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Kevyn Burger: Taking a bite out of the dental care access problem
Dental therapists in Minnesota help more low-income kids and adults get the oral care they need.


Jessie Opoien: Mwangi Vasser deserves the second chance Tony Evers gave him, and he is far from the only one
Less than six months after taking office, Evers reinstated the pardon board — opening a door for Vasser and others like him.

WisOpinion.com: ‘The Insiders’ discuss the race to succeed Sensenbrenner
With Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald, R-Juneau, a leading candidate next year for Wisconsin’s 5th Congressional District, the WisOpinion Insiders, Chvala and Jensen, consider other candidates and scenarios in the race to succeed outgoing GOP U.S. Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner.

Paul Fanlund: My hometown — Rockford — still fights the good fight after all these years
Often maligned, Rockford, Illinois is the subject of a whimsical new book. The city delivers its civic boosterism with passion and good humor.

James Wigderson: The blue scary thing in your kid’s trick or treat bag
In an email to his constituents on Thursday, Rep. Joe Sanfelippo, R-New Berlin, broke the bad news: the new Blue Books are ready.

Caleb Frostman: Successful workforce recruitment, retention starts with pay, benefits
Wisconsin companies finding success are doing so by providing strong wages and benefits, prioritizing inclusivity, which expands their candidate pool, and addressing barriers to employment such as housing and transportation when possible.

Tony Evers: What’s best for our kids is what’s best for our state
It’s time to get serious about investing in our kids, our schools and our educators, because what’s best for our kids is what’s best for our state.

Dan O’Donnell: Milwaukee’s caporegime
Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett is sounding an awful lot like The Godfather’s Tom Hagen these days as he tries to pressure both the State Legislature and Milwaukee County voters to approve a sales tax increase next spring.

Masood Akhtar and Mike McCabe: 12 steps to strike hate at its roots
Hate and the violence it frequently produces is an illness, not unlike alcoholism. Twelve steps can get us to wellness.

James Rowen: WI GOP and rightist allies push ahead on permanent, one-party state
There are more signs that the right’s goal in Wisconsin is to harden GOP rule and keep our swing state’s electoral votes reliably Republican and permanently maintain Wisconsin as a low-wage, pro-polluter, one-percenters’ playground with an intentionally-weak and underfunded public sector.

Jeff Smith: Wisconsin’s dairy crisis doesn’t stop at the farmer’s doorstep
There’s no shortage of good ideas, but we can do more. There’s too much at stake to tell dairy farmers to “get big or go out.”

Eric Bott: PRO Act threatens a decade’s worth of progress, protection for Wisconsin’s workers
Not only would the Protecting the Right to Organize Act undermine protections for Wisconsin workers, it would jeopardize the Badger State’s aforementioned economic growth.

Bruce Murphy: What Walker cost Wisconsin
New report shows big decline in federal aid for state while he was governor.

Dave Zweifel: We can see right through Donald Trump’s ‘tough guy’ shtick
Name-calling and character assassination don’t cut it where the really tough are needed.

John Nichols: Democrats need to hold single-issue debate on war, peace and militarism
Instead of anecdotal discussions that touch on a past vote or the latest crisis created by President Trump, Democrats need to have a full and robust debate on these issues.

Jon Erpenbach: Democrats’ legislative priorities will move Wisconsin ‘Forward Together’
Democrats are listening to the will of the people, and basing our plans on priorities that will improve lives.

Noah Wall and Quinn Anderson: To win Wisconsin, Republicans must be clear about what they stand for
According to the latest Fox News poll, 55 percent of Wisconsin voters are dissatisfied with the direction of the country. If Republicans are going to win this election cycle, they have to address the issues that matter most to Wisconsin voters.

Bill Berry: ‘Big hogs’ are pushing around our smaller ag producers
People with more than a passing knowledge of farming know CAFOs are actually cutting the bottom out from under smaller producers who can’t compete. Making liberal standards for new and expanded CAFOs isn’t going help small- and medium-sized producers. It can only hurt them.

