James Stancil came to work at the Zablocki Veterans’ Administration Medical Center in Milwaukee just like every other Monday.

As a supply technician, he made sure nurses and doctors had the medical equipment they needed, like wound vacuum supplies or infusion pumps that deliver fluids and medications. He cleaned, stored and sterilized equipment used to care for veterans just like him.

But by the end of the day, he was out of a job.

The 61-year-old veteran served in the Army from 1985 to 1989, spending two years in West Germany along the Iron Curtain. Stancil said he received an honorable discharge, but that’s not how he described his firing on Feb. 24.

“This is just a slap in the face,” he said.

Stancil is among 10 employees who were fired at Zablocki and more than 2,400 veterans who have been laid off in recent weeks by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

Stancil was on “probationary” status after he was hired last April. He, along with other federal employees in Wisconsin, received almost identical termination notices that said their performance did not show “further employment at the agency would be in the public interest.”

“To disparage my character by saying my performance has not met the burden to show that I’d be in the public interest. How dare you?” Stancil said, adding he’s appealing the decision.

The most recent available federal data shows Wisconsin had around 3,000 federal workers who have been serving for less than one or two years in their current roles. Often called probationary employees, they’ve been the first to be fired as President Donald Trump and the Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency seek to slash the federal workforce.

While a federal judge has ruled the firings were illegal, the Trump administration is directing agencies to develop plans for “large-scale reductions in force” by March 13.

Almost 11,000 federal employees work for the VA in Wisconsin, but it’s unclear how many have been affected. A VA spokesperson didn’t provide details on how many workers have been fired in Wisconsin, but confirmed a “small number of probationary staff” had been “dismissed” at Zablocki.

“This decision will have no negative effect on veteran health care, benefits or other services and will allow VA to focus more effectively on its core mission of serving veterans, families, caregivers and survivors,” VA spokesperson Bill Putnam said.

Michele Malone is president of the American Federation of Government Employees Local 3 union that represents Zablocki, which she said has more than 2,000 employees. Even so, she said the center was already running on a “skeleton” crew. A report last year by the VA’s Office of Inspector General found the facility had a severe shortage for 21 types of positions, including one of the positions held by Stancil.

“They’re harming people that work hard. … They do an awesome job in their jobs, and they’re just deliberately dismissing them without any probable cause,” Malone said.

Stancil said he was among two guys fired out of four in his department, saying that means double the work for those who remain. As for him, he still receives VA benefits as a veteran, but he received no severance and must now seek unemployment benefits.

“I drive a 1990 Buick that I just spent 1,800 bucks on to get out of the shop, so to lose that paycheck … I’ll be running out of money here in about 10 days,” Stancil said.

In recent town hall meetings, Democratic U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin noted veterans can receive special preference for jobs and may work their entire career on probationary status. She demanded transparency over mass layoffs at the agency. When asked by a constituent about cuts at the VA, Republican U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson said the agency has been mismanaged, adding he hoped Trump and Musk could make it run more efficiently.

Disabled combat vet says this isn’t what he fought for after firing

Rob, a disabled combat veteran, found out via email on Feb. 13 that he had been fired from his position at the Natural Resources Conservation Service within the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Rob requested WPR to only use his first name because he fears retaliation as he appeals his termination.

Rob served for more than a decade in the U.S. Army, including in the 82nd Airborne Division. He deployed in 2003 to Iraq and in 2004 to Afghanistan. In 2005, he joined the honor guard at Arlington National Cemetery, performing military honors for late President Gerald Ford and thousands of fallen service members.

When he got out of the military, he went back to school and worked in the oil and timber industries. Last year, he and his wife moved roughly 2,200 miles from northwest California to Chippewa Falls to accept a job he had held about three months before his firing. Struggling for words, he described his termination as his face reddened.

“It was frustrating. I’ve served my country and I’ve fought in war, and this is what I get,” Rob said.

Rob said he feels betrayed and wants to see all federal workers reinstated, including more than 50 people he said lost their jobs at the Natural Resources Conservation Service in Wisconsin. He said he’s heard some farmers may lose their farms due to the loss of aid from the agency.

With no severance, Rob is trying to figure out unemployment benefits and applying for jobs in his field with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources and private consulting firms.

“My wife and I gave up everything. We owned a house that hasn’t sold yet. We’re renting here till our house sells. We left our friends, our family, everything, to come across the country for this,” Rob said. “Then, we just get basically kicked to the curb, and they haven’t even paid me my last paycheck yet.”

He and his wife reached out multiple times to the office of former Navy SEAL and Wisconsin Republican U.S. Rep. Derrick Van Orden, but Rob said that’s gone nowhere. He said his 10 years of military service counts toward time served in the federal government.

WPR reached out to Van Orden’s office about Rob’s termination and veteran status. In a statement, a spokesperson said the office has reached out to him.

“Since he is a veteran, he was first contacted by the congressman’s veterans liaison to ensure his well-being. Additionally, our agriculture staffer spoke with (Rob) today to gather more information on his situation. We are actively looking into ways to assist him,” the spokesperson said.

With a baby on the way, Ashland mom hunts for jobs after firing

Five months pregnant with her second child, Hayley Matanowski was planning to take maternity leave in the coming months. Now, she’s hunting for a job after the U.S. Forest Service fired her from her role as an administrative operations specialist at the Northern Great Lakes Visitor Center in Ashland.

Matanowski said she was terminated for poor performance on Feb. 18 after working in the role for about 10 months. Her husband also works for the agency.

“It’s been really hard. We have a 3-year-old, so at home when she’s awake and we’re interacting with her, we’re trying really hard to just be, you know, business as usual,” Matanowski said. “She doesn’t know that mommy lost her job.”

Matanowski said three other center employees were also fired, including two she supervised who had no record of poor performance. At least a dozen employees with the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest have been fired, according to a union official.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture, which houses the Forest Service, said it didn’t have state-specific figures on firings. The agency said thousands have been let go in line with Trump’s order to “eliminate inefficiencies” and strengthen services.

“As part of this effort, USDA has made the difficult decision to release about 2,000 probationary, non-firefighting employees from the Forest Service,” a USDA spokesperson said. “To be clear, none of these individuals were operational firefighters. Released employees were probationary in status, many of whom were compensated by temporary IRA funding.”

In her position, Matanowski supervised three front desk staff and assisted the center’s director with overseeing the annual budget. The Forest Service shares the center with several other agencies, and she said they lost half of the four staff members who interact with tens of thousands of visitors who stop there every year.

“It’s hard for us to schedule our five days a week with just three people, like, if someone’s out sick,” Matanowski said. “With two of the four gone, I know for a fact that they’ve had to have other completely non-related Forest Service and also partner employees step in to staff the front desk that … are being taken away from their other duties and responsibilities.”

As for Matanowski, she said she and her husband have some savings, as well as support from family for child care. While he’s still employed, they stress over whether his job may also be eliminated.

She still worries more for others who have been let go, including her fired staff. One of them shared with WPR that they had lost their “dream job.”

NIH worker says she’s reeling from the loss of her job

That’s how Rachel felt when she was placed on administrative leave on Feb. 15. She was responsible for translating research for patients, clinicians and policymakers in her role working remotely in Milwaukee for the National Institutes of Health.

Rachel asked WPR to use only her first name because she fears retaliation as she’s appealing her termination.

Her work included helping people understand the science behind daily habits or preventive measures that can either avoid chronic conditions or keep them from growing worse. Rachel felt her job helped make the agency more efficient and accountable, which included developing a report to Congress on the agency’s performance.

She was just shy of her one-year anniversary when she received her notice of termination, which is set to take effect on March 14.

“It’s just really hard to accept. I wasn’t prepared for this. I’m pretty devastated,” Rachel said, her voice wavering.

The day before, she said a virtual goodbye to her team and frantically downloaded her performance review and federal records in anticipation of mass firings. As many as 1,500 probationary workers were cut at the National Institutes of Health, according to NPR.

Rachel lost her health insurance, and she said she never thought she would be applying for unemployment benefits. It’s still unclear whether her termination letter that cited poor performance will affect her ability to apply for benefits or future employment prospects.

While Rachel’s partner has a stable job, it’s been unsettling and destabilizing for them both. As she appeals her termination, Rachel doesn’t know what the future holds if she’s reinstated due to “return to work” mandates.

