Wisconsin’s prison population broke records last week with 23,854 behind bars. It’s a new milestone for a system that has been thousands of people over capacity for decades.
Natalie Yahr / Wisconsin Watch
Natalie Yahr rejoined Wisconsin Watch in March 2025 as a statewide pathways to success reporter, working in partnership with Open Campus. Her coverage explores the skills residents need to build thriving careers and how leaders can forge pathways to family-supporting work. Natalie first joined Wisconsin Watch in 2018 as an intern. She returned after spending more than five years at the Cap Times, where she covered Madison’s local economy, focusing on challenges and opportunities for workers, entrepreneurs and job seekers. Her work has also been published by WWNO-FM, the University of Wisconsin-Madison Center for Journalism Ethics, Scalawag, Columbia Journalism Review and the New York Times. Before becoming a full-time journalist, she trained as a Spanish-English interpreter and coached adult students working to earn their high school equivalency diplomas. Natalie majored in ethics and economics at University of California-Davis and holds a master’s degree in journalism from UW-Madison.
Posted inPublic Safety & Criminal Justice
Wisconsin to hold commutations hearing Friday
It’s the first time in 25 years Wisconsin prisoners have been able to request shorter sentences. New polling released this week by the ACLU of Wisconsin shows a majority of Wisconsinites favor a form of clemency for at least some individuals.
Posted inEconomic Development
With prices up, here’s how and why to use an inflation calculator
These free online tools let you compare prices over time and check whether your pay is keeping up.
Posted inPublic Safety & Criminal Justice
Q&A: What the Corey Ruiz shooting reveals about police training — and who shapes policing rules
University of Wisconsin-Madison law professor Ion Meyn has interviewed police officers and reviewed hours of police training videos to study how officers make deadly force decisions. He spoke with Wisconsin Watch about what he has learned.
Posted inEducation
Student loan defaults surge in Wisconsin, US after federal reprieve ends
The pandemic grace period has ended, along with the most generous repayment plan. Now, borrowers across the state are struggling to repay, and those who attended Wisconsin’s for-profit colleges are twice as likely to be delinquent on their loans.
Posted inEconomic Development, Health and Wellness
Can Wisconsin’s health apprenticeships become a national model? UW Health thinks so
To fill openings for nurses, surgical techs and more, UW Health pays staff to train for new health careers, on the clock. Now, as other states struggle to find enough health workers, the company wants to show them how it’s done.
Posted inEducation
Federal financial aid for career training is here. When will Wisconsinites benefit?
State officials say it could take years for students to access Workforce Pell grants, with aid initially available only to students in a handful of carefully scrutinized programs.
Posted inEconomic Development
Can Wisconsin employers check your credit?
Employers in most states, including in most parts of Wisconsin, can run background checks that show your debts, available credit and payment history. Here’s what job seekers and employees should know.
Posted inCommunity, Public Safety & Criminal Justice
Wisconsin’s prison population is heading toward a record high. Track the trend here.
Overcrowding is particularly extreme in Wisconsin’s women’s prisons, two of which hold more than twice as many people as they were designed for. A new Wisconsin Watch tool, updated weekly, shows the population approaching the 2019 record.
Posted inCommunity, Public Safety & Criminal Justice
Commutations are back. Here’s what incarcerated people and their loved ones should know.
For the first time in decades, Wisconsin prisoners will be able to apply to have their sentences commuted, Gov. Tony Evers announced. Wisconsin Watch talked to three experts about how prisoners and their families can learn more and prepare.