Marinette High School student Dylan Demmith won a seat on the common council with over 70 percent of the vote.
The post New Marinette alder turned 18 just in time to vote — for himself appeared first on WPR.
Dane County officials have maintained that peaceful protest will be allowed, but say violating the law will lead to arrests following a break-in at the facility last month.
The post Animal rights activists plan large-scale protest action at Dane County dog breeding facility appeared first on WPR.
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.
Members of the National Guard patrol the entrance to the Union Station stop on Washington, D.C.'s Metro system, on March 25, 2026. President Donald Trump was appearing at a GOP event at Union Station that night. (Photo by Jane Norman/States Newsroom)
The National Guard’s top general told Congress on Friday that it would follow the Constitution and the law when he was asked about the possibility President Donald Trump would order troops to polling places for the midterm elections.
The remarks at a U.S. House Appropriations subcommittee hearing came as Democratic lawmakers also voiced unease over the continuing deployment of nearly 2,500 National Guard members in Washington, D.C.
Rep. Joe Morelle, a New York Democrat, asked Gen. Steven Nordhaus, chief of the National Guard Bureau, what assurances he could provide to Americans concerned about the deployment of troops at the polls.
“The National Guard, obviously, always follows the Constitution, law, policy and guidance, both at the federal and the state level,” Nordhaus said.
Federal law prohibits the deployment of the military to polling places unless necessary “to repel armed enemies of the United States” and violations are punishable by up to five years in prison.
Trump has said that he should have ordered the National Guard to seize ballot boxes during the 2020 election, which he falsely maintains was stolen. Steve Bannnon, a former Trump adviser, has publicly urged the president to send the military and Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, agents to patrol the polls.
Trump last year deployed National Guard members to several Democratic-led cities, in some instances federalizing them against the will of governors, who typically command National Guard members. He also sent active-duty Marines into Los Angeles. Opponents of the deployments expressed fears that they represented a test run for intimidating voters.
While the deployment to the District of Columbia continues, Trump withdrew troops from other cities after the Supreme Court in December left in place a lower court decision barring a deployment in Chicago.
Rep. Betty McCollum, a Minnesota Democrat, questioned how long the D.C. deployment is sustainable. She also referred to reporting by ABC News that the Pentagon intends to keep troops in D.C. through the end of Trump’s term in January 2029.
“Picking up waste in the District of Columbia does not prepare anyone for conflicts that could arise in Europe, Asia and the Middle East,” McCollum said.
U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., speaks at a news conference at the U.S. Capitol on Feb. 11, 2026 in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Heather Diehl/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON — Arizona Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly’s legal team is urging a federal appeals court to uphold a ruling that allows the former Navy captain to keep his retirement rank and pay while his First Amendment case against the Pentagon moves forward.
Benjamin C. Mizer, partner at Arnold & Porter, wrote in a brief filed April 15 that the Defense Department violated Kelly’s constitutional rights when it tried to punish him for appearing alongside other Democrats in the “Don’t Give Up The Ship” video.
The Trump administration’s appeal of the district court’s ruling, he wrote, doesn’t cite “a single case” that has expanded the limited speech rights of active-duty military members to “retirees like Senator Kelly.”
The legal precedent the Trump administration did reference, Parker v. Levy, “involved an active-duty officer directly urging soldiers at his wartime military post to refuse specific orders to deploy and fight,” Mizer wrote.
“Senator Kelly, by contrast, is a retired officer and legislator who publicly called, alongside other Members of Congress, for adherence to settled law, not defiance of it,” Mizer wrote.
Kelly, Michigan Sen. Elissa Slotkin, Colorado Rep. Jason Crow, New Hampshire Rep. Maggie Goodlander, and Pennsylvania Reps. Chris Deluzio and Chrissy Houlahan, all Democrats with backgrounds in the military or national security, posted the video at the center of the case on Nov. 18.
They said that Americans in those institutions “can” and “must refuse illegal orders.”
“No one has to carry out orders that violate the law or our Constitution. We know this is hard and that it’s a difficult time to be a public servant,” they said. “But whether you’re serving in the CIA, in the Army, or Navy, or the Air Force, your vigilance is critical.”
Mizer wrote in his legal brief that “Kelly never told members of the armed forces to refuse any particular military orders. The video did not even identify any specific military orders or operations.”
Mizer added the obligation to refuse clearly illegal orders “is a bedrock of the law of armed conflict.”
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced in January that he would attempt to downgrade Kelly’s retirement rank and pay for his participation in the video, leading the senator to file a lawsuit.
Senior Judge Richard J. Leon of the District of Columbia District Court issued a preliminary injunction in February, blocking that from taking effect while the case progresses through the legal system.
The Trump administration appealed the preliminary injunction to the Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, which has scheduled oral arguments for May 7.
Karen LeCraft Henderson, nominated by President George H.W. Bush in 1990; Cornelia T.L. Pillard, nominated by President Barack Obama in 2013; and Florence Y. Pan, nominated by President Joe Biden in 2022, make up the three-judge panel that will decide whether to uphold the district court’s preliminary injunction or overturn it.
Assistant Attorney General Brett A. Shumate wrote in a 71-page brief filed March 20 the district court judge’s ruling “was gravely wrong and sweeps far beyond Kelly’s suit, calling into question the military’s ability to maintain discipline among servicemembers.”
Shumate added later in the filing that “while retired officers may well have greater speech rights than active-duty servicemembers in some respects, the district court erred in holding that they are indistinguishable from civilians for purposes of First Amendment analysis.
“The court reasoned that retired officers cannot undermine discipline as significantly as active-duty servicemembers, but that conclusion is unsupportable.”
Shumate contended that the “district court also erred insofar as it suggested that Kelly is entitled to heightened First Amendment protection because he is a Member of Congress. Whatever enhanced speech rights Kelly has in that capacity, they come from other constitutional provisions, not the First Amendment.”
