Wisconsin in Focus

There’s clearly a theme at Wisconsin’s traveling budget hearings: People want more money. The legislature’s budget-writing Joint Finance Committee held its third public budget hearing on Wednesday in the Wisconsin Dells, and once again people lined up for hours to ask lawmakers for more for their communities. Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/wisconsininfocus/support Ho...

Liberals have won another landslide statewide election in Wisconsin, pushing judge Janet Protasiewicz on to the state Supreme Court. Protasiewicz won the closely watched and massively expensive race for Supreme Court by nearly 11 points Tuesday. She got 55% of the vote, compared to conservative former Justice Dan Kelly’s 44%. Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/wisconsini...

The president at the University of Wisconsin is defending the school’s recent 5% tuition hike as necessary to win the “war for talent.” President Jay Rothman told a crowd at the Rotary Club of Milwaukee’s meeting on Tuesday that raising tuition will help get students the tools they need for new careers. Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/wisconsininfocus/support Hosted b...

Most of Gov. Tony Evers’ building plan is earmarked for the University of Wisconsin System, but a new report says there are also millions of dollars dedicated to non-state agency “pork-barrel” projects. 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...

Republicans in the Wisconsin Assembly are showing just how tough they want to get on crime. Lawmakers on Wednesday took up a laundry list of proposals that include guaranteed prison time for convicted felons caught with guns, make it tougher for prosecutors to drop certain felony charges, define the difference between a riot and a protest, and get tougher on reckless drivers in Wisconsin. Only the...

Wisconsin’s only debate for state Supreme Court was quick, rough-and-tumble, and didn’t really cover anything new. Liberal Judge Janet Protasiewicz and conservative former Justice Dan Kelly met Tuesday afternoon in Madison for the only debate in the race. The debate was sponsored by The State Bar of Wisconsin and a Madison TV station. As expected, Protasiewicz talked about her “values,” and Kelly...

There continue to be questions about more than $100 million in coronavirus stimulus money that Wisconsin spent on broadband internet expansion. Sen. Eric Wimberger, R-Green Bay, on Wednesday questioned the state’s Public Service Commission about last September’s audit that stated there was almost no tracking of what was spent, what work was done, or if the new internet access even worked. “One of...

Jail guards in Wisconsin could soon be able to retire early and receive disability benefits when they do. The Senate Committee on Judiciary and Public Safety on Tuesday heard from local sheriffs about SB 28, which would expand the Wisconsin Retirement System’s definition of protected employee to cover guards in local jails. “The jailer right now is the only link in the entire chain that is not pro...

The Republicans who will write Wisconsin’s new state budget say the latest breakdown shows they are right. The Legislative Fiscal Bureau on Wednesday released a line-by-line breakdown of Gov. Tony Evers’ $104 billion two-year state budget. The LFB analysis doesn’t offer any commentary on the governor’s spending proposal. Instead it simply tracks where the money would go and just how much the gover...

Wisconsin lawmakers are looking to block the state’s new meningitis and chickenpox vaccine rules. The legislature’s rules committee, the Joint Committee for Review of Administrative Rules, on Tuesday took the first step toward overturning the new rules, established earlier this year by the state’s Department of Health Services. DHS wants to add a meningitis vaccine requirement for 7th graders, and...

A new coalition of business leaders and community groups, including a number of former conservative leaders in Wisconsin, are backing the proposal to use taxpayer dollars for repairs at American Family Field, as part of the strategy to keep the Brewers in Milwaukee. The group, which calls itself the Home Crew Coalition, on Wednesday threw its weight behind the ballpark funding deal. Omar Shaikh, t...

The way Wisconsin’s schools teach reading is under the microscope at the State Capitol. Both the Assembly and Senate Education Committees will hold a hearing Thursday to look at the state’s reading curriculum, assessments, and achievement gaps. Senate Education Committee boss John Jagler, R-Watertown, told The Center Square that Wisconsin must do better when it comes to reading. Join Wisconsin Edi...

It’s far too soon to say what will be in Wisconsin’s new state budget, but it can be assumed what will not be included. Joint Finance Committee chairman Rep. Mark Born, R-Beaver Dam, and Sen. Howard Marklein, R-Spring Green, on Tuesday talked about the upcoming budget. Join The Center Square's Wisconsin Editor Bruce Walker and Reporter Ben Yount. --- Listen to Other ATN Productions: America in Foc...

