Veterans

Local veterans service officers connect veterans with federal programs, file pension and compensation claims, and help them enroll in job, housing, disability and education benefits. But, in Wisconsin, those positions are largely funded by county or tribal governments. “We get a small grant from the state, and that’s it,” said Joe Aulik, the Brown County…

For a few days next July, Milwaukee will be the center of the 2024 presidential race as the Republican Party hosts its national convention. Many political scientists and commentators question whether conventions or debates do much to sway voters. But that hasn’t always been the case. Seventy-five years ago, a Midwest mayor gave an electrifying…

Wisconsinites gathered Monday to remember the victims of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks at the Wisconsin 9/11 Memorial and Education Center in Kewaskum. The third annual event focused on the importance of volunteer rescue workers. According to the National Volunteer Fire Council, 3,000 of the firefighters who responded to Ground Zero and the Pentagon were…

After netting a Pulitzer Prize in general nonfiction for writing a book about evictions in Milwaukee, Princeton University sociologist Matthew Desmond sought to tackle a broader lens: Why is there so much poverty in a nation as wealthy as the United States? In his new book releasesd this year, “Poverty, by America,” the University of…

Editor’s note: This story contains language and descriptions surrounding sexual assault. Four years after the Wisconsin National Guard was the subject of a scathing federal investigation into how it handles allegations of sexual misconduct, state lawmakers are moving forward with a package of bills they say will strengthen those processes. In 2019, a report from…

Federal benefits for Wisconsin veterans have a major economic impact, equivalent to — if not slightly larger than — the state’s beef farming industry, according to new research. A report from University of Wisconsin-Extension found that while the number of veterans in Wisconsin is declining, spending on veteran services by the U.S. Department of Veterans…

Vacant classrooms on an Eau Claire church property could become housing for veterans under a plan to covert the building into apartments with the help of federal COVID-19 relief funding. The two-story wing of largely unused classrooms is attached to the Grace Lutheran Church near Eau Claire’s downtown. Chippewa Valley Habitat for Humanity Executive Director…

When Wisconsin natives Yolanda Medina and Kimberly Stuart served in the nation’s armed forces, they were trailblazers for women in the military. Medina was a pioneering aircraft technician in the U.S. Marine Corps during the 1980s. Stuart was the first woman to serve as electromechanical team chief in the U.S. Air Force and Air Force…

After federal lawmakers recently approved new benefits for veterans exposed to harmful chemicals, Wisconsin service providers are working to ramp up and meet the coming needs. Veterans may now enroll in benefits under the PACT Act, which President Joe Biden signed into law Aug. 10 after Republican attempts in Congress to block it. Benefits processing…

With temperatures rising, many Wisconsin residents are cranking up their AC more regularly. But for large swaths of the population, that creates financial burden. “If you are struggling to pay your energy bill and your home is inefficient, you are essentially on a hamster wheel that you might not ever get off,” Wisconsin Public Service…