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After family links child’s death to COVID-19, Fort Atkinson school board approves mask mandate
The Fort Atkinson school board has instituted a mask requirement for the school district after the reported death of a 13-year-old student from COVID-19. During public comments Thursday night, parents in the district pleaded with the board to start requiring masks, the Wisconsin State Journal reported Friday. The board subsequently approved a requirement by a […]
Coalition proposes alternative plan for Milwaukee freeway project
With more bicycles, more buses and less highway pavement, environmental and transit advocates proposed an alternative Tuesday to a controversial state plan to widen part of Interstate 94 in Milwaukee. The pitch is the latest step in efforts by critics to push back against the state’s $1.1 billion plan for Milwaukee’s I-94 East-West corridor following […]
Data show children are an increasing share of COVID-19 patients
In keeping with other parts of the country, COVID-19 is affecting a growing number of younger children in Wisconsin. “The proportion of total cases in Milwaukee County that are comprised of kids under the age of 18 has been increasing,” said Darren Rausch, the health director for the Milwaukee suburb of Greenfield, at a Milwaukee […]
Bell sues Kenosha for release of police bullet that killed his son
The father of a man shot by Kenosha Police in 2004 is suing the city of Kenosha for withholding the bullet that was used to kill his son. Michael M. Bell says he wants an independent ballistics analysis of the bullet to help ascertain whether the police description of the shooting was wrong in a […]
Local, tribal health agencies to get $58.4M for COVID-19 response efforts
Local and tribal health departments will share in $58.4 million awarded from Wisconsin’s share of the federal American Rescue Plan Act to help them absorb the added costs brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. Gov. Tony Evers announced the public health funding program Monday morning. Each department’s share will include a base amount and an […]
Deaths increase, hospitals fill up as new COVID-19 surge continues across Wisconsin
A week into September and a new school year, the COVID-19 pandemic in Wisconsin is continuing to dig in. Every indicator of the spread of the coronavirus, still driven by the more virulent delta variant, is up, according to state and local public health agencies, continuing a new surge of infections that began in July […]
Uber, DoorDash want lawmakers to guarantee their drivers aren’t employees
Drivers for ride-share businesses such as Uber and app-based delivery services such as DoorDash would be blocked from collecting workers’ compensation or unemployment benefits in Wisconsin under legislation that would define them as independent contractors rather than employees. The proposed measures — Assembly Bill 487 and Senate Bill 485 — would also allow those sorts […]
Federal lawsuit seeks to overturn state ban on jobless pay for disability recipients
Eight Wisconsin residents who receive Social Security disability payments and who have also held part-time jobs sued Wisconsin in federal court Tuesday, charging that a state law that disqualified them from collecting unemployment insurance when they lost their jobs violates federal laws that protect people with disabilities. “Workers who received Social Security Disability Insurance benefits […]
With backing from Madison alders, UW Health union drive kicks into higher gear
On Thursday, dozens of brightly colored garments were hung out in the morning sunshine in front of Madison’s City County Building. Floating in the warm September breeze, they were the tops of scrub suits, the kind worn by nurses and other medical personnel. They hung from cables strung above and behind a podium. There, members […]
COVID cases up heading into Labor Day
Wisconsin COVID-19 infections were continuing to rise on the eve of a three-day weekend when families and friends often gather to mark the close of summer. As of Friday, the state’s seven-day average for new cases stood at 1,702 per day, according to the latest update from the state Department of Health Services (DHS). Earlier […]
State tax revenues continue to outpace previous forecasts
Wisconsin tax collections are more than $300 million ahead of a June forecast, and Republicans and Democrats in the Capitol are each claiming credit for the added windfall. The state Department of Revenue reported this week that it now expects total tax collections for Fiscal Year 2021 — which ended June 30 — to clock […]
Report: For working Wisconsin, ‘new normal’ must mean big changes
More jobs, but not a full recovery. Better wages, but fewer unions — and, as a consequence, weaker protections for workers. And gaping inequalities by race and ethnicity. That’s the picture painted in the 2021 edition of the State of Working Wisconsin, an annual assessment that COWS, a University of Wisconsin research and policy center, […]