Nicole Boyd, chairwoman of the Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians, delivers the 2026 State of the Tribes address. (Photo by Isiah Holmes/Wisconsin Examiner)

To the beat of a ceremonial drum flags representing Wisconsin’s 11 Indigenous nations streamed into the State Assembly Tuesday, carried by military veterans who are regarded as warriors in their tribal communities. Their families and loved ones, many also dressed in traditional regalia, watched from the gallery above during the 2026 State of the Tribes Address.

Chairwoman Nicole Boyd  of the Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians thanked her relatives, community members and lawmakers from both political parties for assembling in the ornate room. Boyd’s community lies six hours north of north of the Capitol in the northernmost point of Wisconsin on Lake Superior and within “the ceded territory of the Ojibwi Nations,” the Chairwoman said. 

“Today, you will learn of my beliefs and values and why I think education is the key to making tribal nations in Wisconsin great,” said Boyd. “I intend to reflect on the work our tribal nations accomplished in 2025, and to set a course for the milestones we will celebrate in the future. We are ready to work hard. And we expect that same dedication from our state partners.”

Boyd spoke of “trust” and “responsibility” in the 250-year-old legal relationships tribal communities have with the U.S. government, including court decisions reaffirming tribal sovereignty and the treaties that ceded “millions of acres of our land in this region,” Boyd said. “But for the original inhabitants of this land, the Anishinaabe, trust-responsibility has much deeper meaning. The Anishinaabe were brought to this Earth by the Creator for a greater purpose: To caretake for this place, the people, and all beings. To ensure it now, and for many generations to come. We are not here simply to take. Our ancestors knew this, they fought for this, and they left us the teachings of reciprocity.”

Boyd said that “wealth is not solely defined by monetary value and material items.” Her elders often reminded her that “we’re the richest people on this Earth because we have everything needed to survive from the Anishinaabe Walmart,” a reference to the land and water that has provided Indigenous people with shelter and sustenance for generations. Boyd shared a traditional story that the Anishinaabe once had an abundance of sweet syrup that would flow from the sugar maples in the forests, a gift from the Creator so that they could fulfil their caretaking responsibilities. But one day, the Creator visited the people and found that the Anishinaabe had over-indulged in the syrup and were sleeping lazily under the maple tree. The Creator decided to water down the syrup, causing the people to labor more to get the final product they craved. 

“To this day, the gathering of this bountiful resource from the Anishinaabe Walmart is a lengthy lesson-learning process,” said Boyd. “Some years we have bountiful harvests, and other years we do not. We believe this is a result of many factors, including how well we are taking care of the resource and our responsibilities. We have ecological knowledge about all of our abundant resources in the Anishinaabe Walmart. Yet, when we want to share our views on why we will protect our water, air, land and beans at all costs we continue to be considered radical, or less than our equal counterparts. We could show all the evidence or research in the world, and still be considered wrong. Meaningful diligence is more than just checking a consultation box. It is taking the time to truly understand the impact of something in the past, now and in the future. That is the legal, fiscal, and moral obligation we all must balance together.”

Boyd asked whether tribal communities were wrong to weigh in on changing a national lakeshore to a national park, or to push back when a major oil pipeline project is re-locating near the largest and most pristine aquifer in the region, connected to the Bad River watershed. Boyd asked, “Why is it wrong to expect that feasibility of projects of this magnitude be ecologically sound, and ensure the water will be protected?”

Each time the chairwoman finished a major point, the Assembly parlor would erupt with cheering and applause from tribal members and Assembly Democrats. Republican lawmakers, however, appeared mostly disengaged from the speech with many refusing to applaud, checking their phones frequently, or leaning over to joke and laugh in one another’s ears after Boyd’s remarks. Nevertheless, Boyd pressed on. 

“Your great great grandchildren will not be righting wrongs if you choose this path,” said Boyd. She encouraged people in the room who are unfamiliar with the issues she brought up  to watch the documentary “Bad River: A Story of Defiance.” “I guarantee that you will understand that ‘water is life’ is not a slogan, it’s why we exist,” she said.

Boyd praised Gov. Tony Evers for increasing collaboration with tribal communities. She asked that wild rice be made the state native grain, as it’s been in Minnesota since 1997 and in Michigan since 2003. She said she  hopes the Legislature will take it up during the next session. She also highlighted tribal gaming as a key part of Wisconsin’s economy. Boyd highlighted how the NFL draft, held in Green Bay in cooperation with tribal communities, brought $125 million to Wisconsin. Yet, a lot of sports betting revenue is lost to unregulated and even illegal platforms which operate outside of Wisconsin, and even outside of the U.S. Wisconsin tribes’ efforts to find  a way to regulate and legalize mobile sports betting platforms would help secure even more revenue for Wisconsin, while creating a safer environment for consumers, Boyd said. 

Health care access is another major issue for tribal communities. Boyd said that tribal nations in Wisconsin own 11 qualified health care providers, and have seen decreases in drug overdose deaths. Some tribal communities have been able to build new health care and fitness facilities, with millions of dollars worth of investments supporting the efforts. Yet, drug and alcohol abuse, as well as access to mental health treatment, are top concerns for tribal communities, as are high rates of suicide. Boyd also called on the Legislature to look closely at gun regulation, saying that in some places children are afraid to go to school because of fear of being shot. Assembly Democrats applauded Boyd, while Republican lawmakers held their applause or appeared distracted. 

Boyd also called on the Legislature to take on flavored vape pens which have grown in popularity among youth. “Kids are being expelled and they are experiencing permanent health damage,” said Boyd. Broadening access to healthy food and treatment to prevent and fight cancer are also key areas for the tribes. Boyd herself recounted having lost two uncles, her father, a father-in-law and many community members to cancer since 2024. 

Food sovereignty and independence, as well as supporting local economies based on food, was another issue she highlighted. Tribal communities produce nuts, fish, bison, maple syrup, rice and many other goods which support Wisconsin’s economy. To many tribal communities, food is also medicine, and having access to healthy and culturally appropriate food is something they hold close to their hearts. 

