A Bayfield County judge is weighing whether the Bad River tribe and environmental groups face irreversible harm if Enbridge continues building a new stretch of its Line 5 oil and gas pipeline around the tribe's reservation.
The post Could work on Enbridge’s Line 5 reroute come to a halt? Here’s what to know. appeared first on WPR.
As Wisconsin sees more extremes, experts highlighted potential approaches that communities may adopt to strengthen resilience to climate impacts.
The post Wisconsin will see warmer, wetter weather — and more extremes, report finds appeared first on WPR.
Port Washington residents and environmental advocates urged Wisconsin regulators to deny air quality permits for a massive data center there and conduct further environmental review of the project.
The post Port Washington residents urge DNR to deny air quality permits for data center appeared first on WPR.
Family and friends of a man who was shot and killed Tuesday by a Superior police officer demanded justice during a protest outside the Douglas County Courthouse Monday.
The post Family and friends of man shot and killed by Superior officer demand justice appeared first on WPR.
A union leader representing Forest Service employees in Wisconsin says workers may have to move as part of the Trump administration’s plan to shift its headquarters out west and shutter regional offices.
The post Forest Service workers in Wisconsin may have to move after reorganization, union leader says appeared first on WPR.
An American white pelican that captured the hearts of a Lake Superior community has died after undergoing treatment for gunshot wounds.
The post Pelican that captivated a Lake Superior community has died appeared first on WPR.
Wisconsin is part of a coalition of 21 states and local governments suing the Environmental Protection Agency for weakening standards on coal-fired power plants tied to emissions of mercury and other harmful pollutants.
The post Wisconsin and groups sue Trump EPA for rollback of mercury standards appeared first on WPR.
The Bayfield County board will take up agreements where Canadian energy firm Enbridge would reimburse law enforcement for services tied to its controversial Line 5 reroute in northern Wisconsin.
The post Constitutional rights, finances at stake in reimbursement deals tied to Enbridge’s Line 5 appeared first on WPR.
Protestors across Wisconsin are pushing back against what they describe as growing authoritarianism from President Donald Trump.
The post Thousands turn out for third round of No Kings protests in Wisconsin appeared first on WPR.
The secretary of the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources said the agency is preparing to set up grant programs to address PFAS contamination with some work beginning this summer or fall.
The post DNR Secretary says work ongoing to set up programs to address PFAS in Wisconsin appeared first on WPR.
The Line 5 reroute has generated years of debate, protests, tens of thousands of comments and challenges to state permits that prompted a weekslong contested case hearing. The fight over Line 5 is one front in a larger battle over pipeline projects that often pit energy security and jobs against potential harms to the environment and tribal treaty rights.
The post Work on Enbridge’s Line 5 reroute underway as legal challenges aim to halt construction appeared first on WPR.
Cleanup is ongoing after a Jefferson County egg farm spilled thousands of gallons of wastewater amid an outbreak of bird flu.
The post Cleanup of spill ongoing at Jefferson County egg farm amid bird flu outbreak appeared first on WPR.
Conservation groups say Wisconsin will lose out on opportunities to set aside public lands and struggle to find funds to pursue that work as the state’s land purchase program is likely to expire in June.
The post Stewardship program likely to expire after Wisconsin Senate fails to take up bills appeared first on WPR.
Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul joined a coalition of two dozen states over the EPA's decision to repeal the scientific basis for controlling pollution that’s heating up the planet.
The post Wisconsin joins states suing EPA for abandoning power to fight climate change appeared first on WPR.
Protesters across the state gathered Sunday to speak out against the fatal shooting of a former Wisconsin man by federal immigration officials in Minneapolis.
Alex Pretti, 37, was an ICU nurse at a Veterans Administration hospital. He was killed as he protested the presence of thousands of agents with the Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Patrol in the Twin Cities. His death Saturday morning came just weeks after federal agents shot and killed Renee Macklin Good.
