Politics & Government

COMMENTARY
WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 06: Protesters enter the Senate Chamber. Congress held a joint session to ratify President-elect Joe Biden's 306-232 Electoral College win over President Donald Trump. Pro-Trump protesters entered the U.S. Capitol building after mass demonstrations in the nation's capital. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)

Clear and present danger

BY: - January 15, 2021

When Law Forward  launched in October with the goal of reversing the right-wing assault on democracy, there was “skepticism about how real these threats to our democracy are,” says Jeffrey Mandell, one of the founding attorneys at Wisconsin’s new progressive, nonprofit law firm Since then, a violent mob, incited by President Donald Trump, has rampaged […]

Wisconsin Supreme Court Chamber, State Capitol Building, Madison

Wisconsin justices skeptical of conservative redistricting proposal

BY: - January 15, 2021

Members of both the conservative and liberal wings of the Wisconsin Supreme Court seemed skeptical of a rule change, proposed by the conservative Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty (WILL), that would fast-track disputes over redistricting straight to the state’s highest court. The justices’ skepticism came on both ideological and practical grounds.  Every ten years, […]

WILMINGTON, DELAWARE - JANUARY 11: President-elect Joe Biden receives the second dose of the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccination from Chief Nurse Executive Ric Cuming at ChristianaCare Christiana Hospital. Biden received the second dose of the coronavirus vaccine three weeks after his first dose, received a few days before Christmas. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)

Biden rolls out $1.9 trillion emergency package to battle pandemic and economic crises

BY: - January 15, 2021

WASHINGTON — President-elect Joe Biden is calling on Congress to approve a sweeping package for economic and pandemic relief with a price tag twice that of the emergency aid passed in December after months of acrimonious negotiations. Biden’s $1.9 trillion proposal, which he outlined in a speech Thursday evening, is framed around boosting funding in […]

Hintz calls for removal of Republicans from elections committee who “promote the lie that the presidential election was stolen”

BY: - January 14, 2021

Assembly Democratic leader Gordon Hintz is calling on Speaker Robin Vos to remove the members of the Assembly Committee on Campaigns and Elections who sent a letter “replete with false narratives impugning the integrity of Wisconsin’s election” to Vice President Mike Pence asking that he not permit the election results to be certified declaring Joe […]

Rep. Tom Tiffany

Rep. Tiffany condemned Capitol violence, but appeared at closed-door rally with radio host calling for ‘war’

BY: - January 14, 2021

Just days after the U.S. Capitol was attacked by pro-Trump insurrectionists, Rep. Tom Tiffany appeared at a closed-door rally in Wausau that featured inflammatory speeches from right-wing radio host Vicki McKenna and other far-right Republicans.  Tiffany condemned the Jan. 6 violence but still voted to overturn the results of November’s presidential election, even after the […]

Vice President Mike Pence participates in a roundtable with executives in the State Dining Room of the White House Wednesday, April 29, 2020, to discuss a plan to reopen America. (Official White House Photo by Andrea Hanks)

These 15 state legislators asked Pence not to certify election results

BY: - January 14, 2021

One day before a violent mob stormed the U.S. Capitol falsely claiming that Donald Trump was being denied his rightful victory in the presidential election due to rampant fraud, a group of Wisconsin state legislators sent a letter to Vice President Mike Pence asking that the results of the presidential election not be certified. In […]

WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 06: Thousands of Donald Trump supporters storm the United States Capitol building following a "Stop the Steal" rally on January 06, 2021 in Washington, DC. The protesters stormed the historic building, breaking windows and clashing with police. Trump supporters had gathered in the nation's capital to protest the ratification of President-elect Joe Biden's Electoral College victory over President Trump in the 2020 election. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

U.S. House votes to again impeach Trump, as a ‘clear and present danger’

BY: and - January 13, 2021

WASHINGTON — The U.S. House voted Wednesday to impeach President Donald Trump for a second time, charging him with inciting violent rioters last week who rampaged through the U.S. Capitol, temporarily derailing the tally of presidential votes and leading to at least five deaths. The 232-197 vote concluded a swift, truncated process in the House, […]

Wauwatosa Police Chief Barry Weber. (Photo | Isiah Holmes)

Wauwatosa Mayor Dennis McBride named as ‘target’ by police

BY: - January 13, 2021

Wauwatosa Mayor Dennis McBride was identified as a “higher value target” by his own police department, according to an internal PowerPoint presentation created by Wauwatosa police. The PowerPoint, sent in an email on Sep. 1, 2020, was forwarded by a member of the department’s Special Operations Group (SOG) to a supervisor in the department’s Investigative […]

Gov. Tony Evers gives his State of the State speech 1/12/21 (screenshot via YouTube)

Evers forecasts his plans for governing beyond COVID

BY: - January 13, 2021

Gov. Tony Evers paused his 2021 State of the State speech to ask everyone who tuned in to observe a moment of silent remembrance for the more than 5,000 Wisconsinites who have died from COVID-19 over the past year. “When I delivered my last State of the State address, no one could have predicted the […]

Evers, Senate Republicans reach a deal on COVID-19 bill

BY: - January 12, 2021

With a surprise last-minute deal, the state Senate passed its slimmed-down legislation responding to the COVID-19 pandemic with only two dissenting votes Tuesday, teeing it up for the Assembly to pass and Gov. Tony Evers to sign. The bill won Evers’ support after an amendment was added that narrowed the centerpiece of the bill — […]

Kevin Loftus

Wisconsin man arrested for entering U.S. Capitol during riots

BY: - January 12, 2021

An Eau Claire man was arrested Tuesday for going into the U.S. Capitol during the violent riots on Jan. 6.  Kevin Daniel Loftus, 52, posted photos online of himself in the Capitol as it was being attacked. He faces two federal misdemeanor charges for knowingly entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds, and […]

Vaccine vials at UW

With few pharmacies, Wisconsin’s rural counties are forced to get creative to administer COVID vaccines

BY: - January 12, 2021

Florence County is one of just 110 counties nationwide without a retail pharmacy capable of providing immunization services. Five other rural counties in Wisconsin have just one such pharmacy.  The availability of several COVID-19 vaccine access points will be important for immunizing people in the hard-to-reach rural corners of the country, yet hundreds of counties […]