Planned Parenthood: Republicans pass 6-week Texas-Style abortion ban out of committee

MADISON, WI – Today Republicans on the Senate Committee on Government Operations, Legal Review and Consumer Protection passed SB 923, the Texas-inspired bill to ban abortion on a party line vote. The Texas-inspired bill would ban abortions after 6 weeks, before most people even know they are pregnant, and includes a $10,000 bounty reward for people to sue anyone who provides abortion care. This bill could now be placed before the Senate for a full vote. This committee vote is part of a larger effort by Republicans to ban abortion in Wisconsin.  Recently, every Republican member of the Legislature refused to support a bill to repeal WI’s 172-year-old law that criminalizes abortion at every

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Milwaukee County Supervisor Goodwin: Condemns rising violence in Milwaukee County

MILWAUKEE – Last night, one person was killed and two others were injured in a shooting outside of a bar in downtown Milwaukee. The county is experiencing a troubling rise in violence, with 25 homicides recorded in the first month of the year. County Supervisor Russell Antonio Goodwin, Sr. released the following statement calling for an end to the violence: “The violence happening in Milwaukee County must stop immediately.   “We know that arguments and fights are the driving factor behind so many of these senseless shootings. We must learn to resolve our conflicts without resorting to violence, as these shootings are destroying our community.

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U.S. Dept. of Justice: Former university professor to plead guilty to wire fraud and engaging in an unlawful monetary transaction

United States Attorney Richard G. Frohling announced today that Yue Liu, also  known as Troy Liu (age: 41) of Mequon, Wisconsin, had been charged in a two-count  information with wire fraud, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1343,  and engaging in an unlawful monetary transaction, in violation of Title 18, United  States Code, Section 1957. Liu has signed a plea agreement acknowledging that he is  guilty of those charges.  As detailed in court documents, beginning in approximately April 2016 and  continuing through at least November 2020, Liu, who was an engineering professor at  the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee

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FRI REPORT: With population declines at youth prisons, per-inmate costs soar

Quotes of the Week If parents want to “have a say” in their child’s education, they should home school or pay for private school tuition out of their family budget. – Rep. Lee Snodgrass, D-Appleton, in a deleted tweet about a Republican bill to give parents more say over schools’ curriculums. Gov. Tony Evers said he disagrees with Snodgrass. Snodgrass walked back her tweet, saying it lacked nuance… 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 *

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National Guard: 135th Medical Company returns to Badger State following Middle East deployment

All of the Waukesha, Wisconsin-based 135th Medical Company is now safely back in Wisconsin following an 11-month deployment to the Middle East. The unit’s nearly 60 Soldiers returned to Fort Hood, Texas in late January, where it completed demobilization requirements and then returned individually to airports across Wisconsin over the course of several days in early February where families and senior Wisconsin National Guard leaders were waiting to greet them. During their deployment, the unit enabled Role 2 medical care to patients or casualties by providing treatment necessary to sustain the fighting force. The unit was dispersed across over eight

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Dept. of Natural Resources: Wisconsin wolf hunting update

MADISON, Wis. – The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) today announced that following a U.S. District court’s ruling on Feb. 10 returning wolves in the lower 48 states (except the northern Rocky Mountains region) to the Federal Endangered Species List, Wisconsin is not authorized to implement a wolf harvest season. The DNR is reviewing the ruling to determine how it impacts hunters and trappers who purchased licenses for the Fall 2021 wolf hunt. Wisconsin’s wolf population remains healthy and secure in the state. The department will continue its robust wolf population monitoring program to ensure the population remains healthy and sustainable

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Wisconsin AFL-CIO: Workers at Oak Creek Starbucks join wave of union organizing with Starbucks workers united

(MILWAUKEE, WI) – Wisconsin workers feel the momentum brewing for union rights. Today, workers at the Oak Creek Starbucks location filed for a union election with Starbucks Workers United, CMRJB Workers United. Starbucks workers at over 75 stores and counting, in cities and states across the country, have filed for union rights in recent weeks. From New York to Washington, Florida to Oregon, and now Wisconsin, baristas and café workers at Starbucks are coming together in union to negotiate for a better life and a better workplace. “There’s never been a better time to go union. Today, workers at the

