(The Center Square) – Wisconsin Democrats are gearing up to elect their new state party chairman and other roles at this weekend's convention in Wisconsin Dells.
(The Center Square) – Wisconsin’s top education official said Friday that the Joint Finance Committee’s budget changes fails Wisconsin students, educators and public schools.
(The Center Square) – St. Paul’s Evangelical Lutheran School won an appeal to receive $30,000 in scholarships through Wisconsin’s Special Needs Scholarship Program.
(The Center Square) – Northwoods Congressman Tom Tiffany continues to say he'll make a decision on running for governor later this summer, but he's not wavering in his criticism of Gov. Tony Evers.
The median stay in public housing in the U.S. is four years, a 2024 study of U.S. Housing and Urban Development Department data found.
Median means half the tenants in public housing projects stayed more than four years, half stayed less.
The study, by researchers from the universities of Illinois and Kansas, covered 2000 to 2022 and 1 million public housing units.
The average stay was 14 years, pulled higher by elderly and disabled residents, who tend to stay longer.
Republican U.S. Rep. Glenn Grothman, who represents part of eastern Wisconsin, said in May the average is 12 years.
HUD’s dataset on June 12 showed the average is 12 years. Median was not available.
President Donald Trump hasproposed a two-year limit on federal rental assistance for “able-bodied adults.”
Democratic Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers proposed more than doubling to $100 million credits available annually for Wisconsin low-income housing developments. Republicans drafting the state budget June 12 excluded that provision.
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A police officer forced out of a suburban Milwaukee department for appearing to skip a lot of work and claiming many questionable comp days is now working for a small-town department in Waukesha County.
Amanda Lang resigned from the Glendale Police Department in 2021 after an internal investigation found she had more than 230 paid hours unaccounted for between 2019 and 2021. At her wage of $40 an hour, those hours added up to $9,300, the investigation noted.
“Based on the discovery of leaving early, along with the substantial number of full shifts not accounted for, one can only wonder how many other times she has left significantly early without documentation,” then-Captain Rhett Fugman wrote in his investigation, which The Badger Project obtained in a records request.
Amanda Lang worked for the Glendale Police Department for more than 13 years before an investigation into her work hours led to an internal investigation and her resignation. (Photo obtained through a records request)
The captain recommended Lang be fired, and she resigned in April of 2021.
She worked for Glendale in the Milwaukee suburbs for more than 13 years, rising to the level of sergeant, before her resignation.
“As a sergeant, additional responsibility and trust was provided to Sgt. Lang,” Fugman wrote. “Her actions and inactions displayed regarding leaving early and posting off time over the last two plus years have displayed a lack of integrity, honesty and trustworthiness.”
“These characteristics are the foundation of what we are as police officers,” he continued.
Lang was hired by the Lannon Police Department later in 2021 and has worked there since.
Lannon Police Chief Daniel Bell said his department “follows rigorous background checks and screening procedures for all new hires to ensure they align with the standards and integrity expected of our officers,” including for Lang.
“During the interview process, we were satisfied with her explanation of the situation,” Bell said of her resignation.
Lang is “consistently demonstrating professionalism, dedication and a strong commitment to community policing,” he added.
She has been promoted to lieutenant, the second in command of the 12-officer department.
Another officer employed by the Lannon Police Department, Nathaniel Schweitzer, was forced out of the police department in the town of Waterford in Racine County late last year. Like Lang, he “resigned prior to the completion of an internal investigation,” according to the Wisconsin Department of Justice’s database on officers who left a law enforcement position under negative circumstances.
Number of wandering officers in Wisconsin continues to rise
Unsurprisingly, the number of wandering officers, those who were fired or forced out from a previous job in law enforcement, continues to rise. Nearly 400 officers in Wisconsin currently employed were fired or forced out of previous jobs in law enforcement in the state, almost double the amount from 2021. And that doesn’t include officers who were pushed out of law enforcement jobs outside of the state and who came to Wisconsin to work.
Chiefs and sheriffs can be incentivized to hire wandering officers, experts say. Hiring someone new to law enforcement means the police department or sheriff’s office has to pay for recruits’ academy training and then wait for them to finish before they can start putting new hires on the schedule.
A wandering officer already has certification and can start working immediately.
Nearly 2,400 officers in the state have been flagged by their former law enforcement employers as having a “negative separation” since the state DOJ launched its database in 2017.
Most are simply young officers who did not succeed in a new job during their probationary period, when the bar to fire them is very low, experts say. But some have more serious reasons for being pushed out.
Law enforcement agencies can look up job applicants in that database to get more insight into their work history. And a law enacted in 2021 in Wisconsin bans law enforcement officers from sealing their personnel files and work histories, a previously common tactic for officers with a black mark on their record.