“The return-to-office (order) puts some pretty big barriers in the way because I’m not sure that we can afford for me to move out to (Washington) D.C. I’m not sure I want to do a long-distance marriage,” she said. “I’ve even thought about commuting weekly and finding an apartment, but I don’t think that that’s feasible either.”

She thought her USDA job was secure. Now, she’s looking for work.

In the days leading up to her firing, Jules Reynolds had heard from leadership that the Department of Agriculture was a “safe ship” amid rumors of looming layoffs.

On the morning of Feb. 14, she woke to an email notifying her she had been terminated from her position at the Dairy Forage Research Center in Madison due to poor performance.

The center is the USDA’s Agricultural Research Service station. Reynolds had been employed for about six months as program coordinator for the Soil Health Alliance for Research and Engagement or SHARE initiative. She supported research conducted by the program’s partners on issues like soil health and education by strengthening collaboration and guiding internal resources.

Reynolds said around a quarter of the center’s staff were fired, which included 20 scientists. That morning, she went into the office where she was told she needed to return a government-issued laptop and access card by the end of the day.

“There was this overwhelming sense of loss at the center, and not sure what would happen within the research or the projects of the center, because we had lost so many people,” Reynolds said.

While she said about half a dozen researchers were reinstated, Reynolds said the future of her position remains uncertain.

She was able to download her employment records and has since signed up to be part of a class action lawsuit. For the last six years, Reynolds said she worked as a server and bartender during grad school. Now, she’s once again looking for jobs or other sources of income to pay her rent and other bills.

“Even though I want my career to be one thing in the short term, I can go back to the service industry and at least buy groceries that way,” she said.

While she wants her USDA job back, she wonders whether it may be only temporary. She fears the firings will have ripple effects on early career scientists, as well as research that relies on federal funding.

As federal workers stare down large-scale layoffs, Reynolds said they’re not alone and support systems are available.

Rachel encouraged federal employees to hang in there, and Rob urged employees who have not yet been cut to download their electronic Official Personnel Folder to maintain copies of their records.

As federal workers fight for their jobs, James Stancil said he would go back to the Zablocki VA Medical Center in a heartbeat if reinstated. He likes the work and helping fellow veterans.

If not, Stancil said he’s not too worried because he believes God’s plan is more about being a good person rather than any job or title one may hold.

“If you’re a good person, don’t worry about the other stuff,” Stancil said. “It’ll take care of itself.”

Editor’s note: Anna Marie Yanny contributed reporting for this story.

This story was originally published by WPR.

‘A slap in the face’: Federal workers in Wisconsin fight their firings after mass layoffs 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.

In the Facebook post, the female editor of a Northwoods newspaper stands over the paper’s publisher. She is wearing the latex and rubber gear of a dominatrix and holding a riding crop. The publisher is telling her “whip me harder.”

The image is a Photoshop creation, with cartoon-style speech bubbles, and the post explicitly states that it is a parody. Still, it had a heavy impact on the editor, Heather Holmes of Minocqua’s Lakeland Times. She told police she “gasped” when she saw the post. She felt degraded by the image and afraid it would make her a target of attacks online or even in person. She had been sleeping with a knife near her bed, according to court documents.

The image was posted in August by Kirk Bangstad, owner of Minocqua Brewing Company and the affiliated Minocqua Brewing Company Super PAC, which advocates for liberal causes.

Two months later, Bangstad would be arrested and charged with criminal defamation in Oneida County. He is fighting the charges and says he believes Wisconsin’s criminal defamation statute is unconstitutional. He has petitioned to have a new judge assigned to the case and is asking that the case be dismissed. The next hearing is in early April.

Bangstad’s business and his political activism are entwined, and high-profile legal disputes have drawn media attention across Wisconsin and nationally. Within days of his arrest, he wrote that he had raised $20,000 in donations to the super PAC.

To some Wisconsin liberals, Bangstad is a minor celebrity, selling irreverent T-shirts, brewing beers themed around Democratic politicians and posting provocative, sometimes inflammatory essays online. He’s said his newsletters go out to a list of some 100,000 people.

He considers himself a “fighter,” he said in an interview. He paints himself as a crusader against “Republicans who I feel are feeding us misinformation and Democrats for not being strong enough.” He sees his adversaries as enemies of democracy and free speech. To critics, he is an online troll focused more on personal vendettas and self-aggrandizing publicity stunts than on changing public opinion in Northwoods Wisconsin.

Those who have worked with him say he can be impulsive and needlessly confrontational. A series of lawsuits filed by the super PAC aiming to change policy in Wisconsin have all failed. And a close look at the organization’s spending raises questions about how he is using his donors’ money.

This story is the product of more than a dozen interviews, including with people who’ve worked with Bangstad or interacted with him in Democratic Party circles in the Northwoods, as well as legal experts and officials. Some spoke on background because speaking on the record could jeopardize their current jobs. A few said they feared Bangstad’s ability to harass them online.

Bangstad spoke with WPR for more than an hour about his legal cases and political views, including financial and strategic decisions around his super PAC. But when WPR asked him for details on certain payments made by the PAC, he abruptly ended the interview.

Bangstad’s false claims online led to massive defamation judgment

Bangstad said the manipulated image of Holmes and Lakeland Times editor Gregg Walker was “obviously not in the best taste.” It was a response, he said, to a Lakeland Times editorial attacking a Minocqua-area teacher for teaching a book that includes a same-sex couple.

Bangstad has spent years feuding with Walker, whose newspaper’s editorial page once called Bangstad a “jackbooted liberal.” To mock Walker, Bangstad put Walker’s face on one of his company’s beers, called Snowflake Ale.

The August Facebook post came less than a year after Bangstad was found liable in a defamation lawsuit by Walker. Bangstad was fined $750,000 in that case, reportedly the largest defamation fine in state history. In October he settled the case for $580,000, mostly paid by his insurance company.

Walker told police he believed the image was in part retaliation against Holmes for testifying in the civil defamation trial. Holmes and Walker each declined to comment. 

The Lakeland Times initially sued Bangstad in 2021 after Bangstad called Walker a “crook” and a “misogynist.” One legal expert said Bangstad’s odds of winning that case were high. The statements were confrontational but also likely to be classified by a judge as matters of opinion protected by the First Amendment. 

But Bangstad did not stop posting about Walker. In August 2021, after Walker had filed suit, Bangstad wrote on Facebook that Walker “allegedly stood by and did nothing while his brother accidentally fell from a tree stand and died” because he “allegedly knew he would inherit the once-legitimate Lakeland Times if his brother was out of the picture,” according to court documents. 

This wholly false claim would be added to the lawsuit and would result in the largest share of damages awarded to Walker in the case. Walker was a child at the time of his brother’s death, and he was not present when the accident happened. 

Bangstad said he had heard from a Minocqua resident that there was something “fishy” about the death. 

“I think I made a bit of a leap,” Bangstad said, though he maintains he believed the content of the post at the time. “(But) I never said this is a statement of fact. I said, this is a story I heard. … I thought ‘alleged’ was a get-out-of-jail-free card at the time.” 

At the trial, Bangstad taunted Walker in the courtroom, the Lakeland Times reported. He was eventually found to be in contempt, fined and threatened with jail time when his disruptive behavior continued.

Bangstad calls the case a travesty of justice, and legal experts interviewed for this story did have criticisms of decisions made by Judge Leon Stenz. 

But the jury’s decision in favor of Walker was unanimous. Bangstad, who has maintained that it is impossible for him to get a fair trial in a largely Republican county, said he sought to appeal but his insurance company had argued that his conduct was not covered under his policy and they should not have to pay. In a negotiated agreement, he paid $50,000 of the total damages.

“I can either go bankrupt for 50 (thousand) or I can settle for 50 (thousand),” Bangstad said in characterizing the choice he faced. “But that’s the only reason I made that decision, because to this day, I wish the Supreme Court would have taken (my appeal) because we need to fix these laws.”

Criminal defamation charges like the one Bangstad now faces are relatively rare, though legal scholar David Pritchard of Marquette University has tracked 337 of such cases in Wisconsin filed over 16 years. 

In a 2009 paper, Pritchard found that criminal defamation was “largely a small-town crime, at least in Wisconsin. There were no criminal libel cases in the state’s most populous county in the 17 years under study.”

Bangstad said that’s evidence the law should be abolished. The American Civil Liberties Union also takes the position that the statute is unconstitutional.

But Pritchard, who worked as an expert witness on Bangstad’s side in the civil defamation trial, said that is not his view. For example, he said, a civil lawsuit is not an effective tool against someone who doesn’t have enough money to be concerned about damages.