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U.S. Rep. Kind: Reminds Wisconsinites that Affordable Connectivity Program is open for enrollment

Washington, DC – Today, Rep. Ron Kind is reminding Wisconsinites that the Affordable Connectivity Program is open for applications. This program – created through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law which Rep. Kind voted for last year – is helping to lower the cost of broadband service for eligible households.    The Affordable Connectivity Program provides a discount of up to $30 per month toward broadband service for eligible households and up to $75 per month for qualifying households on qualifying Tribal lands. The benefit also provides up to a $100 per household discount toward a one-time purchase of a computer, laptop, or tablet through a participating broadband

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WisDems: After Sen. Roin n Johnson refuses to fight for over 1,000 manufacturing jobs in Oshkosh, Sen. Baldwin, local labor leaders, discuss positive impact of those jobs

MADISON, Wis. – Yesterday, Sen. Tammy Baldwin and UAW Leaders, President Bob Lynk, and Chief Steward Timothy Jacobson, held a press call discussing the positive impact bringing more than 1,000 manufacturing jobs to Oshkosh would have on the community. On the same day, Senator Johnson doubled down on his remarks that he would not fight to bring those jobs to his hometown.   See more below abou… 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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U.S. Rep. Steil: Hosts Fighting Fentanyl roundtable

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Congressman Bryan Steil (WI-01) hosted a roundtable focused on fighting fentanyl in Wisconsin to help keep our communities safe. During the roundtable, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), leaders from Racine County, including the Sheriff’s Department, District Attorney’s Office, County Executive’s Office, and High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) discussed what they are seeing regarding fentanyl related substances in Wisconsin and across the United States. “To stop fentanyl overdose deaths, we need to secure the border, fund law enforcement, and make fentanyl related substances a permanent Schedule I drug. It is imperative that we are working to keep

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Sen. Bernier and Rep. Rozar: Colby earns bipartisan committee approval

(Madison)… Today, Senate Bill 371, designating Colby the official state cheese, received bipartisan approval in the Senate Committee on Government Operations, Legal Review and Consumer Protection. Bill authors State Senator Kathy Bernier (R-Chippewa Falls) and Representative Donna Rozar (R-Marshfield) issued the following statement after the vote. “We are thrilled with today’s vote and want to thank the members from every corner of our state who voted to approve this bill. In just a few generations Colby has gone from a farm family recipe to world famous, driving America’s love for cheese and putting Wisconsin on the cheese making map.” Colby cheese was

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Gov. Evers: Takes action on seven bills

MADISON — Gov. Tony Evers today took action on seven bills. The bills include: Senate Bill 815, now 2021 Wisconsin Act 133: Ratifies the collective bargaining agreement negotiated between the state of Wisconsin and the Wisconsin State Building Trades Negotiating Committee for state of Wisconsin employees in the building trades crafts collective bargaining unit for fiscal year 2020-21. Senate Bill 816, now 2021 Wisconsin Act 134:  Ratifies the collective bargaining agreement negotiated between the Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin (UW) System and the Wisconsin State Building Trades Negotiating Committee for UW System employees in the building trades crafts collective

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Protect Our Care: Moore, Slavitt highlight how republicans have prolonged the pandemic, continue to put Wisconsinites at risk

WISCONSIN — Protect Our Care hosted a virtual roundtable today marking two years of living with “COVID-19.” US Representative Gwen Moore and the Honorable Andy Slavitt, a former member of President Joe Biden’s COVID-19 task force, were joined by Wisconsinites from northwest and south central Wisconsin to discuss the ways Republicans like US Sen. Ron Johnson have prolonged the ongoing pandemic by spreading misinformation, promoting unproven and unsafe treatments, and downplaying life-saving vaccines.   As we enter year three of life with COVID-19 in the United States, it is an important time to reflect on what has been lost, and

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WisDems: ICYMI, “Foxconn fiasco disqualifies Kleefisch as a serious gubernatorial candidate”

