The state Supreme Court has declined to fast track a case seeking to force from the rolls thousands of Wisconsin voters who may have moved, making it likely the suit won’t be resolved until after the Nov. 3 election.
Recently, the National Freedom of Information Coalition and the Brechner Center for Freedom of Information issued a statement calling for greater transparency and accountability from law enforcement. They were joined by more than 50 groups, including the Wisconsin Freedom of Information Coun…
Media should use discretion
While the attention of media, elected officials and community leaders has been focused on the COVID-19 pandemic, another crisis — opioid addiction — has worsened in Wisconsin.
After nearly four months, the Tribune office will open to the public on July 6. And visitors to our office will be required to wear a face mask just as a new company policy requires workers here to mask up.
‘We did it for you’
We are currently experiencing and witnessing an important movement in our nation’s history. The recent senseless killings of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and other Black men and women symbolized the tipping point. This movement is important because the outcry for change in ou…
This summer will be remembered for the pandemic, the season when I missed out on many activities I look forward to all year – attending festivals, swimming and camping trips. After about three weeks of coming to terms with the loss, I turned my focus on what I can do on our property, rather …
Work with village and school leaders for change
As school districts across Wisconsin enter budget season amid extraordinary financial uncertainty due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Milwaukee officials offered a $1.2 billion “placeholder” 2021 budget that defers many key questions to be resolved later in the budget process.
Back in early May, after we’d all been hunkered down for several weeks taking precautions against the coronavirus, the slogan, “We’re all in this together,” blanketed the airwaves. It seemed every commercial announced it; television specials with musicians and comedians raising funds for foo…
Scholarship committee grateful to donors
Assembly Democrats will face 22 more contested races this November than they did in 2018. Still, only a handful of those seats were even close to competitive in the 2016 presidential race, and only one is among Republicans’ top targets this fall.
Despite safer-at-home orders in place through May 26, many Wisconsinites already had become more mobile than in the opening weeks of the pandemic, according to data from Cuebiq, a private company that uses GPS features on mobile devices to track movement anonymously.
As state superintendent, I congratulate Wisconsin’s class of 2020. I am so incredibly proud of Wisconsin’s students and educators for their compassion and resilience, which they have demonstrated through the conclusion of the 2019-2020 school year.
Open letter to the people of Waunakee
The Waunakee Community School District Board of Education issued this statement on equity June 8 following recent events:
In March, as Wisconsin enacted Safer at Home, state and local governments scrambled to build new ways to govern from remote locations while still complying with our open meeting laws. Even in the age of COVID-19, we still have the right to watch public bodies in action.
As news stations across the United States aired footage of a Minneapolis police officer causing the death of George Floyd during an arrest, a post on the Waunakee Can We Talk Facebook page shared a video of three Waunakee students shouting racial slurs from a car window.
It’s June in Wisconsin, and that means June Dairy Month. From my days working in a cheese plant, I’ve n-ever missed the chance to support our state’s dairy industry, which now contributes $45.6 billion to Wisconsin’s economy. I know things have been hard for dairy farmers these past several …
Village can benefit from diversity
Memorial Day surely was uneventful for me and many others this year.
Despite a record-setting year for Wisconsin tourism in 2019, the industry was scrambling to adjust to the shock of coronavirus while hoping the Memorial Day weekend can start a comeback to mitigate millions of dollars in losses.
Though she wasn’t raised in Wisconsin, my mother eats only real butter – no margarine, and no “I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter” because she can believe it.
Appreciating the village board’s Zoom meetings
One of the stories I wrote just as the coronavirus became a reality here in Wisconsin explored how we could cope with the isolation. We would all long for something productive to do with more time on our hands as we quarantined at home.
In mid-March, as the COVID-19 crisis ramped up, our work at the Tribune and other newsrooms across the United States shifted. Suddenly, reporters faced a public health emergency affecting the safety of their readers as no other we had encountered. Like a tornadic storm, it evolved quickly, f…
The COVID-19 pandemic began causing traffic on Wisconsin’s roads to plummet even before the governor’s Safer at Home order was issued on March 24. Traffic counts were dropping in all parts of the state, not just hard-hit areas. The decline has potential implications for public health, the ec…
Waunakee Scholarship Drive now underway
Travel has the power to heal and refresh, to reset and rebuild. Each of us likely has a short list of the places we long to visit, as soon and we are able. We hold clear memories of the moments we’ve shared with our favorite people, and the gorgeous scenery that make our most treasured spots…
Donald Trump says it’s just not fair.
Medical systems around the state have been cutting workers’ hours while at the same time ramping up to handle the coronavirus pandemic.
This weekend, all over Facebook, pictures of Waunakee community members all sporting Waunakee Strong t-shirts popped up with the hashtag, #inittogether. While we were all social distancing at home or getting our walks in, each took the time to wear the shirt, snap a selfie and post the photo…
Gov. Tony Evers’ declaration of a public health emergency and subsequent stay-at-home order in response to the COVID-19 pandemic set off an unprecedented flurry of lobbying, according to a WisPolitics.com review of records submitted to the state Ethics Commission.
Wisconsin has fresh hope for an eventual “return to normal” with the most-recently issued emergency order to combat the coronavirus pandemic, but the “new normal” may temporarily look a little different.
Through division, we will not survive
The Forum’s analysis of sectors of Wisconsin’s economy most affected by recent COVID-19 business closures shows the workers most affected include many low-wage earners, and regions most affected include those with economies that rely on tourism.
Manufacturers in Wisconsin are ramping up their efforts to supply personal protective equipment such as face shields, as well as crucial parts for medical devices used in the pandemic response.
Perhaps now more than ever, gardening is the one activity that will sustain many not only nutritionally, but emotionally. Thankfully, many garden stores will be open for curbside pickup though calling in orders and picking up the plants unseen will be strange.
Thank you to Waunakee voters!
Believe it or not, this has been a relatively quiet time on the open government front.
Trucking industry suffering from driver shortage
Saturday, for the first time, the real sadness of this social distancing hit me.
Our special place
Facing an economic downturn of stunning speed and unknown length, the state of Wisconsin’s finances is much stronger than in 2007, before the last recession. Taking a broader view, however, they are roughly average compared to other states.
This week, Waunakee teachers and students are making the transition to online learning as schools are closed due to the coronavirus pandemic. Fortunately in Waunakee, most families have internet access, and the district is doing what it can to assist those without. But Waunakee is in a bette…
Whenever you see a ballot for the Spring election in Waunakee, you’ll see my name. I’m unopposed in my bid to remain the Municipal Court Judge. I start there to stress that the status of my election is not in doubt. I am not pushing a policy position in an effort to affect my campaign. Like …
Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. chief Missy Hughes says agency staff are “working through the process” of determining which businesses are essential after a spike in related web traffic contributed to the agency’s site crashing.
Today’s farmers are continually innovating when it comes to new methods of growing and raising our food supply. Aquaponics, a process which allows producers to raise and grow both a protein and vegetable crop simultaneously, has seen an increase in popularity.
Expressing gratitude
The rapid rise of online home rental services, such as Airbnb, has brought opportunities for travelers but also challenges for governments seeking to collect taxes on those sales.
Commented