“If anything, Kelly’s role in Congress provides more, not less, reason to hold him as accountable as other servicemembers for counseling disobedience to lawful orders, given that his ‘leadership position’ as a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee gives him ‘unique sway over the military,’” Shumate wrote.
Lawyers representing the plaintiffs seeking a stay of the Enbridge Line 5 reroute in Iron County Circuit Court Robert Lee (right) and Evan Feinauer. (Photo by Frank Zufall/Wisconsin Examiner)
During a nearly four-hour hearing Thursday at the Bayfield County Courthouse in the city of Washburn, Wisconsin, Iron County Circuit Judge John Anderson consistently pressed lawyers petitioning for and against a stay or stoppage of work to reroute the Enbridge Line 5 pipeline in northern Wisconsin on the standard he should use in determining the likelihood of success of a judicial review.
Environmental groups and the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians have applied for a stay of the Enbridge project based on their petition for review of an administrative court judge’s decision in February to approve permits to go forward with a 41-mile pipeline project. The plan is to reroute the pipeline around the Bad River reservation, after a court finding that the existing pipeline is illegally trespassing on tribal land.
Pipeline opponents argued that the judicial review would ultimately be successful, in part because the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) had inappropriately applied a state statute governing navigable waterways, and that ongoing pipeline work before the review is completed would result in irreversible harm. Even though the new route does not cross the reservation, it endangers water that the tribe depends on, Bad River representatives and environmental groups argue.
The legal counsel for the DNR and Enbridge pushed back, noting that there had been extensive work and public scrutiny of Enbridge’s permit application, and that there wasn’t a high likelihood of the judicial review succeeding.
Judge Anderson said after he received briefs from all parties by April 27, he will decide on the stay, depending on whether he is “convinced” the judicial review would “not go further.”
He framed his future decision on the negative chances of the review.
“The Band has a significant interest,” said John Petoskey, an Earthjustice attorney representing Bad River. “It has an interdependent relationship, and it’s the only homeland it has ever had. The natural landscape is far more than a resource. It’s a way of life. That way of life requires a sustainable environment. It’s undisputed that the project will cause an impact.”
Judge Anderson questioned how to determine “irreparable” or “irreversible” damage.
Petoskey responded that destroying a wetland that has not been damaged in 100 years would mean the area will never be the same.
“When wetlands are destroyed, they don’t clean water or control floods and no longer provide services that help the tribe,” he said.
Petoskey also said the reroute will create a “belt” of restricted area around the reservation, where if tribal members go, they could be charged with a felony. However, later, Enbridge lawyer Eric Maassen, said Enbridge would recognize the rights of all tribal members who had a legal right to be on the land.
Robert Lee, representing the Sierra Club, League of Women Voters and 350 Wisconsin, expressed concern about at least 72 waterways the pipeline is supposed to cross.
He argued that under statute 30.12, only the riparian owners (landowners whose property adjoins or contains a natural waterway, and who therefore have the right to reasonable use of the water) can apply for permits for the waterways, and noted that Enbridge is not the riparian owner but a “co-applicant” with the riparian owners.
“Enbridge has the ability to acquire land,” he said, adding that all the company had obtained were easements with property owners.
“Under our view, that is unlawful if they are not the riparian owner,” he said.
Lee also noted that Enbridge had not been specific about what and where it would remove substances from navigable waters, and said under statute 30.20 the DNR had to know specifically what is to be removed to make a decision on a permit. He also noted that Enbridge said some bedrock would be destroyed but wasn’t specific where that would occur.
“If they don’t know the waters where blasting is to take place then public interest is not met,” he said.
Representing Clean Wisconsin, Evan Feinauer said, “They can’t build a pipeline and not do irreparable harm.”
Judge Anderson responded, “Can’t you say that about any project? Where is the line?
Feinauer responded, “Environmental resources will never be the same, even under the best-case scenario.”
Feinauer claimed the DNR didn’t have all the information in front of it when it issued permits, and Judge Anderson asked, “Whose fault was that?” Feinauer said Enbridge didn’t provide needed information on all the potential waterway crossings, including wetlands Enbridge had failed to include in its project proposal.
“I can’t think of a more important question than which wetlands,” said Feinauer.
DNR counsel Gabe Johnson-Karp said the factors Judge Anderson should consider in issuing a stay are “irrevocable harm” and “success on the merits” of winning the judicial review.
“I have to consider the likelihood of success,” said Judge Anderson. “How do I do that if I don’t have the record yet?” Anderson added that he does not intend to read all 113,000 pages of submitted documents.
Johnson-Karp also said the petitioners had failed to provide a “factual showing” of harm and had only addressed a “generalized harm.”
Anderson asked why the parties were even in court if four major waterway permits had not yet been issued. Johnson-Karp acknowledged a lot more work on the pipeline could be done before the four permits are issued.
Regarding the right to cross a navigable waterway and whether the application is solely the riparian owner’s responsibility, Johnson-Karp said the DNR has had a consistent practice of using a “co-applicant approach,” such as Enbridge is using, where Enbridge has an easement with owners.
Maassen also noted there were only four permits being pursued on the project, and he anticipated that they would be opposed.
Maassen said Enbridge has a “high confidence” it could lawfully work on the permit sites, and added, “Just because there are wetlands and forest doesn’t mean you don’t do infrastructure.”
If a three-month stay were issued, Maassen said, in actuality, it would be more likely to delay the project by six months as workers who had been assigned to the project would have left and more time would be needed to hire others.
Maassen also argued that Enbridge didn’t need to be the riparian owner on property it would only be working on in some cases for 24-48 hours.
And he contested the characterization that the blasting of bedrock is not in the public interest as a “woeful miscategorization.”
“If they can’t convince me there is a likelihood on the merits, does it end there?” Judge Anderson asked Maassen about the success of the judicial review and the request for a stay, and Maassen responded, “It does.”
Maassen added that if the pipeline didn’t proceed, it would increase the “threat to energy security” and place up to 700 union jobs at risk.
