The same seven candidates who first debated in January will be on the Aug. 11 primary ballot so Democrats are looking to the state party convention in Madison for direction.
wisconsin watch
Posted inCommunity
Child marriage with parental consent is still legal in Wisconsin. Republicans have blocked Democratic efforts to change that.
Nearly 300 16- and 17-year-olds were married in Wisconsin over the past decade.
Posted inCommunity
Need help paying property taxes? Here’s where older Wisconsinites can find assistance
Rising property taxes can strain older adults living on fixed incomes. Here are statewide programs and local resources that may help older Wisconsinites reduce, defer or pay their property tax bills.
Posted inCriminal justice
Freed on bond, Sheboygan Falls woman returns to Milwaukee immigration office amid legal limbo
Elvira Benitez Suarez, released from ICE detention after an appeals court ruling opened the door to bond, checked in with immigration authorities Monday as her fight for legal residency continues.
Posted inCommunity
Wisconsin Supreme Court revisits recusal rules amid debate over money and impartiality
The high court will hear arguments on proposed changes to judicial recusal rules, but immediate action appears unlikely as supporters and critics alike call for further study of how campaign donations and political support should affect judges’ participation in cases.
Posted inEconomic Development, Education
An apprenticeship aiming to ease Wisconsin’s teacher shortage is ‘stalling.’ Will it catch on?
The pilot program was meant to offer an alternative route into the classroom, but program leaders are having trouble enticing school districts to take on more apprentices. And enrollment has ground to a halt.
Posted inCommunity, 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 inCriminal justice
Decade-old marijuana conviction prompts ICE detention of Wisconsin green card holder after family trip
After returning from her native New Zealand, Hortonville resident Everlee Wihongi was detained over a 2014 marijuana possession conviction. Immigration attorneys say similar low-level offenses are increasingly triggering detention under the Trump administration.
Posted inCommunity, Public Safety
Wisconsin mother granted bond in challenge to ICE detention rule
A Sheboygan Falls woman tested a federal appeals court ruling against a Trump administration policy barring many ICE detainees from seeking release on bond.
Posted inCommunity
Wisconsin’s $1.8 billion budget deal collapses, exposing rifts within both parties
The compromise from state government’s three lame-duck leaders didn’t pass muster with Senate Democrats and many of the candidates running for governor