MADISON, Wis. — Earlier this week, the Cap Times declared in an editorial that Rebecca Kleefisch’s involvement in the Foxconn fiasco should disqualify her as a serious gubernatorial candidate. The Cap Times blisteringly wrote that “the politicians who made the Foxconn mess shouldn’t be allowed to waste taxpayer dollars on future fiascos.” When it was signed by the Walker-Kleefisch administration, the Foxconn deal was “the largest attempted government handout to a foreign company ever given in America.” This ridiculously expensive project, which the Republican administration said would cost $3 billion, alarmed experts on the left and the right, who did

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Gov. Evers: ICYMI, Gov. Evers awards more than $82 million in Equitable Recovery grants, visits awardees working in communities

MADISON — Gov. Tony Evers earlier this week announced more than $82 million in Equitable Recovery Grants and visited grant awardees across the state, including in Milwaukee, Appleton, Madison, La Crosse, and Racine. “From Beloit to Lac du Flambeau, the organizations receiving these grants have been on the frontlines of providing support to communities that have seen disparate outcomes throughout this pandemic, both in health and economic well-being,” said Gov. Evers in his announcement. “We must continue to work together to make sure that as our state is recovering, every community and every family is recovering with us. That’s critical to ensuring our state’s long-term success

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Dept. of Natural Resources: Wisconsin wolf hunting update

MADISON, Wis. – The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) today announced that following a U.S. District court’s ruling on Feb. 10 returning wolves in the lower 48 states (except the northern Rocky Mountains region) to the Federal Endangered Species List, Wisconsin is not authorized to implement a wolf harvest season. The

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U.S. Rep. Kind: Reminds Wisconsinites that Affordable Connectivity Program is open for enrollment

Washington, DC – Today, Rep. Ron Kind is reminding Wisconsinites that the Affordable Connectivity Program is open for applications. This program – created through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law which Rep. Kind voted for last year – is helping to lower the cost of broadband service for eligible households.    The Affordable Connectivity Program provides a discount

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WisDems: After Sen. Roin n Johnson refuses to fight for over 1,000 manufacturing jobs in Oshkosh, Sen. Baldwin, local labor leaders, discuss positive impact of those jobs

MADISON, Wis. – Yesterday, Sen. Tammy Baldwin and UAW Leaders, President Bob Lynk, and Chief Steward Timothy Jacobson, held a press call discussing the positive impact bringing more than 1,000 manufacturing jobs to Oshkosh would have on the community. On the same day, Senator Johnson doubled down on his remarks

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U.S. Rep. Steil: Hosts Fighting Fentanyl roundtable

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Congressman Bryan Steil (WI-01) hosted a roundtable focused on fighting fentanyl in Wisconsin to help keep our communities safe. During the roundtable, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), leaders from Racine County, including the Sheriff’s Department, District Attorney’s Office, County Executive’s Office, and High Intensity Drug Trafficking

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Sen. Bernier and Rep. Rozar: Colby earns bipartisan committee approval

(Madison)… Today, Senate Bill 371, designating Colby the official state cheese, received bipartisan approval in the Senate Committee on Government Operations, Legal Review and Consumer Protection. Bill authors State Senator Kathy Bernier (R-Chippewa Falls) and Representative Donna Rozar (R-Marshfield) issued the following statement after the vote. “We are thrilled with today’s

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Gov. Evers: Takes action on seven bills

MADISON — Gov. Tony Evers today took action on seven bills. The bills include: Senate Bill 815, now 2021 Wisconsin Act 133: Ratifies the collective bargaining agreement negotiated between the state of Wisconsin and the Wisconsin State Building Trades Negotiating Committee for state of Wisconsin employees in the building trades crafts collective

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Gov. Evers: ICYMI, Gov. Evers awards more than $82 million in Equitable Recovery grants, visits awardees working in communities

MADISON — Gov. Tony Evers earlier this week announced more than $82 million in Equitable Recovery Grants and visited grant awardees across the state, including in Milwaukee, Appleton, Madison, La Crosse, and Racine. “From Beloit to Lac du Flambeau, the organizations receiving these grants have been on the frontlines of providing support to communities

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