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— The Dem group called A Better Wisconsin Together has added $25,000 to its cable buy knocking state superintendent candidate Deb Kerr.
A new filing shows the group’s buy at $427,000 ahead of the April 6 election featuring Kerr and Jill Underly, the Pecatonica superintendent.
Meanwhile, the Americans for Prosperity-Wisconsin reported it has now spent $69,550 to back GOP state Rep. John Jagler, of Watertown, in the race for the open 13th SD. That includes $37,417 since the primary on mailers, canvassing and door hangers.
Jagler faces Dem Melissa Winker April 6 to fill the seat Scott Fitzgerald vacated when he joined the House of Representatives.
— The Senate plans to take up legislation tomorrow to give lawmakers oversight of $3.2 billion the state is due to receive from the latest COVID-19 federal bill.
The Assembly previously noticed plans to take up the legislation tomorrow along with a string of COVID-related bills. That includes bans on mandatory vaccines and requiring a plan to return state employees to work in person.
SB 183 is on the calendar Senate leaders released late Friday.
See the calendar:
https://www.wispolitics.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/210323Senate.pdf
— Milwaukee County is trying to identify its most vulnerable citizens and connect them with COVID-19 vaccine.
The new effort uses census data in 10 county zip codes to locate underserved people and help them get vaccinations, said Dr. Ben Weston, director of medical services in the Milwaukee County Office of Emergency Management.
“There are two stories in Milwaukee County. You either are low vulnerability or higher socioeconomic status, and you’re getting vaccine. Or you’re the opposite. High vulnerability community, and you’re just not getting enough vaccine,” Weston said in an interview aired Sunday on “UpFront,” produced in partnership with WisPolitics.com.
“So with those stark disparities, with those two stories in Milwaukee County, we wanted to overcome that, bring equity, more equity, to the vaccination process,” Weston said.
The effort, based on a model developed locally, could reach up to 230,000 people. The county and city of Milwaukee have added vaccination sites to meet the need.
— Also on the program, U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Oshkosh, said he has no regrets over his recent remarks that some called racist.
Johnson told the syndicated “Joe Pags Show” that he was not worried during the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, a riot carried out by mostly white supporters of former President Trump. But if the crowd had been Black Lives Matter or “antifa” protesters, Johnson said, he “might have been a little concerned.”
“There were no racial undertones in my comments,” Johnson told WISN 12 reporter Matt Smith.
“So I know the left is exploiting that. But there weren’t. This is about riots and comparing the rioting we saw throughout the summer,” Johnson said.
“I was just making the distinction between the people that I know — that I personally know that support President Trump, that would never even contemplate breaking the law. Those people love this country,” Johnson said.
In a separate interview with Smith, Democratic U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Madison, said she was “horrified” by Johnson’s “shameful comments.”
A Black state senator from Milwaukee also was outraged by Johnson’s remarks.
“Of course a racist is going to say that they’re not racist. The fact that he’s defending his comments and playing the victim shows he is who he is,” said state Sen. LaTonya Johnson, D-Milwaukee.
See more from the program:
http://www.wisn.com/upfr
— Johnson is adding two Trump administration vets to his Senate staff as senior communications advisers.
Vanessa Ambrosini most recently worked for the U.S. Department of Commerce as deputy director of public affairs for the secretary. A Marquette University grad, she previously worked as an aide in the Wisconsin Legislature and under former Gov. Scott Walker.
Alexa Henning served as director of media affairs on Trump’s campaign after serving as assistant communications director and director of broadcast media at the White House.
— Lawmakers last week circulated 19 bills for co-sponsorship, including a Dem bill to prohibit gay conversion therapy.
Another bill circulating would make it a felony to recklessly handle, store or treat a vaccine in a way that would make it unsafe, tained, spoiled, ineffective or unusable. A Wisconsin pharmacist last month pleaded guilty to federal charges for attempting to destroy nearly 500 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine.
Also, Rep. Lakeshia Myers, D-Milwaukee, has introduced a joint resolution to honor former Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams, who was born in Madison.
See the Association of Wisconsin Lobbyist’s summary of last week’s bills circulated, including links to the co-sponsorship memos:
https://www.wispolitics.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/210321AWL.pdf
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March 29: DHS Deputy Secretary Julie Willems Van Dijk headlines Newsmaker Lunch Hour
Julie Willems Van Dijk, deputy secretary of the Wisconsin Department of Health Services, will be the featured guest at a virtual event set for noon on Monday, March 29. This Newsmaker Lunch Hour is presented by a partnership between the Milwaukee Press Club, and WisPolitics.com.