He also noted that there is a stay of a judgment in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit for Enbridge to stop using the existing Line 5 on the reservation by June 16. If that judgement does not remain stayed, he said, it could negatively impact 10 refineries and cut off most of the propane supply for Michigan.
“There are no alternatives to this line,” said Maassen. “Some refineries will have to shut down, resulting in hundreds of millions of losses.
Lastly, Maassen said Enbridge is also requesting that the petitioners post a $49 million bond if a stay is ordered and Enbridge incurs a loss from the delay.
Petoskey, the Bad River lawyer, said the court did not have to consider economic factors when making decisions about wetlands, and he also noted courts have rejected requests for a bond when the litigants are seeking to protect environmental resources.
Lee, arguing for the Sierra Club, said the court has a responsibility to follow the “letter of the law to have riparian ownership,” and challenged the DNR’s use of “co-applicants” as a “made-up” application of the statute.
Asked by Anderson on the standard of success to be used in issuing a stay, Lee responded, “50-50 probability of success; that is sufficient.”
“I don’t think there is a reasonable likelihood of success,” countered Johnson-Karp on the chance the judicial appeal would succeed.
Anderson asked why Enbridge shouldn’t be the riparian owner or require Enbridge to buy the land? Maassen responded, “The whole notion that being a co-applicant is inappropriate I think is a bad argument.”
Anderson asked all the lawyers to submit briefs within 10 days, with specific attention on the issues he had raised during the hearing.
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A beagle rescued by animal rights activists from Ridglan Farms during the action in March. (Photo courtesy of Jennifer Tourkin)
On Sunday, more than 2,000 people plan to enter the Ridglan Farms biomedical research facility to free thousands of beagles bred in Dane County under conditions prosecutors last year said violated state animal cruelty laws. Self-described rescuers from across the country have been preparing for Sunday’s non-violent direct action, building on the momentum that started with a smaller rescue last month.
Wayne Hsiung, an attorney and organizer of the rescues, posted on social media that rescue participants will “use every non-violent means to breach the facility walls and rescue the dogs.” Hsiung continued, “if police illegally attempt to stop us, we will shield one another from their attempts to hurt the dogs, and pressure them to enforce the law and protect the dogs. Nothing will stop us from getting all 2,000 beagles out of cages into the sunlight for the first time.”
In 2024, animal rights groups including Dane4Dogs and the Alliance for Animals filed a court complaint against Ridglan, following years of activism drawing attention to the breeding operation. Ridglan has bred beagles for 60 years to be sold and used in biomedical research, while also maintaining its own research area separate from where the dogs are kept. The controversial but legal experiments are a separate issue from the living conditions of the beagles.
Activists allege that the dogs are being housed inhumanely, had been subjected to the removal of eyelids and vocal cords without anesthesia, and were experiencing deteriorating health as a result. A special prosecutor, La Crosse County District Attorney Tim Gruenke, was appointed after a Dane County judge found that there was probable cause that Ridglan was violating Wisconsin’s animal cruelty laws.
Instead of filing criminal charges, Gruenke offered Ridglan a deal that allows the facility to close its breeding operation by July 2026. Gurenke told Fox6 that he didn’t have authority to seize the dogs because the crimes being investigated had occurred in the past. Ridglan has denied the allegations, saying in a statement that “no credible evidence of animal cruelty has ever been presented or substantiated. Nor has any court, agency, or investigator ever made a finding of animal cruelty.”
Ridglan said in a emailed statement to the Examiner that Gruenke’s investigators questioned the credibility of witnesses who distributed claims it said were “misinformation” and “untrue.” Ridglan also said that inspections by the U.S. Department of Agriculture conducted from May 2014 to January 2026 found “no non-compliant items” besides a dog with an injured paw in 2017, a request for new flooring in the puppy kennel in 2023, and three separate instances of “paperwork” issues in 2023 and 2026.
Hsiung organized the first rescue attempt on March 15, an action he said “showed the power of open rescue.” Participants carried 22 beagles out of the facility and drove them away. Eight of the dogs were intercepted by police and returned to Ridglan.
During the rescue, participants Ingrid Andersson and Jennifer Tourkin say they glimpsed what daily life is like for a Ridglan Farms beagle. The most immediate and overpowering impression they had was from the stench emanating from the long shed buildings housing the dogs, Andersson said. The smell reached the rescuers when they were yards away, having just crossed a field freshly covered with manure.
“That smelled like, wholesome to me,” Andersson, a midwife in Madison, told the Examiner. “That was nothing. When we got to the sheds where the dogs are kept, it was overpowering stench. It was very, very rank. That was the first thing. And then of course there was the sound.”
Each long shed, which Andersson compared to the sort used by massive Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFO’s), housed about 1,000 dogs, she said. Tourkin, a substitute pre-school teacher and mother from Denver, Colorado, called the sounds echoing from the sheds “profoundly disturbing.” She said, “picture a thousand barking, screaming, suffering beagles running in circles. That’s what it sounded like and I mean…Smells were horrific and it was more than I was prepared for.” Andersson said that the barking and crying must have been yet another stressor for the dogs. “It certainly was for me,” she added.
As they approached, Tourkin could also hear the sound of the fence being breached. Once the activists got past the fence, it took another 15-20 minutes to actually get into a building. Tourkin was part of a “red team,” or a group willing to get arrested, and was also one of the first people who entered a building that housed dogs. “By the time we came in we could hear alarms, we could hear sirens, so at that point we had to move quickly to save beagles,” she said.
The activists weren’t hiding from the police, and in fact Hsiung called local law enforcement once they arrived at Ridglan, hoping that officers would assist them in getting the dogs out. While Tourkin and her teammates went inside and retrieved the beagles, Andersson and the others waited outside and helped carry them to vans idling nearby.
“My own experience in carrying beagles to vans and helping them to freedom was very similar to how I held many laboring mothers in my arms,” said Andersson. “You know, the feeling of a dog melting in my arms really trusting that they were being brought to safety was very clear for me.” Tourkin also said that the dogs “pretty much just melted into our arms.”