“Despite what some may claim or wish, the First Amendment is not absolute,” Pritchard said. “Neither criminal nor civil libel is protected by the First Amendment.”

Walker and Holmes have filed a new civil lawsuit in Oneida County, naming Bangstad, Minocqua Brewing Company and the Minocqua Brewing Company Super PAC as defendants.

Before defamation charges, Bangstad fought yearslong zoning battles 

The criminal defamation charges Bangstad faces now are not his only legal troubles in Oneida County. For years, he has been embroiled in a series of zoning disputes with the town of Minocqua over his business. 

In 2020, Bangstad put a large banner supporting Democratic candidate Joe Biden for president on the side of Minocqua Brewing Company’s building. Authorities in the town said the banner’s size violated a local ordinance.

Bangstad, then a Democratic candidate for state Assembly, refused to take the banner down. He appealed to his followers online to help pay for legal fees and fines. He told the Wausau Daily Herald that the effort raised “way, way more” than he anticipated.

The controversy established a pattern Bangstad would return to repeatedly: appealing to online supporters to help him fund efforts to fight local officials.

“Thank God I have 90,000 Facebook followers and a very large email list that I can ask them to help offset some of my costs from time to time,” Bangstad said in the interview with WPR. “I would have gone bankrupt other than that.”

On the eve of the 2020 election, both The Washington Post and The New York Times profiled the Assembly race for the stark contrasts between the two candidates, particularly on COVID-19 restrictions. Bangstad told the Times reporter that people in the region supported Donald Trump because they “haven’t been equipped with the tools of media literacy or critical thinking skills.”

Bangstad lost his Assembly race against incumbent Republican Rep. Rob Swearingen. Later, he wrote that “losing that race was a foregone conclusion.”

In January 2021, he launched the Minocqua Brewing Company Super PAC. 

“The Minocqua Brewing Company will commit 5 percent of its profits to donate to this super PAC,” Bangstad wrote in the announcement, “but like-minded citizens can also donate directly without buying a thing from us.”

Bangstad opened a retail store on Front Street in Minocqua, doing brisk business selling liberal-themed beers and political T-shirts to tourists. Some people who enjoyed the super PAC’s billboards attacking Republican U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson even made pilgrimages there, a former employee said.

Bangstad’s conflicts with town and county officials continued. He objected to zoning requirements that would have required him to pave the small parking lot and provide curb cut-outs accessible to wheelchairs. In 2023, the county briefly revoked the business’s operating permit. He sued the town of Minocqua in federal court, alleging that his First Amendment rights had been violated. That case was dismissed by a federal judge in June 2024.

“Everything is unfair, unfair, and it’s all about freedom of speech and his constitutional rights,” said Scott Holewinski, chair of the Oneida County zoning committee. “Basically, he figures if he throws that out there, that exempts him from following any other rules.”

Holewinski categorically denies targeting Bangstad due to his politics.

“He blames us that we’re all against him because of his political views, and that’s absolutely wrong,” Holewinski said. “None of us has ever said, ‘Well, we can’t do that because he’s a Democrat.’ We don’t do that.”

In the interview, Bangstad defended his style of rhetoric and his approach to conflicts.

“The things that matter to me most in life are seeing justice done and bringing order to chaos,” Bangstad said. “And probably I’m just a stubborn old Norwegian who just won’t let things go because it pisses me off when I feel I’ve been treated wrongly or unfairly.”

Bangstad said the conflicts with officials were a big part of the reason he moved to Madison several years ago. Last year, he opened the Minocqua Brewing Company Tap Room on the city’s east side. 

And he denied cultivating conflict for publicity.

“It would look from afar that, because I’m one of the few progressives that makes the news in northern Wisconsin on a regular basis, that I’m doing this to get my name out there,” Bangstad said. “I would disagree. I’ve been put through so much stress and so much financial pain. Why would I keep doing it?”

Minocqua Brewing Company Super PAC’s finances show unexplained expenses

The Minocqua Brewing Company Super PAC has sponsored a series of billboards in different parts of the state. It was behind a 2021 federal lawsuit that sought to compel masking in Wisconsin schools as a COVID protection measure; a 2023 lawsuit that aimed to end private voucher schools; and a January 2024 lawsuit aiming to block Trump from appearing on the ballot in Wisconsin. 

All of these lawsuits failed. Bangstad himself petitioned the court to dismiss the masking lawsuit in early 2023; he said the justice system moved too slowly to implement sensible COVID restrictions in schools. In a unanimous decision, the Wisconsin Supreme Court refused to consider the voucher schools lawsuit. Bangstad blamed Milwaukee Democrats, who he said wanted to torpedo the effort. A Dane County judge dismissed the ballot challenge after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled against a similar lawsuit in Colorado.

Bangstad said the work of preparing and filing the policy-oriented lawsuits accounted for the “vast majority of what we spent with the super PAC because getting good lawyers to do this work is very expensive.” In fact, about one-third of the PAC’s payments in 2023 and 2024 went to legal services, according to Federal Election Commission disclosure forms. 

According to the campaign finance disclosure forms submitted by Bangstad, the super PAC took in about $1 million in the two-year period. It spent roughly that much as well. The billboard spending frequently touted by Bangstad accounted for just $35,147, less than 4 percent of the PAC’s disbursements. It paid about $80,000 to Facebook for digital advertising.

According to Meta’s ad library, which catalogs Facebook ads, most of these were promoted posts featuring Bangstad’s newsletters, and a few were promotions of brewing company products. The PAC also promoted two posts advertising free music nights across Wisconsin sponsored by Minocqua Brewing Company in conjunction with groups including Planned Parenthood and Citizen Action, branded as get-out-the-vote events for Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris. 

The PAC did not make independent expenditures on behalf of any candidate.

And another one-third of the PAC’s disbursements in the two-year period — $333,890 in all — went to Effervescent Blue and NCPS, two organizations that have no online footprint and for which information was not available. 

Effervescent Blue received $167,404 from the Minocqua Brewing Company Super PAC, all classified in the categories of advertising or digital advertising. Effervescent Blue does not have a website, and the address listed on FEC disclosure forms is a jewelry store in Madison. When two digits of the listed address are transposed, it is the address of a UPS Store, which offers post office boxes. 

Similarly, NCPS received $166,486 from the PAC during the same time period. Some of the payments to NCPS are classified as going to billboards, digital advertising or Facebook ads. More than $117,000 paid to the organization is classified as going to “strategic consulting services.” Its address is a UPS Store in Milwaukee. 

Neither organization is registered in Wisconsin, and according to the FEC’s campaign finance database the Minocqua Brewing Company Super PAC is the only political group to have paid either organization in the two-year window.

“That question is out of bounds,” Bangstad said in the interview when a reporter asked him for information on Effervescent Blue and NCPS. “My political dealings and my super PAC have put a huge target on my back by the Republican Party. I will never give any information about how I’m trying to keep Wisconsin blue because this is a vicious political environment out there in Wisconsin. So the fact that you asked that question suggests that you are part of the Republican Party that’s trying to hurt my super PAC and trying to hurt my political activism.” 

Bangstad said the question had “crossed a line” and threatened to end the interview if WPR persisted with questions about the payments. He briefly claimed to be speaking off the record, then declined to answer any further questions.

As WPR left, he stood behind the bar in the empty taproom.

“You’re doing a disservice to your country and a disservice to the fourth estate,” he said. “That’s on the record.”

Campaign finance experts said there are few checks on super PAC finances.

“It’s hard for the Federal Election Commission to catch everything,” said Brendan Glavin, deputy research director for the nonprofit Open Secrets, which tracks political spending. “They’re not going to flag something that is being reported on time and all the donor information is being properly reported and they’re showing the expenditures.”

An attorney who specializes in campaign finance law said the Effervescent Blue and NCPS payments did seem unusual, but it is conceivable they were made to political consultants who wanted to mask their involvement with Bangstad’s super PAC.

In general, experts said, there is little enforcement of federal regulations around super PAC spending. One expert suggested that the only recourse is if donors perceive that the PAC is not spending their money effectively, they may stop donating. 

As his criminal defamation case proceeds, Bangstad continues to wage battles against Oneida County officials. In October, he defied a judge’s order forbidding him to post about the criminal defamation charges. Soon after he made that post, police say one of Bangstad’s online followers sent a threatening email to the judge assigned to the case. 

