Wisconsin lawmaker says his bar where overdose victims bought drugs isn’t ‘bad establishment’
May 25, 2023 GMTMADISON, Wis. (AP) — Police in Wisconsin say the fentanyl-laced drugs that killed one person and caused three more to overdose in a village north of Milwaukee were bought at a state lawmaker's tavern that has been the subject of multiple calls to police in recent years.
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Not reaching a deal on a massive bill increasing state aid to Wisconsin's local governments will only increase the chances that Milwaukee runs out of money, forcing deep cuts to police and fire protection, while smaller communities around the state will also struggle to pay bills, state lawmakers were warned Tuesday.
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Starting pay for Wisconsin public defenders and assistant district attorneys would increase to $36 an hour, or about $75,000 a year, under a Republican-authored plan passed unanimously Tuesday by the Legislature's powerful budget-writing committee.
Wisconsin lawmakers unveil bipartisan election overhauls
May 4, 2023 GMTMADISON, Wis. (AP) — Wisconsin lawmakers unveiled bipartisan plans on Thursday to address problems that have disrupted how elections have been administered in the presidential battleground state since 2020.
GOP prosecutor urges judge to toss Wisconsin abortion suit
May 4, 2023 GMTMADISON, Wis. (AP) — Attorneys for a Republican prosecutor urged a judge Thursday to toss out a lawsuit seeking to repeal Wisconsin's 174-year-old abortion ban, arguing that a newer state law permitting pre-viability abortions complements the ban rather than supersedes it, as Democrats maintain.
Bill would allow 14-year-olds to serve alcohol in Wisconsin
May 1, 2023 GMTMADISON, Wis. (AP) — Fourteen-year-olds in Wisconsin could serve alcohol to seated customers in bars and restaurants under a bill circulated for cosponsors Monday by a pair of Republican state lawmakers.
Presidential battleground states weigh more election funding
April 29, 2023 GMTCOLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Ahead of the 2024 presidential election, officials in several battleground states have proposed boosting funding to add staff, enhance security and expand training within election offices that are facing heavier workloads and heightened public scrutiny.
Wisconsin GOP lawmakers working on medical pot legalization
April 20, 2023 GMTMADISON, Wis. (AP) — After years of opposition to any form of marijuana legalization in Wisconsin, Republican lawmakers are now working privately to build support for a medical cannabis program that could win bipartisan backing and be enacted into law later this year, Assembly Speaker Robin Vos told The Associated Press on Thursday.
Voters with disabilities often overlooked in voting battles
April 2, 2023 GMTWASHINGTON (AP) — Patti Chang walked into her polling place in Chicago earlier this year, anxious about how poll workers would treat her, especially as a voter who is blind. Even though she was accompanied by her husband, she said she was ignored until a poll worker grabbed her cane and pulled her toward a voting booth.
Liberal outraises conservative in Wisconsin court race
March 28, 2023 GMTMADISON, Wis. (AP) — The Democratic-funded candidate in Wisconsin's pivotal state Supreme Court contest has raised more than five times as much money as her Republican-backed opponent ahead of the April 4 election.
Disabled Wisconsin voters say absentee law not followed
March 24, 2023 GMTMADISON, Wis. (AP) — Disabled voters say local election leaders across Wisconsin are not following federal law during early voting in the high-stakes race for state Supreme Court, incorrectly telling them they can't have another person return their absentee ballot for them.
Wisconsin lawmakers pass bill to clarify cash bail amendment
March 22, 2023 GMTMADISON, Wis. (AP) — The Republican-controlled Wisconsin Legislature moved Wednesday to clarify when a proposed constitutional amendment to make it harder for people to go free on bail before trial would apply.
Sick days perk for Wisconsin lawmakers targeted
March 22, 2023 GMTMADISON, Wis. (AP) — A perk that allows Wisconsin state lawmakers to apply the value of unused sick days to pay for health insurance premiums upon retirement is being targeted for elimination under a new bill.
Evers pushes to repeal abortion ban ahead of court election
March 21, 2023 GMTMADISON, Wis. (AP) — Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers and his fellow Democrats worked Tuesday to keep the spotlight on abortion ahead of next month's state Supreme Court election, resurrecting a bill that would repeal the state's 1849 ban on the practice.
Wisconsin Supreme Court candidates clash over abortion, maps
March 21, 2023 GMTMADISON, Wis. (AP) — The liberal candidate for a seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court didn't back down from her support for abortion rights or her belief that the state's Republican-drawn legislative maps are unfair during a debate Tuesday in which her GOP-backed opponent accused her of being “bought and paid for” by Democrats.