Despite Ridglan’s claims that reports of abuse are false, Andersson said she saw dogs with sores on their feet, legs, eyes and ears. Others seemed depressed or shut down. “It was pretty obvious what was going on here, like you didn’t need an expert investigator to tell that these animals were in distress.” She added, “clearly many of them were not used to being held, but there was no resistance.”
Even wearing biohazard suits, some participants had a difficult time with conditions inside the sheds. Participants said they had difficulty breathing, and the ventilation fans didn’t appear to be working. Enclosures stacked two high and arranged in long rows were filled with dogs inside, some held alone and others in groups. Trays filled with dog droppings rested beneath the enclosures, Andersson said.
Tourkin recalled carrying one of the beagles to a van as alarms, sirens and a clap of thunder sounded. Tourkin decided on the spot to name the beagle Etta Harriet after her late mother, who would have turned 90 years old this year. “I immediately fell in love with her and looked into her eyes,” said Tourkin. “This beagle puppy just made me think of my mom.”
As far as Andersson knew, the beagle she carried to the vans made it to safety. Etta Harriet, however, was not so fortunate. She was in a van that was later pulled over by police. Tourkin said that Etta Harriet was one of the eight beagles that were returned to Ridglan. Some of the beagles that made it off the farm have been adopted. Fox6 reported on one of the rescued beagles now named Ivy, who had never seen sunlight since she was born last summer. Instead of a name, Ivy had a code number tattooed inside of her ear.
Both women said that while law enforcement didn’t assist the rescue as activists hoped, many officers appeared sympathetic to their cause. Andersson said she heard some officers say that they would be out there if they could. Tourkin, as a member of a red team, said that officers and activists had lengthy and informative conversations. “Many of them didn’t know about the facility until they had arrived there because they were from neighboring communities,” said Tourkin. “And they listened. One of my colleagues saw tears.”
Nevertheless, arrests were made. Jon Frohnmayer, an environmental attorney who answered questions about the arrests, wrote in an email statement to the Examiner on Tuesday that 27 people were arrested during the March action on suspicion of misdemeanor trespass. Most were released hours after booking, while five were kept in jail for more than two days.
Not everyone was sympathetic. Andersson said that there was at least one person she called a “vigilante” who drove his truck in a “very menacing, threatening way at us,” slashed tires, and confronted activists. Andersson heard that the man may have been an ex-employee. She told the Examiner that he also deserved empathy.
No charges had been referred to the Dane County district attorney for the March action until Thursday. Dane County Sheriff Kalvin Barrett said in a video statement that 70 charges against 63 people have now been referred to the district attorney’s office. Barrett said that it’s up to the DA whether those people will be charged. Although Barrett said he empathized with people who care about animals and said people may exercise their First Amendment rights, he also described the March action as a violent break-in by “outside groups” which “stole dogs from the facility.” Barrett said that charges had been referred against activists and someone whom the sheriff described as “a nearby neighbor who tried to intervene with the activists.”
Earlier this month, Congressman Mark Pocan responded to Ridglan Farms, after the company requested Pocan’s assistance in repelling the planned action on Sunday. Pocan encouraged the facility to work directly with law enforcement, adding that confronting animal cruelty is an important issue to the congressman, and that the “documented treatment of beagles on your property is alarming.”
Pocan encouraged Ridglan to promptly comply with the ruling of special prosecutors to discontinue their breeding operations. “In addition to my concerns about the ethical treatment of the beagles on your property, I encourage the prioritization of safe rehoming to every beagle possible,” wrote Pocan. “No dog should lack the decency of a safe and loving environment.”
In a statement to the Examiner, Ridglan Farms said that despite the 2025 settlement, it maintains a federal license to continue research, most of which it says benefits dogs by improving veterinary medicine in rabies, canine parvovirus, heart work, dog allergies, dog arthritis, and other ailments. Ridglan also shared video showing dogs housed in gated kennels, arguing that it shows that the dogs are healthy, happy and living in large social groups.
Sunday’s action will mark an escalation, as thousands of people are expected to attend, compared with the dozens who participated in the first rescue action. Frohnmayer said that the activists’ legal team is prepared. “We are expecting a large turnout for the second rescue and have planned accordingly, with expanded jail support, legal resources and coordination with local groups,” he said. “We are prepared to support everyone who chooses to participate, regardless of the scale.”
Participating in the first rescue attempt at Ridglan was a powerful experience for both Andersson and Tourkin. “That was the best day of my life,” Andersson told the Examiner. “Next to the birth of my son, that was the best day of my life.” Tourkin said, “I’m proud that I’m in a place in my life where I was able to actually do something tangible in this world where I so frequently feel powerless.”
“I think that Americans have forgotten what citizen action is like,” Andersson added. “It’s not a march at the Capitol. Direct non-violent action is what you do when your legal system, or your health care system, or whatever it is, is broken.”
The people who participated in the first direct action included vegans and meat eaters, people as young as 18 and some in their 70s. “The experience was transformational to me,” said Tourkin. “These people are the loveliest, most compassionate humans I’ve had the honor to know. And even if there weren’t going to be another rescue, I consider these people my family.” She added, “These aren’t radicals. I wouldn’t have labeled myself an activist. Now, super proud, because what is an activist? Someone who takes action.”
Wisconsin community members and animal welfare activists have been raising the alarm about what they say is Rigland’s abuse for many years, Tourkin said. “And these people have worked tirelessly. So regular people like me have this very short window to get these abused dogs out.”
On Sunday the rescuers will likely encounter more resistance. Since the March action, Ridglan Farms has constructed a barrier around the facility consisting of a ditch hardened by obstacles and wire. Animal rights activists have also captured pictures of masked men dressed in black, which the organizers say are armed security guards hired by Ridglan.
The Marty Project — an animal rights organization — on Wednesday posted on Facebook the text of an email it says was sent to the Dane County Sheriff’s Office by a former law enforcement officer acting as a liaison between the animal rights group, police and Ridglan. The post claimed that masked men at Ridglan have followed vehicles on public roadways, harassed people, and brandished firearms.
