
Wisconsin Supreme Court weighs state power to protect water from farm pollutants
The outcome of a nearly decade-long dispute in Kewaunee County could shape regulatory power across state government.
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The outcome of a nearly decade-long dispute in Kewaunee County could shape regulatory power across state government.

The state Supreme Court ruled today the Elections Commission has no power to remove from the rolls thousands of voters who may have moved, but didn’t respond to a mailer seeking to confirm their address. In the 5-2 ruling, the

AG Josh Kaul is rebuffing a call from the Legislature’s top two Republicans to join a lawsuit challenging a provision in the latest federal COVID package that prevents states from using the money to cut taxes. In a letter yesterday,

U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg touted the Biden administration’s $2 trillion infrastructure plan as a means to keep the country globally competitive in the coming centuries. On this week’s “UpFront,” produced in partnership with WisPolitics.com, the former Dem presidential candidate

Gov. Tony Evers’ budget includes some three dozen recommendations from his Climate Change Task Force, including tens of millions of new investments in green jobs, conservation efforts and renewable energy. One of the high-profile items: creating an Office of Environmental

Gov. Tony Evers has asked federal courts to force Donald Trump, his attorneys and the parties in a second lawsuit seeking to overturn Wisconsin’s election results to reimburse the state for $250,000 in legal costs to hire private attorneys in

A split state Supreme Court today ruled Gov. Tony Evers exceeded his authority in issuing multiple public health emergencies over the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, striking down the foundation for his latest mask mandate. Justice Brian Hagedorn, in the majority opinion,

Jill Underly outraised state superintendent rival Deb Kerr nearly 16-to-1 in the latest reporting period, thanks largely to the state Dem Party pumping almost $743,000 into her campaign. Underly, the Pecatonica superintendent, reported $1.1 million raised compared to the $71,466

A Waukesha businessman who co-founded the non-partisan group Democracy Found said he thinks ranked-choice voting in Wisconsin could help restore a “functional democracy.” Democracy Found is a Wisconsin-based initiative committed to revitalizing democracy. Co-founder Austin Ramirez, the president and CEO

After plateauing at the start of the month, Wisconsin’s seven-day average for daily confirmed cases is rising. After reporting 537 new COVID-19 cases Thursday, the seven-day average rose to the highest it’s been in nearly three weeks — 459 cases

Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu told WisPolitics.com Senate Republicans won’t extend the suspension of a one-week waiting period so laid off Wisconsinites can begin collecting unemployment right away. The Oostburg Republican said his caucus is hearing from businesses around the

Gov. Tony Evers says better data on COVID-19 infections and deaths in nursing homes would not have changed precautions or vaccine rollout plans. The Evers administration has been facing GOP criticism for a lag in accurately reporting COVID-19 infection and

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,

DHS Deputy Secretary Julie Willems Van Dijk says she expects enough COVID-19 vaccine supply to achieve herd immunity by the end of June, but that doesn’t mean all Wisconsinites will want a shot. Herd immunity would need about 80 percent

The State Building Commission deadlocked along partisan lines on all motions relating to Gov. Tony Evers’ $2.4 billion capital budget before it goes to the Joint Finance Committee. GOP lawmakers at the start of yesterday’s meeting sought to send the

The GOP members of the Building Commission are signaling they’ll move at today’s meeting to send Gov. Tony Evers’ capital budget to the Joint Finance Committee without a recommendation. Republican lawmakers on the commission tried a similar tactic two years
Wisconsin is getting federal support for a mass COVID-19 vaccination site at the Wisconsin Center in Milwaukee, Gov. Tony Evers says. FEMA will coordinate staffing support to administer the COVID-19 vaccine. Wisconsin has committed to providing at least 7,000 weekly

One year after the pandemic started, students in Milwaukee still haven’t returned to classrooms. And a teachers’ union leader is signaling that educators may need to see safety measures, beyond vaccinations, in order for them to return. Milwaukee Public Schools,

Note: This item first appeared in WisPolitics.com’s FRI REPORT, available to Gold and Platinum subscribers. Visit here to subscribe. Gov. Tony Evers would like to eventually close some of Wisconsin’s state prisons, after campaigning on a goal of eventually cutting

New language in the pandemic relief bill would likely mean about 195,000 fewer Wisconsin filers getting $1,400 relief checks, according to figures from the state Department of Revenue. Still, more than 3.2 million filers are in line for the stimulus

The outcome of a nearly decade-long dispute in Kewaunee County could shape regulatory power across state government.

