Editor’s note: This is a static version of the interactive story found at this link.

Part 1: A struggling regional carrier

The legacy network

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.

The sale

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.

A transformed network

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.

Part 2: Air ICE

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.

The Minnesota operation

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.

Alexandria

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.

El Paso

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.

Back at home

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.

About the data

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.

Children love to dress up as firefighters and police officers. They imagine themselves rushing into danger, answering the call when people are in need. 

But how many of them realize they could literally be the one to answer those calls — as a 911 dispatcher?

 “Not many people know about this as a career field,” said Gail Goodchild, emergency preparedness director for Waukesha County, at a Wisconsin Watch virtual panel discussion on Wednesday. “I think about trick or treaters … Nobody walks around with a headset and says, ‘I’m going to be a dispatcher someday.’”

The panel of emergency telecommunications professionals and educators said the low profile of emergency dispatch is one of many reasons that 911 centers across the country struggle to fill openings.

In Wisconsin, rural and urban communities alike are regularly short of dispatchers. Wisconsin Watch reported last year on Brown County’s “relentless” shortage and what the city can learn from successful changes in Waukesha County. This panel, moderated by reporter Miranda Dunlap, continues that conversation by highlighting perspectives and solutions from experts across the state.

“We have a critical, nationwide shortage of 911 professionals,” said Chippewa County Emergency Communications Center Director and longtime dispatcher Tamee Thom, who is also president of WIPSCOM, a board representing 911 professionals across Wisconsin.

Solving the problem, panelists agreed, will require both attracting new dispatchers and supporting those already on the job. They recommend raising awareness about the career, improving pay and working conditions, providing mental health support and technology to reduce burnout, and officially designating these professionals as first responders, in the same category as paramedics, firefighters and police.

Lives on the line

Emergency dispatch work is mentally and emotionally taxing, panelists said. At any moment, a dispatcher must be prepared for everything from talking someone through delivering a baby to responding to an act of violence. 

“It can go from zero to 90 in seconds,” Goodchild said. “One minute you’re talking with your podmate, and then the (phones) are ringing off the hook for … a car accident or, God forbid, an active shooter at the local school.”

Dispatchers must remain calm to gather necessary information, relay instructions —  say, how to perform CPR or deliver a baby — and de-escalate tension if needed. Meanwhile, they’re doing multiple other tasks, including taking notes, using mapping tools to better locate the caller, and talking with law enforcement dispatchers. 

When a call ends, the dispatcher might never find out what happened afterward. Sometimes, they finish a life-or-death call and then pick up a mundane call about trash pickup or parking tickets, sending them on an emotional rollercoaster.

The job only gets harder when 911 centers are shortstaffed. Staff who typically work 8- or 12-hour shifts could have to work 16, Goodchild said. In some cases, they leave work only to clock back in eight hours later. 

“You might have time to go home, maybe tuck in your kids at night. You’re getting a couple hours of sleep … pack your lunch … then get back to work,” Goodchild said. 

But despite the challenges, veteran dispatchers say there’s a reason they’ve stayed in the field for decades. 

Billi Jo Baneck, communications coordinator at the Shawano County Sheriff’s Office, once quit dispatch work to direct events at a wedding venue. 

“I tried to leave … and I came right back,” Baneck said. “It just consumes you.”

What’s working

Waukesha County offers some clues about how to fix the shortage. In 2023, the department had 20 vacancies. By July 2025, it had just two. 

One of the most important changes was to start hiring candidates based on personality rather than specific skills, said Goodchild, who took over as director a year ago. 

“We can teach customer service. We can teach them how to read a protocol, but if they’re coming in with a bad attitude, it really messes up the culture in that environment and adds to the stress.”

The department also conducted a compensation study, which led it to raise the starting wage for dispatchers from around $27 to almost $29.50 to compete with other employers. 

“People were leaving for less stressful jobs … They were going into the private industry because they could get paid better to do less,” Goodchild said. 

Waukesha’s success has caught the attention of emergency telecommunications leaders across the state. Still, Goodchild said, the county’s work isn’t done.

“While we’ve made changes and we’ve seen improvements,” Goodchild said, “we’re still not at full staffing … We have to continue to stay vigilant and identify those gaps and issues before they get to be bigger problems, and remain adaptable in meeting the needs of the center and certainly the communities that we serve.”

Thom agrees. In Chippewa County, her department has created part-time positions for dispatchers who wanted to cut back their schedules, and it’s passed some administrative and training duties to once-retired dispatchers who don’t want the stress of taking calls. 

That kind of “innovative” scheduling is essential, she said. 

“These days, people are really looking for that work-life balance … so I think any way that we can help add to that … I think we’re going to retain staff,” Thom said.

To support dispatchers’ mental health, some departments have created peer support programs for dispatchers and other first responders to supplement existing mental health services. 

Meanwhile, Waukesha County has hired a specialized therapy contractor called First Responder Psychological Services to meet with new hires and check in once or twice a year with every employee. All the company’s staff have worked in public safety, so they understand the specific stresses of the job, Goodchild said.

A role for AI?

Another way departments are easing the burden on overworked dispatchers: artificial intelligence. Waukesha is among the Wisconsin departments that now use an AI agent to answer non-emergency calls. That could include questions about how to pay a parking ticket, or what time the local fireworks show starts. 

“I just want to be clear, because I know everybody’s fear is that you’re going to get an AI agent (when you’re) calling 911: That’s not the case,” Goodchild said. 

That change, Goodchild said, means dispatchers get a little more down time and don’t experience so much of an emotional rollercoaster.

“You’re not going to send a law enforcement tactical team to go get a kitten out of a tree, right?” Goodchild said. “We train our 911 dispatchers at such a high level to provide CPR instructions, childbirth instructions, the de-escalating skills, multitasking skills. Why are you having them focus on a caller that’s calling in about when the fireworks are?”

Some schools and 911 centers are also using AI to train new dispatchers, said Shawano County’s Baneck, who also teaches emergency telecommunications at Northeast Wisconsin Technical College. 

Tech colleges step in

Wisconsin’s tech colleges can play an important role in fixing the shortage by raising awareness about the field and helping potential dispatchers figure out whether the job is right for them, panelists said.

Andrew Baus, associate dean of human services at Moraine Park Technical College, helped create the college’s new emergency dispatch certificate program. Baus worked for years as a paramedic, the third generation in his family to work as a first responder. 

“Growing up, the options were always fire or criminal justice. It really never dawned that dispatching was right there with them,” Baus said. Now, he said, he’s trying to show students that dispatch is another “great option.”

To excel in dispatch, a person must multitask and be friendly with strangers, Baneck said. Those people can be hard to find.

“People with customer service experience that are used to angry customers, angry shoppers, (and) people that have been in the food service industry that are used to running back and forth, taking multiple orders … they do really well in this kind of job.”

You don’t typically need certifications to get a job as a dispatcher, Baneck said, noting that departments usually offer a 40-hour basic training in-house or send new hires for training elsewhere. 

But taking those classes in advance can help a person figure out whether dispatch work is right for them, before they ever apply for a job. That, in turn, can reduce turnover.

“Your heart’s got to be all-in to be able to work nights, holidays, weekends, around the clock, serving your community,” said Baneck, who also urges students considering dispatch to contact a 911 center and ask to shadow a dispatcher at work. “This is a good way of knowing whether their heart’s going to be in it or not, or whether they’re going to be capable of doing it.”

Thom agrees. “They see what it’s really like, and not what it looks like on TV,” Thom said. 

Meanwhile, Thom said WIPSCOM is still pushing Wisconsin lawmakers to include dispatchers in newly adopted legislation that lets first responders diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder apply for worker’s compensation benefits. Some states have officially reclassified dispatchers as first responders. Such a change can mean dispatchers qualify for  higher pay, better benefits and even the chance to retire earlier.

“There’s a difference between what we do every day and being a clerical worker. We are part of the emergency services world and are, honestly, the first first responder there,” Thom said. “We will continue to be a thorn in their side … speaking on behalf of our 911 professionals across the state.”

Wisconsin Watch is a nonprofit, nonpartisan newsroom. Subscribe to our newsletters for original stories and our Friday news roundup.

Who you gonna call? Wisconsin 911 dispatchers discuss fixes to national, statewide shortage 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.

Robin Vos, who has led the Republican charge in Wisconsin during his record-long stint as state Assembly speaker and blocked much of the Democratic governor’s agenda, announced Thursday that he will retire at the end of the year.

Vos, who also drew President Donald Trump’s ire for not aggressively challenging Trump’s loss in the battleground state in 2020, made the announcement from the floor of the Assembly. Vos is in his 22nd year in the Assembly and 14th year as speaker.

Vos has served during a tumultuous time in Wisconsin politics, in which the swing state became a national leader in curbing union powers, was a key battleground in presidential elections and was at the center of redistricting fights over Republican-friendly maps championed by Vos.

To his political opponents, Vos has been a shadow governor who shrewdly used his legislative majority to create a dysfunctional state government focused on advancing the conservative agenda and denying Democrats any victories they could tout.

To his supporters, Vos has been a shrewd tactician who outmaneuvered his political foes, sometimes within his own party, to become one of the state’s most influential Republicans in a generation.

Vos told The Associated Press that he suspects Democrats will be “happy that I’m gone.” But he had a message for his conservative detractors: “You’re going to miss me.”