Dane County Executive Melissa Agard on Thursday called for de-escalation at Ridglan Farms, urging demonstrations to remain non-violent and lawful. “This is an emotional issue for many people, and understandably so,” Agard said. “But the path forward must be rooted in respect, safety, and the rule of law. Dane County is at its best when we come together to solve problems, not escalate them.”
Ridglan denied reports of armed masked men acting as security guards near the farm’s property. “No one from Ridglan Farms is doing anything like that,” the company said in a statement emailed to the Examiner. It called the reports “wild claims” by activists “to generate negative coverage of Ridglan Farms and if that has happened to activists or anyone else, they should certainly document it and report it to police immediately.”
Meanwhile, the activists are moving forward with their plan. Andersson said, “there is no limit to the power” of direct action.
Tourkin said, “I did see true bravery by others, including Ingrid. I carried a dog to safety — to what I thought was safety — and those beings, they’re the focus.”
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Employees at the Madison clinic, left, and at the West Allis clinic, right, both operated by Rogers Behavioral Health, are seeking union representation. (Wisconsin Examiner photo collage from Rogers Behavioral Health media photos)
Employees of two Wisconsin mental health clinics, both part of a national mental health nonprofit based in Oconomowoc, will vote next week on whether to join a union after what has become a highly contested campaign.
Almost two months after a four-day National Labor Relations Board hearing, the NLRB’s Minneapolis-based regional director this week ordered the elections at the clinics, operated by Rogers Behavioral Health in West Allis and Madison.
In the April 14 order, Regional Director Jennifer A. Hadsall rejected Rogers’ position that the election should include all 13 Wisconsin Rogers locations. Hadsall instead directed elections at the West Allis and Madison clinics, where a majority of employees had signed up with the National Union of Healthcare Workers, according to the union.
Union supporters at the Wisconsin clinics have said they decided to seek union representation in response to increased caseloads, changes in how employee productivity was measured and a reduction in individual time that therapists and other providers could spend with patients.
“All of the changes were about increasing the number of patients that were coming into the building,” Stephani Lohman, a nurse practitioner, told the Wisconsin Examiner earlier this year. “It did not seem to have a cohesive plan and no plan would be communicated.”
The NUHW is based in California. After employees at a Rogers clinic in Walnut Creek, California, organized in 2023 and elected the union to represent them in 2023, they negotiated their first contract in 2024.
Employees at two other California clinics and at a clinic in Philadelphia also joined the union, which those three clinics voluntarily recognized.
Union supporters at the West Allis and Madison clinics each sought voluntary recognition of the union after organizing over the past year.
In Wisconsin, however, Rogers declined voluntary recognition, and the employees then filed petitions with the NLRB for union elections.
Lohman worked at the West Allis clinic, known as Lincoln Center, and was among those active in organizing the union. She said she and two other employees were fired after submitting the petition to be recognized. The union has filed unfair labor practice charges claiming that the three firings were in retaliation for union organizing, which is against the law.
In response to an inquiry in March about the firings, Maureen Remmel, Rogers’ executive director for marketing and communications, told the Wisconsin Examiner via email, “We do not comment on confidential personnel matters and have acted in compliance with applicable law.”
Hadsall held a hearing that took place Feb. 23 through Feb. 27 at the NLRB’s office in Milwaukee, where Rogers’ lawyers argued for a bargaining unit of 1,383 employees encompassing all Rogers locations in Wisconsin — three hospitals in the Milwaukee area and 10 outpatient clinics around the state.
Rogers had “a heavy burden” to overcome the presumption that a single facility is an appropriate bargaining unit, Hadsall wrote in her order this week, and she found that management had failed to do so.
The evidence in how Rogers is organized and supervises its employees was insufficient to overcome a general presumption in U.S. labor law — that a union bargaining unit representing a single health care facility in a larger network or organization is considered appropriate.
Evidence in the case showed that neither of the two clinics had “lost their separate identity such that a single-facility union would be inappropriate,” Hadsall wrote.
Union elections for about 68 employees at the West Allis Lincoln Center clinic and about 35 at the Madison clinic are scheduled for Wednesday, April 22.
For employees at both clinics who have been seeking union representation, the decision was welcome news.
“I’m thrilled and beyond thrilled,” said Erin Quinlan, a behavioral health specialist at the Madison clinic. “It really just vindicated how firm our stance is and how confident we feel about organizing a union and doing so for the Madison clinic.”
Lohman said she and other West Allis employees who have been seeking union representation were pleased as well.
“I’ve just been feeling really overjoyed,” Lohman said Thursday. She and the other fired employees will be able to vote in the West Allis union election, she said.
Rogers Behavioral Health has announced the organization will appeal the order to the full NLRB in Washington, but that will not forestall next week’s voting.
“We are disappointed with the NLRB regional office’s decision to allow separate bargaining units given that Rogers Behavioral Health operates as one unified system across Wisconsin,” Rogers said in a statement, which Remmel delivered via email. The statement asserted that patients “can move seamlessly between different levels of care, supported by providers who collaborate across locations.”
In her order, however, Hadsall found that there was not sufficient evidence of “functional integration” across the system to overcome the presumption that a single facility is appropriate for a bargaining unit.
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The Wisconsin State Capitol reflected in the glass windows of Park Bank on the Capitol Square in Madison. (Wisconsin Examiner photo)
What are the odds the soon-to-retire Republican leaders of the state Legislature are seriously considering Gov. Tony Evers’ call to end partisan gerrymandering?
Evers called the special session that began and ended with no action this week, asking legislators to take up a constitutional amendment to ban the practice of drawing voting maps that give a disproportionate advantage to one political party.
