Editor’s note: This is a static version of the interactive story found at this link.
Air Wisconsin Airlines has not been spared by the nationwide decline of regional air service. The 60-year-old carrier laid off hundreds of employees in Appleton and Milwaukee last year after terminating a contract to provide aircraft, crews and services to American Airlines in January 2025. The airline’s planned pivot to charter service and federally subsidized connections to underserved airports didn’t pan out, prompting another round of layoffs by the spring.
But the company’s troubles didn’t entirely ground its fleet. Flight tracking data indicate that Air Wisconsin continued to provide regional air service through the end of 2025, primarily connecting its Wisconsin hubs to mid-sized Midwestern airports as it had for decades.
In January, Harbor Diversified Inc., the Appleton-based parent company of Air Wisconsin, sold the company’s operations and 13 of its jets to CSI Aviation, a New Mexico-based air charter company and longtime federal contractor owned by former New Mexico Republican Party chair Allen Weh.
Air Wisconsin sent recall notices to the company’s furloughed flight attendants after the sale to CSI Aviation, and the Association of Flight Attendants — the union representing the furloughed workers — negotiated an immediate raise for returning members. In a January press release announcing the recall notices, the union noted that only a third of the furloughed flight attendants opted to return.
Neither CSI nor Harbor Diversified responded to requests for comment.
CSI is central to the Trump administration’s ongoing immigration crackdown.
It has provided charter services for ICE since 2024, transporting detainees and deportees both directly and through subcontractors.
The company entered its current $1.5 billion contract with the Department of Homeland Security in November of last year.
Demand for private charters surged after 2010, when the Obama administration moved away from relying solely on the U.S. Marshals Service.
Air Wisconsin isn’t alone. Avelo Airlines began deportation flights last spring, but backed out last month following intense public backlash.
CSI’s acquisition of Air Wisconsin transformed the airline’s flight patterns within a matter of weeks. The airline’s website no longer lists passenger routes, but flight data collected between Jan. 9 and mid-February indicates that the airline has largely ceded its role as a Midwestern regional carrier.
Instead, the airline increasingly looks south: Destinations in Louisiana and Texas replaced the mid-sized Midwestern airports that were, until recently, the airline’s most frequent destinations.
Flight data indicates Air Wisconsin planes made at least 125 trips in January 2026, up from roughly 60 in December 2025. Thicker lines on the map indicate more frequent routes.
Many of Air Wisconsin’s new destinations are within easy reach of ICE detention facilities in Texas and Louisiana, including some of the agency’s largest.
Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport is among the busiest in the country, but Air Wisconsin rarely provided service to the Twin Cities in the final months of 2025.
That changed in January, just weeks after the Trump administration dispatched thousands of federal agents to Minnesota for an immigration enforcement offensive dubbed Operation Metro Surge.
Hundreds of immigrants detained in the operation have since departed the airport in shackles, loaded onto charter flights bound for ICE detention facilities farther south.
The modest airport in Alexandria, Louisiana, is now the epicenter of ICE’s deportation flight operations. Air Wisconsin has flown to or from Alexandria at least 30 times since the airline’s acquisition by CSI, on par with the airline’s service to Madison and outpacing service to Appleton, home to the airline’s corporate headquarters.
The GEO Group, an international private prison operator, runs an ICE detention facility on the airport’s tarmac. A dozen other ICE facilities sit within easy reach. Among them is the Adams County Correctional Center in Natchez, Mississippi, where Delvin Francisco Rodriguez, a 39-year-old Nicaraguan national, died in custody on Dec. 14, 2025. ICE acknowledged the incident in a press release four days later, though the agency did not specify the cause of Rodriguez’s death.
Camp East Montana, ICE’s largest detention facility, sits just east of El Paso International Airport. Air Wisconsin flights took off from or landed in El Paso at least 32 times in January and early February, second only to Milwaukee’s Mitchell International Airport.
The camp drew national attention in early January after Geraldo Lunas Campos, a 55-year-old Cuban national, died by asphyxiation after guards pinned him to the floor of a cell. The El Paso County Medical Examiner’s Office later ruled the death a homicide.
