Scientists discover the oldest DNA ever found and reveal the genes of long-extinct creatures that once thrived in the Arctic.

The post NOVA:Hunt for the Oldest DNA appeared first on WPR.

Members of SEIU and Voces de la Frontera arrive at the Capitol Tuesday | Wisconsin Examiner photo

Online rumors warning of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) patrols around polling places in Milwaukee and Madison appear to be unfounded. The reports circulated on social media claiming that there would be “more than 5,000 ICE agents patrolling the areas” in the two cities, as voters went to the polls to cast ballots in the April 1 election for candidates running for  Wisconsin Supreme Court, state superintendent, and referendum questions focusing on voter ID. 

Anxieties about ICE activities have been heightened under the Trump Administration. Recent weeks have seen videos showing plain-clothes, masked ICE agents detaining people on the street. Some of the detainees had been arrested after participating in activist activities, such as protests calling for an end to the war in Gaza. Fears of ICE raids have increased  in Milwaukee and Madison, as in other cities. 

Spokespersons for Milwaukee and Madison city government told Wisconsin Examiner that they have not heard any reports, complaints, or notifications about ICE agents at polling places. A spokesperson for the ICE office in Milwaukee said, “due to our operational tempo and the increased interest in our agency, we are not able to research and respond to rumors or specifics of routine daily operations for ICE.”

Meanwhile, turnout in Milwaukee has been so high that local news outlets are reporting that polling sites across the city have run out of ballots. The city’s Election’s Commission is arranging for fresh ballots to be sent to polling stations. In Tuesday’s election Republican-backed Supreme Court candidate and former Wisconsin attorney general Brad Schimel is facing off  against Dane County Judge Susan Crawford, who has the backing of state Democrats. In the  state superintendent’s race, incumbent Jill Underly is facing challenger Brittany y Kinser. Wisconsinites will also get to decide whether the state’s constitution should be amended to codify a voter ID requirement.

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City of Milwaukee election officials process absentee ballots at one location on Election Day, which sometimes means ballots are still being fed into tabulators late that night or early the next morning. Results are reported once processing finishes.

Conservative Brad Schimel, who faces liberal Susan Crawford in the April 1 Wisconsin Supreme Court election, suggested the late counting was malfeasance, a long-debunked claim.

Schimel on March 18 urged supporters to vote early “so we don’t have to worry that at 11:30 in Milwaukee, they’re going to find bags of ballots that they forgot to put into the machines, like they did in 2018, or in 2024.”

Schimel lost his attorney general re-election bid in 2018. Republican Eric Hovde lost to U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., in the Nov. 5, 2024, election.

State law prohibits municipalities from preparing absentee ballots before Election Day. A bill that would allow an earlier start has stalled.

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

Sources

• Wisconsin Watch: Did a late night ‘ballot dump’ in Milwaukee cost Eric Hovde the US Senate election?
• Reuters: Fact Check: Late-night Wisconsin election update for senator is not proof of fraud
• Votebeat: https://wisconsinwatch.org/2025/01/wisconsin-election-vote-ballot-absentee-clerks-milwaukee-republican-democrat/
• Associated Press: Schimel resurfaces debunked concerns about ballot counting in Milwaukee
• PolitiFact: No, an early morning influx of Milwaukee votes doesn't prove the Wisconsin Senate race was stolen
• WISN radio: Jay Weber Show – 3-18-25 Brad Schimel joins Jay and Past comments from Demo
• Milwaukee County Clerk: Milwaukee County 2024 General Election – Unofficial Results
• Wisconsin Watch: Does Wisconsin state law prohibit counting absentee ballots before Election Day?

Did Milwaukee election officials at the end of ballot counting ‘find bags of ballots that they forgot’? 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.

Lawmakers on the Assembly Health, Aging and Long-Term Care committee weighed what happened during a tense hearing on a bill to ban gender affirming medical care and then voted along party lines to advance the bill. Rep. Lisa Subeck became emotional while speaking to her colleagues. Photo by Baylor Spears/Wisconsin Examiner.

A little over 12 hours after a tense public hearing on a resurrected bill to ban gender affirming medical care for children, lawmakers on the Assembly Health, Aging and Long-Term Care committee weighed what happened and then voted along party lines to advance the bill.

AB 104 would ban gender affirming care, including prescribing puberty-blocking drugs or gender-affirming surgery, for those under 18. It would also require revocation of a medical provider’s license found to be providing the care. It is the fourth bill focused on transgender youth in Wisconsin to receive a hearing over the last two weeks. 

“After sitting through the hearing on this bill yesterday, I would hope some people are taking a step back and saying, wait a minute, maybe this isn’t the route that we should go,” Rep. Lisa Subeck (D-Madison) said during Thursday’s executive session. She noted that one person at the hearing even had a “change of heart.”

Larry Jones of Milwaukee spoke about seven hours into the hearing. Sitting in front of lawmakers, he began apologizing for being there and said he was invited to the hearing to show his support for the bill.

“I have very little knowledge of gay people and things like that there, so when I came here, my eyes were opened,” he said Wednesday at around 9:12 p.m. “I was one of the critics that sat on the side and made the decisions there was only two genders, so I got an education that was unbelievable and I don’t know just exactly how to say this but my perspective for people have changed. I’d like to apologize for being here and I learned a very lot about this group of people.”

Subeck, talking to her colleagues the next day, became emotional as she spoke about the committee’s upcoming vote on the bill.

“The governor is going to veto [the bill]. I feel really good about that,” Subeck said. “I don’t feel so good about the fact that we’re gonna have a vote here where people are gonna vote to support this.” 

Gov. Tony Evers vetoed a similar bill last session, and vowed to LGBTQ+ youth in January to continue vetoing any bill that “makes Wisconsin a less safe, less inclusive, and less welcoming place.”

Subeck said the bill causes harm. It is the latest in a slate of bills focused on LGBTQ+ youth introduced by Republican lawmakers in Wisconsin. The bills come as President Donald Trump has also made targeting transgender people a key point in the first couple months of his term. In a recent survey of Wisconsin LGBTQ+ youth by the Trevor Project, 91% of respondents reported that recent politics negatively impacted their well-being.

Subeck pointed to the emotional testimony lawmakers heard into the night, including from Charlie Werner, a teen, who testified with his parents, Allison and Dan Werner, around 8 p.m. The family was also present in 2023 at a bill hearing and when Gov. Tony Evers vetoed the bill. 

Werner told lawmakers that he was dealing with depression before realizing he was dealing with gender dysphoria. He said that therapy and finding community, especially among other queer and trans people, has “lifted” him.

Werner said the gender affirming care he has received, including puberty blockers and later receiving testosterone, has helped him go “from being so uncomfortable in my body to finally feeling a bit of clarity.” He said the care has allowed him to experience similar traits as his cisgender peers, including a lower voice.

“I finally feel like myself,” Werner said. “Gender affirming care saved my life… I don’t believe you are bad people. I simply think this is what you have been taught, but you still have the opportunity to change and make better decisions for the people that you serve.” 

Subeck had a similar message for her colleagues during the executive session. 

“Many of you I’ve known for a very long time, some of us came into this Legislature together. I know that you’re good people who care. I know that,” Subeck, who has served since 2014, said. “That is why it’s so bothersome to me to think … you can sit in this room and vote for this bill… We’re better than that as a body. This isn’t about doing what’s right.”

Rep. Adam Neylon (R-Pewaukee) said that he used the hearing time to listen and to learn, and pushed back on the idea that the bill is a “judgment on trans people.” Rather, he said, the bill comes from a “conservative approach to medical care that may be irreversible.”

“If you’re accusing us of wanting to be conservative when it comes to the medical care of minors, then that is true…,” Neylon said. “That doesn’t mean we want them dead, right? That doesn’t mean we don’t recognize their right to exist.”

However, Neylon also acknowledged that the bill may not be the exact right approach. 

“It might not be hitting directly where it should and it might come across political and I understand the pain and I wanted to stay [at the hearing] to make sure that people had an opportunity to share their things…,” Neylon said. “I would be angry if I was young too, but it’s not coming from a place of saying, like trying to other them or saying, like, you don’t belong in our society.”

Committee Chair Rep. Clint Moses said that the hearing was beginning to become unproductive because of “political theater” as some members were being yelled at. He had two people removed by officers from the committee room for yelling during the hearing. 

Throughout the hearing, there were moments of frustration for both lawmakers and members of the public who came to speak.

One of those moments came a little over 6 hours and 18 minutes into the hearing when FAIR Wisconsin Executive Director Abigail Swetz finally got her opportunity to speak to lawmakers. She used her time to tell transgender youth in the state that there are “many of us in this state who love you exactly as you are and exactly as you are becoming.” She reached the time limit before finishing her comments.

Rep. Tara Johnson (D-Town of Shelby) asked if Swetz had anything she wanted to add. Moses stopped this, saying it wasn’t allowed. Johnson replied that others had done the same earlier. 

Swetz started finishing her comments as the lawmakers went back and forth and others in the room started to clap. Moses then began banging his gavel and threatened to adjourn the meeting if the clapping continued.

Moses told the committee on Thursday that he “was ready to adjourn and just walk out because it was not productive.” He then suggested that members look at the Assembly rules again. 

“The chairman of the committee has a lot of power the way it’s set up, so I try not to abuse it — be a tyrant,” Moses said. “I want to hear from everybody. I don’t care if you agree with me or not. I want all perspectives in there, so I’m doing my best to do it, but yesterday it got a little much, a little much, so I think maybe dial it back on some of these with the theater.” 

Moses said he had to start cutting time because of the number of people who came to speak and how late the hearing was running. 

Johnson said the tension in the room was partially because people had been waiting so long to be heard by lawmakers. 

“Some of the escalation came because they felt disenfranchised,” Johnson said. “They felt like it was very lopsided that the pro-voices were heard at greater length, including when my colleagues also asked questions that extended testimony for very long stretches of time.” 

Hearings on bills focused on transgender youth have often been lengthy and emotional. Last week, a hearing on bills that would mandate how schools deal with transgender athletes and name changes lasted over 10 hours. In 2023, many showed up in opposition to a gender affirming care ban bill.

The hearing Wednesday lasted nearly nine hours, but mostly supporters spoke during the first three hours of the hearing despite being vastly outnumbered by opponents.

According to the record of committee proceedings, there were 79 people who appeared against the bill and 18 who appeared for, including the two bill authors. There were also 17 people who registered in favor of the bill, but didn’t speak and 103 people who registered against, but didn’t speak at the hearing. 

At one point during the hearing, Subeck asked Moses to begin alternating between supporters and opponents of the bill, but he responded by saying that was up to him.

Some opponents to the bill spoke about their frustration with this when they finally got their chance to speak.

“We sit here for all this time, all these people, you’re allowing the anti-trans voices to go first. It feels like the world is stacked against us and we’re getting tired of it,” Cory Neeley said. “My voice is cracking because I’m literally fuming at the fact that I’ve sat here all day long listening to people call me a groomer. People calling me a person who doesn’t care about their children… I’m a good parent.”

