In rural America, broken promises again
Apr. 3, 2026
Country folks know what empty political promises sound like, and they can still do arithmetic.
Country folks know what empty political promises sound like, and they can still do arithmetic.
I’ve spent more than four decades covering news around Beloit and south-central Wisconsin, so I can say unequivocally that Wisconsin Policy Forum’s meaty “datatool” provides the kind of deep insights that withstand all the thin barstool rhetoric that usually befouls modern conversations.
Good journalism steps on toes. Indiscriminately. To the left. To the right. The best journalists do not want or need your love. They do want you to have facts, including the facts you might prefer not to see or read.
Digest the latest flailings of the notorious group known only as Forecasters Anonymous. Most of their names would be familiar to folks in south-central Wisconsin but are withheld here to spare embarrassment and save their reputations.
Author Scott Galloway says if, as a country, we want better young men, then we need better older men. And we need them to step up as mentors.
A few states have had the courage to give sick people options for medically assisted suicide, allowing them to make their own choice about checking out.
Tax dollars follow the students, contributing to a fiscal crisis in Beloit’s public school system. Beloit is not alone, by the way.
Usually, when I write about politics, the topics revolve around local or state matters and I do my best to use measured language. Be warned. Not today.
Why is it that so many Americans no longer believe in the First Amendment’s principles?
It depends on whose ox is being gored.
I’m reminded of that old saying after U.S. Rep. Bryan Steil was shouted down repeatedly during what was called a “listening session” in Elkhorn.