Lunas Campos’ death came a month after Francisco Gaspar-Andres, a 48-year-old from Guatemala and detained at Camp East Montana, died in an El Paso hospital; ICE attributed Gaspar-Andres’ death to liver and kidney failure.
Another detainee, 36-year-old Victor Manuel Diaz of Nicaragua, died at the camp on Jan. 14 in what ICE described as a “presumed suicide” — an explanation his family questions. ICE agents detained Diaz in Minneapolis only days before his death.
Air Wisconsin hasn’t entirely withdrawn from its home state hubs. Many of the airline’s remaining pilots, flight attendants and ground crew are still Wisconsin-based, and Milwaukee remains the airline’s primary hub.
The airline is now hiring for more than a dozen Wisconsin-based positions — including legal counsel.
Wisconsin Watch used FlightAware AeroAPI data (Sept 2025 – Feb 2026) to reconstruct patterns before and after the Jan. 9 sale to CSI Aviation.
Hubs on these maps represent the 10 airports most frequently used. While the routes align with ICE operations, the data does not confirm if specific flights carried detainees.
Air Wisconsin turns to ICE (static version) 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.
Air Wisconsin turns to ICE 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.
Capping off a contentious week of floor sessions that saw tempers flare as lawmakers raced to adjourn for the year, the state Assembly passed two measures tied to hard-fought deals about food assistance and cleaning up PFAS.
The post Wisconsin Assembly passes deals on PFAS, SNAP funding appeared first on WPR.
President Donald Trump's frequent use of tariffs over the last year has created plenty of economic uncertainty affecting Wisconsin farmers. But producers in the state say it's not clear what the end of the tariff policy will mean for them in the coming months.
The post Wisconsin farmers wait to see how the end of Trump tariffs plays out appeared first on WPR.
Federal prosecutors are pushing back on attempts by former Milwaukee County Judge Hannah Dugan to have her conviction overturned. Last year, a jury found her guilty of obstructing immigration agents.
The post Feds push back on former Judge Dugan’s attempts to overturn conviction appeared first on WPR.
The Milwaukee Police Department and the Milwaukee County Sheriff's Office are among the Wisconsin law enforcement agencies exploring the use of facial recognition technology to help investigate crimes.
The post Police in Wisconsin want to use facial recognition technology but face pushback appeared first on WPR.
A northern Wisconsin tribe wants a court to halt construction of Enbridge’s $450 million plan to reroute an oil and gas pipeline around its reservation after an administrative law judge upheld state permits for the project.
The post Bad River tribe wants court to halt construction of Enbridge’s Line 5 reroute appeared first on WPR.
In “Bear Tracks,” Sherman Funmaker traces his journey from high school dropout to published writer.
The post Ho-Chunk elder channels inner rock ‘n’ roll teenager in new memoir appeared first on WPR.
Federal officials announced that ICE agents are set to leave Minnesota after a months-long immigration crackdown. A Wisconsin business owner said the crackdown has stoked fear — and a Milwaukee nonprofit told WPR fewer agricultural workers are applying to work in Wisconsin.
The post Fewer seasonal migrant workers apply for visas ahead of Wisconsin’s growing season appeared first on WPR.
"Wisconsin Today" spoke with the directors of two higher education child care centers about the needs of student-parents and the challenges they face when it comes to seeking child care and education.
The post Wisconsin’s campus child care facilities offer parents foothold in higher education appeared first on WPR.
WASHINGTON, D.C.—Growth Energy, the nation’s largest biofuel trade association, applauded a new Agreement on Reciprocal Trade with Indonesia. According to United States Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, the agreement will open “commercially meaningful opportunities for American farmers and manufacturers.” As part of the deal, Indonesia has agreed to lift its 30 percent tariff on U.S. ethanol exports, remove measures preventing the import of U.S. ethanol, and adopt transportation fuels mixed with up to five percent ethanol (E5) by 2028 and up to 10 percent ethanol (E10) by 2030. Longer-term, Indonesia aims to incorporate 20 percent ethanol (E20) into its fuel mix.