Republican bills push cash bail, subvert Democratic changes
March 19, 2023 GMTMADISON, Wis. (AP) — Just two days before he drove his SUV through a Christmas parade in suburban Milwaukee, killing six people and injuring more than 60, Darrell Brooks Jr.
Ziegler to continue as Wisconsin Supreme Court chief justice
March 16, 2023 GMTMADISON, Wis. (AP) — Wisconsin Supreme Court Chief Justice Annette Ziegler has been reelected by her fellow justices to a second two-year term leading the state's highest court.
Wisconsin Republicans propose abortion ban exceptions
March 15, 2023 GMTMADISON, Wis. (AP) — Republicans who control the Wisconsin Legislature unveiled a bill Wednesday that would create rape and incest exceptions to the state’s 1849 abortion ban and clarify when abortions that protect the health of the mother would be allowed.
Michigan Senate votes to repeal 2012 law restricting unions
March 14, 2023 GMTLANSING, Mich. (AP) — Hundreds of union supporters filled the halls of the Michigan Capitol on Tuesday as Senate Democrats voted along party lines in support of repealing the decade-old “right-to-work” law in a state long considered a pillar of organized labor.
Attack lines broaden beyond abortion in Wisconsin court race
March 14, 2023 GMTMADISON, Wis. (AP) — The Republican-backed candidate in Wisconsin's high-stakes race for state Supreme Court accused his liberal opponent Tuesday of slandering him in a barrage of television ads that initially focused on his views on abortion, but have widened to take on his past work for Republicans and other topics.
Wisconsin court sides with AP, others in open records case
March 9, 2023 GMTMADISON, Wis. (AP) — A Wisconsin appeals court ruled Thursday that the state Assembly violated the open records law when it initially rejected, then fulfilled with redactions, documents sought by The Associated Press and three other media outlets related to sexual harassment allegations against a former legislator.
Michigan House approves repeal of state’s right-to-work law
March 9, 2023 GMTLANSING, Mich. (AP) — Michigan's Democratic-led House approved legislation Wednesday that would repeal the state's “right-to-work” law that was passed more than a decade ago when Republicans controlled the Statehouse.
Wisconsin Republican says Brewers stadium funding plan dead
March 9, 2023 GMTMADISON, Wis. (AP) — Wisconsin's top Republican said Wednesday that a plan put forward by Democratic Gov. Tony Evers and the Milwaukee Brewers to spend nearly $300 million in taxpayer money on improvements to the stadium where the team plays was likely dead in the GOP-controlled Legislature.
Trump attorney reappointed to Wisconsin judicial panel
March 3, 2023 GMTMADISON, Wis. (AP) — An attorney for former President Donald Trump who worked to overturn his loss in battleground Wisconsin has been reappointed by the state Supreme Court's four conservative justices to a second term on a committee that advises judges on judicial conduct.
UW System leader will ask regents for 5% tuition increase
March 2, 2023 GMTMADISON, Wis. (AP) — University of Wisconsin System students would face a 5% tuition increase next year under a plan the system's president, Jay Rothman, unveiled Thursday.
Rothman told the state Assembly's universities committee that he will ask the Board of Regents at its April meeting to approve the increase for the 2023-2024 academic year.
3 state office buildings near state Capitol may be sold
March 2, 2023 GMTMADISON, Wis. (AP) — Gov. Tony Evers is calling for selling a historic state office building near the state Capitol, as well as two other large office buildings blocks from the Capitol, as part of a plan that would reduce state government's footprint in Madison by nearly 30%.
Wisconsin court candidate won’t hear Democrats’ lawsuits
March 1, 2023 GMTMADISON, Wis. (AP) — The Democrats' choice in a high-stakes Wisconsin Supreme Court race said Wednesday that she would not hear cases brought by the Wisconsin Democratic Party because it has donated $2.5 million to her campaign.
GOP Wisconsin budget committee heads say flat tax unlikely
February 28, 2023 GMTMADISON, Wis. (AP) — Wisconsin Republicans are unlikely to include their plan for a flat 3.25% income tax rate in the state budget, heads of the Republican-controlled Legislature's powerful budget committee said Tuesday.
Work for anti-abortion group issue in Wisconsin court race
February 27, 2023 GMTMADISON, Wis. (AP) — The Republican-backed candidate for the Wisconsin Supreme Court provided legal advice to one of the state's leading anti-abortion groups, work that Wisconsin Right to Life and Dan Kelly have not detailed but that is being used against Kelly by his liberal opponent.
Wisconsin Supreme Court primary turnout tops 20%
February 22, 2023 GMTMADISON, Wis. (AP) — About 20% of the state’s voting-age population cast ballots in the Wisconsin Supreme Court primary, state elections officials said Thursday.
The Wisconsin Elections Commissions announced Wednesday that unofficial results show voters cast at least 960,477 ballots in Tuesday's primary.
