Falling enrollments at the 13 UW Colleges and mission confusion at UW Extension propelled UW President Ray Cross to embark on a reorganization of those two cornerstones of the UW System (UWS).

It appears that people who thought that Wisconsin’s strict Voter ID law would suppress eligible voters have had their suspicions confirmed.

Earlier this month at oral argument of the likely precedent-setting Wisconsin gerrymandering case, Republican justices displayed an obtuse mind-set revealing an incapacity to consider social scientific findings in determining whether a statute is unconstitutional.

It’s not about mass shootings, but about stopping the quieter deaths that happen daily.

Wisconsin congressional Republicans are not facing reality. Trump is unhinged.

With a large field, a truly terrible candidate could win with a small plurality of the vote and subsequently be hammered by Walker in the general election. If they want even the faintest of chances, the Democrats either need fewer candidates or one plausible one.

Hemp in Wisconsin is a crop whose time has come. Passage of SB 119 will begin the work of bringing back Wisconsin’s hemp industry. Let’s make 2017 the year of hemp.

In June, I introduced a ‘Zero-based Budget’ bill with Representative Rob Hutton, R-Brookfield, that provides greater transparency and enables the legislature to exercise its oversight function within the state budget process. Under this legislation, each state agency will have to review how all of their dollars are spent and justify those expenses against the agency’s core function to the legislature.

State Treasurer Matt Adamczyk recently roused himself from the sidelines of state governance and called on legislators to penalize Dane County for allocating $55,000 to fund a UW-Madison study of how Wisconsin’s voter ID law influences voter participation and turnout.

Addiction is a cruel illness. And it knows no boundaries. That fact has never been more evident in Wisconsin, where one prominent Republican legislator’s daughter and one former state Democratic Party executive director have been in the news relating to apparent overdose deaths.

Paul Fanlund reflects on anecdotes that cover a five-day period this past week and connect to war and peace, racial tension, toxic politics and embattled American journalism.

In “Two Minutes with Mitch” radio personality Mitch Henck asks: Have we ever been this polarized?

Good government is the business of every citizen. What we do can make a difference. So although I’m leaving the platform that the Journal Sentinel has generously given me for 35 years, I’ll still do what I can along with my fellow citizens to keep a light on government.

The BDS movement exclusively targets the world’s only Jewish state, Israel, for criticism while ignoring conflicts and countries engaged in major human rights violations around the world.

Odds are slim. But the added turnout for those races could help re-elect Tammy Baldwin.

Rep. Scott Allen denies request to put advisory referendum on amending the U.S. Constitution to overturn Citizens United on the Assembly Committee on Constitution and Ethics agenda.

Trying to quash protest is like holding back flood water with your thumb. Reasonable steps should be taken to guarantee everyone’s personal safety. After that, let the sifting and winnowing commence, and freely.

Wisconsin water belongs to everyone and we need to do a helluva better job protecting the water and our rights to it, because clean water and water rights in Wisconsin are being ignored, contaminated, twisted or flat-out heisted.