Politics & Government
‘Students learn here’: Richland Center residents make plea to save campus
The Pippin Conference Center at Melvill Hall on UW-Richland’s campus was packed to the brim Thursday evening as community members, current and former faculty and students made their emotion-filled case to keep in-person instruction on the campus. Late last year, UW System President Jay Rothman announced that UW-Richland, now the smallest of the system’s two-year […]
White House launches new push to help states remove lead pipes that carry drinking water
WASHINGTON — The White House on Friday announced plans to speed up the use of infrastructure law funds to replace lead pipes in underserved communities, with a focus on Connecticut, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin beginning this year. The four states, each led by Democratic governors, will be part of what’s called the Lead Service […]
North Carolina legislative staffer with Wisconsin ties, history of extremist views, resigns
Carlton Huffman had a long record of espousing controversial views about race, immigrants, and North Carolina history before he started a job with the General Assembly earlier this month. According to an online staff listing, Huffman, who previously worked for the Republican Party of Wisconsin and was political director for Fond du Lac County District […]
Public lands near Minnesota’s Boundary Waters withdrawn from federal mining leases
WASHINGTON — After more than a year of assessment and debate, the U.S. Department of the Interior on Thursday announced the withdrawal of more than 225,000 acres of public lands near the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness in Minnesota from federal mine leasing programs. Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland signed Public Land Order 7917, […]
Teachers would get $60K minimum salary under bill in Congress making grants to states
WASHINGTON – A panel of policymakers and educators, including author Dave Eggers and former U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, gathered at the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday to promote the American Teacher Act. The bill, if passed, would authorize the federal government to create four-year grants for states to enact and enforce minimum school teacher […]
Spending on AG, secretary of state races skyrocketed in 2022, finance watchdog reports
Both the 2022 race for Wisconsin attorney general and the usually low-key contest for secretary of state broke campaign spending records, the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign reported this week, with outside funding driving much of that spending surge. “This is how it’s going in Wisconsin these days,” said Matt Rothschild, the campaign finance watchdog group’s executive […]
Democrats in Congress condemn Biden administration expansion of Title 42
WASHINGTON — Nearly 80 Democratic members of Congress including Wisconsin Reps. Gwen Moore and Mark Pocan sent a letter to the White House expressing their “great concern” that the Biden administration is walking back on its promise to restore migrants’ access to asylum. In the letter, they also condemned the administration’s expansion of a controversial […]
Tax analyst says flat-rate system will benefit wealthy at the expense of the majority
The wealthiest Wisconsin residents already pay a smaller share of their incomes in state taxes than the rest of the population, and replacing the state’s current graduated-rate income tax structure with a flat tax would increase that disparity, a national tax expert says. “The most common way that tax equity is evaluated is looking at […]
Natural Resources Board discusses water quality, bear management in first meeting with new members
In its first meeting in nearly two years without a member holding onto his seat long past its expiration, the Wisconsin Natural Resources Board approved new water quality standards and the 2023 bear harvest quota without the acrimony that has shaken the state’s conservation policy making since 2021. The meeting Wednesday was the first in […]
U.S. House GOP takes aim at fake pills containing deadly fentanyl sold on social media
WASHINGTON — On a June 2020 morning, Amy Neville entered her son’s bedroom to wake him for an orthodontist appointment. Fourteen-year-old Alex didn’t wake up. He died of fentanyl poisoning after taking a counterfeit pill he bought from someone he met on Snapchat, Neville told GOP lawmakers Wednesday during a roundtable discussion of the role […]
Wave of mass shootings prompts Biden to call yet again for assault weapons ban
WASHINGTON — Following a mass shooting on the eve of Lunar New Year in which 11 people in a predominantly Asian neighborhood in California were killed, President Joe Biden again urged Congress to pass legislation banning assault weapons. Communities across America “have been struck by tragedy after tragedy, including mass shootings from Colorado Springs to […]
Biden, Democrats to U.S. House Republicans: Show us your debt limit plan
WASHINGTON — Democratic leaders huddled with President Joe Biden at the White House on Tuesday, ahead of what will be a tumultuous few months, with lawmakers sharply divided on the debt limit and short on time. “I have no intention of letting the Republicans wreck our economy, nor does anybody around this table,” Biden said […]