Debate on abortion access turns to Wisconsin high court race
February 22, 2023 GMTMADISON, Wis. (AP) — National groups on both sides of the abortion fight on Wednesday pledged significant spending in the race for a pivotal seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court, tossing the perennial battleground state into the spotlight of the searing debate over abortion access.
Ex-legislator gets 33 months in employment tax charge case
February 22, 2023 GMTMADISON, Wis. (AP) — A former state lawmaker who once served as Wisconsin’s tourism secretary has been sentenced to 33 months in prison after pleading guilty to failing to pay nearly $200,000 in employment taxes.
Protasiewicz, Kelly advance in Wisconsin high court primary
February 22, 2023 GMTMADISON, Wis. (AP) — A liberal Milwaukee judge and a conservative former state Supreme Court justice won Tuesday’s primary to face off in a pivotal Wisconsin Supreme Court race that will determine majority control with major issues looming.
Trump-backed state lawmaker loses Wisconsin primary
February 22, 2023 GMTMADISON, Wis. (AP) — A Republican lawmaker endorsed by former President Donald Trump was defeated Tuesday by a fellow state legislator in a three-way GOP primary for an open state Senate seat representing Milwaukee’s northern suburbs.
Upper Midwest braces for blizzard, nearly 2 feet of snow
February 21, 2023 GMTMINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A monster winter storm took aim at the Upper Midwest on Tuesday, threatening to bring blizzard conditions, bitterly cold temperatures and 2 feet of snow in a three-day onslaught that could affect more than 40 million Americans.
Wisconsin judge OKs ballot measures for April election
February 20, 2023 GMTMADISON, Wis. (AP) — A Wisconsin judge on Monday ruled that two Republican-backed measures can appear on the April ballot over the objections of criminal justice advocates who said elections officials had missed the state deadline.
Abortion among major issues at stake in Wisconsin court race
February 19, 2023 GMTMADISON, Wis. (AP) — A conservative tilt on the Wisconsin Supreme Court has given Republicans victories on voting restrictions, gerrymandered legislative districts and other high-stakes cases in recent years.
Rogue Republican makes bid for open Wisconsin Senate seat
February 18, 2023 GMTMADISON, Wis. (AP) — A rogue Republican lawmaker who alienated her colleagues in the Wisconsin Assembly when she embraced debunked election fraud conspiracy theories is vying to win an open state Senate seat, a victory that would give the GOP a supermajority in the chamber.
Wisconsin Supreme Court candidate worked for Republicans
February 17, 2023 GMTMADISON, Wis. (AP) — One of the two conservative candidates for an open Wisconsin Supreme Court seat was paid by state and national Republicans to advise on election issues, including the plan to have fake GOP electors cast ballots for Donald Trump even though he lost the state.
Justices: City properly excluded dark store tax comparison
February 16, 2023 GMTMADISON, Wis. (AP) — Tax assessors for the city of Delavan properly excluded comparable dark-store valuations when setting a new property tax rate for a Lowe's Home Center in 2013, the state Supreme Court ruled Thursday.
Highlights of Wisconsin Gov. Evers’ $104 billion budget plan
February 16, 2023 GMTMADISON, Wis. (AP) — Democratic Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers released his 2023-25 budget to the Republican-controlled Legislature on Wednesday. He detailed plans to boost school funding and cut taxes, but Republicans have promised to scrap most of Evers' ideas and start from scratch, as they have in the last two budget cycles.
Evers pushing for tax cuts, new paid family leave program
February 16, 2023 GMTMADISON, Wis. (AP) — Democratic Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers made a plea for bipartisanship with the unveiling of a nearly $104 billion state budget Wednesday that includes a new paid family leave program for most public and private-sector workers, tax cuts for the middle class, a plan to keep the Milwaukee Brewers in their stadium until at least 2043 and higher spending for public schools.
Republicans push bill to undo Wisconsin open records ruling
February 14, 2023 GMTMADISON, Wis. (AP) — Republican lawmakers proposed a bill Tuesday that would render a controversial Wisconsin Supreme Court decision obsolete by loosening limits on when people who sue over open records requests can recover attorney's fees.
Legislator demands Green Bay ditch recording devices
February 11, 2023 GMTGREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) — A state lawmaker is demanding city officials in Green Bay remove recording devices they installed in City Hall corridors, calling the move a brazen violation of privacy rights.
Panel scolds Wisconsin justice for remarks in Trump case
February 11, 2023 GMTMADISON, Wis. (AP) — A judicial oversight commission has dismissed a complaint against a liberal-leaning Wisconsin Supreme Court justice who accused an attorney for former President Donald Trump of making racist contentions and trying to protect his “king” in a case challenging the 2020 election results in the battleground state.
