Author

Erik Gunn

Erik Gunn

Deputy Editor Erik Gunn reports and writes on work and the economy, health policy and related subjects, for the Wisconsin Examiner. He spent 24 years as a freelance writer for Milwaukee Magazine, Isthmus, The Progressive, BNA Inc., and other publications, winning awards for investigative reporting, feature writing, beat coverage, business writing, and commentary.

What hasn’t happened in health care

By: - November 7, 2019

In the legislative floor session that ends Nov. 12,  health care — a topic that ranks as a top concern for Wisconsinites — has taken a back seat to contentious battles over Gov. Tony Evers’ powers and even his cabinet choices. But the subject was not entirely a no-show.  The Assembly on Thursday will take […]

Pipeline presser

Pipeline protest bill now goes to Evers

By: - November 6, 2019

The state Senate passed a bill escalating penalties for trespassing and vandalism at pipelines and other energy-related sites on a voice vote Tuesday, sending it to Gov. Tony Evers. A final effort to narrow the bill’s scope failed on a party-line vote. Assembly Bill 496 — backed by business interests as well as by labor […]

Milwaukee VA Hospital

Health care expert warns of VA privatization risks

By: - November 6, 2019

Several years ago, as veteran health care journalist Suzanne Gordon was exploring patient safety, her research led her to a model medical provider: the Veterans Administration. “The Veterans Administration is one of the only health care systems in the country that takes teaching teamwork really seriously,” Gordon said in a telephone interview. That’s important, she […]

David Riemer with book

Rebooting the New Deal

By: - November 5, 2019

Eighty-six years ago, a new president undertook the most sweeping revision in American economic and social policy the United States had seen since the nation was born. The New Deal fulfilled what Franklin Delano Roosevelt had called for during his campaign in 1932: “a complete change in concept of what are the proper functions and […]

CNN-Screen-Grab-Sean Duffy

Sean Duffy’s rocky start

By: - November 1, 2019

Ten days into the start of his new gig as a CNN commentator, Sean Duffy is off to a rough start. On Oct. 20, his first day in his new role, Duffy pushed a discredited conspiracy theory in defense of President Donald Trump’s request of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky that he investigate former Vice President […]

Committee passes pipeline protest bill with only one Democrat voting no

By: - October 30, 2019

The Senate version of a bill that would enhance criminal penalties for  trespassing on pipeline sites and other energy- or water-related infrastructure passed out of the Senate Judiciary and Public Safety Committee on Tuesday on a 4-1 paper-ballot vote. Sen. Fred Risser (D-Madison) cast the lone vote against SB 386, which has been promoted by […]

New report shows high levels of uninsured children

By: - October 30, 2019

After falling steadily for at least eight years, the number of children without health insurance rose nationwide for the second year in a row in 2018, according to a new report released on Wednesday.  Nationwide, 5.2% of children were without health insurance in 2018, according to the report, produced by the Georgetown University Center for […]

Boy selling newspapers--black and white photo

Wisconsin newsrooms brace for GateHouse/Gannett merger

By: - October 24, 2019

As a shareholder vote approaches in three and a half weeks, the pending deal that would make Wisconsin’s largest daily newspaper part of the single largest newspaper chain in U.S. history looks like it’s stumbling toward the finish line. And while the two companies, GateHouse and Gannett, have already been cutting employees, observers expect that […]

Pipeline protest bill opponents hope for veto

By: - October 23, 2019

As a controversial bill escalating penalties for trespassing on pipeline sites looks increasingly likely to pass the Wisconsin legislature, critics of the measure are shifting their focus to trying to persuade Gov. Tony Evers to veto it. On Tuesday, a state Senate hearing on the Senate version of the bill, SB 386, was essentially a […]

A man protests against a pumpjack representing the oil industry.

Pipeline protest bill has evolved from state to state

By: - October 18, 2019

Bills like the one pending in Wisconsin have passed several states in various forms.

Factory Worker

Midwest racial gaps grow

By: - October 17, 2019

Industrial expansion and unionization helped improve the lives of many black families even in the face of segregation. When industry declined and unions shrank, their fortunes reversed.

Vice President of the United States Mike Pence speaking at the 2017 Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC)

Pence Wisconsin visit rescheduled for next week

By: - October 16, 2019

The on-again, off-again trip to Wisconsin by Vice President Mike Pence to promote the Trump Administration’s revised trade agreement with Canada and Mexico is on again. Originally scheduled for Thursday, Oct. 17, Pence’s visit to a Kenosha County company owned by Republican megadonors has now been scheduled for Wednesday, Oct. 23. Pence is scheduled to […]