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Republicans Introduce Measures To Eliminate Unemployment Insurance Deficit

May 29, 2013 - 6:54pm

The Joint Finance Committee approved a slew of changes introduced by Republicans into the state budget today. Unemployment benefits would be cut, employer taxes would go up and state taxpayers would help offset a deficit in Wisconsin's unemployment fund under the new measures. For decades, a council split between labor...

Skyward Breathes Easier As Committee Votes Against Single-Vendor System

May 29, 2013 - 5:56pm

Skyward software had a legislative victory today, as the Joint Finance Committee voted against a single-vendor student software system. Skyward, based in Stevens Point, supplies student information tracking software to more than half of Wisconsin's school districts. But it was about to lose all of that business because the state...

Bill On Religious Exemptions From Birth Control Coverage Draws Crowd At Capitol

May 29, 2013 - 5:03pm

A lawmaker wants to shift the cost of abortions and contraceptives from insurers to individuals. Catholic organizations say they shouldn't have to pay for an employee's birth control. A hearing for a bill that would expand Wisconsin's exemption for such employers attracted a standing-room-only crowd at the State Capitol today...

Land Trust Will Protect Newly Donated Stretch Of Kickapoo River Valley

May 29, 2013 - 4:00pm

Part of the Kickapoo River Valley in southwest Wisconsin will be protected from development due to a conservation project by an area land trust. A donation helped create the project, which is the Mississippi Valley Conservancy's largest to date. The valley is one of the oldest landscapes in North America...

Band Of Ojibwe Begin Occupation Of Penokee Hills

May 29, 2013 - 3:03pm

The Lac Courte Oreilles (LCO) Band of Ojibwe began an occupation in the Penokee Hills this weekend, at a proposed open pit iron ore mine site. The LCO harvest camp is small - five acres as compared to the four and a half miles proposed for the mine here. But...

Groundbreaking For St. Croix Bridge Unites Dems, GOP

May 29, 2013 - 1:19pm

Lawmakers from Wisconsin and Minnesota broke ground Tuesday on a $600 million bridge project that will span the St. Croix River. There was plenty of pomp in Stillwater, Minn., Tuesday as congressional delegations, state lawmakers and more than 100 supporters of the St. Croix River Crossing watched the groundbreaking for...

Analysis: Kooyenga Tax Cuts Would Raise Deficit

May 29, 2013 - 1:13pm

Budget experts say the state of Wisconsin's structural deficit would grow under a tax cut proposed by Wisconsin Rep. Dale Kooyenga (R-Brookfield). Kooyenga's tax cut would drop tax rates for all income brackets, increasing the size of Governor Scott Walker's proposed tax cut by roughly $420 million. Kooyenga says it...

Pocan Fields Energy, Healthcare Questions In Listening Sessions

May 29, 2013 - 12:58pm

Second District freshman Rep. Mark Pocan (D-Wisc) says passing a federal budget that will spur economic growth is his highest priority. During his first set of listening sessions since his election, however, he was peppered with questions about climate change, energy and health care. In Baraboo Tuesday, Pocan fielded questions...

Gov. Walker Reappoints Doyle Appointee To DNR Board

May 29, 2013 - 12:51pm

Governor Scott Walker has made the rare move of re-appointing an appointee made by former Governor Jim Doyle to a major state position. About six years ago, then-Governor Doyle chose Milwaukee public works official Preston Cole to be the first African-American on the board of the Department of Natural Resources...

Farm Bill Amendment Will Bar Some Ex-Convicts From Getting Food Stamps

May 29, 2013 - 12:48am

The U.S. Senate passed a Farm Bill amendment barring those who have served time for murder or a violent sex crime from getting food stamps. Linda Ketcham, who directs a nonprofit called the Madison Urban Ministry that serves ex-offenders, calls the provision both immoral and counterproductive. Many ex-drug offenders are...

Federal Prosecutors Won't Pursue Charges Against Officers In Derek Williams Case

May 28, 2013 - 6:55pm

Federal prosecutors won't pursue criminal civil rights charges against the white Milwaukee police officers involved in the Derek Williams case. Derek Williams, a 22-year-old black man, passed away after telling the officers he couldn't breathe. The officers had told the robbery suspect to quit faking his medical problems. Squad car...

