Ohio journalist and entrepreneur Jack Windsor joined host Michael Patrick Leahy on Monday’s episode of The Tennessee Star Report to discuss the connections and divides behind the shocking decision by Governor Mike DeWine to veto measure that would prohibit genital mutilation of children and transgender males competing in girls’ sports.
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Former Ohio Gubernatorial Candidate Renacci Says Governor DeWine is ‘Not a Republican’ Following Veto of House Bill 68
Former Ohio gubernatorial candidate and U.S. Representative Jim Renacci has denounced Governor Mike DeWine’s decision to veto House Bill 68, saying such legislation is “the easiest bill for a Republican Governor to sign.”
Read MoreOne Republican Wants Answers on What University of Wisconsin Knew About Porn-Producing Chancellor
One Republican state senator wants more answers from the University of Wisconsin about the porn-producing former chancellor at La Crosse.
Sen. Steve Nass, R-Whitewater, the legislature needs to find out just what the UW knew about Joe Gow’s porn videos.
Read MoreMilwaukee, Milwaukee County Sales Tax Increases Begin Monday
Taxpayers in Milwaukee and Milwaukee County are going to start paying more for a lot of things in the New Year.
The city and county’s sales tax increases begin Monday.
Read MorePlanned Parenthood: Proposed Wisconsin Abortion Referendum an ‘Attempt to Strip Rights’
Planned Parenthood is looking to label the possible ballot question on abortion before voters in Wisconsin ever get to see it.
Planned Parenthood reacted to news Republican lawmakers are looking to vote early next year to add a statewide referendum on abortion to the April ballot.
Read MoreWisconsin Supreme Court Orders Redrawing of State Legislative Maps
The Wisconsin Supreme Court on Friday rejected the Republican-drawn legislative district maps and demanded that the creation of new electoral lines ahead of the 2024 contests.
The left-leaning court ruled 4-3 in ordering the new maps, which Democrats had sought to overturn over claims of gerrymandering, according to the Associated Press. The maps included non-contiguous districts.
Read MoreAudits: Many State, University of Wisconsin Offices Empty as Employees Work from Home
A pair of Republican lawmakers are promising to hold hearings into why so many state and University of Wisconsin workers aren’t in their offices.
A pair of audits from the Legislative Audit Bureau looked at telework and office space trends.
Read MoreWisconsin University System Accepts $800 Million Deal in Exchange for Slashing Diversity Efforts
The University of Wisconsin System accepted an $800 million deal with the state legislature on Wednesday that requires them to slash their diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) departments, according to the Associated Press.
The UW Board of Regents originally voted 9-8 against a deal that would give the university system $800 million for new infrastructure and employee pay raises in exchange for freezing the total number of DEI positions in the system. The board later reversed the decision and voted 11-6 in favor of the deal, which also orders the system to stop requiring diversity statements on student applications and will require UW Madison to end a race-based hiring program, according to the AP.
Read MoreWisconsin Senate Leader Rejects Calls for GOP Election Commissioner to Resign
Wisconsin’s secretary of state wants one of the state’s Republican elections commissioners to be fired after he settled a lawsuit over Wisconsin’s 2020 Trump electors.
Secretary of State Sarah Godlewski asked the Wisconsin Senate to remove Republican Commissioner Bob Spindell.
Read MoreWisconsin’s Governor Signs New Baby Box Law
Wisconsin now has a baby box law.
Gov. Tony Evers signed the new law which gives local governments permission to install boxes that allow parents to anonymously surrender newborn babies.
Read MoreState GOP Backs Plan to End Wisconsin Elections Commission
Republicans at the Wisconsin Capitol are pushing to end the state’s Elections Commission.
The latest plan comes from Senate elections boss Dan Knodl and 10 Assembly Republicans. They want to get rid of the commission and shift the power to oversee elections to the secretary of state.
Read MoreQuestions Linger After Report of Evers’ Secret Email
At least one Republican lawmaker wants to know if Wisconsin’s governor has any other secret email.
Lawmakers and reform groups in the state are asking questions after a report unveiled Gov. Tony Evers has a secret email account.
Read MoreWisconsin Deer Harvest Down by Thousands Compared to First Weekend Last Year
Wisconsin’s Department of Natural Resources is not surprised by the low numbers out of the state’s first weekend of gun deer hunting and not worried, yet.
The DNR reported hunters harvested 92,050 deer last weekend, compared to 103,623 for the first weekend last year.
Read MoreRepublicans and Democrats React to Wisconsin Supreme Court Redistricting Hearing
There are no surprises among the reactions to the Wisconsin Supreme Court’s questions about drawing new political maps in the state.
A number of lawmakers and advocacy groups weighed in after the high court Tuesday heard arguments to redraw the state’s legislative maps.