Subeck told the Wisconsin Examiner in a call Friday that she has seen chairs put certain voices first before, but the degree to which it was done was “unusual” and “pretty unprecedented.” The first three hours of the hearing were mostly supporters of the bill, aside from Sens. Mark Spreitzer (D-Beloit) and Melissa Ratcliff (D-Cottage Grove).

“Committee chairs often try to, if they can, literally go back and forth, one to one,” Subeck said. “But even if you’re not literally going one for, one against, certainly front loading it so heavily when you have a room full of people there to testify against, including families with children who are going to be impacted by the bill, it certainly felt more like a tactic than a simple oversight.” 

Subeck noted there was some disruption during the hearing and there can be consequences for that.

“I also can’t help but wonder how it could have been different if the chair had actually let some of the folks who were there to testify against the bill testify before we were already a couple of hours into the bill,” Subeck said. “Some of the hateful rhetoric of those early testifiers was directed directly at some of those young people who were coming to testify about how this bill impacted them.”

Moses told lawmakers Thursday he would take the criticism into consideration

“If there’s any issues anyone has, you know, how they’re running? Please come and see me,” Moses said. “We’ll try and work it out privately if I’m still doing it.”

Rep. Rob Brooks (R-Saukville) acknowledged that the conversation about the issue was painful for everyone involved, but he said he thinks the conversation does need to be had. He and Rep. Patrick Snyder (R-Weston) said that an informational hearing, rather than a hearing on a bill, may have been a more “prudent” approach for lawmakers to learn more. 

“You’re right, it’s not going to become law,” Brooks said. “I do think yesterday was beneficial from an educational standpoint for a lot of us, regardless of how you vote. I don’t know how you can’t come out of there a little richer with your knowledge on both sides. I’m going to support the bill.”

The committee voted 10-5 with Republicans for and Democrats against to advance the bill, setting it up to go to the Assembly floor.

Subeck told the Examiner that she was “disappointed and frustrated and upset” Republicans voted for it, saying “they are still putting what is truly partisan motivation… political agenda ahead of the kids and families who came and testified to us.”

However, she said the conversation during the Thursday executive session did give her some hope. 

“In private, legislators have a lot of conversations that don’t reflect the votes that are taken on the floor, and I think the tenor of the conversation in that room was a little bit closer to the conversations that we often have when we are sitting one on one, talking to each other,” Subeck told the Wisconsin Examiner. “It makes me a little bit hopeful, because while my Republican colleagues continue down the path of voting their party line — even when they have said they have things to learn and it gives them pause — the fact that they were willing to even sit in that room, in sort of a public sphere, and have a conversation means that there is room for change.”

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Correction: This story has been updated to correct the number of people that spoke for and against the bill.

In a stairwell in Van Hise Hall at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Jon Shelton displays messages from UW system employees urging UW's Board of Regents to authorize campuses to hold discussions with employees and their unions about salaries and working conditions. AFT's Autumn Pickett records Shelton as he discusses the campaign. (Photo by Erik Gunn/Wisconsin Examiner)

Universities of Wisconsin employees affiliated with the American Federation of Teachers are calling on the UW Board of Regents to formally authorize chancellors in the system to meet with employees and the union to discuss pay and working conditions.

On Friday, about two dozen AFT members and supporters gathered outside Van Hise hall on the UW-Madison campus, where they attempted to deliver a letter to Board of Regents President Amy Bogost. The letter urges Bogust to put on an upcoming regents meeting agenda employees’ request for a formal discussion process with university chancellors to address wages and working conditions.

The group was unable to get access to the floors where the Board of Regents offices are located in order to deliver the letter in person. They left copies of their letters with campus police officers, WORT radio reported. 

The UW system’s communications director did not respond Friday to a request for comment. 

UW employees lost all union rights under Act 10, the 2011 law that stripped most collective bargaining rights for public employees except for some law enforcement officers and firefighters. 

Most public employee groups retained the right to formal union representation with an annual certification process. But except for graduate student teaching assistants, for UW employees even the right to certify a union representative was wiped out, said Jon Shelton, incoming president of AFT-Wisconsin and a UW-Green Bay faculty member. 

“We have no avenue to talk about salaries and working conditions,” Shelton said.

AFT members are not seeking a formal collective bargaining relationship — something outlawed under Act 10 — but in its place, a formal structure of meetings where employees can air their concerns about their jobs, Shelton said. The AFT’s request includes a detailed proposal on what that structure would look like. 

For other public employee groups, the 2011 law limits collective bargaining to the subject of wages, and limits wage increases to the rate of inflation. To cover a wider range of workplace issues, some Wisconsin public employers and  unions have engaged in “meet and confer” relationships through which they discuss pay and working conditions more broadly. 

Act 10 permits meet and confer relationships so long as they are not collective bargaining, Shelton said. “Many tech college unions have it,” he said. “Many K-12 [school] unions have it.” 

Where meet and confer relationships are in place, “it improves everything,” Shelton said. “It improves outcomes for students. It improves the feelings of morale for workers, it improves workplace conditions and improves retention.” While not the same as collective bargaining it’s “like a conduit … for people, faculty and staff, to channel their voices.”

Shelton said chancellors at nine UW campuses have either ignored or rejected AFT groups’ requests to discuss meet and confer arrangements. 

The campaign to bring meet and confer relationships to some campuses has its roots in reductions in academic staff at UW Oshkosh and on other campuses a couple of years ago. 

“No one in our union is saying that nothing can ever be cut. We understand the reality of the situation,” Shelton said. “But chancellors are just sort of unilaterally making these decisions.” 

Without “a seat at the decision-making table, then our [campus] administrations are going to make decisions that are going to disadvantage our students,” he added.

“There’s really a feeling across the UW system that faculty, academic staff and university staff are all overworked, under-compensated and really need to have a voice,” Shelton said.

“Positions are not being filled very intentionally,” said Neil Kraus, a UW-River Falls professor and president of the AFT union on that campus, “and the UW system is basically implementing the Republicans’ higher ed agenda, which is to narrow the curricular offerings …  massively increase online education and buy as much tech as possible. Those things are contrary to the interests of our students and our communities.”

The return to the White House of President Donald Trump after the November 2024 election has also posed “pretty existential threats to public higher education,” Shelton said — such cuts to longstanding research grants that could slash university resources.

“If that happens, we all need to be working together to make sure that we’re preserving student learning outcomes and preserving our publicly important research,” Shelton said. “At a time like this, it’s never been more important that administration and faculty and staff, representing their unions, are on the same page and defending the public education system and making sure things are good for every worker.”

Nearly 200 AFT members from UW campuses across the state have written to individual regents, asking them to address their call for a meet-and-confer relationship, according to the union.

“The regents, up to this point, some of them haven’t been as willing to have conversations about this as we would like,” Shelton said.

The refusal by chancellors to engage the proposal has led him to believe there may be a broader policy directive “telling chancellors not to do this,” Shelton aid. Regents are ultimately responsible for running the UW system, he added, “and so we can most definitely ask them to pass a policy to basically obligate our chancellors to do it.” 

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Elon Musk and President of Argentina Javier Milei speaking at the 2025 Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center in National Harbor, Maryland. | Photo by Gage Skidmore

Fresh from spending nearly $300 million to influence the 2024 elections, the richest person in the world has set his sights squarely on Wisconsin. Elon Musk is apparently not content with taking a chainsaw to the lives of thousands of hard-working federal employees engaged in providing health care to rural American children and veterans, with slashing Medicaid for millions of our most vulnerable citizens, with cutting projects seeking desperately needed cures for cancer, Ebola and other deadly diseases and with eviscerating foreign assistance that thousands of people all over the world rely on for survival. Musk is now also carpet bombing Wisconsin with millions of dollars for negative ads and cash infusions to influence the outcome of the upcoming April 1 election to fill an open seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court.

After 30 years of distinguished service, the Court’s most senior justice, Ann Walsh Bradley announced her retirement last year.  Now, with the fast-approaching election to determine her successor in just a matter of days, voters will decide the ideological composition of the majority on the court and therefore the future direction of Wisconsin and quite possibly the nation.   

In January, when Musk announced he was invading our state, he falsely proclaimed on Twitter: “Very important to vote Republican for the Wisconsin Supreme Court to prevent voting fraud.” He’s wrong on all counts. In the first place, candidates for the Wisconsin Supreme Court don’t run for election with party labels. Our judicial elections are nonpartisan – at least they are  supposed to be. Secondly, voting fraud does not occur in our state because we have long had strong safeguards in place to prevent it. Voting fraud is a complete and total non-issue in Wisconsin and a distraction from real and serious attacks on democracy such as ongoing voter suppression proposals and laws that already make it more difficult to vote here than previously.

But the unelected Musk, whose craving for national attention and power rivals that of his partner Donald Trump, has a direct financial interest in a matter that could end up before the state’s high court.  Wisconsin is one of nearly half the states in the nation that prohibit auto manufacturers from being able to directly sell their vehicles to the public because it would provide those manufacturers with a competitive advantage over independent dealers. Musk’s car company, Tesla, has sought and been refused an exemption to the law by state courts, most recently in December. A sympathetic Wisconsin Supreme Court influenced by Musk’s heavy spending in the current election – already well over $12 million and rising — is in his crosshairs as well as enhanced overall political influence and power beyond our state. 

In a campaign that is already the most expensive judicial election anywhere in the nation in U.S. history, Musk may end up as the single largest campaign spender through his “Building America’s Future” Super PAC and other avenues to influence the outcome in Wisconsin with his limitless out-of-state millions. How much will he spend? No one knows. But it is very important that Wisconsinites know that Musk has quickly emerged as the single most dominant source of campaign cash and political influence in this election and in our state.  

It will be up to Wisconsinites to decide if they approve or not of this unelected richest person in the world buying control of our highest court while at the same time continuing his unprecedented destruction of so many vital national services and safeguards Wisconsinites depend on. 

The voters of Wisconsin can prevail over Musk and his millions by turning out in force – by returning their absentee ballots in time to be counted, or by showing up and voting early in person or at their polling place on the first day of April – Election Day.  At the ballot box, each of us still has more voice and control over our destiny than even the richest person in the world who can’t vote here and who knows and cares little or nothing about Wisconsin other than as a place for him to sell more Teslas and ruin more lives.

On the evening of March 6 Musk’s multimillion dollar Space X Starship exploded in the skies over the coast of Florida shortly after it was launched.  Thank goodness no lives were lost but it was nonetheless a spectacular failure.  The April 1 Wisconsin Supreme Court election could be  another spectacular failure for Musk and his gargantuan bankroll.  It is entirely in the hands of Wisconsin voters to decide.

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The Social Security Administration’s actuary estimated that 30,000 people died in 2023 while waiting for a decision on their application for disability benefits.

That’s according to testimony given to a U.S. Senate committee Sept. 11, 2024, by Martin O’Malley, who was then the Social Security commissioner.

