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Category: State news

U.S. Supreme Court ruling keeps open possibility of legal challenge to Wisconsin’s congressional maps

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Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

“If the (North Carolina legislators’) position in this case had prevailed, it would have meant that the Legislature in Wisconsin could have done congressional redistricting any way it wanted, without the Wisconsin Supreme Court being able to engage in any review of that based on the state constitution,” said Rob Yablon, a professor and co-director of the State Democracy Research Initiative at the University of Wisconsin Law School. “Now the door remains open, as it has been, to the state court making sure that whatever the state Legislature does is state constitutionally compliant.”

Republican budget proposal reduces Evers spending plan by nearly $7 billion, according to a new analysis

Posted on
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

As approved by the budget committee, the spending plan would cut income taxes by $3.5 billion, boost funding for all K-12 schools by $1 billion, increase wages for state workers, increase transit funding by 2%, boost pay for prosecutors and public defenders and cut $32 million in DEI programming funds from the University of Wisconsin System.

Here’s what’s in Wisconsin’s $99 billion budget slated for passage this week

Posted on
Wisconsin State Journal

Another contentious spending provision is Republicans’ plan to cut the University of Wisconsin System’s budget by $32 million in an attempt to force the school officials to eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion offices and programming.

The plan would require the UW System to eliminate 188.8 positions related to those offices and programs.

Tax cuts and a UW squeeze: A look at the proposed GOP-backed Wisconsin state budget

Posted on
The Associated Press

UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN: The University of Wisconsin System’s budget would be cut by $32 million, leaving UW nearly half a billion dollars short of funding it requested. Republicans cut the amount they say would be spent on diversity, equity and inclusion efforts, over objections from UW leaders who say they may have to raise tuition and cut programs in response. The budget also does not include funding for UW’s top priority building project, $197 million to demolish and build a new College of Engineering building on the Madison campus. Republican leaders say there are ongoing discussions about funding that project.

Speaker Robin Vos says he’s ’embarrassed’ to be a UW System alumnus because of campus diversity programs

Posted on
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Wisconsin’s top state legislative Republican continued his attacks on diversity, equity and inclusion efforts at the state’s public universities, calling the programming “the single most important issue” and claiming he was embarrassed to be a University of Wisconsin System alumnus because of it.

Gov. Tony Evers says he would veto state budget if Republicans advance $32 million cut to UW System

Posted on
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Evers said Wednesday during a stop at a cheese plant outside of Monroe that such a cut would be “a ridiculous effort” on Vos’ part.

“To cut, at this point in time, the University of Wisconsin System when we have a $7 billion surplus is irrational,” he said. “I’m hopeful that will change before the budget is passed.”

Study finds ticks could possibly spread chronic wasting disease

Posted on
Wisconsin Public Radio

As part of the study, lead author Heather Inzalaco, a post-doctoral researcher at UW-Madison, gave blood with CWD-positive material to ticks in a lab. She found that the ticks both ingested and excreted CWD prions.

“They were taking it up, simultaneously eliminating some of it in their frass, which is just a fancy word for tick poo,” Inzalaco said. “So it was in both places.”

Republicans delay vote on UW System budget as debate over campus diversity efforts continue

Posted on
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Lawmakers writing the next state budget spent eight hours behind closed doors Tuesday only to delay action on the University of Wisconsin System after the Legislature’s top Republican said UW campuses would see a $32 million cut in state funding − a move the Democratic governor characterized as a “war” on higher education.

Republicans delay vote on plan to cut UW System budget by $32 million over DEI programming

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Wisconsin State Journal

After hours of negotiations behind closed doors, Republicans on the Legislature’s budget committee put off any vote Tuesday on whether to slash the University of Wisconsin System’s budget by $32 million in an attempt to gut funding for diversity, equity and inclusion offices and programming.

Wisconsin has seen record-low unemployment for over a year. What does that mean for workers?

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Wisconsin Public Radio

Timothy Smeeding, a professor of public affairs and economics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, told Wisconsin Public Radio’s “Central Time” that the tight labor market has helped low-wage workers the most.

“The good news is that there’s a lot of demand for low-skilled workers beyond bars and restaurants now (with) the expansion of infrastructure and construction,” Smeeding said.

Menzie Chinn, professor of public affairs and economics at UW-Madison, said that wage gains haven’t been evenly distributed by economic sectors. He noted leisure and hospitality workers have seen the largest wage gains since the pandemic, while wages for workers in all other non-farm sectors have seen slower wage growth.

“As far as we can tell, (leisure and hospitality workers) are beating inflation, at least in terms of the wage rate,” he said. “Now, I don’t know how many hours they’re working, and it’s going to be spotty because not everybody is going to be in a restaurant that saw their wages rise.”