In December, the Lakeland Times reported that Bangstad filed a claim asking Oneida County to pay him $10.7 million in damages; the claim is a precursor to a potential lawsuit. And the Oneida County Board of Adjustment was set to hear his appeal of a new revocation of his conditional use permit.

This story was originally published by WPR.

Minocqua Brewing Company owner courts controversy, donations around rare criminal defamation charge. It’s part of a yearslong pattern. 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.

Hundreds of protesters gathered in front of U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson’s Madison office Tuesday to voice their concerns over potential cuts to Medicaid.

The Republican-led Congress is considering significant cuts to Medicaid, the government health insurance program for low-income households. In Wisconsin that includes programs like BadgerCare Plus, which serves children, pregnant people and non-disabled adults, and long-term care programs for people with disabilities and seniors.  

The House budget proposal could cut more than $880 billion in mandatory spending from the committee that oversees Medicaid, according to reporting by KFF Health News. While the Senate’s proposal doesn’t specify exact cuts, they plan to offset over $300 billion in new spending, according to NPR.

Dane County resident Laurine Lusk organized the protest because her daughter Megan is disabled and relies on the government program.

“She’s not safe without this care,” Lusk said.

She wanted to voice her concerns over any cuts to her daughter’s care, but she says she struggled to get in touch with Johnson’s office. 

In a response to questions from WPR and Wisconsin Watch about the protest and complaints that constituents were having trouble reaching him, Sen. Johnson provided a statement. He wrote: “It is difficult to respond to complaints and protests that have no basis in truth or fact. It is unfortunate that Democrat elected officials are lying to their supporters regarding the Senate Budget Resolution and encouraging them to take to the “streets.” I sincerely hope their actions do not result in violence. My primary goal is to keep my Wisconsin staff safe while enabling them to continue dedicating their efforts to help constituents.” 

The Republican senator’s office was closed to visitors Tuesday due to “previously scheduled outside commitments,” according to a sign taped to the office door. 

Protesters chanted, “Hey, hey, ho, ho Ron Johnson has got to go.” One protester held up a sign that said, “Answer your phone, Ron.”

U.S. Rep. Glenn Grothman faced a hostile crowd last week at a town hall in Oshkosh. When asked about Medicaid, he said cutting the program “would be a mistake,” according to previous WPR reporting. Other Republican lawmakers have come out against cuts to Medicaid.

Dorothy Witzeling drove from Appleton to join the protest. “I am terrified of what I am seeing happening with our government,” she said.

Witzeling carried a sign with a photo of her brother who had Down syndrome and relied on Medicaid for care.

Former Madison alder and former Dane County Board member Barbara Vedder said she attended the protest because she has a disability and couldn’t live without Medicaid.

“This is what democracy looks like,” Vedder said. “It brings my spirits up to see so many people speaking up because this needs to change.”

‘Not safe without this care’: Wisconsin Medicaid recipients fear budget cuts 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.

Thousands of federal workers have been fired since late last week, including probationary employees with the U.S. Forest Service and National Park Service in Wisconsin.

The mass layoffs come as the Trump administration takes sweeping steps to slash the federal workforce, with job cuts led by billionaire Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency. The firings follow a Feb. 11 executive order issued by President Donald Trump to scale back the number of workers.

The U.S. Forest Service is firing 3,475 employees nationwide, said Matt Brossard, general vice president of the Forest Service Council with the National Federation of Federal Employees union. The Forest Service Council represents about 20,000 employees, including workers in Wisconsin.

“The U.S. Forest Service manages national forests, manages all the recreation areas, campgrounds, visitor centers, all of that is going to take a hit,” Brossard told WPR.

The agency did not immediately provide details on the firings in Wisconsin. WPR spoke with several Forest Service workers and a union representative in Wisconsin about the cuts. They requested anonymity due to fear of retaliation. The union official said a dozen probationary employees were fired in the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest over the weekend, adding workers fear that layoffs are just beginning to ramp up.

One Forest Service worker in Wisconsin said they were called in on Saturday by their supervisor and notified their termination was effective immediately due to poor performance. They were directed to fill out paperwork, return federal credentials or access cards and log out of computers. The federal worker said they never had anything but excellent performance reviews.

“It’s not right,” the fired worker said. “It’s illegal. It’s a lie.”

Another U.S. Forest Service worker with knowledge of the situation corroborated the account. Agency workers say those affected include veterans, people who just purchased a home and another individual with a baby on the way.

One individual said they received no severance. The employee will receive a final paycheck, as well as any unpaid leave. While they’re eligible for unemployment, the worker said the maximum payment is nowhere near what they were making.

Some say they’re exploring appeals or potential legal challenges, which might include joining lawsuits filed by unions. Unions are seeking a court order to temporarily bar the Trump administration’s firing of federal employees, which they have said is unlawful. Brossard said union lawyers are seeking a ruling that would retroactively bar firings that began last week, and a federal judge planned to release a decision in the near future.

Wisconsin has about 2,200 workers across federal agencies that had been employed for less than a year, according to the most recent federal data. However, one Forest Service employee with knowledge of firings in Wisconsin said there’s a misconception that probationary workers are new to government work. Some staff members who were fired have been in federal service for 10 years or longer.

“We’re not nameless, faceless federal bureaucrats,” the federal worker said. “We’re people living in these communities, too.”

The Forest Service employee said some might be forced to leave rural northern Wisconsin to look for other jobs.

Elsewhere in northern Wisconsin, several federal probationary employees with Apostle Islands National Lakeshore have also been fired, according to Julie Van Stappen, the lakeshore’s former chief of resource management. The National Parks Conservation Association said Friday that 1,000 employees with the National Park Service are being laid off nationwide, but the agency plans to exempt 5,000 seasonal workers.

Van Stappen said probationary workers at the Apostle Islands received an email Friday, noting the lakeshore has more new employees than normal due to staff turnover in recent years. She said the Apostle Islands typically has an estimated 25 to 30 permanent employees each year and about 35 to 45 seasonal workers. It’s unclear how many workers might have been affected by cuts and whether they were permanent or seasonal staff.

“I don’t know if any of the seasonal employees are able to come back or be hired,” Van Stappen said.

Staff with the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore and National Park Service did not immediately respond to a request for details on the firings. The Apostle Islands National Lakeshore has 21 islands spread over an area of Lake Superior that’s nearly 290,000 acres, which is larger than Rocky Mountain National Park.

The cuts come as Republican Congressman Tom Tiffany has proposed designating the Apostle Islands as the first national park in Wisconsin. While Van Stappen doesn’t think that designation would provide any advantage to the public, she questioned how resources and services would be maintained while staff is being cut.

She noted seasonal employees interact with the public on reserving campsites, providing safety information, conducting field work, managing natural resources, maintaining historic structures and aiding with search and rescue.

“I don’t have any idea how the park is going to function or how the resources will be negatively affected. But for sure, the public will be,” Van Stappen said.

WPR also verified firings at other agencies, including researchers with the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Democratic U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin expressed alarm over the mass firings.

“Trump and Republicans are finding every which way to make room in the budget for tax breaks for their wealthy friends – even cutting support for our veterans, aviation employees tasked with making flying safe, and nurses, doctors, and scientists who work to keep Wisconsin families healthy,” Baldwin said in a statement.

In a statement, Republican U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson said the nation is now more than $36 trillion in debt with a $1.8 trillion deficit.

“A private sector entity in this financial condition could not survive and would employ no one. To avoid a destructive debt crisis, a dramatic reduction of federal spending must occur. We are witnessing the beginning of that process,” Johnson said. “Better we do it in a controlled manner instead of in an uncontrolled crisis.”

This story was originally published by WPR.

‘It’s illegal’: Federal workers in Wisconsin fired amid nationwide layoffs 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.

Thousands of federal workers in Wisconsin are under pressure to consider buyouts under President Donald Trump’s plans to shrink the federal government, which could affect services offered in the state.

A federal judge blocked the Trump administration’s deferred resignation program for federal employees, which is being challenged by several labor unions. Union leaders are warning workers that the deal may not be honored because Congress hasn’t authorized funds for it. The judge has set another hearing for Monday afternoon.

Meanwhile the White House has set a deadline of 11:59 p.m. Monday for federal workers to decide whether to take buyout offers.

As of last March, Wisconsin had more than 18,000 federal employees, and it’s unclear how many may have accepted the offer. 

