capitol report, wispolitics

New maps make for tough incumbent decisions

The U.S. Supreme Court looks to have the last word on whether Evers’ maps are in place for the 2022 elections. But unless GOP lawmakers are successful in their appeals to the nation’s highest court, the landscape for the Assembly and Senate maps are a lot different from what Republicans put in place 11 years ago.

spring, farmers, tractors

Farmers face challenging spring ahead

The coming spring always brings fresh hope and optimism, but with planting season just around the corner, there are plenty of challenges facing farmers.

sunshine week 2022

Sunshine Week 2022 set to kick off March 13

WNA member newspapers are encouraged to participate in Sunshine Week, the News Leaders Association's annual nationwide celebration of open government. This year's celebration is set for March 13-19.

Newspapers can get involved by publishing stories, editorials, cartoons or graphics on open government and the public's right to know. Journalists and news organizations also are encouraged to share their experiences, success stories, FOIA battles and more by tweeting @SunshineWeek or using the hashtag #SunshineWeek.

eric johnson

Veteran journalist Eric Johnson joins Lake Geneva Regional News

Eric A. Johnson, a veteran journalist and former newspaper owner, has joined the Lake Geneva Regional News as a reporter.

Johnson is the former editor and publisher of the Boulder Junction-based FYI Northwoods News, a bi-weekly newspaper he owned from 2010 to 2018. Prior to his move to Lake Geneva, he served as assistant editor of the Vilas County News-Review in Eagle River, as a business reporter for The (Racine) Journal Times, and as a reporter for The Lakeland Times in Minocqua.

carol aultman

Carol Aultman, former Platteville journalist, dies at 79

Carol Illean Aultman, a former journalist whose career included a stop at The Platteville Journal, died Wednesday, March 2, at her home in rural Highland, Wis. She was 79.

Aultman's first job was at Associated Publishers in Durand, Ill. She spent 15 years with the company and later served as editor of one of its newspapers, the Winnebago News. After she and her husband, Leland, moved to Highland in 1977, she joined the staff of The Platteville Journal.

watchdog awards

Nominations sought for Distinguished Wisconsin Watchdog Award

Nominations are being sought for the annual Distinguished Wisconsin Watchdog Award, recognizing an individual’s extraordinary contributions to open government or investigative journalism in Wisconsin.

Letters of nomination are accepted from journalists, news organizations and other individuals and organizations involved in open government and investigative journalism issues. Self-nominations also are welcomed. The nomination deadline is March 21.

openness, Freedom of Information Council logo

Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council names ‘Opee’ winners

The winners of this year's Openness Awards — or "Opees" — bestowed by the Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council include a citizen concerned about plans to develop a city park, an alderperson who felt his colleagues broke the law and a district attorney who filed charges against a town for open records violations.

RELATED: Your Right to Know: Opees highlight good and bad

They'll all be recognized during the Wisconsin Watchdog Awards reception and dinner, on Thursday, April 21, at The Madison Club in Madison, beginning at 5 p.m.

Trucker shortage and Canadian blockade threaten newsprint supply, especially for smaller, rural newspapers

A shortage of truckers and blockade bottlenecks have put a crimp on newsprint deliveries to the nation’s newspapers.

RELATED: Biden gets postal reform bill that ensures six-day delivery and offers a lifeline to newspapers that depend on the mail

Those delays, combined with fears of a newsprint shortage, have raised publishers’ anxiety and put a premium on delivery schedule planning.

Wisconsin Newspaper Association