Author: Todd Richmond

Republicans who control the Wisconsin Assembly introduced a bill in early January that would call for a binding statewide referendum on whether abortion should be banned after 14 weeks of pregnancy. The proposal could still galvanize the conservative base after Democrats parlayed anger over the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to overturn its landmark 1972 Roe v. Wade ruling, which legalized abortion nationwide, into big election wins across the country. Nowhere was that dynamic more evident than in Wisconsin, where Janet Protasiewicz won a seat on the state Supreme Court last year after repeatedly announcing on the campaign trail that...

A Wisconsin judge on December 5 reaffirmed her ruling from earlier this year that state law permits consensual medical abortions, handing abortion rights advocates a massive victory but opening up appellate options for conservatives. The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, the court’s landmark 1973 decision legalizing abortion, in June 2022 reactivated an 1849 Wisconsin law that conservatives interpreted as banning abortion. Abortion providers ceased operations in the state out of fear of violating the ban. Democratic Attorney General Josh Kaul filed a lawsuit days after the U.S. Supreme Court decision challenging the ban’s validity. He...

Wisconsin Republicans are trying again to block government agencies from closing churches during emergencies, this time with a constitutional amendment. Critics call the proposal a politically motivated Christian Nationalist effort that seeks to enshrine the rights of Conservative churches over the lives of Wisconsin residents. The amendment from state Senator Cory Tomczyk and state Representative Ty Bodden would bar any state or local government agency or subdivision from closing or limiting gatherings in places of worship in response to a national, state or local emergency, including public health emergencies. A number of other GOP-dominated states have passed similar legislation,...

The Great Lakes’ frigid fresh water used to keep shipwrecks so well preserved that divers could see dishes in the cupboards. Downed planes that spent decades underwater were left so pristine they could practically fly again when archaeologists finally discovered them. Now, an invasive mussel is destroying shipwrecks deep in the depths of the lakes, forcing archeologists and amateur historians into a race against time to find as many sites as they can before the region touching eight U.S. states and the Canadian province of Ontario loses any physical trace of its centuries-long maritime history. “What you need to...

Lawmakers are set to consider a package of legislation that would tighten prohibitions on sexual assault within the Wisconsin National Guard after a scathing federal report found commanders had for years been flouting federal requirements for handling complaints. A study committee made up of legislators, district attorneys and military veterans began working on legislation last summer to tighten oversight of sexual assault complaints within the Wisconsin National Guard. The state Assembly’s military affairs committee was set to start the process toward floor votes with a public hearing on the bills. The proposals come after the National Guard Bureau in...