They perform a wide range of duties that may include enforcing federal environmental regulations, providing financial aid to small businesses, maintaining medical centers and clinics for veterans, prosecuting criminal cases, providing military aid and disaster relief and much more.

Federal data shows most federal employees in Wisconsin work for the Department of Veterans Affairs, which has nearly 11,000 employees based in the state.

Crystal Knoll, a veterans service officer in Vernon County, said most counties work with the regional Veterans Affairs office in Milwaukee when veterans file claims for benefits. Knoll said a shortage of staff, particularly doctors and nurses, would be a detriment.

“The VA is already kind of strapped for staffing, so it can kind of get hard to get veterans in for appointments,” Knoll said. “Thankfully, we do have community care programs so veterans can use the local facilities that are contracted with the VA, but it still puts a strain on even the general public getting appointments when we’re trying to use both the VA and civilian side of healthcare.”

The state has more than 323,000 veterans. In 2023, the VA spent more than $4.3 billion in Wisconsin for veterans services, including medical care and compensation for service-related disabilities.

The administration’s “Fork in the Road” directive warned employees that most federal agencies will likely be “downsized through restructurings, realignments, and reductions in force.” It’s been promoted by billionaire Elon Musk, who is leading the White House’s Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE.

In a statement, Democratic Sen. Tammy Baldwin said forcing out VA doctors, nurses and caseworkers would deprive veterans of care.

“Our federal government is not perfect — and I have some ideas on how to make it more efficient — but ripping the rug out from those who served is just beyond the pale,” Baldwin said.

Republican Sen. Ron Johnson said in a social media post that he had more faith in Musk to investigate waste, fraud and abuse than bureaucrats.

“They’re not accountable to anybody. They don’t provide the American public information through their elected representatives here in Congress, who else could investigate that?” Johnson told Fox Business news. “I applaud Elon Musk. I applaud the Trump administration.”

Knoll, who served with the Wisconsin National Guard, said she hasn’t observed any disruptions in service, but she’s heard conflicting information about whether the VA would be exempt from hiring freezes. The Office of Personnel Management has said a few agencies will see staff increases, and the agency noted it may grant exemptions for provision of veterans, Medicare and Social Security benefits. 

Federal union leaders say agencies already face staffing challenges

Jessica LaPointe, president of the American Federation of Government Employees Council 220, represents nearly 27,000 field workers with the Social Security Administration nationwide.

Based in Madison, LaPointe has spent much of the last 16 years processing claims for seniors and people living with disabilities. She said the proposed buyouts and threats of layoffs come as the agency is facing a 50-year low in staffing amid a growing number of beneficiaries.

“We’ve been in a hiring freeze for a year, so losing mass amounts of staff at the Social Security Administration would have a snowball effect as workloads mount on a stressed out workforce,” LaPointe said. “And how that translates to the public is severely long service delays.”

Most recent data shows 550 federal workers with the Social Security Administration are based in Wisconsin. LaPointe said people living with disabilities have seen wait times grow from two to eight months for approval of their benefits. At the same time, former Social Security Commissioner Martin O’Malley told Congress in September that an estimated 30,000 people died in 2023 while waiting for such claims to be processed.

“We don’t just grapple with the uncertainty of our own job. We grapple with the uncertainty of the public that are relying on these earned benefits to survive,” LaPointe said. “We’re really sort of operating under a fight or flight or freeze environment.”

Federal workers weigh options and whether to return to offices

Most federal workers would also be forced to return to offices. One local union representative for federal workers in Wisconsin, an employee of the U.S. Forest Service, said such mandates done in the name of efficiency are decreasing productivity among employees. The person spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation.

“I have heard stories of people being furloughed because they’re speaking out against the administration,” the worker said. “As a union representative, I could potentially have a target on my back just for that, and that’s scary.”

The worker said many remote employees hired to work at offices in Wisconsin don’t live anywhere near them, leaving some in rural areas with tough choices and limited alternatives for other jobs. The worker said it feels like the administration is bullying people to accept buyouts, but many employees would lose their pensions if they left now.

The Forest Service is housed under the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which employs more than 1,700 people in Wisconsin. Wisconsin workers with the Forest Service oversee timber sales, compliance with federal environmental laws, recreation in national forests and other duties.

The Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest bills itself as one of the nation’s top timber-producing forests, and annual harvests directly support around 57,000 jobs in the state’s forest products industry.

The union representative warned timber sales could be hamstrung or shut down amid buyouts or layoffs.

“We only have so many projects cleared and prepped that eventually, if we don’t have the people to even do the review … then we’re not going to be able to manage the national forests in the ways that the public deserves,” the union leader said.

Westby dairy farmer Darin Von Ruden, president of the Wisconsin Farmers Union, noted farmers often work with federal employees at the Farm Service Agency to sign up for crop insurance or access financial assistance when milk prices drop. They also take part in conservation programs that provide payments or cost-share assistance for practices that benefit water quality and control runoff.

He said reduced staffing could hurt Wisconsin farmers. 

“It could mean that farmers simply don’t get a check, or the check might come too late to help with making sure that the monthly bills get paid,” Von Ruden said. “Timeliness is everything, and that means that we have to have an accurate or a good amount of folks hired to make sure the process happens.”

In 2023, falling milk prices led to record payments under a program to help dairy farmers, including $276.8 millon to around 4,300 farms in Wisconsin.

Federal workers like LaPointe say they’ve devoted years of their life to serving the public.

“The public feels emboldened to attack federal workers instead of thank us for our service to this country,” she said. “We’re being demonized, and that takes a toll.”

This story was originally published by WPR.

Wisconsin has 18,000 federal workers. Trump’s plans for cuts could erode services. 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.

Lutheran groups in Wisconsin are defending their records of service after coming under attack on social media by Elon Musk, the tech mogul tapped by President Donald Trump to root out waste and inefficiency in the federal government.

Over the weekend, former national security advisor Michael Flynn posted on X, the social media platform Musk owns, accusing Lutheran organizations who receive federal grants of committing “money laundering.”

Musk responded that his team at the Department of Government Efficiency, known as DOGE, is “rapidly shutting down these illegal payments.”

Federal grants totaling billions of dollars each year go to nonprofits to provide a range of community services that states don’t provide themselves, such as housing or food assistance.

Flynn’s post included screenshots of some Lutheran groups that receive federal funds. But it’s unclear how Flynn identified which Lutheran groups to name in his post, or how Musk determined those payments to be illegal.

The two Wisconsin groups included by name in Flynn’s post are Wisconsin Lutheran Child and Family Services (WLCFS), a Christian mental health care provider in Germantown, and the Gundersen Lutheran Medical Foundation in La Crosse, a nonprofit health clinic that no longer has any affiliation with the Lutheran Church.

A spokesperson for Christian Family Services, which oversees WLCFS, said the group understands its government funding to still be in place.

“We have been following the news with interest because we know that any funding we receive – whether from public or private sources – is a privilege and could end at any time,” the spokesperson said.

In a statement, Gundersen’s parent group, Emplify Health, said the group works with officials of all parties.

“Any public funding we receive is through existing public programs, approved through the legislative process, and is used to improve access to healthcare for our patients,” the statement reads.

‘I think he got this one wrong’

Other Wisconsin-based Lutheran service groups that received federal aid in recent years were not included in Flynn’s post. That includes Lutheran Social Services of Wisconsin and Upper Michigan.

“I actually responded to Musk,” said Héctor Colón, that group’s president.

Colón said he’s interested in Musk’s career trajectory, and said curbing wasteful government spending would support communities that need government resources.

“But I told him, I think he’s got this one wrong,” he added.

Colón said his organization has operated for 143 years and serves about 30,000 people per year, providing youth development, mental health and substance use services, housing coordination and other services.

The group has also helped resettle about 11,000 refugees over the last 50 years — another government project that is largely outsourced to nonprofit groups. That work has also been targeted under the Trump administration, and funding for Colón’s group’s refugee work has been suspended since last month, under a stop work order issued to all American resettlement groups.

“Not only is it the humanitarian thing to do for these individuals, but there’s economic benefits as well,” Colón said. “Right now, there’s a huge shortage of workers. And these individuals come here, they end up loving America, and clearly are on a path to citizenship and buying homes and having jobs and contributing to the broader economy.”

Since his brief stint in Trump’s first administration, Flynn has become a figurehead for the QAnon conspiracy movement. In other social media posts, he criticized money that goes to Catholic charity groups.

