol on the new shared revenue proposal. State Rep. Tony Kurtz, R-R-Wonewoc, was on both UPFRONT in Milwaukee and Capital City Sunday in Madison. He said on both shows that Republicans are willing to work with local leaders and Gov. Tony Evers on a final version of the plan to share more money with local governments.
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Shared revenue restrictions on Wisconsin local governments are drawing rebukes in financially troubled Milwaukee. Republicans on Tuesday released the details of their plan to send more money to local governments. State Sen. LaTonya Johnson, D-Milwaukee, said the state-imposed restrictions are too much.
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Attorney General Josh Kaul argued against a motion to dismiss his challenge to the state’s century-old abortion law on Thursday. Kaul is suing the district attorneys in Sheboygan, Dane and Milwaukee counties – the only places where abortions in the state used to be performed – to block the enforcement of Wisconsin’s 1849 law that bans abortions in every case except to save a mother’s life.
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Top Republicans at the Wisconsin Capitol say they are working on a plan to send more state money to local governments across the state, but the city of Milwaukee this week added a bit of urgency to that work. On Monday, Milwaukee’s Steering and Rules Committee proposed cutting the city’s entire sixth police district to find the money to pay Milwaukee’s skyrocketing pension payment.
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Supporters of a flat tax in Wisconsin know it won’t happen this year, but that’s not stopping them. Dozens of Republican lawmakers, advocates, and business owners from across the state crowded a Senate hearing Tuesday to talk about the plan that would move Wisconsin from its current progressive income tax to a flat 3.25% income tax in three years.
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Another flat tax plan is all but dead at the Wisconsin Capitol. State Reps. John Macco, R-Ledgeview, and Rep. Jerry O’Connor, R-Fond du Lac, this week introduced legislation that would lower Wisconsin’s top three tax brackets to 4.5%, and make sure people in the state’s lowest tax bracket wouldn’t pay any income tax at all.
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For the second year in a row, the Wisconsin Capitol became fixated on marijuana on the 20th of April. Assembly Speaker Robin Vos and Senate Minority Leader Melissa Agard took two very different approaches to pot on Thursday. Vos told the Associated Press that there’s no support for a fully legal, recreational marijuana law in the state legislature.
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There is a plan at the Wisconsin Capitol that would allow teachers and school workers to carry a gun inside a school. State Rep. Scott Allen, R-Waukesha, is circulating the legislation for co-sponsors this week. Allen said the idea is to allow local school boards to set their own rules about guns in school.
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The push for a universal free school lunch program in Wisconsin is running into opposition at the State Capitol. Wisconsin’s Department of Public Instruction on Monday shared the testimony it plans to deliver to the legislature’s budget-writing Joint Finance Committee about its Healthy Meals, Healthy Kids initiative.
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There’s clearly a theme at Wisconsin’s traveling budget hearings: People want more money. The legislature’s budget-writing Joint Finance Committee held its third public budget hearing on Wednesday in the Wisconsin Dells, and once again people lined up for hours to ask lawmakers for more for their communities.
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Liberals have won another landslide statewide election in Wisconsin, pushing judge Janet Protasiewicz on to the state Supreme Court. Protasiewicz won the closely watched and massively expensive race for Supreme Court by nearly 11 points Tuesday. She got 55% of the vote, compared to conservative former Justice Dan Kelly’s 44%.
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The president at the University of Wisconsin is defending the school’s recent 5% tuition hike as necessary to win the “war for talent.” President Jay Rothman told a crowd at the Rotary Club of Milwaukee’s meeting on Tuesday that raising tuition will help get students the tools they need for new careers.
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Most of Gov. Tony Evers’ building plan is earmarked for the University of Wisconsin System, but a new report says there are also millions of dollars dedicated to non-state agency “pork-barrel” projects.
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Republicans in the Wisconsin Assembly are showing just how tough they want to get on crime. Lawmakers on Wednesday took up a laundry list of proposals that include guaranteed prison time for convicted felons caught with guns, make it tougher for prosecutors to drop certain felony charges, define the difference between a riot and a protest, and get tougher on reckless drivers in Wisconsin. Only the reckless driving proposals have a chance of actually becoming law. Rep. Bob Donovan, R-Greenfield is the author of AB 55, which would double the fines and jail time for people convicted of reckless driving, and AB 56 which allows local governments to seize cars from reckless drivers who have not paid their fees and fines.