O’Malley said disability applicants wait on average nearly eight months for an initial decision and almost eight more months if they are denied and request reconsideration.

Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) makes monthly payments to people who have a disability that stops or limits their ability to work. Supplemental Security Income (SSI) pays people with disabilities and older adults who have little or no income or resources.

Social Security announced Feb. 28 it plans to cut 7,000 of its 57,000 workers, part of the Trump administration’s initiative to reduce the federal workforce.

The deaths claim was made March 9 in Altoona, Wisconsin, by U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vermont.

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

Sources

• Social Security Administration: Testimony by Social Security Administration Commissioner Martin O'Malley before the Senate Committee on Budget
• Social Security Administration: Disability
• Social Security Administration: Supplemental Security Income (SSI)
• New York Times: Social Security Administration to Cut Roughly 7,000 Workers
• Associated Press: Social Security Administration could cut up to 50% of its workforce

Does the Social Security Administration estimate that 30,000 Americans die annually waiting for a decision on their disability benefits? is a post from Wisconsin Watch, a non-profit investigative news site covering Wisconsin since 2009. Please consider making a contribution to support our journalism.

The heads of the DOA and DSPS both spoke with lawmakers Tuesday. Wisconsin State Office Building. Photo by Baylor Spears/Wisconsin Examiner.

The Wisconsin Assembly Government Operations, Accountability, and Transparency (GOAT) Committee questioned leaders of government agencies about telework policies, use of work space and cybersecurity during its first public meeting Tuesday. 

The committee was formed this session to serve as the Wisconsin version of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) project launched by President Donald Trump and led by billionaire Elon Musk. 

There are some similarities between the efforts. The acronyms come from internet pop culture: GOAT refers to the “greatest of all time” and DOGE comes from a 2013 meme and a later cryptocurrency. Both are purported to address potential “waste, fraud and abuse” in government. But whereas Musk and DOGE’s work has been quick and widespread, with attempts to fire thousands of federal employees and a goal of ending $1 trillion in government spending, the GOAT committee is starting off more slowly.

Committee chair Rep. Amanda Nedweski (R-Pleasant Prairie) said that Tuesday’s informational hearing was scheduled due to “increased demand from the public for transparency and efficiency in government” and to look at telework practices in state agencies. She also repeated her intent for the committee to be “very close to the public” and ensure there is transparency for how taxpayers’ money is being used.

The extent of remote work by state employees has been an ongoing point of criticism among Republican lawmakers since the COVID-19 pandemic. Nedweski and Sen. Cory Tomczyk (R-Mosinee) recently introduced a bill to require state agency employees to work in person at state agency offices starting on July 1. 

During the hearing, the committee heard from the Legislative Audit Bureau about a 2023 audit on telework. Hearing witnesses also included leaders of the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (DPI), Department of Administration (DOA), Department of Safety and Professional Services (DSPS), Department of Health Services (DHS) and the Universities of Wisconsin, as well as some leaders of private businesses. 

Testifying for DPI, Deputy Superintendent Tom McCarthy said that telework policies have been helpful for allowing the agency to hire employees. DPI Superintendent Jill Underly was absent, which Rep. Shae Sortwell (R-Two Rivers) pointed out multiple times during the meeting. 

“We’re never going to compete. We’re never going to be able to punch dollar for dollar at salary for the private sector, especially in IT or high demand fields, so the flexibility that we can provide staff is the thing that continues to allow us to pull larger applicants around the state to some of those very hard to fill jobs,” McCarthy said. 

McCarthy also said the department has made changes since the audit. 

“We are constantly trying to find ways to improve the productivity of our workforce and make sure that we are serving our partners well in the field, as well as taxpayers in general, being available and being current with best practices,” McCarthy said.

One of the biggest changes, he said, was that the agency looked at the amount of time employees were working in-person versus remotely and said they have tied reductions in the amount of time working in person to a reduction in available work space. 

While Nedweski sought to keep conversation focused on telework throughout the hearing, Sortwell, who serves as vice-chair, asked about spending related to a diversity, equity and inclusion conference DPI hosted. Sortwell recently launched inquiries to county and city governments in Wisconsin about their DEI policies.

Nedweski sought to cut that conversation short, however. “We have lots of people here today, totally, and we’re going to try to stay on topic,” she said. 

Department of Administration Secretary-designee Kathy Blumenfeld agreed that allowing more remote work has helped the state fill openings more easily. She said the vacancy rate for the Division of Enterprise Technology, which is the agency’s IT department, dropped from 12% to under 6% after the start of its “Hire Anywhere in Wisconsin” program.

Blumenfeld also noted that the agency has made some changes since the audit by updating its space standards. Permanent desks are reserved for employees who typically need to be in the office three days a week, she said, while those in the office less than three days a week have access to smaller work stations. She said the state has also revised its policy for documenting work agreements. 

Nedweski questioned how the agency is managing its employees who  work remotely and how Wisconsin taxpayers can know that they are “getting maximum productivity” from state employees.

Blumenfeld turned the question back on the public. 

“Are they getting the services that they expect?” she asked. “I mean, when something goes south we usually hear about it and we investigate and look… is it a people issue? Is it a process issue? Is it a technology issue? What’s causing this?” She added, “I would say to the people of Wisconsin, if you’re not getting the services you expect, let us know.”

Rep. Mike Bare (D-Verona) asked what the consequences could be for rolling back state policies to what they were pre-pandemic. 

Blumenfeld said that the agency has worked to decentralize decision making when it comes to remote work so that people can evaluate each position and the amount of in-person versus remote work is necessary for the job. She said that eliminating remote work policies would also affect  the agency’s ability to compete for employees with private sector businesses. 

Blumenfeld noted that young employees especially have different expectations from those of  older employees.

“The way they work is so different. Of course, they expect to have flexibility in their job and they expect remote,” Blumenfeld said. “They’ve tasted it. They felt it. It’s what they know, and it is totally in our future.”

Universities of Wisconsin President Jay Rothman told lawmakers that in his perfect world everyone would be in the office every day, but that it would be hard to “put the genie back in the bottle” at this point. 

Rothman said the UW System has to be an attractive employer and would have trouble attracting and retaining people with  a strict five-day in office work policy. He said the UW system is also looking at combining office spaces.

“The cost of losing people is often more expensive,” Rothman said.

Nedweski pushed the question of productivity. 

“Has there been an analysis performed in positions as to is a job done more productively in person or remotely or in hybrid?” she asked. “Has an analysis been performed or are we just moving into this hybrid, telework world permanently because it’s what the workforce is demanding?” 

Rothman said there isn’t a simple way to measure productivity in the university system’s work. He said employees have specific objectives that they’re required to fill and that guide evaluations. 

“We don’t measure how many widgets did we manufacture today, because that’s not what we do,” Rothman said. “We don’t have the ability to check keystrokes… I’m fine if people are sitting there thinking about something really creative and something new to do. They may not touch a keyboard for two hours. They may have been incredibly productive in that environment, so I think it comes down to an individual by individual determination… I’m proud of the work that they are doing in support of the 164,000-plus students.” 

Nedweski also brought up the capital requests from the UW System. Gov. Tony Evers announced a sweeping proposal this week that includes $1.6 billion in investments for UW System capital projects. 

“If people are going to be teleworking more and more, I have a hard time justifying investment in new buildings that house people who are mostly going to be teleworking,” she said. 

Rothman noted that the majority of the system’s capital requests were not for administration, but are rather for students and staff. “We’re not trying to build substantial edifices for our administration,” he said. “We’re focused on our students.”

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Gov. Tony Evers said Monday the state needs to approve projects as costs could rise due to President Donald Trump's tariffs. Here, Evers is shown speaking to reporters last week. (Photo by Baylor Spears/Wisconsin Examiner)

Gov. Tony Evers announced a $4.1 billion capital budget proposal on Monday that would include new buildings at University of Wisconsin campuses and for prison building overhaul. 

Evers said in a statement the investment would be critical to addressing Wisconsin’s aging infrastructure and to “build for our state’s future.”

“We can’t afford to kick the can down the road on key infrastructure projects across our state, most especially as the cost of building materials may only get more expensive with each day of delay due to potential tariff taxes and trade wars,” Evers said. 

President Donald Trump’s plans of implementing tariffs on goods from Mexico, Canada and China, which have been delayed multiple times, are expected to put added stress on the construction industry as the costs of raw materials, including steel, aluminum and cement could grow.

“We must take the important steps necessary to invest in building a 21st-century infrastructure, workforce, and economy,” Evers said. “I am hopeful that these recommendations will receive bipartisan support to get these projects done that communities across our state are depending on.”

The State Building Commission — which is made up of eight members including Evers, four Republican lawmakers, two Democratic lawmakers and one citizen member — will meet on March 25 to vote on the capital budget recommendations. It’s likely his proposal will be blocked by Republican lawmakers, who have done so in previous budgets, to allow the Republican lawmakers who are a majority on the Joint Finance Committee to create their own proposal. 

During the last budget session, Evers proposed a $3.8 billion proposal that was cut down to $2.69 billion. 

In a joint statement Sen. Howard Marklein (R-Spring Green) and Rep. Mark Born (R-Beaver Dam) called Evers’ plan “another example of his irresponsible spending.” They said Republicans would “craft a responsible capital budget that Wisconsin can afford.” 

“It will balance the needs of our state with sound fiscal responsibility. We must ensure that our operating budget and capital budget will work together to fund the priorities of the state. Legislative Republicans will work to right-size these proposals and craft a budget Wisconsin can be proud of,” the lawmakers said.

One of the largest parts of Evers’ plan — nearly $1.6 billion — would be for the University of Wisconsin System. His recommendation is 90% of the $1.78 billion that was requested from UW and would go towards an array of projects across UW campuses. 

UW System President Jay Rothman said in a statement the plan would provide “key funding necessary for building repairs and renovations as well as critical new projects that modernize classroom and research facilities” and ensure the state is “continuing to build opportunities for future generations of students.”

One large project includes $292 million for the demolition and replacement of the Mosse Humanities Building at UW-Madison by February 2031. The building was constructed in 1966 and opened in 1968 and has recently suffered from structural and environmental deficiencies, including asbestos, putting students at risk. 

“The building is well past its expected useful life, with a significantly deteriorated building envelope and exterior window/wall system, uncorrectable humidification conditions and insufficient environmental controls,” the proposal states.

The plan would also include $293 million for new residence halls at UW-Madison.

UW-Madison Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin said in a statement that the proposal recognizes the “infrastructure improvements that are critical to maintaining UW–Madison’s competitive edge in education and research.” 

“We are grateful for the governor’s commitment to investing in essential projects that will ensure the state’s flagship will continue to meet the needs of our state and its workforce. We also deeply appreciate the continued advocacy on our behalf from the Universities of Wisconsin and the Board of Regents,” Mnookin said. 

Evers’ proposal would also dedicate $194 million for UW-La Crosse to complete its Prairie Springs Science Center and demolishing Cowley Hall, which lacks fire suppression, has failing mechanical systems and doesn’t meet modern science and research needs. 