Flynn is tied to Christian nationalist groups that often see mainline Protestant groups as anti-Christian, according to Julie Ingersoll, an expert in American religion and politics at the University of North Florida. But many faith-based groups take on governmental priorities or projects, she added.

“Part of our whole system — in which we give tax advantages and all to religious organizations — part of the justification for that is the charitable work that they do,” she said. “(The government) can’t insist that that a group that wants to get funding for some charitable work be a secular group. That’s been considered by the courts to be discrimination against religious viewpoints.”

Indeed, the bulk of governmental refugee resettlement work is done by faith-based groups, primarily those with Protestant, Catholic and Jewish origins. Since 1980, that work has been standardized under the Refugee Act. Refugees have been granted legal status to be in the United States. Community-based groups do the work of getting them set up with housing and jobs, train them about how to set up utilities and bank accounts, and get their kids into school.

“They’re doing work that the federal government isn’t doing and can’t do, and they see it as part of their Christian mission to do good in the world,” said Ingersoll.

This story was originally published by WPR.

Elon Musk calls for cutting funds to Lutheran groups, including in Wisconsin is a post from Wisconsin Watch, a non-profit investigative news site covering Wisconsin since 2009. Please consider making a contribution to support our journalism.

Farah, an Afghan refugee, moved to Appleton in January 2022 after fleeing unrest in her home country. 

She had never experienced winter before and arrived in Wisconsin during what’s traditionally the coldest month of the year.

“I was crying,” Farah recalled. “I told my husband, ‘No, I don’t want to stay here. It’s so cold. I really cannot.’” 

But she and her husband both found jobs soon after and eventually chose to make the Badger state their home, even if she still hasn’t gotten used to frigid Wisconsin winters.

“The people are very friendly,” Farah said of Wisconsin residents. “Most of the time, when I talk to people, they say, ‘Haven’t you faced any racist things or any negative comments from the people?’ I say, ‘No, I really haven’t.’”

She’s one of many Afghan refugees who are making a home in Wisconsin after fleeing Afghanistan when the Taliban returned to power. According to the Wisconsin Department of Children and Families, more than 800 Afghan refugees resettled in Wisconsin in 2022. Of those, 181 resettled in the Fox Valley.

On President Donald Trump’s first day in office in 2025, he suspended the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program. That has left a number of Afghans who worked alongside the U.S. government and military for years in limbo, NPR reported. Beginning in 2021, thousands of Afghan refugees in similar situations were sent to Fort McCoy in Sparta, and some eventually settled in the state through that program.

WPR is withholding Farah’s last name out of concern that her family in Afghanistan could be targeted by the Taliban due to her role in helping advance American interests in Afghanistan before the 2021 U.S. withdrawal.

Farah is now a group program specialist for World Relief Wisconsin. She has helped Afghan refugees in the Fox Cities tell their stories and connect with neighbors. One way is through a recent oral history exhibit in the region. 

World Relief partnered with the History Museum at the Castle in Appleton to design the “Our Afghan Neighbors” exhibit. 

The exhibit, designed as mobile pop-up banners, features portraits and stories of Afghans who immigrated to the U.S. seeking education, freedom and democracy. Farah conducted interviews with refugees highlighting the diversity within the Afghan community, but also their shared values and aspirations.

“These people who are coming, all of them hate war and violence — they just escaped from that,” Farah said. “They just want peace. They value education. They want to improve their life here. They want to support their kids. They want their kids to be happy here.”

Farah and her husband have a son. But especially for Afghan refugees with daughters, Farah says moving to the U.S. provides better opportunities.

“In Afghanistan now, the girls cannot go to school after their sixth grade, so they will be at home, and it is the worst thing that can happen to a family,” she said. “The people who have daughters, they know that they have a future here.”

Dustin Mack, chief curator for the History Museum at the Castle, said the community’s response to the exhibit has been “overwhelmingly positive.” He said the exhibit was designed to be able to be moved between different places like schools, universities, churches and businesses.

In fact, the exhibit is already booked through most of the spring, he said.

“Anybody can reach out to the History Museum and book the exhibit and bring it to their facility to help continue to share this story and get to know our new Afghan neighbors,” Mack said. “It’s been great to see so many people interested and willing to continue to share this story.”

Life in Afghanistan

Not only did Farah help make the exhibit a reality, but her story is featured in the exhibit. 

Farah grew up in western Afghanistan in the Herat Province, one of 34 provinces in the country. She loved going to school.

“I have very good memories of my parents supporting me going to school, then university,” she said.

When she went to college, she studied education and English literature. After finishing her university studies, Farah began working for the Lincoln Learning Center in Afghanistan in 2014 as part of a United States-funded project.

“I was teaching English as a second language for university and school students,” Farah said. “We were advising the students who wanted to come to the United States to continue their education, and we did a lot of cultural programs. I did a lot of information programs for women’s rights or girls’ right to education.”

The partnership with the U.S. government, Farah said, helped thousands of Afghans come to the United States for their master’s or doctorate degrees before they returned to Afghanistan to teach in universities. Farah’s husband also worked with the U.S. government as a university lecturer. 

Their work for the American government made them both eligible for a Special Immigrant Visa, which allowed anyone who worked for the government for more than two years eligible to leave Afghanistan when they felt at risk, Farah said.

As the number of U.S. troops in Afghanistan declined throughout 2020 and into 2021, the Taliban was seizing more and more land.

When the Taliban came into Herat in the summer of 2021, Farah remembers being told by her employer that she was no longer safe and she needed to go to the capital city of Kabul with her husband and then-two-year-old son.

Farah, her husband and their son lived out of a hotel in Kabul for about a month, Farah said. After the Taliban had taken control of the Afghan government, she described it as a time of immense fear.

Farah said Afghanistan had experienced social reforms before the Taliban returned to power that gave women more freedom to get an education and advance. 

That all went away when the Taliban returned to power, Farah says.

“Everything changed,” she said. “Women didn’t want to stay in that country and experience the same things that they had like 20 years ago. That was the reason everyone just wanted to get out of Afghanistan and not see those scary scenes from their childhood.”

One day at the hotel, Farah said she received a call from her father-in-law who asked, “Where did you put your documents?”

He explained that people were searching homes to learn who was working with the U.S. government. She told him her documents were in her bedroom.

“They burned all the documents that we had, like certificates and a lot of things that we had with the U.S. government,” Farah said.

Coming to America

After living in a hotel for about a month, Farah, her husband and their son decided to leave Afghanistan. Her employer helped them get a visa to enter Pakistan. Farah says it was fairly common for people in Afghanistan to go to Pakistan for medical reasons.

“Whenever you met a person from the government, like the Taliban, they’d ask you why you are going to the airport. Who did you work with? A lot of questions,” she said. “If they knew you worked with another government, especially the U.S., they would kill you, or they wouldn’t let you go out of Afghanistan.”

Farah and her family were able to get out of the country, traveling first to Pakistan and then to Qatar before coming to the United States.

After arriving in Wisconsin, Farah not only had to adjust to the cold winters, but also to other cultural differences. She said it was difficult to find halal foods that she and her family would eat back in Afghanistan.

But she said she had a lot of support in adjusting to life in the Fox Valley.

“We were resettled by World Relief. They gave us a good neighbor team, who helped us with transportation, and they even took us to further areas like Oshkosh or Milwaukee to get halal food and all of that,” Farah said. “They were a very huge help for us to find the things that we needed.”

Now, Farah is working to help other refugees adjust in her role as a group program specialist with World Relief Wisconsin. The organization’s financial future may be uncertain after threats to federal funding by the Trump administration in January 2025.

“The cost of living is lower than in some other states, so we are seeing other Afghans coming,” Farah said. “We have an Afghan family who opened a store here, so we don’t need to go to Oshkosh or Milwaukee. It’s going well, and we are still learning about life here.”

This story was originally published on wisconsinlife.org.

‘Our Afghan Neighbors’ exhibit explores life for Fox Valley refugees 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.

Dueling ads in Wisconsin’s high-stakes Supreme Court election focus on a backlog of criminal cases that took place during one candidate’s stint as the state’s top lawyer.

Sexual assault kits — often referred to as rape kits — are collections of DNA and other evidence taken from an assault survivor that can help identify or prosecute an assailant. But in some cases, the evidence is collected and then goes unprocessed, creating what some advocates have described as a national backlog of hundreds of thousands.

