WNA Member Content

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Health care grads earning higher degrees, but worker shortages remain

The number of students completing bachelor’s and advanced degrees in health science fields at southeast Wisconsin colleges and universities rose considerably in the last decade, providing much-needed talent to one of the largest, fastest-growing sectors of the region’s economy.

falling branches

Beware of dangerous falling branches

It was a peaceful Sunday afternoon on the farm the day after a much-needed late-June rain. Suddenly, the sleepy midday was shattered by two loud bangs. The source of the noise? Two large limbs from an oak tree in our yard suddenly and violently plummeted to the ground.

capitol report, wispolitics

Gov. Evers wields veto power, irking Republicans

Gov. Tony Evers’ vetoes of bills from the GOP-run Legislature are irking Republicans. Evers, a Democrat seeking re-election next year, recently used his veto pen on some major Republican pieces of legislation, including the two-year budget.

Wisconsin Policy Forum logo

Sales tax revenues surge as retail, other sectors see shifts

Sales and use tax revenues in Wisconsin increased markedly in the first four months of 2021 when compared to the same period in 2019, another sign that economic activity is rebounding strongly from the COVID-19 crisis. Yet this revenue growth also shows notable shifts in key sectors that could have potential impacts on state and local finances.

polco, coronavirus, voter registration, presidential debates, covid-19

Poll: Should colby be the official state cheese of Wisconsin?

A new poll question about whether colby should be named the official state cheese of Wisconsin is available to be used by WNA members. We are asking the question in light of a recently introduced bipartisan bill that would give the honor to the cheese, which was created in 1885 in the central Wisconsin city of Colby.

Poll questions are available through a WNA partnership with Polco aimed at helping newspapers better engage readers and access enhanced data and insights. WNA members who have signed up for an account with Polco can access their local version of the new question, as well as local poll results, on their dashboards. Those who have not signed up can do so here for their own dashboard.

capitol report, wispolitics

Staffing vacancies up at youth, adult prisons

Since mid-February, staff vacancy rates at the state’s juvenile correctional facilities have climbed twice as fast as those at Wisconsin’s adult institutions, according to records obtained by WisPolitics.com.

Tom Kamenick

Your Right to Know: No private email accounts for public business

In Wisconsin, it’s perfectly legal for government officials to use their personal emails to do government work — even though a government entity may not have the ability to access personal accounts that can be used to hide conversations from the public.

In the latest "Your Right to Know" column for the Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council, Tom Kamenick argues that to remove barriers to public accountability and improve the efficiency of government operations, the legislature should prohibit the use of personal email accounts for government business at the state and local level.

Wisconsin Newspaper Association