Opinion

Leadership of both political parties—Republicans and Democrats—are to blame for continuing to let down rural Wisconsin farmers whose livestock is in danger from an out-of-control wolf population.

The Wisconsin Idea to us is the conviction that science, discovery and innovation can improve our lives individually and collectively as a community. It's about combining exceptional patient care with innovative technologies, and encouraging people and organizations to think broadly about where they can collaborate to improve the state of Wisconsin as a whole.

This move is the university recognizing the direction in which the world is headed. By expanding the STEM programs, it appears to be taking the steps to remain in the current era.

We have launched a tradition of working with a forward vision and shared goals, with the water agreement serving as a foundation for future successful collaboration. As a region we are in this together, and we invite our citizens and everyone to join us in building a collaborative future together.

On economics and foreign policy, U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson displays two faces.

It is not just because Ryan will never support gun control or stymies consideration of limited reforms. Ryan does not get it that he is Speaker of the entire House of Representatives. Nor does he seem to understand that he helps lead an equal, separate branch of government.

Gov. Scott Walker’s antics make many voters cynical about politicians.

High court contender Michael Screnock says his rival, Rebecca Dallet,is a judicial activist and he’s not. Really?

Last year, Congress repealed the individual mandate tax penalty, leaving only the unconstitutional mandate. This change rendered the individual mandate unconstitutional under Justice Roberts’ reasoning in the Supreme Court upholding the law. After all, the mandate no longer raises “some revenue.” And without the mandate, the rest of the law falls.

On March 22, 2017, the unimaginable happened in Rothschild, Wisconsin, just outside of Wausau. Four people were murdered by a man who went on a rampage. The tight-knit Wausau community was devastated, and is still focusing on healing, grieving, and honoring the deceased victims of this unthinkable tragedy.

Her past views against abortion and birth control haunt her campaign.

Evidence shows he had Milwaukee cops digging for dirt on MaryNell Regan. Why?

$4.1 billion handout will deliver even less benefits, more costs than imagined.

95th richest person on the globe accused of systematically chiseling his workers.

Despite “sunset,” taxpayers will subsidize stadium until 2040, with total costs unknown.

Not doing special elections hasn’t saved money, it’s actually cost taxpayers. A lot.

The governor spends billions to build yesterday’s economy.

Look carefully. Both candidates are not what they claim to be.

Companies aren't delivering -- and never promised -- the salary hikes Republicans touted.

Even disenfranchising Republican voters is okay if it means more GOP victories.

North Division controversy raises issue: which schools best serve low-income black students?

New report points to problems, which can be seen nationally and in Wisconsin.

What can Milwaukee learn from from losing its bid for Amazon’s headquarters?

To be smart in today’s Smart Manufacturing environment, one must be prepared to understand the complex industrial and information technology systems that drive production lines within manufacturing companies.

To make our communities safer and reduce recidivism, we must not automatically and reflexively just “build more prisons.” To be sure, some people have committed crimes that necessitate prison sentences. But for many others, probation and alternative-to-incarceration programs are excellent options because they can effectively hold people accountable, reform them into productive citizens again, and help to reduce an enormous burden on taxpayers.

The Wisconsin experience shows us that worker freedom means smaller, less powerful unions. It also shows us that government will continue to function and students will continue to learn and thrive.

Perhaps you've noticed that members of Congress have had a hard time explaining their own agenda amid the media vacuum created by President Donald Trump. To rectify this, I have drafted a sample form letter every Republican congressperson can send to his or her constituents to explain what they really think.

Legislation based on fleeting headlines is almost always a bad idea. Instead, we should offer politicians a new challenge: Post a video of yourselves resisting the temptation to grandstand.

VoteVets group running ads backing Baldwin funded by unions, environmental groups.

While the amount of data campaigns are collecting on voters in the Internet age is alarming, it is hardly surprising. Social media users who think their personal information isn’t already being swapped all over the world are deluding themselves, and Cambridge Analytica is simply the natural progression of an oversharing culture.

As the Wisconsin Democratic gubernatorial carnival rolls from town to town, it appears Walker’s only serious opponent is Donald Trump.

Dallet has said she believes outside money has “bought and paid for” Supreme Court elections. If that is true, now that Eric Holder has written a big check, Democrats looking for favorable redistricting maps are holding a receipt with her name on it.

The Thompson Center’s goal isn’t to be a conservative safe space, it is simply to ensure that some conservative voices are heard on campus.

The Wisconsin Idea reminds us that, with collaboration and innovation, we have the ability to change the world by matching academic interest with a real need.