Vos worked to curb union power, fight Democrats

Vos was a close ally of former Republican Gov. Scott Walker and helped pass key parts of his agenda, including the 2011 law known as Act 10 that effectively ended collective bargaining for most public workers. Vos also led the fight to pass several tax cuts, a “ right to work ” law and a voter ID requirement — legislation strongly opposed by Democrats.

When Democrat Tony Evers defeated Walker in 2018, and after the top Republican in the Senate won election to Congress two years later, Vos emerged as the leader of Republicans in state government and the top target for those on the left.

Vos successfully thwarted much of Evers’ policy agenda the past seven years. He kneecapped Evers even before Evers took office in 2019 by passing a series of bills in a lame duck session that weakened the governor’s powers.

“I’ve been tenacious and I’ve fought for what our caucus wants,” Vos said.

Vos and fellow Republicans ignored special sessions Evers called and successfully fought to limit his powers during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Vos led the lawsuit to overturn Evers’ stay-at-home order, resulting in Wisconsin becoming the first state where a court invalidated a governor’s coronavirus restrictions.

Vos angered some fellow Republicans

Vos angered some within his own party, most notably Trump, who criticized him for not doing enough to investigate his 2020 loss in Wisconsin. Vos eventually hired a former conservative Wisconsin Supreme Court justice to look into the election, but later fired him amid bipartisan criticism over his effort that put forward discounted conspiracy theories and found no evidence of widespread fraud or abuse.

The episode amounted to a rare misstep for Vos, who is now advocating for revoking the former justice’s law license. Vos has repeatedly said that hiring Gableman was the biggest mistake he ever made.

Trump endorsed Vos’ primary challenger in 2022, and his supporters mounted multiple unsuccessful efforts to recall Vos from office. Vos decried those targeting him as “whack jobs and morons,” and he held on to extend his run as Wisconsin’s longest-serving speaker, eclipsing Democrat Tom Loftus, who held the position from 1983 to 1991.

Democrats eyeing a majority

Vos grew the GOP majority under Republican-drawn legislative maps before the state Supreme Court ordered new ones in 2023, resulting in Democratic gains in the last election. The Republicans held as many as 64 seats under Vos, but that dropped to 54 in what will be Vos’s final year.

Democrats are optimistic they can take the majority this year, while Vos said he remains confident that Republicans will remain in control even without him as speaker.

Vos, 57, was first elected to the Assembly in 2004 and was chosen by his colleagues as speaker in 2013. He became Wisconsin’s longest-serving speaker in 2021.

Vos said he had a mild heart attack in November that he didn’t reveal publicly until Thursday, but that’s not why he’s leaving.

“It was the tap on the shoulder that I needed to make sure that my decision is right,” he said.

Vos said it was “unlikely” he would run for office again, but he didn’t rule it out.

Vos was college roommates with Reince Priebus, who was chair of the Republican National Committee in 2016 and served as Trump’s first White House chief of staff.

End of an era

The governor, who had a sometimes contentious relationship with Vos, said his retirement “marks the end of an era in Wisconsin politics.”

“Although we’ve disagreed more often than we didn’t, I respect his candor, his ability to navigate complex policies and conversations, and his unrivaled passion for politics,” Evers said.

Democratic U.S. Rep. Mark Pocan, who served with Vos in the Legislature and remained friends with him even though they’re political opposites, called him a “formidable opponent” and “probably the most intelligent and strategic Assembly speaker I have seen.”

Wisconsin Watch is a nonprofit and nonpartisan newsroom. Subscribe to our newsletters to get our investigative stories and Friday news roundup. This story is published in partnership with The Associated Press.

Wisconsin Republican Assembly Speaker Robin Vos leaving office at end of the year 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.

Wisconsin Watch partners with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. Read our methodology to learn how we check claims.

Yes.

Polls show roughly 80% of Americans support requiring photo identification to vote.

Pew Research Center (August 2025): 83% of U.S. adults strongly favored or favored “requiring all voters to show government-issued photo identification to vote.” 

Rasmussen Reports (January 2025): Asked if requiring photo ID to vote is “a reasonable measure to protect the integrity of elections,” 77% of likely voters said yes.

Gallup (October 2024): 84% of U.S. adults favored “requiring all voters to provide photo identification at their voting place.” Also, 83% favored “requiring people who are registering to vote for the first time to provide proof of citizenship.”

The House-passed SAVE America Act, supported by President Donald Trump, is awaiting a Senate vote. It would require voter ID and proof of citizenship at the time of registration.

Thirty-six states request or require identification for in-person voting. Wisconsin requires it.

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

Sources

• Pew Research Center: 2025 Pew Research Center's American Trends Panel
• Rasmussen Reports: Questions – Voter ID – January 26-28, 2025
• Gallup: Americans Endorse Both Early Voting and Voter Verification
• Bipartisan Policy Center: Five Things to Know About the SAVE Act
• NBC News: Trump's election bill tops 50 Senate votes, but Democrats could still block it
• PolitiFact: House passes Trump-supported voter ID law, Senate passage unlikely
• National Conference of State Legislatures: Voter ID Laws
• Wisconsin Watch: Voter ID

Do 80% of Americans support voter ID? 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.

This story was originally published by Circle of Blue.

Since its creation in 1979, the Federal Emergency Management Agency has been charged with protecting communities from natural disasters. Central to that mission is curtailing serious flooding, the most prevalent and severe weather threat to people and property across all 50 states.

That objective, though, is impeded by an old and obscure federal regulation — overseen and enforced by FEMA itself — that is actually making flooding worse.

That result was felt in December, when a powerful storm hit the Pacific Northwest. Flooding along Washington’s Nooksack and Skokomish rivers destroyed homes and inundated roads, prompting evacuations and the declaration of a state of emergency. Some losses may have been alleviated, experts assert, had planned flood mitigation work along these same rivers’ banks not experienced significant delays and cancellations as a direct result of the rule’s powerful reach, which extends nationwide.

Here in Wisconsin in the past year, watershed conservationists in Walworth and Ashland counties — located in the state’s south-central and northern regions — were forced to abandon two water quality and flood mitigation projects in local streams after discovering they would be subject to the regulation.

Known within FEMA as the “no-rise” rule, the directive prohibits any earth-moving activity in low-lying, flood-prone areas if water levels during a storm would rise above what was present before the construction started. In other words, any project — defined as “development” by the agency — must not increase the volume of water in flood-prone areas by any amount.

The rule, written in 1976 as a feature of the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), and described in detail for the first time by Circle of Blue, was enacted with good intentions to restrict development in floodplains. Its initial focus was population centers: Even an incremental increase in the volume of water that might overflow into a street or neighborhood can have perilous effects on basements, utilities, infrastructure, and human lives.

At the time it was enacted, restoring floodplains and watersheds was a novel pursuit. A half century later, these efforts are recognized for their environmental and human benefits. But as the no-rise rule is currently written and interpreted, “development” is an all-encompassing term that pertains equally to the paving of a new downtown road, as it does to the restoration of wetlands in a remote field. In the eyes of FEMA, a project to address pollution or flooding in a stream is held to the same “no-rise” standards as the construction of a new building.

FEMA’s enforcement of the rule is producing unintended effects. Meeting the “no-rise” standards, project managers say, adds tens of thousands of dollars to project costs and causes years of delay. As a result, land planners — from small nonprofits to federal agencies — routinely abandon efforts to improve water quality and restore watersheds before they even hit the ground.

By barring “development” in floodplains, the no-rise rule allows for the degradation of habitat, lowering of water quality and flooding to persist and worsen.

Viewed broadly, the rule’s compounding outcomes could not be felt at a more consequential time for the nation’s waters. The Trump administration is eliminating environmental safeguards, scaling back protections for the majority of the country’s wetlands and proposing limits on states’ power to issue water quality reviews.

Bipartisan lawmakers have developed legislation in both the U.S. House and Senate to amend FEMA’s no-rise rule in order to remove barriers to restore floodplains and watersheds. The agency has worked with legislators in writing these proposed policies, but did not respond to Circle of Blue when asked for a comment.

“It was never an NFIP goal to see rivers and floodplains restored, which might be why these policies are so antiquated,” says Jennifer Western Hauser, a policy liaison at Wisconsin Wetlands Association. “We understand now that restoring floodplains can reduce flood risks and damage, so it’s long overdue to restore common sense.”

A case in point in Wisconsin’s Driftless Area

Addressing risks and recovery in flood-prone areas is an exhaustive undertaking. FEMA invests tens of millions of dollars each year in projects to reduce threats where storms are likely to hit.

But the agency spends significantly more in their aftermath. Since its launch in 1968, the agency’s National Flood Insurance Program has fulfilled north of $88 billion in property damage claims.

The economic realities and the extreme human cost of floods mean that flood control remains a heavily regulated effort codified within dozens of federal statutes, mandates and supplemental acts. Among this tangle of federal regulation is the no-rise rule that is producing unwelcome effects in rural regions, where efforts to reduce flood risks and improve the quality of long-polluted waters are routinely stymied. The dairy farms and modest homesteads that mark the snowy fields of Barre Mills, Wisconsin, offer a case in point.