Legislators didn’t exactly refuse — they’ve kicked the can down the road, adjourning temporarily until later this month. As Baylor Spears reports, Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu explained that legislators need to “gain public input in order to make an informed decision on how to proceed.” Assembly Speaker Robin Vos and Majority Leader Tyler August said they want to have more discussions with Evers to reach a “transparent and balanced solution that reflects the interests of all Wisconsinites.”
Or maybe they just want to run out the clock, do nothing and then blame the governor for their failure to act.
After all, President Donald Trump, the Republicans’ national leader, has been strong-arming GOP legislators in red states to hold extraordinary mid-decade redistricting sessions to draw him some extra seats to shore up an unpopular Republican House majority. Wisconsin Republicans would be swimming against the tide if they made their last act in office a good-government effort to lock in fair maps.
Giving up power is not exactly on brand for Wisconsin Republicans. These are the same legislators who drew themselves into the most partisan gerrymandered districts in the country back in 2010. When it came time to draw another round of maps after the 2020 census, they gathered copious public input, holding hearings in which an overwhelming majority of voters told them that they wanted fair maps, and then ignored the public and gerrymandered the maps again. Only after the state Supreme Court declared those maps unconstitutional did they relent and accept 50/50 maps that lean slightly toward Republicans majorities.
Now they’re quitting in droves rather than work in a Legislature where they’ve lost the disproportionate power they conferred on themselves through gerrymandering.
Still, staring down the possibility of Democratic trifecta control of government, it’s possible Republicans could take the long view and try to protect their 50/50 stake before the other party has a shot at redrawing the districts.
Then again, Republicans have shown very little appetite for that kind of sensible, good-government approach. As the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported this week, Republican legislative leaders are paying private attorneys $550 per hour in taxpayer money to defend their practice of hiring private attorneys at the taxpayers’ expense.
This freewheeling expenditure of your tax dollars follows a lawsuit filed by the public interest law firm Law Forward in February challenging the use of expensive private attorneys by GOP leaders. That practice started in the lame duck session after Evers was first elected, when Republican legislative leaders began frantically grabbing powers from the new Democratic administration.
“It’s all about an unwillingness to exist within the bounds of checks and balances,” says Jeff Mandell of Law Forward. “It smacks of a sense that the Legislature, and particularly its leadership, is beyond accountability.”
That kind of arrogance is on its way out, along with the legislative leaders who, for more than a decade, treated government as their private club, hoarding power and ignoring the will of the voters. The best way to make sure it never returns is to permanently guarantee fair maps.
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At a press conference outside the state Capitol, Senate Minority Leader Dianne Hesselbein (D-Middleton) chastised Republican lawmakers for not taking action on an array of issues. (Photo by Baylor Spears/Wisconsin Examiner)
Wisconsin Senate Democrats and their candidates for two districts key to determining control of the Senate in 2027 promised Thursday to pass bills to bring down the cost of health care, housing, groceries, energy and child care.
At a press conference outside the state Capitol, Senate Minority Leader Dianne Hesselbein (D-Middleton) chastised Republican lawmakers for not taking action on an array of issues.
“We have to watch the Senate Republicans play this really strange game of what they’re doing with this special session,” Hesselbein said. “They refuse to go into the special session and get the job done for the people of Wisconsin.”
This week lawmakers gaveled in for a special session called by Gov. Tony Evers who wanted the Legislature to take up a constitutional amendment that would ban gerrymandering. Typically, Republican lawmakers have gaveled in and then immediately gaveled out of Evers’ special sessions, but on Tuesday, lawmakers gaveled in but then adjourned until Thursday. They said they were leaving the session open and they wanted to have more discussions with Evers, who said there wasn’t anything to talk about.
Lawmakers returned on Thursday afternoon to postpone again until April 21.
The state Assembly and Senate have both completed their regular session work this year, although Evers and lawmakers are still trying to reach a deal on using some of the state’s $2.5 billion budget surplus to provide property tax relief to Wisconsinites and fund public schools. Discussions have still not resulted in action since they began in February.
Hesselbein said Senate Democrats are committed to working to improve affordability in the next legislative session and promised to pass a slate of 18 bills if they win the majority. Democrats have already introduced the bills in the current session, but they did not advance in the Republican-led Legislature.
“Senate Democrats are here. We are ready to work,” Hesselbein said. “We could get these bills passed this legislative session and we could lower costs right now, but instead Republicans behind me in this building continue to use their last gasp of power to waste time and ignore the pressing needs of every single person in the state of Wisconsin.”
The state Senate is currently controlled by an 18-15 Republican majority, meaning Democrats would need to hold all of their current seats and flip two additional seats to win control. The last time Democrats held a majority in the state Senate and Assembly was the 2009-11 legislative session.
There have been five announced retirements by Senate Republicans, including Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu (R-Oostburg) and two incumbents in districts that will be key to determining control.
Hesselbein said she is “surprised” by the number of retirements.
“It is curious that now that we finally have fair maps, a fair number of them have decided to not run,” Hesselbein said.
Hesselbein and current Democratic senators were joined by two of their preferred candidates in key districts for the press conference who spoke to the bill packages.
Rep. Jenna Jacobson (D-Oregon) laid out the health care and housing bill package. She is running in a three-way primary in Senate District 17. The winner of the primary will face Sen. Howard Marklein (R-Spring Green), the budget committee co-chair who is running for his fourth term in office. The other two Democratic candidates in the primary are Corrine Hendrickson, a child care advocate and Lisa White of Potosi, a small business owner.
“There’s no question that two of the most pressing concerns and most expensive aspects of life in Wisconsin are homeownership or rent and the cost of health care and medication,” Jacobson said. “As property values skyrocket, hedge funds buy up single-family homes. As we face limited supply and algorithmic price hikes designed to maximize profit, we are left with the landscape that makes it more and more difficult for folks to afford rent and the age for the average first-time homeowner is at an all-time high.”
The policies covered in the health and housing package of bills include:
Trevor Jung, the Racine transit director, is running in Senate District 21, which is currently represented by Sen. Van Wangaard (R-Racine). Wanggaard, who has served in the Senate since 2010, announced his retirement last month. He introduced the “Families First” package, which seeks to address child care, energy and grocery costs.