At one point in her speech, Boyd described what life is like “north of Highway 29,” both the successes and challenges. Although tribal communities have made great strides reducing overdose deaths, they’ve also seen a sharp decline in the number of narcotics investigators dedicated to northern Wisconsin. In 2013 there were four resident narcotic investigators from the state Department of Justice, Boyd said. In 2022 there were only three, and today there are none. Access to emergency medical services is another thing tribal communities hope to work with lawmakers to expand. “We need your partnership,” said Boyd.

Boyd praised Evers for acknowledging the crisis of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, a remark which earned applause from both Democrats and Republicans. Tuesday was the last time Evers would attend a State of the Tribes Address as governor. Boyd said that the newly established state Office of Violence Prevention is a good start, but not enough. Women hold important roles in Indigenous communities as the givers of life and matriarchs of their tribes, she said. On Tuesday for her address, Boyd chose to wear strawberry-colored clothing, symbolic of the moon under which her daughter was born. 

Boyd called on the Legislature to make greater investments in education, cultural immersion schools and professionals trained in language. She  called on the Legislature to consider establishing free school lunch programs for children, another remark which earned standing ovations and applause from Democrats but not Republicans. She also pushed for expanded access to higher education, with just 1.6% of college students in Wisconsin being from a tribal community, she said.

She thanked the Department of Transportation for creating dual-language signs around tribal nations, and for establishing a Ho Chunk World War II Memorial highway. Finally, Boyd also called on the Legislature to work together to finally legalize cannabis in Wisconsin. The chairwoman stressed that over 60% of voters want legalization, and that there is great interest among tribal communities to use this “plant medicine” for pain, PTSD, and other chronic ailments. “Wisconsinites are beyond ready and growing more impatient with lawmakers every day on this topic,” Boyd said.

In conclusion, Boyd said that tribes have worked hard to shield themselves from what she called “attacks on human decency” from militarized federal immigration raids as well as increased surveillance and cuts to essential services including  SNAP and Head Start. “Wisconsin is our home,” said Boyd. “The motivation to protect our home may never be relatable to some…I urge us to be vigilant and not surrender our values.”

GET THE MORNING HEADLINES.

SUBSCRIBE

The U.S. Capitol as seen from New Jersey Avenue SE on Jan. 6, 2025.  (Photo by Ashley Murray/States Newsroom)

WASHINGTON — A handful of House Republicans tanked a procedural vote Tuesday night that would have kept intact a ban on congressional action against President Donald Trump’s emergency tariffs.

Republican Reps. Don Bacon of Nebraska, Thomas Massie of Kentucky and Kevin Kiley of California joined all Democrats in a 214-217 vote  blocking language to continue a prohibition on any House votes challenging the unprecedented import taxes Trump triggered under the International Economic Emergency Powers Act, or IEEPA. Rep. Gregory Murphy, R-N.C., did not vote.

“I don’t like putting the important work of the House on pause, but Congress needs to be able to debate on tariffs. Tariffs have been a ‘net negative’ for the economy and are a significant tax that American consumers, manufacturers, and farmers are paying,” Bacon said in a post on X following the vote. 

“Article I of the Constitution places authority over taxes and tariffs with Congress for a reason, but for too long, we have handed that authority to the executive branch. It’s time for Congress to reclaim that responsibility. I also oppose using the rules votes to legislate. I want the debate and the right to vote on tariffs,” Bacon continued, referring to the “rules” vote, a procedural vote often taken prior to advancing legislation.

The provision, tucked in a vote to advance three unrelated bills, would have continued the ban until July 31.

Trump declared national emergencies on numerous occasions in 2025. The resolution, enacted in September, effectively prohibited any congressional counteraction to Trump’s emergency tariffs imposed on Feb. 1, April 2, July 30 and Aug. 6. 

The president targeted imports from a host of trading partners on those dates, including establishing steep tariffs on Canada, Mexico, China, Brazil and India.

Trump’s novel use of IEEPA to immediately trigger tariffs on global imports is currently under review at the U.S. Supreme Court after a group of small businesses sued the president. The justices heard oral arguments in early November, and an opinion has been expected for months. 

As power-hungry data centers proliferate, states are searching for ways to protect utility customers from the steep costs of upgrading the electrical grid, trying instead to shift the cost to AI-driven tech companies. (Dana DiFilippo/New Jersey Monitor)

At a public hearing held by the Wisconsin Public Service Commission Tuesday, dozens of Wisconsin residents decried the effects massive data centers could have on the state’s electricity rates and ability to adopt renewable energy sources. 

The three-member PSC is considering a proposal from the Wisconsin Electric Power Company to establish a tariff system for providing electricity to massive data centers. Under the proposal, “very large” customers that would be subject to the tariff would have a combined energy load of 500 megawatts — the equivalent of powering about 400,000 homes. 

The first phase of Microsoft’s $13.3 billion data center project in Mount Pleasant is projected to require 450 megawatts. 

Critics of the proposal say that under this system, regular consumers will still be on the hook for 25% of the infrastructure costs associated with increasing the state’s energy load. 

Over the past year, the growth of data center development in Wisconsin has spurred an increasingly tense debate. Local governments have been tempted to allow their construction as a source of property tax revenue while local residents raise concerns over energy and water use, the conversion of historical farmland, the ethics of artificial intelligence and long-term environmental impacts.

The massive energy needs of data centers have become the central issue in the debate, with people in Wisconsin and around the country questioning how to manage the demands of giant corporations seeking to use orders of magnitude more energy than is currently being produced.

“I speak to you not only as a We Energies customer, a member of the Wisconsin State Senate, but on behalf of people across Wisconsin who have communicated to me their worry and fear about the development of hyperscale data centers,” Sen. Chris Larson (D-Milwaukee) said at the hearing. “This worry and fear transcends political divides and income brackets, residents and small businesses alike fear that these data centers will fundamentally alter and potentially destroy our Wisconsin way of life, and with good reason; the scale of the proposed development is unprecedented.” 

Larson added that often “this debate is framed as a false choice that our state must prioritize economic growth or meet our clean energy and climate goals. This is simply not true. In reality, Wisconsin can and must be a leader in pursuing both advancing economic development while accelerating a just transition to affordable, reliable, clean energy in a way that does not harm residents, health, economic security or the environment.”

The vast majority of those testifying during the more than three-hour hearing Tuesday afternoon were opposed to the structure of the proposed system — largely due to the 500 megawatt threshold proposed by the utility company. 

