Wisconsin Elections Commission: Turnout information for April 4 Spring Election

Contact: Reid Magney (608) 267-7887 MADISON, WI – Voter turnout for Tuesday’s Spring Election could range between 13 percent and 18 percent of voting-age residents, according to the Wisconsin Elections Commission. Going back to 2000, the average turnout in the last 11 Spring Elections with statewide contests (not including presidential preferences primaries) is 19.3 percent. However, since 2000 there have been just two Spring Elections similar to this one: a contested race for Superintendent of Public Instruction and a Supreme Court Justice running unopposed. In 2001, turnout was 13.74 percent when the race for superintendent was Elizabeth Burmaster versus Linda

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MON PM Update: Lawmakers consider working off agencies’ base budgets instead of Walker’s plan

Exclusively for WisPolitics Subscribers From WisPolitics.com … — The Joint Finance Committee co-chairs said today lawmakers haven’t yet decided whether they’ll work off agencies’ base budgets or instead make changes to Gov. Scott Walker’s budget proposal, as they’ve done in the past. Walker, meanwhile, called on lawmakers to work from his K-12 education budget rather than scrapping the plan … Please log in to access subscriber content. If you don’t have a subscription, click here for a WisPolitics free trial and to view the different subscription options. Username or E-mail Password * Remember Me     Forgot Password

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Citizens sound off on several budget items at JFC hearing

Citizens today pressed JFC members on a wide range of budget items, including boosting funding for K-12 and increasing Medicaid reimbursement rates. Lawmakers heard testimony from several Wisconsin Public Education Network members, who wore green shirts saying “Go Public” and decried the growth in school vouchers. Some of them said while Gov. Scott Walker’s proposed $649 million increase for K-12 … Please log in to access subscriber content. If you don’t have a subscription, click here for a WisPolitics free trial and to view the different subscription options.

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UW-Milwaukee: Awarded $2.3 million to study autism/air pollution connection

Contact: Amy Kalkbrenner (414) 227-3156 kalkbren@uwm.edu MILWAUKEE_Could air pollution from traffic play a role in whether a child develops autism or ADHD? A team of investigators led by UWM epidemiologist Amy Kalkbrenner has landed a $2.3 million grant from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences to further explore this connection. Scientists know that children’s exposure to chemicals in the environment influences whether they will develop these disorders, and several recent studies have implicated air pollution from vehicles. But questions remain about the biology behind how air pollutants can harm the developing brain, and whether some children may be more

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AG Schimel: Appoints Brian O’Keefe Division of Criminal Investigation Administrator

Madison, Wis. – Today, Attorney General Brad Schimel announced the appointment of Brian O’Keefe to Administrator of the Wisconsin Department of Justice (DOJ) Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI). “Anybody who has worked with Brian knows his passion for law enforcement and public safety,” said Attorney General Schimel. “As DCI Administrator, Brian will provide the highest caliber assistance and… Please log in to access subscriber content. If you don’t have a subscription, click here for a WisPolitics free trial and to view the different subscription options.

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UW-Madison Carbone Cancer Center: Another step towards personalized cancer therapy?

Contact: Susan Lampert Smith (608) 890-5643 ssmith5@uwhealth.org Madison, Wis. — Among patients with high-risk neuroblastoma, those with certain genetic markers gained substantial benefit from adding immunotherapy to their treatment, according to results from UW Carbone Cancer Center researchers. The results from a randomized clinical trial were presented at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting 2017, April 1-5. Neuroblastoma is a type of cancer often found in the adrenal glands and other sites. Previously reported data from the clinical trial, which involved 226 patients, showed that immunotherapy, in the form of three particular drugs in addition to the

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Republican Party of Wisconsin: Democrats defined by years of protest and disarray throughout Wisconsin

Contact: Alec Zimmerman (608) 257-4765 [Madison, WI]— Headed into Tuesday’s election, Wisconsin Democrats’ disarray was highlighted by The Wall Street Journal.  Democrats in Wisconsin continue to try and obstruct Governor Walker’s reforms for hard-working families.  Voters have rejected them so many times that, according to their own words, they lack the basic infrastructure that can tell liberal candidates, “we can help you.”  This article comes on the heels of three high-profile prospective Democratic candidates announcing they would not run for governor in 2018. Read the full commentary from the Wall Street Journal below or online here. Wisconsin Democrats Are Still Paying

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Chabad Community Passover Seders

[Milwaukee, WI] -Few Jewish holidays evoke the same warm sentiments as Passover. Memories of family and friends gathered as the four cups of wine are poured, the four questions asked and the Matzah served, all contribute to Passover’s popularity in the Jewish community. Bringing the warmth and tradition of this festival to the Milwaukee Community, Chabad of the East Side is inviting all residents to participate in community Seders to be held on Monday night, April 10, and again on Tuesday night, April 11. The Seders take participants through the wondrous liberation of our ancestors from Egyptian bondage, while sharing

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WisDOT: April is National Distracted Driving Awareness Month

Contact: David Pabst, Director of the Bureau of Transportation Safety (608) 709-0055 david.pabst@dot.wi.gov Kaitlyn Vegter was driving to Janesville in January 2016 on a clear straight highway.  She reached down to change the music on her smart phone and took her eyes off the road just for a few seconds when her life suddenly changed forever.  Traveling at highway speed, her car slammed into the back of a pay loader that was turning into a farm driveway. Defying the odds, she survived the crash but suffered extensive injuries that required her to relearn how to walk, talk and even eat.