The first phase of this project was completed in the summer of 2018, but the second part needs to be approved. New building additions would include instructional and research laboratories with associated support spaces, classrooms, greenhouse, observatory, specimen museum and animal care facility, which is meant to help support STEM education and workforce development.

The plan also includes $189 million for UW-Milwaukee to renovate the Northwest Quadrant complex for its College of Health Sciences. The project, which has been needed for years, was not included in Evers’ budget last session. 

UW-Oshkosh would get $137 million for the Polk Learning Commons — a project that would include the demolition of its library facility, which was constructed in 1962, and replacing it with a new facility. 

Whether lawmakers will be supportive of projects for UW system schools is unclear. During the last budget cycle, Republican lawmakers withheld funding for building projects to use in negotiations over diversity, equity and inclusion on campus. Major projects, including an engineering building at UW-Madison, were only approved after the UW system agreed to change certain policies related to DEI.

Evers’ plan would also dedicate $634 million to the Department of Corrections for his proposed “domino” prison reform plan and other projects. This would include infrastructure upgrades and capital improvements to Waupun Correctional Institution, Lincoln Hills School, Stanley Correctional Institution, Sanger B. Powers Correctional Center and John C. Burke Correctional Center. In addition, the improvements would enable the final part of the proposal, which is closing the Green Bay Correctional Institution. 

Other projects in the proposal include: 

• $195 million for health facilities, including $44 million for renovating the food service building at Central Wisconsin Center, $55 million for upgrading utility infrastructure at the Mendota Mental Health Institute and $61 million for similar upgrades at Winnebago Mental Health Institute.
• $170 million for Department of Veterans Affairs’ projects, including $101 million for food service and laundry facilities at Wisconsin Veterans Home at King.
• $164 million in projects requested for the Department of Natural Resources to invest in Wisconsin’s state parks and forests and fund bridge replacements, trail upgrades and fire response ranger stations upgrades.
• $40 million for elevator and fiber and cable upgrades at the Wisconsin State Capitol
• $36.6 million, which is only about 20% of the requested funds, for the Department of Military Affairs.
• Nearly $22 million for State Fair Park.
• $25 million for planning, design, and sitework at the Milwaukee County Courthouse Complex. County Executive David Crowley said in a statement that the public safety building is “crumbling, inefficient and poses significant risks to community safety” and that it must be removed and replaced.

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Photo by Erik Gunn/Wisconsin Examiner

Just three months into 2025, at least 151 wildfires have burned nearly 430 acres across Wisconsin, at the time of this writing. A lack of late-winter snow cover, drought conditions throughout the state, and high winds have created the perfect conditions for fires, which can quickly spread out of control. 

One of those fires, contained in late February by firefighters in Jefferson County, burned approximately 95 acres, including an estimated 6.4 acres in the southern unit of the Kettle Moraine State Forest. Palmyra Fire Rescue was dispatched after reports of a large fire in the woods, near a cemetery, the fire department said in a press release. When firefighters arrived, about 20 acres of a grass field was on fire. 

Due to winds that reached 20 miles per hour with wind gusts of 35 miles per hour, the fire spread rapidly. Backup support came  from Sullivan, Kettle Moraine, Rome, Western Lakes, Ixonia, Jefferson, Johnson Creek, LaGrange, Vernon, Fort Atkinson, and 14 other jurisdictions as well as the Salvation Army Rehab Unit to contain the blaze. The Palmyra Fire Rescue press release states that ATV’s and bush trucks were deployed, and a command post was established to help coordinate the effort. No injuries were reported. 

Although the cause of the fire is still under investigation, a Palmyra Fire Rescue spokesperson told Wisconsin Examiner that the cause may never be known. Often with these types of fires there’s not enough physical evidence to establish a cause, the spokesperson wrote in an email. However, a wildfire management dashboard maintained by the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) reports most of the wildfires this year have been traced back to debris burning. 

Catherine Koele, a veteran wildfire prevention specialist with the DNR, said in an email message that the wildfire “is rather unusual for this time of year.” In Wisconsin, “our traditional wildfire season is in March after the snow melts and prior to vegetation fully greens up,” Koele said. “But, anytime the ground is not completely snow-covered, we are prone to wildfires when vegetation is cured.” 

Brian Lemke, a property supervisor for the Kettle Moraine’s southern unit, said via email that the burned portions of state forest were “all part of a pine stand close to our horse trails and across the road from our horse campground.” However, Lemeke said the fire did not affect trails or enter the campground. 

“The pine area has been marked and sold as part of a forestry thinning,” Lemke said, with the harvest designated for paper mills. “Generally fire-scarred trees are not suitable for paper mills, but I haven’t heard from our forester if the timber contract will be amended yet.” 

This year trends are continuing that  contributed to fires in the past. Jan. 3, 2025,  was the driest January day in Wisconsin since 1895, and 3.3 million Wisconsinites now live in drought areas, according to a U.S. government drought monitor. No Wisconsin counties have received drought disaster designations from the federal government, however. 

Wildfires have become more frequent  in recent years in Wisconsin, and across the country. In 2023, an 830-acre wildfire attacked structures and debris in Waushara County, burning an area of pine and mixed hardwoods. Gusty winds and drought conditions also contributed to that  fire, as well as the erratic behavior of the fire itself. At the time, the DNR reported that although the number of fires that  year  were comparable to previous years, fires were burning  larger swaths of land.

Massive wildfires in Canada, which caused thousands of Canadians to evacuate. also caused clouded skies in Wisconsin and sharp dips in air quality that year. 

Much of the  wildfire activity in 2023 was attributed to climate change. With carbon dioxide levels at their highest in history – carbon emission levels in 2025 are expected to exceed the 1.5 degrees celsius limit — climate scientists have warned the effects of climate change are likely to worsen. 

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Wisconsin Watch has fact-checked 10 claims about the backgrounds and positions of the Wisconsin Supreme Court candidates, liberal Dane County Circuit Judge Susan Crawford and conservative Waukesha County Circuit Judge Brad Schimel.

The election is April 1.

Here’s a look at positions the candidates have taken on immigration, the Jan. 6 riot, abortion, Act 10 and more, as well as at some criminal cases they handled.

Did Schimel say he had ‘no objection’ to Jan. 6 pardons issued by Donald Trump?

No. 

Schimel has said he supports presidential use of pardons, but that rioters who were violent at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, should not have been pardoned. Crawford claimed Schimel had no objection to Trump’s “blanket pardons.”

Has Crawford supported stopping deportations and protecting sanctuary cities?

No. 

There’s no readily available evidence to back a Republican attack ad that claimed Crawford has supported stopping deportations of illegal immigrants or protecting sanctuary cities, which limit how much they help authorities with deportations.

Did Crawford sentence a child sex offender to four years in prison after a prosecutor requested 10 years?

Yes.

In 2020, Crawford sentenced a Dane County man to four years in prison and six years of probation after a prosecutor requested 10 years in prison and five years of probation. The defense had requested only probation. The man was charged with touching a 6-year-old girl’s privates in a club swimming pool in 2010 and with twice touching a 7-year-old girl’s privates in the same pool on one day in 2018.

Crawford said the crimes occurring years apart made the man a repeat offender, requiring prison, but were less serious than other sexual assaults, and that 10 years was longer than needed for rehabilitation.

Has Schimel supported Wisconsin’s 1849 abortion law?

Yes.

Schimel has campaigned supporting the law, which bans abortion except to protect the mother’s life, asking “what is flawed” about it. He recalled in 2012 supporting an argument to maintain the law, to make abortion illegal if Roe v. Wade were overturned.

Schimel has also said Wisconsin residents should decide “by referendum or through their elected legislature on what they want the law to say” on abortion.

Was a sexual assault convict freed after Crawford’s office failed to file an appeal?

Yes.

In 2001, while Crawford led the state Justice Department’s appeals unit, a lawyer in the unit failed to meet a court deadline, resulting in a sex offender being freed two years into his seven-year prison sentence.

Did Schimel try to repeal the Affordable Care Act?

Yes.

In 2018, Schimel helped lead a failed 20-state lawsuit that sought to have Obamacare ruled unconstitutional.

Did Schimel offer a plea deal to a man whose attorney contributed to Schimel’s campaign?

Yes.

As Waukesha County’s district attorney, Schimel offered a plea deal to a man charged with possession of child pornography. In the year before Schimel won the state attorney general’s election, in 2014, the man’s lawyer made monthly contributions to Schimel’s campaign totaling $5,500. In exchange for the man pleading guilty to the charge, in 2015, Schimel agreed not to file more charges and recommended the mandatory minimum three-year prison sentence, which is what was imposed.

Did Wisconsin taxpayers pay $1.6 million over an abortion restriction law that was ruled unconstitutional?

Yes. 

Legal fees totaling $1.6 million were paid to Planned Parenthood and others who sued over a 2013 Wisconsin law that was ruled an unconstitutional restriction on abortion access. Schimel was responsible for some of the costs. He became state attorney general in 2015 and pursued appeals of the ruling.

Did Crawford try to overturn Act 10?

Yes.

Crawford was among attorneys who sued seeking to overturn the 2011 law, which effectively ended collective bargaining for most Wisconsin public employee unions. Act 10 spurred mass protests for weeks in Madison and has saved taxpayers billions of dollars.

Has Crawford opposed Wisconsin’s voter ID law?

Yes.

Crawford was one of three lawyers in a 2011 lawsuit challenging the requirement, which the state Supreme Court rejected. In 2016, she said the law would be “acceptable” if voters could sign an affidavit swearing to their identity rather than providing proof of identification. In 2018, she called the law “draconian.”

Here are claims about Wisconsin’s Supreme Court candidates — and the facts is a post from Wisconsin Watch, a non-profit investigative news site covering Wisconsin since 2009. Please consider making a contribution to support our journalism.

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Wisconsin Supreme Court candidate Brad Schimel has said he supports presidents using pardons, but that violent rioters who stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, should not have been pardoned.

Schimel’s opponent in the April 1 election, Susan Crawford, claimed Schimel “went so far as to say he had no objection” to President Donald Trump’s “blanket pardons” for the rioters.

On Jan. 20, 2025, Trump pardoned, commuted prison sentences or vowed to dismiss cases against all 1,500-plus people charged with crimes in the riot, including people convicted of assaulting police.

On Jan. 27, Schimel told reporters “I don’t object to (presidents) utilizing that power.” Later that day, he said “anyone convicted of assaulting law enforcement should serve their full sentence,” but didn’t say Trump shouldn’t have issued the pardons.

In a subsequent interview, Schimel said anyone who committed violence Jan. 6, “I don’t think, on a personal level, they should have been pardoned.”