Several people said they were concerned that the threshold being set at this level would encourage the growth of still large data centers that use less than 500 megawatts of energy — and the costs of those centers’ electricity use will be passed on to regular consumers. 

“I submit that 500 megawatts is at least an order of magnitude too high,” Pleasant Prairie resident Charles Hasenohrl said. “The threshold should be lower than 50 megawatts, where at that point, companies are required to cover all costs, which again include generation, transmission and distribution.” 

Opponents also said they were concerned that data centers increasing the energy demand in Wisconsin will encourage the PSC and the state’s utility companies to construct new natural gas power plants, instead of encouraging the growth of renewable energy sources such as solar and wind.

“Renewable energy is the cheapest way to generate electricity, and it’s only getting cheaper,” Dr. Jonathan Patz, a professor of health and the environment at UW-Madison, said. 

Patz added that burning fossil fuels to provide energy for currently proposed data centers in southeastern Wisconsin will increase air pollution not only in the immediate region but spread to Chicago and western Michigan. 

“Because the right choice happens to be both the safest and the most affordable. That’s solar and wind power,” Patz said. “Let’s stop killing people unnecessarily with pollution from burning fossil fuels, especially knowing the multi-decadal life span of a power plant. The rest of the world is turning to renewable energy. Why should the PSC prevent us from transitioning to clean energy and improving our health at the same time?”

The handful of people who testified in favor of the proposal were union representatives. Several of the state’s unions have been vocal in supporting the construction of data centers, arguing that their members will benefit from the jobs created while the centers are being built. The union representatives said that the state should work to protect costs from being passed on to ratepayers, but that the state shouldn’t discourage data centers from coming to Wisconsin. 

“These projects require significant amounts of power, far beyond what’s available today to be operational and successfully run,” Jim Meyer, business manager for IBEW Local 2150, said. “Faced with this problem, the traditional method of having a utility company add power generation capacity through building more power plants, then spreading those costs over its customer base, would simply be unfair to its everyday customer, like my membership, who live and work in the areas and are also customers themselves. The VLC tariff will put the tab for those plants exactly where it belongs, with those very large customers who need that new electric load.”

PSC Administrative Judge Mark Newman said that the job of the commission isn’t to decide if the state should go all in on encouraging data center construction but only the “reasonableness of the rates, terms, and conditions of electric service” in the We Energies proposal. Several people testifying expressed frustration that often the commission holds public hearings only to ultimately vote against the majority sentiment of the public and side with corporate utility interests. 

“I am wondering whether this is an exercise in futility,” Milwaukee resident Ted Kraig said. “Technologically, it makes no sense to be building up old fossil fuel infrastructure, and still, the Public Service Commission just goes and basically rubber stamps it. My concern is that we can have 1,000 people testifying with the best evidence and arguments imaginable, but the Public Service Commission sitting there with little check boxes … We Energies gets whatever it wants.” 

The Public Service Commission is expected to make its decision on the tariff by May 1.

GET THE MORNING HEADLINES.

SUBSCRIBE

Assembly Speaker Robin Vos said Tuesday lawmakers are in negotiations with Gov. Tony Evers on a bill package to provide property tax relief before the end of the legislative session. Evers delivers his 2025 state budget address with Republican legislative leaders sitting behind him. (Photo by Baylor Spears/Wisconsin Examiner)

Assembly Speaker Robin Vos said Tuesday lawmakers are in negotiations with Gov. Tony Evers on a bill package to provide property tax relief before the end of the legislative session. 

Vos made the comments ahead of an Assembly floor session during which lawmakers passed a bill to provide long-term financial support to WisconsinEye, the state’s version of C-Span. Vos said the state Senate may have its own bill in the works.

Vos said that lawmakers have been discussing a property tax-reduction package for weeks, and had intended to announce it last week, but delayed due to discussions with Evers. Republicans want to  tap into Wisconsin’s budget surplus, estimated at over $2 billion, to fund a property tax relief package. 

“We have been trying to negotiate with Gov. Evers to have a bipartisan package that can get through both chambers, hopefully, and to his desk,” Vos said. “The goal would be to try to return a sizable chunk of the surplus back to Wisconsinites to help deal with rising property taxes.” 

Property tax bills jumped significantly in December, fueled by a state budget that increases  school revenue limits while keeping state general aid flat — pushing education costs onto local taxpayers — as well as voter approval of school district referendum requests. Further property tax hikes are expected in coming years without action from policymakers.

Republicans, angry about a line-item veto by Evers in the last budget, refused to give any state aid to schools in the current two-year budget.  Evers’ partial veto extended a $325 per-pupil increase in revenue-raising authority granted to school districts in the last two-year budget cycle for the next 400 years. Without state funding to backfill the revenue limit increases, school districts only had the option to raise property taxes or to forgo additional revenue. Vos had earlier said he wanted to see a repeal of Evers’ partial veto in any property tax package, but he backed off that demand Tuesday.

“Certainly want to see if we can have reforms in there, but the most important thing for us is to get relief, so some of the politics might have to wait until the election cycle,” Vos said. 

There is an open race for the governor’s office and control of the state Legislature is up for grabs in November. Republican gubernatorial candidate U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany is seeking to make property taxes a major point of his campaign — promising to freeze property taxes and repeal Evers’ partial veto if he is elected.

WisPolitics reports that Evers is proposing a $1.3 billion package that would pair school funding with tax relief, according to  emails from Zach Madden, Evers’ legislative affairs director, to Vos and Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu (R-Oostburg) the news outlet obtained. 

According to WisPolitics, the deal put forth by Evers would include $200 million towards special education funding and $450 million for general aid to schools in 2027 to lower the amount of revenue that districts would raise through property taxes. Evers would in exchange support providing $550 million toward the School Levy Tax Credit and $97.3 million in 2027 to exempt taxes on cash tips.

Assembly passes bill to create endowment for WisconsinEye

The Assembly passed a bill Tuesday to provide a long-term funding solution for WisconsinEye, the nonprofit organization that livestreams and archives government proceedings, but the bill likely faces difficulty in the Senate.

AB 974 would eliminate the match requirement on $10 million, which was initially set aside for WisconsinEye in the state budget, and place it in an endowment fund to help provide a stable form of income to the organization. WisconsinEye would receive the interest from the endowment for its operations, though the revenue is not expected to cover all of its costs so the nonprofit would still need to raise hundreds of thousands of dollars each year. 