About 13,400 law enforcement officers are currently employed in Wisconsin, excluding those who primarily work in a corrections facility, according to the Wisconsin Department of Justice. Wandering officers make up nearly 3% of the total.
At least one major study published in the Yale Law Journal has found that wandering officers are more likely to receive a complaint for a moral character violation, compared to new officers and veterans who haven’t been fired or forced out from a previous position in law enforcement.
Sammie Garrity contributed to this report.
This article first appeared on The Badger Project and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.
The Badger Project is a nonpartisan, citizen-supported journalism nonprofit in Wisconsin.
Despite Earth's most devastating mass extinction wiping out over 80% of marine life and half of land species, a group of early reptiles called archosauromorphs not only survived but thrived, venturing across the supposedly lifeless tropics to eventually evolve into the dinosaurs and crocodiles we know today. Armed with a groundbreaking model dubbed TARDIS, researchers have reconstructed their ancient dispersal routes, revealing how these resilient reptiles conquered a hostile, post-apocalyptic Earth.
Teens might finally have a good reason to sleep in on weekends within limits. A new study reveals that teenagers who get up to two extra hours of sleep on weekends show fewer anxiety symptoms than those who don t. But go beyond that sweet spot, and symptoms can actually increase.
Researchers at Johns Hopkins found that fragments of tumor DNA can appear in the bloodstream up to three years before a cancer diagnosis, offering a potentially revolutionary window for early detection and treatment.
Scientists have uncovered how exercise directly influences brain health in Alzheimer's disease by pinpointing the exact brain cells affected. Using cutting-edge RNA sequencing and mouse models, researchers identified changes in specific cells like microglia and a novel type of astrocyte after exercise.
Where do microplastics really go after entering the environment? MIT researchers discovered that sticky biofilms naturally produced by bacteria play a surprising role in preventing microplastics from accumulating in riverbeds. Instead of trapping the particles, these biofilms actually keep them loose and exposed, making them easier for flowing water to carry away. This insight could help target cleanup efforts more effectively and identify hidden pollution hotspots.
Scientists have uncovered a previously unknown type of molecular motion inside DNA-based droplets: instead of spreading randomly, guest molecules advance in an organized wave. This surprising discovery opens the door to understanding how cells might organize internal processes without membranes. Using customizable DNA condensates as experimental models, the team showed how molecular waves emerge through precise DNA interactions. These insights could not only transform our grasp of cellular signaling but may even lay groundwork for treating neurodegenerative diseases by influencing how molecules behave inside aging cells.
Surveying nearby galaxies in the process of merging with other galaxies, astronomers have identified massive, dense star factories, unlike any found in the Milky Way. The findings provide a rare glimpse into processes shaping galaxies in the very early universe and possibly the Milky Way a few billion years from now.
Tufts University scientists are aiming to revolutionize the future of weight loss drugs by engineering a new compound that targets four gut hormones instead of the usual one to three. These next-gen tetra-functional peptides may overcome the limitations of current drugs like Ozempic and Mounjaro especially their nausea, muscle loss, and rebound weight gain.
A team at UC Davis has made a major leap in neurotechnology, enabling a man with ALS to speak again through a brain-computer interface that converts thoughts into speech in real time. Unlike prior systems that translated neural signals into text, this one synthesizes actual voice with tone, pacing, and even melody, creating a near-conversational experience. The device interprets neural signals via implants and advanced AI, making it possible for users to speak new words, ask questions, and express emotions vocally. Though still early-stage, this breakthrough offers real hope for those silenced by neurological conditions.
Viruses closely related to the deadly MERS coronavirus are lurking in bats and one group, known as HKU5, may be just one mutation away from making the jump to humans. A new study reveals how these viruses bind to cell receptors and even shows signs of adapting to human-compatible versions of those receptors.
A team of scientists has discovered a direct link between the smell of food and feelings of fullness at least in lean mice. This brain circuit, located in the medial septum and triggered by food odors, helps animals eat less by making them feel satiated even before taking a bite. But intriguingly, obese mice lacked this response, highlighting how excess weight may interfere with this satiety mechanism. The finding could have major implications for how we think about the role of smell in appetite and offer new strategies to combat overeating.
More than 250 lake districts manage water quality, boat safety and habitat restoration.
The Little Green Lake Protection and Rehabilitation District details a new boating ordinance, and the new Callahan Mud Lake District details a need for a dam reconstruction.
A northeast Wisconsin congressman has introduced legislation that would strip federal funding from state and local governments that are deemed to be “anarchist jurisdictions.” Critics see it as a way to punish free speech.
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