Wisconsin in Focus

Wisconsin Democrats announced late Tuesday a $4 million plan to target Republican lawmakers who talk about impeaching Supreme Court Justice Janet Protasiewicz. The announcement came in a closed-media call by Wisconsin Democratic Party. WisPolitics quotes Wisconsin Democratic Party Chairman Ben Wikler as saying “The anti-democratic, unconstitutional threat to impeach Janet Protasiewicz would consti...

The second attempt from Wisconsin Republican lawmakers to cut taxes will end the same as the first Gov. Tony Evers said Wednesday. Evers took to social media to promise a veto for the $3 billion tax cut that began its journey through the legislature Wednesday. Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/wisconsininfocus/support Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.ad...

The latest plan for Milwaukee’s American Family Field would use tax money to keep the stadium up to date, but those taxes wouldn’t come from the people of Wisconsin. Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, on Wednesday told News Talk 1130 WISN’s Jay Weber they are looking at a plan to tax ballplayers to pay for the ballpark. Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/wisconsini...

Two Republican state senators are talking about impeachment of Wisconsin’s new liberal-majority Supreme Court. Sen. Dan Knodl, R-Germantown, said he’s willing to consider impeaching Justice Janet Protasiewicz because of what she said about the state’s political maps during her run for the Supreme Court in the spring. Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/wisconsininfocus/su...

One Wisconsin Republican state senator wants the state’s Public Service Commission to “do their job,” and question a half-billion-dollar utility rate increase. Sen. Duey Stroebel, R-Cedarburg, said on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, on Thursday that Wisconsin’s utility regulators are weighing rate hike requests for 2024 that range from 1.6% to 8.4%. The PSC will decide by December on re...

The heads of the legislature’s audit committee are again asking how Wisconsin’s Department of Health Service spent millions of dollars in coronavirus aid. The Joint Legislative Audit Committee met at the Capitol on Tuesday to press DHS about an audit from May that found the agency lost millions of dollars and misplaced at least six of the ventilators bought during the early days of the outbreak. S...

On Wednesday, Milwaukee, WI hosted the first Republican Presidential Debate. It served as a sort of trial run for Milwaukee ahead of hosting the Republican Party Convention next year. Aside from front runner and former President, Donald Trump, the other top 8 Republican candidates were in attendance. Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/wisconsininfocus/support Hosted by S...

Business and policy groups believe Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers used a recent veto to protect government bureaucracy, leaving many waiting on professional licenses from the state in limbo. The bill would have required the state’s Department of Safety and Professional Services to investigate a weeks-long backlog for people needing license and report to the legislature. Instead, Evers vetoed it, saying...

On paper, the Biden Administration said the president was coming to Milwaukee on Tuesday to talk about the Inflation Reduction Act. It took about 15 minutes, however, for President Biden to shift the focus to Bidenomics. “The Financial Times and The Wall Street Journal started calling my plan, and not initially as a compliment, Bidenomics,” the president told the crowd at the Ingeteam, a clean ene...

A Milwaukee County supervisor took to social media Tuesday to oppose an idea to revive a sales tax to pay for upgrades and renovations at American Family Field, home of the Milwaukee Brewers. County Supervisor Peter Burgelis shot down the plan in a tweet after it was suggested Monday by Supervisor Sheldon Wasserman. Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/wisconsininfocus/sup...

A lawsuit over ballot dropboxes, absentee ballots, and the deadline to cure ballots in Wisconsin could get more crowded. The Republican National Committee, along with the Republican Party of Wisconsin, and the Republican parties of both Rock and Walworth counties asked to join the suit as defendants Tuesday. Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/wisconsininfocus/support Hos...

Gov. Tony Evers on Tuesday ordered lawmakers back to the Wisconsin Capitol to take-up his workforce development agenda, including a $365 million boost for child care workers across the state, but Republican lawmakers aren’t eager for the special session. Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/wisconsininfocus/support Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz....