“The Wisconsin Republican-controlled Legislature has ignored the crisis of rising prices across the state,” Jung said. “When I join these folks behind me in the Wisconsin State Senate, I will get to work…Our work will ease the burden of rising costs on Wisconsin families.”
The policies include:
Even with a majority in the Senate, the odds of having the bills become law will depend on the state Assembly, which is currently controlled by a Republican majority, as well as the new governor.
Democrats will need to hold all their current seats and flip five additional seats to win the Assembly majority. This election cycle will be a test-drive for the odd-numbered Senate districts up for election this year, but every Assembly seat has already been up for election under the new maps.
Hesselbein said she is confident that voters will elect Democrats up and down the ballot in November, including in the Assembly, but added that the bills should have bipartisan support.
“These are not fringe issues that people are talking about. These are things that we’ve been hearing about from Rhinelander to Madison to Racine to Mount Horeb. Everywhere around the state people are talking about rising costs and what we can do to combat them, so I think we should have Republicans regardless of what the makeup of the state Assembly or the state Senate is.”
There will also be a new governor in 2027. U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany is competing on the Republican side. There are seven major Democratic candidates, and Hesselbein said she believes each will be supportive of the Senate’s bills.
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For Samantha Gamble and Ishon Arnold, this week’s rain only exacerbated issues they were already having in their home.
Despite reporting their unsafe living conditions in their Lincoln Creek home a few weeks ago, they have had rain pouring in every room for the past two nights. Their upstairs ceiling buckled, and they have buckets everywhere.
“The first night it got really bad,” said Arnold at a news conference Thursday. “Then the second night it got worse.”
They are not alone.
Severe thunderstorms and flooding across Milwaukee this week have left some residents with waterlogged cars, no food, damaged homes and a difficult cleanup.
Another round of severe thunderstorms is forecast for Milwaukee County on Friday night, and a flood watch for flash flooding is scheduled from 1 p.m. Friday to 7 a.m. Saturday, according to the National Weather Service.
Although the full extent of the damage is still unknown, local government leaders and neighborhood groups are preparing to help with the aftermath. Other Milwaukeeans are looking ahead to see how these disasters can be avoided in the future.
VIA Community Development Corp., which works on community, housing and economic development projects in Silver City, Clarke Square, Layton Park and Burnham Park, reported several Milwaukee neighborhood areas had experienced flooding.
“Our team is actively connecting with neighbors and business owners to check on their homes, storefronts and properties to better understand the extent of the impacts and identify where support may be needed most,” said Christian Oliva, marketing communications manager of VIA CDC.
Both VIA CDC and Metcalfe Park Community Bridges, a community and social justice organization focused in the Metcalfe Park neighborhood, encourage neighbors and business owners to report any issues — including flooding, property damage, power outages and fallen trees — to the Milwaukee Department of Public Works, their alderperson’s office and their local neighborhood organization to track damage.
Melody McCurtis, the deputy director of Metcalfe Park Community Bridges, said neighbors experienced flooding in streets and basements, cars getting stuck in high water, property damage from wind and mudslides in some areas.
“Flooded streets and detours have made it difficult for our team and neighbors to physically reach residents who need support, limiting our ability to respond as quickly and directly as we would like,” she said.
If you or someone you know is still recovering from last August’s floods, the United Methodist Committee on Relief shared some tips.
Residents who receive FoodShare benefits and lost food because of the storm may be eligible for replacement benefits. To submit for the reimbursement, FoodShare recipients should fill out the Request for Replacement FoodShare and/or Summer EBT Benefits form.
Requests must be submitted within 10 days of the weather event.
Amanda Clark with the Dominican Center, which has served residents in Amani for over 30 years, said Amani residents should reach out if they need help.
“We may not have all the answers, but we’ll do our best to assist and connect residents to resources,” she said. “They don’t have to try to figure this out alone.”
Folks living in Housing Authority of the City of Milwaukee properties can notify their property manager about any issues. If they aren’t available, then they can contact the 24/7 public safety dispatch center at 414-286-5100.
Residents who wish to report property damage may contact IMPACT 211 or complete the online form from 211 Wisconsin.
IMPACT 211 connects residents to services like housing, food, mental health support, and crisis counseling. It is supporting the Milwaukee County Office of Emergency Management by collecting reports of property damage caused by flooding such as water/sewage in basements, collapsed walls and lightning-related incidents.
“IMPACT has turned on our local disaster switch this morning as Milwaukee County is now activated for disaster relating to the flooding event,” said Vickie Boneck, the director of marketing and communications with IMPACT 211, on Thursday.
Oby Nwabuzor is the founder of Envision Growth, a public health-driven real estate development firm. She put together a legislative framework that breaks down five specific actions organized by what can happen right now at the Common Council level with no state approval needed, what can move this budget cycle at the county and state level and what needs to be built and introduced in 2027.
“The storm is weather, but who floods, how badly, and whether it happens again at the same scale is a policy problem, and we have the data to prove it,” she said in a Facebook post. “What we do not have is legislation, and that is what I put together.”
Oliva said VIA CDC’s home improvement matching grant program may be able to assist neighborhood homeowners with necessary repairs.
Metcalfe Park Community Bridges is mobilizing support to repair the Northstar Healing Space’s fence, which was destroyed in the storms, and gather clean-out supplies, air purifiers, dehumidifiers and volunteers to help reduce neighborhood residents’ exposure to mold.
Since Monday, Milwaukee residents have faced dangerous commutes as some were forced to leave their vehicles stranded while others may have been trapped inside their vehicles because of flooding caused by recurring heavy storms.
According to the Milwaukee Fire Department, the North Side of the city was impacted the most, and the fire department responded to approximately 50 calls for water rescues because of submerged vehicles on April 14.
If you are driving and happen to come across a street with flooding, the Milwaukee Fire Department and Tiffany Shepherd, marketing and communications officer for the city of Milwaukee, urge drivers to avoid driving through flood waters.
