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Beth Bennett: Wisconsin newspapers urge passage of bill to protect free speech
Wisconsin is currently behind much of the country in providing these protections. As a result, journalists, activists and ordinary citizens in Wisconsin are more vulnerable to retaliatory lawsuits.

Rick Esenberg: Your ‘private property’ and their ‘public use’
Do we really own our homes or are we only allowed to keep them subject to the whims of the state? Can we be forced to sell all or a part of our “Castle and Fortress?” Maybe.

Bill Barth: Leave them alone if they’re recording
Wisconsin’s Open Meetings Law — arguably one of the best in the country — states that it is the government’s duty to “make a reasonable effort to accommodate any person desiring to record, film or photograph the meeting.”

Tom Loftus: Trump, Norway and the Nobel Peace Prize
It is all about Ukraine. The history of the Nobel Prize Committee is pretty clear: no cigar for a truce, a ceasefire, a buffer zone or postponing war while Russia regroups.

Dave Zweifel: How can so many Americans condone state violence?
What was even more disturbing than ICE’s behavior in Minneapolis this month was the reaction of all too many Americans.

Steven Walters: Legislators adjourn in two months, will any bills get passed?
One traditional rule — any bill that hasn’t passed one house of the Legislature by now, the second year of a legislative session, has little chance of becoming law — doesn’t apply so much anymore.

LaKeshia Myers: Wisconsin’s proposed constitutional question: a wolf in sheep’s clothing
The proposed constitutional amendment on diversity, equity, and inclusion set for the 2026 ballot isn’t about fairness—it’s about dismantling decades of progress toward genuine opportunity for all Wisconsinites.

Lisa Elliott and Jill Oelslager: Don’t penalize retired WI teachers who return to classrooms
Authorizing the provisions within Senate Bill 170 would allow retired teachers the option to return to the classroom without jeopardizing their retirement benefits.

Michael Lucas: Nullify the car kill switch
An amendment preventing enforcement of an unconstitutional federal requirement to install anti-drunk driving technology in all vehicles failed to pass in the House. Time to go back to federalist basics and nullify.

Bruce Murphy: GOP Silence Is Deafening on Shooting of Alex Pretti
Wisconsin members of Congress afraid to address ICE killing of a native son?

John Nichols: Minneapolis’s mayor rips “mass militarized force” after a second Minnesotan is gunned down
A powerful statement from Jacob Frey pleads with Trump to pull ICE forces out of Minneapolis before more people are killed.

Bill Hogseth: Before the wave hits: Rural Wisconsin organizes against the One Big Beautiful Bill
This fight will not be won by politicians, consultants, or pollsters. It will be won by regular people who have decided to build a movement town by town, county by county, state by state.

Curt Kubiak: Let’s stop pointing fingers and fix our health care problem together
Real change will only happen when we first seek to understand, when we come together and listen, identify the shortcomings in the existing model, and create solutions together that solve each of our concerns.

Michelle Bryant: Vote NO on November GOP Ballot Amendment to Ban DEI in Wisconsin Government
The question is not whether DEI programs are perfect, but whether the state is committed to a future where all its citizens can thrive. To erase DEI from government is to turn our backs on that promise, and on the unfinished work of justice.

Richard Moore: Assembly passes bold—and much needed—stewardship reform
A new proposal reauthorizes Stewardship only through 2028, cuts funding from $16 million to $1.25 million, and eliminates all funding for nonprofit conservation organizations.

Mark Pocan: WI voters deserve fair maps in November
We knew we had gerrymandered maps and fixed them for the state Legislature. But that was only half the job. Now the Wisconsin Supreme Court has the power to fix the federal maps and give the people a fair vote.

Paul Fanlund: Tony Evers reflects on the two fronts of his governorship
As Evers begins his final year in office, it’s worth noting, and pausing to appreciate.

Daniel Buck: The Wisconsin higher-ed reform model
Progress achievable in a purple state

Bill Kaplan: Are Republicans listening?
In 2024, Trump and Republicans won the Catholic and rural vote. Are they listening to them?

Jodi Delfosse and Hannah Freeman: We must speak up over immorality of ICE actions in Minnesota
This is a moment for moral clarity and courage. Our nation is at a crossroads.

WisOpinion: ‘The Insiders’ crown their political winners and losers of 2025
The WisOpinion Insiders, Chvala and Jensen, take a look back on the political winners and losers in Wisconsin in 2025. Sponsored by the Wisconsin Counties Association and the Tommy G. Thompson Center on Public Leadership.

Rewind: Your Week in Review for Oct. 17
On this week’s episode of “Rewind,” Wisconsin Public Radio Capitol Reporter Anya Van Wagtendonk and Associated Press Capitol Correspondent Scott Bauer discuss the 7th CD race, the governor’s race, the latest action in the state Senate and Assembly, and more.