Willems Van Dijk will field questions from a panel of journalists from noon to 1 p.m., moderated by Milwaukee Press Club President Corrinne Hess, reporter for Wisconsin Public Radio.
You must register in advance to view this event. Those who register will receive a link on the morning of the event to view it live.
Register here:
https://milwaukeepressclub.org/events/dhs-deputy-secretary-julie-willems-van-dijk-headlines-newsmaker-lunch-hour/
The Milwaukee Press Club’s Newsmaker Luncheon Series is underwritten by presenting sponsor Spectrum News 1.
WisPolitics.com partners with the press club as part of its ongoing event series in Milwaukee, sponsored by UW-Milwaukee, Wisconsin Academy of Global Education and Training, ELEVEN25 at Pabst, Milwaukee Police Association, The Firm Consulting, Medical College of Wisconsin and Spectrum.
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TOP HEADLINES
7-Day Average Of COVID-19 Cases Around 400 Per Day
… 572,432 confirmed cases … 6.756 have died … 2,686,087 total negative tests [1,212 more cases – 390 fri, 402 sat, 20 more deaths – 6 fri, 14 sat, 8,196 more negative tests since Thursday] … 27,102 people have been hospitalized [about 4.7%, 108 more since Thursday] … [7-day avg. daily cases: 399 – 421 a week ago. 7-day avg. positivity – 2.3 including multiple testers] … 2,333,528 doses of the vaccines have been administered … 48.7% age 65 and up are fully vaccinated. … 855,820 [14.7%] have received both shots … 2,406,225 doses of the vaccine has been allocated across Wisconsin. … 53 counties had a “high” level of activity level … 16 counties have a “medium” level … Kewaunee, Menominee and Clark counties had a “low” level. … Jefferson, Washington, Waushara, Rock, Price, Wood, Portage, Kenosha and Waupaca counties had a “shrinking” level … growing case trajectories in Taylor, Pierce, Racine, Dunn, Calumet, La Crosse and FdL counties. … all 7 regions were listed as “high” level of activity … 5 “no significant change,” Western “growing,” South Central “shrinking” levels.
https://www.wpr.org/7-day-average-covid-19-cases-around-400-day
420 New COVID-19 Cases
… 193 people were actively hospitalized [57 in ICU, 378 on respirators, Alternative Facility in West Allis closing] … decrease of 7 from the day prior and a decrease of 19 from a week ago. Thirty days ago the total was 370. … 1,249 [deaths] in Milwaukee County. … 30-day average daily death total now stands at 11.30, below the December 23rd reported record of 53.43. Thirty days ago the rolling average was 23.50. … Top 10 Counties for cases per 100K: Menominee 18,142.4, Dodge, Jackson, Barron, Brown, Trempealeau, Fond du Lac, Kewaunee, Sheboygan, Oconto 11,356.1 [Milwaukee 10,547.1, Dane 7,872.3]. Charts on cases and deaths, hospitalization by age, county.
https://urbanmilwaukee.com/2021/03/21/wi-daily-420
State Fair alternate care facility officially closes
… opened Oct. 14 of last year to serve as an overflow facility for hospitals that were nearing or reached capacity … When it opened in October, it was able to serve 50 patients but had the capabilities to scale up to 530 patients. From October to February, the site served 170 patients. … From Dec. 22 of last year to Feb. 5, the facility also had a bamlanivimab Infusion Clinic. … decommissioning comes as … Automobile Dealers Association of Metro Milwaukee moved its annual Milwaukee International Truck and Car Show to May 5-9, 2021, at Wisconsin State Fair Park, a change from its usual February scheduling at the Wisconsin Center in downtown Milwaukee.
https://www.bizjournals.com/milwaukee/news/2021/03/19/wisconsin-state-fair-alternate-care-facility-offic.html
The weight of the past year is wearing people out, mental health experts say
… “(People) have been carrying a boulder across a running river, and they feel like they’re ready to put the boulder down,” said NAMI Wisconsin executive director Mary Kay Battaglia. … “People are just worn out, frankly, at this point,” [Marshfield Clinic’ psychologist] Michels said. “Their resilience is just worn out.” … “COVID doesn’t take any time off. It’s relentlessly always there,” [Bellin’s] LaTorre said. “That has definitely taken its toll on people emotionally.” … Therapists recommend the same coping mechanisms they’ve suggested from the onset of the pandemic: Get outside, move around, connect with loved ones and seek out additional support, such as therapy. … In the end, we can take some ‘lemonades’ from this,” [Battaglia] said. “There are some silver linings.” … More than anything, LaTorre said, self-care and a positive mindset will help you get through.
