Open Record

The Wisconsin Supreme Court struck down Gov. Evers' COVID-19 stay-at-home order. It ruled his administration overstepped its authority when it extended it for another month without consulting legislators. Wednesday's ruling essentially reopens the state and is met with both concern and praise. Now both sides are finding themselves asking, 'what's next?' In this special edition of Open Record, the...

From a thermometer shortage to stimulus checks made out to people who are dead -- consumer issues like these continue to flood our FOX6 newsroom on a daily basis. These things affect your wallet and the economy. In this special edition of Open Record, the FOX6 Investigators invite Contact 6's Jenna Sachs on to talk about these COVID-19 consumer issues. Hear why some people in our area are getting...

Doctor's appointments via video are the new norm as we navigate safe health care amid a pandemic. But what happens when those video calls aren't enough? After being shut down for weeks, Wisconsin health systems are rolling out plans to slowly ramp up services. In this special edition of Open Record, FOX6 Investigators Bryan Polcyn and Amanda St. Hilaire dig into a problem happening across the coun...

Bad blood boils over in one city as an alderman confronts the mayor and it gets physical. The alderman says he was defending the city's health officer after an outbreak of COVID-19 at a meat processing plant. In this special episode of Open Record, FOX6 Investigators Bryan Polcyn and Amanda St. Hilaire talk about the real drama going on behind the scenes at Cudahy City Hall over FOX6 requests for...

The Department of Health Services says it's an act of safety. The legislature says it's an act of tyranny. Does Wisconsin's DHS have the legal power to keep the state shut down until the end of May? In this special edition of Open Record, FOX6 Investigators Bryan Polcyn and Amanda St. Hilaire invite FOX6 political reporter Jason Calvi on the episode. He takes us to the eventful Wisconsin Supreme C...

Over the last few weeks, Wisconsin has released more information about COVID-19 outbreaks in nursing homes and long-term care facilities. However, we still don't have answers to the biggest questions family members are asking: Which facilities have outbreaks and how many people are sick? In this special edition of Open Record, FOX6 Investigators Bryan Polcyn and Amanda St. Hilaire invite FOX6 anch...

There are big decisions happening in news operations across the country as management works around the clock to run a newsroom during a pandemic. How do journalists decide what to cover? How do they cover it? All these decisions are made while moving nearly an entire news operation into employees' living rooms. In this special edition of Open Record, FOX6 Investigators Bryan Polcyn and Amanda St....

Nearly two months into the COVID-19 pandemic and Contact 6 continues to receive a record number of consumer complaints. Contact 6's Jenna Sachs has been digging into those issues: Getting refunds to now-canceled events, ordering masks online, and new information about those stimulus checks. In this special edition of Open Record, the team gets an update from Sachs on those complaints coming into t...

Hundreds of billions of dollars in federal aid designed to keep America's small businesses afloat was gone in less than two weeks. That meant millions of 'mom and pop' shops were left out as large corporations snapped up massive loans. So, what went wrong with the Paycheck Protection Program? In this special edition of Open Record, FOX6 Investigators Bryan Polcyn and Amanda St. Hilaire explore if...

1,500 people descended on the state capitol in Madison last week, fighting the Safer at Home order. The week before, hundreds more in Waukesha County did the same thing. What do these protests really mean? In this special edition of Open Record, FOX6 Investigators Bryan Polcyn and Amanda St. Hilaire invite FOX6 political reporter Jason Calvi on the episode to talk about the gatherings. Calvi was i...

Health care workers need respirators to protect themselves during this pandemic. Wisconsin officials say there's a shortage of PPE. So, why did they turn down the option to buy masks by the thousands? In this special edition of Open Record, FOX6 Investigator Bryan Polcyn talks with a Waukesha business owner who found state officials weren't interested in his ability to import N95-type masks in bul...

There's a new COVID-19 law in Wisconsin giving hospitals and nursing homes more legal protection. However, lawyers say small, last-minute changes to the bill change your rights in a big way. In this special edition of Open Record, FOX6 Investigators Amanda St. Hilaire and Bryan Polcyn dig into what the law really says. Lawyers say the change prevents people from taking medical negligence cases to...

The Paycheck Protection Program was a loan program designed to help small businesses get through the COVID-19 pandemic. Weeks later, the money was gone, leaving thousands of small business owners in Wisconsin and across the country asking, "What now?" In this special edition of Open Record, FOX6 Investigators Bryan Polcyn and Amanda St. Hilaire invite FOX6 reporter Angelica Sanchez on to talk abou...