Read MoreWisconsin Lawmakers Successfully Refer Three Ballot Measures to Amend the State Constitution
As of Nov. 14, three ballot measures have been certified for Wisconsin’s statewide ballot in 2024, including three new certifications Ballotpedia tracked from Nov. 8-14. All three measures are legislatively referred constitutional amendments on the ballot, two April 2 and one Nov. 5.
Read MoreEnd Sought to Litigation of Wisconsin School Choice, School Voucher
Litigation of school choice and school vouchers in Wisconsin Supreme Court should end, the Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce said on Wednesday.
The state’s largest business group filed an amicus brief with the court. It asks justices to reject the lawsuit that seeks to end school choice and school vouchers.
Read MoreWisconsin Representative Says Universities Should Be Graded Publicly on Antisemitism
Congressman Glenn Grothman, R-Wis., says that universities should be graded in regard to antisemitism on a scale for the public to see.
“On the antisemitic thing, groups ought to come out and rank the universities: A, B, C, D and E,” Grothman said on the Thursday edition of the “Just the News, No Noise” TV show. “Say if you have a Jewish child. Would you want them to go to this university? What university would want to be labeled an F for Jewish children?”
Read MoreCommentary: Let the Donor Revolution Begin
The donor revolts at the University of Pennsylvania, Harvard University, and elsewhere are the long-overdue wake up calls that their faculty and administrators needed. The overwhelming majority of politically progressive faculty and administrators have long guarded their right to advance their cherished political causes inside and outside the classroom, while punishment has awaited those who challenge the shibboleths. Instead of the free exchange of ideas and the intellectual capaciousness that ultimately advance social justice, it is now clearer than ever that it is not social justice they have fostered but mindless ideology and hate.
Read MoreCritics: Wisconsin’s Wedding Barn Rules Regulates Them Out of Existence
A legal challenge to Wisconsin’s new rules for wedding barns may already be in the works.
The Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty told The Center Square it is in the process of talking to wedding barn owners across the state about the next steps after it says the Wisconsin Legislature essentially voted to put them out of business.
Read MoreEducation Reformers Question Wisconsin Schools’ Expectations
Despite test scores that show nearly 60% of students in Wisconsin schools cannot read or do math at grade level, more than 90% of school districts in the state meet the state’s expectations.
The Department of Public Instruction recently released its school and school district report cards.
Read MoreWisconsin Congressman Warns of Flood of Chinese Electric Vehicles
One of Wisconsin’s congressmen is warning about a potential Chinese strategy to corner the market on electric cars.
Congressman Mike Gallagher and other members of the House Select Committee on the Strategic Competition Between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party this week sent a letter to the U.S. ambassador warning China may flood the U.S. market with electric vehicles.
Read MoreWisconsin Assembly Turns Focus to Election Reforms
Few of the election reforms Wisconsin Republicans plan to pass will likely get the governor’s signature.
The State Assembly late Thursday approved nearly a dozen or so pieces of legislation that deal with how people vote and how elections are run in the state.
Read MoreBrewers’ Ballpark Tweaks Not Enough to Sway Some Republican State Senators
The plan to spend taxpayer dollars on the Milwaukee Brewers’ ballpark may still be short of votes at the Wisconsin Capitol.
A number of Republican senators on Wednesday criticized the latest version of the plan.
Read MoreWisconsin Republicans OK Election Amendments
Wisconsin voters will get two questions about election integrity next fall.
The State Senate approved proposed constitutional amendments that would clarify that only U.S. citizens 18 years old and older can vote in the state, and would ban the use of so-called outside private money in Wisconsin elections.
Read MoreWisconsin Rep. Introduces ‘TRASHED’ Bill to Address Environmental Harm Caused by Illegal Immigration
Congressman Tom Tiffany, R-Wi., introduced legislation to address environmental concerns of illegal immigration, such as the millions of pounds of trash left near and on the southern border.
“If it’s eight pounds of trash and we’re up to nearly 10 million people, that’s 80 million pounds of trash that have been dumped here in the United States of America,” Tiffany said on the Monday edition of the “Just the News, No Noise” TV show. “But as we all know, the immigration situation, the illegal immigration that’s going on with the open border has affected us in so many different ways.”
Read MoreImpeachment Decision Doesn’t Spare Wisconsin House Speaker Vos from Republican Ire
The former head of the Wisconsin Assembly’s elections committee is, once again, blasting Speaker Robin Vos for his handling of the state’s elections administrator.
State Rep. Janel Brandtjen, R-Menomonee Falls, on Monday criticized Vos despite his decision last week to move forward with articles of impeachment against Meagan Wolfe.