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Wisconsin’s only debate for state Supreme Court was quick, rough-and-tumble, and didn’t really cover anything new. Liberal Judge Janet Protasiewicz and conservative former Justice Dan Kelly met Tuesday afternoon in Madison for the only debate in the race. The debate was sponsored by The State Bar of Wisconsin and a Madison TV station. As expected, Protasiewicz talked about her “values,” and Kelly hammered at her being overtly political with those values. “I have been clear that any decision that I render will be made based solely on the law and the Constitution,” Protasiewicz said. “I have told everyone ‘I am making no promises to you.'"
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There continue to be questions about more than $100 million in coronavirus stimulus money that Wisconsin spent on broadband internet expansion. Sen. Eric Wimberger, R-Green Bay, on Wednesday questioned the state’s Public Service Commission about last September’s audit that stated there was almost no tracking of what was spent, what work was done, or if the new internet access even worked. “One of the things that is kind of hidden throughout this, is an ongoing theme that we’re seeing with federal funds. The last audit hearing we had was with the Department of Administration, and what we learned there is that there are no records in particular regarding the distribution of funds, and how those things are chosen,” Wimberger explained. “The governor’s office, apparently on a series of phone calls or discussions, was handing out hundreds of millions of dollars to particular departments without a record to explain why.”
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Jail guards in Wisconsin could soon be able to retire early and receive disability benefits when they do. The Senate Committee on Judiciary and Public Safety on Tuesday heard from local sheriffs about SB 28, which would expand the Wisconsin Retirement System’s definition of protected employee to cover guards in local jails. “The jailer right now is the only link in the entire chain that is not protected,” Columbia County Sheriff Roger Brandner told lawmakers. “Our police officers are, our deputy sheriffs are, our probation officers are, our state prison guards are. But our jailers are not.”
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The Republicans who will write Wisconsin’s new state budget say the latest breakdown shows they are right. The Legislative Fiscal Bureau on Wednesday released a line-by-line breakdown of Gov. Tony Evers’ $104 billion two-year state budget. The LFB analysis doesn’t offer any commentary on the governor’s spending proposal. Instead it simply tracks where the money would go and just how much the governor wants to spend. Joint Finance Committee co-chairmen Rep. Mark Born, R-Beaver Dam, and Howard Marklein, R-Spring Green, said the analysis jives with what they’ve been saying about the governor’s budget for weeks.
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Wisconsin lawmakers are looking to block the state’s new meningitis and chickenpox vaccine rules. The legislature’s rules committee, the Joint Committee for Review of Administrative Rules, on Tuesday took the first step toward overturning the new rules, established earlier this year by the state’s Department of Health Services. DHS wants to add a meningitis vaccine requirement for 7th graders, and change the rules for chickenpox shots. Heather Allen with the group Wisconsin United for Freedom is one of the dozen or so people, mainly moms, who asked lawmakers not to allow DHS to create a new vaccine mandate without any input from lawmakers or the public.
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A new coalition of business leaders and community groups, including a number of former conservative leaders in Wisconsin, are backing the proposal to use taxpayer dollars for repairs at American Family Field, as part of the strategy to keep the Brewers in Milwaukee. The group, which calls itself the Home Crew Coalition, on Wednesday threw its weight behind the ballpark funding deal. Omar Shaikh, the co-owner of Carnivore Steakhouse and the Third Street Market Hall in Milwaukee, is serving as the coalition’s chair.
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The way Wisconsin’s schools teach reading is under the microscope at the State Capitol. Both the Assembly and Senate Education Committees will hold a hearing Thursday to look at the state’s reading curriculum, assessments, and achievement gaps. Senate Education Committee boss John Jagler, R-Watertown, told The Center Square that Wisconsin must do better when it comes to reading. Join Wisconsin Editor Bruce Walker and Reporter Ben Yount.
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It’s far too soon to say what will be in Wisconsin’s new state budget, but it can be assumed what will not be included. Joint Finance Committee chairman Rep. Mark Born, R-Beaver Dam, and Sen. Howard Marklein, R-Spring Green, on Tuesday talked about the upcoming budget. Join The Center Square's Wisconsin Editor Bruce Walker and Reporter Ben Yount.
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Future of Freedom: Future of Freedom is a bi-weekly podcast highlighting the work of the non-profits which are shaping the future of the freedom movement. Listeners will hear civil, intellectual conversations about why the organizations exist, what their mission is, and how they work to achieve it. Hosted by Scot Bertram.
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It’s far too soon to say what will be in Wisconsin’s new state budget, but it can be assumed what will not be included. Joint Finance Committee chairman Rep. Mark Born, R-Beaver Dam, and Sen. Howard Marklein, R-Spring Green, on Tuesday talked about the upcoming budget. Join The Center Square's Wisconsin Editor Bruce Walker and Reporter Ben Yount.
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America in Focus: A weekly feature of the top TheCenterSquare.com stories of the week out of Washington D.C. with commentary from The Center Square editors and more!