“On the heels of a similar agreement with Guatemala, the new trade framework with Indonesia represents a renewed hope for American agriculture,” said Growth Energy CEO Emily Skor. “Indonesia is the world’s fourth most populous country, and its adoption of 10 percent ethanol blends nationwide could open a 900 million-gallon market to American producers and farmers. We commend President Trump, Ambassador Greer, and Secretary Rollins for their ongoing commitment to unleash American energy and tear down unfair barriers to exports from rural America. There is a growing global appetite for low-carbon, low-cost biofuels, and America is well-positioned to dominate that market.”
The post Growth Energy Applauds Trade Deal with Indonesia appeared first on Growth Energy.
A New Britain man was charged with 12 counts of risk of injury to a child after police say he failed to intervene while middle school students fought with and sexually assaulted other students on a school bus he was driving last October, reported CT Insider.
Dominic Jimerson, 61, was arrested Jan. 21 and was scheduled to be arraigned Feb. 4 in Manchester Superior Court. Has released on a $5,000 bond.
Jimerson was reportedly driving a Dattco-contracted school bus carrying 11- to 14-year-old Timothy Edwards Middle School students from South Windsor to Hartford, with multiple drop-offs along the route.
Police said Jimerson failed to act as multiple incidents unfolded on the bus, including fights and sexual assaults involving students. Investigators said school bus drivers are responsible for the welfare, safety and security of students and are trained as mandated reporters for the state Department of Children and Families. Drivers are also required to intervene when a child’s safety or welfare is in jeopardy.
Jimerson’s manager reportedly told police that Jimerson filed a report about the students’ behavior after the incident and informed the company he would not drive the route again. Even after being told that a bus monitor would be assigned to the route, Jimerson refused to return.
According to the report, Jimerson had multiple options to intervene prior, including stopping the bus, addressing the students directly, contacting the bus dispatcher, and contacting the district or police. South Windsor police became aware of the incident after a video showing a student attempting to sexually assault another student began circulating on Snapchat. The mother of a student who was allegedly assaulted also contacted school administrators.
Investigators obtained video footage from the bus, which was provided by the Capitol Region Education Council. Police said via the article that some students were actively involved in the assaults, while others were “uninvolved participants, but clearly intimidated or upset by the actions of others.”
At one point in the video, police reportedly heard muffled screams from a student who appeared to be held down in a seat. In another video, a student can be heard alerting the Jimerson. But police said Jimerson did not respond.
Several students involved in the incident are under investigation for crimes against one another and are considered both victims and suspects in alleged breaches of peace and sexual misconduct. The warrant identifies six suspects: One 11-year-old, one 12-year-old and four 13-year-olds. Police said they will not release information about juvenile arrests.
Lt. Mark Cleverdon of the South Windsor Police Department said no additional details regarding juveniles would be disclosed.
Jimerson did not speak with police during the investigation. Attorney Patrick Paoletti contacted police on Jimerson’s behalf and asked investigators to direct any communication through him. But police said Paoletti did not return follow-up calls.
The Judicial Branch lists Paoletti as an attorney for Dattco. Calls to Paoletti and Dattco were not returned. The case remains under investigation.
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Related: Florida School Bus Aide Accused of Child Abuse in Ongoing Beating
The post Connecticut School Bus Driver Charged After Alleged Failure to Stop Assaults appeared first on School Transportation News.
Student support was the name of the game in a Thursday webinar featuring two leaders with copious transportation director experience.
Viewing Transportation Through an Attendance Lens
Greg Jackson served as the executive director of transportation and fleet services for Jefferson County School District in Colorado for a decade and was named the 2019 Transportation Director of the Year by School Transportation News.
In his current role as general manager of busing services for webinar sponsor EverDriven, he reviewed trends in jobs, housing and family schedules that have resulted in districts becoming more focused on consistent transportation for student access to education.
