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John Nichols: Hong, Roys declare their independence
Most Democratic gubernatorial candidates — along with presumptive Republican nominee Tom Tiffany — questioned the wisdom of the governor’s approach to the surplus specing deal.

Kaleem Caire: Death of surplus deal leaves window open for kids
We are not satisfied with what failed. We are not satisfied with what was on the table before it failed. We can and must do better for our children.

Daniel Buck and Cory Brewer: While other states boost schools, Wisconsin rejects reforms
Evers’ partisanship leaving Wisconsin behind on education.

David Blaska: Tom Tiffany says ‘You betcha’ that WI doesn’t want to become Minnesota!
If there was a convention rallying cry, it was Don’t Let Wisconsin Become Minnesota.

Jessica McBride: 3rd CD: A Navy SEAL and that ‘political operative’ in a broken down car
Van Orden and his team have spent the entire campaign season trying to remind voters who Cooke really is.

Daniel Steininger: I’m grandson of a ‘sewer socialist.’ Today’s crop miss mark.
Fiscal frugality offers the starkest contrast between “self-proclaimed sewer socialists” versus real ones

Ellen Nowak: Data centers will pay their own way in Wisconsin
Wisconsin’s approach is deliberate. Regulators, utilities, and consumer groups spent months getting this right because the public trust demands it. The data centers coming to Wisconsin will create jobs and expand the tax base. They should be welcome—and customers who were here long before them can be confident that they will not be stuck with an unwelcome bill.

Bill Berry: College basketball player outearns UW president by millions
A sign of our crazy times: It wasn’t even noteworthy when we learned during the bruhaha over the firing of Jay Rothman, the president of the Universities of Wisconsin, that the position’s market value is millions of dollars below that of a good college basketball player.

Brad Cole: Bigger, heavier trucks would be a danger to Wisconsin’s highways
As a sheriff, my oath is to protect life and preserve public safety on our roads. Increasing truck size and weight not only threatens motorists, it imperils every deputy, EMS technician, and firefighter who responds to traffic accidents every day and night.

Robert VerBruggen: Big federal bucks so far produce a paltry 21 EV charging stations in Wisconsin
Brief pause didn’t help, nor does weak market for electric cars; private sector efforts outstrip government

Michelle Bryant: Trump sues IRS: Make it make sense
The President of the United States is suing the IRS for billions of dollars, while simultaneously controlling the executive branch agencies responsible for defending and prosecuting the case.

Bill Kaplan: Support U.S. troops, stand up to Putin
No Wisconsin GOP member of Congress has protested Russian military aid to Iran, which is killing and wounding U.S. troops.

Richard Moore: Why Trump (rightly) fired the National Science Foundation Board
President Trump’s recent firing of all 22 members of the National Science Foundation board ignited the sort of institutional panic one normally associates with medieval villagers spotting a comet.

WisOpinion: ‘The Insiders’ discuss the Wisconsin Senate shooting down the $1.8B surplus deal
The WisOpinion Insiders, Chvala and Jensen, take up the state Senate vote shooting down the $1.8 billion tax cut and school aid package that Gov. Tony Evers worked out with GOP leaders. Sponsored by the Wisconsin Counties Association and the Tommy G. Thompson Center on Public Leadership.

Patrick McIlheran: Failure of tax-and-schools deal offers chance to do better
Instead of one-time rebates and school funding patches, tax and spending reform

James Wigderson: No compromise for tax relief
Madison politicians vote to hang onto tax money.

David Blaska: The check is NOT in the mail
Could Republicans be so lucky?

Dave Zweifel: Skewed priorities led to death of Knowles-Nelson
As long as the governor and legislators were raiding the surplus of approximately $2 billion, one might have thought they’d find a little bit of money to save the program that has preserved Wisconsin’s natural areas for public recreation, parks, hunting and conservation purposes for the last 37 years.

Paul Fanlund: Jennifer Mnookin’s UW-Madison leadership deserves high marks
Years from now, I suspect the Blank and Mnookin years will be remembered in the annals of UW history as a turbulent era in which two strong women protected and, in measurable ways, improved the university.

Rachel Ver Velde: Wisconsin hospital costs are fourth highest in the nation
Wisconsin has the highest medical payments under workers’ compensation in the nation. These prices put Wisconsin at an economic disadvantage.

WisOpinion: ‘The Insiders’ discuss Evers’ end-of-session vetoes, bill signings
The WisPolitics.com Insiders, Chvala and Jensen, discuss Governor Evers’ vetoes and bipartisan bill signings for the recent legislative session. Sponsored by the Wisconsin Counties Association and the Tommy G. Thompson Center on Public Leadership.

Rewind: Your week in review for April 24
On this week’s episode of “Rewind,” WisPolitics.com’s JR Ross and Wisconsin Public Radio Capitol Reporter Anya van Wagtendonk discuss GOP businessman and attorney Paul Wassgren dropping his 7th CD bid, ad buys in congressional races, oral arguments before the state Supreme Court on access to data on voters deemed incompetent and more.