America's Talking: An interview podcast hosted by Austin Berg. Guests include professors, journalists, artists, business and nonprofit leaders, authors, and more.
Everyday Economics: Join economist Dr. Orphe Divounguy and Chris Krug as they discuss global markets, inflation, and everything else that will help you understand the economic world around you.
Future of Freedom: Future of Freedom is a bi-weekly podcast highlighting the work of the non-profits which are shaping the future of the freedom movement. Listeners will hear civil, intellectual conversations about why the organizations exist, what their mission is, and how they work to achieve it. Hosted by Scot Bertram.
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Milwaukee Police made hundreds more visits to Milwaukee Public Schools this past fall, and a new report suggests that it was a foreseeable problem. The Badger Institute issued a new report that shows police visits to Milwaukee schools spiked in the fall of 2022. Join The Center Square's Bruce Walker and Ben Yount on this episode of Wisconsin in Focus.
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America in Focus: A weekly feature of the top TheCenterSquare.com stories of the week out of Washington D.C. with commentary from The Center Square editors and more!
America's Talking: An interview podcast hosted by Austin Berg. Guests include professors, journalists, artists, business and nonprofit leaders, authors, and more.
Everyday Economics: Join economist Dr. Orphe Divounguy and Chris Krug as they discuss global markets, inflation, and everything else that will help you understand the economic world around you.
Future of Freedom: Future of Freedom is a bi-weekly podcast highlighting the work of the non-profits which are shaping the future of the freedom movement. Listeners will hear civil, intellectual conversations about why the organizations exist, what their mission is, and how they work to achieve it. Hosted by Scot Bertram.
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Wisconsin’s Supreme Court race is set. Judge Janet Protasiewicz easily won Tuesday’s primary, getting about 445,00 votes. Former Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Daniel Kelly edged out Waukesha County Judge Jennifer Dorow by getting just over 232,000 votes to her nearly 210,000 votes. Kelly immediately framed the race for the court as a choice between his views on the rule of law, and Protasiewicz’s view of what she wants the law to be. Join The Center Square's Bruce Walker and Ben Yount on this episode of Wisconsin in Focus.
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America in Focus: A weekly feature of the top TheCenterSquare.com stories of the week out of Washington D.C. with commentary from The Center Square editors and more!
America's Talking: An interview podcast hosted by Austin Berg. Guests include professors, journalists, artists, business and nonprofit leaders, authors, and more.
Everyday Economics: Join economist Dr. Orphe Divounguy and Chris Krug as they discuss global markets, inflation, and everything else that will help you understand the economic world around you.
Future of Freedom: Future of Freedom is a bi-weekly podcast highlighting the work of the non-profits which are shaping the future of the freedom movement. Listeners will hear civil, intellectual conversations about why the organizations exist, what their mission is, and how they work to achieve it. Hosted by Scot Bertram.
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The Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty has won another case based on the argument that you cannot discriminate against people based on their sex or the color of their skin. WILL recently settled a case with Comcast over the company’s Comcast RISE program. That program offered grants to small businesses, but only if they are 51% owned by someone who is “Black, indigenous, a person of color, or female.” Join The Center Square's Bruce Walker and Ben Yount on this episode of Wisconsin in Focus.
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America in Focus: A weekly feature of the top TheCenterSquare.com stories of the week out of Washington D.C. with commentary from The Center Square editors and more!
America's Talking: An interview podcast hosted by Austin Berg. Guests include professors, journalists, artists, business and nonprofit leaders, authors, and more.
Everyday Economics: Join economist Dr. Orphe Divounguy and Chris Krug as they discuss global markets, inflation, and everything else that will help you understand the economic world around you.
Future of Freedom: Future of Freedom is a bi-weekly podcast highlighting the work of the non-profits which are shaping the future of the freedom movement. Listeners will hear civil, intellectual conversations about why the organizations exist, what their mission is, and how they work to achieve it. Hosted by Scot Bertram.
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Join The Center Square’s Regional Editor Bruce Walker and Wisconsin Reporter Ben Yount as they discuss Wisconsin’s Democratic governor is asking the Republicans who control the state legislature not to throw his entire budget in the trash. Gov. Tony Evers wants to spend more than a $1.3 billion more over the next two years, but it’s almost certainly not going to happen. The reaction to Gov. Tony Evers is pretty much what you’d expect: Democrats at the Wisconsin Capitol are praising the governor’s spending plan, while Republicans and conservatives are pointing out the problems. The top Republican in the Wisconsin Assembly sounds as if he is confident that lawmakers will find some money to repair American Family Field and keep the Brewers in Milwaukee, but he says Gov. Tony Evers is making it harder than it has to be.
