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

Poll: Should marijuana be legalized in Wisconsin?

Feb. 18, 2021

A new poll question about whether marijuana use should be legalized in Wisconsin is available to be used by WNA members. We are asking the question in light of Gov. Tony Evers’ inclusion of marijuana legalization in his budget proposal.

Results from our previous poll question about face mask requirements are also available.

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. 

face masks, mask mandate

Results available for mask mandate poll

Feb. 18, 2021

Readers visiting WNA member websites from Feb. 1 to 17 were asked whether face masks should be required in public places. Out of 960 verified respondents, 81% said they believed masks should be required in public, while 19% said it should be a personal choice.

ski jumping

Coulees abound with jumping Norwegians

Feb. 16, 2021

The Westby tournament is one of the last vestiges of what once was a series of ski jumps that ran from Prairie du Chien to Cameron, cutting a swathe through the heart of Norwegian settlements in western Wisconsin.

Members asked to help protect public notice in newspapers

Feb. 12, 2021

The Wisconsin legislature is currently considering a bill that would give local governments the option to stop publishing a summary of their actions in local newspapers. Senate Bill 55 would allow local municipalities to post meeting minutes on their websites instead.

Removing existing publication requirements would remove important, third-party oversight of government, as well as create holes in this invaluable statewide database while also neglecting the needs of those who lack adequate computer and internet access. The WNA is asking all members to help defeat this bad public policy that undermines government transparency by:

Workshop to provide ideas, resources for telling climate change stories

Feb. 12, 2021

Wisconsin Humanities’ Beyond the Headlines program will host a free, virtual workshop next month aimed at providing attendees with ideas and resources for telling stories about water justice issues related to climate change. 

The Wisconsin Newspaper Association is a partner of the Beyond the Headlines program, which works to bring Wisconsinites together for discussions that explore journalism’s crucial role in enabling productive citizen engagement in American democracy.

Wisconsin murder-for-hire plot foiled by journalists

Feb. 12, 2021

New federal charges say a group of three journalists played a major role in derailing a murder-for-hire plot in Wisconsin, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports.

The journalists, who have not been publicly identified, discovered the plot while working on a story about a murder-for-hire website on the dark web. The discovery led to the recent arrest of a 37-year-old woman who is accused of paying the website administrator to kill a man. She faces up to 10 years in federal prison. 

relevance project, promotional ads

Relevance Project updates promotional ad series for 2021

Feb. 12, 2021

The Relevance Project has updated its All Together Now promotional ad series for 2021 with three new messages that can help sales reps introduce newspaper solutions to potential advertisers as well as check on loyal clients.

The new ads replace a series timed to the initial 2020 lockdowns and business closings caused by the pandemic. 

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