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

Sources

• Civic Media: Susan Crawford interview
• Associated Press: Trump grants sweeping pardon of Jan. 6 defendants, including rioters who violently attacked police
• Spectrum News: Asked about Jan. 6, Wisconsin Supreme Court candidate says he supports Trump's power to pardon
• WKOW-TV: Brad Schimel interview
• PBS Wisconsin: Brad Schimel, Susan Crawford on the Jan. 6 pardons by Trump
• Wisconsin Radio Network: Schimel reiterates stance on Trump’s Jan. 6th pardons
• Associated Press: Asked about Jan. 6, Wisconsin Supreme Court candidate says he supports Trump’s power to pardon
• Wisconsin Examiner: Wisconsin Supreme Court candidate comes to the defense of Jan. 6 insurrectionists

Did Wisconsin Supreme Court candidate Brad Schimel say he had ‘no objection’ to Capitol riot pardons issued by Donald Trump? is a post from Wisconsin Watch, a non-profit investigative news site covering Wisconsin since 2009. Please consider making a contribution to support our journalism.

Wisconsin Supreme Court candidate Brad Schimel addresses canvassers at an early March event. (Screenshot)

Wisconsin Supreme Court candidate Brad Schimel told a group of canvassers in Waukesha County last weekend that he needs to be elected to provide a “support network” for President Donald Trump and shared  complaints about the 2020 election that have been frequently espoused by election deniers. 

In a video of the remarks, Schimel is speaking to a group of canvassers associated with Turning Point USA — a right-wing political group that has become increasingly active in Wisconsin’s Republican party. 

On the campaign trail, Schimel, a Waukesha County judge and former Republican state attorney general, has repeatedly said he is running for the Supreme Court to bring impartiality back to the body. He’s claimed that since the Court’s liberals gained a majority after the 2023 election, it has been legislating from the bench on behalf of the Democratic party. 

But in more private events and to more conservative audiences, he’s often spoken more openly about his conservative politics. 

At the Turning Point event, he said that prior to the 2024 presidential election, the country “had walked up to edge of the abyss and we could hear the wind howling,” but that the Republican party and its supporters helped the country take “a couple steps back” by electing Donald Trump. 

Democrats and their “media allies” still have “bulldozers waiting to push into all that,” he said, by bringing lawsuits to stop Trump’s efforts to dismantle federal agencies without the approval of Congress, end birthright citizenship and fire thousands of federal workers. 

“Donald Trump doesn’t do this by himself, there has to be a support network around it,” Schimel said. “They filed over 70 lawsuits against him since he took the oath of office barely a month ago, over 70 lawsuits to try to stop almost every single thing he’s doing because they don’t want him to get a win. They’re so desperate for him to not get a win that they won’t let America have a win. That’s what they’re doing. The only way we’re going to stop that is if the courts stop it. That’s the only place to stop this lawfare.” 

When Schimel was the state attorney general, he lobbied the Republican-controlled Legislature to create the position of solicitor general under the state Department of Justice to help him file lawsuits against Democratic policies enacted by then-President Barack Obama. Republicans cut the position after Democrat Josh Kaul defeated Schimel in the 2018 election. 

During his time in office Schimel joined a lawsuit with the state of Texas to have the Affordable Care Act declared unconstitutional. After the suit was successful in a Texas court, he said, “I’m glad he did this before I left office, because I got one more win before moving on.” 

Kaul withdrew the state from the lawsuit after taking office in 2019, and the the U.S. Supreme Court rejected the suit by a 7-2 vote. 

But, in his Turning Point remarks, Schimel accused his opponent, Dane County Judge Susan Crawford, of participating in the kind of “lawfare” that is being used against Trump now. 

“My opponent is an expert on lawfare,” he said, citing her work as a lawyer against the state’s voter ID law and support from liberal billionaire donors. 

Crawford campaign spokesperson Derrick Honeyman said that Schimel’s comments show he’ll be a “rubber stamp” for the Republican party. 

“Brad Schimel’s latest remarks are no surprise, especially coming from someone who’s been caught on his knees begging for money and is bought and paid for by Elon Musk,” Honeyman said. “Schimel is not running to be a fair and impartial member of the Supreme Court, but rather be a rubber-stamp for Musk and a far-right agenda to ban abortion and strip away health care. Schimel has recently been caught behind closed doors saying the Supreme Court ‘screwed’ Trump over by refusing to overturn the results of the 2020 election, and these latest remarks are all part of a pattern of extreme and shady behavior from Schimel. Wisconsin deserves a Supreme Court Justice who answers to the people, not the highest bidder.”

Schimel’s campaign has received millions in support from political action committees associated with Elon Musk, the richest man in the world, who has been leading Trump’s effort to slash government programs. 

Earlier this week, the Washington Post reported that Schimel told a group of supporters in Jefferson County that Trump had been “screwed over” by the Wisconsin Supreme Court when it ruled against his effort to overturn the results of the 2020 election. In his remarks in Waukesha, he highlighted a number of talking points popular with many of the state’s most prominent 2020 election deniers. He blamed decisions by the Supreme Court for allowing those issues to persist. 

“There were a string of other cases that the Supreme Court refused to hear before the election that impacted the election that year unquestionably,” Schimel said. 

Schimel pointed to the issue of special voting deputies in nursing homes as a major problem. 

Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, officials known as special voting deputies who normally go into nursing homes to help residents cast absentee ballots were unable to enter those facilities. 

Republicans have claimed that decision allowed people who should have been ineligible to vote because they’d been declared incompetent to cast a ballot. Conspiracy theorists have pointed to affidavits filed by family members of nursing home residents that their relatives were able to vote. Only a judge can declare someone incompetent to vote, however. 

The issue led to the Republican sheriff of Racine County to accuse members of the Wisconsin Elections Commission (WEC) of committing felony election fraud and became a target in former Supreme Court Justice Michael Gableman’s widely derided review of the 2020 election. 

Schimel also blamed the election commission’s decision to exclude the Green Party’s candidates from the ballot that year for Trump’s loss. WEC voted not to allow the party on the ballot because there were errors with the candidate’s addresses on the paperwork. The party sued to have the decision overturned, but the Supreme Court ruled 4-3 against the party because it was too close to the election. 

While conservatives held the majority on the Court at the time, Schimel  blamed liberals. 

“Well, that was with three liberals and a conservative getting soft headed,” Schimel said, referring to Justice Brian Hagedorn, who frequently acted as a swing vote when conservatives controlled the Court.

Schimel added: “Those billionaires from around the country said, ‘What if we could get four liberals on the court? Then we don’t have to fool a conservative into doing something stupid.’ And then they did it in 2023. They bought that election, and they stole the Wisconsin Supreme Court, and they put us in chaos ever since.” 

Mike Browne, a spokesperson for progressive political group A Better Wisconsin Together, said Schimel is willing to say anything to curry favor with right-wing supporters and financial backers. 

“Brad Schimel has extreme positions like using an 1849 law to try to ban abortion, supporting pardons for violent January 6 insurrectionists, endorsing debunked 2020 election lies, and shilling for Elon Musk,” Browne said. “His bungling attempts to try to talk his way out of it when he gets called out don’t change the fact that time and again we see Brad Schimel on his knees for right-wing campaign cash instead of standing up for Wisconsin or our rights and freedoms.”

The Schimel campaign did not respond to a request for comment.

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Personal care worker Nate Walker demonstrates how he uses a hand-powered hydraulic lieft and a sling to help Mike Jones into and out of his bed. Walker is one of thousands of personal care workers in Wisconsin whose jobs are made possible by Medicaid coverage of home care for people who are eledrly and frail or who have disabilities. (Photo by Erik Gunn/Wisconsin Examiner)

At the age of 54, Mike Jones has spent a lifetime having to depend on others for meals and personal care.

Nate Walker is one of them. Walker visits Jones and other clients several times a week, helping with tasks that may include showering, getting people out of bed and meal preparation. He offers companionship as well.

Jones has cerebral palsy, an accident of birth, he says, when his oxygen was momentarily cut off. He requires a motorized chair to get around. Walker and other personal care aides who assist Jones use a hydraulic lift in his bedroom, along with a special sling, to help Jones in and out of his bed.

A Medicaid long-term care program allows Jones to live on his own in an apartment. “I am incredibly lucky,” Jones says, because unlike some of his fellow CP patients, his intellectual and cognitive skills were not impaired.  

He’s also lucky because he can feed himself, he says. Jones has met other patients who must use a feeding tube. Nevertheless, his food has to be prepared for him. Among his favorite dishes: pasta with parmesan cheese, capers and a white wine sauce that Walker makes. 

“I rely on Nate for everything you take for granted,” Jones tells a visitor. “Without the help, I’d be stuck in bed, and I’d be in the care of my elderly parents. It would be a very, very bad situation.”

For Walker, the wage is modest — about $15 an hour — but he finds the work rewarding. “I feel lucky to be able to help people for a living,” Walker says. “Helping people makes me feel better.”

Walker works for Community Living Alliance (CLA), a nonprofit that serves 11 counties in South Central Wisconsin. CLA provides care services at home for about 400 clients, most of them in Dane County, says Patti Becker, CLA’s director of program operations.

Walker is one of more than 320 employees at CLA, and CLA is just one of some 30,000 businesses in Wisconsin providing home care for the elderly and people with disabilities, Becker says. Some of those businesses might have just one or two self-employed people, while others have a sizable workforce.

An economic engine

Congress is preparing to follow through on a budget resolution enacted late last month that calls for $880 billion in cuts over 10 years from programs overseen by the House Energy and Commerce Committee. Medicaid is the single largest of that committee’s programs, and the size of potential cuts has patients, providers and health care policy analysts all wary about the outcome.

Much of their concert surrounds people who get health care — from a doctor’s visit to long-term care in a nursing home or at home — from the Medicaid program. Advocates also point out that by addressing people’s health Medicaid bolsters the broader economy as well.

Medicaid pays for nursing home care for more than half of all residents living in them. LeadingAge Wisconsin is a trade association for Wisconsin nursing homes, including those run by county governments and nonprofit organizations; its members also include assisted living homes, some of which have residents who get long-term care covered by Medicaid under Wisconsin’s home- and community-based Family Care program.

“Medicaid is the only program that pays for long-term care support,” says Lisa Davidson, LeadingAge Wisconsin’s executive director.

“Regardless of their location, their size and their services, Medicaid is a significant source of revenue to all of our members,” she adds. “And anything that would change the support that Medicaid provides would be extremely, extremely concerning — not only for the people that are receiving care now, but those that will need it in the future.”

Medicaid also pays for home care workers and supports clinics that serve low-income people, including those without insurance. By supporting people with disabilities, it can enable some of them to hold jobs themselves, or enable their family members to work outside the home.

Roughly 90,000 Wisconsinites work in the home care sector. “About $15 million a year of Medicaid dollars goes out in services and wages for the people who provide those services,” Becker says. “If you remove that wage amount from the economy, you’ll have a ripple effect there very similar to losing any other wage source.”

Forging stable health care relationships

Medicaid is a principal source of revenue for federally supported community health centers. And by covering their routine health costs, it enables patients to develop an ongoing relationship with a health care provider who can help them address illness more quickly, those providers say.