Lawmakers have been working on a way to support the organization after it said it was dealing with fundraising difficulties and had to shut down its coverage. WisconsinEye resumed its coverage on Feb. 2 after over a month offline after the Joint Committee on Legislative Organization approved $50,000 for it to do so. 

“They need around $50,000 a month to be able to continue operations as they work toward their long-term goal of having a partnership with the state and through their private fundraising,” Vos said. “I think the goal would be that the Legislature and the executive branch hopefully will be able to provide a longer term contract to at least get us through the balance of this year.”

The bill would require WisconsinEye to focus its coverage primarily on official state government meetings and business, provide free online public access to its live broadcasts and archives as well as submit an annual financial report to the Legislature. It would also require WisconsinEye to add additional members to its board of directors.

The bill states that if WisconsinEye ceases operations and divests its assets, then it must pay back the grants and transfer its archives to the Wisconsin Historical Society.

An amendment to the bill will require WisconsinEye to open all meetings of its board of directors to the public, broadcast those meetings and archive them and stipulates that the state will own all video cameras, audio equipment, connecting cables and wireless transmission equipment that is operated or maintained by WisconsinEye in the Capitol.

Assembly Minority Leader Greta Neubauer (D-Racine), the lead coauthor on the bill, said she is glad WisconsinEye is back online.

“Without it, however briefly, the Legislature was less transparent and accessible to all of our constituents,” Neubauer said. “Thankfully, we’re here to fix this issue today… I certainly hope that this bipartisanship will continue with the Senate, and they will pass this bill so that we can ensure that WisconsinEye has a path to long-term sustainability.”

The bill passed 96-0 in the Assembly.

Vos said that lawmakers have had “brief discussions” with the Senate, but he believes that Senate Republicans are working on their own bill related to WisconsinEye. 

LeMahieu’s office has not responded to a request for comment from the Examiner.

GET THE MORNING HEADLINES.

SUBSCRIBE

Gov. Tim Walz held a press conference in The Market at Malcolm Yard in Minneapolis on Feb. 10, 2026, to highlight the adverse impacts the federal immigration surge has had on Minnesota businesses. (Photo by Michelle Griffith/Minnesota Reformer)

Gov. Tim Walz on Tuesday said that he expects the federal immigration enforcement surge in Minnesota to wind down soon.

During a press conference intended to highlight the adverse impacts of President Donald Trump’s federal immigration enforcement on small businesses and restaurants, Walz said federal officials have “assured us that I think we are moving towards that.”

“It would be my hope that Mr. Homan goes out before Friday and announces that this thing is done,” Walz said in an empty Market at Malcolm Yards in Minneapolis.

Walz said that since Trump’s border czar Tom Homan took over operations in Minnesota from Border Patrol Commander Gregory Bovino two weeks ago, his administration has spoken with Homan daily. Walz said he also spoke to Trump’s Chief of Staff Susie Wiles this morning.

Over the past two months, immigration agents have shot three people, killing two; racially profiled people, asking them to produce proof of legal residency; detained legal immigrants and shipped them across state lines, including young children; caused numerous car crashes; deployed chemical irritants on public school property; smashed the car windows of observers and arrested them before releasing them without charges; and threatened journalists who were filming them from a distance in a public space, among other high-profile incidents.

Walz cautioned that although he expects the operation to wind down soon, Trump is unpredictable and will likely declare the immigration operation successful before he orders federal agents out of Minnesota.

“It is very important for the president of the United States to believe he wins,” Walz said. “They’ve got to believe they accomplished what they were going to accomplish. It’s my understanding they think they did that.”

The governor said that when the operation is over, the state will shift to recovery mode. Walz noted that the fallout of “Operation Metro Surge” will affect Minnesota’s revenue streams and hospitality industry long after federal agents leave, likening the impact to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, a Democrat, said President Donald Trump "uninvited" him from a National Governors Association black-tie dinner at the White House planned during the group's annual meeting Feb. 19-21, 2026. (Photo by Bryan Sears/Maryland Matters)

WASHINGTON — Democratic governors headed to an annual bipartisan gathering in the nation’s capital will not participate in a traditional White House black-tie dinner after President Donald Trump disinvited several Democrats from the event.

A joint statement Tuesday from the Democratic Governors Association said the state leaders “have a long record of working across the aisle to deliver results and we remain committed to this effort. But it’s disappointing this administration doesn’t seem to share the same goal.”

“At every turn, President Trump is creating chaos and division, and it is the American people who are hurting as a result,” the statement continued. “If the reports are true that not all governors are invited to these events, which have historically been productive and bipartisan opportunities for collaboration, we will not be attending the White House dinner this year. Democratic governors remain united and will never stop fighting to protect and make life better for people in our states.”

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, the association’s chair, and Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, vice chair, led the statement, and were joined by 16 Democratic governors from California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Kansas, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Wisconsin. 

A traditional formal working meeting at the White House including governors of both parties also appeared to be off the agenda.

Brandon Tatum, the National Governors Association’s acting executive director and CEO, said, “The bipartisan White House governors meeting is an important tradition, and we are disappointed in the administration’s decision to make it a partisan occasion this year.”

“To disinvite individual governors to the White House sessions undermines an important opportunity for federal-state collaboration. At this moment in our nation’s history, it is critical that institutions continue to stand for unity, dignity, and constructive engagement. NGA will remain focused on serving all governors as they deliver solutions and model leadership for the American people. Traditionally the White House has played a role in fostering these moments during NGA’s annual meeting. This year, they will not,” Tatum said in a statement.

Reports surfaced over the weekend that Trump had planned to exclude some Democratic governors from the annual White House events when Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, the National Governors Association vice chair, made public that the president had “uninvited” him from the dinner.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters Tuesday at the daily briefing that Trump “can invite whomever he wants to dinners and events here at the White House.”

Leavitt said Tuesday that Moore “did not show up” to last year’s dinner, and “nobody reported on it.”

“But again, the president has the discretion to invite whomever he wants to the White House, and he welcomes all those who received an invitation to come, and if they don’t want to, that’s their loss,” Leavitt said.

