With a Dane County hemp farm as a backdrop, Sen. Melissa Agard (D-Madison) renewed her campaign Friday to sell Wisconsin lawmakers on legalizing recreational cannabis for adults. “There was a time when alcohol was prohibited in Wisconsin and across our nation, and there was a time when margarine was prohibited,” Agard said at a press […]
Author Archives: Erik Gunn
Posted inGovernment
Democrats push an agenda to restore worker rights
Flanked by a phalanx of union members in trades ranging from carpentry to teaching, Democrats in the Legislature rolled out a 10-bill collection Thursday to enshrine workers’ rights in state law after a decade and a half of measures rolling back those worker rights. “The people of our country are rising up and standing together […]
Posted inGovernment, Life, Local news, Parenting
Republicans unwrap proposals for childcare that Democrats call inadequate
Republican lawmakers who have so far rejected calls to continue a subsidy program that helped stabilize childcare providers over the last two years began circulating draft legislation Wednesday that would increase the permitted ratio of children to teachers and lower the minimum age for entry-level childcare workers. Other proposals in the package of six draft […]
Posted inGovernment, Local news
GOP lawmakers roll out tax cut package, spurn governor’s special session priorities
Republican lawmakers are taking another run at cutting Wisconsin’s second-highest tax bracket after Gov. Tony Evers vetoed their first attempt in July. The proposed tax cut on incomes ranging from under $28,000 to more than $400,000 is one of three items in the $2.9 billion package that GOP legislative leaders rolled out Tuesday. In addition, […]
Posted inBusiness, Employment, Local news, Wisconsin Jobs
Tight labor market continued in Wisconsin in July, workforce agency reports
The number of Wisconsin residents working or looking for work rose in July and the number of jobs in the state hit a new record, the state labor department said Thursday. The Department of Workforce Development (DWD) and the Federal Bureau of Labor Statistics projected that a total of more than 3.1 million people were […]
Posted inHealth, Local news
AARP analysis find sharp lifetime price hikes for the most expensive drugs
The list prices of the 25 medications that Medicare spends the most money on have more than tripled on average since they went on the market, according to a new analysis by a national advocacy group for older Americans. AARP, which conducted the analysis, says the findings reinforce the importance of federal legislation enacted one […]
Posted inElections, Government, Local news, Politics
Report criticizes lawmakers who challenged consumer watchdog’s funding and took campaign money from industries it regulates
Two Wisconsin members of Congress are among 22 Republicans singled out in a new report for backing a lawsuit to defund a federal consumer watchdog agency while taking financial contributions from businesses the agency regulates. U.S. Reps. Bryan Steil (R-Janesville) and Scott Fitzgerald (R-Juneau) signed on to a friend of the court brief filed by […]
Posted inGovernment, Local news
Senate panel votes to kill building code update supporters say would save energy, improve safety
Voting along party lines, members of a state Senate committee rejected an update to Wisconsin’s commercial building codes Thursday by a vote of 3-2. Supporters said the new codes would improve energy efficiency and reduce emissions that contribute to global warming. The proposal would bring Wisconsin’s standards up to date with the 2021 International Energy […]
Posted inCommunity, Parenting, Schools
Child care providers ‘are reeling’ as they wait for state to try again for financial support
It’s been a month since Wisconsin’s state budget took effect, without more than $300 million that providers and families had counted on to help sustain childcare services over the next two years. Ruth Schmidt, executive director, Wisconsin Early Childhood Association With the prospect of that continued support uncertain, “child care programs right now are reeling,” […]
Posted inGovernment, Health, Local news
Attorney general, providers warn of harm if court undermines ACA preventive care
Having repeatedly seen the Affordable Care Act (ACA) escape near death at the hands of the courts, advocates said Wednesday that a key provision in the 13-year-old landmark health insurance law is in new jeopardy. This time the focus is on a requirement in the law for free coverage of preventive health care. A federal […]
Posted inGovernment, Local news, Unlocking Racine
5 bipartisan housing measures pass Legislature, head to governor
MADISON, WI — A package of bills aimed at making it easier for communities and developers to address a statewide shortage of affordable housing passed both houses of the Legislature Wednesday with broad bipartisan support. Several of the bills were shaped in consultation with the administration of Gov. Tony Evers, and Republican authors in the Assembly made […]
Posted inGovernment, Local news, National News
Advocates push back on debt bill’s potential impact on veterans’ health, clean energy
As Republican congressional leaders and the White House try to hammer out a deal to raise the federal debt ceiling, advocates are marshaling their own campaigns to blunt the GOP’s proposal. This week, clean energy executives across the U.S. — including two from Wisconsin — sent a letter to the White House and the Republican […]
Posted inBusiness, Government, Local news
Business campaign raises its profile for childcare aid in state budget
by Erik Gunn, Wisconsin ExaminerMay 16, 2023 Close to 100 business organizations, chambers of commerce, economic development agencies and nonprofits have signed on to a campaign to provide continued supplemental childcare funding in the next state budget, childcare advocates said Monday. “The bottom line is without accessible, high-quality, and affordable child care, attracting and retaining […]
Posted inHealth, Local news
Managing Medicaid changes so people don’t lose health insurance
by Erik Gunn, Wisconsin ExaminerApril 6, 2023 As changes to Medicaid ramp up this month that could push millions in the U.S. and hundreds of thousands in Wisconsin off the health insurance program for low-income people, a federal official said Wednesday that his agency’s top priority is ensuring that people get through the process without […]
Posted inKenosha Government, Kenosha Lens
Tensions rise over Kenosha County appointments to emergency, equity panels
by Erik Gunn, Wisconsin ExaminerMarch 7, 2023 Three appointments to volunteer boards in Kenosha County have sparked uproar in the community with echoes of the unrest that rocked the city on the shore of Lake Michigan more than two years ago after police shot and paralyzed a Black man. On Friday, Kenosha County Executive Samantha […]