If government agencies are not held accountable, small procedural oversteps can become large abuses of power. That’s why it matters that Wisconsin’s education agency has failed in at least seven places to follow the required administrative rule-making process for a proposed regulation.

We believe that living the Wisconsin Idea is about using our skills at the university as inventors and engineers and in the trades as machinists, electricians and other specialties to revitalize Wisconsin's industrial heritage in a modern context.

For too long, we've been putting a bandage over the gaping wound of outdated pricing systems that are not sustainable and that are no longer serving our farm families. That's why next week Wisconsin Farmers Union will be bringing farmers together to work toward change.

Walker thought Foxconn would be a home run for his reelection prospects when it was announced last summer. But it turns out that voters are more than a little skeptical of the $3 billion state taxpayer giveaway and the free pass on environmental regulations.

Among politicians, it’s called earned media. And one way to earn media is through political stunts.

It’s an uphill battle for those fighting an amendment to eliminate the state treasurer’s office. It’s always hard when you are trying to convince someone that they really need to keep something they didn’t know they had.

The NRA’s worldview of armed teachers and hardened targets and endless bloodshed spilled on the altar of an insane absolutist view of gun rights is dangerous enough when practiced by the slim minority of citizens who are gun zealots. When that point of view is shared by a state’s chief law enforcement officer, it raises the question of whether he’s fit for his job. Answer: he isn’t.

Those "too big to fail" banks are among the biggest winners in Donald Trump's tax cut law that will put the United States another $1.5 trillion in debt while the country's infrastructure continues to deteriorate and programs like Social Security and Medicare are treated like unwanted orphans.

Democrat La Follette served two-year terms from 1964 to 1968 while Republican Warren Knowles was governor. For sure they had their political differences, but rare was the occasion when they came to loggerheads over an issue.

The GOP in complete control in Washington is making the Democrats look like pikers when it comes to spending money.

We'd be a lot safer with improved highways and bridges, health care for all and a solid Social Security system that will last well into the future. It's amazing what $7.2 trillion spent on peace, rather than war, could do.

Zweifel agrees with Chicago Tribune libertarian columnist Steve Chapman that such a parade should be used to mark the end of a war.

Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce secretly raised and spent $33 million between January 2006 and December 2017, the Democracy Campaign reported, most of it on broadcast ads to support conservative Republicans and to smear their Democratic opponents. Walker has been the top beneficiary with $9.5 million.

Instead of facing up to our incredible problem with firearms, we focus on half-way "solutions" like arming teachers or increasing the age to buy semi-automatic rifles from 18 to 21.

We've been watching a fine-tuned career politician at work the past several months.

Let's take a quick look at how President Trump's destruction of just a few Obama initiatives is adding to the country's greatness.

Democrats don’t seem to trust poor blacks with guns. It is something that we have seen since at least the end of the Civil War. Yet, it is poor blacks, who are the most likely victims of violent crime who would benefit the most from being able to defend themselves.

Twenty-one years ago, Congress caved in to a National Rifle Association demand, and effectively reduced federal spending on gun violence research.

No Labels is calling for future speakers to win at least 60% of the votes in the 435-member House, not just a simple 50% majority as current rules require. This would force a speaker nominee to gain at least some support from the minority party and would bring about a pivotal change in House practices.

I have always believed it is vitally important to promote and grow the market for wholesome milk and other dairy products. Without controlling our production, we are destroying are markets with a flood of oversupply.

It would be shameful if the Democrats, facing the opportunity of a lifetime in federal and state races, chose this moment to break up over self-imposed litmus tests.

No one is sure anymore what it means to be a Republican.

Trickery has become the staple of politics on the local, state and national level – deception the public needs to know about.

Ostensibly the April 3 election is non-partisan, but no one believes that. What happens in Wisconsin will reveal a lot about the future.

Several union leaders I spoke with worry these are tariffs from a “president who wants to protect the industry, not the worker.”

There’s an easy answer: public financing of elections, or a merit-based and bipartisan selection process.

We must collectively decide that taxes are how we support ourselves and our neighbors. So Governor Walker, save your sales tax holidays and paltry handouts. We need planners, not panderers, at the helm.

We need to ensure strong leadership in Wisconsin’s elections and safeguards against outside interference. I hope that both the Republicans in the legislature and the Elections board share this belief and that we take steps to secure Wisconsin’s elections.

State Transportation Department no longer publishes data updates done for decades.

An element of magical thinking drives the narrative that WisDOT has entered an era of new-found frugality and prudent management. It is reinforced by half-truths. It diminishes the credibility so essential in working with legislators and the public to address Wisconsin’s transportation revenue challenge.

Ryan stands up to Trump on tariffs, but has failed to do so for other issues.

