Listen Now

In Rural WI, Local Economies Slip Through Crumbling Roads By Julian Emerson for The Daily Yonder.Broadcast version by Mike Moen for Wisconsin News Connection Service for the Public News Service/Daily Yonder Collaboration Each workday, as he travels from his home in northeast Lafayette County to Madison for his job driving a truck and then back again, Mike Berg feels the winding, deteriorating roads of the region he calls home, one bump and sharp curve at a time. Berg has lived on his farm west of Blanchardville all of his 64 years, and in recent years he has noticed that more roads in the county's eastern half are increasingly in need of repair. He worries those subpar roadways not only make for more dangerous driving but are limiting economic development in his part of the county. ...(Read More)

WI Public Information Campaign to Teach Folks about Elections In the next few months, the Wisconsin Elections Commission will roll out a new public information campaign aimed at teaching voters more about how elections work. Among other goals, the initiative will show people how to register to vote, how elections are secured, how to become a poll worker and what happens at polling places on election days. Riley Vetterkind, public information officer for the Commission, told commissioners last week the project is in response to a "steady influx of questions and concerns about the elections process." "A lot of the questions that we've received have been based in misunderstandings about the fundamentals of how elections work," Vetterkind explained. ...(Read More)

Two Planned Parenthood Groups Collaborate to Ensure WI Abortion Access Planned Parenthood of Illinois and Wisconsin are partnering to improve abortion access for Wisconsinites. Abortion in Wisconsin was functionally banned after the Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 case guaranteeing access to abortions. ...(Read More)

WI Election Officials Reject New Absentee-Voting Rules Wisconsin's election officials are trying to determine how a recent ruling from the Wisconsin Supreme Court outlawing absentee-ballot drop boxes will impact absentee voting in next month's primary elections. The state's six-person bipartisan elections commission this week failed to agree on new guidance for clerks to help them apply the ruling. Bob Spindell, a Republican Wisconsin Elections Commissioner, said in the group's meeting Tuesday the commission's failure to agree on the guidance would essentially leave local officials to figure it out themselves. ...(Read More)

Expert: Supreme Court Case Could Impact Wisconsin Elections Commission In its next session, the U.S. Supreme Court will weigh a congressional gerrymandering case from North Carolina, and the court's ruling could have a significant impact on the bipartisan Wisconsin Elections Commission. The case centers around the "Independent State Legislature Theory" (ISLT), which holds legislatures have broad authority to manage federal elections and redistricting. ...(Read More)

WI Wildlife Advocate: Bear Hounding, Baiting Unethical Over the next several weeks, Wisconsin's bear hunters will be training their hounds on free-roaming black bears in preparation for this fall's bear-hunting season. Wisconsin's bear-hounding season goes from mid-September to mid-October, but the bearhound training period starts in July and runs through August. During training and the main hounding season, hunters use bait to attract bears. ...(Read More)

WI Governor, AG Launch Lawsuit Against 1849 Abortion Ban Wisconsin's 173-year-old abortion ban faces a legal test, as the state's Democratic leaders announced Tuesday they are suing to overturn it. The measure, enacted decades before women had the right to vote, bans abortions in nearly all cases. Gov. ...(Read More)

Wildlife Rehabilitator: Lead Ammo Poses Risks for WI Wildlife The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced it is considering a ban on lead ammunition on several national wildlife refuges, a move some wildlife advocates want to see replicated at the state level in Wisconsin. Mark Naniot, director of wildlife rehabilitation for Rhinelander-based Wild Instincts, explained lead ammunition fractures into small particles when fired into an animal, which means lead-contaminated meat can then be consumed by hunters and scavengers. ...(Read More)

With Roe's Potential End, WI Faces Tangled Web of Abortion Laws By Phoebe Petrovic for Wisconsin Watch.Broadcast version by Jonah Chester for Wisconsin News Connection reporting for Wisconsin Watch-Public News Service Collaboration About 50 abortion rights supporters stood on the bridge over the Wisconsin River into Sauk City on a sunny Saturday morning in mid-May. They held signs reading "CHOICE" and "PROTECT ROE v. WADE" and cheered when passing cars honked in support. ...(Read More)

Report Debunks Claims of Increase in Juvenile Crime Rates From Fox News to The New York Times, media coverage over the past few years has sounded the alarm about a purported increase in violent crime among kids. However, a new report finds those claims have been false or largely overstated. The research by The Sentencing Project reveals youth violent crime rates, in categories from murder to robbery, declined nationwide from 2019 to 2020. ...(Read More)

