An envelope with the words Official Absentee Ballot Application/Certification at its top and multiple fields filed in with pens and highlighted with marker stands out among a stack of similar envelopes that are out-of-focus in the foreground.

Courts

Federal judge tosses Democrats’ lawsuit challenging Wisconsin absentee voting witness requirement

A U.S. District Court Judge has thrown out a lawsuit brought the Democratic law firm Elias Law Group, representing voters who challenged Wisconsin's witness signature requirement for absentee ballots.

May 10, 2024

Douglas McLeod on impacts of pro-Palestinian campus protests
Douglas McLeod on impacts of pro-Palestinian campus protests

Politics

Douglas McLeod on impacts of pro-Palestinian campus protests

UW-Madison journalism professor Douglas McLeod considers media coverage about and political implications of demonstrations that demand the university divest from companies and institutions in Israel.

May 10, 2024 • South Central Region

Abbie Klein on Gaza protesters negotiating with UW-Madison
Abbie Klein on Gaza protesters negotiating with UW-Madison

Education

Abbie Klein on Gaza protesters negotiating with UW-Madison

UW-Madison graduate student and Students for Justice in Palestine spokesperson Abbie Klein discusses demands campus protesters are making of the university and negotiations with its administration.

May 9, 2024 • South Central Region

A sign with the Milwaukee Tool wordmark and lightning bolt logo stands next to the entrance of a building.
A sign with the Milwaukee Tool wordmark and lightning bolt logo stands next to the entrance of a building.

Economy

US blocks alleged Milwaukee Tool supplier, citing use of forced prison labor in China

A U.S. Customs and Border Protection order to prevent the importation of gloves by a Shanghai-based company and two subsidiaries follows a Wisconsin Watch investigation and more than a year of pleas from the wife of a Chinese political prisoner about the use of forced labor.

May 8, 2024

As seen from above, Joe Biden gestures with both hands and speaks while standing behind a podium with the Seal of the President of the United States affixed to its front, on a temporary riser with two teleprompters, with two large U.S. flags displayed on either side and several people standing behind a waist-high set of pipes and drapes separating the stage area from multiple rows of seated people facing toward him, with rows of U.S. and Wisconsin flags in the background of a large room with steel beams, shipping boxes and manufacturing equipment.
As seen from above, Joe Biden gestures with both hands and speaks while standing behind a podium with the Seal of the President of the United States affixed to its front, on a temporary riser with two teleprompters, with two large U.S. flags displayed on either side and several people standing behind a waist-high set of pipes and drapes separating the stage area from multiple rows of seated people facing toward him, with rows of U.S. and Wisconsin flags in the background of a large room with steel beams, shipping boxes and manufacturing equipment.

Politics

Biden lauds Microsoft data center at same southeastern Wisconsin site where Foxconn project failed

President Joe Biden laced into Donald Trump over a failed project that was supposed to bring thousands of new jobs into Wisconsin as construction starts at the same location on a new Microsoft data center.

May 8, 2024 • Southeast Region

A sign showing the word mark for the American Transmission Company along with an address and emergency phone number is attached to a diamond-mesh metal fence, with out-of-focus electric power equipment in the background.
A sign showing the word mark for the American Transmission Company along with an address and emergency phone number is attached to a diamond-mesh metal fence, with out-of-focus electric power equipment in the background.

Courts

Federal appeals court halts injunction against power line through Mississippi River refuge

The 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals vacated an injunction that stopped work on a transmission line linking Iowa's Dubuque County and Wisconsin's Dane County, allowing utilities to finish construction as a lawsuit proceeds.

May 8, 2024 • Southwest Region

Sunlight illuminates the edges of a sign showing a shield-shaped stylized logo of a dome with a road leading to and from its base above the words Madison College in larger type and Area Technical in smaller type, with a tree and clear sky in the background.
Sunlight illuminates the edges of a sign showing a shield-shaped stylized logo of a dome with a road leading to and from its base above the words Madison College in larger type and Area Technical in smaller type, with a tree and clear sky in the background.

Education

Wisconsin’s tech colleges are focused on DEI initiatives too

With many students attending part time and coming from many different backgrounds, the Wisconsin Technical College System works to support diversity, equity and inclusion efforts among its 16 schools.

May 7, 2024

The U.S. and Wisconsin flags fly at on a flagpole mounted to the top of one wing of a marble masonry building with Composite order columns supporting a pediment with relief statuary in front of a dome topped by a statue, under a partly cloudy sky.
The U.S. and Wisconsin flags fly at on a flagpole mounted to the top of one wing of a marble masonry building with Composite order columns supporting a pediment with relief statuary in front of a dome topped by a statue, under a partly cloudy sky.

Policy

Republican lawmakers vote to audit DEI efforts in state agencies

The Wisconsin Legislature's audit committee voted along party lines to launch a probe of diversity, equity and inclusion efforts in the executive branch of state government and in state agencies as Republican lawmakers seek to limit and restrict these initiatives.

May 7, 2024

Metal chandeliers and long drapes hang from the rafters of the interior of a barn with wood-slat walls, with strings of electric lights wrapped around horizontal and vertical beams.
Metal chandeliers and long drapes hang from the rafters of the interior of a barn with wood-slat walls, with strings of electric lights wrapped around horizontal and vertical beams.

Courts

Wisconsin wedding barns sue over state liquor law change requiring venue license

Two wedding barns sued the state of Wisconsin seeking to block enactment of a law that overhauled regulation of the state's multi-billion dollar liquor industry, including a requirement for these private venues to get liquor licenses similar to other establishments that host events.

May 7, 2024

A three-legged wolf stands in the midst of tree trunks with fallen leaves and patches of snow in the undergrowth.
A three-legged wolf stands in the midst of tree trunks with fallen leaves and patches of snow in the undergrowth.

Courts

Dane County judge dismisses lawsuit challenging 2023 Wisconsin wolf plan

A Dane County judge threw out a lawsuit that accused Wisconsin wildlife officials of violating the state's open meetings law and disregarding comments from wolf researchers and supporters, reflecting how contentious the debate over wolf management is in the state.

May 7, 2024