Pretti was a graduate of Preble High School in Green Bay. At a rally on the steps of the state Capitol on Sunday, Pepe Barros of Madison told the crowd of about 400 people that he had been on a bicycle racing team with Pretti.
“Until yesterday, I was choosing to think that what ICE and the current administration was incorrect, but I was … thinking that was not my problem,” Barros said. “Until it became my problem. Until it was so close that I couldn’t dodge it anymore.”
In addition to direct ties to Pretti, many in Wisconsin have close ties to neighboring Minnesota. Libby Meister of Madison said she attended the protest to show support for loved ones.
“I have friends and family that live there,” she said. “I’m scared. I’m scared for them and for me.”
Amanda Husk of Madison carried a sign that read “Nurses against ICE.” For her, the fact that Pretti was also a nurse made his death resonate.
“As nurses we do everything we can to care for our patients and Alex was absolutely out there caring for the woman that fell,” she said. “He was trying to care for her and his life was taken in a very criminal and inhumane way.”
In videos that circulated on social media, federal agents surrounded Pretti after he checked on a woman who had been pushed to the ground by an agent. Pretti was legally carrying a handgun, which an agent appeared to take from him before two other agents shot Pretti while he was facedown on the ground.
Trump administration officials said agents acted in self-defense and called Pretti a “domestic terrorist” who intended to “massacre” officers. Videos and eyewitness accounts contradict these claims.
For Husk, the goal of the protest is to tell the Trump administration that its approach to immigration enforcement is wrong.
“It is bringing terror; it is harming communities,” she said. “People are being killed. They need to hear that this is not OK, and it has to stop now.”
In Oshkosh, protesters gathered at the Opera House Square. A woman wearing a pink bikini stood along the street, holding a sign that read “It Was Murder.” Other signs read “No ICE” and “ICE = Murderers.”
Emily Tseffos, chair of the Outagamie County Democratic Party, estimated at least 500 people also turned out to protest in Appleton.
In Superior, around 150 protesters gathered at the Douglas County Courthouse. Cars honked their horns as people rang cowbells and held up signs that read “ICE out of Minneapolis” and “Immigrants Belong.”
Ron Petite, who lives on the south shore of Lake Superior, held a sign that read “In Honor of Pretti and Good, Killed By ICE!” His voice shook as he described his reaction to Saturday’s shooting.
“Pretti … was trying to help a lady, for crying out loud. I don’t understand,” he said. “I’m just very upset that our country has come to this.”
Other protests took place Saturday in Green Bay, La Crosse and West Allis. Wyatt Molling, chair of the La Crosse County Democratic Party, said on social media that what’s happening in Minnesota is scary.
More demonstrations are set to be held this week. Earlier this month, hundreds of Wisconsinites in Madison, Milwaukee, Ashland, Green Bay and La Crosse joined thousands in Minneapolis to protest the fatal shooting of Good.
In a statement to CNN, Pretti’s family said they were “heartbroken but also very angry” and called the Trump administration’s statements about Pretti “reprehensible and disgusting.”
“Please get the truth out about our son,” they wrote. “He was a good man.”
Several people who knew Pretti told WPR on Sunday they remembered him as a kind person who cared about helping others.
Michael Waak, 37, was a year behind Pretti at Preble High School. Waak, a civil engineer who immgrated to Norway in 2018, said he was a lab partner with Pretti in a biology class.
“He was a very charismatic guy, and also just a very genuine and positive person,” Waak said.
They dissected a frog together and joked around in class. They weren’t close friends, Waak said. But he felt that Pretti, who was older and more popular, showed him kindness in multiple ways — including after Waak came out as gay.
“Alex never changed his behavior to me, he never stopped saying hi, never stopped being friendly,” Waak said. “This popular, well-known person kept on acknowledging me and being friendly to me. It was a small thing, but it’s something that’s always stuck with me.”
This story was originally published by WPR.
‘It has to stop now’: Wisconsin communities protest Border Patrol killing of Alex Pretti 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.
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