The small unincorporated community recalls a typical Midwestern landscape, save for the towering bluffs and rocky cliffs that wreathe around it, rising hundreds of feet. This unique stretch of southwestern Wisconsin, part of a wider region known as the Driftless Area, was left untouched by heavy ice sheets and retreating glaciers during the most recent Ice Age. Cold-water streams, waterfalls and deeply carved river valleys abound as a result. Both the Mississippi and Wisconsin rivers flow through La Crosse County.

But when managed unsustainably, this steep terrain can accelerate watershed degradation. In rural Barre Mills, a legacy of tilling, deforestation and livestock grazing atop tall bluffs has left the town’s low-lying areas with floodwaters polluted with fast-moving farm runoff.

Bostwick Creek, which stretches for 13 miles through 30,000 acres of woods and farms, is one prime example.

The creek’s final four miles are severely impaired. Destructive storms and flooding, fueled by a changing climate, have exacerbated the erosion of its vulnerable banks. Non-point pollution from local farms has poured into the channel. Since 2014, the waterway has held unsafe concentrations of phosphorus, fecal matter and suspended solids.

These unwanted pollutants are not contained to just the creek. The Wisconsin DNR has issued fish consumption advisories after detecting high concentrations of forever chemicals in the La Crosse River, into which Bostwick flows. Duckweed and green algae, a side effect of nutrient spillage, has inundated downriver marshlands.

The county has identified the creek’s water quality woes as a high-priority issue. From a conservation approach, its restoration portends to follow a straightforward plan of soil stabilization and the addition of new vegetation, which will make its floodplain more durable. Local farmers have even pledged crucial support for the effort, agreeing to give up precious land and private fishing access and commit to no-tilling practices near its banks.

But FEMA’s “no-rise” rule is throwing a wrench in the entire operation. Creek restoration requires navigating a mountain of costly and time-consuming engineering, modeling, mapping, and permitting requirements that “seems to end up in a drawer, if anyone even looks at them at all,” says Jacob Schweitzer, La Crosse County’s lead watershed planner.

The rule has delayed the creek’s restoration by months and added roughly $8,000 in expenses so far.

Floodzones AE, floodways and maps

FEMA reaches its conclusions about development projects in rural valleys, like the one drained by Bostwick Creek, after three stages of formal consideration.

First, the agency defines the valley as a floodplain, which is broadly defined as an area that is susceptible to being inundated by water during a storm. Second, FEMA designates land directly adjacent to Bostwick Creek with the more specific distinction of being a “Floodzone AE,” which is identified as a “high-risk” area within a floodplain. And third, within Floodzones AE are other pockets of land called regulatory floodways — the highest-risk area within a floodplain to flooding.

Herein lies the culprit and its burdensome penalty.

All “development” done inside regulatory floodways, whether related to construction or conservation, is subject to the “no-rise” rule. Failure to comply with the regulation, Schweitzer says, would result in the entire county’s population losing access to federal flood insurance.

Adding to the frustration is the agency’s lethargy in upkeeping current records. Most flood zones were set decades ago when FEMA drew its inaugural set of flood maps for the NFIP. But these landscapes have changed vastly over the past half-century, and most of these maps and designations no longer reflect today’s terrain. Despite this, the agency does not systematically work to ensure its digital records match the risks or non-risks present on the ground.

“It’s a long, complicated and political process,” says Brandon Parsons, director of river restoration at American Rivers. “Landowners and farmers living on thousand-acre ranches, with nobody in sight, might have to pay $50,000 to go through this conditional process with FEMA to restore banks on their own land.”

The responsibility of updating maps thus falls on project planners, who must demonstrate that their work will follow the “no-rise” requirements. At Bostwick Creek, original flood maps have not been touched since 1982. Months of work to bring these maps up to date, Schweitzer says, has cost thousands of dollars, all to prove that the water level will remain unchanged.

“Restoration work in zone AEs is frequently avoided,” Western Hauser adds. “That can only lead us to untenable conclusions. If zone AEs are degraded, they’ll remain degraded, or get worse because no one will work on them.”

The Floodplain Enhancement and Recovery Act

On a blustery December afternoon, Jacob Schweitzer navigates shin-deep snow near a chicken farm along the Bostwick, where more than 50 feet of sediment has fallen into the creek in just the past few years. Further downstream, fallen trees zig-zag and soils slump into the channel.

Hardly a dozen farmhouses fill the view, and yet the project is held to the same standards as the construction of a new office building along the Milwaukee River in downtown Milwaukee.

Policy experts agree that a significant amount of restoration work can be unlocked if FEMA regulations are updated with more nuance. This winter, a pair of bipartisan bills have been introduced on Capitol Hill to remedy this sticking point.

Senate Bill 1564 — the Floodplain Enhancement and Recovery Act, authored by Sens. Patty Murray, D-Washington, and Steve Daines, R-Montana — and a companion House bill, co-authored by Wisconsin Rep. Bryan Steil, a Republican, would add a definition of “ecosystem restoration” to the NFIP, differentiating it from other forms of development. States and communities would have the flexibility to allow up to a one-foot rise in a regulatory floodway’s water level, so long as no nearby insurable infrastructure is affected.

“In other words, we’re talking about less-developed areas,” Western Hauser says. “We’re talking about areas upstream of development, where you might want to get your river working in tandem with your floodway.”

Barre Mills is the exact kind of community where this legal nuance could make a big difference for water quality. If the act becomes a law, FEMA would have 180 days to develop guidance for how communities can work in compliance with this new rule. The agency would also be obligated to collaborate with natural resources agencies when drafting these directions.

Floodplain managers, conservation groups, insurers, and tribes across the country continue to voice their support for the legislation. Supporters say its passage is most likely if it is attached to a larger congressional package.

“Bureaucratic red tape should not stall common sense restoration projects,” Rep. Steil said in a statement. “The Floodplain Enhancement and Recovery Act eases administrative burdens and empowers Wisconsin communities to make our waterways healthier, strengthen our resilience to floods, and enhance ecosystems across the nation.”

This article first appeared on Circle of Blue and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

This little-known FEMA rule may be making flooding worse in rural 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.

As Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers gave his final State of the State address at the Capitol on Tuesday, I was struck by how many of the people I’ve met or covered over the past nearly six months were all in the same room. 

Evers, who is not seeking reelection this year, entered the Assembly chambers shortly after 7 p.m. and spoke of his accomplishments over the past seven years with longtime Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, and Senate President Mary Felzkowski, R-Tomahawk, seated right behind him. All seven members of the Wisconsin Supreme Court, who have frequently been deciding factors in conflicts between Evers and Republican lawmakers, were in the audience. Statewide elected officials, including Attorney General Josh Kaul and Superintendent of Public Instruction Jill Underly, were there. Both Democratic and Republican representatives and senators sat underneath the glass skylight to listen to Evers. 

In his hour-long speech, Evers called on the Republican Legislature to take bipartisan action on issues such as tax cuts, special education school funding and corrections reform before lawmakers leave Madison and turn to the campaign trail for elections later this year. He also announced plans to call a special session for lawmakers to address a constitutional amendment to ban partisan gerrymandering. Republicans criticized Evers’ remarks as a partisan speech. 

The governor’s address Tuesday night came as Wisconsin stands on the precipice of significant change. A new governor will be elected later this year. New legislative maps and Democratic gains in 2024 set up real competition for control of the Legislature.

It’s been almost six months since I began my role as the state government and politics reporter at Wisconsin Watch. I returned to Wisconsin, where I was born and raised, in September after starting my journalism career reporting in Florida and Indiana.

These initial months at Wisconsin Watch have been an exciting whirlwind as I’ve immersed myself into the debates and issues facing our state. Eight years away left me with much to catch up on. 

I’ve had a lot of coffee — maybe too much — as I’ve met people inside and outside of the Capitol who can help me understand the deeper issues beyond press releases and social media posts. I’ve attended many committee meetings, hearings and press conferences. I’ve made phone calls and sent text messages when I needed explanations about the recent state budget or legislative procedures. I’ve stopped by a host of Assembly and Senate offices to introduce myself, ask questions and learn what lawmakers are working on. 

And if you read all the way through Forward, Wisconsin Watch’s free weekly politics newsletter, you will know I love diving into our state’s history and seeing what it can teach us about what is happening in Wisconsin today.

My curiosity and my past reporting experiences in other states have driven my work so far. In November, I looked into why Republican lawmakers sent bills to the governor’s desk that Evers would never sign. When WisconsinEye, the public affairs network, went dark for weeks between December and January, I looked beyond our borders to understand how neighboring states film legislative proceedings. As voters face another Wisconsin Supreme Court election, I asked the candidates about their past rulings and how they reflect how each candidate would serve on the court. 

I’ve largely found people willing to share their perspectives and point me in the direction of others who can provide the information to explain complicated topics. I’ve particularly enjoyed the times I’ve heard “Welcome home,” as I’ve shared what brought me back to Wisconsin. 

Evers’ address and the last year in the governor’s office signal an end to one chapter of Wisconsin’s history. I feel like I am just getting started. If you have tips, ideas, questions or feedback, email me at bcarloni@wisconsinwatch.org.

Wisconsin Watch is a nonprofit, nonpartisan newsroom. Subscribe to our newsletters for original stories and our Friday news roundup.

As the Tony Evers chapter of Wisconsin history draws to a close, a new chapter is just beginning 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.

The backlog of unresolved felony-related matters in Milwaukee County has surpassed the pandemic-era peak, topping more than 10,000 as of Oct. 13, according to data obtained from the Milwaukee County District Attorney’s Office through an NNS open records request.