https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/2021/03/22/depression-anxiety-and-stress-all-up-during-mental-health-pandemic/4593576001/
WI’s $5.7B in stimulus aid puts it near the middle of the pack
… equivalent of 4% of [Evers’] $91.2B, two-year state budget… almost as much as what it costs the state to run the UW System for five years. … Wisconsin is receiving $3.4B and its counties and municipalities are receiving $2.3B … equivalent of $981 per person, putting WI in 29th place … MN (42nd place) and IA (44th). … IL (20th) and MI (27th). Topping the list are sparsely populated states … Wyoming and its local governments are receiving $2,349 per resident … Aid to state governments is based on population and unemployment. … Aid to cities is based on population growth, poverty rates and the amount of overcrowded housing … County funding is based mostly on population. … [Evers] has said he would spend the new funds in a similar way [to CARES Act]. … [Speaker Vos questioned borrowing for grants to a state with a stable economy] “We didn’t need the money,” Vos said. “If they are going to give us the money and (Evers) wants to spend it, we have to come up with some things that would be better than just expanding the size of government or utilizing it frivolously.” [declined premature specifics]. Sen. Erpenbach opposed legislative oversight, “If you want to slow aid and help and recovery to small businesses or any other aspect of the state of Wisconsin, get the Legislature involved.”
https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/politics/2021/03/22/wisconsin-near-middle-pack-federal-stimulus-aid-covid-19/4754839001/
National Guard’s convoluted records system hinders justice for sexual assault survivors
… Guard’s records system is so confusing and slow, victims say, it has been used as a tool of retaliation against them. … An extensive effort by the Cap Times in 2019 and 2020 to document basic investigative practices in each state encountered roadblocks preventing a comprehensive assessment of how deep sexual misconduct in the Guard is, and whether states are addressing it effectively. … Privacy laws create obstacles to seeing all of those documents … because such reports contain personal identifying information … but the exercise revealed deeper problems with attempts to glean information from the Guard. … One [active WNG] soldier who reported being sexually assaulted by her Guard supervisor called the Guard’s records system “a maze of processes that ultimately lead to nowhere.” … Guard even denied one of her requests for her own case records. … “They just like to operate in their own little world and their own little kingdom, and the rest of you be damned,” she said. Rehash 2019 story on soldier/victim Plunkett, “I cannot fight the lies unless I know what the lies are,” Plunkett said, still waiting for records she requested in 2018. The Guard said she can expect them in 2022. NG’s McFadden, Protect Our Defenders’ Christensen, atty. Topic comment.
https://madison.com/ct/61601319-20ab-54df-b079-89cda53bb84d.html
Assembly committee considers bill to allow ‘microschools’
… [Sortwell’s AB 122] would define a microschool as an instruction program provided at a single physical location to between two and five family units with no more than 20 children. Current law does not include an instruction program provided to more than one family unit as an option. … [Sortwell] told the committee that the “disaster” of virtual learning for some children over the past year inspired the effort, though the lack of a microschool option was a longtime issue. … would not change any language in existing law regarding homeschooling. Still, [Homeschooling Parents’] Ahl spoke in opposition … calling microschools “unregulated private schools. … Your parental right has now been severed because you have enrolled your child in the microschool.” … Rep. Robert Wittke, R-Racine, expressed similar concerns over who would be accountable. Homeschooled teen Kaseman-Wold agreed with Ahl. Homeschooler Hollenbeck said families are already doing this, don’t need govt rules, could bring unwanted scrutiny of homeschools. Parent King supported bill. Rep. Vruwink questioned availability of teachers for specialized subjects. Education Committee Thursday approved AB 59 and AB 119 that seek to expand open enrollment and the voucher program.
