Author

Ruth Conniff is Editor-in-chief of the Wisconsin Examiner. She formerly served as Editor-in-chief of The Progressive Magazine where she worked for many years from both Madison and Washington, DC. Shortly after Donald Trump took office she moved with her family to Oaxaca, Mexico, and covered U.S./Mexico relations, the migrant caravan, and Mexico’s efforts to grapple with Trump. Conniff is a frequent guest on MSNBC and has appeared on Good Morning America, Democracy Now!, Wisconsin Public Radio, CNN, Fox News and many other radio and television outlets. She has also written for The Nation, The New York Times, The Washington Post, and The Los Angeles Times, among other publications. Her book "Milked: How an American Crisis Brought Together Midwestern Dairy Farmers and Mexican Workers" won the 2022 Studs and Ida Terkel Award from The New Press.
Two-thirds of Wisconsin counties support redistricting reform
By: Ruth Conniff - October 1, 2019
On Sept. 17, Sheboygan County became the 48th of Wisconsin’s 72 counties to endorse the idea of creating a nonpartisan process for re-drawing the state’s voting maps. The resolution “affirming the right of all Wisconsin citizens to fair and equal representation” and “requesting the adoption of a nonpartisan process for the preparation of legislative and […]
Rural schools advocate is wary of vouchers
By: Ruth Conniff - September 30, 2019
Kim Kaukl, a retired school principal who lives in the little town of Plain, Wis, about seven miles north of Spring Green, is the executive director of the Wisconsin Rural Schools Alliance. In his frequent trips to Madison, Kaukl talks to state legislators about the plight of rural school districts across the state that are […]
The strange politics of impeachment
By: Ruth Conniff - September 27, 2019
For too long the Democrats have fretted about how it might look to swing voters if they move to impeach President Donald Trump. Will it turn off suburban women or rural white men? Will playing the victim help Trump win another election by energizing his base? Maybe so. But at some point members of Congress […]
Rep. Sean Duffy’s last day—special election date set
By: Ruth Conniff - September 23, 2019
Gov. Tony Evers announced he will order a special election to fill the seat in the 7th Congressional District left open as Rep. Sean Duffy (R-Wausau) officially steps down at 6 p.m. on Monday, Sept 23. The governor issued an executive order setting the election date for Jan. 27, 2020. The primary election, if there […]
Leah Vukmir taunts Gov. Evers with rifle on Twitter
By: Ruth Conniff - September 20, 2019
In a tweet with a photo of herself aiming a hunting rifle, former state Sen. Leah Vukmir, the Republican candidate for Senate who lost to Tammy Baldwin in 2018, tagged Gov. Tony Evers, challenging the governor to “come and take it.” Come and take it, @GovEvers. #2A pic.twitter.com/mbrqnvEuzh — Leah Vukmir (@LeahVukmir) September 20, 2019 […]
‘Our kids are at risk every single day’
By: Ruth Conniff - September 19, 2019
At a rally for common-sense gun laws on the steps of the Capitol,by the Wisconsin Coalition for Gun Safety, Rep. Chris Taylor (D-Madison) urged a crowd of about 150 people to support universal background checks and other measures to stem gun violence. Instead of progress on gun safety, “what I’ve mostly seen in this building […]
Potential mining disaster on the Menominee River?
By: Ruth Conniff - September 18, 2019
Michigan and Wisconsin could face devastating environmental damage if an open-pit mine near Lake Michigan releases toxic waste into the two states’ waterways, Al Gedicks reports in Urban Milwaukee. The planned “Back Forty” metallic sulfide mine, owned by Aquila Resources, a Canadian exploration company, would cover 123 acres next to the Menominee River on the […]
More controversy around vouchers, DeVos
By: Ruth Conniff - September 17, 2019
U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos’s “back-to-school” tour kickoff at a private Milwaukee voucher school triggered a passionate response from public-school advocates and voucher-school defenders alike. In her speech at St. Marcus Lutheran School, DeVos denounced “the education cabal” that “puts other issues above what’s right for students.” DeVos blamed school administrators for wasting money […]
Betsy DeVos’ Milwaukee voucher school visit draws fire
By: Ruth Conniff - September 15, 2019
US Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos is launching a “Back to School” tour on Monday with a visit to a private voucher school in Milwaukee—a city described by The Department of Education in a press release as the “birthplace of education freedom.” “Thanks to the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program, now in its 30th year, thousands […]
F-35 stirs strong reaction in Madison
By: Ruth Conniff - September 13, 2019
The Air National Guard held a public forum on the plan to bring F-35 fighter jets to Madison’s Truax Field on Thursday night at the Exhibition Hall of the Alliant Energy Center. Public comments on the draft environmental impact statement (EIS) prepared by the Air Force are open until Sept. 27. Worried residents of the […]
Knives come out as Tom Tiffany announces for Congress
By: Ruth Conniff - September 11, 2019
On Tuesday, state Sen. Tom Tiffany (R-Minoqua) became the first candidate to announce he is running for the seat vacated by Congressman Sean Duffy (R-Wausau), after Duffy’s surprise announcement that he is stepping down. Tiffany made his announcement at several stops in the 7th Congressional District, the largest in Wisconsin, encompassing 20 counties and most […]
Palmyra residents fight to save their school district
By: Ruth Conniff - September 9, 2019
Last Friday at noon, Tara LeRoy walked into the school district office at the back of the Palmyra-Eagle High School, to turn in petitions with 680 signatures from community members who do not want to see their school district dissolved and their local schools closed permanently at the end of the current school year. A […]