As cases linger, people throughout the criminal justice system feel the effects, including victims and their families, people accused of crimes and the broader community, said Kent Lovern, Milwaukee County district attorney.

“‘Justice delayed, justice denied’ applies to everybody,” Lovern said. 

One recent high-profile incident reaffirms how case backlogs could have tragic and life-altering consequences. 

On Feb. 5, a Milwaukee man, Mile Dukic, allegedly stabbed and killed 44-year-old Amanda Varisco on West National Avenue and S. 36th Street. At the time of the killing, Dukic had separate open felony cases in Milwaukee County Circuit Court – for bail jumping and stalking. He was charged with another felony, first-degree intentional homicide, on Feb. 9.

Dukic is currently in custody with bail set at $500,000.

Two backlogs

The district attorney’s office plays a pivotal role at both ends of the felony pipeline, said a spokesperson for the Wisconsin State Public Defender’s Office: referrals from police awaiting a charging decision, plus charged felony cases working their way through the courts.

The Milwaukee Police Department made 5,650 summary felony arrests in 2025, according to an MPD spokesperson. The department continues to work with the Milwaukee County District Attorney’s Office to best address the felony backlog, the MPD spokesperson said.

District attorney records show 2,924 pending uncharged felony cases as of October 2025.

State office wants county to change approach, charge fewer felonies

The spokesperson for the Wisconsin State Public Defender’s Office said the district attorney’s office can and should do more to address the growing backlog by adjusting its approach. 

“We believe prosecutors should be exercising more discretion in which referrals they are charging,” the spokesperson said. The spokesperson said the office regularly sees clients charged with relatively minor offenses lose jobs or housing as a result – consequences that can outweigh the underlying charge.

When the prosecutor’s office officially presses felony charges, these cases can get bogged down and stay in the courts. Resolution to the cases depends not only on prosecutors but also on defense attorneys, judges, court staff and other resources that are strained as well, Lovern said. 

Based on the district attorney’s internal case-tracking system, more than 7,000 felony cases were charged but not yet resolved as of Oct. 13. 

“The influx of felony charges coming out of the DA’s office isn’t benefiting the court system or public safety,” said State Public Defender Jennifer Bias. “It’s a waste of our scarce attorney resources.”

Increase in serious criminal activity

Lovern pushes back on the idea that prosecutors are charging too many cases.

“I want to make it very clear: I don’t have goals for what we ought to be charging,” he said. “I don’t have a directive of what the percentage of our charging rate should be.”

Prosecutors decline to move forward on many referrals, said Jeffrey Altenburg, Milwaukee’s chief deputy district attorney. 

On a basic public safety level, there are simply more serious felonies being committed, Lovern and Altenburg said.

“I think that that’s exactly what we’re seeing,” Altenburg said. “We’re seeing more referrals coming to this office that involve firearms, violence, sexual violence.” 

Milwaukee Police Department data show reports of the majority of the most serious offenses declined from 2024 to 2025, with the exception of homicides and human trafficking, which increased slightly.

Violent crime in Milwaukee has generally declined in the past few years – but from historic highs seen during the pandemic, according to data from the Council on Criminal Justice.

When to charge

Charging decisions begin with a decision about whether a case is provable beyond a reasonable doubt, Altenburg said.

“We adhere to that standard very scrupulously in this office,” he said.  

Once that is determined, the district attorney’s office moves to the question of whether prosecution is necessary or a different kind of intervention is more appropriate, Altenburg said.

Alternatives to traditional prosecution

In Milwaukee, there are two alternative interventions: diversion and deferred prosecution.

Diversion allows a person to complete requirements, such as treatment, restitution or community service, without a criminal charge. 

Deferred prosecution involves issuing charges with an agreement in which a conviction is withheld if the person meets various conditions.

Lovern said local prosecutors created an early-intervention approach designed to steer nonviolent cases driven by substance use or mental health challenges out of the criminal justice system when appropriate. 

In 2020, Milwaukee County intervened in roughly 600 cases, Altenburg said. Last year, the county intervened in roughly 1,600 cases.

Lovern said the nature of modern policing – and modern evidence – has fundamentally changed prosecutors’ workload.

The sheer volume of evidence that must be reviewed contributes to growing wait times before charging decisions can be made, Lovern said. 

More evidence is generated because of modern technologies and other tools used by police. A single incident can, for example, generate hours of body camera footage that prosecutors review before making charging decisions, Lovern said. 

In 2020, there were 84,000 pieces of evidence in Milwaukee’s database. In 2024, there were 1.7 million items. 

“I’m sure last year, it was even higher. That’s just where we’re headed,” Lovern said.

Staffing and system capacity

Something that adds to both backlogs – uncharged cases awaiting a decision and charged cases in the system – is insufficient staffing levels throughout the court system, a trend that has continued since the pandemic. 

The district attorney’s office has about 125 full-time prosecutors, Lovern said. 

“Now that is a lot. It’s the same number that we had when (Altenburg) and I started in this office 28 years ago, though.”

The State Public Defender’s Office also faces staffing challenges, according to its spokesperson. 

“Broadly speaking, our agency needs more staff statewide,” the spokesperson said. “This wouldn’t address delays caused by prosecutors, but it would help to decrease the time it takes to appoint attorneys to indigent defendants and reduce the turnover in staff that office experiences due to burnout.”

There is also a need for support staff who help with administrative tasks, freeing up attorneys.

Lovern said unstable funding adds to staffing pressures.

About a third of legal staff in the county had been funded with federal grant money, which has been a little less predictable in the last couple of years, Lovern said.  

“We can use more positions,” Lovern said. “There’s no question about that.”

Justice delayed: More than 10,000 felony matters unresolved in Milwaukee County 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.

North Division High School had always been a staple in Milwaukee’s Black community. 

But a Jan. 19, 1976, order by federal Judge John Reynolds for Milwaukee Public Schools to desegregate almost changed that. 

The ruling led MPS to propose changes three years later with the goal to integrate the 97% Black North Side high school. 

The solution? Close North Division as the neighborhood knew it and reopen it as a citywide magnet school for medical and science technology. Magnet schools offer special instruction and programs that are typically not available elsewhere.  

The district had utilized a similar strategy in the years prior to integrate Rufus King High School and Golda Meir School by changing them to magnet schools. 

The proposal for North Division would integrate the school by drawing more white students from other parts of the city but would also limit enrollment options for students in the surrounding neighborhoods. 

Residents quickly fought back, organizing the Coalition to Save North Division. 

Howard Fuller, who led the coalition, remembers the community’s reaction when the plan was first announced.  

“We ended up filling up the auditorium at the board meeting at Central Office,” said Fuller, who went on to become superintendent of MPS from 1991 to 1995. “That’s when I gave the speech and ended by saying ‘enough is enough.’ That then became the slogan for the Coalition to Save North.”

Fuller said the group organized marches and meetings, canvassed across the neighborhood and eventually took legal action and won.

Desegregation at MPS

Lawyer and politician Lloyd Barbee, among others, filed a lawsuit against the Milwaukee Public School Board of Directors in 1965 to desegregate MPS, Milwaukee historian and author James Nelsen said.  

The suit alleged that the district’s policy of assigning students to their neighborhood school maintained school segregation because of the widespread residential segregation across the city. 

The case ran until 1976, when Reynolds ruled that Milwaukee Public Schools needed to take action to desegregate the district. 

Reynolds then established a monitoring board to enforce and oversee districtwide desegregation plans.

Nelsen said shortly before the ruling, the Board of Directors welcomed new Superintendent Lee McMurrin, who had implemented magnet schools in Toledo, Ohio.

Once he came to Milwaukee, McMurrin pushed to rebrand some neighborhood high schools as magnet schools, encouraging students from across the city to go to different schools.

When a new North Division building opened in 1978, the district tried attracting white students to the school but was unsuccessful. 

This, in combination with low performing grades at the school, led McMurrin to target North Division to become the city’s newest magnet school. The school would open a medical and science technology program for high schoolers across the city.

“We’re not satisfied with the results at North Division,” McMurrin said in a 1979 Milwaukee Sentinel article. “We will not have a change about unless we make it a brand new school.”

Community pushes back

Fuller, students and the neighborhood had major concerns about the new plan. 

“The thing that concerned me the most was that once they built the brand-new building, then the first thing they were going to do then was to put all of the neighborhood kids out,” Fuller said. “In part, it was also a pushback against the way that desegregation was being implemented in the city at that time.”

North Division’s student council organized a rally in which 400 students walked out of school and marched to the Central Office in protest, according to local news reports. 

The plan would close enrollment to freshmen and sophomores. Willie Washington, then a North Division junior, spoke out against the plan during the protest.  

“We feel that we should not be used as guinea pigs for integration,” Washington told the Milwaukee Journal.

Fuller said the coalition spent the summer going door to door in the neighborhood, held community meetings and built a parent group.

When the new school year started in September 1979, Fuller and over 200 students gathered for a mass meeting on North Division’s front lawn. Fuller told students to study hard and “demand that they be educated.”

After months of protesting, Fuller said, the coalition escalated to legal action through the monitoring board, established to observe desegregation efforts.

Success at a cost

Fuller said the Board of Directors eventually reached an out-of-court settlement and dropped the plan.

“It was the first battle where the board reversed its decision on closing a school in the Black community because all of the protests before had never gained any traction,” Fuller said. 