Beyond wages, Laura Dresser, associate director of the COWS economic think tank at UW-Madison, said the tight labor market also gives workers more leverage to negotiate with their employers for more flexible hours or to confront workplace harassment.

“I think there’s a lot of evidence that in this tight labor market, low-wage workers especially have found ways to ask more from work to see their own value,” she said.

Madison nonprofit to offer payday lender alternative

Posted on
Wisconsin Public Radio

Wisconsin residents who borrow from payday lenders face some of the highest costs in the nation, according to a 2022 Pew study. The head of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul’s Madison branch discusses its upcoming microloan program as an alternate to traditional lenders. And J. Michael Collins, a UW-Madison professor, talks about the state of Payday lending in Wisconsin.

Assembly lawmakers look at allowing pharmacists to prescribe birth control

Posted on
Wisconsin Examiner

“As a pharmacist who works in a rural primary care clinic, I’ve seen how challenging it can be for patients to get in for an appointment with their primary care provider,” Marina Maes, a professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Pharmacy said. “The provider schedules are booked two to three months out, which limits patients’ access to timely and convenient care from trusted health care professionals.”

Wisconsin state government is struggling to retain employees. Here’s how that affects veterans, state services

Posted on
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Over the last several years, state workers have been leaving their jobs at higher rates and those jobs are remaining unfilled for longer than they typically do. The analysis shows that turnover and vacancy rates for state workers outside of the University of Wisconsin System rose to record levels in fiscal year 2022, with 16.4% of the 28,000 employees leaving their jobs, including 10.2% who left for voluntary reasons other than retirement.

In addition, 5,770 full-time positions, or 17.7% of the total authorized positions in state government outside of the UW System, were vacant as of June last year.

Report: Turnover and vacancy rates at state agencies reached record highs last year

Posted on
Wisconsin State Journal

Among agencies that fall outside the University of Wisconsin System, 16.4% of the state’s nearly 28,000 workers left their jobs in the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2022, including 10.2% who left for voluntary reasons other than retirement, according to the report. What’s more, 5,770 full-time equivalent positions, or 17.7% of the total positions in state government outside the UW System, were vacant at the end of last June.

GOP lawmakers approve $2.4B capital budget but reject key UW project

Posted on
Wisconsin Public Radio

Republicans on the Legislature’s budget committee voted for a $2.4 billion capital budget Thursday, the largest of any state building program in years but considerably smaller than the one proposed by Democratic Gov. Tony Evers.

The capital budget would also leave out funding for several key projects, including a new school of engineering at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, the UW System’s top priority.

Progress Pride flag raised over Wisconsin State Capitol

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Daily Cardinal

Gov. Tony Evers raised the Progress Pride flag over the Wisconsin State Capitol for the fifth annual Pride month celebration today. This follows his signing of Executive Order #204, which orders the Progress Pride flag to be flown during June in celebration of Pride month.

Budget committee rejects spending $750 million on broadband in Wisconsin

Posted on
Wisconsin State Journal

The GOP-controlled Joint Finance Committee on Thursday also rejected Evers’ request to spend nearly $350 million to fund a new engineering building on UW-Madison’s campus, a top priority for the school.

“Today is certainly a sad day for UW-Madison, but the real tragedy is for the state of Wisconsin,” Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin said. “This building would promote the state’s economic development. It would create significant workforce opportunities. It would propel innovation.”

Republicans won’t fund new UW-Madison engineering hall, broadband expansion

Posted on
The Capital Times

Republicans’ proposed capital budget does not include the $347 million that Evers proposed to build a new engineering building on UW-Madison’s campus, a top priority for the university. A new building would replace the College of Engineering’s 83-year-old facility, which is currently in “poor and unsatisfactory condition,” adding over 1,000 engineering students per year.

Access map launches to help Northeast Wisconsinites find food help

Posted on
Spectrum News

To help people find culturally-inclusive foods and food services, the University of Wisconsin-Madison Division of Extension Brown County launched a new map to help people find food and food services in northeast Wisconsin. It includes things such as food pantries, electronic benefit transfer locations, meal programs and community gardens.

“We collect food pantry statistics and in the last couple of months we have seen an increase in the number of households using food pantries,” said Clarice Martell, one of the extension staff members who worked on the map project. “We hope that this map can make it easier for food insecure households to locate food resources near to them.”

Amid efforts to curb binge drinking in Wisconsin, large study quashes purported health benefits of alcohol

Posted on
Wisconsin Public Radio

Quoted: “If you’re drinking one to two drinks (per day) because it’s good for you, it doesn’t necessarily increase the length of your life,” said Dr. Patrick Remington, an emeritus professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison medical school. “There’s no evidence in this large, well-designed study of a life-extending benefit.”