Wisconsin

From the Article:

The last coal-fired passenger steamship in the U.S. is attempting to become more green while maintaining its steam-powered charm as it travels to and from Wisconsin.

Last year, the SS Badger received a $600,000 federal grant to study alternative fuel sources beyond coal in efforts to make the ship zero-carbon.

The Badger connects Manitowoc to Ludington, Michigan, through a four-hour ferry ride across Lake Michigan. The ship first set sail on the lake more than 70 years ago. In 2016, the U.S. Department of the Interior designated the Badger a National Historic Landmark.

From the Article:

Vice President Kamala Harris has closed the polling gap with former President Donald Trump among Wisconsin voters, according to polls taken since President Joe Biden dropped out of the race.

“What we’re seeing is that voters under the age of 50, independents and ethnic minorities, especially African American voters, are swinging back towards the Democratic party,” said Matt Taglia, a senior director at Emerson College polling.

Emerson’s poll is one of several that show Harris leading Trump when voters are asked to choose between the two. A survey conducted July 22-23 showed Harris leading Trump 51-49, within the poll’s margin of error.

When other candidates were included in the question, Harris and Trump were tied 45-45, with independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. getting 3 percent support and Green Party candidate Jill Stein at 1 percent.

“She changed the dynamics of the race substantially. She moved five points in the margin in Wisconsin, and so I don’t think we necessarily need to wait to see what changes are taking effect as a result of Harris on the ticket,” Taglia said.

Still, with an expected vice presidential announcement in the next several days and the Democratic National convention in less than two weeks, he said it will take some time to get a firmer sense of how the race has changed.

From the Article:

Wisconsin Republicans are asking voters to take away the governor's power to unilaterally spend federal money, a reaction to the billions of dollars that flowed into the state during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Democratic Gov. Tony Evers was free to spend most of that money as he pleased, directing most of it toward small businesses and economic development, angering Republicans who argued the Legislature should have oversight.

That's what would happen under a pair of related constitutional amendments up for voter approval in the Aug. 13 primary election. The changes would apply to Evers and all future governors and cover any federal money to the state that comes without specific spending requirements, often in response to disasters or other emergencies.

Democrats and other opponents are mobilizing against the amendments, calling them a legislative power grab that would hamstring governors' ability to quickly respond to a future natural disaster, economic crisis or health emergency.

If the amendments pass, Wisconsin’s government “will become even more dysfunctional,” said Julie Keown-Bomar, executive director of Wisconsin Farmers Union.

“Wisconsinites are so weary of riding the partisan crazy train, but it is crucial that we show up at the polls and vote ‘no’ on these changes as they will only make us go further off the rails,” she said in a statement.

But Republicans and other backers say it's a necessary check on the governor's current power, which they say is too broad.

From the Article:

Starting next week, tens of thousands of high school students across Wisconsin will be directly admitted to Universities of Wisconsin schools without filing applications.

The admissions are part of a new program, launched in December, to boost admission on the state’s public university campuses.

Next week through September, students will start receiving emails letting them know they’ve been admitted. School districts across the state participating in the Direct Admit Wisconsin program shared student grade point averages and course credits with University of Wisconsin administrators for rising seniors. The program identifies if a student qualifies to be directly admitted to any of the 10 participating campuses.

UW-Madison, UW-La Crosse and UW-Eau Claire are not participating.

Universities of Wisconsin President Jay Rothman said this week 50,000 students across 330 high schools are eligible under the program.

In recent years, enrollment across the UW system has declined. Historically, more than 30% of the state’s high school graduates enroll in a UW school but that number had dropped to 27% in 2020.

“These students have already demonstrated through their junior year of high school that they have the ability to succeed at one of our universities, and to put themselves on a path to a better life and to a better career,” Rothman said.

From the Article:

Wisconsin Republican Congressman Tom Tiffany is introducing a bill that would designate the Apostle Islands as the state’s first national park.

The proposal would redesignate the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore as the Apostle Islands National Park and Preserve. The country has 63 national parks, but Wisconsin currently lacks any such designation.

While some elected leaders and communities applaud the bill, the proposal is sparking concerns among local officials about its effects on tribal treaty rights, housing, workforce and infrastructure.

Tiffany, who chairs a House subcommittee on federal lands, said people are drawn to the lakeshore’s historic lighthouses, shipwrecks, sandstone cliffs and sea caves. During a hearing Wednesday, Tiffany said designating the Apostle Islands as a national park would increase tourism and attract more visitors to the area.

From the Article:

Anglers are now off the hook if they carry a firearm while fishing after the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources has agreed to repeal a regulation preventing them from doing so.

The move follows a lawsuit filed by the conservative law firm Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty, or WILL, on behalf of Sheboygan Falls resident Travis Kobs. The legal group sued Acting DNR Secretary Steven Little last month over the 25-year-old rule that bars firearms and guns on waters and shores used for fishing.

