Job Center Now Open Inside Robert E. Ellsworth Correctional Center

(UNION GROVE, Wis.) – A Job Center has opened at Robert E. Ellsworth Correctional Center (REECC) in Union Grove, marking the 5th collaboration between the Wisconsin Department of Corrections (DOC) and Wisconsin’s Department of Workforce Develop (DWD) on an institution-based Job Center. “We’re excited because this will allow the more than 400 individuals releasing from REECC each year to set up job interviews with employers before their release and, in some cases, have job offers waiting for them when they return to their community,” said DOC Secretary Kevin A. Carr. “This partnership between DOC, DWD, and employers is changing the lives

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Dept. of Health Services: Improved COVID-19 hospital data webpage

The Department of Health Services (DHS) has released improvements to the COVID-19 hospital data webpage. This update puts all COVID-19 hospital data on one page, so Wisconsinites can more easily find the information they need. The new webpage includes two data dashboards. The COVID-19 hospital capacity dashboard has been expanded to include more information about the status of hospitals throughout Wisconsin. Additionally, data about the percent of COVID-19 cases who are health care workers has been consolidated into one dashboard. “We are always looking for opportunities to improve the ways we display data to help us better understand the COVID-19 pandemic,” said

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Institute for Reforming government: State and national groups call on lawmakers to support course access for struggling students

Madison, Wis. — Today a broad coalition of state and national groups committed to education reform sent a letter to Governor Evers, leadership in the legislature, and State Superintendent Stanford Taylor asking them to use the American Rescue Plan’s new K-12 funding to support course access for struggling students. The letter encourages members to create more choice for parents and to provide courses for “missing” students so they can catch up on their education. “Our children’s education is at stake — with the difficulties of virtual learning many students lost an entire year of education.”  said C.J. Szafir, President of IRG.

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U.S. Rep. Kind: Calls on Wisconsin Legislature to put aside partisan politics and expand BadgerCare

Washington, DC – Today, Rep. Ron Kind sent a letter to Wisconsin Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu and Assembly Speaker Robin Vos urging them to stop playing politics and accept federal investments to expand BadgerCare as proposed in Governor Tony Evers’s 2021-2023 Budget. Wisconsin is one of only 12 states that have failed to fully expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act, costing the state $2.1 billion since 2014. Now, the recently passed American Rescue Plan is providing financial incentives to states that newly expand Medicaid to adults earning up to 138% of the federal poverty level, and Wisconsin stands to receive $1 billion in additional federal

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Marquette University: IWL Pay Equity Series to discuss paid family and medical leave April 20

MILWAUKEE — Erika Moritsugu, currently vice president of congressional relations and economic justice at the National Partnership for Women and Families, will keynote the final conversation in the Pay Equity Series hosted by Marquette University’s Institute for Women’s Leadership on Tuesday, April 20, at 1 p.m. NOTE: On April 14, President Joe Biden announced Moritsugu as deputy assistant to the President and Asian American and Pacific Islander Senior Liaison. Moritsugu, whose Economic Justice team is committed to advancing public policies to achieve economic stability and security, will speak on the importance of family and medical leave being paid, how this can be achieved,

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U.S. Rep. Gallagher: Reintroduces bipartisan, bicameral plan to rescue troubled federal trust funds

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-WI), alongside Reps. Ed Case (D-HI), Jodey Arrington (R-TX), Scott Peters (D-CA), Dusty Johnson (R-SD), and Carolyn Bordeaux (D-GA), today reintroduced the Time to Rescue United States’ Trusts (TRUST) Act, bipartisan and bicameral legislation that would create a process to rescue the endangered federal trust funds and rein in the national debt. Some of the nation’s most important federal programs are financed through dedicated revenue sources and managed through trust funds. A number of the largest trust funds are heading towards insolvency—an issue made worse by the COVID-19 pandemic. In September 2020, the Congressional Budget

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Gov. Evers: Visits Pfizer Facility in Pleasant Prairie, Signs Assembly Bill 120