Not for one moment should there be any foundation given to the idea that an empty elected office in the statehouse does not matter—or too costly to fill.

Republicans in the state Legislature are proposing to send so many more people to prison that the state would have to build at least one new facility to hold them all.

Critics are wrong, it's all about workforce readiness.

There are five important reasons to vote ‘no’ on this Constitutional referendum.

Our GOP Attorney General continues to give these horrible corporate actors a pass by refusing to sue or join other states' litigation.

The Spring 2018 issue of "Wisconsin Natural Resources" magazine is a wonderful lens through which to see the harm Walker has inflicted on Wisconsin, our environment, DNR priorities and oversight.

February is the shortest month, but Wisconsin special interests and their government enablers used it all to broadly advance their war on the environment.

Wisconsin is light years away from the nationally-leading environmental state bequeathed to us by John Muir, Aldo Leopold, Gaylord Nelson and generations of preservationist activism.

So Walker agrees to follow a law by calling special elections. Don't get too giddy about that.

The DNR has a credibility problem, having been stripped of authenticity and respectability by a Governor who intentionally installed across top management positions a 'chamber of commerce mentality.'

His calculated, donor-driven degradation of the Wisconsin DNR and an exceptional disdain for Wisconsin's conservation heritage and for the integrity of the Great Lakes makes him an outlier compared to his predecessors in both parties who can claim legacy environmental achievements which Walker is undermining and showing no interest in bequeathing anything similar.

Nobody has proposed jailing the state schools superintendent for having silly ideas about gun control or placing his political ambitions above the welfare of students.

Kids should go to school, regardless of the special cause they believe in this week.

If you're Governor Scott Walker, you have to be feeling pretty good about the latest Marquette University Law School poll numbers.

RightWisconsin's James Wigderson talks with the MacIver Institute's Bill Osmulski about Rep. Chris Taylor, D-Madison, and Democrats' plans to amend the state constitution.

RightWisconsin's James Wigderson and DOT Deputy Secretary Bob Seitz talk about the savings in the DOT budget since last year’s audit, the I-94 East-West freeway, and where do the orange barrels get stored when they’re not being used?

RightWisconsin's James Wigderson talks with Michael Jahr of the Badger Institute about the new Center for Opportunity, which will focus on public policy issues related to criminal justice reform and occupational licensing.

It is unfortunate that the Senate Republicans would rather raise property taxes for thousands of homeowners throughout the state than stand up to the influential corporate lobby at WMC.

Gov. Walker says he'll decide on Opportunity Zone designations by March 21 federal deadline

There will be very little if any difference between the F-16 and F-35 with regards to mission, flight profiles, and noise signature. Many individuals will argue that the overall noise impact on the surrounding communities will actually decrease with the F-35.

Wisconsin’s “Dark Store” loophole is becoming a growing problem in municipalities of all sizes across the state. Wealthy corporations have rigged the system and taxpayers are left footing the bill.

Judge Rebecca Dallet, a candidate for the Wisconsin Supreme Court, told an audience at a fundraiser for her in San Francisco, CA, that her campaign is an effort to bring their values back to Wisconsin.

Monday brought disappointment to Wisconsin liberals expecting proof that Wisconsin Supreme Court candidate Judge Michael Screnock sold his judicial soul to the NRA to get its endorsement in the April contest.

A conservative defeat in a Wisconsin Supreme Court case would be notable after a decade-long string of victories that has produced a 5-2 conservative advantage on the court. If such a defeat happens, only time will tell if it means anything beyond a closing of the ideological gap on the court.

Wisconsin was one of three improbable state victories that propelled Donald Trump to the White House in 2016. But without immediate Republican Party course corrections, the state’s conservative revolution could screech to a halt after the November elections, or even be reversed in some areas.

It is time for Wisconsin Republicans to wake up and realize that we need to continue telling our stories and discussing real common sense fixes.

Bronson La Follette inherited a famous name that helped him to be politically viable in Wisconsin, but that also put great pressure on him to renew and maintain Wisconsin’s progressive heritage.

It is vital to save net neutrality — and Wisconsin should be at the forefront of the fight for a free and open internet.

Nothing Walker has done up until now has been so aggressively anti-democratic as his refusal to hold special elections to fill vacant seats in the state Legislature.

Gov. Walker recently signed into law Assembly Bill 887, which directs the state to seek a federal waiver to allow operation of a state-based reinsurance plan to stabilize the marketplace.

President Trump ignition of trade wars will do no favors for Wisconsin, a state that helped to carry him to the White House.

System-wide strategic plan is needed.