The group’s complaint states any angler found in violation of the regulation could have been punished by a $200 fine plus court costs that would have pushed the total penalty past $500.

WILL argued the rule is an unconstitutional violation of Kobs’ Second Amendment rights to keep and bear arms. Now, a settlement between the parties states Little intends to repeal the regulation “as soon as practicable and without delay.”

Skylar Croy, associate counsel for WILL, said it’s important to ensure unconstitutional laws and rules are removed from the books as quickly as possible.

“There is a constitutional right under both the state and federal Constitution to protect yourself using firearms,” Croy said. “That right doesn’t disappear just because you’re in the great outdoors.”

From the Article:

Researchers have discovered a new parasite in freshwater mussels after investigating hundreds of mussels that died along the Embarrass River in Shawano County six years ago.

The findings were recently published in the international, peer-reviewed journal Parasitologia. Researchers with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the U.S. Geological Survey and Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources were among agencies that collaborated to study the mass die-off in 2018. Biologists observed sick mussels lying on their sides on the surface of the river with open shells when they’re normally buried in the river bottom.

Researchers examined 29 mussels from six different species within the river. They then cut them in half and examined the organs of some samples to see if the mussels were healthy or diseased.

From the Article:

Milwaukee backers of the Republican National Convention coming to the city, who have predicted a $200 million economic impact from the event, said they weren’t fazed by former President Donald Trump citing an impact of over $250 million during his speech accepting the party's nomination.

Two leaders of the Milwaukee 2024 RNC Host Committee said Friday they don’t yet know the final estimated impact of hosting the convention and don’t rule out finishing higher than their $200 million prediction.

Here is what Trump said Thursday night at Fiserv Forum:

“By the way, Wisconsin, we are spending over $250 million here creating jobs and the other economic development all over the place, so I hope you will remember this in November. Give us your vote. I am trying to buy your vote – I’ll be honest about that.” Trump's remarks drew cheers from the audience, which included the Wisconsin delegation near the stage.

A reporter from Milwaukee CBS affiliate WDJT-TV (Channel 58) reported the teleprompter for Trump's speech said $200 million, indicating Trump deviated from the script. However, the audience at Fiserv Forum and on television, streaming and other platforms heard the $250 million figure.

Visit Milwaukee president and CEO Peggy Williams-Smith said Friday that her organization and the Host Committee's $200 million figure was based on the impact of previous national political conventions.

“I do not control what Donald Trump says,” she said. “I’m still going with $200 million.”

Williams-Smith said she’s awaiting financial reports on the convention’s impact before declaring a final dollar amount.

“Obviously with inflation, I can totally see that ($250 million) happening, but I’m not going to increase it right now,” she said. “My gut feel says it’ll be higher (than $200 million), but we have to wait and see.”

Tim Sheehy, senior adviser and past president of the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce, said the convention met performance goals for attendance and impact on the local hospitality industry.

“I don’t know whether it’s $200 million or $250 (million),” Sheehy said. “Past conventions, it’s been around $200 (million). I don’t make this as a political statement, but inflation’s going to drive that up.”

Sheehy acknowledged that while the convention delivered revenue boosts for hotels and many hospitality and service businesses, it wasn’t a win for all businesses.

“I’m going to have to describe it as 'lumpy peanut butter,'” he said. “The reason I describe it as 'lumpy peanut butter' is I think the spread of exposure for Milwaukee nationally and internationally was fantastic.

“The lumpy part is not every business met the expectations that they had for the convention. That’s somewhat understandable,” he said.

Sheehy said convention guests faced challenges entering and exiting the security zone, which likely limited their access to businesses beyond the perimeter.

Williams-Smith said she was sad that not all businesses in Milwaukee did as well as their owners and managers thought they would, but she said the Host Committee never promised all businesses would benefit. She said activity picked up through the course of the week at bars and restaurants.

Before the convention started, the Host Committee announced raising over $85 million from businesses and organizations in Wisconsin and beyond. The sales pitch to local donors was that their contributions would boost the Milwaukee area during the convention week and lead to opportunities for more large conventions.

Sheehy, who worked on the fundraising campaign, said the final figure was about $87 million, and about $40 million of that was raised in Wisconsin.

From the Article:

Last month was one of the wettest on record for June in a dramatic reversal from the drought conditions that covered Wisconsin at the same time last year.

The month marked the sixth-wettest June in state history based on records dating back to 1895. That’s according to Steve Vavrus, director of the Wisconsin State Climatology Office.

“Last June was the fifth-driest statewide, so this marks the biggest one-year precipitation flip-flop from one June to the next,” Vavrus said.

In June, the state averaged 6.97 inches in rainfall, which was 2.27 inches above normal for the month.

“Most parts of the state had more wet days than dry days in June, which is especially unusual in the summer,” Vavrus said.

The La Crosse area set a monthly record with 24 days of rain last month compared to the previous record of 22 days seen in 1935 and 2013. Frequent rain prompted flooding along the Mississippi River and brought water levels to its second-highest for the month at 11.01 feet.