https://madison.com/ct/3dbf5054-192f-56f7-907a-6e435334ea26.html
WI seeks public comment on $53M project to boost Amtrak service through state
… Planners anticipate 124,200 riders on those two daily Amtrak round trips in its 2024 opening year of service. The 411-mile line would offer a 7.5-hour trip from St. Paul to Chicago. Stations in downtown Milwaukee and at Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport are among the 13 along the way. … annual operating cost is $12.3M. Ticket revenue would cover $4.86M of that, federal money would cover $5.62M and the two states would spend a combined $1.81M. … “This project leverages the existing rail corridor and passenger rail service to significantly improve the value of this transportation option across the state,” said [WisDOT Sec.] Thompson. “This not only serves major Midwestern cities, but many rural communities along the route.”
https://www.bizjournals.com/milwaukee/news/2021/03/19/wisconsin-seeks-public-input-on-53m-pamtrak-plan.html
Invasive quagga mussels dominate Great Lakes, leave scientists trying to catch up
… thumb-sized, clumping mollusks that invaded the Great Lakes in the 1990s, have proliferated to dominate the lower four Great Lakes … new [UMinn-D] study, examined whether the quagga mussels have altered the cycle of phosphorus … [which] frustrates human efforts to better control and regulate nutrient flows into the Great Lakes that can cause algae blooms and oxygen-deprived dead areas. … “When there’s too little, there’s no fish, no production, because this is an essential nutrient. And too much is not good; there will be algae blooms.” … “We would say, ‘If we keep the [man-made phosphorus] load below those target numbers, we will prevent algal blooms,’ ” [researcher] Katsev said. “Now we seem to be losing the effectiveness of this tool. Mussels have greater influence.” … [MiDNR’s Claramunt said,] “I characterize the zebra and quagga mussels as on the same level of impact to the Great Lakes as the sea lamprey. They’ve changed the food web, they’ve caused substantial detriment to several species … they’ve changed the lakes, and continue to change them, to where it might take decades before we get any stability.” … The sheer numbers of quagga mussels — anywhere the Minnesota researchers looked on the lake bottoms [even with only sunlight] … “We figured out that we forgot to turn the light on,” he said [of one occasion]. “But we still see it — there was enough light there at 60 meters down. The water is so transparent because of the mussels’ filtration. And that was never the case in Lake Michigan.”
https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/local/michigan/2021/03/16/quagga-mussels-michigan-great-lakes/4668705001/
Assaulting the Truth, Ron Johnson Helps Erode Confidence in Government
Pushing false theories on the virus, the vaccine and the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, Mr. Johnson, the Republican senator from Wisconsin, has absorbed his party’s transformation under Donald Trump. … This month alone, Mr. Johnson has made at least 15 appearances on 11 different radio shows. … Mr. Johnson is an all-access purveyor of misinformation on serious issues such as the pandemic and the legitimacy of American democracy, as well as invoking the etymology of Greenland as a way to downplay the effects of climate change. … Johnson repeatedly refused to say that vaccines were safe or to encourage people to get them, resorting instead to insinuations — “there’s still so much we don’t know about all of this” — that undermine efforts to defeat the pandemic. … “Wisconsin voters love mavericks, they really love mavericks — you go way back to Joe McCarthy,” said Jim Sensenbrenner, a long-serving Republican congressman from the Milwaukee suburbs who retired in January. “They do love people who rattle the cage an awful lot and bring up topics that maybe people don’t want to talk about.” … For Democrats, who have never forgotten Mr. Johnson’s defeat of the liberal darling Russ Feingold in 2010, and again in a 2016 rematch, regaining the Senate seat in 2022 is a top priority … “Through the years, as the party has morphed into a muscular ignorance, Q-Anon sect, he’s followed along with them,” said Christian Schneider … “Now, he’s a perfect example of that type of politics.” … Charlie Sykes … said last week of Mr. Johnson: “I don’t know how he went from being a chamber of commerce guy to somebody who sounds like he reads the Gateway Pundit every day. He’s turned into Joe McCarthy.” [Rehash insurrection, Greenland, BLM remarks. RPW African-American Advisor Randall: “I know Senator Johnson personally, and I know that he is not a racist.” Conservative, ex-Brookfield alder Scott Berg: “If I were in the leadership of the Wisconsin Republican Party, I’d be out shopping for candidates.”] … “I’m a Johnson supporter — I voted for him twice — but I think he’s going down a rabbit hole I don’t want any part of,” said John Raschig, a retiree who was leaving a Pick ‘n Save supermarket. “It’s sort of like Trump: I’d vote for him because the other side’s awful, but I’d prefer somebody else.”
