wisconsinwatch.org - Profile | ThreadSky | a Reddit-style client for Bluesky

Col. Leslie Zyzda Martin’s case is notable because the Wisconsin National Guard has been plagued for years by allegations of sexual harassment and a culture that hasn’t supported women in uniform.

submitted 5 hours ago • 0 comments

"“All crime is an outreach of unmet needs ... We’ve operationalized a lot of the things that were evidence-based that we know worked in times of crisis.” -- David Muhammad, the deputy director of Milwaukee County’s Division of Health and Human Services

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If you aren't already following @tomkertschernews.bsky.social you should be! He's a seasoned reporter and the meticulous researcher behind our fact briefs -- bite-sized fact-checks of trending claims. ICYMI, here's his essay on why this kind of work is important: wisconsinwatch.org/2025/01/wisc...

submitted 23 hours ago • 1 comment

A look at when Wisconsin sheriffs check immigration status while booking new inmates. A proposed state law would require them to do so for felony arrests. wisconsinwatch.org/2025/03/wisc...

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The inconsistencies in Milwaukee County’s Brady list have frustrated defense attorneys and advocates for police officers — one union leader called it the “wild, wild west” — and are another example of a nationwide problem for legal experts like Moran. wisconsinwatch.org/2025/03/wisc...

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In his executive budget proposal, Evers last month proposed repealing a series of controversial laws that were approved in a 2018 “lame-duck” session after he defeated his Republican predecessor Gov. Scott Walker, but before he took office. buff.ly/Bewd9yk

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Of the 35 states with wrongful conviction compensation laws, Wisconsin is stingier than most. The state on average pays about $4,200 per year of wrongful incarceration to those who filed and received compensation.

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2025 is budget year in Wisconsin. Not sure how the process works or why it matters? Reporter Hallie Claflin explains it all in this 2-minute read.

submitted 4 days ago • 0 comments

"Bangstad spoke with WPR for more than an hour about his legal cases and political views, including financial and strategic decisions around his super PAC. But when WPR asked him for details on certain payments made by the PAC, he abruptly ended the interview."

submitted 4 days ago • 3 comments

“You can’t have people spend this kind of money and then just pull the rug from (them) ... I didn’t spend the money thinking maybe I’ll get it back. I spent the money because we had a signed contract.” -- Travis Forgues, sheep dairy farmer. Reporting by @floodlightnews.org

submitted 5 days ago • 3 comments

ICYMI: Hundreds of protesters gathered in front of U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson’s Madison office Tuesday to voice their concerns over potential cuts to Medicaid.

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Democratic Gov. Tony Evers and Republican lawmakers continue to dig in their heels during a yearslong tug-of-war over how regulators should hold property owners liable for contamination caused by “forever chemicals” known as PFAS. buff.ly/4h0jDCK

submitted 6 days ago • 0 comments

"The sheer volume of consequential storylines worth exploring could paralyze journalists, tempting them to spend more time reacting to officials than listening to the public’s information needs." -- @jmalewitz.bsky.social on how our newsroom is navigating the present. https://buff.ly/41g8OXa

submitted 7 days ago • 0 comments

Fitchburg, Green Bay, Kenosha, Madison, Manitowoc, Oshkosh, Racine and Sun Prairie all received requests from the GOAT Committee — which stands for government operations, accountability and transparency. The move was made without the knowledge of the committee’s Democratic members.

submitted 7 days ago • 3 comments

April’s Supreme Court election features two candidates with a stark ideological divide, competing for the seat of a retiring liberal justice and the chance to secure a majority in the current 4-3 liberal court. Full report from @votebeat.org:

submitted 8 days ago • 1 comment

The latest @wisconsinwatch.bsky.social fact briefs: No, states don't routinely audit health insurers based on how often they deny claims; Yes, Wisconsin Supreme Court candidate Susan Crawford sentenced a sex offender to 4 years after a prosecutor requested 10. wisconsinwatch.org/series/fact-...

submitted 9 days ago • 0 comments

Did @crawfordforwi.bsky.social sentence a repeat child sex offender to 4 years in prison? Yes. An attack ad says it could have been 100 years. That ignores that the prosecutor asked for 10. Crawford faces Brad Schimel in Wisconsin's April 1 Supreme Court election. wisconsinwatch.org/2025/02/wisc...

submitted 13 days ago • 2 comments

@wisconsinwatch.bsky.social fact-checks @govevers.wisconsin.gov on whether any states audit insurers based on how often they deny health care claims. 45% of US adults said they were billed in the past year for care they thought should have been free or covered. wisconsinwatch.org/2025/02/wisc...

