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Protesters across the state gathered Sunday to speak out against the fatal shooting of a former Wisconsin man by federal immigration officials in Minneapolis.

Alex Pretti, 37, was an ICU nurse at a Veterans Administration hospital. He was killed as he protested the presence of thousands of agents with the Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Patrol in the Twin Cities. His death Saturday morning came just weeks after federal agents shot and killed Renee Macklin Good.

Pretti was a graduate of Preble High School in Green Bay. At a rally on the steps of the state Capitol on Sunday, Pepe Barros of Madison told the crowd of about 400 people that he had been on a bicycle racing team with Pretti.

“Until yesterday, I was choosing to think that what ICE and the current administration was incorrect, but I was … thinking that was not my problem,” Barros said. “Until it became my problem. Until it was so close that I couldn’t dodge it anymore.” 

In addition to direct ties to Pretti, many in Wisconsin have close ties to neighboring Minnesota. Libby Meister of Madison said she attended the protest to show support for loved ones.

“I have friends and family that live there,” she said. “I’m scared. I’m scared for them and for me.”

Amanda Husk of Madison carried a sign that read “Nurses against ICE.” For her, the fact that Pretti was also a nurse made his death resonate.

“As nurses we do everything we can to care for our patients and Alex was absolutely out there caring for the woman that fell,” she said. “He was trying to care for her and his life was taken in a very criminal and inhumane way.”

In videos that circulated on social media, federal agents surrounded Pretti after he checked on a woman who had been pushed to the ground by an agent. Pretti was legally carrying a handgun, which an agent appeared to take from him before two other agents shot Pretti while he was facedown on the ground.

Trump administration officials said agents acted in self-defense and called Pretti a “domestic terrorist” who intended to “massacre” officers. Videos and eyewitness accounts contradict these claims.

For Husk, the goal of the protest is to tell the Trump administration that its approach to immigration enforcement is wrong.

“It is bringing terror; it is harming communities,” she said. “People are being killed. They need to hear that this is not OK, and it has to stop now.” 

In Oshkosh, protesters gathered at the Opera House Square. A woman wearing a pink bikini stood along the street, holding a sign that read “It Was Murder.” Other signs read “No ICE” and “ICE = Murderers.”

Emily Tseffos, chair of the Outagamie County Democratic Party, estimated at least 500 people also turned out to protest in Appleton.

In Superior, around 150 protesters gathered at the Douglas County Courthouse. Cars honked their horns as people rang cowbells and held up signs that read “ICE out of Minneapolis” and “Immigrants Belong.”

Ron Petite, who lives on the south shore of Lake Superior, held a sign that read “In Honor of Pretti and Good, Killed By ICE!” His voice shook as he described his reaction to Saturday’s shooting.

“Pretti … was trying to help a lady, for crying out loud. I don’t understand,” he said. “I’m just very upset that our country has come to this.”

Other protests took place Saturday in Green Bay, La Crosse and West Allis. Wyatt Molling, chair of the La Crosse County Democratic Party, said on social media that what’s happening in Minnesota is scary.

More demonstrations are set to be held this week. Earlier this month, hundreds of Wisconsinites in Madison, Milwaukee, Ashland, Green Bay and La Crosse joined thousands in Minneapolis to protest the fatal shooting of Good.

High school classmates remember Alex Pretti as kind, charismatic

In a statement to CNN, Pretti’s family said they were “heartbroken but also very angry” and called the Trump administration’s statements about Pretti “reprehensible and disgusting.” 

“Please get the truth out about our son,” they wrote. “He was a good man.”

Several people who knew Pretti told WPR on Sunday they remembered him as a kind person who cared about helping others.

Michael Waak, 37, was a year behind Pretti at Preble High School. Waak, a civil engineer who immgrated to Norway in 2018, said he was a lab partner with Pretti in a biology class.

“He was a very charismatic guy, and also just a very genuine and positive person,” Waak said. 

They dissected a frog together and joked around in class. They weren’t close friends, Waak said. But he felt that Pretti, who was older and more popular, showed him kindness in multiple ways — including after Waak came out as gay.

“Alex never changed his behavior to me, he never stopped saying hi, never stopped being friendly,” Waak said. “This popular, well-known person kept on acknowledging me and being friendly to me. It was a small thing, but it’s something that’s always stuck with me.”

