September 19, 2013 - 8:12am
Credit Valerie Everett (CC-BY-SA)
The farm bill sets the foundation for a lot of the business aspects of modern agriculture, but until the next one is set and passed, farmers will continue with today's version.
he farm bill — the roughly-every-five-years law that sets federal policies on agriculture and food assistance — remains stuck in political limbo, even as the current law is set to expire at the end of the month. Wisconsin farmers say uncertainty over the bill isn’t affecting them now, but it...
September 18, 2013 - 2:59pm
Credit Michael Verlado (CC-BY)<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/crashtestaddict/4527355651/">Michael Verlado</a> (CC-BY)
Problems with heroin use, particularly in rural areas, may be the focus of state legislation this fall. Gov. Scott Walker says the effort may be similar to ones in recent years aimed at methamphetamine abuse. He says he isn't sure if the heroin bill will be one measure or a...
September 18, 2013 - 2:39pm
Lee Saunders during a 2012 visit to Green Bay.
Wisaflcio (CC-BY-NC-SA)
Lee Saunders, president of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), is visiting Madison this week. The head of the largest largest public employees union in the country is lending his support to the ongoing legal battle over bargaining rights for Wisconsin state workers. Today, he joined...
September 18, 2013 - 1:42pm
A report by the Wisconsin Department of Justice has prompted a discussion among law enforcement experts on child sex trafficking in the state. The report says that about 20 percent of Wisconsin law enforcement has dealt with one to five cases of child sex trafficking in the last two years...
September 18, 2013 - 1:00pm
Democrats on the Joint Finance Committee (JFC) today pressed Republicans to explain a controversial grant to the United Sportsmen of Wisconsin . The half-million dollar grant to the group United Sportsmen was orchestrated by then-Assembly Majority Leader Scott Suder, who has since taken a job in Gov. Scott Walker's administration...
September 18, 2013 - 12:04pm
A new national report on the rising number of prison inmates serving life sentences raises questions about Wisconsin sentencing and parole policies. The study by the Washington, D.C.-based Sentencing Project found that more than 150,000 inmates nationally are serving life sentences. That number has increased by 22 percent since 2008...
September 18, 2013 - 8:04am
Credit Steve White (CC-BY-NC-ND)
The bills would overrule local ordinances on bow and crossbow hunting and establish an open season for crossbow hunting.
Local governments would no longer be allowed to restrict bow hunting, and crossbow hunters would get their own deer hunting season under two measures that passed the Wisconsin Senate Tuesday. The bill preempting any local restrictions on bow hunting or crossbow hunting passed along party lines, with Democrats like state...
September 18, 2013 - 7:48am
Credit Ashley Brown (CC-BY-NC)
The bill as passed would restrict local laws granting tenants' rights above and beyond the state's rules.
Landlords would have more power in a variety of disputes with tenants under a bill that passed the state Senate Tuesday. The plan would preempt a variety of local ordinances that spell out tenants' rights, if they're tougher than the state's version. It would let landlords evict tenants if a...
September 18, 2013 - 7:36am
Credit Shawn Johnson/WPR
The poll found 45 percent of people felt people should not have to get a permit to protest, while 41 percent felt they should.
A new survey of Wisconsin residents suggests a plurality of Wisconsin residents supports the right of the Solidarity Singers to protest the legislature without first getting a permit. This is the first statewide poll on the singers, who have been regulars at the Capitol since the Act 10 protests of...
September 18, 2013 - 1:00am
Deserted buildings in Milwaukee's Third Ward. Basykes (CC-BY)
The state will spend $2 million to help eliminate blighted property in Milwaukee. A few months ago, Gov. Scott Walker sliced a few million dollars from the state budget that would have gone to Milwaukee and other cities to knock down vacant blighted property. Several cities have been clamoring for...