Taxes are going up in Milwaukee County. As expected, county supervisors on Thursday approved a 0.4% sales tax increase. “Today, the County Board of Supervisors shaped the future of Milwaukee County for years to come by avoiding a devastating fiscal cliff that posed to threaten irreparable harm to our community," Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley said on Twitter. "After years of advocacy, Mi...

A new report puts Wisconsin’s state debt load as the second-highest among the state’s neighbors. The Institute for Reforming Government on Thursday released its look into Wisconsin’s debt and finances. “As of June 2022, Wisconsin holds $13,122,300,000 in debt which equates to roughly $2,226 per capita,” the report states. Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/wisconsininfoc...

There are a lot of expectations about what a new liberal-majority Supreme Court will mean for Wisconsin. But not everyone is expecting change right away. Judge Janet Protasiewicz took her oath of office Tuesday, and with that Wisconsin’s Supreme Court flips from a 4-3 conservative court to a 4-3 liberal court. Fellow Supreme Court Justice Brian Hagedorn, who is often the conservative-leaning swing...

The top Democrat in the Wisconsin Senate is no longer talking about ending Wisconsin’s pink tax. Senate Minority Leader Melissa Agard wants to end the sales tax on menstrual products, but on Wednesday she was at the Wisconsin Capitol talking about “menstrual equity.” Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/wisconsininfocus/support Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See...

Taxes are going up in Milwaukee County. As expected, county supervisors on Thursday approved a 0.4% sales tax increase. “Today, the County Board of Supervisors shaped the future of Milwaukee County for years to come by avoiding a devastating fiscal cliff that posed to threaten irreparable harm to our community," Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley said on Twitter. "After years of advocacy, Mi...

Wisconsin Republicans want to make sure churches in the state are kept open during the next emergency. State Sen Cory Tomczyk, R-Mosinee, along with Rep. Ty Bodden, R-Hilbert, and Rep. Karen Hurd, R-Fall Creek, took a proposed constitutional amendment to a Senate committee on Tuesday. If the amendment becomes law, it would stop public health managers from closing churches. Support this podcast: ht...

Gov. Tony Evers has signed a new law that will change how kids in the state are taught how to read. The governor on Wednesday signed the plan that will return Wisconsin schools to teaching phonics, and place a huge emphasis on making sure kids can read at grade level before the fourth grade. “We have to ensure our kids have the reading and literacy tools and skills to be successful both in and out...

Wisconsin law gives governors in the state immense veto power, but it is not unlimited. For example, the Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled last year in Bartlett v Evers that some of Gov. Tony Evers’ 2019 budget vetoes went too far. Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/wisconsininfocus/support Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about o...

It’s the latest snapshot of a slowing economy in Wisconsin. Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce on Monday said less than half of businesses in the state expect to add new workers in the next six months. Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/wisconsininfocus/support Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of p...

The University of Wisconsin says it doesn’t yet know what the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling to end affirmative action university admissions will mean for UW schools. UW-Madison Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin on Thursday said she will need some time to examine the university’s admission policy, and determine if any changes are needed. Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/wiscons...

Gov. Tony Evers on Wednesday signed the new two-year $99 billion state budget. The governor is keeping all of the spending in the new state budget while getting rid of almost all of the tax cuts that Republicans wanted. Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/wisconsininfocus/support Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our colle...

It doesn’t sound like Republicans at the Wisconsin Capitol are going to trust Gov. Tony Evers anytime soon. Assembly Speaker Robin Vos told News Talk 1130 WISN’s Jay Weber Thursday that the governor broke his word when he excised a few words and numbers to create a 400-year education funding increase. Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/wisconsininfocus/support Hosted by...

The 2024 presidential race in Wisconsin is tightening in some circumstances. A new Marquette Law School Poll shows the Republican presidential primary, Donald Trump vs. Ron Desantis, in a one-point race. “Among Republicans and independents who lean Republican, the GOP presidential primary is a near-even divide, with 31% supporting former President Donald Trump and 30% supporting Florida Gov. Ron D...