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UW-Madison School of Medicine and Public Health: Silent strokes impair seniors’ cognitive abilities

Contact: Susan Lampert Smith (608) 890-5643 ssmith5@uwhealth.org MADISON, Wis. — The sound of a chirp, like that in a video game, can help identify people at risk of cognitive decline. A new University of Wisconsin-Madison study in the Journal of Neurosurgery is the first to be able to predict which patients are at risk of such decline caused by small, silent strokes. People with unstable plaque in their carotid arteries scored poorly on cognitive tests and their brains showed evidence of suffering many so-called silent strokes. Plaque is the substance that can build up and gradually block key blood vessels

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One Wisconsin Now: Will U.S. Senator Ron Johnson put patriotism before partisan political power play?

Contact: Mike Browne, Deputy Director mike@OneWisconsinNow.org (608) 444-3483 MADISON, Wis. — For nearly an entire year, U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson and his Washington D.C. Republican colleagues refused to do their jobs and give a hearing or a vote to President Barack Obama’s nominee to fill a vacancy on the United States Supreme Court. Now with Republicans poised to change the rules of the Senate because Donald Trump’s nomination of right wing jurist Neil Gorsuch is falling short of the 60 vote threshold, the question is, will Johnson fall in line with the partisan power play of his Washington D.C. leadership or

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Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources: Continues to implement its CWD Response Plan

Contact: Bob Nack, DNR Big Game Section Chief (608) 264-6137 MADISON – Following a review of its 15-year Chronic Wasting Disease Response Plan, the Department of Natural Resources will continue to work on existing action items and implement new recommendations received during the review process. The CWD Response Plan covers action items like surveillance and monitoring, education and outreach, biosecurity and safety, research, and public involvement. Over the past several months, DNR, the Department of Agriculture, Trade, and Consumer Protection, and Wisconsin Conservation Congress worked closely with a stakeholder-based CWD Response Plan review committee to discuss and review the response

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Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources: Commitment from Wisconsin’s hunters leads to increase in CWD samples received in 2016

Contact: Tami Ryan, DNR Wildlife Health Section Chief (608) 266-3143 MADISON — The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources sampled more than 6,000 deer for chronic wasting disease statewide in 2016, nearly doubling the number tested in 2015. There were 447 positive detections, primarily within the endemic area in southern Wisconsin. The number of deer sampled, analyzed and determined positive for CWD by each management zone is as follows: Central Farmland Zone: 1,230 sampled, 1 positive; Central Forest Zone: 533 sampled, 4 positives; Northern Forest Zone: 578 sampled, 0 positive; and Southern Farmland Zone: 3,708 sampled, 442 positives. In 2016, focus

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Citizens sound off on several budget items at JFC hearing

Citizens today pressed JFC members on a wide range of budget items, including boosting funding for K-12 and increasing Medicaid reimbursement rates. Lawmakers heard testimony from several Wisconsin Public Education Network members, who wore green shirts saying “Go Public” and decried the growth in school vouchers. Some of them said

Read More »

Chabad Community Passover Seders

[Milwaukee, WI] -Few Jewish holidays evoke the same warm sentiments as Passover. Memories of family and friends gathered as the four cups of wine are poured, the four questions asked and the Matzah served, all contribute to Passover’s popularity in the Jewish community. Bringing the warmth and tradition of this

Read More »

WisDOT: April is National Distracted Driving Awareness Month

Contact: David Pabst, Director of the Bureau of Transportation Safety (608) 709-0055 david.pabst@dot.wi.gov Kaitlyn Vegter was driving to Janesville in January 2016 on a clear straight highway.  She reached down to change the music on her smart phone and took her eyes off the road just for a few seconds

Read More »

Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources: Commitment from Wisconsin’s hunters leads to increase in CWD samples received in 2016

Contact: Tami Ryan, DNR Wildlife Health Section Chief (608) 266-3143 MADISON — The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources sampled more than 6,000 deer for chronic wasting disease statewide in 2016, nearly doubling the number tested in 2015. There were 447 positive detections, primarily within the endemic area in southern Wisconsin.

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