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/21/us/politics/ron-johnson-wisconsin-misinformation.html
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April 15: WisPolitics.com virtual luncheon with Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu
Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu, R-Oostburg, joins a WisPolitics.com Madison virtual luncheon on Thursday, April 15 from noon to 1 p.m.
LeMahieu will take questions on the state budget and Senate Republican priorities.
The event will begin with a moderated discussion and then shift to questions from the audience.
Register here:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeZ0bH32-ypkKUuX4QfF1hrbVXVo3TrLN7O5zH6T89Kz-K-Pw/viewform
We will send you a link to access the webinar on the morning of the event.
This event series is sponsored by: Husch Blackwell Strategies, American Family Insurance, Xcel Energy, Walmart, AARP Wisconsin and the Wisconsin Hospital Association.
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TODAY’S CALENDAR
https://www.wispolitics.com/category/events/
Monday, March 22nd
– No events listed.
Tuesday, March 23rd
– 12 p.m. – 1 p.m.: Milwaukee Rotary Club discussion with ESPN writer Jesse Washington.
http://milwaukeerotary.com/event/espn-writer-jesse-washington/
– 12 p.m. – 1 p.m.: Thompson Center “Defining moments from COVID-19” discussion with Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes.
https://www.wispolitics.com/2021/defining-moments-from-covid-19-with-lt-gov-barnes/
– 12 p.m.: Senate floor period.
https://www.wispolitics.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Senate-Calendar_2021-03-23.pdf
– 6 p.m. – 8 p.m.: Automation and Job Loss: Who benefits from new technology under capitalism?
https://www.wispolitics.com/2021/automation-and-job-loss-who-benefits-from-new-technology-under-capitalism/
Wednesday, March 24th
– 9:30 a.m.: Assembly Committee on Mental Health informational hearing from invited speakers.
https://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/raw/cid/1603918
– 10 a.m.: Assembly Committee on Children and Families public hearing on AB 26, prohibiting out-of-home placement of a child with a person who has a criminal record against children.
https://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/raw/cid/1604348
– 10 a.m.: Senate Committee on Government Operations, Legal Review, and Consumer Protection public hearing on SJR 8, calling for a Constitutional Convention of the states on federal government restrictions.
https://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/raw/cid/1605053
– 10:05 a.m.: Senate Committee on Government Operations, Legal Review and Consumer Protection executive session on clearinghouse rules.
https://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/raw/cid/1605051
– 10:30 a.m.: Senate Committee on Economic and Workforce Development public hearing on SB 125, creating an apprenticeship program income tax subtraction for tuition.
https://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/raw/cid/1602576
– 11 a.m. – 12 p.m.: Tech Council Innovation Network: Can Wisconsin create a venture ‘fund of funds’?
https://wisconsintechnologycouncil.com/event/can-wisconsin-create-a-venture-fund-of-funds-hear-about-100-million-state-plan-march-24/
– 12 p.m. – 1 p.m.: Madison Rotary “There is Light in the Darkness” virtual event with Zach Brandon
https://rotarymadison.org/event/program-zach-brandon-online-economic-update-from-greater-madison-chamber-of-commerce/?instance_id=4781
– 12 p.m.: Badger Institute Symposium: ‘It’s time to reform state expungement law’
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/badger-institute-symposium-its-time-to-reform-wisconsins-expungement-law-tickets-142700423809
– 7 p.m.: La Follette School of Public Affairs: ‘Politics and Policy: Democracy in the Digital Age’
https://lafollette.wisc.edu/outreach-public-service/events/politics-and-policy-democracy-in-the-digital-age
Thursday, March 25th
– 12 p.m. – 1 p.m.: BioForward Wisconsin: ‘Quebec and Wisconsin: Two thriving Life Science Ecosystems sharing Strengths and Opportunities’
https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_2xsiNOGTQImKc-d3v54uFg?timezone_id=America%2FChicago
– 1 p.m.: Assembly Committee on Transportation public hearing on AB 97, designating a Bart Starr Memorial Bridge.
https://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/raw/cid/1604512
– 7 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.: The League of Women Voters of Milwaukee County: ‘Keeping Milwaukee Safe: COVID-19 Research and MMSD Infrastructure Needs’
https://www.wispolitics.com/2021/keeping-milwaukee-safe-covid-19-research-and-mmsd-infrastructure-needs/
Friday, March 26th
– 7:30 a.m. – 9 a.m.: Women in Technology: ‘Accelerating Organizational Success & Employee Well-being in Times of Change’
http://www.witwisconsin.com/event-4205106
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