This story was originally published by WPR.

‘It has to stop now’: Wisconsin communities protest Border Patrol killing of Alex Pretti is a post from Wisconsin Watch, a non-profit investigative news site covering Wisconsin since 2009. Please consider making a contribution to support our journalism.

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State environmental regulators can require large livestock farms to obtain permits that seek to prevent manure spills and protect state waters, a state appeals court has ruled. 

Last year, a Calumet County judge ruled in favor of the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources in a case challenging the agency’s authority to require permits for concentrated animal feeding operations or CAFOs. Those farms have at least 1,000 animal units or the equivalent of 700 milking cows.

In 2023, the WMC Litigation Center sued the DNR on behalf of the Wisconsin Dairy Alliance and Venture Dairy Cooperative. They argued that agency rules that require CAFO permits and regulate stormwater runoff from farms can’t be legally enforced because they’re inconsistent with state and federal law.

In a decision Wednesday, a three-judge panel upheld the lower court’s decision.

“Because we conclude the two challenged rules do not conflict with state statutes and do not exceed the DNR’s statutory authority, we affirm the circuit court’s order granting summary judgment in favor of the DNR,” the panel wrote.

A DNR spokesperson said it’s reviewing the decision and unable to comment further at this time.

An attorney for farm groups had argued the DNR can’t go beyond federal requirements under state law, adding that state and federal laws exempt farms from regulation of their stormwater runoff.

Federal appeals court rulings in 2005 and 2011 found the Clean Water Act doesn’t allow the Environmental Protection Agency to require CAFOs to get wastewater discharge permits until they actually release waste into waterways. The three-judge panel noted state permitting programs may impose more stringent requirements than the EPA’s permitting program.

In a joint statement, Wisconsin Dairy Alliance and Venture Dairy Cooperative said the decision is disappointing for Wisconsin’s ag community.

“We believe that there is no place for bad actors and that polluters should face penalties, but this case had nothing to do with weakening environmental laws. Our sole mission in challenging the DNR’s authority was to ensure that Wisconsin farmers are held to standards consistent with federal law,” the groups wrote.

“We continue to believe that a ‘presumption of guilt’ runs contrary to the very fundamentals of the American justice system. We are disappointed with today’s outcome and will continue to fight for Wisconsin farmers regardless of the size of their farm,” the groups continued.

The ruling affects the state’s 344 CAFOs. Under permits, large farms must take steps to prevent manure spills and runoff that include developing response plans, nutrient management plans and restricting manure spreading when there’s high risk of runoff from storms.

Midwest Environmental Advocates is among environmental groups that intervened in the case. They said the legal challenge could have severely limited the DNR’s ability to protect state waters from manure pollution, noting CAFOs can house thousands of cows that produce more waste than small cities.

Adam Voskuil, an MEA attorney, said the ruling affirms environmental regulations.

“We’re continuing to protect water resources in the state, and (it’s) a prevention of rolling back really important, necessary regulations,” Voskuil said.

Without them, Voskuil said the DNR would be responsible for proving whether each individual CAFO has discharged pollutants to surface water or groundwater. He said it’s likely the agency wouldn’t have the resources to do that work, meaning many farms wouldn’t be permitted or taking required steps to prevent pollution.

Darin Von Ruden, president of the Wisconsin Farmers Union, said there has to be oversight of any industry.

“There needs to be some kind of authority that can call out the bad actors and make sure our water supply is safe,” Von Ruden said.

The Wisconsin Department of Justice has been defending DNR in the case. Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul has previously said the state should be strengthening protections for state waterways, not weakening them.

Manure has been linked to nitrate contamination of private wells. Nitrate contamination can lead to blue-baby syndrome, thyroid disease and colon cancer. Around 90 percent of nitrate in groundwater can be traced back to agriculture.

The lawsuit is not the first to challenge DNR’s authority to require permits for CAFOs. In 2017, the Dairy Business Association sued the agency in part over its permit requirements, dropping that claim as part of a settlement with the DNR. Large farms have also challenged the agency’s authority to impose permit conditions on their operations. In 2021, the Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled the DNR had authority to impose permit requirements on large farms to protect water quality.

This story was originally published by WPR.

Wisconsin DNR can require CAFO permits to protect water, appeals court rules 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.