“When you don’t have health insurance, what do you do? You forgo necessary treatment. You put things on hold. You don’t access your preventive care,” says Patricia Sarvela, chief development officer at Partnership Community Health Center in Wisconsin’s Fox Valley.

Instead, patients may end up going to a hospital emergency room, “or having a preventable hospitalization and ultimately ending up with poor health outcomes,” she adds. “And when people are sick and not well, they don’t thrive in school, in their job, in life.”

Partnership Community Health has clinics in Winnebago, Outagamie and Waupaca counties. In addition to primary care, including pediatric care, the organization offers dental care and treatment for mental health and substance abuse.

It’s one of 19 community health center organizations in Wisconsin, operating in 60 locations across the state. The centers provide health care free or on a sliding scale for people without insurance with incomes up to 200% of the federal poverty guideline. The centers also have patients enrolled in BadgerCare Plus, Wisconsin’s Medicaid program for primary health care.

“Unlike some other types of health care organizations, community health centers are required to provide care regardless of insurance status,” says Richelle Andrae, associate director of government relations for the Wisconsin Primary Health Care Association, which represents the centers.

According to Andrae, 55% of the Wisconsin centers’ patients are enrolled in Medicaid, but Medicaid accounts for 73% of their revenue. The centers “would not be able to maintain the same level of care or expand the way they have without that revenue stream,” Andrae says.

A link to the work world

Julie Strenn is the president and CEO of Opportunity Development Centers Inc., based in Wisconsin Rapids. The business employs workers who provide personal care such as cooking or cleaning for people with developmental or intellectual disabilities who are living at home or in the community in long-term care.

ODC also has a staff of job developers — coaches and counselors who work with some of the same clients, enabling them to take jobs in the community. When a person is hired, Strenn says, the job developer may continue the relationship, so an employee can navigate difficulties that come up at work — a change in supervisor, for instance.

ODC’s current clients include about 400 people who are looking for jobs and 250 who are employed — “working for all kinds of businesses in the community,” Strenn says. “They’re employees that are needed in the community, sharing their gifts and talents.”

Job search assistance is funded through the state’s Division of Vocational Rehabilitation. Clients who have a job and receive ongoing support include people who are enrolled in Family Care or IRIS — Medicaid programs that cover long-term care services for people living at home or in the community.

More than 80 clients who are working have had their jobs for six years or longer, Strenn says, and another 100 have been working from two to five years.

“The work we do is proof that Medicaid dollars are supporting individuals with disabilities to be taxpayers, working and living in their local communities,” Strenn says. It also enables family members who would be responsible as caregivers full time to hold jobs themselves.

More fulfillment at lower cost

Providing skilled care at home costs on average about $4,250 a month, Becker says — less than half the $10,000-a-month cost of living in a nursing home.

And it’s a fraction of the $45,000 a month that the state spends for every resident living in a center for people with developmental disabilities, she says. The figures are included in a recent publication by the Survival Coalition, a group of organizations that serve the interests of people with disabilities.

Yet the role that this sort of support plays is often invisible. “When we do community services well, which is what Wisconsin tries to do, you don’t notice them,” Becker says.

Danielle Tolzmann is the executive director of Family Voices of Wisconsin, an advocacy group for families of children with disabilities. Medicaid support for those families ripples through the economy, she says.

“Some of those Medicaid-rooted supports allow families to have two parents working,” Tolzmann says — typically one full time and one part time. “If the supports that allow the parent to work part time were to disappear, the work environments would lose that employee. They would have to shift gears and become 110% caregiver.”

Phillip Redman is 32 years old and lives with his parents, Harriet and Rich, in Appleton. Diagnosed with cerebral palsy as an infant, Phillip has rare abnormalities in his genetic makeup and his brain.

Although doctors assumed he would never walk, his family says, Phillip learned to walk at the age of 10. His care was supported by Medicaid through the Katie Beckett waiver, which enables children who need intensive long-term care to receive that care at home instead of in an institution. At age 18, he was enrolled in one of Wisconsin’s Medicaid-funded long-term care programs for adults with disabilities, IRIS.

Had those programs not been available for Phillip, “the ultimate result would have probably been a nursing home or some type of institution,” Harriet Redman says. “That’s not physically or financially beneficial to people with disabilities or their families.”

It was in high school that a teacher saw Phillip was fascinated by the noise of a paper shredder, his parents recall.

“He loves the sound of the garbage disposal,” Rich Redman says. “It becomes an incentive for him to do things.”

With the support of the care professionals that worked with Phillip as he grew up, his family hit upon a way that Phillip “could be involved in the community,” Harriet says: Offering his services as a freelance operator of a shredding service.

The result was a small business that the family named “ShhRedman and Co.” With a caregiver, Phillip goes around to a half-dozen offices on his client list and shreds documents that are to be disposed of. The name is a pun both on the nature of the business and on Phillip’s ability to keep confidential the contents of the papers he shreds, since he neither reads nor speaks, his parents explain.

His enrollment in the IRIS home care program keeps him healthier, they say.

“When he’s inactive and more isolated he doesn’t feel as well,” Harriet says. “He gets stiff and more disabled.” The result is better care at less expense than if he were to be in a nursing home — but also greater freedom for the whole family, she says.

Without Medicaid-funded caregivers, “families, us included, would be even more dependent on support from the government,” she says. “It’s part of a sensible economy if you can keep people working and keep people active.”

This story is Part Two in a series. Read Part One: Wisconsin patients, families are wary as Congress prepares for Medicaid surgery

On Tuesday, Part Three reports on how Congress might try to target Medicaid cuts, and the likely impacts those would have.

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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.

Gov. Tony Evers said Trump's tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China would impact everyone. Photo by Baylor Spears/Wisconsin Examiner.

Gov. Tony Evers criticized congressional Republicans Tuesday, saying that the impact of President Donald Trump’s tariffs will be “significant” and felt by everyone, especially Wisconsin’s farmers. 

Trump’s 25% tariffs on imports from Mexico and Canada and increased tariffs to 20% on goods from China went into effect Tuesday morning. Both China and Canada have announced retaliatory tariffs against the U.S., and Mexico has threatened them. The sweeping tariffs are expected to increase costs for Americans on everything from fresh fruit to electronics to cars.

“It sucks, it’s bad — no good,” Evers said at a WisPolitics event. 

About half of Wisconsin’s exports go to the three countries. 

“It’s gonna impact our farmers, let’s just think about how that plays out. They’re the chief buyer of our products” Evers said after the event. “Let’s just talk about cheese. We won’t be able to sell that… Now, is that a big deal for Wisconsin? Not everybody eats cheese, right? But it’s a $1.8 billion industry, and it’s going to be just crushed.”

Evers accused congressional Republicans of abdicating their duty in allowing the tariffs to move forward.

“I am just so disappointed in Congress,” Evers said at. “There is no legislative branch. … If Congress thought this through for two minutes, they would understand how bad tariffs are.” 

Evers told reporters that his administration will work to challenge the tariffs in court, but that “at the end of the day, we gotta get Congress to do something. 

“Is there anybody on the Republican side that believes what’s happening in DC is appropriate? I think there are a whole bunch. … They’re just afraid to come out and talk about it,” Evers said. 

The tariffs are being implemented in the midst of Wisconsin’s state budget cycle. 

Evers has proposed increasing the state’s budget by about 20%, including hiking K-12 and higher education spending and cutting taxes. The increases would be funded with revenue from the federal government, state taxes and the state’s $4 billion budget surplus.

Evers said the tariffs and potential federal funding cuts could “of course” affect the budget, and that the threats are making it difficult to plan. His plan would not spend the whole surplus, but would leave the state with over $500 million in the state’s “checking account”, which he had said was because of the unpredictability of the Trump administration. The state also has a rainy day fund of about $1.9 billion.

“We weren’t certain about the economy. We weren’t certain about what’s going to happen in Washington D.C. … I’m questioning whether that $500 million is enough to help us get through this,” Evers said. 

Superintendent race and DPI 

During the event, Evers also again declined to endorse a candidate in the upcoming state Superintendent race. Incumbent Jill Underly, who has Democratic-backing, is running against education consultant Brittany Kinser, a school voucher proponent with Republican-backing.

“I’m not putting myself into that race,” Evers said, noting that he didn’t endorse in the last election for the position four years ago. 

While he wouldn’t endorse, Evers did comment on issues at the center of the race, including state testing standards, school funding and Underly’s handling of the issues while in office. 

Evers said Underly’s budget proposal, which would have invested over $4 billion in public education, was too high. 

“There was no way that we could take care of schools and other issues,” Evers said. “I mean it was ridiculous.” His own proposal includes over $3 billion for Wisconsin K-12 education. Republican lawmakers have criticized both plans, saying they are unrealistic increases. 

The Department of Public Instruction (DPI) approved changes to the names and cut scores used for achievement levels on the state’s standardized tests last year — a move that Evers as well as Republican lawmakers have criticized. 

Evers said his “issue” was not necessarily the outcome of the testing changes, but rather with a lack of communication with the public about the changes. The process for the testing changes included input from over 80 educators and other stakeholders, but Evers said the changes should have been vetted publicly before approval. 

“[Underly] didn’t run it by anyone,” Evers said. 

Evers said he was “probably” going to veto a Republican bill that would reverse the recent changes and tie the state’s testing standards to the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), a nationwide assessment meant to provide representative data about student achievement. The bill is in the Senate, having passed the Assembly last month.

“I have a strong belief that [DPI is] an independent agency and they can make those decisions, so having the Legislature suddenly say ‘well, we’re the experts here and this is what the cut scores should be,’ I think that’s wrong-headed.”

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Wisconsin Republicans introduced new bills targeting transgender youth last week after President Donald Trump signed several related executive orders. People gather in New Orleans for Transgender Day of Visibility on March 31, 2023. (Photo by Greg LaRose/Louisiana Illuminator)

Wisconsin Republicans are again turning their focus towards LGBTQ+ youth, especially those who are transgender, introducing bills that would prohibit gender-affirming care for youth, ban students from playing on certain sports teams and mandate that school districts get permission from parents when using different names and pronouns for students. 

The four bills come as President Donald Trump has signed a slate of executive orders targeting transgender people. The bills have received pushback from the Wisconsin Legislative LGBTQ+ Caucus, the Transgender Parent and Non-Binary Advocacy Caucus and LGBTQ+ advocacy organizations. 

Sen. Mark Spreitzer (D-Beloit), chair of the LGBTQ+ caucus, told the Wisconsin Examiner that the bills are “part of broader national Republican effort” to attack trans people. 

“Republicans are now trying to essentially legislate trans people out of existence by denying medically necessary life-saving care, by preventing people from playing team sports, by trying to make it harder for people to be called by the name and pronouns that they go by when they’re in school,” Spreitzer said. 

Targeting transgender athletes

The first two bills would ban transgender girls in Wisconsin K-12 schools and transgender women attending UW System schools and Wisconsin technical colleges from participating on teams that reflect their gender identity. 