It’s far too soon to say what will be in Wisconsin’s new state budget, but it can be assumed what will not be included. Joint Finance Committee chairman Rep. Mark Born, R-Beaver Dam, and Sen. Howard Marklein, R-Spring Green, on Tuesday talked about the upcoming budget. Join The Center Square's Wisconsin Editor Bruce Walker and Reporter Ben Yount. --- Listen to Other ATN Productions: America in Foc...

Milwaukee Police made hundreds more visits to Milwaukee Public Schools this past fall, and a new report suggests that it was a foreseeable problem. The Badger Institute issued a new report that shows police visits to Milwaukee schools spiked in the fall of 2022. Join The Center Square's Bruce Walker and Ben Yount on this episode of Wisconsin in Focus. --- Listen to Other ATN Productions: America i...

Wisconsin’s Supreme Court race is set. Judge Janet Protasiewicz easily won Tuesday’s primary, getting about 445,00 votes. Former Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Daniel Kelly edged out Waukesha County Judge Jennifer Dorow by getting just over 232,000 votes to her nearly 210,000 votes. Kelly immediately framed the race for the court as a choice between his views on the rule of law, and Protasiewicz’...

The Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty has won another case based on the argument that you cannot discriminate against people based on their sex or the color of their skin. WILL recently settled a case with Comcast over the company’s Comcast RISE program. That program offered grants to small businesses, but only if they are 51% owned by someone who is “Black, indigenous, a person of color, or...

Join The Center Square’s Regional Editor Bruce Walker and Wisconsin Reporter Ben Yount as they discuss Wisconsin’s Democratic governor is asking the Republicans who control the state legislature not to throw his entire budget in the trash. Gov. Tony Evers wants to spend more than a $1.3 billion more over the next two years, but it’s almost certainly not going to happen. The reaction to Gov. Tony E...

Join The Center Square’s Regional Editor Bruce Walker and Wisconsin Reporter Ben Yount as they discuss the latest preview of Gov. Tony Evers’ new state budget focuses on conservation – as well as making it tougher for lawmakers to stop some of his conservation projects. --- Listen to Other ATN Productions: America in Focus: A weekly feature of the top TheCenterSquare.com stories of the week out of...

Join The Center Square’s Regional Editor Bruce Walker and Wisconsin Reporter Ben Yount as they discuss that there is going to be a flurry of spending by schools across the state of Wisconsin this spring, as school districts race to use the last of their coronavirus stimulus money. There’s not a lot of confidence about free speech on University of Wisconsin campuses. --- Listen to Other ATN Product...

Join The Center Square’s Regional Editor Bruce Walker and Wisconsin Reporter Ben Yount as they discuss Wisconsin Democratic Gov. Tony Evers, in his Tuesday evening State of the State address, laid out a plan to spend $2 billion more for public schools, and $1.3 billion on new mental health programs, a statewide PFAS testing program, and workforce training. While Joe Biden and Donald Trump remain v...

Join The Center Square’s Regional Editor Bruce Walker and Wisconsin Reporter Ben Yount as they discuss education concerns in Wisconsin and that voters will now have their say on whether the bail system in Wisconsin should change. --- Listen to Other ATN Productions: America in Focus: A weekly feature of the top TheCenterSquare.com stories of the week out of Washington D.C. with commentary from The...

Join The Center Square’s Wisconsin Reporter Ben Yount as he discusses the argument in favor of a proposed constitutional amendment that would change how bail works in Wisconsin. Republicans in Madison are moving quickly to change how bail works in Wisconsin. TikTok is now banned from state government in Wisconsin. Madison’s school board president is defending a now-cancelled drag show in school. -...

Join The Center Square’s Regional Editor Bruce Walker and Wisconsin Reporter Ben Yount as they discuss Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers inauguration address on Tuesday that told lawmakers and voters that he wants more abortion, more state spending and more money for public schools in the next four years. The reaction to Gov. Tony Evers’ inaugural address is about what you’d expect from Republicans and co...

Join The Center Square’s Regional Editor Bruce Walker and Wisconsin Reporter Ben Yount as they discuss the top news stories in the state of Wisconsin in the year 2022. 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 personal data for advertising.