Contact: GovPress@wisconsin.gov PLEASANT PRAIRIE — Gov. Tony Evers today, together with Department of Safety and Professional Services (DSPS) Secretary-designee Dawn Crim, visited and toured the Pfizer facility in Pleasant Prairie. The governor also signed Assembly Bill (AB) 120, now Wisconsin Act 25, which will help Pfizer, Inc., and Wisconsin continue to provide COVID-19 vaccine, vaccination materials, and solutions nationwide. “The folks at Pfizer have been doing tireless work to get our state and country vaccinated as quickly as possible,” said Gov. Evers. “Their vaccine production and ability to distribute vaccine and other materials nationwide are critical factors in getting shots in arms, saving lives,

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U.S. Rep. Grothman: Visits Southern Border to See the Biden Administration’s Border Failures Firsthand

Contact: Timothy Svoboda, (202) 225-2476 (Washington, D.C.) – This week, Congressman Glenn Grothman (R-WI) joined House Committee on Oversight and Reform Ranking Member James Comer (R-KY) and Rep. Yvette Herrell (R-NM) in El Paso, Texas and along the southern border in New Mexico to examine President Biden’s border crisis. Biden’s border crisis continues to escalate, encouraging human smugglers to profit from the administration’s open borders policies and placing migrant families and unaccompanied children at risk as they seek to come to the United States illegally. “It is hard to understand the full breadth of the crisis along our Southern border unless you

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PSC: An investment in broadband is an investment in our future

Contact: Jerel Ballard, 608-266-9600 jerel.ballard@wisconsin.gov At the Public Service Commission (PSC), we understand how important broadband access is to our communities’ educational and economic opportunities. The COVID-19 pandemic has added urgency to expanding this critical service across the state so we can decrease the digital divide impacting many of our low-income and rural communities. Broadband access has become an essential service that too many of our neighbors still need. According to the FCC’s 2020 Broadband Deployment Report, 7.1% of Wisconsin residents lack access to at least one fixed, wired broadband service with a speed of 25 megabits per second or

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BLS Data: Wisconsin adds 12,900 total non-farm, 11,100 private-sector jobs in March

MADISON – The Department of Workforce Development (DWD) today released the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) preliminary employment estimates for the month of March 2021. The data shows that Wisconsin’s total non-farm jobs increased by 12,900 over the month, while private-sector jobs increased by 11,100 over the same period. Wisconsin’s unemployment rate in March was 3.8 percent, while the national unemployment rate in March was 6.0 percent. Place of Residence Data: Wisconsin’s labor force participation rate in March was 65.7, 4.2 percent higher than the national rate of 61.5 percent. Wisconsin’s unemployment rate in March was 3.8 percent, while the national

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Job Center Now Open Inside Robert E. Ellsworth Correctional Center

(UNION GROVE, Wis.) – A Job Center has opened at Robert E. Ellsworth Correctional Center (REECC) in Union Grove, marking the 5th collaboration between the Wisconsin Department of Corrections (DOC) and Wisconsin’s Department of Workforce Develop (DWD) on an institution-based Job Center. “We’re excited because this will allow the more than

Read More »

Dept. of Health Services: Improved COVID-19 hospital data webpage

The Department of Health Services (DHS) has released improvements to the COVID-19 hospital data webpage. This update puts all COVID-19 hospital data on one page, so Wisconsinites can more easily find the information they need. The new webpage includes two data dashboards. The COVID-19 hospital capacity dashboard has been expanded to include

Read More »

Gov. Evers: Visits Pfizer Facility in Pleasant Prairie, Signs Assembly Bill 120

Contact: GovPress@wisconsin.gov PLEASANT PRAIRIE — Gov. Tony Evers today, together with Department of Safety and Professional Services (DSPS) Secretary-designee Dawn Crim, visited and toured the Pfizer facility in Pleasant Prairie. The governor also signed Assembly Bill (AB) 120, now Wisconsin Act 25, which will help Pfizer, Inc., and Wisconsin continue to provide COVID-19

Read More »

PSC: An investment in broadband is an investment in our future

Contact: Jerel Ballard, 608-266-9600 jerel.ballard@wisconsin.gov At the Public Service Commission (PSC), we understand how important broadband access is to our communities’ educational and economic opportunities. The COVID-19 pandemic has added urgency to expanding this critical service across the state so we can decrease the digital divide impacting many of our

Read More »