The association’s 2026 gathering is scheduled for Feb. 19-21. The gathering will include “special guests and national experts for solutions-driven conversations on pressing national issues including education, energy, economic growth, artificial intelligence and more,” according to the association website.

Pictures of Alex Pretti sit in front of his Minneapolis home on Jan. 26, 2026. Pretti, an ICU nurse, died Jan. 25, after being shot multiple times during a brief altercation with Border Patrol agents in south Minneapolis. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON — The head of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement declined during a U.S. House hearing Tuesday to apologize to the families of Alex Pretti and Renee Good, the victims of fatal shootings by immigration officers in Minneapolis last month.

Top Trump administration officials, including Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, had said both Minneapolis residents engaged in “domestic terrorism.” Good was a poet and mother of three and Pretti was an intensive care unit nurse. 

ICE acting Director Todd Lyons demurred when asked by California Democrat Eric Swalwell if he would apologize for that characterization. 

“I’m not going to speak to any ongoing investigation,” Lyons said.

Lawmakers on the U.S. House Homeland Security Committee grilled Lyons, Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Rodney Scott and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Director Joseph Edlow during Tuesday’s hearing, following the fatal shootings of Good on Jan. 7 and Pretti on Jan. 24. The deportation campaign in Minneapolis began more than two months ago.

Following the shootings, Democrats have pushed for policy changes to the appropriations bill that funds the agency for fiscal year 2026, scrambling a bipartisan agreement on the measure. 

If lawmakers don’t reach a deal by Friday, funding for much of DHS will run out. Funding for immigration enforcement will remain due to provisions in Republicans’ tax cuts and spending law last year.

Scott called the thousands of protestors and legal observers in Minnesota “paid agitators.” There is no evidence of that. 

Noem, who Democrats are pushing to impeach, was not at the hearing. 

The chair of the committee, Rep. Andrew Garbarino of New York, acknowledged that the country was at an “inflection point” and called the deaths of Good and Pretti “unacceptable and preventable.”

But he otherwise largely defended federal immigration officials and the Trump administration’s enforcement tactics. 

The top Democrat on the committee, Bennie Thompson of Mississippi, said the Trump administration was weaponizing DHS against Americans. 

Body cameras, masks and roving patrols

Democrats questioned Scott and Lyons on a handful of policy proposals that Democrats are pushing for in the DHS appropriations bill.

The Democrats’ proposals include mandating body cameras for immigration agents and requiring those officers to identify themselves and not wear masks.

Thompson asked Lyons how many body cameras ICE officers have. Noem earlier this month announced DHS would be sending body cameras to all ICE officers across the country. 

Lyons said about 3,000 ICE officers currently have body cameras with another 6,000 cameras on the way.

Scott said that about 10,000 Border Patrol agents have body cameras out of 20,000 agents. 

Democratic Rep. Tim Kennedy of New York asked Lyons if he would commit to instructing ICE agents to stop wearing face coverings and masks in enforcement actions. 

“No,” Lyons said. 

Kennedy then asked Lyons if he believed Noem should resign, given the deadly shootings of Good and Pretti. 

“I’m not going to comment on that,” Lyons said. 

GOP Rep. Michael McCaul, a former chair of the committee who is retiring next year, said some of the roving patrols should be kept at the southern border, rather than in residential areas. 

“I’ve called for de-escalation after the two deaths, the two shootings that took place,” McCaul said. “I believe that these roving patrols should be done at the border rather than in the major cities of the United States.”

Democrats are also calling for an end to those roving patrols in enforcement in the interior of the U.S.  

McCaul added that federal immigration agents “are not trained to effectuate crowd control.”

“They are trained to move in surgically, go in and remove these dangerous, violent criminals from the United States of America,” he said.

Judgment day, Klan invoked 

The hearing had a few heated exchanges between Democrats and the administration officials.

New Jersey Democratic Rep. LaMonica McIver, who is facing federal charges after a clash with immigration officers at a detention facility in Newark where she tried to conduct an unannounced oversight visit, asked Lyons if he considered himself a religious person. 

Lyons said he did and McIver asked him how he thought “judgment day would work for you with so much blood on your hands.”

“I’m not going to entertain the question,” Lyons said.

She asked Lyons if he thought he was “going to hell.”

Garbarino quickly shut down her line of questioning. 

Democratic Rep. Delia Ramirez of Illinois criticized the officials before her, and called for ICE to be abolished.

“I have as much respect for you as I do for the last white men who put on masks to terrorize communities of color. I have no respect for the inheritors of the Klanhood and the slave patrol,” she said. “Those activities were criminal and so are yours.”

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey speaks at a news conference in December about the Trump administration's plans for immigration enforcement in the city. Frey encouraged other mayors last month to stand up to President Donald Trump; some mayors have taken a more compromising tone. (Photo by Nicole Neri/Minnesota Reformer)

WASHINGTON — Five days after federal immigration enforcement agents killed the second of his constituents, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey had a message for his peers: Speak out.

“Mayors, we do not back down to bullies. We stand up for democracy,” Frey said in a speech last month in Washington, D.C., at a gathering of hundreds of mayors from around the country.

Frey left the U.S. Conference of Mayors and rode to Capitol Hill to meet members of Congress, and five days after that, President Donald Trump said that he’d pull 700 U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents out of Minneapolis. Some 2,300 would remain.

Frey, a liberal mayor governing a predominantly liberal city, illustrated his way of responding to Trump’s increasing encroachment into city limits and city business, and he urged that way — public, loud, strong — for others too.

But his path isn’t the right one for all mayors, who hold mostly nonpartisan jobs in an increasingly hyper-partisan political environment. Their jobs are primarily to pick up trash, fill potholes and keep people safe. While some view confrontation with the White House as the right approach, others are opting for accommodation — or just keeping their heads down.

Cities rely on federal money, and Trump has made it clear that more ICE agents and fewer federal dollars will flow to cities that don’t respond to his requests.

Plainfield, New Jersey, Mayor Adrian Mapp, the son of immigrants, said in an interview at the conference that some disagreements with the federal government, such as those over immigration raids, can feel like a personal and political battle. Residents expect their mayor to fight for them, he said, especially against unpopular policies or federal overreach.

