Democrats at the Wisconsin Capitol may be trying to roll back school choice in the state after presenting a package of legislation they say would reinvest in public schools and bring transparency to voucher school spending.
“This is about public dollars, public schools and public oversight,” Sen. Chris Larson, D-Milwaukee, told reporters.
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Some Republicans and Democrats agree Michigan’s Freedom of Information Act should be reformed and will propose legislation later this year.
Sen. Jeremy Moss, a Southfield Democrat, called FOIA reform a “good government” issue. A 2015 report gave Michigan an ‘F’ grade for government transparency and accountability.
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The University of Minnesota (UMN) paid over $200,000 to develop a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) training program that teaches medical professionals that healthcare is fundamentally racist, according to documents received by the medical watchdog Do No Harm and shared with the Daily Caller News Foundation.
The training, developed by Diversity Science, is intended to educate healthcare professionals on obstetric care for black and indigenous women, which the training dubs “birthing people,” and highlights perceived “structural racism” in healthcare practices. Moreover, UMN’s DEI office blames “white supremacy” for certain disparities in perinatal care, and trains providers to view the development of medicine and the healthcare system as tainted with racism, documents obtained by Do Not Harm reveal.
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Meagan Wolfe’s days as administrator of the troubled Wisconsin Elections Commission may be numbered.
The Senate Committee on Shared Revenue, Elections and Consumer Protection voted 3-1 on Monday to reject the appointment of Wolfe, the controversial election regulator protected by the left and lambasted by conservatives.
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Voters in Milwaukee County don’t want to pay for American Family Field.
A new poll released over the weekend shows 65% of voters asked don’t want to use taxpayer dollars to pay for renovations and upkeep at the Brewers’ ballpark.
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Average gas prices in Minnesota have jumped by more than 30 cents in a week, according to AAA data.
The current average price is $3.98 per gallon, up 36 cents from a week ago, the AAA data says. Average prices in the seven-county metro are over $4.
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There’s another push at the Wisconsin Capitol to end the state’s tipped-minimum wage.
Sen. Chirs Larson, D-Milwaukee, and Rep. Francesca Hong, D-Madison, introduced legislation to bring the minimum wage for bartenders, waiters and waitresses and other tipped workers up to at least $7.25 an-hour.
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On this 22nd anniversary of 9/11, U.S. Senator Ron Johnson (R-WI) is demanding the Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation turn over the complete, unredacted records of Saudi Arabia’s role in the deadliest terrorist attack on U.S. soil.
Johnson, ranking member of the Senate’s Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, and subcommittee chairman Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), are seeking a full explanation of any ongoing need for classification of any portions of these records.
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Democratic lawmakers in Madison want more money, not fewer rules, for child care providers in the state.
A group of Democrats on the Assembly’s Committee on Children and Families said deregulation is not the answer.
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During Democrat Whitmer’s recent “What’s Next” speech, she outlined an agenda for Michigan that included what Barbara Listing, Right to Life (RTL) of Michigan president, called “anti-life fall policy priorities.”
In her speech on August 30th, Gov. Whitmer talked about wanting to pass the RHA or “Reproductive Health Act.” Just seven days later, the RHA 11-bill package was introduced by Democratic lawmakers, spearheaded by Michigan House Rep. Lauri Pohutsky (D-Livonia) and Sen. Sarah Anthony (D-Lansing). Pohutsky said in a statement about the legislation, “The implementation of these bills is urgent to ensure medical avenues are open to access safe, legal abortion across Michigan.”
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A teacher in the Osseo school district asked students to share their preferred name and pronouns on the first day of class and state whether they should be used when contacting home.
“Please circle your answer choice for the following in regards to your pronoun/preferred name use,” a handout reads. It then asks if the teacher should use the student’s preferred name and pronouns when calling home.
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The University of Michigan’s COVID-19 policies tell students who test positive to “make an isolation plan” for five days by getting a hotel, going home or staying with a friend off campus.
“Make an isolation plan, which could include relocating to your permanent residence, staying with a nearby relative or friend, or finding a hotel space,” the U-M guidance says.
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While recreational cannabis use has been legal in Minnesota for just more than one month, elected officials in local governments across the state are still sorting out just what that means for their communities.