The school would remain a neighborhood school but also offer a career specialty program, according to the settlement. 

The agreement said the school should aim for about 2,000 students, 60% Black and 40% white. A set number of seats would be set aside for non-Black students, and Black students could not fill those spots.

As those changes were implemented, problems at North Division High School continued, Fuller said. 

Fuller said nobody knew he would eventually become a superintendent of MPS. When he took on the role in 1991, he gained access to documents and information nobody thought he would see. 

An assistant superintendent at the time told him that the board had taken actions to sabotage North Division after the coalition won.

“Some of the problems that exist at North today can be traced back to the conscious attempt to sabotage North once we won in court,” Fuller said. “There was such anger on the part of the administration that they had to do this.”

For example, Fuller said the coalition worked with North Division Principal Bob Jasna to set up a program and curriculum for the school, then replaced Jasna with a middle school principal who knew nothing about the work he and Fuller did.

“That sabotaged the entire effort that we had made,” Fuller said.

Today, North Division High School remains predominantly Black — 90.5%, according to the latest state report card. The school scored an overall 54.9 on the report card, meeting few expectations, according to the Wisconsin Department of Education.

“For me, this struggle around North Division has never ended,” Fuller said. “It’s been ongoing for 30, 40 years.”

Alex Klaus is the education solutions reporter for 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.

How Milwaukee residents rallied to save North Division High School from closure during 1970s integration fight 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.

The $46 billion in data centers proposed or under construction in Wisconsin continue to make news over who should pay for the electricity to power them, whether municipalities should use nondisclosure agreements to keep details confidential and more. Here are some of the latest updates:

Utility rates: The state Public Service Commission is accepting public comment on a We Energies proposal for determining whether the general public pays any share of the costs of constructing and operating power plants needed to meet data centers’ electricity demands. One concern is creating more “stranded assets” — power plants that are shut down before their debt is paid off. Wisconsin Watch reported in December that Wisconsin ratepayers owe $1 billion for stranded assets.

Legislation: A state Senate committee is holding hearings Tuesday, Feb. 17, on three data center bills. Senate Bill 729 seeks to limit how much general ratepayers can be charged by utilities for the cost of providing electricity to data centers. Senate Bill 843 contains a similar provision and has passed the Assembly, but also contains a controversial requirement that renewable energy used for a data center be on the data center site. Senate Bill 969 would prohibit local governments from signing nondisclosure agreements with data center developers. Separately, a new bill would impose 14 requirements on data center proposals, including prohibiting NDAs between local governments and data center developers. Wisconsin Watch found that local officials in at least four communities signed NDAs to hide details of data center proposals. 

Janesville: The City Council put on the Nov. 3 ballot a referendum proposed by data center opponents that could give voters direct say over a hyperscale data center. If the referendum is approved, it would create an ordinance requiring separate referendum approval for any type of development project worth $450 million or more that is proposed for the former General Motors site. The data center proposed for Janesville is worth $8 billion.

Port Washington: Business groups are suing to block a proposed ordinance affecting economic development projects. The proposal was made by citizens who claimed a lack of transparency by the city over a $15 billion data center now under construction. 

Grant County: A company seeking a site for a $1 billion data center has included rural Cassville in southwest Wisconsin in its search. A local official said he expects to learn in spring whether the county is still being considered.

Wisconsin Watch is a nonprofit, nonpartisan newsroom. Subscribe to our newsletters for original stories and our Friday news roundup.

Interested in data center news? The latest on stories we’re following is a post from Wisconsin Watch, a non-profit investigative news site covering Wisconsin since 2009. Please consider making a contribution to support our journalism.

There’s an election in Wisconsin on Tuesday, but don’t be alarmed if that comes as a surprise — in most places there isn’t much, if anything, on the ballot.

The Feb. 17 spring primary seeks to narrow down any contests where there are more than two candidates competing for a single seat ahead of the April 7 spring general election. With no statewide primaries on the ballot, voters will be tasked with narrowing down municipal, judicial and school board elections.

Voters can see what’s on their ballot by visiting myvote.wi.gov and entering their address.

The biggest statewide race this spring, the Wisconsin Supreme Court election, features only two candidates, appellate court judges Maria Lazar and Chris Taylor, so they won’t be on the primary ballot Tuesday. There are also dozens of school district property tax referendums on the April 7 ballot, but none on the primary ballot.

In Madison, voters will vote in the Dane County Circuit Court judge Branch 1 primary, choosing two candidates to contend on April 7 to replace current Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Susan Crawford. In Green Bay, residents will narrow down candidates for city council if their district includes more than two candidates. There are no primary elections in the city of Milwaukee, but neighboring municipalities may have elections. 

Polls are open Tuesday from 7 a.m. until 8 p.m. Voters can register at the polls.

Wisconsin Watch is a nonprofit, nonpartisan newsroom. Subscribe to our newsletters for original stories and our Friday news roundup.

There’s a primary election in Wisconsin on Tuesday. See what’s on your ballot. 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.

It’s the last year of Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers’ final term, and activity at the Capitol since January reflects much of how the last eight years have gone with the Republican Legislature. 

GOP lawmakers continue to send conservative bills to Evers’ desk for a likely veto. such as a proposal to allow people to seek legal action for injuries from gender transition procedures when they were a minor. Evers in January called for Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, to allow a bipartisan bill that would extend postpartum Medicaid to new moms to “finally” reach the governor’s desk, while Vos last week told reporters it wouldn’t advance. 

As the political world turns to who might be Wisconsin’s next governor, Evers and Republicans are attempting to negotiate a tax cut in the wake of a projected $2.4 billion state surplus reported in January. The last time there was an open governor’s seat the state faced a multibillion-dollar deficit. Surpluses have been a regular feature of the last eight years of split government.

“There have been plenty of times in the last eight years where we have had a disagreement and we had a public argument with Gov. Evers,” Vos said last week. “I think there’s a long list of things where I think he’s just wrong on the issue. But on this one, considering the fact that he came out and sincerely said he wants to do something on property taxes. We feel the same. I don’t know why we wouldn’t negotiate in good faith to try to find something that can actually get across the finish line.” 

Evers, who is not seeking reelection in 2026, will give his final State of the State address before the Legislature at 7 p.m. on Tuesday. Part of Evers’ legacy during his two terms as governor is his navigation of split government and the oftentimes contentious relationship between his administration and the legislative branch.

Asked to reflect on his own legacy, Evers highlighted for Wisconsin Watch three specific achievements: a deal that kept the Brewers in Milwaukee through 2050, a shared revenue deal that boosted state support for local municipalities and the replacement of heavily gerrymandered GOP maps with “fair maps.” But he also criticized the often contentious relationship with the Legislature.

“There’s something wrong when lawmakers are spending more time thinking of new and creative ways to circumvent the governor and the executive branch than working to address pressing challenges facing our state. So, for the last seven years, we’ve been hard at work to restore the separation of powers and hold the Legislature accountable to the will of the people that elected us,” Evers said in a statement to Wisconsin Watch. “My promise to the people of Wisconsin was — and is — that I will always work to do the right thing and get things done. Now, today, thanks in part to the fair maps we enacted, we’re seeing more collaboration and more compromise than seven years ago, and I believe most Wisconsinites would say that is a good thing because that is how government is supposed to work. So, while we haven’t agreed on 100 percent of the issues 100 percent of the time, I’m proud of the good bipartisan work we’ve accomplished together over the last seven years.”

Evers’ defeat of Republican Gov. Scott Walker in 2018 marked a change in the Legislature’s relationship with the governor’s office. For eight years prior, a Republican governor and Legislature meant conservative ideas — slashing the power of public sector unions, strict voter ID, concealed carry, corporate tax cuts — became law with ease. Evers, a moderate Democrat, became a check on that power. 

In the weeks before Evers officially took office, Walker and the Republican-led Senate and Assembly enacted laws in the lame duck session limiting the power of the incoming Democratic administration.

Since then, and despite Evers’ frequent calls for bipartisanship, the governor and legislative Republicans have been engaged in a yearslong tug-of-war over their powers. It’s a relationship that has been marked by court cases, record-breaking numbers of gubernatorial vetoes and the Legislature advancing numerous constitutional amendments that don’t need Evers’ signature. While Evers has served as a check on far right legislation, Republicans have shrugged at Evers’ calls for special sessions on Democratic issues such as abortion rights and gun safety. 

“I think the most telling was the 2020 COVID experience,” said Barry Burden, director of the Elections Research Center and political science professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. “The state was facing a bunch of crises that year. … There were so many things the state needed to address and there was not a single bill passed in the Legislature and sent to his desk that year. Instead, the two branches were mostly pointing fingers at each other.” 

Despite the partisan battles, every other year a compromise between the two sides has brought the biennial state budget across the finish line on schedule and with billions of dollars in unspent tax revenue that has shored up the state’s fiscal health. 

“The governor is open to meeting with anybody to try and get things done,” said Rep. Christine Sinicki, D-Milwaukee, who was first elected to the Assembly in 1998. 

His easygoing demeanor has helped that relationship with the Legislature, Sinicki said. Republicans seem to recognize that, too. 

“When you talk to Gov. Evers, you realize he’s sincere,” Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu, R-Oostburg, told the audience at a recent WisPolitics event. “I think he’s a sincere person, but (there’s) obviously a lot of things we don’t necessarily agree on.” 