“There is a sense in our community that this is what people want from their mayor — to know we’re standing up, putting resources together and doing everything we can to support those who are affected,” Mapp said.

Boots on the ground

Chris Jensen, a two-term mayor of Noblesville, Indiana, told Stateline that city leaders are often insulated from Washington’s partisan battles, and that unless those issues get local, they’re not worth engaging in.

“Mayors don’t get to go on cable news and just repeat talking points,” Jensen said. “We have to do the work every single day. Snow has to be plowed. Roads have to be built. Trash has to be picked up. That’s not partisan, that’s just governing.”

A registered Republican who used to work for former Indiana Republican Gov. Mitch Daniels, Jensen said mayors must embrace bipartisanship so they can get resources for their constituents. And federal leaders, he added, could better utilize mayors by asking them for on-the-ground data and feedback from their constituents.

“We’re the boots on the ground,” Jensen said. “If you want to talk about housing, we know how many permits we pulled. If you want to talk about mental health, we know how many crisis calls we ran. Rely on us and get out of the way when we need to move faster.”

At last month’s conference, several mayors described tensions with the Trump administration — often not naming the president directly — as having intensified in recent months, particularly around immigration enforcement, federal deployment of National Guard troops and threats of revoked federal funding.

Much of Trump’s ire, they pointed out, has been aimed at big cities with large Democratic populations. The African American Mayors Association has noted that the cities Trump has decried as lawless and in need of National Guard troops — Chicago; Los Angeles; Memphis, Tennessee; Oakland, California; and Washington — are all led by Black mayors. All have seen significant declines in violent crime.

Trump has also threatened to send troops to New Orleans, despite its falling crime rate. Mayor Helena Moreno, who took office in January, was among the mayors visiting Washington. She told constituents in an Instagram message that she grabbed a moment with Trump at another event — and worked to shift his attention to other city needs.

“I thought it was very important for the president to hear directly from me on what the city of New Orleans actually needs from the federal government,” she said in the video. The city’s homicide rate is at its lowest in 50 years, she said, and she told Trump of the city’s infrastructure needs.

“I think he was receptive,” Moreno told constituents. “I’ve always said this: That even though I might not be politically aligned with someone, that if they are in a position of power, and have the ability to help the city of New Orleans, then I want to make sure that our needs are being told … so that we can figure out if there’s a path to being able to work together.”

Pushing back

Trump had told mayors that if they didn’t agree to drop sanctuary status, which bars local police agencies from working with ICE on immigration enforcement, their federal dollars would be cut off Feb. 1.

When the funding threats from the president didn’t materialize, newly sworn-in New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said his administration “will continue to stand up for the city” against efforts to restrict federal funding for cities based on politics and ideology.

But Mamdani, like other mayors, has looked for ways to connect with the president, meeting with Trump in the Oval Office shortly after his election last fall.

Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Browser, who finishes her third term next year, has said that whoever succeeds her in office will have an especially tricky job, because of the city’s unique circumstances — the federal government can overrule local laws.

Bowser pushed back strongly against Trump in his first term, but has been more pragmatic in his second term — looking for common ground over his National Guard deployment, accelerating homeless encampment sweeps and erasing a block-long “Black Lives Matter” mural that had been painted onto the street as protest in front of the White House. At the same time, Bowser has warned that such measures could limit city autonomy.

Similarly, San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie persuaded Trump in a phone call last fall to hold off on surging immigration agents to the city, telling the president that the city was doing well. Trump told reporters he was giving San Francisco a chance.

But sustained pushback may have been what led to the scaling back of ICE operations in Minneapolis.

Portland, Oregon, Mayor Keith Wilson has been hoping for a similar reduction in immigration enforcement in his city as he calls for ICE officers to leave the city.

Boston Mayor Michelle Wu, who noted at the conference that mayors are facing “headwinds” at the federal level when it comes to funding, recently joined regional mayors to announce a slew of accountability measures for ICE officers.

Newark, New Jersey, Mayor Ras Baraka and Jersey City Mayor James Solomon are both advocating for state lawmakers to pass legislation limiting how much state officials and local police can cooperate with ICE agents.

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson signed an executive order to expand the city’s investigation into possible misconduct by ICE officers.

Cincinnati Mayor Aftab Pureval said during a panel session at the mayors conference that the administration’s use of partisan politics — and the scope of the federal government’s powers — has profoundly changed the job for mayors.

“It’s absolutely affecting trust at every level,” he said.

Stateline reporter Robbie Sequeira can be reached at rsequeira@stateline.org.

One City Schools founder and CEO Kaleem Caire, left, foreground, and state Rep. Shelia Stubbs (D-Madison), center, take part in a Jan. 28 hearing on a bill to boost funding for "demonstration" charter schools. (Photo by Baylor Spears/Wisconsin Examiner)

Wisconsin lawmakers are set to advance a bill that would create a “demonstration” charter school designation and boost state aid for that school by more than 50%.

During the Jan. 28 public hearing, Rep. Robert Wittke (R-Caledonia) and Sen. Rachael Cabral-Guevara (R-Appleton) said the bill would help create a mechanism in the state to try out innovative teaching methods and export them across the state.

“Right now, we are reinventing the wheel in isolation rather than sharing the blueprint for success,” Wittke said. “A teaching hospital receives higher funding to train research and innovate. Similarly, a demonstration school would be a K-12 education lab.” 

Independent charter schools are different from traditional charter schools. They are not authorized by a public school district and do not answer to a public school board, but instead are authorized by one of a number of designated authorizers, including the Universities of Wisconsin’s Office of Educational Opportunity (OEO).

AB 818 would allow the Office of Educational Opportunity to designate a school that meets a certain set of criteria as a “demonstration” charter school. For a school to receive the designation, it would need to participate in a longitudinal study; provide professional development opportunities; share the best practices from its educational model to other schools and maintain partnerships with community organizations. 

The school would receive an additional $6,863 per pupil — a 55% increase from its current funding. The bill is scheduled for a vote in the Assembly Colleges and Universities committee Tuesday.

Wittke said that any school authorized through the Office of Educational Opportunity could apply once the program is set up. 