Under the new law, you can’t yet buy or sell the product. You can grow it at your home in limited quantities and give some of that away to others. But many local government officials are having public conversations about where you can smoke it and how many businesses should eventually be allowed to sell it within a jurisdiction. At times, these conversations involve interpretation of potential conflicts between the new state law and federal regulations that still define marijuana as a controlled substance.
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On Sept. 20, Attorney General Merrick Garland is expected to testify before the House Judiciary Committee.
U.S. Representative Tom Tiffany (R-WI-07) can’t wait.
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Minnesota Democrats plan to use their governing trifecta to bring assisted suicide to the state next year.
Sen. Kelly Morrison, DFL-Deephaven, who carried an assisted suicide bill in the legislature this past session, said in a press release this week that “advocates are now ramping up their push to pass the bill during the 2024 legislative session that convenes in February.”
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Wisconsin Democrats announced late Tuesday a $4 million plan to target Republican lawmakers who talk about impeaching Supreme Court Justice Janet Protasiewicz.
The announcement came in a closed-media call by Wisconsin Democratic Party.
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A new bill aims to protect public access to government communications under the Freedom of Information Act by preventing the government from speaking in code to thwart records requests.
State Sen. Ed McBroom, R-Waucedah Township, introduced the legislation after a lawsuit claimed Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s administration used encrypted Greek letters to discuss the Benton Harbor water lead crisis to avoid public scrutiny.
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Former Republican Rep. Mike Rogers of Michigan announced Wednesday he was running for outgoing Democratic Sen. Debbie Stabenow’s seat.
Rogers joins several other Republican hopefuls in their attempts to flip the seat red, and could face Democratic Rep. Elissa Slotkin in the general election, as she is the current frontrunner in her party’s crowded primary. The former congressman touted his time in the military, as well as his experience as a special agent for the FBI and as the chairman of the House Select Committee on Intelligence, in his announcement video, while slamming the Biden administration for enabling an open southern border, “a broken system of justice,” inflation and “social engineering” in schools.
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The second attempt from Wisconsin Republican lawmakers to cut taxes will end the same as the first Gov. Tony Evers said Wednesday.
Evers took to social media to promise a veto for the $3 billion tax cut that began its journey through the legislature Wednesday.
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While students across the state are now back in class, the list of secondary schools that will begin the year without a school resource officer continues to grow.
On Monday the Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office announced it will pull its officers it has contracted as SROs from six schools in the east metro. Well more than a dozen law enforcement agencies across the state have now pulled their SROs from school campuses in the wake of a new law they say the legislature needs to fix so their officers can safely do their jobs.
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The Wisconsin Elections Commission has lost a lawsuit challenging its use of an unlawful voter registration form, the latest legal problem for a controversial state elections regulator with a history of bending the law.
The lawsuit, filed by the Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty (WILL) on behalf of Wisconsin taxpayer and voter Richard Braun, challenged the use of the National Mail Voter Registration Form in Wisconsin.
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One of the biggest questions about Wisconsin’s deer management plan is who is making the decisions.
Lawmakers held a public hearing in Park Falls to question DNR managers and get input from hunters.
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St. Paul police responded to separate incidents of gunfire both Saturday and Sunday nights just outside the Minnesota State Fair grounds. In one incident, a fairgoer was reportedly struck by an errant bullet. In another incident, a University of Minnesota bus was struck by gunfire that shattered a window.
About 10:13 p.m. Saturday, a person inside the fairgrounds called 911 to report that they had been shot at, according to dispatch audio at the time. The person who was reported to be at Chambers Street and Carnes Avenue said the bullet struck him, but the bullet did not make penetration.
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U.S. Senator Ron Johnson (R-WI) joined 18 of his Republican colleagues on Tuesday in introducing a Congressional Review Act resolution of disapproval.
The CRA aims to end President Joe Biden’s latest end-around to the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling this summer striking down the administration’s original student loan bailout.
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Democrats in Michigan want to make it easier for transgenders to change their names and are expected to present bills this fall according to media reports. Currently, if a transgender wants to change their name in the state of Michigan, it costs up to $400 for fees including a criminal background check and it can take months.
