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
Two GOP lawmakers are circulating legislation that would rein in government powers during a pandemic, including a provision that would ban sweeping stay-at-home orders. Among other things, the two bills would mandate governors get approval from at least two legislative
A Republican senator sponsoring legislation to change state election laws says he’s trying to preserve integrity in elections, while a Dem lawmaker calls it an attempt at voter suppression. Sen. Duey Stroebel, R-Cedarburg, and Sen. Melissa Agard, D-Madison, appeared jointly
Gov. Tony Evers says he will continue to push for two-thirds funding for public schools despite GOP opposition and that he’ll work to close down some adult state prisons in the future. Evers in a WisPolitics.com virtual luncheon Tuesday said
In a weekend TV appearance, the candidates for state schools superintendent clashed over voucher schools and their own district leadership during the pandemic. Deborah Kerr, former superintendent of the Brown Deer Schools, and Jill Underly, superintendent of the Pecatonica Area
GOP lawmakers have begun circulating a half-dozen bills that would impose new ID requirements on absentee ballots, create new restrictions on collecting those ballots and explicitly ban employees in assisted living facilities from unduly influencing residents’ votes. The bills come
Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Alex Lasry said he will invest in his race, but will not self-fund. Lasry, the son of Milwaukee Bucks co-owner Marc Lasry, a hedge fund billionaire, said he wants to “build a great grassroots campaign from
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
Two GOP lawmakers are circulating legislation that would rein in government powers during a pandemic, including a provision that would ban sweeping stay-at-home orders. Among other things, the two bills would mandate governors get approval from at least two legislative leaders before declaring a public health emergency. The bills are
A Republican senator sponsoring legislation to change state election laws says he’s trying to preserve integrity in elections, while a Dem lawmaker calls it an attempt at voter suppression. Sen. Duey Stroebel, R-Cedarburg, and Sen. Melissa Agard, D-Madison, appeared jointly yesterday on “UpFront,” produced in partnership with WisPolitics.com. Stroebel has
Gov. Tony Evers says he will continue to push for two-thirds funding for public schools despite GOP opposition and that he’ll work to close down some adult state prisons in the future. Evers in a WisPolitics.com virtual luncheon Tuesday said he wants the state to return to funding two-thirds of
In a weekend TV appearance, the candidates for state schools superintendent clashed over voucher schools and their own district leadership during the pandemic. Deborah Kerr, former superintendent of the Brown Deer Schools, and Jill Underly, superintendent of the Pecatonica Area Schools, appeared jointly on the statewide “UpFront” program, produced in
GOP lawmakers have begun circulating a half-dozen bills that would impose new ID requirements on absentee ballots, create new restrictions on collecting those ballots and explicitly ban employees in assisted living facilities from unduly influencing residents’ votes. The bills come on the heels of GOP calls for new election measures
Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Alex Lasry said he will invest in his race, but will not self-fund. Lasry, the son of Milwaukee Bucks co-owner Marc Lasry, a hedge fund billionaire, said he wants to “build a great grassroots campaign from the bottom up.” Lasry, in an interview that aired yesterday