Conflict and the courts

Several power disputes between Evers and the Legislature have ended up before the Wisconsin Supreme Court, which transitioned from a conservative to liberal majority during Evers’ two terms. They include: 

• In 2020, the court’s conservative majority sided with Republican lawmakers who challenged the Evers administration’s powers when the governor’s office extended the “Safer at Home” order during the coronavirus pandemic. 
• In late 2023, the court’s new liberal majority struck down the Republican legislative maps, ruling they were unconstitutional. Evers in 2024 signed the current maps into law. 
• In 2025, the liberal majority upheld the governor’s veto powers after Evers used his veto pen to raise school district revenue limits annually for the next 400 years. 

Sen. Chris Kapenga, R-Delafield, is leading a constitutional amendment to prevent the governor from using veto powers to increase taxes or fees. 

“The state Supreme Court has given the executive branch unprecedented power,” Kapenga said in a statement to Wisconsin Watch. “Nowhere is this more apparent than in the use of the partial veto pen.” 

One of the other significant disagreements of the Evers era that reached the Supreme Court has been the oversight of administrative rules, or policy changes sought by executive agencies like the Department of Natural Resources. 

Republicans have long criticized these policies as red tape for Wisconsin businesses. The 2018 lame duck legislation gave the Legislature the ability to delay the implementation of policies from state agencies, such as a ban on conversion therapy or updating surface water quality standards. 

Evers sued the Legislature on the issue. In 2025, the Supreme Court’s liberal majority last summer ruled that a key legislative committee that oversees administrative rules could not block the Evers administration’s policies from going into effect. The Legislature is essentially in an advisory role now, said Rep. Adam Neylon, R-Pewaukee, one of the co-chairs of the Joint Committee on Review of Administrative Rules. 

“I think that people are expecting more from an executive role or from the governor and it’s in some ways disrupted the balance of the co-equal branches of government,” Neylon said. “I think, especially a lot of the court decisions upholding the 400-year veto or Evers v. Marklein, which took away our oversight of the rulemaking process, I think we’re in an era now that the power has been slowly drifting into the executive and I think real people do feel that.” 

The balance of power is a legitimate concern for the Legislature to have, but Republicans prior to the Supreme Court’s decision asserted control over the process in ways that often negatively affected public health issues, said Sen. Kelda Roys, D-Madison, one of the Democrats running for governor and a member of the administrative rules committee. 

“The most important legacy is the court decision, Evers v. Marklein, that says, basically, the Legislature can’t be judge, jury and executioner,” Roys said.

What’s next

Whether the partisan battles of split government continue depends on where Wisconsin voters take the state during the 2026 elections later this year. Evers’ departure leaves an open governor’s race. New legislative maps and Democratic gains in both chambers in 2024 set up real competition for control of the Legislature in 2026. 

A unified government with one-party control of the executive and legislative branches could bring a burst of new laws starting in 2027, Burden said. 

But more split government conflicts are also possible, and none of the candidates for governor appears as interested in bipartisan negotiations as Evers, Burden said. Republican U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany cleared the GOP primary field in January. Seven major Democrats are running for governor, including Roys, former Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes, former Department of Administration Secretary Joel Brennan, Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley, Madison state Rep. Francesca Hong, former Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. CEO Missy Hughes and Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez. 

“He has a more conciliatory tone, I think, than Democrats would like to see,” Burden said. “So if we get divided government again next year in some form, whether it’s a Tiffany governorship or a Democratic governorship and the Legislature at least partly divided, I think the kind of stalemate that we’ve seen will continue and the option to go to the courts or to use constitutional amendments to get around the governor will still be a popular method.”

Wisconsin Watch is a nonprofit, nonpartisan newsroom. Subscribe to our newsletters for original stories and our Friday news roundup.

As Tony Evers delivers his final State of the State, he remains crosswise with the GOP Legislature 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.

Organizers are working to introduce a Montana ballot initiative that could prevent corporations from spending on elections.

The constitutional amendment would alter corporate charters and the power given to “artificial persons” in Montana, barring them from political spending. It attempts to bypass the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2010 Citizens United decision, which said under the First Amendment the government can’t bar corporations and similar groups from spending money independently to influence elections.

The Montana proposal is not yet on the 2026 ballot after the Montana attorney general and the Montana Supreme Court determined the version was legally insufficient under state constitutional rules, but organizers are refiling new versions in the hopes of getting the initiative on the ballot. 

In Wisconsin, home of the most expensive state Supreme Court races ever, could similar campaign finance laws be put in place? It’s a complicated question, according to legal experts. 

Unlike in Wisconsin, Montana residents can propose changes to the state constitution or statutory law through a citizen petition process. To qualify a constitutional initiative for the ballot, proponents must gather signatures equal to 10% of the state’s electors, including at least 10% of electors in two-fifths of Montana’s legislative districts. Statutory initiatives require signatures equal to 5% of the state’s electors, including at least 5% of electors in one-third of legislative districts.

Similar reforms in Wisconsin would need to come from the Legislature, not from a citizen-led ballot initiative. To place a constitutional amendment on the ballot, lawmakers must approve the same proposal in two consecutive legislative sessions. The amendment would then appear on the statewide ballot, where voters could approve it and make it part of the Wisconsin Constitution by a majority vote. The governor doesn’t have a role in that process.

If Montana’s initiative makes it to the ballot and voters approve it, more litigation is likely to follow, said Derek Clinger, senior counsel at the State Democracy Research Initiative at the University of Wisconsin Law School. It’s unclear if the organizer’s argument would survive a constitutional challenge. 

Nevertheless, Montana’s proposed ballot initiative is an interesting conversation starter that could help put “political pressure” on the courts if Montana voters agree to approve a potential amendment, Clinger said. 

“They made a case that doing this would comply with the U.S. Supreme Court precedent and that states have this power to regulate and kind of control what sorts of activities corporations are allowed to participate in,” Clinger said. “It’s an interesting idea what they’re doing in Montana, but I think it would absolutely be litigated, and it’s kind of hard to predict what would happen.”

There are other campaign finance changes Wisconsin politicians could introduce, such as spending limits in judicial elections.

“Judges are supposed to be kind of more above politics compared to legislators and executive officials, and that kind of need to keep judges out of the political fray can justify more campaign finance regulations,” Clinger said. “I think if there was an appetite to impose more regulations on judicial elections in Wisconsin, I think they would have the constitutional ability to do so. But the question is: Is there that appetite?”

Paul Nolette, director of Marquette University’s Les Aspin Center for Government, said it’s a difficult legal environment for supporters of campaign finance reform. 

“Getting laws on the books that make meaningful campaign finance change is just difficult at this particular moment,” Nolette said.

One way to change the system without limiting corporate giving would be more disclosure from so-called “dark money” groups, which can avoid disclosing donors through Super PAC donations. The Arizona Supreme Court allowed legislators to challenge a citizen ballot initiative that called for “dark money” disclosure. More than 70% of voters approved the measure in 2022. 

Legislators also could introduce a more robust public campaign finance system. Wisconsin once had a public financing program for Supreme Court elections as part of the Wisconsin Election Campaign Fund, but it was repealed in 2011. State Sen. Kelda Roys, D-Madison, previously told Wisconsin Watch she was drafting a bill to revive the public financing system and would propose significantly larger grants than the original $100,000 for primary candidates and $300,000 for general election candidates, saying smaller amounts would not meaningfully support competitive campaigns.

“The amount of money in politics, even if it’s just coming from individuals, is still significant enough that it just overwhelms the amount of public money that could be available,” Nolette said.

Apart from the state Legislature, Clinger said the Wisconsin Supreme Court could institute recusal rules, which may discourage partisan campaign donations to justices.

Wisconsin Watch is a nonprofit, nonpartisan newsroom. Subscribe to our newsletters for original stories and our Friday news roundup.

Can Wisconsin do what Montana is attempting to prohibit corporations from donating to campaigns? 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.

Three cases of measles has been confirmed in Wisconsin in recent weeks, the latest involving an out-of-state traveler who traveled through Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport to Walworth County on Jan. 29. 

Milwaukee Health Commissioner Michael Totoraitis said during a news conference Tuesday that there were six individuals on the flight from the city of Milwaukee who may have been exposed as well as others.

“We have been in communication with those (six) individuals, and there’s also likely other contacts from the airplane that we do not have,” he said.

Measles is a serious disease that can cause high fevers and a spreading rash and lead to life-threatening complications such as pneumonia. 

Lindsey Page, director of immunizations and communicable disease with the Milwaukee Health Department, said measles is highly contagious and the risk of it hitting the city is real. 

Extremely contagious but can be prevented

According to the Wisconsin Department of Health Services, measles can spread from person to person through the air from coughs or sneezes. The department states that measles is so contagious that 90% of unvaccinated people who are around someone who is infected may also be infected.  

Page said the measles, mumps and rubella, or MMR, vaccine is highly effective at preventing the spread of measles. Still, vaccine rates in the city are below the recommended rate for herd immunity. Herd immunity for measles is reached when 95% of people in the community have the MMR vaccine. 

“It certainly poses a threat, which is why we’re obviously emphasizing the vaccination, which is key in preventing disease from spreading before it starts,” Page said. “The measles vaccine is one of the most effective and well-studied vaccines ever used.”