“Once this bill would get signed into law, they would have to make an application to be designated as this. Any other charter school that is under the OEO presence could make an application to do the same. There could be others that want to be chartered under OEO for the purpose of doing this. We would love to see that,” Wittke said. “This is an idea that was brought in front of me, so we looked at this framework. It wasn’t to preclude anyone, but this is what I believe is a step in the right direction so that others can follow, and we can start moving the needle up so that our children will realize opportunities that are in front of us.”

The UW Office of Educational Opportunity currently authorizes nine schools, though there is one that is seeking to serve as a model for what the bill proposes.

One City Schools, a Madison area independent charter school, operates One City Elementary and One City Preparatory Academy. The two schools serve kindergarten through 8th grade, in Monona. It also operates One City Preschool, which serves ages 2 through 4-year-old kindergarten, on Madison’s south side.

Kaleem Caire, One City Schools’ founder and CEO, told lawmakers that the organization is trying to serve students who have not been served by traditional schools, as well as to act  as an incubator for innovation. But One City Schools is always in need of money to continue operating.

“If any of you have money that you don’t like, you can send it to One City Schools,” Caire quipped, adding, “Yes, we are always at risk of closing our doors” because of the needs of students. 

He said the student population of One City Schools is 94% students of color, about 70% students in poverty and 17% special needs.

“We are the least funded public school,” he said.

The school has struggled with sustainable growth in the past. In 2023, the school sent 51 ninth- and tenth-graders back to Madison Metropolitan School District after one semester due to teacher shortages, pausing its high school aspirations for several years.

At the time, Caire said the school would reopen its high school in 2025, but as of last year, those plans have been delayed until 2026-27 due to its eighth grade enrollment numbers, facility readiness and funding uncertainties.

Caire said the independent charter school currently serves about 400 students and its preschool serves about 80. Practices that he said set the schools apart from traditional schools include providing breakfast and lunch to students each day and its partnership with Project Read AI, an artificial intelligence program meant to help teach literacy.

The bill has support of one Democratic lawmaker: Rep. Shelia Stubbs (D-Madison), whose district includes the schools.

Stubbs urged lawmakers to support the bill, calling the school a “pioneer in providing innovative, high quality education and wrap-around support services to some of Dane County’s and Wisconsin’s most vulnerable scholars.” She said the bill will “ensure that an operator with an innovative learning model is able to continue improving the educational outcome of hundreds of scholars in our community every year.” 

Stubbs said the additional funding would come from the existing charter school payment appropriation.

“Why do we need to spend more if you’re really successful?” Rep. Dave Murphy (R-Hortonville) asked Caire, who said that the organization currently must raise about $5 million annually to meet the needs of its students.

According to written testimony provided by One City Schools, the organization’s long-term sustainability goal will rely on increased state funding, including by nearly doubling its student base and boosting state aid overall. 

“Their goal is to reach 900 students, which they consider a funding tipping point where they’ll receive more predictable public funding and substantially reduce their need for private support,” the testimony stated. It also identified a plan for achieving financial sustainability including securing multi-year funding, growing enrollment, achieving “economies of scale” and increasing state aid.

Rep. Jerry O’Connor (R-Fond Du Lac) said he didn’t think the funding in the bill would provide a “phenomenal advantage” to the schools, but would instead give them, as independent charter schools, “equal funding.” 

“These are poor lives and kids and people, so I don’t have a problem with the funding,” O’Connor said. “I like the fact that the rules are in place. There’s accountability. There are consequences.”

Democratic lawmakers expressed caution and concerns about the bill, saying they weren’t sure how it would help schools and students more broadly. 

“It feels like you all are doing some amazing things at One City and I appreciate that. I think most schools would like to have the holistic approach that you are aiming for, but money is always the issue,” Rep. Jodi Emerson (D-Eau Claire), a member of the committee, said during the hearing. 

Emerson noted that Democratic lawmakers have proposed legislation that would allow for free school meals at all public and voucher schools in the state. “That’s what I’d like to see our body advocating for more than picking winners and losers, and to be honest, sir, I feel like that’s what this bill is right now.”

Caire told lawmakers that there aren’t other schools that have volunteered to serve as a “demonstration” school for the state.

“That is why we’re coming here to you,” Caire said. “How many public schools in Wisconsin do you know of are germinating this level of opportunity for kids intentionally to scale across the country at an affordable price?… What we’re asking the state for is the average per-pupil revenue that the average public school system gets from the state of Wisconsin.”

The Wisconsin Education Association Council (WEAC), the state’s largest teachers union, opposes the bill, saying it would further drain resources from traditional public schools. 

“This bill hands a single, unaccountable charter operator a funding windfall that educators in every comer of this state can only dream of for their own students,” WEAC said in written testimony. 

The union said the bill comes as public schools continue to face difficulties, and as state funding has not kept pace with inflation.

In the most recent state budget cycle, Wisconsin’s traditional public schools did not receive any increase in its state per-pupil aid. The budget did provide additional funding for special education, but the available funds are not expected to meet the percentage promised by lawmakers and Gov. Tony Evers. School districts are instead turning to property tax increases to raise additional funds.

“Public school educators experience the consequences of state budget choices every day in crowded classrooms, growing student mental health needs, outdated materials, and painful cuts to electives that once kept kids engaged in school,” WEAC’s statement said. “AB 818 does nothing to address those real and urgent problems. Instead, it carves out a special lane for one favored type of charter operator and invites others to line up for the same bonus, further draining resources from the vast majority of students who attend public schools that are transparent, democratically governed, and open to all.” 

Democratic lawmakers on the Assembly Education Committee, including Reps. Francesca Hong (D-Madison), Christian Phelps (D-Eau Claire), Angelina Cruz (D-Racine) and Joe Sheehan (D-Sheboygan), submitted testimony opposing the bill. They said they had concerns the legislation would divert resources from public schools and continue a pattern of “linking education privatization to segregation.” 

“Policies that funnel public money toward select private and charter operators have repeatedly exacerbated segregation and disparities along lines of race, socioeconomic background, disability status, and more, leaving public schools with fewer resources to meet all students’ needs despite our constitutional obligation to help them do so,” the lawmakers stated. “AB 818 promises to continue that legacy.” 

GET THE MORNING HEADLINES.

SUBSCRIBE

(The Center Square) – A group of three bills dubbed the red tape reset aimed at cutting down on regulations in state government are expected to get a vote in the Wisconsin Senate on Wednesday.

