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Republicans move to force Protasiewicz off redistricting lawsuits
Republican lawmakers have filed motions in two lawsuits against Wisconsin’s political maps seeking to have liberal-leaning Justice Janet Protasiewicz recuse herself from weighing in on any aspects of the cases. Shortly after Protasiewicz was sworn in, shifting control of the court from a conservative to a liberal majority, the two lawsuits were filed seeking to […]
Evers appointees to Natural Resources Board questioned on wolf hunting by Senate committee
Three of Gov. Tony Evers’ appointees to the Wisconsin Natural Resources Board (NRB) attended public hearings Wednesday where members of a Senate committee questioned them about some of the state’s thorniest conservation issues. The seven-member NRB sets policies for the state Department of Natural Resources, weighing in on important issues such as wolf hunting and […]
UW-Parkside, UW-Platteville consider staff furloughs amid budget shortfalls
UW-Parkside and UW-Platteville announced on Monday they’re considering staff furloughs as both schools try to handle multi-million dollar budget shortfalls that are expected by the end of the fiscal year. Platteville’s shortfall is projected to be $9.7 million and Parkside’s is $4 million, the universities’ chancellors said in Monday emails to staff. The announcements came […]
More than two dozen Wisconsin dog breeders have been cited by feds this year
Wisconsin ranks No. 4 for the number of dog breeders in the state cited by the U.S. Department of Agriculture for violations of health and safety rules so far this year, according to reports compiled by Bailing Out Benji, an Iowa-based animal welfare organization. The reports cover the first six months of 2023. With 28 […]
Eau Claire files lawsuit against PFAS manufacturers
The City of Eau Claire filed a lawsuit Monday against more than 30 manufacturers of products containing harmful “forever chemicals,” stating in a press release that the companies, not the public, should pay to clean up the contamination the chemicals have caused to public drinking water. In a news release, city officials said that the […]
Town of Stella residents sue paper mill over extreme levels of PFAS contamination
Residents of a small Oneida County town where nearly 50 residences are under public health advisories for contamination from so-called “forever chemicals” filed a lawsuit earlier this month against the paper mill they say is responsible for the pollution. Four residents of the Town of Stella filed a suit against the Ahlstrom-Munksjö Rhinelander plant last […]
Wedding barn owners still worried alcohol law rewrite will kill their business
A bill to rewrite Wisconsin’s liquor licensing laws that lawmakers tout as a necessary but fragile compromise between the state’s liquor manufacturers, wholesalers and retailers got a public hearing in the Senate on Thursday. Owners of “wedding barns” across the state remain worried that new regulations on their businesses could shut them down. The bill, […]
WEC takes no action as it questions how to handle Senate hearing for administrator reappointment
The legal limbo of Wisconsin Elections Commission Administrator Meagan Wolfe’s reappointment was put to the test Wednesday as the body considered whether or not she should attend a planned confirmation hearing. Wolfe’s initial four-year term expired this summer. In late June, the commission held a meeting to nominate her for a second term in her […]
Two Wisconsinites named in Georgia indictment of Trump
The chairman of the Wisconsin Republican Party and the lawyer who led former President Donald Trump’s litigation against the results of the 2020 election in the state were named in the indictment of Trump and several members of his inner circle filed in Fulton County, Georgia on Monday. The 98-page indictment includes references to Brian […]
Dane Co. judge denies Legislature’s request to dismiss lawsuit over absentee ballot witnesses
A Dane County judge on Monday denied a request from Republican legislators to dismiss a lawsuit seeking to overturn guidance from the Wisconsin Elections Commission on required components of witnesses’ addresses on absentee ballot certification envelopes. The lawsuit was brought last year by Rise, Inc., a nonprofit organization which mobilizes young voters, after a Waukesha […]
Nearly 50 residences in Town of Stella under PFAS health advisories
The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and Department of Health Services (DHS) have placed 47 private wells in and around the Oneida County Town of Stella under health advisories due to the presence of harmful chemicals known as PFAS. In January, the DNR announced that after one well in the area was randomly sampled […]
Vos says Republicans may consider impeaching Protasiewicz over redistricting comments
Wisconsin Assembly Speaker Robin Vos (R-Rochester) said last week that Republican lawmakers could consider impeaching recently sworn in Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Janet Protasiewicz if she doesn’t recuse herself from lawsuits challenging the state’s political boundaries. Vos and Republicans have regularly criticized Protasiewicz for stating during her campaign this spring that the state’s legislative maps […]