News
Nonprofit status of group pushing for Wisconsin wolf hunts may not be valid
Update: This article was published on Wednesday morning, Hunter Nation officials did not respond to requests for comment until Thursday afternoon. We have now updated it with their comments throughout. The hunters’ rights advocacy organization heavily involved in pushing to hold wolf hunts in Wisconsin and other intense fights over the state’s conservation policy claims […]
Some BadgerCare participants might need new insurance when health emergency ends
While the COVID-19 pandemic continues — and with it a federal health emergency — Wisconsin’s 1.5 million Medicaid recipients have guaranteed coverage. When the emergency expires, they and the people who run the program will confront a new challenge: making sure everyone stays covered. After the federal public health emergency was declared in early 2020, […]
Republicans invite critical race theory evangelist for hearing on education bills
Months after they were first introduced, Republicans in the Wisconsin Legislature are set to hold a hearing Wednesday on a slate of bills meant to prevent so-called critical race theory from being taught in schools. At the hearing, the activist responsible for injecting the academic theory into the public consciousness this summer is scheduled to […]
‘The virus is not tired of us’ — COVID-19 surge continues in Wisconsin
New cases of COVID-19 took another jump over the weekend, according to data posted Monday by the state Department of Health Services (DHS), and public health officials acknowledged that the latest numbers might be undercounting cases. The lag in reporting some data is due to “a system performance issue” DHS states in a message posted […]
Poor People’s Campaign takes on Manchin on voting rights
The Poor People’s Campaign is taking on Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.). Manchin, whose support progressives finally won for a major voting rights bill, has joined Republicans in supporting restrictive voter ID measures and is a defender of the the filibuster, which could doom the very voting-rights bill he just agreed to join. Manchin is also […]
Struggle over tax break for inherited farmland churns below surface in reconciliation bill
WASHINGTON—Agricultural groups and farm-state lawmakers notched a significant win when U.S. House Democrats chose not to touch a big tax break for inherited property, avoiding for now a confrontation. But opponents remain wary that the idea could come back at any time as Democrats shape their massive $3.5 trillion budget reconciliation package, and search for ways […]
Immigration reform blocked from reconciliation bill in Congress, but Democrats vow to try again
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate parliamentarian has turned down a plan to include a pathway to citizenship for millions of undocumented people in the $3.5 trillion reconciliation package, a blow for Democrats and immigration advocacy groups when the decision was disclosed late Sunday. “We are deeply disappointed in this decision but the fight to provide […]
Communities near Fort McCoy work to welcome Afghan refugees
On the highway between Fort McCoy — where thousands of Afghan refugees have been temporarily living for the last month — and the city of Sparta, a hand painted sign in blue and white says “Fuhrer Biden,” except the “i” in Biden is a swastika. The two communities next door to the U.S. Army base, […]
GOP Legislature’s fall agenda: pummel Evers in a culture war
Wisconsin Republicans set the stage last week for the fall session by painting a clear picture of how governing and campaigning will take shape into 2022, despite partisan elections being more than a year away. While redistricting — drawing new political maps based on the 2020 census — has taken center stage of late, and […]
Jim Crow tactics reborn in Texas abortion law
The new Texas law that bans most abortions uses a method employed by Texas and other states to enforce racist Jim Crow laws in the 19th and 20th centuries that aimed to disenfranchise African Americans. Rather than giving state officials, such as the police, the power to enforce the law, the Texas law instead allows […]
Circuit Court rules Natural Resources Board chair can remain in seat
A Dane County Circuit Court judge ruled on Friday that Frederick Prehn can remain in his seat as chair of the Natural Resources Board (NRB). Prehn has refused to give up his seat since his term expired on May 1, saying state law allows him to hold on until his replacement, already nominated by Gov. […]
Environmental groups can file brief, but not join WMC lawsuit against hazardous contamination law
A Waukesha County judge will allow a group of environmental organizations to file a “friend of the court” brief in a lawsuit brought by Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce (WMC), the state’s largest business lobbying group, against the Department of Natural Resources (DNR). The WMC lawsuit challenges Wisconsin’s “spills law,” which forces anyone who is responsible […]