The Wisconsin policy is now almost six months old, and protests have continued — but shout-downs and speaker disruptions are thinning.

The assumption of the hammock metaphor is that people are lazy and just need a kick to get moving. Another assumption is that fraud is rampant. Both assumptions are false.

Eliminating the Office of the State Treasurer consolidates more power in one agency; the greater the power, the greater the opportunity for corruption, and less transparency for citizens of the state.

The Republican plan will do little to improve the welfare of low-income families.

While the focus has been on Racine County, we should challenge leaders to think beyond the boundaries of the project and consider how Foxconn can help spur a coordinated, long-term regional approach to enhancing the I-94 corridor.

I believe you can support 2nd Amendment rights and work to ensure that Wisconsin families feel safe in schools, church or elsewhere. I hear and want action for what the children are saying!

Most states limit governors to two terms, but not New York and Wisconsin, where Andrew Cuomo and Scott Walker are both seeking reelection this year.

When the rare opportunity to pass conservative, market-driven legislation comes along that is so good even Democrats have to support it, we cannot pass up the opportunity. Ryan and Johnson should join Gallagher and pass the CREATES Act now.

Every day, 20 veterans take their own life. I almost became one of them because the Tomah VA Hospital let me down. But I’m not a special case. The hospital failed so many of my fellow veterans.

As we approach this year’s annual celebration of Sunshine Week, March 11-17, it’s worth recalling times when people entrusted with our tax dollars have stood up for our right to know. But too often government agencies and elected officials pledge fidelity to openness while acting to keep us in the dark.

I ask you to join me in voting yes on April 3rd in the statewide ballot to permanently eliminate the state treasurer’s office.

When Gov. Scott Walker rescinded his nomination for a federal designation of a marine sanctuary north of Milwaukee on March 6, he caught a lot of people by surprise.

The Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council could not have picked a worse recipient for its political openness award than Scott Walker.

Their arrogant disregard for democracy has never been more on display than on the issue of special elections.

Trump’s one success has been in dealing with North Korea.

Wisconsin needs to close and replace the Lincoln Hills juvenile prison, and we need to do it now. Unfortunately, the bipartisan bill has turned partisan, and some lawmakers want to undermine progress for a press release.

In "Two Minutes with Mitch" radio personality Mitch Henck gives his two cents on Wisconsin's GOP primary for the U.S. Senate.

In "Two Minutes with Mitch" local radio personality Mitch Henck says that in the wake of the March for Our Lives, students now need to go to the polls and vote.

In "Two Minutes with Mitch" radio personality Mitch Henck gives his two cents on Wednesday's planned Madison student walkout to protest gun violence.

In "Two Minutes with Mitch" radio personality Mitch Henck gives his two cents on reports that the data of Facebook users were compromised in order to sway elections.

The best available evidence regarding the skills necessary for 21st century employment paints a very different picture than the STEM-crisis advocates suggest.

In total, the proposed policies should lead to an increase in consumption in Wisconsin of roughly $370 million over the next year and an increase in output of roughly the same size.

The lack of oversight, shady accounting, co-mingled governing structures and incomplete record keeping is intolerable in a system where hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars are at stake.

Because of a mistake in the tax bill Congress passed last year, we have watched trucks that usually stop at our grain elevators drive a little further up the road to sell to someone else. The reason for this uncertainty is an unintended glitch in the tax bill that gives farmers an enormous incentive to sell to cooperatives, not independent businesses like mine.

Wisconsin farmers feed the world – and I hope you’ll join me in offering them thanks and support.

These days, while boomers, generation Xers and millennials dominate most public stages, wouldn’t it be something if it is the youngsters from generation Z — those born after 1995 — who are central to restoring us to being a nation focused on the common good?

With her 20-year career in the Legislature winding down, state Rep. Terese Berceau, D-Madison, says Democrats need to do a far better job of marketing their message going forward.

As Trump continues to undermine the institutions of our democracy, Walker, Ryan and other sycophantic Republicans duck and cover or change the subject. Most of the mainstream Republicans I encounter in Madison do the same.

On tariffs, Republicans like Ryan and others apparently know better than to aggressively criticize Trump so as not to offend his base within the GOP that seems perpetually angry.

Over time, both parties consolidated power in the hands of the governor and a few powerful legislative leaders. Partly as a result, the ideological fringes within government grew more strident and potent, and chances for any lingering spirit of collaboration evaporated.

Anglers, hunters, trappers, wildlife watchers, hikers and other pedestrians who bisect the tracks at unofficial crossings are subject to a trespassing ticket and fine.