The bills’ introduction followed the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association decision in early February to change its policy, which previously permitted transgender athletes to compete on teams consistent with their gender identity. In response to an executive order signed by Trump, the new policy prohibits an athlete from competing on a team that does not match the biological sex that they were assigned when they were born.

“Working in consultation with legal counsel, our Board updated this policy to ensure clarity is provided to our membership as they work to comply with new federal guidance from the White House,” Stephanie Hauser, executive director of the WIAA, said in a statement. 

The WIAA’s decision was celebrated by Reps. Barbara Dittrich (R-Oconomowoc) and Dan Knodl (R-Germantown), who have led unsuccessful efforts in the Legislature to restrict what teams transgender athletes play on for many years. The lawmakers said in a column that they would reintroduce a bill “to secure women’s and girls’ rights in Wisconsin.”

FAIR Wisconsin Executive Director Abigail Swetz said in a statement that sports should be an inclusive space for youth. 

“When an athlete gets to play sports on a team where they belong, that can make such a huge difference, and that is especially true for our trans athletes when the trans community is under attack from a hostile federal government. Now is the time to show our trans kids love and support, not exclusion,” Swetz said. “Our trans kids and young adults, and all trans Wisconsinites, need to know that there are so many people in this state who love you exactly as you are. The fact that a few members of the Wisconsin legislature want to play political games with your joy is inappropriate.” 

Swetz said in an email to the Wisconsin Examiner that the decisions by lawmakers and by the WIAA are examples of the power that the Trump administration is trying to exert on policies at all levels, “using their platform in a calculated, chaotic, and hateful way.”

“There is so much a federal administration cannot do, but let’s be real here, this administration is trying to govern by executive overreach, and although I do not think they will succeed in changing many federal laws, there is power in their federal agencies and also in their significant use of the very loud microphone at their disposal,” Swetz said.

The anti-trans orders “will undoubtedly create a chilling effect of pre-compliance,” Swetz added. “We cannot allow obedience in advance, although we’re already seeing it; the WIAA ruling is a disappointing example of pre-compliance, and it’s frankly antithetical to the values WIAA espouses.”

Gender-affirming care for minors

Another bill — coauthored by Sen. Cory Tomczyk (R-Mosinee), Rep. Scott Allen (R-Waukesha), Assembly Speaker Robin Vos (R-Rochester) — would ban gender- affirming care for people under the age of 18. It would prohibit health care providers from engaging in or making referrals for medical intervention “if done for the purpose of changing the minor’s body to correspond to a sex that is discordant with the minor’s biological sex,” including prescribing puberty-blocking drugs or gender-affirming surgery for minors.

“Our children are not experiments and parents should not be scared or pressured into having their children receive non-medically necessary drugs or irreversible procedures before their brains are fully developed,” the authors wrote in a memo. 

Health care providers under the bill could be investigated and have their licenses revoked by the Board of Nursing, the Medical Examining Board and the Physician Assistant Affiliated Credentialing Board if there are allegations that they have provided this type of care to a minor.

Following an executive order by Trump to withhold funds from medical institutions that provide gender affirming care and to require federal health programs to exclude coverage of gender-affirming surgeries and hormone treatments for young people by 2026, Children’s Wisconsin hospital paused gender-affirming care for teens. The hospital reinstated the practice.

Spreitzer called the bill the “cruelest” of the proposals. 

“Republicans are touting this idea that kids shouldn’t make permanent medical decisions until they’re 18,” Spreitzer said. “There are plenty of permanent medical decisions that need to be made before the age of 18 because of different conditions, and that’s why doctors exist.”

He added that such decisions “should be made between doctors, parents and the affected young people, based on medical necessity, based on rigorous medical evaluation, and politicians should not be inserting themselves into that.”

Spreitzer said that medications to delay puberty are intended to give young people the chance to grow up and potentially be able to make additional medical decisions once they turn 18. He said that banning them could create significant psychological harm and leave permanent physical effects that may require additional medical interventions in the future that wouldn’t have been necessary if they’ve been able to take puberty blockers. 

The process for gender affirming care is lengthy and is a decision that includes the child, their families and health providers, including mental health providers, and gender affirming care before 18 mostly focuses on pubertal suppression or hormone therapy.

Studies have found that de-transitioning is quite rare, according to the Human Rights Campaign, and one study found that transgender youth who start hormones with their parents’ assistance before age 18 years are less likely to detransition compared with those that start as adults.

Spreitzer noted that those under 18 who have been receiving care would also have to stop receiving it. The bill would include a six-month period before it goes into effect which would be meant for health care providers to discontinue care for minor patients 

“People are going to essentially be told in six months you’re going to have to stop taking medications you’re currently on, and you’re going to have to go through puberty as a sex that you don’t identify with. That is going to create incredible trauma for those young people,” Spreitzer said.

Names and pronouns

The fourth bill introduced last week would require school districts to implement policies stating that parents determine the names and pronouns used by school staff. The proposed policies must require a parent’s written authorization for school employees to use something different. 

The bill includes an exception if a nickname is a shortened version of a student’s legal first or middle name.

Bill authors Dittrich and Sen. Andre Jacque (R-New Franken) said the legislation is in response to parents feeling like schools are excluding them. The bill was modeled after a policy implemented by Arrowhead High School in 2022, even as there was some pushback from students and families.

“Its intent is not to punish children or eliminate their ‘safe spaces,’” the bill authors wrote in a memo. “Instead, the goal is to ensure transparency and prevent school district employees from withholding or, in some cases, encouraging life-changing decisions regarding a child’s sexuality or gender identity without parental involvement.” 

Spreitzer said the bill was poorly drafted. Besides “making it just harder for trans students to be called by the name and pronouns that they use in everyday life, it would really put school districts in a ridiculous position,” he said. 

“People go by all sorts of nicknames in everyday life — maybe it’s a version of their last name, maybe it’s a totally different name. It’s not as simple as just a shortened version of your first or middle name for everybody,” Spretizer said. “This is the Legislature trying to micromanage decisions that are made in everyday life without great controversy, and inserting itself into every school district, and I think it just would have absolutely absurd effects that the authors have not even thought of.” 

Spreitzer said bills targeting transgender youth are not particularly new in Wisconsin. He noted that in 2011 a bill that would have restricted bathroom use for transgender people was introduced, but it never got to then-Gov. Scott Walker’s desk. 

“It’s obviously become more front and center, just seeing how early in the legislative session these are being put out, and how much of coordinated effort there seems to be with bills coming out three different days this week, all attacking trans people,” Spreitzer said. 

Spreitzer said that even in the current national political environment, advocates opposed to such legislation are in a stronger position than in the past. Gov. Tony Evers has vetoed similar legislation in the past and has pledged to continue vetoing such legislation, he noted. The Legislature’s LGBTQ+ caucus has a record number of members this year — 12 lawmakers from across the state including Eau Claire, Appleton, Ashland and Green Bay.

“While we are deeply concerned about what’s coming down from Washington DC, we are in a very strong position to not only stop attacks on the LGBTQ+ community here in Wisconsin, but hopefully in two years, to be in a majority and be able to pass proactive legislation and protect equality,” Spreitzer said.

Swetz told the Wisconsin Examiner that FAIR Wisconsin will continue working with local, state and federal elected officials to strengthen protections for LGTBQ+ people. 

“I think fear is understandable. There is a lot that’s uncertain. I’m scared, too. I also think we have to remember that the LGBTQ+ community has always faced hostility, often from the government, and we are still here,” Swetz wrote. “This is a moment to organize and mobilize and most importantly, to take care of ourselves and our community.”

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There’s no readily available evidence Susan Crawford has supported stopping deportations of illegal immigrants or protecting sanctuary cities, as a Republican attack ad claims.

Sanctuary communities limit how much they help authorities with deportations.

Crawford, a liberal, faces conservative Brad Schimel in the nonpartisan April 1 Wisconsin Supreme Court election.

The attack on Crawford was made by the Republican State Leadership Committee, a national group that works to elect Republicans to state offices.

The group provided Wisconsin Watch no evidence to back its claim. A spokesperson cited Democratic support for Crawford and Democratic opposition to cooperating with deportations, but nothing Crawford said on the topics. Searches of past Crawford statements found nothing.

The ad also claims Crawford would “let criminals roam free,” referring to a man convicted of touching girls’ private parts in a club swimming pool. Crawford sentenced the man in 2020 to four years in prison; a prosecutor had requested 10 years.

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

Sources

• Republican State Leadership Committee: "Crazy" ad
• Ballotpedia: Wisconsin Supreme Court elections, 2025
• Wisconsin Examiner: Wisconsin Democrats seek to prohibit state and local cooperation with ICE and deportation efforts
• Reuters: Trump deporting people at a slower rate than Biden's last year in office
• Wisconsin Watch: Did Wisconsin Supreme Court candidate Susan Crawford sentence a child sex offender to four years after a prosecutor requested 10?
• Republican State Leadership Committee: Email, Feb. 25, 2025
• Wisconsin Republican Party: Crawford etched in stone, she’s a pro-illegal immigration and anti-ICE Democrat

Has Wisconsin Supreme Court candidate Susan Crawford supported stopping deportations and protecting sanctuary cities? is a post from Wisconsin Watch, a non-profit investigative news site covering Wisconsin since 2009. Please consider making a contribution to support our journalism.

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The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced late Friday afternoon that some of its programs funding renewable energy projects are “operating as normal,” but left open the question of whether billions more in loans and grants promised to farmers, small rural businesses and electric cooperatives would be honored. 

The day before, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins had said the department would continue to review spending under the Biden administration’s sweeping climate law, the Inflation Reduction Act, “to ensure that programs are focused on supporting farmers and ranchers” and not “far-left climate programs.”

Among those waiting for clarity are Travis and Amy Forgues of western Wisconsin. About two years ago, the couple bought the Hidden Springs Creamery, an 80-acre sheep dairy nestled in the hills of Westby, Wisconsin. Twice a day they milk 300 sheep to make cheese, including a creamy feta that last year won second place in the American Cheese Society’s annual competition.

As part of their effort to modernize the farm, the Forgueses decided to install a solar array to power their operation. To offset the $134,000 cost of installation, they applied for a $56,000 Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Last year, they got approved for the grant and built the solar array, never doubting that the USDA would pay once the project was completed, as outlined in the contract they signed with the feds. 

But last week, the Forgueses said they received an email from the USDA saying the program had been paused, leaving them scrambling to figure out how to pay for the rest of their new solar array.

“You can’t have people spend this kind of money and then just pull the rug from (them),” said Travis Forgues. “I didn’t spend the money thinking maybe I’ll get it back. I spent the money because we had a signed contract.”

The pause was the result of an executive order issued by President Donald Trump on his first day in office freezing hundreds of billions of dollars for renewable energy — including REAP.

At least 7,500 farms and rural businesses across the country have received REAP grants from the USDA since 2023, according to a Floodlight analysis of USDA grant data.