In Wisconsin, that backlog was about 6,000 when Brad Schimel, the Republican-backed candidate for Supreme Court, took office as Wisconsin’s attorney general in 2015. He served until 2019, and in a recent campaign ad he claimed that his office cleared 4,000 sexual assault kits during that time.

This week, his Democratic-backed opponent, Susan Crawford, released a competing ad that focused on the early years of Schimel’s time as attorney general.

“He let 6,000 rape kits sit untested for two years,” the ad states.

Crawford’s ad refers to a statistic from midway through Schimel’s tenure. As of early 2017, his office said the state had cleared just nine of those 6,000 backlogged tests, according to reporting by the Green Bay Press-Gazette at the time.

That came after the U.S. Department of Justice and the New York County district attorney’s office sent $4 million in grant funds to Wisconsin to assist with the process. A Schimel spokesperson at the time said the DOJ was following proper protocols for respecting survivors and adhering to requirements of the grant money.

A year and a half later, much of the backlog had been cleared. Schimel announced in September 2018 that all but five of the eligible tests had been cleared, using about $7 million total in grant funding.

That announcement came ahead of his reelection campaign against Democrat Josh Kaul, who criticized Schimel’s handling of the backlog and ultimately bested him that November. Schimel said at the time that there was no political motivation behind the announcement.

“We didn’t delay anything. We didn’t set anything aside. This was done as quickly as possible,” Schimel said in 2018, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

All told, Schimel said at the time that his office had cleared about 4,154 kits, in which survivors consented to the testing. Some of those incidents dated back to the 1980s.

Now, sexual assault kit testing is once again a subject of political debate — this time in a battle for a seat on Wisconsin’s high court, which has no say in how the state manages its DNA testing.

But being able to hold up a record in addressing crime — or suggesting that one’s opponent is soft or slow to respond to crime — is standard messaging in these races, said Damon Cann, a political scientist at Utah State University who has written extensively about judicial elections.

“Rape kits are crime-related, and crime tends to be the No. 1 issue for voters in judicial elections,” Cann said. But, he added, “the big money and the most influential cases that the courts decide that have the most policy consequences are almost never criminal cases.”

Schimel and Crawford are both running to replace outgoing liberal Justice Ann Walsh Bradley in an election that will determine whether the high court maintains its 4-3 liberal majority or flips to a conservative majority.

This story was originally published by WPR.

Dueling Wisconsin Supreme Court ads focus on rape kit backlog 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.

A new study builds on previous research that shows winters on the Great Lakes are growing shorter due to climate change.

The Great Lakes have been losing an average of 14 days of winter conditions each decade since 1995 due to warming air temperatures, according to the study published in the peer-reviewed journal Environmental Research Letters.

The study’s lead author, Eric Anderson, an environmental engineering professor with the Colorado School of Mines, said researchers arrived at their findings by examining ice conditions and surface water temperatures.

“We do see that winter time — whether you think about it in terms of ice or think about in terms of really cold water temperatures — we’re just seeing less days where those conditions exist,” Anderson said.

Research has already found the Great Lakes are losing ice cover at a rate of about 5 percent each decade for a total loss of 25 percent between 1973 and 2023. Those changes are occurring as the region has seen among the greatest increases in average winter temperatures over the past 50 years.

The study builds on that research by focusing on changes in water temperatures during the winter months. Anderson noted only Lake Erie typically sees heavy ice cover each winter, whereas the other Great Lakes often see areas of open water.

Winter is typically a blind spot for researchers due to difficulties in obtaining measurements when there’s less ice cover on the lakes. For the study, they relied largely on satellite data, as well as several monitoring stations, to examine how mixing of the lakes from top to bottom may be changing during the winter. Typically, the lakes tend to mix in the fall and spring when temperatures are the same at the top and bottom.

Winter days on the Great Lakes are being lost to spring and fall

During the summer, the surface of the lakes is warmer and the bottom is colder. In the winter, the opposite is true.

The study’s co-author, Craig Stow, said the reason for that is the maximum density of water is 4 degrees Celsius or about 39 degrees Fahrenheit. Stow, who is a scientist with NOAA’s Great Lakes Environmental Research Lab, said researchers found there’s been an increase in the number of spring and fall days in the lakes.

“The winter days are being lost to those spring and fall times where the temperatures are essentially the same from the very top to the very bottom,” Stow said.

Stow said that means the lakes are staying warmer in the fall and warming up earlier in the spring.

Winter days on the lakes were defined as days with ice cover or having surface temperatures of less than 2 degrees Celsius. The loss of winter days was found over nearly the entire area of lakes Superior, Huron and Erie. In lakes Michigan and Ontario, the loss of winter days was primarily along the shorelines and bays.

“We saw decreases in ice cover in areas where you tend to see large amounts of ice, so Green Bay and up near Beaver Island and Straits of Mackinac,” Anderson said. “We didn’t see big decreases in ice for the rest of the lake, so you didn’t have a lot of coastal ice loss along the eastern side of Wisconsin or down near Chicago.”

However, researchers did see a loss of colder temperatures in open waters around the southern shoreline of Lake Michigan, shifting to more days that had temperatures like spring or fall.

Lake Superior didn’t lose as many ice days as lakes Huron or Erie because it doesn’t see as much ice cover in the middle of the lake. 

“It was losing some number of days with coastal ice, particularly along the Wisconsin shoreline of Superior in the western end there,” Anderson said.

Even so, he said the lake experienced a big shift to temperatures closer to what one might expect in the spring and fall out in open waters.

Anderson and Stow said the changes could have implications for the Great Lakes in terms of extended periods when algal blooms may occur, the duration of shipping seasons, effects on the food web and the $7 billion fishing industry.

“We looked at a couple decades here of  change that we see you’re losing a half a month of what we used to think about being the winter,” Anderson said. “That’s really important for the chemistry of the lake. It could be important for the biology of the lake.”

Researchers say questions remain about whether the loss of winter days may stay the same or accelerate, which is one of the things they hope to examine in the future.

This story was originally published by WPR.

Study finds winter days on the Great Lakes growing shorter due to climate change 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.

More than a year after ending its decade-long affiliation with the Milwaukee Education Partnership, Milwaukee Public Schools is still trying to recoup money from the organization for work it never performed. 

MPS sent an invoice to Milwaukee Education Partnership on Dec. 19, 2023, for $64,170. The district sent four follow-up invoices to the organization before turning the matter over to Kohn Law Firm in May 2024, according to records obtained by WPR. 

The school district is still awaiting payment from the now-defunct organization, which was led by Gerard Randall, a top Wisconsin GOP official who helped secure the Republican National Convention for Milwaukee.

Randall did not respond to requests for comment from WPR. 

School board member Missy Zombor said the money Randall owes to MPS could be used to serve students. 

“That’s potentially an educator in front of a student,” Zombor said. “I mean, $64,000 is not a small amount of money, so not being able to recoup those funds impacts students directly.” 

MPS ended its relationship with Randall after reporting by WPR in collaboration with Wisconsin Watch brought the questionable history of his nonprofit to light.

During its relationship with MPS, Milwaukee Education Partnership received nearly $1.3 million in no-bid district contracts, promising to improve student achievement in the district. 

In 2022, the partnership received $64,170. That money was for the group’s Milwaukee Connects program, which aims to “enhance the pipeline of graduates from Milwaukee to Historically Black Colleges and Universities,” according to the contract.

The contract required the partnership to provide 10 graduating MPS students with semester-long paid internships to include professional mentoring, housing and transportation between Oct. 1, 2022, and Sept. 30, 2023.

In an email exchange last year with WPR,  Randall said “a cohort is being developed for the semester beginning January 2024.”

He would not answer further questions.

The students were never provided mentoring or internships, but Randall did receive the payment, according to documents obtained by WPR. 

Milwaukee Education Partnership was also listing several high-profile officials in tax filings as board officers without their knowledge. 

They included Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson, state Superintendent of Public Instruction Jill Underly, former Milwaukee Public Schools Superintendent Keith Posley, former Milwaukee Area Technical College President Vicki Martin and University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Chancellor Mark Mone.

Despite the controversy, Randall  continues to serve on a variety of high-profile boards, including the Wisconsin GOP, UW-Madison’s Tommy G. Thompson Center on Public Leadership and Visit Milwaukee. 

After being elected to the MPS board in 2023, Zombor began examining various MPS no-bid contracts. When she visited the Milwaukee Education Partnership website, she found it featured years-old financial reports and listed names of people no longer associated with the group.