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America in Focus: A weekly feature of the top TheCenterSquare.com stories of the week out of Washington D.C. with commentary from The Center Square editors and more!
America's Talking: An interview podcast hosted by Austin Berg. Guests include professors, journalists, artists, business and nonprofit leaders, authors, and more.
Everyday Economics: Join economist Dr. Orphe Divounguy and Chris Krug as they discuss global markets, inflation, and everything else that will help you understand the economic world around you.
Future of Freedom: Future of Freedom is a bi-weekly podcast highlighting the work of the non-profits which are shaping the future of the freedom movement. Listeners will hear civil, intellectual conversations about why the organizations exist, what their mission is, and how they work to achieve it. Hosted by Scot Bertram.
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Join The Center Square’s Regional Editor Bruce Walker and Wisconsin Reporter Ben Yount as they discuss the latest preview of Gov. Tony Evers’ new state budget focuses on conservation – as well as making it tougher for lawmakers to stop some of his conservation projects.
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America in Focus: A weekly feature of the top TheCenterSquare.com stories of the week out of Washington D.C. with commentary from The Center Square editors and more!
America's Talking: An interview podcast hosted by Austin Berg. Guests include professors, journalists, artists, business and nonprofit leaders, authors, and more.
Everyday Economics: Join economist Dr. Orphe Divounguy and Chris Krug as they discuss global markets, inflation, and everything else that will help you understand the economic world around you.
Future of Freedom: Future of Freedom is a bi-weekly podcast highlighting the work of the non-profits which are shaping the future of the freedom movement. Listeners will hear civil, intellectual conversations about why the organizations exist, what their mission is, and how they work to achieve it. Hosted by Scot Bertram.
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Join The Center Square’s Regional Editor Bruce Walker and Wisconsin Reporter Ben Yount as they discuss that there is going to be a flurry of spending by schools across the state of Wisconsin this spring, as school districts race to use the last of their coronavirus stimulus money. There’s not a lot of confidence about free speech on University of Wisconsin campuses.
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America in Focus: A weekly feature of the top TheCenterSquare.com stories of the week out of Washington D.C. with commentary from The Center Square editors and more!
America's Talking: An interview podcast hosted by Austin Berg. Guests include professors, journalists, artists, business and nonprofit leaders, authors, and more.
Everyday Economics: Join economist Dr. Orphe Divounguy and Chris Krug as they discuss global markets, inflation, and everything else that will help you understand the economic world around you.
Future of Freedom: Future of Freedom is a bi-weekly podcast highlighting the work of the non-profits which are shaping the future of the freedom movement. Listeners will hear civil, intellectual conversations about why the organizations exist, what their mission is, and how they work to achieve it. Hosted by Scot Bertram.
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Join The Center Square’s Regional Editor Bruce Walker and Wisconsin Reporter Ben Yount as they discuss Wisconsin Democratic Gov. Tony Evers, in his Tuesday evening State of the State address, laid out a plan to spend $2 billion more for public schools, and $1.3 billion on new mental health programs, a statewide PFAS testing program, and workforce training. While Joe Biden and Donald Trump remain very popular with their respective bases, nearly half of voters in their own parties don’t want them to run for president again.
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America in Focus: A weekly feature of the top TheCenterSquare.com stories of the week out of Washington D.C. with commentary from The Center Square editors and more!
America's Talking: An interview podcast hosted by Austin Berg. Guests include professors, journalists, artists, business and nonprofit leaders, authors, and more.
Everyday Economics: Join economist Dr. Orphe Divounguy and Chris Krug as they discuss global markets, inflation, and everything else that will help you understand the economic world around you.
Future of Freedom: Future of Freedom is a bi-weekly podcast highlighting the work of the non-profits which are shaping the future of the freedom movement. Listeners will hear civil, intellectual conversations about why the organizations exist, what their mission is, and how they work to achieve it. Hosted by Scot Bertram.
--- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/wisconsininfocus/support
Join The Center Square’s Regional Editor Bruce Walker and Wisconsin Reporter Ben Yount as they discuss education concerns in Wisconsin and that voters will now have their say on whether the bail system in Wisconsin should change.
Listen to Other ATN Productions:
America in Focus: A weekly feature of the top TheCenterSquare.com stories of the week out of Washington D.C. with commentary from The Center Square editors and more!
America's Talking: An interview podcast hosted by Austin Berg. Guests include professors, journalists, artists, business and nonprofit leaders, authors, and more.
Everyday Economics: Join economist Dr. Orphe Divounguy and Chris Krug as they discuss global markets, inflation, and everything else that will help you understand the economic world around you.