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“We’re not nameless, faceless federal bureaucrats. We’re people living in these communities, too.” -- a Forest Service employee with knowledge of firings in Wisconsin. Full report from WPR: https://buff.ly/4hO2qgW

submitted 12 days ago • 0 comments

Yes, the conservative candidate for Wisconsin Supreme Court has supported the state's 1849 abortion law; No, Wisconsin is not one of only six states with same-day voter registration (it's one of nearly two dozen). wisconsinwatch.org/series/fact-...

submitted 15 days ago • 1 comment

Ahead of the April 1 Wisconsin Supreme Court election, @wisconsinwatch.bsky.social fact-checks liberal @crawfordforwi.bsky.social on whether conservative Brad Schimel has supported Wisconsin's 19th century law banning abortion except to save the mother's life. wisconsinwatch.org/2025/02/wisc...

submitted 15 days ago • 1 comment

"“I’ve never said the word ‘safe haven’ or ‘sanctuary' ... I am asking them (the federal government) to follow the law. I expect them not to do illegal searches and seizures.” -- Rep. Sylvia Velez-Ortiz, D-Milwaukee, the main author of the bill.

submitted 14 days ago • 0 comments

[email protected] checks a Wisconsin Reddit post after Robert Kennedy was confirmed as US health secretary. Kennedy has called for ending water fluoridation. Recent peer-reviewed studies found a link between it and better children's dental health. wisconsinwatch.org/2025/02/wisc...

submitted 20 days ago • 1 comment

Gov. Tony Evers said his proposal is the solution to the state’s skyrocketing prison population, adding there is “not an alternative to my plan that is safer, faster and cheaper.”

submitted 18 days ago • 0 comments

“No two beaver situations are the same ... the best solutions obviously are going to be ones that work for the beavers and that work for us.” -- Mike Callahan, owner of Massachusetts-based company, Beaver Solutions. https://buff.ly/4aPDeE0

submitted 20 days ago • 0 comments

“Those of us who work milking cows, we can’t afford to hire a lawyer. We don’t even know what’s happening with our cases.” -- Luz, 26, who first came to the U.S. as an asylum seeker and is now unsure of her 1-year-old son's legal status. Story by ProPublica.

submitted 22 days ago • 0 comments

Despite its flaws, Wisconsin’s PIT count shows that statewide homelessness has been increasing. In the “balance” of the state, the mostly rural homeless population increased from 2,938 individuals in 2023 to 3,201 in 2024, the highest number recorded since 2017.

submitted 22 days ago • 0 comments

One addition to this impt @selenasd.bsky.social story about attempts to restrict gender-affirming care for trans youth: APP president Terry Schilling, quoted in this piece, has openly stated on the record that his goal is to end gender-affirming care for trans ADULTS, too www.npr.org/sections/sho...

submitted 23 days ago • 1 comment

Fact-checking @usdot.bsky.social Secretary Sean Duffy, in the wake of the 67-killed plane-copter crash, @wisconsinwatch.bsky.social found that in the US, air is safer than other major modes of transportation. wisconsinwatch.org/2025/02/airl...

submitted 22 days ago • 1 comment

Most of Wisconsin's 18,000 federal workers are employed by the Department of Veterans Affairs, which has nearly 11,000 employees based in the state, providing services to nearly 323,000 veterans. A look at the potential impact of cuts:

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The localization of Trump’s agenda — which helped the president secure a slim but significant victory in November — comes as Republican lawmakers continue to set the legislative agenda in Wisconsin.

submitted 23 days ago • 0 comments

Our latest Budget Bite looks at Governor Evers's proposed plans and funding for PFAS cleanup in Wisconsin. https://buff.ly/3CzsyNk

submitted 24 days ago • 0 comments

“We’re all here for a purpose, right? To think that beavers are just born a nuisance ... It’s tough because some populations do have to be controlled if there aren’t natural predators. But I’m not good at being a natural predator.” -- Katie McCullough, of Rio, Wisc. https://buff.ly/4aPDeE0 (1/2)

submitted 25 days ago • 1 comment

In the Wisconsin Supreme Court race, @wisconsinwatch.bsky.social fact-checks liberal candidate @crawfordforwi.bsky.social on whether the conservative candidate, Brad Schimel, tried to eliminate Obamacare. Schimel in 2018 helped lead a 20-state lawsuit that failed. wisconsinwatch.org/2025/02/wisc...

submitted 27 days ago • 0 comments

In the Wisconsin Supreme Court race, @wisconsinwatch.bsky.social fact-checks Brad Schimel on the role of @crawfordforwi.bsky.social in the early release of a sex offender. wisconsinwatch.org/2025/02/wisc...

submitted 27 days ago • 1 comment

The executive director of Fair Wisconsin, an LGBTQ+ advocacy group, tells me she's heard from multiple families whose children's gender-affirming care was reinstated after my reporting.

submitted 26 days ago • 75 comments

The Laken Riley Act, which was signed into law by President Trump on Jan. 29, could allow for deporting undocumented immigrants accused of shoplifting. Our latest fact brief, with extensive sources:

submitted 28 days ago • 0 comments

A new Schimel campaign ad begins and ends with a black-and-white image of Crawford with her lips closed together. A nearly identical color image from her 2018 run for Dane County Circuit Court shows Crawford with a wide smile on her face. Full story: https://buff.ly/3Q782H2

submitted 28 days ago • 0 comments

With a car weighed down by plenty of granola, trail mix and Goldfish crackers, three Wisconsin Watch journalists spent a stretch of October driving through Wisconsin’s Driftless Area and Central Sands to report a series of solutions-focused stories: https://buff.ly/4141lvD

submitted 29 days ago • 0 comments

“Obviously, having kids, getting married, buying a house, those are all, you know, great experiences. But this takes the cake.” -- Mike Crowley, kidney donor. A human-centered data story by @krathore.bsky.social

submitted 32 days ago • 0 comments