Author: Wisconsin Public Radio

State Republican lawmakers are planning to bring forward a package of bills to overhaul K-12 education in Wisconsin and dissolve the Milwaukee public school district over the next two years. The sweeping proposals are expected to be released by State Senator Alberta Darling, R-River Hills, who chairs the Senate Education Committee. The legislation would expand private school vouchers to every parent, removing income requirements. In an email to Republican colleagues sent January 28, Darling said the package “promotes school performance transparency and accountability, as well as re-asserts parental choice and rights.” She said the legislation is in response to...

A U.S. House committee has subpoenaed two Wisconsin Republicans who cast votes as “alternate electors” for President Donald Trump after the 2020 presidential election. The committee — called the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States — announced the subpoenas of Andrew Hitt and Kelly Ruh on January 28. Hitt is the former chair of the Republican Party of Wisconsin. Ruh is a Republican activist who was listed as the secretary for Wisconsin’s alternate electors. The panel was formed in the summer to investigate the violent insurrection in Washington on January 6, 2021. Committee...

More than 1 million metric tons of salt is flowing into Lake Michigan each year, according to a new study from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. The findings come as the state has been making significant strides to reduce salt use on roads to curb pollution. Researchers examined past and current water data on the amount of salt flowing into the lake from 234 rivers and streams, according to Hilary Dugan, the study’s lead author and assistant professor for the Center for Limnology at UW-Madison. “There’s a tremendous amount of salt going into the lake each year,” said Dugan. “But...

Two trains originally intended for a high-speed rail line to connect Madison and Milwaukee are headed for Nigeria. The governor of that country’s Lagos State was in Milwaukee on January 18 to purchase the unused trains. The trains are set to become part of West Africa’s first operational metro system. At a public event at the Milwaukee facilities of Spanish train manufacturer Talgo, acting Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson welcomed Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu. “It’s a little bittersweet,” Johnson said after the event. “I’m sending my congratulations to the governor in Lagos State in Nigeria, but also a little...

A Waukesha County Judge has ruled that absentee ballot drop boxes are not allowed under Wisconsin law, a ruling that could potentially remove an option for voting ahead of the state’s midterm elections. Ruling from the bench on January 13, Circuit Court Judge Michael Bohren ordered the Wisconsin Elections Commission to rescind its guidance to clerks on how to use the drop boxes, saying the WEC had exceeded its authority when it issued the recommendations. “In looking at the statutes, there is no specific authorization for drop boxes,” Bohren said. Bohren’s ruling sided with the conservative Wisconsin Institute for...

A year after the deadly January 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, Wisconsin and national-level experts on domestic terrorism spoke at an event in McFarland on causes and responses to the problem. The event, sponsored by the nonpartisan, nonprofit Wisconsin group We Are Many-United Against Hate, included discussions on the effects of domestic terrorism. Masood Akhtar, president and founder of We Are Many-United Against Hate, noted the conscious decision to hold the event on the first anniversary of the Capitol insurrection. “All of us can work together to make sure January 6th, 2021 never happens again,” Akhtar said in...