Future of Freedom: Future of Freedom is a bi-weekly podcast highlighting the work of the non-profits which are shaping the future of the freedom movement. Listeners will hear civil, intellectual conversations about why the organizations exist, what their mission is, and how they work to achieve it. Hosted by Scot Bertram.
--- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/wisconsininfocus/support
Join The Center Square’s Wisconsin Reporter Ben Yount as he discusses the argument in favor of a proposed constitutional amendment that would change how bail works in Wisconsin. Republicans in Madison are moving quickly to change how bail works in Wisconsin. TikTok is now banned from state government in Wisconsin. Madison’s school board president is defending a now-cancelled drag show in school.
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America in Focus: A weekly feature of the top TheCenterSquare.com stories of the week out of Washington D.C. with commentary from The Center Square editors and more!
America's Talking: An interview podcast hosted by Austin Berg. Guests include professors, journalists, artists, business and nonprofit leaders, authors, and more.
Everyday Economics: Join economist Dr. Orphe Divounguy and Chris Krug as they discuss global markets, inflation, and everything else that will help you understand the economic world around you.
Future of Freedom: Future of Freedom is a bi-weekly podcast highlighting the work of the non-profits which are shaping the future of the freedom movement. Listeners will hear civil, intellectual conversations about why the organizations exist, what their mission is, and how they work to achieve it. Hosted by Scot Bertram.
--- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/wisconsininfocus/support
Join The Center Square’s Regional Editor Bruce Walker and Wisconsin Reporter Ben Yount as they discuss Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers inauguration address on Tuesday that told lawmakers and voters that he wants more abortion, more state spending and more money for public schools in the next four years. The reaction to Gov. Tony Evers’ inaugural address is about what you’d expect from Republicans and conservatives in Madison.
Listen to Other ATN Productions:
America in Focus: A weekly feature of the top TheCenterSquare.com stories of the week out of Washington D.C. with commentary from The Center Square editors and more!
America's Talking: An interview podcast hosted by Austin Berg. Guests include professors, journalists, artists, business and nonprofit leaders, authors, and more.
Everyday Economics: Join economist Dr. Orphe Divounguy and Chris Krug as they discuss global markets, inflation, and everything else that will help you understand the economic world around you.
Future of Freedom: Future of Freedom is a bi-weekly podcast highlighting the work of the non-profits which are shaping the future of the freedom movement. Listeners will hear civil, intellectual conversations about why the organizations exist, what their mission is, and how they work to achieve it. Hosted by Scot Bertram.
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Join The Center Square’s Regional Editor Bruce Walker and Wisconsin Reporter Ben Yount as they discuss the top news stories in the state of Wisconsin in the year 2022.
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Join The Center Square’s Regional Editor Bruce Walker and Wisconsin Reporter Ben Yount as they discuss the recently released state audit that raises new questions about Wisconsin’s coronavirus supplemental spending. Rep. Brandtjen blasts Speaker Vos after being replaced as Assembly Elections boss. Milwaukee sets dates for 2024 Republican National Convention.
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Join America’s Talking Network’s General Manager Cole McNeely as he discusses a state audit that raises new questions about Wisconsin’s coronavirus supplemental spending. Supporters: It’s time to move forward on I-94 expansion. New report highlights, questions worth of Wisconsin college degrees.
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Join The Center Square's Wisconsin Reporter Ben Yount as he discusses Wisconsin Republicans in D.C. ask Gov. Evers to take TikTok off state phones. Survey: More than half of Wisconsin school kids anxious, one-third depressed. Brandtjen running, primary set for open state Senate seat. Unionized Red Cross workers in Wisconsin vote to strike during holiday blood drive.
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Join The Center Square's Regional Editor Bruce Walker and Wisconsin Reporter Ben Yount as they discuss Vos offers few details about January 6 Committee testimony. Rep. Brandtjen: Military ballot voting dropped over 80% in 2022. Legislative audit finds significant waste in two Wisconsin coronavirus grant programs.
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Join The Center Square's Regional Editor Bruce Walker and Wisconsin Reporter Ben Yount as they discuss the one-year anniversary of Waukesha Christmas Parade attack. Wisconsin Republican budget chiefs: Latest surplus numbers don’t give governor 'blank check'. Conservative groups eye big reforms with record surplus.
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Join The Center Square's Regional Editor Bruce Walker and Wisconsin Reporter Ben Yount as they discuss Waukesha Christmas Parade killer getting life sentence, no parole. Rep. Brandtjen: Republican leaders “uncomfortable,” so she was bounced from caucus.
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Join The Center Square's Regional Editor Bruce Walker and Wisconsin Reporter Ben Yount as they discuss the results of the midterm elections in the state of Wisconsin as the balance of power retains status quo at Wisconsin Capitol. Barnes concedes, Johnson declares victory in Wisconsin U.S. Senate race.
