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Wisconsin Watch
Milwaukee election shake-up triggers doubts about new leader
Several members of Milwaukee’s election staff have voiced concerns to the mayor’s office about the inexperience of the new leader chosen to replace the Election Commission’s recently ousted executive director, two people close to the matter told Votebeat. The new head, Paulina Gutiérrez, became deputy director of...
Milwaukee’s Social Development Commission has not paid laid-off employees. Now they seek answers.
Jautone Ferguson says she is still owed two paychecks from her former employer, Milwaukee’s Social Development Commission, or SDC, which suspended its operations and laid off its entire staff at the end of April. By not paying employees like Ferguson for work they performed, the SDC is in conflict...
Did Minnesota’s state budget increase nearly 40% in 2023?
Wisconsin Watch partners with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. Read our methodology to learn how we check claims. In May 2023, the Minnesota Legislature approved and Gov. Tim Walz signed a 2023-25 state budget of $72 billion. That spends 38.4% more than...
Has Joe Biden appointed more Black women as federal appeals court judges than all previous presidents combined?
Wisconsin Watch partners with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. Read our methodology to learn how we check claims. Thirteen of the 21 African American women who have served on the U.S. Courts of Appeals were nominated by President Joe Biden. They are...
Does breathing contribute to CO2 buildup in the atmosphere?
Wisconsin Watch partners with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. Read our methodology to learn how we check claims. The CO2 we breathe is part of a balanced carbon exchange between the air and the Earth. In contrast, burning fossil fuels injects CO2 into the atmosphere that has been stored underground for millions of years, causing a rapid buildup.
Sickle cell disease disproportionately affects Black people in Wisconsin: Here’s what you need to know
Porscha Burks lives a normal life in many ways. She is the mother to an 8-year-old boy and works as a patient service representative at a clinic on Milwaukee’s North Side. However, there is one thing that sets her apart from the average person. Burks has been living with...
Noncitizen voting, already illegal in federal elections, becomes centerpiece of 2024 GOP messaging
One political party is holding urgent news conferences and congressional hearings over the topic. The other says it’s a dangerous distraction meant to seed doubts before this year’s presidential election. In recent months, the specter of immigrants voting illegally in the U.S. has erupted into a leading election...
Milwaukee Dems prepare for special showdown
After a months-long wait, the special election to fill a heavily Democratic state Senate seat in the Milwaukee area is set. Scheduled for July 30, the election will fill the vacancy created by Lena Taylor, a longtime state senator who was appointed by Gov. Tony Evers to a Milwaukee County Circuit Court judgeship in January.
Why couldn’t a southeast Wisconsin town hold an advisory referendum on ATV/UTV use on local roads?
During a town board meeting last year, residents in the town of Erin suggested holding an advisory referendum to gauge whether the community supported allowing all-terrain and utility vehicles on town roads. They learned such a plebiscite is no longer possible. Although Wisconsin residents can’t bypass the Legislature via a...
WE Energies wants $2 billion from Wisconsin ratepayers for new gas plants while still paying off past coal ones
WEC Energy Group in southeastern Wisconsin is planning to significantly expand its capacity for natural gas electricity generation, even as it has vowed to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. In recent filings by its subsidiary WEPCO (also known as We Energies), the company has asked state utility regulators for...
More complete data and nuanced narratives will help Milwaukee youth thrive
What do you think of when you think of youth in Milwaukee? Perhaps you think of mental health issues, low levels of graduation or even increasing levels of violence. When we think of youth in Milwaukee, you might find it difficult to see the positives in light of negative press coverage.
Wisconsin drops ID checks at federally funded food pantries
Wisconsin’s emergency food pantries can now decide whether to check clients’ identification and verify their addresses. By October, the state will require them to stop asking. The change will improve access to a key federal program, the Wisconsin Department of Health Services said. Some pantry coordinators support the...
Does Donald Trump want to criminalize women who get an abortion?
Wisconsin Watch partners with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. Read our methodology to learn how we check claims. In his 2024 presidential campaign, former President Donald Trump has said states should decide whether, in certain instances, to prosecute women who get an abortion.
Was there widespread fraud in the 2020 election in Wisconsin?
Wisconsin Watch partners with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. Read our methodology to learn how we check claims. Reviews by the nonpartisan Wisconsin Legislative Audit Bureau, the conservative Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty and The Associated Press and partial recounts in Dane and Milwaukee counties found no widespread fraud in Wisconsin in the 2020 election.
Wisconsin GOP-led Senate votes to override nine of governor’s vetoes in mostly symbolic action
The Republican-controlled Wisconsin Senate voted Tuesday to override nine vetoes of Democratic Gov. Tony Evers in a mostly symbolic move that comes less than six months before the November election. The overrides included bills combatting PFAS pollution, setting a population goal for gray wolves and requiring a new post-election audit.
After Wisconsin Watch investigation, Florida TV station examines former University of Wisconsin child abuse doctor
At Wisconsin Watch, we specifically serve Wisconsin residents — providing information to help folks navigate their lives, participate in democracy and hold people in power accountable. When considering whether to pursue a particular story, we always consider its potential to impact Wisconsin. But sometimes the scope of an investigation...
As election nears, Wisconsin caregivers seek better health care options
Corrine Hendrickson runs a day care out of her home in New Glarus. On a recent Friday morning, she was moving quickly to clean up dishes, play with dinosaurs and remind kids that throwing toys isn’t safe — all at the same time. The work is nonstop for...
Did global warming stop in 1998?
Wisconsin Watch partners with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. Read our methodology to learn how we check claims. While 1998 was an abnormally warm year, annual average temperatures have trended steadily upward in the decades since. As a strong El Nino year,...
Did the Trump administration have the highest-ever approval rate for Veterans Affairs at 92%?
Wisconsin Watch partners with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. Read our methodology to learn how we check claims. The highest proportion of veterans who expressed having trust in the U.S. Veterans Affairs Department was roughly 80%, once during President Donald Trump’s administration and once under President Joe Biden.
Wisconsin Supreme Court output plummets
The Wisconsin Supreme Court is back in action Monday morning hearing oral arguments in yet another politically charged case that will put the high court at the center of Wisconsin politics. This time the justices are hearing lawyers grapple over the use of unstaffed absentee ballot drop boxes — a...
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