WI Protests to Push for Stronger Gun-Safety Laws Just weeks after a mass shooting in Uvalde, Texas, left 19 students and two teachers dead, Wisconsinites across the state will protest this weekend to demand action on gun safety. The actions are part of the national "March for Our Lives" demonstration, which includes similar events in cities across America. Adeline Gent, an organizer of the Madison protest and a high school senior, said the event is a youth-led demonstration which aims to empower kids and teens to make their voices heard. ...(Read More)

WI Governor Calls Special Session to Attempt Repeal of 1849 Abortion Ban Gov. Tony Evers is calling the Legislature back to Madison this month to vote on repealing the state's 1849 abortion ban. The move comes as the U.S. ...(Read More)

WI Judge: Madison's Acceptance of Private Election Funding Legal A Dane County judge has ruled the city of Madison did not violate election laws when it accepted a nearly $1.3 million election administration grant from the Center for Tech and Civic Life in 2020. The suit was brought by a coalition of Madison residents who argued the city ran afoul of election rules when it accepted the money. In December the bipartisan Wisconsin Elections Commission upheld the grants' legality. ...(Read More)

Advocates Call on WI Supreme Court to 'Unlock the Drop Boxes' The Wisconsin Supreme Court will soon hand down a decision on whether absentee ballot drop boxes are permitted under state law. Ahead of that decision, voting-rights advocates are highlighting the importance of the drop boxes and why they're an essential route to cast a ballot. Anita Johnson, outreach and education specialist with Souls to the Polls, said at a news conference yesterday that permanently removing the drop boxes is effectively voter suppression. ...(Read More)

Help is Available for WI Farmers Facing Mental-Health Challenges From inflation to climate change, Wisconsin farmers face numerous sources of stress that can't help but affect their health. And one program is offering mental and emotional support to farm operators who need it. The Farmer Wellness Program, an initiative of the state's Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection, offers in-person and remote counseling for farmers across the state. ...(Read More)

WI Communities Prepare to Receive Federal Infrastructure Funding Six months ago this week, President Joe Biden signed the bipartisan infrastructure law, and Wisconsin's towns and cities are planning how best to spend billions of dollars earmarked for the state. The law includes more than half a billion dollars to improve the state's public transportation. Satya Rhodes-Conway, mayor of Madison, said at a news conference at a city bus garage Tuesday the city will be using some of the resources to help fund a new fleet of nearly fifty electric buses, which will save the city nearly a quarter million gallons of diesel fuel annually. ...(Read More)

WI Tribal Advocates: Pipeline Threatens Agricultural Traditions Enbridge is seeking to reroute a portion of its Line 5 around the Bad River Band's territory in northern Wisconsin. The rerouting falls within the tribe's watershed, and tribal advocates argued it poses risks to tribal farming traditions. Aurora Conley, chair of the Anishinaabe Environmental Protection Alliance and a member of the Bad River Ojibwe, said the potential environmental fallout could be disastrous for the region's wild rice fields. ...(Read More)

WI Nurses Rally for Fairer Wages, Safe Staffing Ratios Nurses from across Wisconsin converged on the state Capitol building Thursday, as part of a rally demanding fairer wages and safer staffing ratios as the pandemic continues. A report from the Wisconsin Hospital Association (WHA) indicates medical facilities across the state are struggling to fill vacant health care positions, as the strain from the COVID-19 pandemic has driven nurses out of the health care industry. Carolyn Miller, a registered nurse from Eau Claire, said at a news conference in the Capitol Rotunda on Thursday, the issues plaguing the health care system affect workers at every level. ...(Read More)

Education Leaders, Kids' Health Advocates Want Social-Media Reform May is Mental Health Awareness Month, and some education leaders and medical experts are urging parents to take a more active role in monitoring their kids' mental well-being, which includes their use of social media. Dalia Hashad, director of online safety for ParentsTogether, in a recent discussion hosted by the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), described the long-term impact overuse of social media can have on kids. "The longer a child spends online, the higher their level of anxiety, the higher the level of mood swings, aggressive behavior, feelings of worthlessness," Hashad outlined. "...(Read More)

Environmental Groups Raise Concerns Over Cardinal-Hickory Creek Line Earlier this year, a federal court struck down plans to drive the Cardinal-Hickory Creek power line through the Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge, which stretches from Minnesota to Illinois. The energy companies behind the operation are challenging the decision, raising concerns from environmental organizations. Mike Senatore, vice president of conservation law for Defenders of Wildlife, said a proposal to swap land between the U.S. ...(Read More)