On Friday, a USDA spokesperson said some funding for REAP would operate as normal, but only if it came through the Farm Bill. That apparently won’t help the Forgueses or potentially thousands of other farmers like them who had more than 25% of their project paid for by the USDA. That’s the cutoff point where funding from the Farm Bill stopped and funding from the Inflation Reduction Act started.

Since 2023, when Inflation Reduction Act funding became available, the USDA has given or loaned approximately $21.3 billion through programs that could be used to support renewable energy in rural areas, according to a Floodlight analysis of agency data.

The legality of the continued freeze in federal funding remains unclear.

On Friday, a federal judge in Rhode Island kept in place a temporary restraining order from Jan. 31 that ordered the Trump administration to stop withholding federal funds appropriated by Congress. Attorneys general from 22 states and the District of Columbia, led by New York, argued that the broad funding freeze violated the separation of powers and several other laws.

The lone attorney representing the Trump administration argued that the agencies were exercising their lawful discretion.

Rural electric companies also hit

Some programs, like REAP, go directly to farmers looking to place solar panels or wind turbines on their land. Others, like the New Era program, help rural electric cooperatives build renewable energy to lower members’ monthly bills. New Era was not among the programs cited by the USDA spokesperson as operating as normal.

The Yampa Valley Electric Association, which serves Steamboat Springs, Colorado, and parts of Wyoming, expected to get $50 million from the USDA’s New Era program, according to Carly Davidson, the co-op’s public relations specialist. 

New Era is the USDA program dedicated solely to renewables that has allocated the most money, more than $4.3 billion in grants since 2023, according to a Floodlight analysis. 

The Yampa Valley association was planning to use the money to purchase renewable energy to keep electricity costs low for its members, Davidson wrote in a statement. The project is still in the planning stages, but it would provide both solar generation and battery storage, according to Yampa Valley Electric. 

Connexus Energy, Minnesota’s largest consumer-owned electric cooperative, was hoping to use its $170 million in New Era grants to build out its renewable generation portfolio, spokesperson Stacy Downs said. The co-op, which serves over 146,000 customers, still hopes the funds will come through so it can add solar, wind and hydropower, as well as battery storage, Downs said, adding, “We’re still hoping to be receiving them.”

Electric infrastructure program intact

The largest USDA energy program, the Electric Infrastructure Loan and Loan Guarantee Program, offers money to rural co-ops, which use it to expand or upgrade their power grids with new transmission lines and smart-grid technology. That program, which allows for the connection of more renewables, has loaned out $12 billion since 2023. 

On Friday, a USDA spokesperson stated that the program was operating as normal, along with four other USDA programs that could potentially be used to reduce carbon emissions: Rural Energy Savings Program, REAP Program with funding appropriated through the Farm Bill, Guaranteed Underwriter Program, and High Energy Cost Grants.

“These freezes seem to be intentionally chaotic and unclear,” said Hannah Smith-Brubaker, executive director of Pasa Sustainable Agriculture, a nonprofit that helps farmers adopt sustainable practices and that also receives money from the USDA.

“We are fielding calls every day from farmers who are mid-project, and their contractor wants to know when they’re going to be paid.”

Rural businesses, farmers still waiting 

Patrick Hagar, co-owner of Squashington Farm near Mount Horeb, Wisconsin, is feeling that uncertainty. Hagar and his wife purchased a 20-acre farm three years ago in southern Wisconsin, where they grow organic produce.

Last fall, they put money down to purchase a solar array that will end up costing them $50,000, he said. They were promised $15,000 back from the USDA through a REAP grant.

“The vast majority of the fossil fuel energy and carbon outputs are being put forth by a small (group) of really wealthy businesses,” Hagar said. “I don’t think that absolves small farms and small businesses from trying to do what they can.” 

But, he added, “It’s frustrating to have a signed contract for something, and feel like, you know, you live in a country where a signed contract doesn’t mean what a signed contract has always meant.”

And it’s not just farmers affected by the freeze. Small rural business owners who qualify for various USDA renewable grants and loans are also waiting to see what happens with USDA’s review of funding — money the agency has already agreed to pay.

Atul Patel, owner of the Holiday Inn in Frackville, Pennsylvania, planned to install a solar system on his hotel costing just over $360,000.

“We would like to be energy independent,” Patel said. “In this area, the lights flicker a lot.”

Patel said he put 20% down on the project and was planning to finish the installation once the weather improved in the spring. 

He added, “Our fingers are crossed.”

Floodlight is a nonprofit newsroom that investigates the powerful interests stalling climate action.

‘Chaotic’ USDA funding freeze stalls rural renewable projects 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.

An Eau Claire County farm. (Photo by Henry Redman/Wisconsin Examiner)

Seven western Wisconsin Republican lawmakers did not appear at an event hosted by the Wisconsin Farmers Union in Chippewa Falls Friday as farmers from the area said they were concerned about the effect that President Donald Trump’s first month in office is having on their livelihoods. 

Madison-area U.S. Rep. Mark Pocan (D-Black Earth), state Sen. Jeff Smith (D-Eau Claire) and state Reps. Jodi Emerson (D-Eau Claire) and Christian Phelps (D-Eau Claire) were in attendance. 

U.S. Reps. Tom Tiffany and Derrick Van Orden, state Reps. Rob Summerfield (R-Bloomer), Treig Pronschinske (R-Mondovi) and Clint Moses (R-Menomonie) and state Sens. Jesse James (R-Thorp) and Rob Stafsholt (R-New Richmond) were all invited but did not attend or send a staff member. 

“All four of us want you to know that there are people in elected office who want to fight for you,” Phelps said. “Because I think there’s a lot of fear that comes from the fact that we’re seeing a lot of noise and action from the people who aren’t and some of the people that didn’t show up to this. So I hope that you will also ask questions of them when you get a chance.” 

Multiple times during the town hall, Pocan joked that Van Orden was “on vacation.” 

Emerson, whose district was recently redrawn to include many of the rural areas east of Eau Claire, told the Wisconsin Examiner she had just been at an event held by the Chippewa County Economic Development Corporation where a Van Orden staff member did attend, so she didn’t understand why they couldn’t hear about how Trump’s policies are harming local farmers. 

“I get that a member of Congress can’t be at every meeting all the time, all throughout their district,” Emerson said. With 19 counties in the 3rd District, “it’s a big area. But I hope that they’re hearing the stories of farmers and farm-adjacent businesses, even if they weren’t here. There’s something different to sit in this room and look out at all the farmers, and when one person’s talking, seeing the tears in everybody else’s eyes, and it wasn’t just the female farmers that were crying, the big tough guys, and I think that talks about how vulnerable they are right now, how scary it is for some of these folks.”

Carolyn Kaiser, a resident of the nearby town of Wheaton, said she’s never seen her congressional representative, Van Orden, out in the community. Despite Van Orden’s position on the House agriculture committee, Kaiser said her town needs help managing nitrates in the local water supply and financial support to rebuild crumbling rural roads that make it more difficult for farmers to transport their products.

“When people don’t come, it’s unfortunate,” Kaiser said. 

Emmet Fisher, who runs a small dairy farm in Hager City, said during the town hall that he was struggling with the freeze that’s been put on federal spending, which affected grants he was set to receive through the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).

Fisher told the Examiner his farm has participated in a USDA program to encourage better conservation practices on farms and that money has been frozen. He was also set to receive a rural energy assistance grant that would help him install solar panels on the farm — money that has also been held up.

The result, he said, is that he’s facing increased uncertainty in an already uncertain business.

“We get all our income from our farm, young family, young kids, a mortgage on the farm, and so, you know, things are kind of tight, and so we try to take advantage of anything that we can,” he said. “[The] uncertainty seems really unnecessary and unfortunate, and it’s very stressful. You know, basically, we have no idea what we should be planning for. The reality is just that in farming already, you can only plan for so much when the weather and ecology and biology matter so much, and now to have all of these other unknowns, it makes planning pretty much impossible.”

A number of crop farmers at the event said the looming threat of Trump imposing tariffs on Canadian imports is alarming because a large majority of potash — a nutrient mix used to fertilize crops — used in the United States comes from Canada. Les Danielson, a cash crop and dairy farmer in Cadott, said the tariffs are set to go into effect during planting season.

“How do you offer a price to a farmer? Is it gonna be $400 a ton, or is it gonna be $500 a ton?” he asked. “I’m not even thinking about the fall. I’m just thinking about the spring and the uncertainty. This isn’t cuts to the federal budget, this is just plain chaos and uncertainty that really benefits no one. And I know it’s kind of cool to think we’re just playing this big game of chicken. Everybody’s gonna blink. But when you’re a co-op, or when you’re a farmer trying to figure out how much you can buy, it’s not fine.”

A recent report by the University of Illinois found that a 25% tariff on Canadian imports — the amount proposed by Trump to go into effect in March — would increase fertilizer costs by $100 per ton for farmers.

Throughout the event, speakers said they were concerned that Trump’s efforts to deport workers who are in the United States without authorization  could destroy the local farm labor force, that cuts to programs such as SNAP (commonly known as food stamps) could cause kids to go hungry and prevent farmers from finding markets to sell their products, that cuts to Medicaid could take coverage away from a population of farmers that is aging and relies on government health insurance and that because of all the disruption, an already simmering mental health crisis in Wisconsin’s agricultural community — in rural parts of the state that have seen clinics and hospitals close or consolidate — could come to a boil.

“Rural families, we tend to really need BadgerCare. We need Medicaid. We need those programs, too,” Pam Goodman, a public health nurse and daughter of a farmer, said. “So if you’re talking about the loss of your farming income, that you’re not going to have cash flow, you’re already experiencing significant concerns and issues, and we need the state resources. We need those federal resources. I’ve got families that from young to old, are experiencing significant health issues. We’re not going to be able to go to the hospital. We’re not going to go to the clinic. We already traveled really long distances. We’re talking about the health of all of us, and that is, for me, from my perspective as a nurse, one of my biggest concerns, because it’s all very interrelated.”

Near the end of the event, Phelps said it’s important for farmers in the area to continue sharing how they’re being hurt by Trump’s actions, because that’s how they build political pressure.

“Who benefits from all the chaos and confusion and cuts? Nobody, roughly, but not literally, nobody,” he said. “Because I just want to point out that dividing people and making people confused and uncertain and vulnerable is Donald Trump’s strategy to consolidate his political power.”

“And the people that can withstand the types of cuts that we’re seeing are the people so wealthy that they can withstand them. So they’re in Donald Trump’s orbit, basically,” Phelps said, adding  that there are far more people who will be adversely affected by Trump’s policies than there are people who will benefit.

“And you know that we all do have differences with our neighbors, but we also have a lot of similarities with them, and being in that massive group of people that do not benefit from this kind of chaos and confusion is a pretty big similarity,” he continued. “And so hopefully these types of spaces where we’re sharing our stories and hearing from each other will help us build the kind of community that will result in the kind of political power that really does fight back against it.”

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