“Consistency builds routine and routine builds attendance,” he said.
Transportation departments are also expected to be more flexible with fewer resources these days, pointed out Jim Ellis, director of pupil transportation for Virginia’s Henrico County Public Schools and a past-president of the North Carolina Pupil Transportation Association. He reminded listeners that reliability matters, but rolling with the punches is also non-negotiable.
Ellis agreed that transportation stability is especially important for medically fragile students and those who qualify under the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act.
Involving Transportation Earlier in Student-Level Decisions
Jackson noted that longstanding processes may overlook or exclude transportation staff from key conversations, so directors must step up to secure a seat at the table and be a part of the decision-making process. He encouraged transportation directors to see themselves as the administrators they are.
When it comes to multi-modal solutions, Ellis concurred with Courtney Pallotta, EverDriven’s chief marketing officer, that it’s important to take the time to create the right solution for each particular student.
Related: Detroit Public Schools Shares Chronic Absenteeism Solutions
Related: TD Summit Attendees Discuss Student Absenteeism, Transportation’s Role
Related: Communication ‘Magic Words,’ Teamwork Tips Shared at Transportation Director Summit
Related: Legal Keynote Opens Attendees’ Eyes to Federal Special Needs Transportation Laws
Strengthening Governance & Cross-Team Communication
Disconnect often occurs when different departments act on their own timelines or pertinent details are left out of notifications, Jackson said. Having aligned teams means less escalation to the superintendent and more focus on students rather than communication snafus, he explained.
“There’s so much in this life where the challenge is in the detail,” Pallotta agreed. “You cannot be clear enough about who’s doing what, especially in busy teams where volatility and change are the norm.”
Ellis added, “If we don’t get together on who manages what, we’re going to be chasing our tails.”
He advised having clear assignments on each aspect of a child’s school experience so transportation can be made available and utilized appropriately. This is especially important when contractors are involved, he added.
Putting It All into Practice
Simply adding a new technology system, that multiple staff members will need to be trained on, isn’t always the answer, Jackson warned. Instead, he said, improving small habits results in significant progress.
Budget constraints, Ellis stressed, must be communicated so all involved parties know what resources are available and what solutions are realistic. It’s not helpful when the IEP, McKinney-Vento and transportation teams are siloed. He further noted that being fully staffed with drivers means not having much wiggle room in the budget.
Alignment among all departments results in less chaos and a better experience for the families the school district serves, Jackson underscored.
Ellis encouraged the audience to look at transportation as more than a ride to school and as a crucial part of the education process. “Our families want transportation they can count on,” he summarized.
Jackson and Pallotta noted that EverDriven as a transportation network company looks to assist districts with reducing absenteeism and securing Medicaid reimbursement.
The post Webinar Gives Student-Centric Transportation Strategies to Reduce Absenteeism appeared first on School Transportation News.
Product purchasing often raises many questions and anxiety for school districts, but Veronica’s district was an exception. As a transportation director, she recently gained approval to purchase new fleet surveillance cameras. Instead of preparing and distributing an RFP, she chose a far simpler approach: buying through a co-op.
“I reached out to my REI salesperson, and she sent me a quote. I then sent it to my supervisor, Tom. He, along with our school board, approved it and we bought the cameras. That’s how simple it was. Working through co-ops, it’s so easy to make purchases,” states Veronica.
Purchasing through co-ops can benefit your operation as well. Here are five ways joining a co-op can transform how you acquire fleet solutions:
1. Bypass lengthy RFPs.
Preparing a Request for Proposal (RFP) requires significant time, coordination and administrative effort. By purchasing through a co-op, districts can rely on contracts that have already been competitively solicited. This eliminates the need to develop and manage your own RFPs yet still meet procurement requirements. The result: less administrative burden and a faster path to securing the fleet solutions you need.
Veronica recalls, “The bidding process is long, tedious and involves a lot of paperwork. When I worked at another district, we had to publish bids in the newspaper for 30 days. Vendors would submit bids, and we had to conduct a formal bid opening. It was a big undertaking.”
