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Communities near Fort McCoy work to welcome Afghan refugees
On the highway between Fort McCoy — where thousands of Afghan refugees have been temporarily living for the last month — and the city of Sparta, a hand painted sign in blue and white says “Fuhrer Biden,” except the “i” in Biden is a swastika. The two communities next door to the U.S. Army base, […]
Circuit Court rules Natural Resources Board chair can remain in seat
A Dane County Circuit Court judge ruled on Friday that Frederick Prehn can remain in his seat as chair of the Natural Resources Board (NRB). Prehn has refused to give up his seat since his term expired on May 1, saying state law allows him to hold on until his replacement, already nominated by Gov. […]
Environmental groups can file brief, but not join WMC lawsuit against hazardous contamination law
A Waukesha County judge will allow a group of environmental organizations to file a “friend of the court” brief in a lawsuit brought by Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce (WMC), the state’s largest business lobbying group, against the Department of Natural Resources (DNR). The WMC lawsuit challenges Wisconsin’s “spills law,” which forces anyone who is responsible […]
Federal court ready to draw new maps if Evers, Legislature fail
A panel of three federal judges denied a request from Republican lawmakers to dismiss two lawsuits that seek to have a federal court draw new maps for legislative districts. The panel’s order, released on Thursday, states that if Gov. Tony Evers and Republican leadership can’t reach a compromise on the redistricting process — an outcome […]
Rural policymakers, leaders look for long term answers for economic growth
Leaders and officials in Wisconsin’s rural communities must be creative and work together to turn around decades of decline and build sustainable local economies, experts said at a WisPolitics event held in La Crosse on Tuesday. The results of Wisconsin’s 2020 census show declining populations in many rural areas and a 4% decrease in the […]
Evers, Kaul get involved in federal redistricting battle
Gov. Tony Evers and Attorney General Josh Kaul argued in a motion filed Monday in federal court that Evers, like the Republican-led Legislature, has a right to weigh in on a federal lawsuit over the state’s new legislative maps. The lawsuit, which was brought last month by a group of voters represented by a prominent […]
Natural Resources Board won’t hold September meeting amid succession fight
The September meeting of the Natural Resources Board (NRB) has been canceled after the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) said it had no pending agenda items that required the board’s action. The cancellation comes as the board has been in the middle of a game of political tug-of-war between current chair Fred Prehn and the […]
Wisconsin alcohol consumption jumps during pandemic
Wisconsin, one of the heaviest drinking states in the country, consumed even more alcohol than normal during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a report released this week. State tax revenues on beer, wine, cider and liquor jumped by nearly 17% during the 2021 fiscal year, which ended June 30, according to a report from the […]
Nass asks Republican leadership to sue UW System over COVID mask mandates
Steve Nass (R-Whitewater) wants to pick a fight with Tommy Thompson. Last month, Nass and his fellow Republicans on the Joint Committee for the Review of Administrative Rules passed a motion attempting to force all UW System COVID-19 policies to first be approved by the committee. Thompson, the interim president of the UW System and […]
Court battles over Wisconsin redistricting heat up
The legal wrangling in multiple lawsuits brought by liberal and conservatives groups has intensified in recent days as activists fight over how the state’s new legislative districts will be drawn and who will draw them. Several lawsuits have already been filed in state and federal court in anticipation of Gov. Tony Evers and the Republican-led […]
A hike and a fight: Northwoods residents say DNR is violating its logging rules
Last year, John Schwarzmann and Ardis Berghoff were hiking near Whitney Lake close to Berghoff’s home in the Northern Highland-American Legion (NHAL) State Forest in Vilas County when they noticed paint on a number of trees — a sign that the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) planned to auction off the trees for a […]
Prehn gets new judge in lawsuit to boot him from seat
Fred Prehn, the embattled chair of the Natural Resources Board, will have a new judge assigned to the lawsuit seeking to remove him from his post. Prehn’s six year term on the board expired on May 1 but he has refused to leave, saying he can stay in power until his replacement — who has […]