Submit columns for consideration to wisopinion@wispolitics.com

Gary Dalton: Data centers should pay their way, and Wisconsin should set the pace
Treat the very large customers as partners and the larger opportunity is grid, skills, and clean firm capacity that outlast any single tenant.

LaKeshia Myers: Welcome back, scholars: What families should know for the new school year
One of the biggest changes families will notice this fall is Wisconsin’s new statewide policy on cell phones in schools.

Dave Zweifel: Should a year of national service be required?
It’s an idea that deserves serious consideration.

Jeffrey Leverich: Media is dropping the ball on Trump’s corruption
To feel better about himself, the president threatens and denigrates millions of us with his hate and lies while violating the Constitution and lining his own pockets.

James E. Causey: Doris Miller was a war hero. Don’t erase his honor for Trump
Black sailor who defended his shipmates and country during WWII could lose one of the Navy’s highest naming honors to a sitting president who got draft deferments and never served in the military.

Arthur I. Cyr: Reinforcing ties with South Korea crucial
The surviving communist regime in North Korea has belligerently threatened unspecified action due to joint military exercises involving South Korea and the United States. This is nothing new, nor are the exercises. What is new is the declaration by President Donald Trump that the exercises will be scaled back.

‘The Insiders’ examine the post-primary battle for control of Wisconsin’s Legislature
The WisOpinion Insiders, Chvala and Jensen, consider how the recent legislative primary will affect the November election. Sponsored by the Wisconsin Counties Association and the Tommy G. Thompson Center on Public Leadership.

Scott Walker: Look to Wisconsin governor race for 2028 general election forecast
Could Crowley v. Tiffany outcome forecast next U.S. president?

James Wigderson: Wait until Trump renames Niagara Falls
As long as our country is going over in a barrel.

Ben Eisen: Want to help families, Wisconsin? Stop raising childcare costs
Our straitjacket of rules and spiral of subsidies has demonstrably failed; time to give families flexibility.

Amy Curtis: Wisconsin has a massive budget surplus. What will the next governor do with it?
Wisconsin has a massive budget surplus, and that’s good news for taxpayers. Maybe. It all depends on who they elect as their next governor, of course, because Republican Tom Tiffany and Democrat David Crowley have very different plans for that money — your money.

Nate Gilliam: Climate change and Wisconsin’s carceral cancer
Creating a humane future for all of us means not spending resources on death-making entities but instead investing in life-affirming climate-resilient infrastructure and resources.

David Drucker: Paul Ryan looks to the states for solutions
His latest effort is a proposal called RISE, for “Resources for Independence, Stability and Employment,” to overhaul a patchwork of social safety-net programs.

Tom Still: U.S., Canada ‘trade war’ is no joke for Wisconsin
Canada was the No. 1 destination for Wisconsin exports of all descriptions at $7.52 billion in 2025. Trade is a two-way street that led to Wisconsin importing $5.7 billion in Canadian products in 2025.

Michael Lucas: How to handle ‘data centers’ in Wisconsin
When the actual costs of artificial intelligence data center development are considered honestly, suddenly, opposition to AIDCs isn’t so stupid after all. The solution, then, to this “moral crisis” is readily apparent, and all it requires is a commitment to free market principles.
Ruth Conniff: Data centers are a big political issue; what should Wisconsin do about them?
What specific policies should Wisconsinites demand from their political leaders on data centers?

Sean Rowen: Wisconsin hospitals’ price problem
Price transparency alone will not solve every problem with America’s health care system. But competition cannot work when consumers and employers cannot meaningfully compare prices.

Lori Stern: Diarrhea outbreak one of many reasons to support area farms
Foodborne outbreaks point to several problems with our food system. One is consolidation. Whether it’s pork, eggs, lettuce, or strawberries, one or two companies often control the sector.

Xavior Yarn: No one should have to die alone because of homelessness
No one should have to earn the right to die with dignity.

Skylar Baker-Jordan: Congress needs to codify farmers’ right-to-repair
Congress must act, codifying right-to-repair to ensure this undue burden on farmers and the monopoly it creates are broken for good.

WisOpinion: ‘The Insiders’ examine the battle for control of the Wisconsin Legislature
The WisOpinion Insiders, Chvala and Jensen, review the upcoming races to control the Wisconsin Legislature and the issues that favor each party. Sponsored by the Wisconsin Counties Association and the Tommy G. Thompson Center on Public Leadership.

Rewind: Your Week in Review for Sept. 18
On this week’s episode of “Rewind,” WisPolitics.com’s JR Ross and Wisconsin Public Radio Capitol Reporter Anya van Wagtendonk discuss Tom Tiffany’s plane crash, the U.S. Supreme Court halting President Trump’s mail-in balloting restrictions, oral arguments before the state Supreme Court in two cases challenging the state’s congressional lines and more.