2. Access competitive, pre-negotiated pricing.
Cooperatives solicit contracts and negotiate pricing with multiple vendors on behalf of their members. Districts then have access to pricing that has already been evaluated for competitiveness. The approach helps you maximize budgets while reducing the time and effort required to conduct independent negotiations.
3. Accelerate procurement timelines.
Because contracts are already in place, districts can move forward with purchases immediately, instead of waiting for a full bid cycle. The faster turnaround allows you to get the needed equipment in place sooner.
According to Veronica, “I got thousands of dollars’ worth of cameras, and I don’t think I would have received them as quickly through a traditional bidding process. It probably would have taken 60 to 100 days. In this case, it took about a month from quote to shipping, and I had them within 30 days.”
4. Strengthen audit documentation and readiness.
Many cooperatives maintain detailed documentation and can provide supporting records if questions arise during an audit. This helps districts prove compliance and simplifies internal reporting.
“If anything were to come back, [the co-op] will step in and give you everything that you need and help you,” Veronica explains. “It makes purchasing easier and helps make the audit process quicker.”
5. Focus on best-fit solutions, not lowest price.
Traditional bidding processes often require districts to select the lowest bidders, which may limit flexibility. Cooperative contracts are awarded based on a combination of factors such as pricing, qualifications, service and product quality. In the end, co-op purchasing enables you to select solutions that best support your operational goals.
As Veronica notes, “Sometimes vendors undercut each other just to win the bid, and you don’t always get what you really need. Cooperative contracts help ensure the vendor and solution are the right fit.”
If you’re not a co-op member, join one or more today. Collaborate with your purchasing decision-makers. Conduct research, then decide which co-op(s) offer the products and solutions that align with your goals.
“Most co-ops are pretty easy to join. Typically, you just need to fill out an application. You don’t want to pay an application fee or anything like that. Fill out an application to become a member of their co-op purchasing and get approved that way,” advises Veronica.
She concludes, “In the long run, [REI] is doing the work for us, which is always good because we already have enough work to do.”
Four nationally recognized co-op purchasing programs list REI. Interested in joining? We have contact information. Call 800.228.9275, send us a message or get in touch with your sales rep for details. Let us help you simplify purchasing.
The post 5 Ways Purchasing Co-Ops Can Benefit Operations appeared first on School Transportation News.
LOS ANGELES, Calif. —HopSkipDrive, a leading technology company partnering with
school districts to get kids to school more quickly, safely, and easily than anyone else, today announced advancements to its “on-time engine” designed to simplify the school day. By blending nearly a decade of Google Maps integration with real-world operational data, HopSkipDrive has achieved a meaningful reduction in lateness and early arrivals, ensuring students spend more time in the classroom and less time in transit.
While standard navigation gets a driver to a street address, student transportation requires navigating the “Timing Gap”—the complex minutes spent inside school loops and pickup lanes. For the students who are not a fit for the traditional bus, including those in foster care or with specialized IEP needs, this transition is critical; these riders often rely more heavily on a consistent and safe experience to start their school day successfully.
“We know that transportation directors spend 95% of their time solving for the last 5% of their students, the McKinney-Vento and IEP riders who require the most care. Five minutes can be the difference between a student receiving their morning meal or missing their first class,” said Corey McMahon, Chief Product and Technology Officer at HopSkipDrive.”We pair over a decade of operational data with purpose-built technology to deliver the exact precision needed to consistently improve on-time arrivals.”
Innovation Through Direct Accountability Coupled With Advanced Technology HopSkipDrive is able to make these advancements because of how it leverages data and technology and its direct driver relationship model. The company doesn’t subcontract to unknown third-party providers, giving HopSkipDrive the direct visibility needed to constantly improve the in-ride experiences, making it possible to provide a higher level of care and consistency. Specifically, three core innovations have helped accelerate the company’s work to improve timeliness:
● Predictive “Procedure Time”: By applying over 10 years of data to create and refine predictive models for unique cases, HopSkipDrive can more accurately predict the time it takes for students to safely and comfortably enter or exit a vehicle, ensuring they are supported without feeling rushed.
