TUE PM Update: Conservative group asks state Supreme Court to block election certification, allow GOP to pick electors

Subscribers: Due to the Thanksgiving holiday, this will be the final PM Update of the week. The PM Update will return Monday. Thank you for subscribing. From WisPolitics.com … — A conservative group is asking the state Supreme Court to block certification of election results and allow the Republican-controlled Legislature to appoint the state’s presidential electors. The suit was immediately… 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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Rep. Kerkman: Joint audit co-chairs on SWIB audit

MADISON – Today, the nonpartisan Legislative Audit Bureau (LAB) released its biennial management audit of the State of Wisconsin Investment Board (SWIB) as report 20-23. SWIB invests assets for the Wisconsin Retirement System (WRS), the State Investment Fund (SIF), and four other funds. As of December 2019, assets managed by SWIB totaled $128.8 billion, 90.5 percent of which were assets of the Core Fund and Variable Fund of the WRS. The investment return for the five-year period ending in December 2019 was 7.8 percent for the Core Fund and 9.8 percent for the Variable Fund. Both funds exceeded their one-year and five-year benchmarks

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Judge Richards: Endorsed by Appeals Court Judges Donald, White

MILWAUKEE COUNTY — Judge Jon Richards, Milwaukee County Circuit Court, Branch 30, announced today he has received the endorsement of two judges on the Wisconsin Court of Appeals, Judge Joe Donald and Judge Maxine White. “Judges need to not only consider the community they live in, but the lives the law affects,” said Judge Joe Donald. “As an active member of his community, both in his public service, volunteer work and private practice, Judge Richards has made it his mission to be active in and advocate for his community.”  “Judge Richards is committed to working with individuals and organizations on

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Dept. of Natural Resources: Preliminary nine-day deer hunt harvest totals and license sales now available

MADISON, Wis. – Anyone who has ever experienced Wisconsin’s famed gun deer season knows it’s a tradition bigger than any buck. Wisconsin’s 169th gun deer season kicked off Nov. 21 and runs through Nov. 29.   Preliminary License Sales Data Preliminary figures indicate that the number of deer hunters in Wisconsin increased compared to the same period for both 2019 and 2018. As of midnight Monday, Nov. 23, sales for gun, bow, crossbow, sports and patron licenses reached 810,233. Of that total, 559,591 were for gun privileges only, including gun, patron and sports licenses. The year-to-date sales for all deer licenses are

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PHMDC: COVID-19 vaccine not likely to be available to the public until Spring 2021 or later

MADISON, Wis. – Local health organizations are calling on the public to be vigilant over the holidays in protecting themselves from COVID-19. Despite recent positive news about vaccine development, the general public is unlikely to receive vaccines until Spring of 2021 at the earliest. Rather than calling your healthcare provider, please visit the Centers for Disease Control and Wisconsin Department of Health Services websites below for answers to frequently asked questions about the vaccine. This helps reserve healthcare systems’ staffed phone lines for those calling with active symptoms and acute care needs. Recommendations on how the early vaccine dosages are

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U.S. Rep. Tiffany: Calls on Gov. Evers, legislative leaders, to work together to craft “realistic, workable, and data-based” COVID-19 guidelines

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany (WI-07) called on Governor Tony Evers, Assembly Speaker Robin Vos and incoming Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu to work together to set pragmatic guidelines for school districts to enable the full resumption of in-person classroom learning as soon as possible, citing a recent op-ed he authored in the Wisconsin State Journal. Mr. Tiffany issued the following statement: “School is essential and online education is simply not an acceptable substitute for classroom learning. Overly restrictive quarantine and contact tracing protocols are threatening to interrupt the full return to in-person instruction in our schools, jeopardizing

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Sen. Bewley, Rep. Hintz: Call on Trump administration to extend National Guard funding

MADISON – Earlier today, Senate Democratic Leader Janet Bewley (D-Mason) and Assembly Democratic Leader Gordon Hintz (D-Oshkosh) sent a letter to the Trump Administration requesting an extension of federal funds to support the work of the Wisconsin National Guard in the state’s COVID-19 response. “The dedicated and highly-skilled members of the Wisconsin National Guard are working hard every day to save lives and help our communities battle this virus,” said Bewley. “We depend on our National Guard members for countless critical services, and with the crisis continuing to worsen, this funding is imperative. It is my hope that the Trump

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ACLU of Wisconsin: Responds to reports indicating that the Wauwatosa Police Department inflates public records information costs

WAUWATOSA – The ACLU of Wisconsin today issued the following statement after it was reported by the Wisconsin Examiner Monday that a Wauwatosa Police Department email discovered via an open records request indicates that the department inflates the costs to the public for open records requests.   Molly Collins, Advocacy Director  for the ACLU of Wisconsin, said:   “Charging the public outrageously high costs to request records about the police shooting of Jay Anderson is not only unlawful, but shows the gross disregard and lack of respect that the Wauwatosa Police Department continues to have for the community it is

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U.S. Rep. Steil: Fights for Wisconsin veterans, calls for National Personnel Records Center to immediately address backlog prohibiting veterans from obtaining benefits

