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Category: State news

Foxconn’s Wisconsin factory never made sense

VentureBeat

Foxconn has committed to creating a Wisconsin-focused venture fund, as well as investing $100 million into a research facility at the University of Wisconsin-Madison — but the original vision of making Wisconsin the center of high-tech manufacturing in the U.S. will almost certainly not come to fruition.

Editorial: Tony Evers calls across aisle for renewed commitment to Wisconsin Idea

Capital Times

Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers began his State of the State address with a blunt statement about the disconnection between Wisconsin’s historic commitment to doing big things and the state’s diminished circumstance after too many years in which irresponsible Republicans — and some neglectful Democrats — have stood in the way of addressing fundamental issues.

Foxconn fails to receive state tax credits

Daily Cardinal

After making progress on their Wisconsin headquarters throughout 2018, Foxconn Technology Group announced Friday they did not reach their set hiring goal of 250 full-time employees in order to receive state tax credits.

Wisconsin farming history exhibit tours the state

“The Lands We Share” exhibit backed by the University of Wisconsin has been touring the state since October, Wisconsin Public Radio reported. The exhibit , comprising oral histories, artifacts and images, will make its last stop in Madison on May 8.

Why Wasn’t 2018 A Big Election For Women In The Wisconsin Legislature?

WisContext

Noted: During the ’80s, the difference in the number of women legislators who were Republicans and Democrats wasn’t big, said University of Wisconsin-Madison political science professor Barry Burden, who serves as director of the of the Elections Research Center. However, a partisan difference began to emerge after the first so-called “Year of the Woman” in 1992. Since then, women in the state Legislature have increasingly been Democrats.

Scott Walker’s eight years as governor ushered in profound change in Wisconsin

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Quoted: One divide has been evident in the state for years: the rural-urban split. It was most recently studied by Katherine J. Cramer, a University of Wisconsin-Madison political scientist and author of “The Politics of Resentment: Rural Consciousness in Wisconsin and the Rise of Scott Walker.”

“There have always been tensions between rural Wisconsin and Madison and Milwaukee,” she said. “What changed is now those tensions are on the surface and very obvious to people. I think Governor Walker, depending on where you stand, he either exacerbated that divide or he drew attention to some of the injustices a lot of people have been feeling for a while in rural Wisconsin.”

Tony Evers picks Obama official, two state lawmakers and two aides for his cabinet

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Noted: For his secretary of the Department of Safety and Professional Services, Evers chose Dawn Crim. She now assists Evers as assistant state superintendent for student and school success. Previously, Crim worked for two decades at the University of Wisconsin System in various rules, including assistant coach for women’s basketball and director of community relations for UW-Madison.

John Nichols: Tony Evers is already renewing Wisconsin Idea

Capital Times

The Evers standard was particularly notable last Thursday, when the state superintendent of public instruction attended his last meeting as a member of the UW Board of Regents. Gracious and good-humored, Evers acknowledged that he had often disagreed with outgoing Gov. Scott Walker’s appointees to the board and added “there’s nothing wrong with that in a democracy.”

Influential Republican businessman Sheldon Lubar sharply criticizes Walker for lame-duck session

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Noted: The founder and chairman of Lubar & Co., a private investment company in Milwaukee, Lubar was president of the University of Wisconsin System’s Board of Regents, president of the Milwaukee Art Museum, trustee and acting chairman of the State of Wisconsin Investment Board and in 1991 served as co-chairman of the Governor’s Conference on Small Business.

Lame duck moves by GOP in Wisconsin and Michigan: How they’re alike, how they’re different

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Quoted: Howard Schweber, a professor of law and political science at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, said if the Michigan proposal about legislators intervening in lawsuits were a federal law, it clearly would be unconstitutional.

He said while “some degree of chicanery is a standard part of hardball politics,” the current moves in Madison and Lansing seem unprecedented.

Asian carp threat stymies plans for fish passage on 100-year-old Wisconsin River dam

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Quoted: John Lyons, a fisheries scientist now retired from the DNR, said he and others at the agency spent considerable time planning to move fish through the dam.

“The issue of invasive species, particularly invasive Asian carp, was always a big issue,” said Lyons, now curator of fishes at the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s zoological museum.

Wisconsin Republicans forge ahead with power-stripping bills

AP

Wisconsin Republicans planned to forge ahead Monday with a rare lame-duck session to give outgoing Republican Gov. Scott Walker a chance to limit the powers of his incoming Democratic successor, move the 2020 presidential primary date to benefit a conservative state Supreme Court justice and enact a host of other changes almost certain to spur legal challenges.

Red seawall mostly holds in Wisconsin

Isthmus

Quoted: Tammy Baldwin’s trouncing of Republican challenger Leah Vukmir in Wisconsin’s Senate race is also a bright spot for Democrats, says Barry Burden, a UW-Madison political science professor.

“The Senate race reflects Tammy Baldwin’s hard work over the last six years in building a familiarity and a base of support around the state, and even identifying issues where she can work with Republicans and President Trump while still keeping her base in Madison and other Democratic areas,” he says. “That’s really been a masterful performance from an incumbent politician.”

Election Day live: Polls close in Wisconsin and the wait begins for results

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Noted: UW-Madison officials were seeing steady traffic at campus polling places with no reports of significant delays or disruptions, according to campus spokeswoman Meredith McGlone.

By 2 p.m., the university had issued approximately 500 photo ID cards on Election Day to students who needed them to vote. That’s in addition to 7,928 issued previously.

Did Scott Walker and Donald Trump Deal Away the Wisconsin Governor’s Race to Foxconn?

The New Yorker

Noted: In an editorial published on UrbanMilwaukee.com, William Holahan, a professor emeritus at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee business school, and Charles Kroncke, a former professor at the school of business at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, calculated that if Foxconn’s taxpayer subsidies were given to random entrepreneurs, the money would generate more than ninety thousand jobs.

Wisconsin’s $4.1 billion Foxconn factory boondoggle

The Verge

By late August, less than three months before the election, Foxconn announced more bells and whistles: it would contribute $100 million to create a new research facility at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and use $25 million for a new state venture capital fund. That $125 million total represented just 3 percent of the $4.1 billion subsidy the company stood to collect.

Open records defenders…assemble!

Isthmus

In July 2015, Gov. Scott Walker and GOP lawmakers tried to pull a fast one. The Legislature’s budget writing committee recommended sweeping changes to Wisconsin’s open records laws. Authored anonymously, the measure limited public access to draft legislation and lawmakers’ communications and exempted the governor’s office, state agencies and local governments from having to disclose certain records.

Transgender women share story after jury awards damages in health care suit against state

WISC-TV 3

Two women said they have their faith renewed in humanity and the justice system after a jury ruling earlier this week.

A jury of eight is awarding the two University of Wisconsin employees $780,000 in damages following a federal judge’s ruling saying the state can’t ban insurance coverage of transgender health care including gender reassignment surgery.