Zombor began asking questions, which ultimately led to Posley suspending the district’s relationship with Milwaukee Education Partnership in November 2023.

Zombor says she would like MPS to explore its options for awarding contracts.

“It feels like this contract was potentially for a fictitious nonprofit,” Zombor said.  “We have to trust that when vendors or partners come to MPS that they’re being honest about the services they provide. But I think we have to continue to enhance the accountability of the procurement process so that we can safeguard public money.”

This story was originally published by WPR.

Milwaukee Public Schools still trying to recoup money from GOP official’s defunct nonprofit 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.

Fernanda Jimenez, a 24-year-old Racine resident, came to the United States from Mexico with her mother and siblings when she was just 5 years old. It’s the only home she can remember.

For almost a decade, Jimenez has been protected from deportation by the federal Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, program, launched under the Obama administration. The program allows people who came to the country illegally as children to get work permits and continue living in America.

Earlier this year, Jimenez graduated from Alverno College in Milwaukee. She currently works as a grant writer, helping nonprofits apply for funding. But she’s also in the process of applying to law school.

“I like helping nonprofits get funding to do the work that we need in our country and especially our communities, but I’m more passionate about community organizing,” she said. “I’d like to eventually use legal skills after law school for community organizing.”

Jimenez has big dreams, but she says she’s been feeling a looming anxiety since former President Donald Trump won his bid to return to the White House in this year’s presidential race.

She was still in high school when Trump was first elected in 2016, but she says she still remembers feeling “terrified” about what his election would mean for her parents who don’t have permanent legal status and what it would mean for DACA’s future.

Those fears have come roaring back in recent weeks. 

“Our community is terrified. They’re uncertain of their futures, they’re concerned for their family members who are undocumented and not protected under DACA,” Jimenez said. “A lot of naturalized citizens are concerned as well. The mass deportation threat is being taken seriously.”

On the campaign trail, Trump promised to lead the largest deportation effort in U.S. history. Shortly after the election, he announced that Tom Homan, former acting director of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, would serve as his administration’s “border czar.”

In interviews with Fox News last week, Homan said he would prioritize deporting people who threaten public safety or pose risks to national security. But he also told the network that anyone in the country illegally is “not off the table,” and the administration would perform workplace immigration raids. 

Immigrant rights group plans organizing efforts

Following Trump’s reelection, Voces de La Frontera, a Milwaukee-based immigrant rights group, has been holding community meetings in Green Bay, Milwaukee and Dane County to plan next steps, according to Christine Neumann-Ortiz, the organization’s founding executive director.

She said many of the immigrants in Wisconsin without permanent legal status are fearful of the prospect of mass deportations, but she doesn’t believe they will leave the country preemptively. Rather, she said they may leave Wisconsin for states that provide more protections to immigrants.

Neumann-Ortiz said Voces is using the regional meetings to brainstorm ways it can organize around protecting immigrants without permanent legal status. She said the group plans to raise awareness through mass strikes, protests and civil disobedience. 

“We really are going to have to very strongly be a movement that stands for human decency, solidarity, and we’re going to have to do that in the streets,” she said. 

Neumann-Ortiz also said she believes most Trump voters cast ballots for him because of economic concerns, not because they wanted to see people forcibly removed from their communities.

“I do think as things unfold, there’s going to be shock waves that are going to happen that are going to have many people open their eyes, regret their decisions and see what they can do to help,” she said.

David Najera, Hispanic outreach coordinator for the Republican Party of Wisconsin, does not share the concerns about mass deportations.

“My parents came from Mexico and Texas. They came the right way, and that’s the way I’d like to see people come,” he said.

Najera said he supports Trump’s immigration policies, citing concerns about crime, infectious disease and government resources.

“The immigrants are just overwhelming the hospitals, schools and everything else, and taking our tax money,” Najera said. “I’m not saying they’re all bad, but there’s a majority of them that are just getting out of their jails over there in different countries, and coming here with bad intentions.”

Multiple studies have shown immigrants are less likely to commit crimes than native-born Americans. And Wisconsin’s immigrants without permanent legal status paid $240 million in federal, state and local taxes in 2022, according to the American Immigration Council.

How are Wisconsin immigration attorneys advising clients?

Marc Christopher, an immigration attorney based in Milwaukee, represents clients in federal immigration court who are facing deportation or seeking asylum. Christopher said he doesn’t expect the Trump administration’s deportation effort to be limited to people with serious criminal convictions or those who pose security concerns.

He said he expects increased targeting of individuals who haven’t committed crimes or have been charged with minor offenses, like driving without a license. Immigrants living in Wisconsin without proof of citizenship or legal residency can’t get driver’s licenses.

“What I’m telling my clients to do is make sure that you follow the law to a tee,” Christopher said. “If you do not have a driver’s license, do not drive. If you can have someone else drive you to work or drive your children to school, make sure and do that because that’s the most common way that they get thrown into the immigration court process.”

Aissa Olivarez, managing attorney for the Community Immigration Law Center in Madison, said she expects the incoming administration to expand the use of “expedited removal.” It’s a process that allows the government to deport people without presenting their case to an immigration judge if the person has been in the country for less than two years.

“I’m also advising people to start gathering proof that they’ve been here for more than two years — phone bills, light bills, leases, school information — to be able to show in case they are stopped and questioned by immigration authorities,” Olivarez said.

Second Trump term reignites fears over DACA’s future, impact on mixed-status families

Christopher and Olivarez both said the DACA program, and other federal programs giving immigrants temporary protected statuses, could end in the coming years.

Trump previously tried to end the DACA program, but it was upheld in a 5-4 U.S. Supreme Court decision with Chief Justice John Roberts siding with four liberal justices. The current court has a 6-3 conservative majority, meaning Roberts would no longer be the deciding vote.

“It’s (DACA) all but assuredly going to be found unconstitutional by the current Supreme Court,” Christopher said of the DACA program. 

Jimenez, the DACA recipient from Racine, said she’s afraid being a participant in the program will make her a target for deportation by the federal government.

“We have to provide, every two years, an updated information application of where we live, our biometrics, our pictures, and they have to be recent pictures,” she said. “They have our entire information. And that’s really where our fear is at. They know who we are. They know we’re undocumented.”

Immigrant rights advocates are also concerned that a mass deportation effort could devastate the estimated 28,000 families in Wisconsin with mixed-immigration status. Those families include households where one spouse may be a U.S. citizen married to someone who doesn’t have permanent legal status, or where the parents of U.S. citizen children lack legal status.

Jimenez said her brother is part of a mixed-status family. She says he is a DACA recipient, his girlfriend is a legal resident, and his children are U.S. citizens.

“If he is to be deported, his kids would suffer the most not having their father with them, and my parents, who I fear (for) the most, have no protection,” she said. “They have to work. They have to drive to work. They have to drive without a license.”

What could a second Trump term mean for asylum seekers in Wisconsin?

Christopher, the immigration attorney from Milwaukee, said individuals seeking asylum in Wisconsin are in the country legally as they wait to make their case to the government that they should be granted asylum in the United States. 

Under the last Trump administration, Christopher said the federal government narrowed the qualifications to be granted asylum. He said the previous Trump administration made it so those fleeing cartel or gang violence in their home country did not qualify and rolled back protections for those fleeing gender-based violence.

If Trump tightens restrictions on the qualifications on asylum again, Christopher said those new restrictions would apply to people already in Wisconsin waiting to make their case to immigration officials.

“You’re not protected by the rules at the time that you apply,” he said. “It’s going to be a major shift.”

Byron Chavez, a 28-year-old asylum seeker from Nicaragua, has been living in Whitewater since 2022. He applied for asylum and is waiting to make his case to the government. 

He said he fled government oppression and human rights violations in Nicaragua. Since coming to Wisconsin, Chavez said he’s fallen in love with Whitewater and wants to make it his permanent home.

“The community is very friendly. … You got everything you need and everything is close,” he said. “The diversity you have here, it’s what makes Whitewater a really nice place.”

If he gets an asylum hearing after Trump takes office, Chavez says he’s hopeful the government will hear him out and grant him asylum. 

“I’m a little bit more concerned because I think the immigration law will be stricter,” he said. “But other than that, I like to go by the book. I’m doing things the way they should, and hopefully that talks about my desire of being here. I want to do things the right way.”

This story was originally published by WPR.

‘Our community is terrified’: Wisconsin immigrants brace for threat of mass deportations 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.