On the other hand, married Michiganders can pay a lot less and get it done faster. They have to pay for a certified copy of their marriage certificate ($15 to $30) which gets them a free updated social security card that can be taken to the Michigan Secretary of State to get a $9 updated driver’s license or an updated $10 state ID card.
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Michigan is trailing Illinois and Minnesota in the Midwest race to register the most electric vehicles.
Illinois leads with nearly 80,000 EVs, while Minnesota has 41,417 and Michigan has 34,380.
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University of Wisconsin campus leaders have not cut diversity, equity and inclusion positions from their campuses despite losing $32 million in funding from the GOP-led state legislature earlier this summer in an effort to see such programs axed.
However, system leaders are in the process of requesting a partial reimbursement to the tune of $15 million from the Wisconsin State Assembly’s Joint Finance Committee to fund non-DEI, workforce development-related positions, which state lawmakers left open as an option to recoup some of the cuts.
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Three swing states will hold elections to their supreme courts over the next 18 months, potentially altering court compositions amid key cultural and political flashpoints such as abortion, guns and redistricting.
Between 2023 and 2024, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Michigan will hold elections for several seats on their supreme courts, which have the final word on matters of state law regarding abortion and gerrymandering, among others. These seats are likely to be highly contested as partisan groups seek to bring litigation to change the law on these issues, political strategists and academics told the DCNF.
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Three-term state Rep. Ruth Richardson, DFL-Mendota Heights, abruptly resigned via Twitter / X Friday night, as the long Labor Day weekend began.
Little additional explanation was given for her sudden departure. As a House member, she served on the Economic Development Committee.
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The City of Champlin is considering seceding from Hennepin County and joining Anoka County.
The Champlin City Council discussed the idea during a worksession Monday at Mayor Ryan Sabas’ request.
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The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Wayne County violated the rights of Detroiters by not offering prompt court hearings within two weeks of their vehicles being seized.
The Center Square reported the lawsuit in 2020 when The Institute for Justice filed a class action suit challenging the program on behalf of Detroiters whose vehicles were seized without receiving a hearing.
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There are new calls to overhaul Wisconsin’s economic development arm after another audit found more problems.
The Legislative Audit Bureau report into the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. found WEDC missed its promised-jobs-mark, spent thousands of dollars on ineligible grants and failed to recoup money that should have been paid back.
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The number of Americans who view Minneapolis as a safe city has declined by 15%, according to a new Gallup poll.
A majority of Americans (58%) still view Minneapolis as a safe place to “live in or visit,” but this is down from the 73% who said the same in 2006, the last time the poll was conducted.
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A recent supply chain snag for a General Motors light-duty truck plant may foreshadow further delays if the United Auto Workers decide to strike over unresolved contract issues in the near future.
“GM is actively working with our supplier to resolve the issues that have arisen so we can begin producing the vehicles that are in such high demand with our dealers and customers,” Fort Wayne Plant Executive Dennys Pimenta wrote to employees.
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A north Minneapolis resident whose street has become “an established destination” for drug dealing said he wants elected leaders to “understand how abandoned and helpless we feel.”
“We are an established destination now for drug purchases. Cars stop by 24/7 and within moments they have a carhop with their face in the passenger window, ready to serve,” said Jay Dorsey, who owns a home across the street from an Aldi store that closed earlier this year to much disappointment from local residents.
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A Pennsylvania state Senate committee unanimously voted Wednesday to move its presidential primary election up in 2024.
The State Government Committee approved the bill, proposed by Vice Chair Republican Sen. David Argall, which would change Pennsylvania’s presidential primary from late April to March 19, according to the state legislature’s website. The proposed new primary date for the third Tuesday in March comes just two weeks after Super Tuesday, when over a dozen states hold their nominating contests.
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U.S. Senator Ron Johnson and his staff have spent the past few years looking into allegations of corruption surrounding President Joe Biden, his ne’er do well son Hunter, and others in the Biden family.
The Wisconsin senator says what he, his committee, and others have uncovered is beyond scandalous; it’s, cold, calculated corruption.
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Two Republican state senators are talking about impeachment of Wisconsin’s new liberal-majority Supreme Court.
