Author: Staff

COVID-19 pandemic underscores the importance of the Affordable Care Act for millions of Wisconsinites

Governor Tony Evers, with Wisconsin Commissioner of Insurance Mark Afable and Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS) Secretary-designee Andrea Palm, announced that between November 1 and Novembe 21, 57,558 Wisconsinites enrolled in a healthcare plan for 2021 through the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) Health Insurance Exchange on Healthcare.gov. Since its enactment, the ACA has helped reduce the number of uninsured, expanded access to affordable coverage, and increased coverage options for rural counties. It has also been the subject of countless ongoing partisan lawsuits attempting to gut healthcare coverage for millions of Americans even during a global pandemic. “Perhaps now...

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Wisconsin to offer more financial assistance for local restaurants impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic

Governor Tony Evers announced with the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC) that restaurants and other targeted small businesses affected by the COVID-19 pandemic will receive $45 million in assistance, bringing the total assistance distributed to Wisconsin businesses this year to more than $220 million. The program, We’re All In For Restaurants, is aimed at businesses throughout Wisconsin that, as gathering places, have been challenged from the beginning of the pandemic, and are incredibly important employers and community members. “Restaurants and other venues have been among the businesses hit hardest by the COVID-19 pandemic,” Governor Evers said. “They’ve made the...

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Port Milwaukee to solidify its status as a hub for Great Lakes Cruising with new lease agreement

Port Milwaukee plans to enter into a lease agreement with Pearl Seas Cruises, which would give the company priority docking rights for its cruise ships at Pier Wisconsin, the downtown dock immediately east of Discovery World museum. The Board of Harbor Commissioners approved the agreement at its meeting on December 3. Under the lease, Pearl Seas can extend the initial ten year agreement until 2040. “Pearl Seas has been a great partner with our port, bringing passengers to our city and establishing Milwaukee as a center of Great Lakes cruising,” said Mayor Tom Barrett. “Starting with the 2021 cruise...

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Newly-approved Enterprise Zone allows Molson Coors to proceed with major expansion plans in Milwaukee

Governor Tony Evers, together with the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC), celebrated the newly-approved Enterprise Zone for the Molson Coors Beverage Company on December 9. The effort was part of the company’s continued commitment to the state that will move 377 new family-supporting jobs to Milwaukee and enable the company to retain 1,290 jobs in total in Wisconsin for a minimum of the next eight years. The Milwaukee expansion project will be designated as an Enterprise Zone (EZ) eligible for up to $25 million in performance-based tax credits over the next eight years if the company meets hiring and...

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Search for Wisconsin Air National Guard’s F-16 pilot continues after crash in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula

An F-16 Fighting Falcon assigned to the Wisconsin Air National Guard’s 115th Fighter Wing at Truax Field Air National Guard Base in Madison crashed in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula at approximately 8:00 p.m. on December 8. The search for the pilot continues, and the pilot’s status remains unknown. The 115th Fighter Wing participated in a coordinated search effort with local emergency responders, the U.S. Coast Guard and other government agencies overnight. Search and rescue efforts on the ground, in the air, and in the water continue. “I was devastated to learn last night that a member of the Wisconsin Air...

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Milwaukee celebrates a Human Rights Campaign Equality Index Score of 100% for third year in a row

Mayor Tom Barrett joined the City of Milwaukee Equal Rights Commission, Alderwoman JoCasta Zamarripa, and representatives from the Human Rights Campaign, Fair Wisconsin, FORGE and the Milwaukee LGBT Community Center on December 9 to announce that the City of Milwaukee received yet another perfect score of 100 on the Human Rights Campaign’s Municipality Equality Index. Only 94 out of a total of 506 cities rated received perfect scores. The Human Rights Campaign is the nation’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer civil rights organization. The national 2020 Municipal Equality Index (MEI) report is the only nationwide assessment of...

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