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.
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.
Community newspapers can’t do much about a decline in the interest of local news, but there are some things they can do. It starts with understanding the problem, writes Al Cross, director of the University of Kentucky's Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues, which publishes The Rural Blog.
In the latest installment of his "Into the Issues" column, Cross offers suggestions on how to draw readers' interest back to the news they need.
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.
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.
Applicants complain of confusing bureaucracy and long waits as FEMA handles thousands of applications for COVID-related funeral relief aid.
I was driving down a country road the other day when I spotted two structures at the edge of a field — structures that made me stop for a double-take. Two brick outhouses.
Assembly Bill 191, which eliminates Wisconsin's personal property tax, has been approved by the state Legislature and now heads to Gov. Tony Evers for his signature.
The WNA is among the many business associations that opposed the tax, levied on businesses for furniture and other miscellaneous office fixtures, as part of the Coalition to Repeal Wisconsin's Personal Property Tax. Its repeal ends a strong signal of support from the state to the business community, the coalition said in a statement.
WNA members are strongly encouraged to consider publishing an editorial supporting the repeal and/or reaching out to Evers to request he sign the legislation.
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.
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.
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