If a driver’s vehicle is stuck in the middle of an intersection, Shepherd said to report it by calling the Department of Public Works at 414-286-2489 so that a representative can assess the situation and possibly relocate the vehicle.
When your vehicle has been submerged in water, the American Automobile Association recommends drivers to never start their vehicle as its main parts like the battery, transmission and engine are damaged, even though they may not look like it.
“Unless every part is thoroughly cleaned and dried, inside and out, problems caused by corrosion can crop up weeks or even months after the flooding,” AAA said.
It’s best to have your vehicle inspected and repaired right away by AAA or another auto repair shop of your choice.
Drivers should also contact their insurance company immediately about comprehensive coverage in their auto insurance policy to determine next steps with repairs and costs.
Comprehensive coverage is a type of insurance that pays for the damage done to your vehicle like flooding, fire, theft and more.
The cost of repairing flood damage can easily exceed a car’s value, depending on the make and model, according to AAA.
Department of Neighborhood Services Commissioner Jezamil Arroyo-Vega gave tips for what to do if your basement flooded:
PrincessSafiya Byers, Alex Klaus, Meredith Melland, Chesnie Wardell and Jonathan Aguilar contributed to this story.
Jonathan Aguilar is a visual journalist at Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service who is supported through a partnership between CatchLight Local and Report for America.
Alex Klaus is the education solutions reporter for the Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service and a corps member of Report for America, a national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on under-covered issues and communities. Report for America plays no role in editorial decisions in the NNS newsroom.
Here’s what Milwaukee residents facing storm damage should know 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.
Brenda Hines still likes to refer to her son, Donovan Hines, as her “favorite son,” the same way he liked to refer to himself before he was killed on Nov. 13, 2017.
Donovan was driving near North 29th Street and West Hampton Avenue in Milwaukee when he was struck by a stray bullet and crashed through a fence and into a home in the 4700 block of North 29th Street.
In the months that followed, Brenda Hines said she sank into such a deep, dark grief that she cried daily, unable to eat or work. She even contemplated taking her own life.
“It took me a while to get out of the state of shock,” Hines said. “It was very difficult, spiritually, for me to come back.”
Now, almost a decade later, she has turned that pain into hope by building The Donovan Hines Foundation of Exuberance Co., a Milwaukee nonprofit that offers consistent, community-based support for families grieving violent loss.
“Exuberance means vibrant. And that’s what Donovan was. He always came out with a smile on his face,” Hines said.
After the unexpected loss of her son, Hines connected with the Medical College of Wisconsin’s Project UJIMA, a collaborative, multidisciplinary program geared to stop violent behavior patterns and reduce the number of children hurt by violence. Meeting with Project UJIMA once a month was helpful and inspired Hines to begin her own grief group that met more frequently.
“Being a person of color, we don’t seek therapy, and we have so much trauma, so much violence going on,” Hines said.
Hines hosted her grief group weekly for about a year, with the support of the late Bishop Sedgwick Daniels of Holy Redeemer Institutional Church of God in Christ.
“That was the beginning of my healing process,” Hines said. “Not only listening to someone else, but being there for myself.”
Seven months after her loss, Hines was asked to continue her work with The Salvation Army Chaplaincy Program, in partnership with the Milwaukee Police Department. She was asked to serve as a chaplain on a case that hit close to home, helping a family who had just lost their son, who was the same age as Donovan, to suicide.
“It gave me something to hope for,” Hines said. “That’s when I started coming back out and decided to start having empowerment groups and transformation stuff for grief.”
Ever since then, she’s kept going, growing her nonprofit in any way she can, whether it be through the Summer Meal Program for children, the emergency food pantry or stockboxes for older adults.
“I just kept going and going. I was like, ‘OK, I’m still not doing enough,” Hines said. “The more I help others, it seems like, the more it helps me.”
Hines, along with several other Milwaukee nonprofits, hosted a survivor-led candlelight vigil to join a National Moment of Remembrance in December. The vigil centered on healing and the belief that everyone deserves the freedom to live.
On the hardest days, what keeps Hines going is “God first, my family and the foundation.”
Jonathan Aguilar is a visual journalist at Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service who is supported through a partnership between CatchLight Local and Report for America.
Turning pain into purpose: How Brenda Hines works through her grief by supporting Milwaukee families 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.
Legislative Republicans are asking the court to dismiss a lawsuit filed earlier this year by parents and educators from across Wisconsin alleging lawmakers have failed to adequately fund public schools.
The post Wisconsin Republicans seek to dismiss public education funding lawsuit appeared first on WPR.
Another data center plan is moving forward in Wisconsin as the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin is expected to decide on a data center rate proposal from We Energies this month and on a similar plan from Alliant Energy later this spring.
The post New Wisconsin data center approved as utilities face scrutiny over electric costs appeared first on WPR.
For the second consecutive time, Democrat Rebecca Cooke has outraised Republican U.S. Rep. Derrick Van Orden in western Wisconsin's highly contested 3rd Congressional District race.
The post Rebecca Cooke again outraises US Rep. Derrick Van Orden in pivotal Wisconsin House race appeared first on WPR.
Two major health systems in Wisconsin have either just launched or are set to launch the first two proton therapy cancer treatment programs in the state.
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The U.S. Postal Service is warning that it might have to raise the price of a stamp to nearly a dollar or significantly scale back services next year without action from Congress. Advocates say this would disproportionately impact rural communities, which rely on mail delivery for medications, ballots and essential documents.
The post Wisconsin village faces mail delivery delays amid financial crisis for US Postal Service appeared first on WPR.
Electric vehicle registration is on the rise in Wisconsin. But battery life unease is a roadblock preventing wider adoption of EVs. Wisconsin's DOT Secretary visited "The Larry Meiller Show" to discuss what the DOT is doing to alleviate the "plug-in panic."
The post Wisconsin DOT hoping to pump the brakes on EV users’ range anxiety appeared first on WPR.
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