Read MoreRepublicans, Democrats Agree on New Protections for Wisconsin Election Workers
The plan that would add protections for election workers in Wisconsin, including a felony charge for anyone who assaults a poll worker, is bringing Republicans and Democrats together.
The Assembly Committee on Campaigns and Elections held a hearing on a series of election bills, including AB 577 that would expand protection for frontline election workers throughout the state.
Read MoreWisconsin Gov. Evers Announces $36 Million in Spending; Republicans Criticize
There is a new round of criticism for Gov. Tony Evers for his latest round of federal coronavirus spending.
On Thursday, the governor announced plans to spend $36 million on a list of projects.
Read MoreReport: Wisconsin Families Shrinking Faster than Rest of U.S.
A new report says Wisconsin is outpacing the rest of the country when it comes to smaller families.
The Wisconsin Policy Forum is out with a new report that says Wisconsin families have shrunk faster than other states for about the last 50 years.
Read MoreTask Force Preparing for AI Revolution Among Smaller Wisconsin Businesses
The head of Wisconsin’s economic development office isn’t worried about the state’s big businesses and artificial intelligence. She is worried about the number of small businesses which may not be prepared.
Gov. Evers Task Force on Workforce and Artificial Intelligence held its first meeting Monday.
Read MoreState Republicans Push Free Speech Punishments for University of Wisconsin Schools
Republicans at the Wisconsin Capitol say students need free speech protections on University of Wisconsin campuses.
The Assembly Committee on Colleges and University held a public hearing on a pair of plans Republicans say will not only make sure the Universities of Wisconsin are respecting the First Amendment but will also open the campus to more students.
Read MoreBrewer Ballpark Funding Plan Faces Opposition in Wisconsin Senate
The plan to spend $500 million in taxpayer money on the Milwaukee Brewers’ stadium may look different once it gets through the Wisconsin Senate.
A Senate panel held a hearing on the stadium funding proposal Wednesday and immediately hit supporters with questions.
Read MoreReport: More than 4,500 Students Still ‘Missing’ from Wisconsin Schools
Schools across Wisconsin have not yet rebounded from enrollment losses during the coronavirus outbreak.
A recent report from the Wisconsin Policy Forum found more than 4,500 students are still “missing.”
Read MoreWorld Relief Wisconsin Leader Says Biden Administration Has Decided Refugees Are Coming to Eau Claire
An official with a refugee resettlement organization told The Wisconsin Daily Star that 75 refugees are coming to Wisconsin’s Chippewa Valley beginning in early January, and there’s nothing opponents of the resettlement plan can do about it.
Tami McLaughlin, office director of World Relief Wisconsin-Fox Valley, said the Biden administration has signed off on the plan, and the federal government is the final authority.
Read MoreWisconsin Proposed Voter ID, Private Money Ban Amendments Get Hearing
There is traditional support for and opposition against a series of constitutional amendments that deal with voting in Wisconsin.
The Joint Senate Shared Revenue, Elections and Consumer Protection and Assembly Campaigns and Elections Committees held a public hearing Tuesday on three amendments.
Read MoreOpposition Rises over Plan to Relocate Potentially Hundreds of Somalis to Wisconsin City Without Approval from Elected Officials
Eau Claire residents are speaking out against a plan to relocate potentially hundreds of Somali refugees to the northwest Wisconsin community without the consent of elected city officials.
One Eau Claire County resident who spoke to The Wisconsin Daily Star said the relocation effort amounts to “taxation without representation.”
Read MoreEconomist: Aging Workforce, Learning Loss Among Biggest Wisconsin Economic Worries
Wisconsin’s top economist says the state’s economy is in a great place to grow, as long as the state doesn’t lose what makes it great.
John Koskinen, the chief economist for the state of Wisconsin, told the Wisconsin Economic Summit on Monday that Wisconsin has a strong workforce that wants to work, a large and solid manufacturing base and the potential to grow.
Read MoreMilwaukee Police Funding Increasing after 2020 Cuts
In September of 2020, then-Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett proposed cutting 120 police officers from about 1,800 budgeted positions in the 2021 budget.
Barrett proposed the cuts, in part, due to budget constraints amid a national and local clamor to divert resources from policing just four months after George Floyd was murdered by Minneapolis police.
Read MorePlan to Change Wisconsin’s Indefinitely Confined Voter Rules Faces Opposition
Republicans and Democrats each question the plan to change the state’s indefinitely confined voter rules at the Wisconsin Capitol.
Rep. Cindi Duchow, R-Town of Delafield, presented her plan to tighten the state’s indefinitely confined voter law by defining what indefinitely confined means, requiring people apply for a separate indefinitely confined absentee ballot, clarifies a public health emergency does not allow people to claim indefinitely confined status and would ban people from voting indefinitely confined if they vote in person.