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Join The Center Square's Regional Editor Bruce Walker and Wisconsin Reporter Ben Yount as they discuss: Milwaukee Elections Worker Fired After Sending Military Ballots to Lawmaker to Expose ‘Vulnerabilities'. Final Marquette Law School Poll: Wisconsin’s races for governor, U.S. Senate tied. Rep. Brandtjen: 'Someone sent military ballots to my house'.
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Join The Center Square's Regional Editor Bruce Walker and Wisconsin Reporter Ben Yount as they discuss: Waukesha Christmas Parade Suspect Darrell Brooks Jr. Found Guilty. Sen. Stroebel: UW’s response to conservative speaker on Madison campus 'unacceptable'.
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Join The Center Square's Regional Editor Bruce Walker and Wisconsin Reporter Ben Yount as they discuss: Government transparency advocates celebrate win in Mequon-Thiensville email suit. Tim Michels suggests DNR split. Tim Michels positions self as pro-business, tough on crime.
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Join The Center Square's Regional Editor Bruce Walker and Wisconsin Reporter Ben Yount as they discuss: New federal questions about Milwaukee’s get-out -the-vote effort. Marquette Law School Poll: Johnson up six, Evers up one. Wisconsin Elections Commission deadlocks on guidance for poll watchers.
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Join The Center Square's Regional Editor Bruce Walker and Wisconsin Reporter Ben Yount as they discuss: Bravos, brickbats for Tim Michels' flat tax talk. Milwaukee Public Schools requiring FAFSA application before kids can graduate. Local governments applaud Evers’ promise of more money.
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Join The Center Square's Regional Editor Bruce Walker and Wisconsin Reporter Ben Yount as they discuss: Wisconsin Lt. Governor Mandela Barnes Tweets Sparks Criticism. Wisconsin Republican Party Sues Over Milwaukee Get-Out-The-Vote Effort. Rep. Brandtjen questions Elections Commission’s new Elections 101 lessons.
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Join The Center Square's Regional Editor Bruce Walker and Wisconsin Reporter Ben Yount as they discuss: Politics and money dominate Wisconsin’s State of Education speech. New school choice coalition in Wisconsin looks to expand education options.
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Join The Center Square's Regional Editor Bruce Walker and Wisconsin Reporter Ben Yount as they discuss: Lawsuit filed over national voter registration from in Wisconsin. Johnson campaign hits Barnes on school choice. Marquette Law School Poll: Candidates’ unfavorables jump as races tighten.
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Join The Center Square's Executive Editor Dan McCaleb & Wisconsin Reporter Ben Yount as they discuss: Republicans bash Elections Commission request for internal inspector, Judge orders new rules for Wisconsin disabled voters’ absentee ballots, Green Bay latest Wisconsin city to agree to end ballot drop box use.
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Join The Center Square's Regional Editor Bruce Walker and Wisconsin Reporter Ben Yount as they discuss: Republicans mark two-year anniversary of Jacob Blake shooting, Kenosha riots. Gov. Evers pitches $600 million tax cut, price cut plan ahead of November election. Expected reaction to Biden’s student loan forgiveness plan in Wisconsin.
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Join The Center Square's Regional Editor Bruce Walker and Wisconsin Reporter Ben Yount as they discuss: More criticism for Gableman, his investigation. Wisconsin elections chief looking for election security balance ahead of expected record turnout. Latest Marquette Law School Poll gives Evers, Barnes leads.
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Join The Center Square's Regional Editor Bruce Walker and Wisconsin Reporter Ben Yount as they discuss: Michels beats Kleefisch in Republican race, sets up November showdown with Evers. Michels’ win highlights new Wisconsin political map. Democrats ramp-up 2020 election investigation heat after Tuesday primaries.
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Join The Center Square's Regional Editor Bruce Walker and Wisconsin Reporter Ben Yount as they discuss: Highlighting the crime happening in Wisconsin. Wisconsin Republicans focus on taxes, crime in final governor’s debate.
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Join The Center Square's Regional Editor Bruce Walker and Wisconsin Reporter Ben Yount as they discuss: Wisconsin lawmakers appear ready to override WEC once again. Judge rejects Gableman’s request for new judge. Wisconsin lawmakers: Rule of law, not Elections Commission guides absentee ballot rules. Wisconsin wolf hunt in limbo. Gov. Evers, A-G Kaul sue companies over PFAS pollution.
