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
The Joint Finance Committee co-chairs told a WisPolitics.com luncheon about a number of items in Evers’ budget that they oppose: raising the minimum wage, accepting additional federal money to expand Medicaid and legalizing recreational marijuana. Sen. Howard Marklein, R-Spring Green,
Gov. Tony Evers is proposing an overhaul of how Wisconsin treats juvenile offenders, including moving almost all minors out of the adult criminal justice system and revamping the state’s approach to youth prisons. Evers said in his budget address last
By Ashley Obuljen for WisPolitics.com President Joe Biden tonight suggested getting to a $15 per-hour minimum wage over time would still stimulate the economy while easing the burden on small business owners in the Midwest. “It’s about doing it gradually,”
Gov. Tony Evers today proposed a budget that would boost state spending by $3.2 billion with half of that going to K-12 education as he laid down a marker on his priorities ahead of a possible reelection bid in 2022.
After an adverse court ruling, the state’s Natural Resources Board Monday unanimously signed off on a February wolf hunt. The board had originally rejected establishing a hunt in a 4-3 vote last month. But a Jefferson County Circuit Court judge
Gov. Tony Evers said he’s “not a pessimist” and thinks his plan to legalize and tax recreational marijuana could pass, even with a Republican-controlled Legislature that has members on record opposing it. “I’m anticipating that there’ll be a good push
Gov. Tony Evers today announced his budget will propose $329 million to help businesses and the workforce rebuild from the pandemic. That includes $200 million for small businesses through the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. and a $100 million venture capital
Gov. Tony Evers’ budget will propose allowing counties to double the sales tax they can impose and permit more than two dozen municipalities to add a new sales tax — if local voters approve. The state currently imposes a 5
Gov. Tony Evers today announced his budget will propose investing $150 million in mental health initiatives in addition to again seeking legislative approval to accept federal money to expand Medicaid. The $150 million includes $55 million for student mental health
Former Brown Deer Superintendent Deb Kerr raised and spent more than her rivals for state schools superintendent over the first month of the year, finance reports show. Assistant State Superintendent Sheila Briggs pulled in the second most money in the
Gov. Tony Evers announced this morning his budget will propose investing $600 million in Wisconsin’s long-term care infrastructure and $104 million more to address quality, affordability and equity in childcare. The efforts include increasing reimbursement rates for nursing homes by
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
The Joint Finance Committee co-chairs told a WisPolitics.com luncheon about a number of items in Evers’ budget that they oppose: raising the minimum wage, accepting additional federal money to expand Medicaid and legalizing recreational marijuana. Sen. Howard Marklein, R-Spring Green, and Rep. Mark Born, R-Beaver Dam, said yesterday they want
Gov. Tony Evers is proposing an overhaul of how Wisconsin treats juvenile offenders, including moving almost all minors out of the adult criminal justice system and revamping the state’s approach to youth prisons. Evers said in his budget address last night the package includes closing the state’s youth prisons Lincoln
By Ashley Obuljen for WisPolitics.com President Joe Biden tonight suggested getting to a $15 per-hour minimum wage over time would still stimulate the economy while easing the burden on small business owners in the Midwest. “It’s about doing it gradually,” Biden told a CNN town hall at the Pabst Theater
Gov. Tony Evers today proposed a budget that would boost state spending by $3.2 billion with half of that going to K-12 education as he laid down a marker on his priorities ahead of a possible reelection bid in 2022. The two-year spending plan, which is sure to face stiff
After an adverse court ruling, the state’s Natural Resources Board Monday unanimously signed off on a February wolf hunt. The board had originally rejected establishing a hunt in a 4-3 vote last month. But a Jefferson County Circuit Court judge last week said board members violated state law and ordered
Gov. Tony Evers said he’s “not a pessimist” and thinks his plan to legalize and tax recreational marijuana could pass, even with a Republican-controlled Legislature that has members on record opposing it. “I’m anticipating that there’ll be a good push to get it through, and it makes sense,” Evers said
Gov. Tony Evers today announced his budget will propose $329 million to help businesses and the workforce rebuild from the pandemic. That includes $200 million for small businesses through the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. and a $100 million venture capital fund. The venture capital program would be a new fund
Gov. Tony Evers’ budget will propose allowing counties to double the sales tax they can impose and permit more than two dozen municipalities to add a new sales tax — if local voters approve. The state currently imposes a 5 percent tax on most sales while allowing counties to add
Gov. Tony Evers today announced his budget will propose investing $150 million in mental health initiatives in addition to again seeking legislative approval to accept federal money to expand Medicaid. The $150 million includes $55 million for student mental health and expanding a program designed to address child psychiatry shortages.
Former Brown Deer Superintendent Deb Kerr raised and spent more than her rivals for state schools superintendent over the first month of the year, finance reports show. Assistant State Superintendent Sheila Briggs pulled in the second most money in the race to lead DPI, followed by Pecatonica Superintendent Jill Underly.
Gov. Tony Evers announced this morning his budget will propose investing $600 million in Wisconsin’s long-term care infrastructure and $104 million more to address quality, affordability and equity in childcare. The efforts include increasing reimbursement rates for nursing homes by $240 million over the biennium and creating a $200 million