Just a few days ago, people in Wisconsin got word the 'Safer at Home' order will extend to May 26. Protesters say they've had enough with the limits on businesses, gatherings, and daily lives. Governor Evers says the order is working: Wisconsin has reduced cases, prevented hospitalizations, and saved lives. In this special edition of Open Record, FOX6 Investigators Bryan Polcyn and Amanda St. Hila...

Contact 6 is a problem-solving powerhouse at FOX6. It has been busier than ever with consumer issues related to COVID-19. In this special edition of Open Record, the team dives into some of the top issues and complaints coming into our FOX6 newsroom: Your health insurance, 'essential' businesses, and price gouging. Contact 6's Jenna Sachs explains her role in our FOX6 coverage of COVID-19 and expl...

Less than 24 hours after a FOX6 investigation exposed growing concerns about a COVID-19 outbreak in Cudahy, the Patrick Cudahy plant announces it's closing for two weeks. The Cudahy Health Department confirmed 28 positive cases at the plant, which is up from nine last week. During that closure, the company says "a rigorous deep cleaning and sanitation" will happen in an effort to protect workers....

For the first time in Wisconsin's 172-year history, state lawmakers voted from home, passing a major piece of legislation: A coronavirus recovery bill. What does that bill do for you? In this special edition of Open Record, FOX6 Investigators Bryan Polcyn and Amanda St. Hilaire invite FOX6 political reporter Jason Calvi to the episode. Calvi goes over the main goal of that bill, what's included in...

Usually, election results start coming in just hours after the polls close. But this year, thanks to a pandemic and court battles, Wisconsin didn't get results until last night -- nearly one week after voting ended. In this special edition of Open Record, FOX6 Investigator Amanda St. Hilaire invited FOX6 political reporter Amy DuPont to the episode to bring a unique perspective. With Wisconsin exp...

Health care workers on the front lines of fighting COVID-19 are not supposed to talk to the press, but they want you to know what's really happening. Nurses in Wisconsin say their limited access to paid leave is putting you in danger. In this special edition of Open Record, FOX6 Investigators Amanda St. Hilaire and Bryan Polcyn hear from health care workers who say they can't keep us safe if no on...

Hundreds of thousands of Wisconsin workers have filed for unemployment since COVID-19 surged here. With so many struggling to make ends meet, Governor Evers issued a temporary order banning evictions in Wisconsin. But some tenants at one Milwaukee building say they got a letter from their landlord asking them to vacate their units as soon as possible. In this special edition of Open Record, FOX6 I...

It's the day after Wisconsin's historic spring election. Some voters waited hours to cast their ballot in person, amid the COVID-19 pandemic. However, there were many more who didn't wait in line at all. A record 1.2 million voters requested absentee ballots. But dozens and dozens of FOX6 viewers say their ballots never came in the mail. In this special edition of Open Record, FOX6 Investigators B...

It's Election Day in Wisconsin, a day that will go down in history. It was on, then it was off, now it's on again. Wisconsin's spring election has been wrapped in confusion, court decisions, and public health concerns. This, as COVID-19 prompted several states to delay their April elections. Wisconsin is the only one that did not reschedule, despite Governor Evers' reversal and last-ditch effort t...

COVID-19 has shut nearly everything down and that means a lot of people are out of work. Now, Wisconsin's unemployment system is overwhelmed and despite many qualifying for unemployment benefits, dozens of people are unable to get them. That's because the website crashes or phone lines are busy for hours. In this special episode of Open Record, FOX6 Investigators Amanda St. Hilaire and Bryan Polcy...

During this pandemic, transparency is what allows us to hold leaders accountable and get context for the other information we have and make decisions about our own health. So, why can't some families in southeast Wisconsin get basic COVID-19 information from their loved ones' long-term care facilities? In this special edition of Open Record, FOX6 Investigators Bryan Polcyn and Amanda St. Hilaire w...

Dozens of inmates at a southeast Wisconsin jail wrote letters to the judges who sentenced them and asked one basic question: 'Your Honor, can I please get out now?' The Waukesha Huber facility was on lockdown March 27 over concerns about the spread of COVID-19. Inmates once allowed to come and go for work, school, or medical appointments would no longer be able to leave. But now, judges are allowi...