Bill Kaplan: Trump will be impeached
A political storm, unlike any other, is coming.

Kevyn Burger: Taking a bite out of the dental care access problem
Dental therapists in Minnesota help more low-income kids and adults get the oral care they need.


Jessie Opoien: Mwangi Vasser deserves the second chance Tony Evers gave him, and he is far from the only one
Less than six months after taking office, Evers reinstated the pardon board — opening a door for Vasser and others like him.

WisOpinion.com: ‘The Insiders’ discuss the race to succeed Sensenbrenner
With Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald, R-Juneau, a leading candidate next year for Wisconsin’s 5th Congressional District, the WisOpinion Insiders, Chvala and Jensen, consider other candidates and scenarios in the race to succeed outgoing GOP U.S. Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner.

Paul Fanlund: My hometown — Rockford — still fights the good fight after all these years
Often maligned, Rockford, Illinois is the subject of a whimsical new book. The city delivers its civic boosterism with passion and good humor.

James Wigderson: The blue scary thing in your kid’s trick or treat bag
In an email to his constituents on Thursday, Rep. Joe Sanfelippo, R-New Berlin, broke the bad news: the new Blue Books are ready.

Caleb Frostman: Successful workforce recruitment, retention starts with pay, benefits
Wisconsin companies finding success are doing so by providing strong wages and benefits, prioritizing inclusivity, which expands their candidate pool, and addressing barriers to employment such as housing and transportation when possible.

Tony Evers: What’s best for our kids is what’s best for our state
It’s time to get serious about investing in our kids, our schools and our educators, because what’s best for our kids is what’s best for our state.

Dan O’Donnell: Milwaukee’s caporegime
Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett is sounding an awful lot like The Godfather’s Tom Hagen these days as he tries to pressure both the State Legislature and Milwaukee County voters to approve a sales tax increase next spring.

Masood Akhtar and Mike McCabe: 12 steps to strike hate at its roots
Hate and the violence it frequently produces is an illness, not unlike alcoholism. Twelve steps can get us to wellness.

James Rowen: WI GOP and rightist allies push ahead on permanent, one-party state
There are more signs that the right’s goal in Wisconsin is to harden GOP rule and keep our swing state’s electoral votes reliably Republican and permanently maintain Wisconsin as a low-wage, pro-polluter, one-percenters’ playground with an intentionally-weak and underfunded public sector.

Jeff Smith: Wisconsin’s dairy crisis doesn’t stop at the farmer’s doorstep
There’s no shortage of good ideas, but we can do more. There’s too much at stake to tell dairy farmers to “get big or go out.”

Eric Bott: PRO Act threatens a decade’s worth of progress, protection for Wisconsin’s workers
Not only would the Protecting the Right to Organize Act undermine protections for Wisconsin workers, it would jeopardize the Badger State’s aforementioned economic growth.

Bruce Murphy: What Walker cost Wisconsin
New report shows big decline in federal aid for state while he was governor.

Dave Zweifel: We can see right through Donald Trump’s ‘tough guy’ shtick
Name-calling and character assassination don’t cut it where the really tough are needed.

John Nichols: Democrats need to hold single-issue debate on war, peace and militarism
Instead of anecdotal discussions that touch on a past vote or the latest crisis created by President Trump, Democrats need to have a full and robust debate on these issues.

Jon Erpenbach: Democrats’ legislative priorities will move Wisconsin ‘Forward Together’
Democrats are listening to the will of the people, and basing our plans on priorities that will improve lives.

Noah Wall and Quinn Anderson: To win Wisconsin, Republicans must be clear about what they stand for
According to the latest Fox News poll, 55 percent of Wisconsin voters are dissatisfied with the direction of the country. If Republicans are going to win this election cycle, they have to address the issues that matter most to Wisconsin voters.

Bill Berry: ‘Big hogs’ are pushing around our smaller ag producers
People with more than a passing knowledge of farming know CAFOs are actually cutting the bottom out from under smaller producers who can’t compete. Making liberal standards for new and expanded CAFOs isn’t going help small- and medium-sized producers. It can only hurt them.