Read MoreLawmakers Call University of Wisconsin Regional Campus Decisions Unfortunate, Unsurprising
Few at the Wisconsin capital is happy about the University of Wisconsin’s decision to end in-person classes at two regional campuses, though they are not shocked.
University president Jay Rothman announced the university will end face-to-face classes at UW-Milwaukee Washington County and UW Oshkosh Fond du Lac.
Read MoreWisconsin GOP Senate Boss Disappointed in Child Care Funding Announcement
Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers’ announcement he will give $170 million to child care providers in the state is not going over well with the Republican leader of the Wisconsin Senate.
Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu accused the governor of misleading families across the state.
Read MorePresident of Wisconsin Right to Life Files Second Complaint Against Planned Parenthood Abortionists
Wisconsin Right to Life state Director Dan Miller has filed a second round of complaints with the Wisconsin Medical Examining Board demanding that the agency investigate Wisconsin doctors illegally performing abortions in defiance of state law.
Miller filed his first complaints late last month after Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin announced it would resume abortions at its Madison and Milwaukee clinics.
Read MoreTrump Leads Biden Wisconsin: Poll
Former President Donald Trump is leading President Joe Biden in the crucial battleground state of Wisconsin following a series of similar findings in other key swing states, according to a Thursday poll.
Trump is beating Biden 42% to 40% among Wisconsin voters with 11% choosing someone else and 8% remaining undecided, according to an Emerson College survey. The poll comes after several other recent battleground state surveys found Trump ahead of Biden, including in Pennsylvania and Michigan.
Read MoreWisconsin Public School Students Struggle with Reading, Math
Nearly 60% of students in Wisconsin’s Public Schools continue to be unable to read, write or do math at grade level.
The State’s Department of Public Instruction released the latest standardized test scores Tuesday, and they show 39.2% of public school students are proficient or better in reading, while 41.1% are proficient or better in math.
Read MoreFormer President Trump Endorses Kari Lake’s Bid for U.S. Senate
Former President Donald Trump endorsed Kari Lake’s campaign for the U.S. Senate on Tuesday.
Read MoreWisconsin Democrats, Groups Applaud Protasiewicz Decision to Stay on Election Map Cases
The showdown over Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Janet Protasiewicz and the state’s redistricting process continues after Protasiewicz announced she would not recuse herself from two challenges to Wisconsin’s electoral maps.
“I will set aside my opinions and decide cases based on the law. There will surely be many cases in which I reach results that I personally dislike. That is what it means to be a judge,” she said in a statement.
Read MoreAfter Evers Vetoes, Wisconsin Lawmakers Propose Constitutional Amendment to Ban Private ‘Zuckerbucks’ Election Funding in 2024
Wisconsin voters may be able to ban “Zuckerbucks” — the injection of private money into public election administration — from their elections next year, before the 2024 general election.
The Center for Tech and Civic Life (CTCL) poured nearly $350 million into local elections offices managing the 2020 election, with most of the funds donated to the nonprofit by Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg. The nonprofit has claimed its 2020 election grants — colloquially known as “Zuckerbucks” — were allocated without partisan preference to make voting safer amid the pandemic.
Read MoreGov. Evers Not Looking to Increase Security After Armed Man Arrested at Wisconsin Capitol
Wisconsin’s governor says he doesn’t want to see new security measures at the state capitol after an armed man entered the statehouse.
Gov. Tony Evers told reporters Friday he doesn’t want metal detectors and other shows of force to be installed at the statehouse.
Read MoreIn Disbarment Trial of Former Trump Attorney John Eastman, Kari Lake’s Attorney Goes over Significant Laws Broken in Various States During 2020 Election
The disbarment trial of Donald Trump’s former attorney and constitutional legal scholar, John Eastman, wrapped up its seventh week on Friday, with more testimony from Kari Lake’s attorney Kurt Olsen, and Eastman resuming the stand briefly at the end. Olsen discussed several laws he said he believes were violated by state election officials in Wisconsin, Georgia, Michigan, and Pennsylvania.
Olsen began testifying about a Motion for Leave to File a Bill of Complaint that he and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed with the U.S. Supreme Court, asking to stop Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin from certifying their 2020 election results due to multiple violations of state law and constitutional problems. One of the reasons he said he brought the complaint was that signature verification was halted in the 2020 election in Detroit.
Read MoreLawmakers Sell Brewers Ballpark Funding as Only Costing Milwaukee
The plan to use more than $600 million in taxpayer money to pay for work in American Family field and keep the Brewers in Milwaukee until 2050 is not done, but the pitch for the funding package is set.
State Rep. Rob Brooks, R-Saukville, told lawmakers Thursday at the first public hearing in the stadium funding package that only Milwaukee and Milwaukee County will be paying for the stadium.
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