Three-fourths of 6-year-olds in Milwaukee have received both recommended MMR doses, according to the Milwaukee Health Department. Among 18-year-olds in Milwaukee, that number increases to 88%. 

The Milwaukee Health Department and Milwaukee Public Schools are working to get residents access to vaccinations to increase those rates and keep them safe. 

According to the International Vaccine Access Center, childhood vaccination rates in the U.S. have declined, and only 10 states had MMR rates above 95% during the 2024-25 school year.

Vaccination rates low in many Milwaukee schools

Of the 152 Milwaukee public, private and charter schools with available vaccine data, only 11% have reached herd immunity levels of 95% for the MMR vaccine, according to data from the Washington Post. 

Only two Milwaukee Public Schools for which data was available, Highland Community School and Cooper Elementary School, had an MMR vaccination rate of 95%.

Just 7% of Milwaukee schools have a 95% immunization rate for all required vaccinations.

Milwaukee Public Schools notifies families if immunization records are missing or incomplete, and students may be excluded from school if requirements are not met within a reasonable time, said Stephen Davis, MPS media relations manager. 

Students are allowed to attend school while families work to get their required vaccinations or submit a valid exemption as allowed by state law, Davis said. 

Wisconsin DHS allows vaccination exemptions for medical, religious or personal conviction reasons. Davis said exemption requests in the district have fluctuated from year to year.

Page said the Milwaukee Health Department runs vaccine clinics inside select MPS schools at the beginning of the school year. Students take home vaccine consent forms for parents to sign so those students can get their required immunizations in school. 

In the near future, the department will set up targeted clinics in schools with low MMR vaccination rates, Page said.

MPS prepares for potential measles cases

MPS is monitoring measles in the region and maintains regular communication with local and state public health partners, Davis said. 

Davis said the district has an infectious disease response plan, which the district reviews periodically and updates as public health guidance changes. The district last reviewed the plan in 2025. 

“While no increased risk has been identified within our schools at this time, we are remaining vigilant and prepared to respond if conditions change,” Davis said. 

If a case of measles is identified in the city, Davis said MPS would implement its response plan, including coordinating with key staff and reinforcing illness reporting procedures.

“Schools would follow established exclusion, cleaning and notification procedures in accordance with public health guidance,” Davis said.

Where can I get vaccinations?

The Milwaukee Health Department and the Wisconsin Department of Health Services offer several resources to check your vaccination status and access free vaccinations. 

Page said you can check your vaccination status with your pediatrician or doctor, look up your status on the Wisconsin Immunization Registry or contact the city Health Department at 414-286-6800.

Page said the Health Department offers free MMR vaccines to all residents at three immunization clinics regardless of age or insurance status.

These clinics also offer other vaccines, available for free for people without health insurance. Eligibility for certain vaccines depends on factors like age, and some vaccines are not always available.

Check vaccine availability by calling 414-286-8034.

Immunization clinic services in Milwaukee

Keenan Health Center, 3200 N. 36th St.

Open for vaccines on Thursdays from 1 to 4 p.m.

Northwest Health Center, 7630 W. Mill Road

Open for vaccines on Wednesdays from 3 to 6 p.m.

Southside Health Center, 1639 S. 23rd St.

Open for vaccines on Mondays from 3 to 6 p.m. and Tuesdays from 1 to 4 p.m. 

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.

Jonathan Aguilar is a visual journalist at Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service who is supported through a partnership between CatchLight Local and Report for America.

Measles is in Wisconsin. Are Milwaukee schools vulnerable? 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.

Wisconsin Watch partners with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. Read our methodology to learn how we check claims.

Yes.

Thirty-four states, including Wisconsin, allow for the marriage of a child under age 18, and 16 states have bans, according to counts by groups seeking to ban the practice.

The 16 include Minnesota and Michigan. 

The first bans were adopted in 2018.

Wisconsin allows a person who is at least 16 but under 18 to obtain a marriage license with permission of a parent or guardian.

A bill pending in the Legislature would eliminate that exception and require all people be 18 to marry. Co-sponsors have been added to the bill as recently as Feb. 9, but no hearings are scheduled.

Democrats sponsoring the bill say they want to stop men from marrying girls. 
No groups have registered to lobby for or against the bill.

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

Sources

• Equality Now: Child marriage in the United States
• Unchained At Last: United States’ Child Marriage Problem
• Freedom United: U.S. child marriage laws: individual state legislation
• UNICEF USA: Help End Child Marriage
• Wisconsin State Legislature: 2025 Assembly Bill 656
• Wisconsin State Legislature: 2025 Assembly Bill 656 History
• Wisconsin Ethics Commission: Assembly Bill 656

Is child marriage legal in most states? 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.

Mellisa Edwards didn’t have a job for a decade as she struggled with drug addiction. 

That changed last March, when she got a job doing packaging and assembly work at Apricity Contract Packaging in Appleton and moved into a nearby residential treatment home. 

Edwards got off to a rocky start. She missed shifts because she didn’t want to get out of bed, leading her supervisors to write her up. But her co-workers helped her rebound. They’re taking on the same challenge of staying sober while showing up to work.

Apricity Contract Packaging is run entirely by people recovering from addiction. Roughly 100 people work at the northeast Wisconsin and Milwaukee locations each year, building sobriety and stable employment records free of the many obstacles found in typical workplaces.

Apricity leaders say they’re catering to workers who employers often overlook. While there’s been a push in recent years to make workplaces more “recovery-friendly,” few organizations nationally strictly employ those in recovery. 

“We offer employment in a safe environment where people aren’t necessarily impacted by some of the judgment and that fear of somebody looking into their history with substance use,” Apricity Contract Packaging President Dan Haak said.

Nowadays, Edwards always shows up to work on time, and she earned a perfect score on her last performance review. She plans to stay at the job for at least another year, until she finishes her probation. 

“I love it here … (Other workers) know what you’re going through, so they can relate very well,” Edwards said. 

Leaders aim for their jobs to be transitional, for workers to build “a foundation of recovery and safer behaviors,” then move into new jobs with more confidence, Haak said. But there’s no limit to how long people can stay, and many stay for years. 

“We try to motivate them as much as we can … to show them they have a career ahead in this and everything else, if they want one,” team leader Andy Geurden said. 

A unique operation

Haak began working at the plant at his counselor’s recommendation in 1998, when the organization was known as STEP Industries. He climbed up the ranks over the years and is now president of the plant. 

“I came out of treatment and didn’t have a driver’s license, didn’t have a car, and had a terrible work history, because when I was using, getting up in the morning was hard,” Haak said.

Many find themselves at Apricity in the same shoes. 

Countless challenges can stand between people recovering from addiction and employment, like rocky work histories, criminal records, a lack of reliable transportation or judgment from employers.

Keeping a job can be just as hard. Someone in recovery might need to work around scheduled drug tests or other legal appointments. They may struggle to avoid situations where substances are present, such as workplace happy hours. Their probation officers might need to meet with their bosses. 

“People don’t necessarily want to open up and discuss all of those things, especially in an interview and say, ‘Oh, I need to leave work early to go take a drug test three days a week,’” Haak said.

Instead, at Apricity, one’s recovery is implied — and understood. That allows employees to focus on getting their lives back on track. 

“I would keep (my recovery) kind of hidden, and that can kind of be a barrier for me not really getting to know people,” said Jason Koehler, who has worked at the plant for two years. “Here, everybody kind of just knows it already. It’s not really even an issue.”

Apricity formed in 2018, when two addiction recovery programs merged. Meaning “the warmth of the sun in winter,” the company’s name is a metaphor for those coming out of a dark period in their lives. 

Efforts to reduce the stigma — including state resources to help employers hire workers in recovery — haven’t erased the challenge of finding work. Apricity remains one of few places in the country focused entirely on workers facing these challenges.

Funded through grants and revenues from its services, Apricity offers two residential treatment facilities, a peer support and recovery coaching program, 24/7 on-call recovery coaches, four sober living homes and, finally, the packaging plant. 

While not a requirement, many plant workers have been through Apricity’s treatment program or stayed in its homes, safe places to land for those who have poor rental histories, eviction records or ongoing legal cases that make it difficult for them to enter a lease.

‘How to be a good employee’

On a late January morning at the Appleton plant, a pair of employees die-cut and packaged pieces of a tissue paper flower craft kit. Another team collapsed tri-fold poster boards and packed piles of them into branded boxes. Lindsey Jackson drove a forklift around the floor, moving stacks of finished packages. 

The hands-on work varies daily. Companies get a 5% tax rebate to hire Apricity for packaging or assembly projects, often because they need extra short-term labor, equipment or space. 

The daily grind at Apricity teaches people “how to be a good employee,” Haak said. 

Employees are held accountable for the basics: clocking in on time, dressing appropriately, properly calling in sick and staying productive. Leaders focus job interviews on the employee’s recovery, rather than their work history. They work around drug court dates, probation obligations or treatment appointments. They organize transportation for those who need it.

“It’s huge for self-esteem. I think people in recovery are struggling with all kinds of stuff from a mental health standpoint,” Haak said. “Being employed gives you a sense of purpose. It gives you a sense of self-worth.”

Not everyone succeeds. Some new hires leave during orientation or soon after they start work. 

“Sometimes people, they start to make up excuses after the first couple of days, and we say, ‘OK, well, what do you want? We aren’t forcing you to be here. It’s up to you. You can leave if you want, you can resign if you want. It’s not gonna hurt our feelings,’” he said. 

