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Milwaukee County has the highest county sales tax in Wisconsin at 0.9%.

Every other county with a sales tax charges 0.5% on top of the statewide 5% rate.

Two counties – Waukesha and Winnebago – do not have a sales tax, according to a chart from the state Department of Revenue.

The city of Milwaukee is currently the only city with its own sales tax of 2%. Both the 0.9% county rate and 2% city rate went into effect Jan. 1, 2024.

Separately, Milwaukee has tourism-related taxes that support the Wisconsin Center District, including a 0.5% rate for restaurant meals.

The 0.9% county and 2% city sales taxes stem from a bipartisan 2023 law that sought to help Milwaukee avoid a financial crisis.

Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley, the Democratic nominee for governor, signed the county-level legislation that put the 0.9% tax into effect. 

This Fact Brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.

Sources

• Wisconsin Department of Revenue: Tax Rate FAQs
• Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Milwaukee convention hotel plan advances, could boost tourism
• Wisconsin Department of Revenue: Local Exposition Taxes
• Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Gov. Tony Evers signs bill to keep Milwaukee financially stable, boosting funding to local governments
• Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Legislature passes bill aimed at averting Milwaukee financial crisis, lifting aid to local governments
• Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley signs 0.4% sales tax increase

Does Milwaukee County have the highest sales tax in Wisconsin? 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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Republicans have not voted against banning child marriage in Wisconsin. That includes Republican gubernatorial nominee Tom Tiffany, who was tied to the issue in a viral post.

That’s because the bill has never been brought to a vote — a decision that rests with Republicans who control the state Legislature.

The bill was introduced in the 2019,  2023 and 2025 sessions. The 2019 version, when Tiffany served in the state Legislature, had two Republican co-sponsors. Only Democrats have led the bill since then.

Legislative records show none of the bills got hearings or votes, a common fate for many Democratic-led bills.

The legislation would eliminate an exception that allows minors between the ages of 16 and 18 to get married with written consent from a parent or guardian.

The Legislative Reference Bureau previously said 27 minors under 18 got married in Wisconsin in 2024, an increase from 2023.

This Fact Brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.

Sources

• Wisconsin Watch: Child marriage with parental consent is still legal in Wisconsin. Republicans have blocked Democratic efforts to change that.
• Wisconsin State Legislature: 2019 Assembly Bill 715
• Wisconsin State Legislature: 2023 Assembly Bill 1229
• Wisconsin State Legislature: 2025 Assembly Bill 656
• Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: What to know about Wisconsin Democrats' climate change agenda
• Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Lawmakers intro a bill to ban child marriage. 'This is not about teenagers falling in love'

Did Republicans vote against a bill banning child marriage in Wisconsin? 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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The massive Interstate 94 construction project in Milwaukee County is expected to wrap up in 2033, according to a timeline on the state Department of Transportation’s project page.

Construction began on the I-94 East-West corridor in late 2025, meaning eight years will pass before utility and roadway construction are estimated to end in 2033.

Parts of the roughly $1.7 billion project will be completed earlier than 2033. The Stadium Interchange reconstruction will take about four years, for example.

The project covers 3 ½ miles of I-94 between 16th and 70th Streets in Milwaukee County and prompted long-term closures of several roads.

Plans include widening the freeway from three to four lanes in each direction, eliminating left-turn ramps, redesigning the Stadium Interchange and reconstructing aging roads. 

Crash rates in the corridor are higher than the statewide average, and 13 bridges do not meet clearance standards, according to the DOT.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.

Sources

• Wisconsin Department of Transportation: Interstate 94 East-West
• Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Milwaukee's 27th Street Bridge to close long-term for I-94 construction.
• Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Who's paying for the $1.7 billion I-94 expansion in Milwaukee?
• Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: What to know as construction starts on the $1.7 billion I-94 expansion in Milwaukee County

Is the Milwaukee I-94 construction project expected to take eight years? 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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If the 2026 Democratic primary for Wisconsin governor seems large, 2018 certainly had it beat.

That year, 10 names were on the Democratic primary ballot, plus an 11th write-in candidate, according to results of the 2018 partisan primary kept by the Wisconsin Elections Commission.

Two Republican candidates and two additional write-ins appeared on the 2018 GOP primary ballot. 

The Aug. 11, 2026, primary ballot includes seven Democrats and two Republicans.