● Enhanced CareDriver Instructions: By improving the quality of pickup notes for complex school layouts, HopSkipDrive has doubled the quality scores of driver instructions, leading to smoother handoffs and fewer delays.
● Verified Location Pins: Navigation goes beyond the front office to provide precise map pins for the specific door or lane where a student is waiting, ending pickup confusion for good.
Real-Time Visibility for School Staff
To ensure these improvements translate into smoother school days, HopSkipDrive provides total transparency through a connected suite of tools designed for every stakeholder. By surfacing real-time data across RideIQ for administrators, Daily Queue for school staff, and the HopSkipDrive App for parents and caregivers, we provide real-time certainty into a student’s journey. This connected system is designed to eliminate the “game of telephone” and ensure that every student is safe and accounted for.
This ecosystem is backed by the Safe Ride Support team—in-house specialists who serve as “human-eyes-on-every-ride”. This proactive monitoring ensures that potential hurdles are identified and solved before they ever result in a phone call to the transportation office.
“Daily Queue has allowed me to fully focus on my role as a ride organizer by saving me valuable time,” said Marcy P., Director of Transportation at Littleton Public Schools.”Allowing on-site staff to see live ride data means they can effectively track rides, leading to better hand-offs and coordinating smoothly with CareDrivers.”
A Proven Standard of Safety for Better Student Outcomes Consistent, on-time transportation is critical for student well-being, and HopSkipDrive views timeliness as a fundamental safety requirement. By ensuring students arrive on time and ready to learn, HopSkipDrive helps districts reduce chronic absenteeism for vulnerable populations who might otherwise needlessly miss school due to transportation gaps.
“Our model is built on prevention, not reaction,” added McMahon.”By removing the middleman, we prevent the communication breakdowns that cause delays. This ensures district budgets go directly toward a reliable student experience and driver quality, protecting both learning time and the district’s bottom line.”
About HopSkipDrive:
HopSkipDrive is a leading technology company partnering with school districts to get kids to school more quickly, safely, and easily than anyone else. The company is modernizing the $30 billion school transportation industry through two core solutions: a care-centered transportation marketplace and an industry-leading transportation intelligence platform, RouteWise AI.
HopSkipDrive’s marketplace supplements school buses and existing transportation options by connecting kids to highly-vetted caregivers on wheels, such as grandparents, babysitters, and nurses in local communities. RouteWise AI helps schools and districts address critical challenges, including budget cuts, bus driver shortages, and reaching climate goals. HopSkipDrive has supported over 13,500 schools across 21 states, with nearly 1,300 school districts, government agencies, and nonprofit partners. More than five million rides over 95 million miles have been completed through HopSkipDrive since the company was founded in 2014 by three working mothers.
The post HopSkipDrive Protects Student Learning Time by Solving the Transportation “Timing Gap” appeared first on School Transportation News.
The entrance to a Big Lots store in Portland with a SNAP eligibility sign. Up to 3,000 Oregonians who came to the U.S. as refugees, asylum seekers or through other humanitarian protection programs would lose access to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program under new federal rules challenged by Oregon and other states. (Stock photo by hapabapa/Getty Images)
The Wisconsin Assembly passed a bill that will ban Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) recipients from being able to buy soda and candy with their benefits and will provide funding and positions to the state Department of Health Services to help preempt the state from being penalized by the federal government.
Lawmakers also approved a bill aimed at having the state turn SNAP data over to the Trump administration.
Gov. Tony Evers and lawmakers have been discussing providing additional funding and positions to the state Department of Health Services to ensure the state keeps its payment error rate low, to avoid costly federal penalties enacted as part of a huge national tax cut and spending bill.
A SNAP provision in the federal tax and spending law signed by President Donald Trump last year would penalize states for having a payment error rate above 6%. The Evers administration has estimated a penalty due to the error rate could cost the state up to $205 million. Evers recently urged lawmakers in his State of the State address on Tuesday to provide money to the state agency to keep the error rate low and avoid potential penalties.
