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State crime lab kept up in 2020 despite pandemic
The Wisconsin State Crime Lab (WSCL), like workplaces across the state, was forced to adjust in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. But because of the nature of the lab’s work, many tasks and analyses still needed to be done in person, leading to staggered shifts and adjustments to allow for social distancing. Despite the […]
Young, beginning farmers work to bring small farming back to Wisconsin
Nick Westby dropped out of UW-Oshkosh because he knew what he wanted to do and it didn’t require a college degree in athletic training. In 2018, he and his fiance, Holly Hornback, started OrgaNick Pastures — which he says is Wisconsin’s first certified humane, organic and pasture-raised chicken farm. Across the Dairy State, massive factory […]
Kenosha cop who shot Jacob Blake returns to work
The Kenosha police officer who shot Jacob Blake seven times in the back last August has returned to work from administrative leave, according to a news release. Rusten Sheskey was cleared of criminal wrongdoing by the Kenosha County District Attorney and, according to the release, an internal investigation found he did not violate Kenosha Police […]
DPI finds that Burlington schools failed to address ‘racially hostile environment’
The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (DPI) ruled last week that the Burlington Area School District hasn’t done enough to address a “racially hostile environment” against the district’s students of color. The district now has 30 days to submit a plan that prevents further discrimination, improve the environment, review its policies on reporting and investigation […]
Supreme Court rejects right-wing effort to purge tens of thousands of voters from rolls
In a 5-2 decision, the Wisconsin Supreme Court sided with the Wisconsin Elections Commission (WEC), ruling it did not need to remove tens of thousands of voters from the state’s rolls. At issue in the case is the ERIC Movers list, a database maintained by more than 30 states that is supposed to help elections […]
Van Orden announces a second run against Rep. Kind
Derrick Van Orden, who last year lost to Rep. Ron Kind in the closest race of the congressman’s career, announced Thursday he’d be trying again to unseat Kind from his 3rd Congressional District seat in 2022. Kind is one of a few congressional Democrats who won a seat in 2020 in a district that was […]
Evers’ broadband budget proposal survives Joint Finance hearing largely unscathed
In his proposed 2021-23 budget, Gov. Tony Evers included a massive increase in funding for the state’s broadband expansion program — one of the few Evers initiatives that enjoys bipartisan support. Evers proposal includes spending more than $150 million over two years on grants to help municipalities work with internet service providers to expand access. […]
Money, party support lead to wins in Wisconsin’s nonpartisan races
In several races on the ballot on Tuesday, the support of the state’s political parties and the money that comes with it helped boost nonpartisan candidates into office. Neither major party focused on the same races, allowing each to cruise to wins in their own lanes. In the only statewide race on the ballot, for […]
A year after Wisconsin’s first chaotic pandemic election, lower turnout but smoother process
On Tuesday, Wisconsin held its fifth statewide election since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Wisconsinites are choosing their local representation on city councils, school boards and courts — and in the marquee race, a new superintendent of schools. Last year’s spring election took place just weeks after Gov. Tony Evers instituted a statewide stay-at-home […]
Wisconsin’s contested circuit court races draw nearly $200,000 in 2021
Wisconsin’s circuit court system makes an overwhelming majority of the judicial decisions in the state, yet the money that flows into circuit court elections pales in comparison to races for higher courts. Despite making up just a fraction of the cost of Wisconsin’s supreme court races, the source of funding for the state’s circuit judges […]
Underly calls Kerr ‘transphobic’ over position on youth sports bills
The two candidates for state superintendent continued to swipe at each other from opposite ends of the ideological spectrum in a Milwaukee Press Club forum Thursday, this time over controversial bills that would prohibit transgender girls from participating in youth sports. In a nominally nonpartisan race, Deborah Kerr, former superintendent of Brown Deer Schools, is […]
Trans judicial candidate, ignored by incumbent and harassed by right wing groups, wants to focus on local issues
Green Bay City Attorney Rachel Maes says she decided to run for Judge Kendall Kelley’s seat on the Brown County Circuit Court after frustrating experiences arguing a case in his courtroom. In her campaign, she says if elected she’ll work to reduce the racial disparities in Wisconsin’s prisons, cut down a backlog in cases and […]