In both years, a few candidates dropped out of the race, but their names remained on the ballot due to approval deadlines. 

As of July 14, that includes Democrats Missy Highes and David Crowley. So, only five of the Democrats on the Aug. 11 ballot are still campaigning.

In 2018, two higher-profile candidates had also dropped out by late June: Andy Gronik and Dana Wachs, though both appeared on the ballot.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.

Sources

• Wisconsin Elections Commission: 2018 Fall Partisan Primary Results: Ward by Ward – Governor
• MyVote Wisconsin: What’s On My Ballot
• Wisconsin Elections Commission: Commission Meeting June 9, 2026 – Ballot Access
• Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Democrat Missy Hughes drops out of Wisconsin governor race
• Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Milwaukee County Exec David Crowley withdraws from governor's race

Did more Democrats run for Wisconsin governor in 2018 than in 2026? 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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Wisconsin Republican Gov. Lee Dreyfus signed a law that banned discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, the first of its kind in the country.

David Clarenbach, an LGBTQ activist and Democrat in the state Assembly, spearheaded the bill. Despite conservatives’ last-minute efforts pushing Dreyfus to veto the bill, he approved it in February 1982.

Dreyfus, described as a fiscal conservative and social moderate in a 2008 obituary, cited a right to privacy and support from “a wide-ranging group of religious leaders” when signing the bill.

The law made it illegal for the state or private businesses to discriminate based on sexual orientation in employment, housing and public accommodations.

No other states adopted a similar law until nine years later, according to a Milwaukee Public Library post.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.

Sources

• Wisconsin State Legislature: 1981 Wisconsin Act 112
• Wisconsin LGBTQ History Project: David E. Clarenbach
• Milwaukee Public Library: First in the Nation – Wisconsin’s Gay Rights Law
• Pioneer Press: Wisconsin’s red-vested former governor, Lee Dreyfus, dies.

Did a Wisconsin Republican governor sign the nation’s first LGBTQ rights law? 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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Wisconsin’s minimum wage was last updated in July 2009 and remains at $7.25 per hour, according to the state Department of Workforce Development.

That’s the same as the federal minimum wage, which was also set in July 2009. State law does not directly tie Wisconsin’s minimum wage to changes in the federal rate, but it matches.

Wisconsin is one of 13 states whose minimum wage is equal to the federal $7.25 rate, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.

Wisconsin has different rates for tipped workers, golf caddies and camp counselors. Wisconsin’s minimum wage does not adjust automatically for inflation, as it does in some states.

Recent efforts by Democrats to raise the minimum wage have failed in Wisconsin. Business lobbying groups have said Wisconsin employers regularly offer hourly rates above $7.25 to attract workers.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.

Sources

• U.S. Department of Labor: History of Federal Minimum Wage Rates Under the Fair Labor Standards Act, 1938 – 2009
• Wisconsin state statutes: 104.035 Minimum Wage
• Congressional Research Service: State Minimum Wages: An Overview
• U.S. Department of Labor: Consolidated Minimum Wage Table
• Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: What is Wisconsin's minimum wage, and why hasn't it changed when other states' minimum wages have?

Is Wisconsin’s minimum wage in 2026 the same as it was in 2009? 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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Madison had a curfew for at least a decade before repealing it in March 2023, though it’s reentering public discussion after large fights.

Until three years ago, Madison ordinances barred youth under age 17 from streets between 11 p.m. and 4 a.m. on school nights and 12 a.m. to 5 a.m. on weekend nights. Exceptions included going to and from work and school activities.

The Madison City Council voted 13-5 to repeal the ordinance. At the time, the Madison Police Department had issued just three tickets for curfew violations across several years and said teens usually went home when told about the curfew.

But police are again considering options like a curfew or age restrictions following large fights on State Street after the annual Mifflin Street Block Party. Police recovered two guns after breaking up the fights.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.

Sources

• City of Madison Ordinances: Section 23.11
• City of Madison Legistar: Repeal Curfew for Juveniles
• Fox 47: Parents vocal online about Madison Common Council's decision to remove curfew for teens
• Channel 3000: Madison police discussing ways to curb teen fights
• Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Six guns recovered, dozens arrested after Mifflin Street Block Party

Did Madison have a curfew for juveniles until 2023? 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.