The state Supreme Court ruled today the Elections Commission has no power to remove from the rolls thousands of voters who may have moved, but didn’t respond to a mailer seeking to confirm their address. In the 5-2 ruling, the court found that responsibility rests with local elections officials and

AG Josh Kaul is rebuffing a call from the Legislature’s top two Republicans to join a lawsuit challenging a provision in the latest federal COVID package that prevents states from using the money to cut taxes. In a letter yesterday, Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu, R-Oostburg, and Assembly Speaker Robin

U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg touted the Biden administration’s $2 trillion infrastructure plan as a means to keep the country globally competitive in the coming centuries. On this week’s “UpFront,” produced in partnership with WisPolitics.com, the former Dem presidential candidate said the proposal would, among other things, fix crumbling roads

Gov. Tony Evers’ budget includes some three dozen recommendations from his Climate Change Task Force, including tens of millions of new investments in green jobs, conservation efforts and renewable energy. One of the high-profile items: creating an Office of Environmental Justice within the Department of Administration to coordinate state efforts

Gov. Tony Evers has asked federal courts to force Donald Trump, his attorneys and the parties in a second lawsuit seeking to overturn Wisconsin’s election results to reimburse the state for $250,000 in legal costs to hire private attorneys in the cases. In a filing yesterday, Evers’ private lawyers urged

A split state Supreme Court today ruled Gov. Tony Evers exceeded his authority in issuing multiple public health emergencies over the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, striking down the foundation for his latest mask mandate. Justice Brian Hagedorn, in the majority opinion, wrote that state law on public health emergencies forbids guvs

Jill Underly outraised state superintendent rival Deb Kerr nearly 16-to-1 in the latest reporting period, thanks largely to the state Dem Party pumping almost $743,000 into her campaign. Underly, the Pecatonica superintendent, reported $1.1 million raised compared to the $71,466 pulled in by Kerr, the former Brown Deer superintendent, a

A Waukesha businessman who co-founded the non-partisan group Democracy Found said he thinks ranked-choice voting in Wisconsin could help restore a “functional democracy.” Democracy Found is a Wisconsin-based initiative committed to revitalizing democracy. Co-founder Austin Ramirez, the president and CEO of Husco International, said his group favors having a nonpartisan

After plateauing at the start of the month, Wisconsin’s seven-day average for daily confirmed cases is rising. After reporting 537 new COVID-19 cases Thursday, the seven-day average rose to the highest it’s been in nearly three weeks — 459 cases per day. This is the highest since March 5, when

Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu told WisPolitics.com Senate Republicans won’t extend the suspension of a one-week waiting period so laid off Wisconsinites can begin collecting unemployment right away. The Oostburg Republican said his caucus is hearing from businesses around the state that are having a hard time filling open positions.

Gov. Tony Evers says better data on COVID-19 infections and deaths in nursing homes would not have changed precautions or vaccine rollout plans. The Evers administration has been facing GOP criticism for a lag in accurately reporting COVID-19 infection and death numbers for nursing homes. The criticism comes after administration

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

DHS Deputy Secretary Julie Willems Van Dijk says she expects enough COVID-19 vaccine supply to achieve herd immunity by the end of June, but that doesn’t mean all Wisconsinites will want a shot. Herd immunity would need about 80 percent of the population fully vaccinated, health officials say. The June

The State Building Commission deadlocked along partisan lines on all motions relating to Gov. Tony Evers’ $2.4 billion capital budget before it goes to the Joint Finance Committee. GOP lawmakers at the start of yesterday’s meeting sought to send the capital budget to JFC without a recommendation. The move failed

The GOP members of the Building Commission are signaling they’ll move at today’s meeting to send Gov. Tony Evers’ capital budget to the Joint Finance Committee without a recommendation. Republican lawmakers on the commission tried a similar tactic two years ago as their GOP colleagues objected to the $2.5 billion
Wisconsin is getting federal support for a mass COVID-19 vaccination site at the Wisconsin Center in Milwaukee, Gov. Tony Evers says. FEMA will coordinate staffing support to administer the COVID-19 vaccine. Wisconsin has committed to providing at least 7,000 weekly vaccine doses from the state’s allocation for the site. “We

One year after the pandemic started, students in Milwaukee still haven’t returned to classrooms. And a teachers’ union leader is signaling that educators may need to see safety measures, beyond vaccinations, in order for them to return. Milwaukee Public Schools, the state’s largest school district, is holding classes virtually. The

Note: This item first appeared in WisPolitics.com’s FRI REPORT, available to Gold and Platinum subscribers. Visit here to subscribe. Gov. Tony Evers would like to eventually close some of Wisconsin’s state prisons, after campaigning on a goal of eventually cutting the state’s inmate population in half. His budget lays out

New language in the pandemic relief bill would likely mean about 195,000 fewer Wisconsin filers getting $1,400 relief checks, according to figures from the state Department of Revenue. Still, more than 3.2 million filers are in line for the stimulus money under the Senate version of the $1.9 trillion pandemic