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Join The Center Square's Regional Editor Bruce Walker and Wisconsin Reporter Ben Yount as they discuss: WEC administrator: The voter is the one required to mail their ballot. Gov. Evers: Republicans will investigate 2020 election until 'they’re six feet under'. Assembly elections chairwoman worries about different election rules after drop box ruling.
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Join The Center Square's Regional Editor Bruce Walker and Wisconsin Reporter Ben Yount as they discuss: Kevin Nicholson drops out of Gov.’s race, says 'no path' to victory, Kleefisch questions Michels on gas tax, Michels responds with jab, & State representative has questions about Wisconsin voter roll postcards,
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Join The Center Square's Regional Editor Bruce Walker and Wisconsin Reporter Ben Yount as they discuss: Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce focus on energy worries. Governor, A-G sue to prevent Wisconsin’s abortion law from taking effect.
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Join The Center Square's Regional Editor Bruce Walker and Wisconsin Reporter Ben Yount as they discuss: WE Energies, Alliant Energy reverse green course, will keep coal plants open. Marquette Law School Poll: Michels leads GOP race, Evers leads in head-to-head match-ups. Wisconsin lawmakers spend less than 60 seconds in abortion special session. Judge weighing options after Gableman admits to tossing some election investigation records.
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Join The Center Square's Regional Editor Bruce Walker and Wisconsin Reporter Ben Yount as they discuss: Judge rips Gableman for 'disruptive conduct, misogynistic comments' orders fines & WILL defends Kiel school questions from claims of bullying.
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Join The Center Square's Regional Editor Bruce Walker and Wisconsin Reporter Ben Yount as they discuss: Gov. Evers brags about school rankings from the Walker era. LGBTQ group urges Wisconsin schools to continue misgendering investigation.
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Join The Center Square's Wisconsin Reporter Ben Yount as he discusses: Dane County Judge: Zuckerbucks not specifically banned under Wisconsin law. Kiel Schools close misgendering investigation. Kleefisch, Evers launch new ads in Wisconsin governor’s race.
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Join The Center Square's Regional Editor Bruce Walker and Wisconsin Report Ben Yount as they discuss: Milwaukee school counselor under state investigation for opposition to transgender ideology. Rep. Brandtjen: Milwaukee’s election boss needs to stop 'getting out the vote'. Democratic groups wants Milwaukee to reject RNC 2024 bid.
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Join The Center Square's Regional Editor Bruce Walker and Wisconsin Report Ben Yount as they discuss: WILL defending middle schoolers accused of ‘misgendering’ in Kiel schools. Republican candidates promise tough-on-crime approach after Deer District shootings. Dane County judge questions Zuckerbucks lawsuit.
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Join The Center Square's Regional Editor Bruce Walker and Wisconsin Report Ben Yount as they discuss: Wisconsin Family Action promises it won't 'back down' after Madison arson. More Wisconsin Republican congressmen want federal investigation into Madison firebombing. Wisconsin’s 2020 election investigation paused. Democratic governor’s group pledges $75 million to reelect seven governors.
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Join The Center Square's Regional Editor Bruce Walker and Wisconsin Report Ben Yount as they discuss: No state enforcement if abortion becomes illegal in Wisconsin. Wisconsin leaders, candidates react to Roe reversal report. Tim Michels admits to ‘part time’ Wisconsin residency.
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Join The Center Square's Regional Editor Bruce Walker and Wisconsin Report Ben Yount as they discuss: Marquette Law School Poll: Voters have more trust in 2022 election. The latest Marquette Law School Poll shows 76% of Republicans and 96% of Democrats said they trusted the results of the April election. Just 67% of independent voters said the same thing.
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Wisconsin state superintendent defends lessons on race, books on LGBTQ issues. Wisconsin senators preach patience at medical marijuana hearing. Tommy Thompson announces he is not running for governor. Hovde not running for governor, may run for Senate in 2024.
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Wisconsin Supreme Court to hear ballot drop box, absentee ballot arguments. Republicans heap criticism on Gov. Evers’ vetoes. Democrats not happy with 4/20 medical marijuana hearing.
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Wisconsin bird flu outbreak spreads to backyard chickens. First ever Republican county executive elected in Kenosha County. U. Wisconsin-Madison researchers studying what dogs like watching on television.
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Some Wisconsin election managers ignoring Wisconsin Supreme Court ruling on absentee ballots. Kevin Nicholson: Lawmakers should view service like National Guard. Wisconsin Republican U.S. Senator wants federal low-bail review.
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Milwaukee looks to continue ballot drop boxes, Madison won’t. Assembly Speaker meets with decertification supports, says 2020 election will stand. Wisconsin’s 2020 election gets high marks from MIT Index. Republican candidates rip Evers over $50 million ‘safe community’ investment.
