Author: Correspondent

Wisconsin election officials have been busy preparing for fall elections based on the experience of serving a record number of absentee voters in Wisconsin’s April 7 Spring Election and Presidential Preference Primary, according to a new report released on May 20 from the Wisconsin Elections Commission. The report documents the significant logistical and technical challenges local and state election officials faced in fulfilling the surge in absentee ballot requests and it recommends several ways to improve the absentee process for voters and clerks. Of the 1.55 million ballots cast in the election, 61.8% were absentee ballots cast by mail...

Members of the Milwaukee Common Council released a statement on May 22 about the city’s effort to relax its stay at home policy with the new “Moving Milwaukee Forward Safely” order. The authors included Alderman Russell W. Stamper, II, Alderwoman Milele A. Coggs, Alderman Ashanti Hamilton, Alderman Khalif J. Rainey, Alderwoman Chantia Lewis, and Alderwoman Nikiya Dodd. COVID-19 is a deadly virus for which there is currently no vaccine, and across the nation cities are struggling with how best to reopen their economies while protecting the health and welfare of their residents, and Milwaukee is no different. Over the...

Japanese cities, corporations, sports groups, and even tourist destinations have a long tradition of using iconic mascots as a way to promote brand identities. That habit has continued in the age of coronavirus, with the elevation of a 19th century “anti-plague demon” from Japanese folklore to help rally the public in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. Known as Amabie (アマビエ), the humanoid fish yōkai – a class of supernatural spirits popularized in Japanese mythology, was first documented in 1846 and has been reborn as a mascot to drive off the coronavirus. A number of supernatural monsters and apparitions...

The Wisconsin Supreme Court struck down Governor Tony Evers’ coronavirus stay-at-home order on May 13, ruling that his administration overstepped its authority when it extended the mandate for another month without consulting legislators. The 4-3 ruling essentially reopens the state, lifting caps on the size of gatherings, allowing people to travel as they please and allowing shuttered businesses to reopen, including bars and restaurants. The Tavern League of Wisconsin swiftly posted the news on its website, telling members, “You can OPEN IMMEDIATELY!” The decision let stand language that had closed schools, however, and local governments can still impose their...

The owner of a Christian-based children’s hair salon has filed a federal lawsuit alleging the “Safer at Home” order that closed nonessential businesses in Wisconsin is a violation of her freedom of religion. The lawsuit filed on May 12 is the third legal challenge to the order issued by Governor Tony Evers that runs until May 26. Two other lawsuits are pending in the Wisconsin Supreme Court. One was brought by Republican lawmakers alleging that Evers’ health secretary exceeded her authority in issuing the order. The other was brought by two men who argue Evers’ policies interfere with their...

The Wisconsin National Guard has eleven teams collecting samples across the state, in support of local health departments and the Wisconsin Department of Health Services, to increase the COVID-19 testing capacity for communities. The teams, comprised of more than 300 Citizen Soldiers and Airmen in total, established mobile testing sites at locations ranging from correctional facilities and health clinics, to private businesses, and community-based testing sites. A number of specimen collection sites have had ongoing operations, including two teams in Milwaukee County at local health clinics, one team in Brown County on site at a food processing facility, and...