Sen. Dan Knodl, R-Germantown, said he’s willing to consider impeaching Justice Janet Protasiewicz because of what she said about the state’s political maps during her run for the Supreme Court in the spring.
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Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer proposed enacting a paid family leave program, a 100% clean energy standard and codifying the Affordable Care Act in her “What’s Next” speech that outlined the fall agenda Wednesday morning.
The second-term Democratic governor outlined her priorities as state Democrats control the governor’s office, House and Senate in Michigan for the first time in 40 years.
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In the wake of Governor Tony Evers’ gutting of a historic tax cut proposal earlier this summer, Republicans are pushing another plan they said would deliver nearly $3 billion in tax relief for retirees and the middle class.
Conservative lawmakers said the plan to tap into the state’s projected $4 billion budget surplus is a “second chance” for the liberal governor to “do the right thing” and return overpaid tax dollars back to Wisconsin’s taxpayers.
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The number of Minnesota students who consistently attend school has dropped by 15% since 2019, according to state Department of Education data released last week.
The annual North Star Accountability Report tracks “consistent attendance,” which is defined as the number of students who attend school at least 90% of the time and are not chronically absent.
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Gov. Gretchen Whitmer appears to be taking advantage of the Democratic majority in Lansing and plans to call on state lawmakers to pass legislation which would protect key provisions in the Affordable Care Act.
The Governor’s call-to-action comes as the Affordable Care Act, also known as “Obamacare,” faces a battle in federal court.
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The House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party will be in manufacturing-dependent Wisconsin Wednesday afternoon for a roundtable discussion on communist China’s “deliberate undermining of American manufacturing,” according to a press release.
Committee Chairman Mike Gallagher (R-WI-08) and Ranking Member Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL-08) will host the roundtable beginning at 3 p.m. Wednesday in Stoughton, WI.
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A left-leaning elections reform organization is representing a local group hoping to intervene in a Minnesota Chamber of Commerce lawsuit that’s challenging a new state law it says unconstitutionally restricts political speech of businesses.
On Friday, the Massachusetts-based advocacy group Free Speech For People, on behalf of Clean Elections Minnesota, filed a motion requesting to intervene in the Chamber’s federal lawsuit that contends a new law governing corporate speech unconstitutionally restricts the political speech of its members’ businesses who have minimal investment from foreign-based individuals and entities.
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Wisconsin Supreme Court Chief Justice Annette Ziegler accused the court’s liberal majority of staging a “coup,” according to emails obtained by The Associated Press.
After gaining a majority August 1 for the first time in 15 years, liberal justices quickly moved to fire state court director Randy Koschnick, drawing immediate backlash, and create a committee responsible for many of the tasks that the chief justice has typically handled, the AP reported. Ziegler wrote in two emails obtained by the AP that the majority’s actions were illegal and amounted to “nothing short of an unprecedented coup.”
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Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel has said it’s too early to determine whether Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s new education agency is legal or not.
On August 8, the State Department of Education requested an attorney general legal opinion regarding the constitutionality of Whitmer’s executive order creating the Michigan Department of Lifelong Education, Advancement, and Potential.
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Rep. Glenn Grothman (R-WI-06), a House Oversight Committee member, predicts liberals will double down on affirmative action hires in spite of a recent Supreme Court ruling striking down affirmative action in college admissions.
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The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is tracking a new COVID-19 strain, BA.2.86, a highly mutated variant that was discovered in Michigan last week as the first case of its kind in the country. The variant has been spotted in the United States, Denmark, Israel and the U.K. This variant is described as being a “variant under monitoring” by the World Health Organization (WHO).
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Wisconsin is making a major change in how it tracks the coronavirus.
The Department of Health Services recently announced it is ending its daily tracking of COVID-19 cases and deaths.
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Torrential rain, powerful winds, and tornadoes near Canton, Michigan, flooded streets, shutting down parts of Interstate 275 and the Detroit Metro Airport, and knocked out power for nearly 400,000 Michiganders.
Whether Metro Detroit residents were trying to go across town, pick up a visitor from the airport, or go to work, they likely were met by feet of water standing in the road.
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