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Gableman investigation extended, Trump weighs in. Education reform bills sail through Wisconsin Senate, face headwinds on governor’s desk. Wisconsin’s minimum mark-up law not helping with gas prices.
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Join The Center Square's Bruce Walker and Ben Yount as they discuss: Lawmakers, lawyer promise more investigations after Gableman report. 'Election bribery scheme' among Zuckerberg 5 included in Wisconsin investigation.
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Wisconsin Parents Bill of Rights faces challenges, likely veto. UW-Madison Chancellor: Anti-CRT legislation hinders university’s ability to get 'best and brightest'. Fiscal report: Wisconsin’s tax burden down $22 billion since 2011. Wisconsin employers worried about rising costs.
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Republican lawmakers bicker over election reforms, WEC talks election ‘conspiracies’. Wisconsin State of the State: Gov. Evers touts massive spending, tax cuts, budget surplus. New tax report comes as Wisconsin looks at dropping its income tax.
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Assembly panel to hear Parents Bill of Rights proposal. New report looks to rollback some Wisconsin’s volumes of regulations. Republicans look to stop prosecutors from dismissing illegal gun possession charges. State budget makers approve $194 million for childcare in Wisconsin.
Wisconsin in Focus is a production of America's Talking Network.
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Wisconsin education leaders against new financial literacy requirement for high schools. Wisconsin Republicans look at constitutional ban on Zuckerbucks. Wisconsin union membership hits all-time low in 2021. Parents flood Wisconsin private school choice enrollment, crash state website.
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Appeals court rules ballot drop boxes allowed in February primary. Wisconsin’s finances continue to improve, new report estimates $3.8 billion surplus. Future of school choice in Wisconsin: Parents’ choice. Kevin Nicholson officially enters Republican race for Wisconsin governor.
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Voces De La Frontera calls Gableman subpoena 'McCarthyite,' 'white supremacist'. Wisconsin DMV shaves questions from school bus driver test to ease shortage. Republican lawmakers: Milwaukee County D.A. again releases dangerous suspects on low bail.
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Rep. Brandtjen: Why is election transparency 'insane'? WILL challenges housing program that gives less help to white families. Wisconsin Senate hearing on vaccine mandates, natural immunity gets heated. Wisconsin Republicans focus on state budget with proposed Constitutional amendments.
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Wisconsin governor’s race narrows, Duffy not running. New proposals would impose mandatory-minimum bails on some crimes in Wisconsin. Madison mayor continues fight against Wisconsin’s election investigation.
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Wisconsin ends year with $1.8 billion record surplus. Fiscal conservatives challenge pay raises for UW top brass. Wisconsin governor signs second sports betting agreement
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Sen Bernier, out-of-state lawyers criticize Gableman investigation as 'pseudo-audit'. U.S. Supreme Court won’t stop Gov. Evers’ invite-only press briefings. Wisconsin lawmakers look at Final Five voting for Congress, U,S. Senate.
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Wisconsin Voter Alliance: WEC’s Zuckerberg decision not surprising, necessary. Wisconsin governor sends $14 million in coronavirus relief to minor league teams, theaters, and summer camps. WILL election review finds unlawful 2020 votes and law, but no evidence of widespread fraud.
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Join Wisconsin Editor Bruce Walker & Wisconsin Reporter Benjamin Yount for this weekly feature of the top TheCenterSquare.com stories of the week, commentary from The Center Square Wisconsin's editors and more!
Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/wisconsininfocus/support
Join Wisconsin Editor Bruce Walker & Wisconsin Reporter Benjamin Yount for this weekly feature of the top TheCenterSquare.com stories of the week, commentary from The Center Square Wisconsin's editors and more!
Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/wisconsininfocus/support
Join Wisconsin Editor Bruce Walker & Wisconsin Reporter Benjamin Yount for this weekly feature of the top TheCenterSquare.com stories of the week, commentary from The Center Square Wisconsin's editors and more!
Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/wisconsininfocus/support
Join Wisconsin Editor Bruce Walker & Wisconsin Reporter Benjamin Yount for this weekly feature of the top TheCenterSquare.com stories of the week, commentary from The Center Square Wisconsin's editors and more!
Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/wisconsininfocus/support
Join Wisconsin Editor Bruce Walker & Wisconsin Reporter Benjamin Yount for this weekly feature of the top TheCenterSquare.com stories of the week, commentary from The Center Square Wisconsin's editors and more!
Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/wisconsininfocus/support
Join Wisconsin Editor Bruce Walker & Wisconsin Reporter Benjamin Yount for this weekly feature of the top TheCenterSquare.com stories of the week, commentary from The Center Square Wisconsin's editors and more!
Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/wisconsininfocus/support