Employees who want to stay get support if they fall short or slip up. 

Human resources manager Rachel Hasenzahl creates “relapse prevention plans,” evaluates employees’ performances and helps them move up or toward the jobs they want. Over time, motivated staff can move into leadership roles, earning more, overseeing a crew and learning skills like forklift operation. 

Apricity hopes employees will stay a while, build work history and skills, and eventually move on. About 40% do, often at other local manufacturers, like Plexus Corp., Pierce Manufacturing and Great Northern Corporation.

But with no set end date, some workers stay for years, climbing the ranks. Many higher-ranking staff started in the program and now help others. Some who leave struggle without the robust support for recovery Apricity provides.

Hasenzahl once left to try other jobs, but found it difficult to handle the way alcohol was embedded in workplace culture. She eventually returned to the packaging plant, where she now has a decade under her belt. When she relapsed, as some employees do, Apricity staff helped her back to sobriety. When she wanted to advance, leaders worked around her class schedule so she could study human resources at Fox Valley Technical College. 

Before Apricity, Koehler bounced between jobs and was unemployed for two years. Since he started working at Apricity two years ago, he’s rented his own apartment, saved money and taken on a lead role on the packaging floor. 

“People kind of look to me for questions and (I’m) becoming a leader again, proving to myself that I can do that again,” Koehler said. “People can trust me to do that for them.”

Like Koehler, several employees said the most important thing they’ve gained from the job is confidence. 

“It took a little bit, but I can actually stand the person I see in the mirror when I wake up in the morning now,” Geurden said, “thanks to the staff and everyone having my back.”

Miranda Dunlap reports on pathways to success in northeast Wisconsin, working in partnership with Open Campus. Find her on Instagram and Twitter, or send her an email at mdunlap@wisconsinwatch.org.

Wisconsin Watch is a nonprofit, nonpartisan newsroom. Subscribe to our newsletters for original stories and our Friday news roundup.

Work, recovery and second chances on a Wisconsin manufacturing floor 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.

When I went to the Literacy Network’s offices for an interview about the federal government freezing funding for adult education, I didn’t expect to find myself talking to a medical specialist. 

Anna Mykhailova enrolled in English classes at the Madison nonprofit after fleeing Ukraine in 2022. She later joined the organization’s student advisory board, which is how she ended up at the interview. 

I asked what kind of work she’d done in Ukraine. Her answer startled me so much that my mind went blank.

“Cardiologist … That’s a heart doctor, right?” I asked.

“Yes,” Anna said, and went on to explain that she now works as a cardiac sonographer at a Madison hospital. At 42, she told me she’s studying for licensing exams to restart her medical career in the United States and making plans to spend three years as a medical resident all over again. 

Her husband Sasha, 52, an accomplished anesthesiologist and perfusionist, is in a similar boat, she told me. He decided to go back to school, enrolling in the medical perfusion graduate program at Milwaukee School of Engineering to study the profession he practiced for more than 20 years in Ukraine.

Before I met Anna, I knew a bit about the challenges facing immigrant medical professionals. In a previous life, I worked in student support services at a community college in New Orleans, where I often met with immigrant students who wanted to practice the professions they’d trained for back home. As a journalist, I reported on the fact that most foreign-trained dentists have to repeat dental school if they want to practice in Wisconsin, even as many parts of the state are deemed “deserts” of dental care. 

Anna and Sasha seemed like poster children for this conundrum: How can a state create rules that protect patients and ensure quality care without creating obstacles that can seem insurmountable to foreign-trained professionals?

I asked Anna if she’d be willing to talk with me more about her experience. She agreed. Six months later, we published that story, complete with stunning portraits my colleague Joe Timmerman captured on his 1950s film camera. Newspapers and news websites across the state ran it. The American Society of Anesthesiologists put it in their newsletter. 

Anna couldn’t believe it.

“I honestly didn’t expect that people would notice our story, so hearing that it’s resonating with readers is incredibly touching,” Anna told us in a text message.

Journalists like to talk about “impact,” the things that change because of our stories. I don’t know if this story will change any policies — or if it should. But the fact that Anna and Sasha discovered that their fellow Wisconsinites cared about what they’ve been through? That’s impact, too.

How I met a Ukrainian cardiologist starting over in the US 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.

Democratic lawmakers are proposing to limit rent increases in Wisconsin’s manufactured home communities as residents voice concerns over steep rent hikes and the growing influence of large, out-of-state owners.

The proposal is part of broader legislation to protect residents of communities often called mobile home parks. Proposed by Sen. Jeff Smith, D-Brunswick, and Rep. Jodi Emerson, D-Eau Claire, the bill would also require annual state inspections and make it easier for residents to purchase communities through cooperatives.

The lawmakers say they aim “to preserve one of Wisconsin’s last remaining sources of truly affordable housing.”

Without Republican support, the bill is unlikely to advance during the current legislative session. The Legislature will wrap up most action by the end of March. The sponsors hope the proposal will build momentum for future action. 

“We got to start somewhere,” Smith said. “We got to protect people.”

Priced out of traditional homes during an affordability crisis, thousands in Wisconsin have turned to manufactured housing as a more achievable path to ownership. Most own their home but pay a monthly fee for the land it sits on, and they are responsible for maintenance of their homes. While that model brings promise, gaps in state oversight leave residents vulnerable to deteriorating conditions and dramatic rent hikes, a previous WPR and Wisconsin Watch investigation found.  

In announcing the bill, Smith’s office highlighted how private equity firms are increasingly purchasing manufactured home communities — often leading to higher rent and less responsive park management. 

The bill would cap rent increases at 2% or 4% annually, depending on federal Consumer Price Index data.

Such a change would benefit people like Troy Wadina, who lives in Harbor Heights, a Racine County manufactured home community. His rent increased by roughly 18% this year alone.

“I had planned on staying here forever, and now I’m completely out of luck,” Wadina said. “I don’t want to leave.”

He bought his manufactured home in 2020. His parents lived across the street.

“We love being in this community. I know all my neighbors by name. Where do you get that?” Wadina asked.

But in 2024 the community sold to Illinois-based Ravinia Communities, which owns manufactured home communities across 10 states. It increased Wadina’s monthly rent by $95 last year and will add another $95 beginning in March.

Wadina didn’t learn of the sale until it was finalized.

Under the proposed legislation, he and his neighbors would have received a notice of a potential sale and 60 days to submit their own offer to buy the community. The bill would also offer a tax incentive to owners who sell to a resident-owned cooperative or nonprofit approved by the majority of residents.

Wadina isn’t sure he can handle any further increases. On top of his day job as a sales representative, he’s now selling items online to keep up. 

Ravinia defended its rent increases in an email to Wisconsin Watch. Rents under the previous owner failed to keep pace with the market, the company wrote, adding that rents at Harbor Heights remain lower than comparable communities. 

Ravinia said it encouraged residents to contact management for information about potential hardship assistance but no one has done so. 

The legislation would have limited Wadina’s monthly increase to around $20 unless Ravinia detailed to residents why growing operating expenses necessitated a greater increase.

Amy Bliss, executive director of the Wisconsin Housing Alliance, a manufactured housing trade association, opposes the bill as written. 

Capping rent would hurt owners’ ability to maintain their properties and cause investors and developers to put their money elsewhere, she wrote in a statement to Wisconsin Watch.

“Wisconsin Housing Alliance is happy to work with legislators to make meaningful reforms to keep rents in Wisconsin lower,” the statement said. “We do not agree that this bill will accomplish any of that.” 

Additionally, Bliss added, residents can already offer to purchase their communities through cooperatives, an ownership model that doesn’t always keep costs down or succeed in the long term. Requiring owners to notify residents during a potential sale could be a “restraint of free trade,” she said.

Limiting property tax increases and loosening municipal restrictions on manufactured housing development would more effectively bring down prices, Bliss added.

Smith and Emerson said they are open to feedback and potential changes to their legislation, particularly if it brings bipartisan support.

“Some affordability and some safety is better than having no guardrails on it at all,” Emerson said. 

The bill will need Republican support to draw a public hearing. Smith doubts that will happen during his competitive reelection campaign. 

A similar bill has received bipartisan support in Pennsylvania, said Steve Carlson, co-founder and board president of the Wisconsin Manufactured Home Owners Alliance, a nonprofit organization pushing for stronger resident protections that helped draft the legislation.

“Affordable housing is not a partisan issue,” Carlson said.

Wadina and his neighbors formed a resident association last year. But with no other mechanism to prevent further rent increases, association members are urging their elected representatives to support the legislation. 

The campaign has already yielded some intangible benefits. 

“We’re a lot closer now as a community than we were before,” Wadina said. “We’re doing the best we can to support each other.”

Wisconsin Watch is a nonprofit, nonpartisan newsroom. Subscribe to our newsletters for original stories and our Friday news roundup.

Bill would limit rent hikes in Wisconsin mobile home parks 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.

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

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

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

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

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

Black and poor residents overrepresented

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

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

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

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

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

Breaking a cycle

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

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

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

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

How the program works

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

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

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

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

Options may include payment plans or community service. 

Thompson said the payment plan option helped her considerably. 

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

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

Public safety benefits

Johnson said helping people regain licenses benefits the broader community.

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

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

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

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

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

How to connect

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

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

Eligibility requirements are: 

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

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

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