Author: Wisconsin Public Radio

Wisconsin state and local governments could receive more than $2.2 billion from the federal government as part of the $2 trillion stimulus package signed on March 27 to address the economic fallout caused by the coronavirus. The estimate was provided by the Legislature’s nonpartisan budget office, the same day the U.S. House passed and President Donald Trump signed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. Part of the act sets aside $150 billion in direct aid payments to state and local governments. According to the Legislative Fiscal Bureau, Wisconsin could receive about $2.26 billion of that funding...

President Donald Trump’s reelection campaign has filed suit against a Northwoods TV station over an ad using the president’s words to attack his administration’s response to COVID-19. The Rhinelander-based station WJFW-TV is owned by the small broadcasting company, Rockfleet Communications, which also owns stations in Bangor, Maine. It has aired an ad produced by Priorities USA, a liberal advocacy group not directly affiliated with any candidate or the Democratic Party. The ad juxtaposes clips of Trump’s statements in January and February about the response to the virus. For example, his claim on February 27 that the total number of...

For the 300,000 people across Wisconsin who are uninsured and the thousands more with near unaffordable insurance coverage, the COVID-19 pandemic is further highlighting flaws in a system that already had people struggling to get specialty care and hospital services. With 842 positive cases in Wisconsin of COVID-19 — the disease caused by SARS-CoV-2 — and the promise of more to come, researcher Donna Friedsam labeled the outbreak as particularly burdensome to health care’s outliers. “What this epidemic and pandemic is doing is really highlighting and accentuating all the existing weaknesses that we have in our country and worldwide,”...

Grocery stores in Wisconsin and across the country are feeling the pressure to keep up with demand as people stock up amid the new coronavirus outbreak. Panic about how long the threat of COVID-19 could last has led some consumers to buy massive amounts of household items such as toilet paper and disinfecting wipes. And there have been reports of some bare food shelves as people prepare to wait out the virus at home — though many stores report that most items are in stock. Brandon Scholz, president and CEO of the Wisconsin Grocers Association, said it’s understandable that...

Rumors have been circulating around the state that the Wisconsin National Guard is preparing to enforce statewide quarantines and are shutting down health care facilities and other infrastructures. Major General Paul Knapp, adjutant general of the state’s National Guard, said all rumors are completely false. “Let me clearly state that the Wisconsin National Guard has no role in enforcing the safer-at-home initiative,” Knapp explained in a pre-recorded video posted to their website. According to the office, false reports have been made after people witnessed large trainloads of military vehicles being transported throughout Wisconsin. Individuals assumed those vehicles were associated...

“Traditionally it’s always been Republicans suppressing votes in places. Let’s start protecting our voters. We know where they are. Let’s start playing offense a little bit. That’s what you’re going to see in 2020.” – Justin Clark, Trump re-election advisor On April 4, Republican legislative leaders immediately adjourned a special session called by the governor to consider a plan to conduct the spring election by mail, and they are planning to appeal other election changes to the U.S. Supreme Court. Governor Tony Evers, a Democrat, called a special session of the Legislature for 4:00 p.m. Saturday to take up...