Prosecutors won’t charge Wisconsin ex-senator in fatal crash
February 9, 2023 GMTMADISON, Wis. (AP) — Prosecutors have decided not to charge a former Wisconsin state senator who was involved in a car crash that left a Pennsylvania woman and her 5-year-old daughter dead.
Wisconsin Supreme Court justices pick sides in race
February 7, 2023 GMTMADISON, Wis. (AP) — A majority of the current members of the Wisconsin Supreme Court have picked a favorite candidate in the race that will decide the ideological balance of the court with several major decisions looming.
Evers appoints former Milwaukee health leader to head DHS
February 6, 2023 GMTMADISON, Wis. (AP) — Gov. Tony Evers on Monday appointed the former public health leader in Milwaukee as secretary of the state Department of Health Services.
Kirsten Johnson, who formerly served as Milwaukee's health commissioner for two years until resigning in January, will become the third secretary of the state agency under Evers when she takes the position on Feb.
Bill would clarify bail amendment set for Wisconsin ballot
February 3, 2023 GMTMADISON, Wis. (AP) — As promised, Wisconsin Republicans have circulated legislation that specifies which crimes would be included in a proposed constitutional amendment to make it harder for violent criminal defendants to go free on bail.
Wisconsin Supreme Court candidate focuses on parade crash
February 2, 2023 GMTMADISON, Wis. (AP) — A conservative candidate in a pivotal race for Wisconsin Supreme Court is using video images of an SUV that drove through a Christmas parade in suburban Milwaukee, killing six people, in her first television ad of the race released Thursday.
Lawsuit seeks to block 2 measures from April ballot
January 31, 2023 GMTMADISON, Wis. (AP) — A lawsuit filed Tuesday by Wisconsin criminal justice advocacy groups seeks to block two Republican-sponsored measures from appearing on the April ballot, arguing that they were not submitted on time to the correct elections officials.
Wisconsin’s La Follette helps fund plaque honoring ancestor
January 27, 2023 GMTMADISON, Wis. (AP) — Wisconsin Secretary of State Doug La Follette is helping to pay for a new plaque to be installed Friday in the state Capitol honoring one of Wisconsin's most famous politicians who is also a distant relative of the longtime officeholder.
Abortion front and center in Wisconsin Supreme Court race
January 26, 2023 GMTMADISON, Wis. (AP) — A liberal judge running in a pivotal race to determine majority control of the Wisconsin Supreme Court touts her support for abortion rights in the first two television ads of the closely watched race launched Thursday.
Wisconsin’s estimated budget surplus tops $7 billion
January 25, 2023 GMTMADISON, Wis. (AP) — Wisconsin's projected state budget surplus is forecast to reach $7.1 billion by July, up more than half a billion dollars from the previous estimate just two months ago, the nonpartisan Legislative Fiscal Bureau reported Wednesday.
‘Here again’: Abortion activists rally 50 years after Roe
January 22, 2023 GMTMADISON, Wis. (AP) — From beach cities to snow-covered streets, abortion supporters rallied by the thousands on Sunday to demand protections for reproductive rights and mark the 50th anniversary of the now-overturned Roe v.
UW-Richland closure transition plan calls for online focus
January 20, 2023 GMTMADISON, Wis. (AP) — Richland County leaders are fuming over University of Wisconsin-Platteville officials' plan to shift to online education at their Richland branch campus after in-person instruction there ends for good after the spring semester.
Wisconsin Assembly puts bail amendment on April ballot
January 19, 2023 GMTMADISON, Wis. (AP) — The Republican-controlled Wisconsin Assembly gave a final, bipartisan push Thursday to a proposed constitutional amendment that would make it harder for violent criminals to get out of jail on bail.
Harris to push abortion fight in Florida on Roe anniversary
January 18, 2023 GMTWASHINGTON (AP) — With few options available for ensuring abortion access, Vice President Kamala Harris will demonstrate that Democrats aren't giving up on the issue as she marks the 50th anniversary of Roe v.
Wisconsin Senate OKs welfare vote, nixes Evers’ abortion ask
January 17, 2023 GMTMADISON, Wis. (AP) — Republican Wisconsin lawmakers on Tuesday rejected calls from Gov. Tony Evers and other Democrats to ask voters whether the state should continue to ban abortions, opting instead to advance a ballot question on welfare eligibility.
Kaul asks Legislature for $2.2M to keep school safety office
January 13, 2023 GMTMADISON, Wis. (AP) — Democratic Attorney General Josh Kaul is asking Gov. Tony Evers and he Republican-controlled Legislature for $2.2 million in the next state budget to keep the state Justice Department's Office of School Safety going.