(The Center Square) - Wisconsin’s sports wagering bill was not on Tuesday’s Assembly calendar or Wednesday’s Senate calendar, but Rep. Mark Born, R-Beaver Dam, said he is optimistic that the bill will reach the Assembly floor for a vote.

(The Center Square) – A group of Wisconsin lawmakers are looking to change race-based higher education programs to programs that apply to disadvantaged students.

(The Center Square) – The difference in fundraising in Wisconsin’s race for the supreme court continues to grow.

Reading Time: 3 minutes

For many Milwaukee residents returning from incarceration, the difference between stability and setback can hinge on a single document: a valid driver’s license.

Without one, everyday responsibilities can become barriers that undermine a person’s successful return to the community, said Jay Tucker, administrator of community reintegration services at Wisconsin Community Services. 

Tucker helps oversee the organization’s long-running driver’s license recovery program, which helps people get back their licenses after suspensions or revocations. 

Although the program serves a broad range of low-income Milwaukee residents, Tucker said the loss of a driver’s license is especially destabilizing for people returning from incarceration, particularly as they look for work.  

“There’s already a stigma there,” Tucker said. “If I’m already checking a box on an application just to get the job, and now I may not have this valid work credential, it amplifies that stigma.”

Black and poor residents overrepresented

Suspended and revoked driver’s licenses disproportionately affect the city’s Black and low-income residents, said Clarence Johnson, president and CEO of Wisconsin Community Services. 

In Wisconsin, most license suspensions and revocations are not tied to dangerous driving but to unpaid fines and forfeitures. 

According to Wisconsin Department of Transportation data from 2024, failure to pay forfeitures accounted for more than 44% of revocations and suspensions statewide – far more than operating while intoxicated or point-based violations.

For many, that process starts with a single ticket, said Taffie Foster-Toney, lead case manager for the license recovery program.

“You get one citation, you’re not able to pay it and then it snowballs,” Foster-Toney said. 

Breaking a cycle

Shakia Thompson, 33, a Milwaukee resident, mother and student, said the cycle was hard to break.  

“My license was suspended because I had a lot of operating-after-suspension tickets,” Thompson said. “I would get on a payment plan, get my license back and then get another ticket.”

With work and family responsibilities, she said, staying on top of court appearances became difficult.

“With me working a lot, I wasn’t always able to attend court,” Thompson said. “So it just kept keeping me behind, and I kept owing and owing.”

How the program works

The driver’s license recovery program at Wisconsin Community Services began in 2010. 

It serves Milwaukee residents who meet federal poverty guidelines, have a suspended or revoked Wisconsin driver’s license and meet other eligibility guidelines.

Foster-Toney said the process begins with intake and a detailed review of a participant’s driving record.

Individuals are then paired with attorneys through Legal Action of Wisconsin and work case by case to resolve issues across multiple courts and counties. 

Options may include payment plans or community service. 

Thompson said the payment plan option helped her considerably. 

“There were times that I wasn’t able to pay a fine, and then I would get backed up on other bills. So it really helped in the long run,” she said. 

Participants can also attend a financial literacy workshop. In return, the program pays up to $60 in Wisconsin Division of Motor Vehicles fees once an individual is eligible for reinstatement.

Public safety benefits

Johnson said helping people regain licenses benefits the broader community.

“People who have valid driver’s licenses tend to be safer drivers,” he said. “When you have assets in your life, you’re much more inclined to make good judgment decisions. The driver’s license program offers hope. It’s a lifeline.”

Thompson said she shares information about the program widely, especially with people balancing many responsibilities, such as family and work.

“I tell a lot of people about it,” she said. “A lot of ladies in school that don’t have their license.”

After getting her license back last summer, Thompson said she’s focused on keeping it. 

“I’m doing great with my payment plans, and I have my license,” she said. “I’m moving forward.”

How to connect

Wisconsin Community Services receives referrals from courts, parole agents, nonprofit organizations, city agencies, police officers, Milwaukee Area Technical College and the mayor’s office. 

The program is housed at Milwaukee Area Technical College’s downtown campus and accepts walk-ins.

Eligibility requirements are: 

• A suspended or revoked Class D driver’s license
• City of Milwaukee residency
• Income that meets federal poverty guidelines 
• No valid license within the past eight years and completion of the DMV written test within the past 12 months
• No operating-while-intoxicated charges, suspensions or revocations related to operating while intoxicated   

People can contact Wisconsin Community Services at 414-297-6407 for more information.

‘I’m moving forward’: Driver’s license recovery program helps Milwaukee residents regain stability is a post from Wisconsin Watch, a non-profit investigative news site covering Wisconsin since 2009. Please consider making a contribution to support our journalism.

There are over 20 million Americans in recovery from addictive behaviors and funding for treatment isn’t always available.
This leaves volunteer-run nonprofits to help fill the gaps, like SMART Recovery. Producer Morgan D. Stewart explores its Wisconsin roots.

The post Putting the ‘art’ in SMART Recovery appeared first on WPR.

In 1933, a traveling artist painted five murals inside a Superior building. They were recently brought back to life.

The post ‘Brought back to life’: Lost Superior murals uncovered, on public view appeared first on WPR.

Sarah Schmidt of Associated Milk Producers Inc., said cottage cheese demand has seen double-digit growth in recent years. And it's likely to see more thanks to the current way Americans are thinking about their diets.

The post Spiking demand for cottage cheese spurs new investments in Wisconsin processing appeared first on WPR.

It's been close to a year since a judge ordered Wisconsin's Department of Corrections to put in place a program for incarcerated moms and their infants. But the ACLU says the prison system has yet to make meaningful progress toward complying with that mandate.

The post 1 year after court order, Wisconsin still lacks a prison nursery program appeared first on WPR.

Alliant Energy is asking state regulators to approve custom electric rates for Meta’s large data center campus in Beaver Dam, but the heavily redacted document hides details from the public, including the amount of energy the project is expected to use. 

The post Alliant Energy proposes custom electric rates for Meta’s data center campus appeared first on WPR.

Some Milwaukee County Supervisors are seeking more answers around what led to the lapse of a health care contract that left employees and retirees worried about their benefits.

The post Some Milwaukee County Supervisors want answers after lapse of health care contract appeared first on WPR.