Legislation Would Target Parents Who Facilitate Underage Drinking

May 28, 2013 - 6:30pm

Some state lawmakers want to tweak existing laws to make it easier to cite parents who know about underage drinking on their property . The proposed change in state law has the same intent as so-called "social host" ordinances at the local level: holding parents responsible for underage drinking they...

Republican Lawmaker Wants To Increase Walker's Proposed Tax Cuts

May 28, 2013 - 5:32pm

Rep. Dale Kooyenga (R-Brookfield), charged with rewriting the tax code, wants to add hundreds of millions of dollars to a proposed income tax cut. The move would drop tax rates for Wisconsin's wealthiest residents in the process. Kooyenga's plan would reduce income taxes by a total of more than $400...

Chemical Disaster Leads To Windfall For Nonprofits 20 Years Later

May 28, 2013 - 6:00am

A railroad tanker chemical spill more than 20 years ago in Superior may mean a windfall for three non-profit foundations in that area. In 1992, a railroad tanker spill in the town of Superior caused a huge toxic cloud that forced about 50,000 people to evacuate the Duluth-Superior area. It...

Historic Catholic Retreat Center In Marathon May Close

May 28, 2013 - 6:00am

An historic and much-used spiritual retreat center in central Wisconsin will close forever unless new sponsors are found to continue its mission. The St. Anthony Spirituality Center is an iconic Catholic institution on the banks of the Rib River in the city of Marathon. For almost 100 years, it has...

Looking To Week Ahead, School Funding Will Be Major Debate For Budget Committee

May 28, 2013 - 6:00am

The Joint Finance Committee is scheduled to debate school funding and an expansion of the private school voucher program this week. School funding is a major piece of any budget, but it's especially big this year because of what Governor Scott Walker's budget would do for private school vouchers and...

Construction Starts On Bridge 50 Years In The Making

May 28, 2013 - 6:00am

A St. Croix River bridge project more than 50 years in the making will break ground today. It took more than five decades, two lawsuits, an act of congress and President Obama's signature, but construction of the St. Croix River Crossing has officially begun. The new bridge will replace the...

Construction Starts On A Bridge 50 Years In The Making

May 27, 2013 - 7:27pm

A new bill would require legislation about crimes to calculate the potential difference in impact on racial minorities. State Sen. Nikiya Harris is co-sponsoring legislation calling for the minority impact statement. The Milwaukee Democrat says she's tired of Wisconsin being number one in the percentage of working age African-American men...

Historic Catholic Retreat Center In Marathon May Close

May 27, 2013 - 6:50pm

Bears, Facing A Tough Spring, Become Bolder In Their Foraging Habits

May 27, 2013 - 6:36pm

The Department of Natural Resources is warning people to beware of bears. The late green-up this spring means hungry bruins are foraging for food in the wrong places. A bird feeder is like a dinner bell to a bear this spring. DNR nuisance wildlife specialist Dan Hirchert says an open...

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Republicans Introduce Measures To Eliminate Unemployment Insurance Deficit

Skyward Breathes Easier As Committee Votes Against Single-Vendor System

Bill On Religious Exemptions From Birth Control Coverage Draws Crowd At Capitol

Land Trust Will Protect Newly Donated Stretch Of Kickapoo River Valley

Band Of Ojibwe Begin Occupation Of Penokee Hills

Groundbreaking For St. Croix Bridge Unites Dems, GOP

Analysis: Kooyenga Tax Cuts Would Raise Deficit

Pocan Fields Energy, Healthcare Questions In Listening Sessions

Gov. Walker Reappoints Doyle Appointee To DNR Board

Farm Bill Amendment Will Bar Some Ex-Convicts From Getting Food Stamps

Federal Prosecutors Won't Pursue Charges Against Officers In Derek Williams Case

Legislation Would Target Parents Who Facilitate Underage Drinking

Republican Lawmaker Wants To Increase Walker's Proposed Tax Cuts

Chemical Disaster Leads To Windfall For Nonprofits 20 Years Later

Historic Catholic Retreat Center In Marathon May Close

Looking To Week Ahead, School Funding Will Be Major Debate For Budget Committee

Construction Starts On Bridge 50 Years In The Making

Construction Starts On A Bridge 50 Years In The Making

Historic Catholic Retreat Center In Marathon May Close

Bears, Facing A Tough Spring, Become Bolder In Their Foraging Habits

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