JANESVILLE, WISCONSIN—Congressman Bryan Steil called on the Director of the National Personnel Records Center (NPRC) to address the backlog of services requested by veterans. The NPRC provides veterans with documentation on service history, medical history, and other information that can be required to obtain VA benefits. Steil has assisted numerous veterans in Southeast Wisconsin with this issue throughout the coronavirus pandemic, however, NPRC has yet to provide Steil or Congress with a timeline or plan on how it intends to address the growing backlog. “I am fighting for our veterans. Veterans in Southeast Wisconsin have waited months for VA benefits

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CarePool lowers rural transit barriers for elderly, disabled

As a young entrepreneur, Josh Massey witnessed the agony his grandmother experienced riding the Medicare vans to medical appointments and other visits from her rural Wisconsin home.  His grandmother was a frequent customer of this “old-school” van program, he said. “She would spend upwards of three hours each way from her home to visit the medical facility where my grandpa resided,” said Massey, a UW-Madison alumnus and self-described “transportation geek.” Unfortunately, he continued, this remains the reality for many elderly people who live in rural settings and cannot drive themselves. Massey started CarePool to provide a scheduled ride-share service that

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October brought an increase in home sales and prices in Wisconsin

Wisconsin’s existing home market saw another sharp increase in sales and prices in October, according to the Wisconsin Realtors Association’s latest analysis.  The uptick was fueled by record-low mortgage rates, according to WRA. For the seventh straight month, mortgage rates fell into record-low territory, with the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage dropping to 2.83 percent in October from 2.89 percent in September.  As a result, from October 2019 to October 2020, existing home sales increased 24.9 percent and the median price increased 16.3 percent to $227,324. On a year-to-date basis, home sales are up 4.5 percent and the median price increased 11.1

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Dec. 10: WisPolitics.com-WisBusiness.com virtual event: ‘Trade Reset: How a New Washington, D.C., Administration May Change Trade Policy Near and Far’

Midwest trade experts and a top Canadian official examine trade issues during a WisPolitics.com-WisBusiness.com virtual event. Panelists will discuss the new US-Mexico-Canada Trade Agreement (USMCA) and how the ongoing China-U.S. trade conflict may change under a new president. Thurs, Dec. 10, noon to 1 p.m. Central Time Panelists: U.S. Rep. Ron Kind, D-Wis., member House Ways and Means Committee. See bio: https://kind.house.gov/about/full-biography Neal Kemmet, CEO of Ace Ethanol in Stanley, Wisconsin. Wayne Robson, acting Consul General Canadian Consulate, Chicago.Previously, regional director of the Vancouver Regional Office responsible for the Pacific Region, director of the International Trade Finance Division in Ottawa

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Rep. Kerkman: Joint audit co-chairs on SWIB audit

MADISON – Today, the nonpartisan Legislative Audit Bureau (LAB) released its biennial management audit of the State of Wisconsin Investment Board (SWIB) as report 20-23. SWIB invests assets for the Wisconsin Retirement System (WRS), the State Investment Fund (SIF), and four other funds. As of December 2019, assets managed by SWIB totaled $128.8

Read More »

Judge Richards: Endorsed by Appeals Court Judges Donald, White

MILWAUKEE COUNTY — Judge Jon Richards, Milwaukee County Circuit Court, Branch 30, announced today he has received the endorsement of two judges on the Wisconsin Court of Appeals, Judge Joe Donald and Judge Maxine White. “Judges need to not only consider the community they live in, but the lives the

Read More »

U.S. Rep. Tiffany: Calls on Gov. Evers, legislative leaders, to work together to craft “realistic, workable, and data-based” COVID-19 guidelines

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany (WI-07) called on Governor Tony Evers, Assembly Speaker Robin Vos and incoming Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu to work together to set pragmatic guidelines for school districts to enable the full resumption of in-person classroom learning as soon as possible, citing a

Read More »

U.S. Rep. Steil: Fights for Wisconsin veterans, calls for National Personnel Records Center to immediately address backlog prohibiting veterans from obtaining benefits

JANESVILLE, WISCONSIN—Congressman Bryan Steil called on the Director of the National Personnel Records Center (NPRC) to address the backlog of services requested by veterans. The NPRC provides veterans with documentation on service history, medical history, and other information that can be required to obtain VA benefits. Steil has assisted numerous

Read More »

CarePool lowers rural transit barriers for elderly, disabled

As a young entrepreneur, Josh Massey witnessed the agony his grandmother experienced riding the Medicare vans to medical appointments and other visits from her rural Wisconsin home.  His grandmother was a frequent customer of this “old-school” van program, he said. “She would spend upwards of three hours each way from

Read More »

October brought an increase in home sales and prices in Wisconsin

Wisconsin’s existing home market saw another sharp increase in sales and prices in October, according to the Wisconsin Realtors Association’s latest analysis.  The uptick was fueled by record-low mortgage rates, according to WRA. For the seventh straight month, mortgage rates fell into record-low territory, with the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage dropping

Read More »

Dec. 10: WisPolitics.com-WisBusiness.com virtual event: ‘Trade Reset: How a New Washington, D.C., Administration May Change Trade Policy Near and Far’

Midwest trade experts and a top Canadian official examine trade issues during a WisPolitics.com-WisBusiness.com virtual event. Panelists will discuss the new US-Mexico-Canada Trade Agreement (USMCA) and how the ongoing China-U.S. trade conflict may change under a new president. Thurs, Dec. 10, noon to 1 p.m. Central Time Panelists: U.S. Rep.

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