Lawmakers attached the money and positions to AB 180 in an amendment. The bill passed 71-22 with 23 Democrats joining Republicans in favor of the bill.
The amendment included about $69 million and 70 positions for the agency to help ensure quality control of SNAP — also known as FoodShare in Wisconsin — and keep the error rate low.
When it comes to the candy and soda ban provisions, the Wisconsin DHA would need to submit a waiver to the federal government for approval to make the change to the program.
Under the leadership of U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, the Trump administration has pushed for the ban across the country as a part of his “Make America Healthy Again” agenda. The U.S. Department of Agriculture has approved waivers for 18 states, including Idaho and Oklahoma, so far, and there are at least five states that are actively implementing the ban.
Rep. Ryan Clancy (D-Milwaukee) criticized the bill, saying it “has nothing to do with health,” mentioning he sees people drinking Diet Mountain Dew and other beverages in the Legislature’s chambers, and that the bill is merely “punishing people for poverty.” He also said it is “shameful” to use the candy and soda ban bill to move the money and positions forward.
“I’m glad that with the amendment there are necessary dollars here that are coming to help our agencies provide dozens of staff members to push back on the onslaught from the Trump regime,” Clancy said. An amendment to the bill includes $3.5 million to help with development and administration of a food stamp platform that is meant to ensure grocery stores can follow the ban.
Rep. Russell Goodwin (D-Milwaukee) said lawmakers shouldn’t be “policing check-out lanes” and that the bill will create a two-tiered system where poor families have their food choices restricted.
Rep. Clint Moses (R-Menomonie) said that the bill would ensure that taxpayers are not paying the costs of people eating unhealthy foods.
“The original intent… was to go down a path to start looking at what we’re feeding our children, what we’re feeding our families and what’s that doing to our families,” Moses said, adding that he has been interested in the issue long before the “Make America Healthy Again” movement.
Moses said “the amount of money that we could lose from the federal government is astronomical” if the bill doesn’t become law.
Under the bill, candy is defined as “any solid, semi-solid, or molded preparation of sugar, sweeteners, whether natural or artificial, or chocolate, with or without added ingredients such as flavorings, fruit, nuts, or flour, that is commonly marketed, advertised, or recognized as candy, chocolate bar, chewing gum, or similar confectionery and includes chocolate bars, including chocolate bars containing flour, hard candies, gummies, caramels, taffy, licorice, mints, and chewing gum.” It does not include baked goods.
Soda is defined as a “nonalcoholic beverage that contains natural or artificial sweeteners, including soda, pop, cola, energy drinks, sports drinks, or flavored water, or any product, regardless of its ingredients or labeling, that is marketed, labeled, or advertised as a soda, pop, cola, energy drink or energy supplement.” It does not include beverages that include milk or coffee or unsweetened tea.
A separate bill would require Wisconsin to compile and turn over data to the federal government on all Wisconsin FoodShare recipients since 2020 in accordance with a July letter from the federal Department of Agriculture. The Trump administration says it is seeking the data so it can investigate fraud and has threatened to cut off SNAP benefits to states that don’t comply. The Assembly passed the bill, AB 1027, in a 54-39 vote with Rep. Jodi Emerson (D-Eau Claire) joining Republicans in favor.
On behalf of Wisconsin, Attorney General Josh Kaul joined a lawsuit with 21 other states to block the order. A federal judge in California recently granted the request for a temporary restraining order.
Rep. Ryan Spaude (D-Ashwaubenon) accused his Republican colleagues of being “happy to take up the bidding of the Trump administration” with the passage of the bill.
No Republicans spoke on the bill.
Evers has expressed opposition to turning over the data, saying that Wisconsin’s system works. He told WISN 12 in December that the SNAP system is “analyzed every single year and we feel confident in it.”
“We have people in the state of Wisconsin that need help making sure they’re having nutritious meals. We feel the program right now is working just fine,” he said.
Both bills need to pass the Senate before they go to Evers.
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