At first blush, the president’s proposal may sound enticing and even patriotic — an “America First” policy designed to punish foreign exporters and benefit U.S. industries. But in fact, the opposite is true. Tariffs aren’t really taxes on imports — they are taxes on American families and American businesses.

Liberal judges tend to prefer more expansive interpretive methods that move beyond the text and its history. They argue that the neutrality sought by conservatives is itself political and are more likely to read the Constitution in light of emerging progressive goals.

The column below reflects the views of the author, and these opinions are neither endorsed nor supported by WisOpinion.com. Americans pay more for prescription drugs...

Neither Gov. Walker nor anyone else is forcing the UW-Stevens Point decision. The chancellor’s statement suggests it is, in fact, market driven.

On April 3, Wisconsin voters will be asked if they want to remove the office of state treasurer from our state’s Constitution. Should this amendment pass, Wisconsin would be the only state without a treasurer or financial equivalent, a position that provides a critical check on the state’s executive and legislative branches.

On April 3rd we have the chance to send a clear message that we want more oversight of our shared assets as Wisconsinites not less. If this goes through, Wisconsin would be the only state without a State Treasurer or equivalent office.

In our current budget, we provided more actual dollars into K-12 education than ever before in the history of Wisconsin: an extra $200 per student in every school this year and another $204 per student on top of that next school year.

If President Donald Trump wants to protect good-paying, family-supporting jobs in America, especially here in Wisconsin, then he should reconsider the administration’s position on tariffs.

Democrats and Republicans agreed on need to protect state’s environment. Not any more.

They may decide if Walker gets last minute laws he’s pushing for his reelection campaign.

81% of voters favor background checks. Democrats support, Republicans oppose them.

Restricts ability to build piers. Dissenting judges say it’s an issue for legislators.

If the Northern Sea Route is to be commercially viable and Murmansk is to be the center of Arctic shipping, the Russians have to guarantee safety.

RIP UWSP as you once were. You had a good run. Remember your champions now gone: Gov. Dreyfus and the late Bill Bablitch, your state senator and then Supreme Court justice.

When it comes to strengthening Wisconsin’s internet connections, from its most rural settings to under-served neighborhoods in its largest cities, there is no “one-tech-fits-all” solution.

What’s missing in the UW-Stevens Point conversation, which has attracted noticed nationwide, is an honest assessment of what employers expect from college graduates they hire. Do they want an emphasis on STEM disciplines – science, technology, engineering and math – or a liberal arts background that may be more adaptable? The confusing answer is both.

According to legislative records. Beginning with the 2011-2012 legislative session and running through this spring, well over 90 percent of the 1,200-plus bills passed by the Assembly and Senate have garnered bipartisan votes. In fact, the lowest bipartisan approval rate for any one house was 89.5 percent in the Senate in 2011-2012.

For many landowners, small businesses, farmers and even local governments, the patchwork of regulations surrounding artificial wetlands and certain isolated wetlands has become costly and cumbersome.

When Leah Vukmir was given the opportunity to create positive change for her family and families across the state, she didn't just talk.

Offering better communication and providing more feedback is not catering to “snowflakes,” it is a strong management decision and good for the bottom-line. 

Study found students who attended an MPCP school were significantly more likely than their peers in public schools to enter college.

The Village of Mount Pleasant is considering declaring an area slated for Foxconn development as blighted in order to use eminent domain to acquire the land from property owners unwilling to sell.

The city of Racine is requesting to divert up to 7 million gallons of Lake Michigan water to the Foxconn development site.

The WisOpinion Insiders, Jensen & Chvala, debate Foxconn and analyze the reasons behind a GOP move to extend similar credits to Kimberly-Clark. Sponsored by the Wisconsin Counties Association and Michael Best Strategies.

Strategic return of money to the taxpayers or panicked response to a Democratic surge? The WisOpinion Insiders, Jensen & Chvala, debate GOP spending items this election year. Sponsored by Michael Best Strategies and the Wisconsin Counties Association.

The WisOpinion Insiders, Chvala & Jensen, look forward to the end of the legislative session and debate Gov. Scott Walker's child tax rebate. Sponsored by Michael Best Strategies and the Wisconsin Counties Association.

The Insiders, Jensen & Chvala, reflect on Gov. Scott Walker's welfare reform efforts and how they compare to what Tommy Thompson and Democrats did in the 1990s. Sponsored by Michael Best Strategies and the Wisconsin Counties Association.

The WisOpinion Insiders, Chvala and Jensen, handicap the Supreme Court contest between Sauk County Judge Michael Screnock and Milwaukee County Judge Rebecca Dallet. Sponsored by Michael Best Strategies and the Wisconsin Counties Association.