From the Article:

New guidance on how local clerks should secure and maintain absentee ballot drop boxes has been approved by the Wisconsin Elections Commission. The 6-0 vote comes days after Republican National Committee Chair Michael Whatley said the party doesn’t want “ballots going into drop boxes.”

Drop boxes are back in Wisconsin because the Wisconsin Supreme Court’s liberal majority reversed a near-total ban on the receptacles July 5. It was a reversal of the court’s previous conservative majority’s order in 2022, which said unsupervised ballot drop boxes outside a clerk’s office were illegal.

Following the conservative majority’s ruling two years ago, former President Donald Trump falsely claimed the results of the 2020 election were also illegal. Trump lost Wisconsin to former Vice President Joe Biden by around 21,000 votes.

From the Article:

GOP lawmakers overstepped their constitutional authority when they used a committee to block certain gubernatorial actions, Wisconsin’s Supreme Court concluded in a 6-1 ruling.

Friday’s near-unanimous decision hands a major victory to Democratic Gov. Tony Evers, who filed a lawsuit arguing legislative committees like the GOP-led Joint Finance Committee violated the separation of powers established in Wisconsin’s Constitution.

The lawsuit cited moves by the committee, such as blocking the ability of Evers’ Department of Natural Resources to acquire land for conservation using funds that had already been earmarked by the full Legislature. In circumventing the DNR’s ability to carry out those purchases for what’s known as the Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Program, Wisconsin’s budget-writing committee “intruded” on executive power, six justices concluded.

“Maintaining the separation of powers between the branches is essential for the preservation of liberty and a government accountable to the people,” conservative Justice Rebecca Bradley wrote in the majority opinion. “By placing the power of the executive branch to carry out the law in a committee of the legislature, the legislative branch subsumed the executive power.”

Evers called the ruling a “victory for the people of Wisconsin” in a statement Friday.

“Republican lawmakers have spent years giving themselves outsized influence and power that they’ve used to unconstitutionally obstruct basic government functions and prevent my administration from doing the people’s work,” the statement said. “I’ve spent years working against near-constant Republican obstruction, and this historic decision rightfully resets constitutional checks and balances and restores separation of powers.”

Joint Finance Co-Chairs Sen. Howard Marklein, R-Spring Green, and Rep. Mark Born, R-Beaver Dam, said the decision was an “unfortunate” reversal of longstanding, “key components” of the land stewardship program that have been in place under both Democratic and Republican administrations. “These provisions have ensured taxpayer resources are spent wisely and that local communities and stakeholders have had a seat at the table on important projects impacting their area,” the statement said. “This decision removes our current legislative oversight process. Our entire stewardship program is now in jeopardy.”

Evers has long been engaged in a tug of war over authority with Wisconsin’s Legislature. Republicans hold a majority in both Wisconsin’s Senate and Assembly, but are just shy of the Assembly supermajority needed to override vetoes from the governor.

According to the state’s historical society, Jacques Marquette first described the region in 1673. The cursive M was later misread as a W by Rene Robert Cavelier.

The meaning of the word was discussed:

However, the hypothesized meanings were derived incorrectly from the Ojibwe language, not Miami, because the latter had not yet been mastered by modern scholars.

Another possible origin for Wisconsin's name was mentioned to WPR in 2019 by University of Wisconsin-Green Bay elder in residence and member of the Menominee tribe, Napos. He said he "was always told the name came from the Menominee word 'Wēskōhsaeh.'"

The first part of that word come from the word "Wis-cu," which Napos told WPR means "something good." The ending of "Wēskōhsaeh" is locative, meaning "'a good place to camp,' or 'to make a clearing' or 'to basically live.'"

Supporters of former President Donald Trump, including a former Wisconsin Supreme Court justice, submitted more than 9,000 signatures on Tuesday in an effort to force a recall election of Wisconsin’s top elected Republican after their first attempt fell short.

They targeted Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, the longest-serving Assembly speaker in Wisconsin history, after he refused to impeach the official who oversees the battleground state’s elections, angering Trump and his followers.

The bipartisan Wisconsin Elections Commission must determine whether there are enough valid signatures to trigger a recall election. The panel rejected the first attempt for not having enough valid signatures.

Petition circulators said they submitted 9,022 signatures primarily from voters in the district where Vos was elected to serve most recently in 2022, not the one where he lives now under new lines in place for the November election. They need 6,850 valid signatures to force a recall election in the district where Vos was elected to serve.

In March, the group submitted more than 9,000 signatures but of those the elections commission determined that only 5,905 were valid.

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If you’ve ever been to WI and driven 94 south from Milwaukee to Chicago, you’ve see the sign below and done your best Beavis and Butthead, snickering at it.

But the park is named for Major Richard Bong, and he was a WWII war hero, with 40 confirmed Jap kills.

The new laws free up nearly $80 million in federal construction aid and make it easier for gas stations, convenience stores, and other businesses to operate electric vehicle charging stations.