Category: Wisconsin

IRG: ‘Free’ Federal Money Will Change How Local, State Governments Spend Going Forward

A prominent, nonpartisan state think tank is warning about what the billions in coronavirus stimulus money headed for Wisconsin will mean for government spending in the years to come. The Institute for Reforming Government’s CJ Szafir said the American Rescue Plan and the CARES Act are flooding state and local governments with more money than…


Parents Sue Wisconsin School Districts After Children Test Positive for COVID-19

Several Wisconsin parents are suing two school districts after their children allegedly contracted COVID-19 from a classmate. Lawyer Frederick Melms filed the lawsuit on Oct. 5 in the U.S. Eastern District of Wisconsin on behalf of parent Shannon Jensen, other parents, and Waukesha School District public school students. The suit was filed against the Waukesha district and…


Rittenhouse Due in Court for Likely Final Motions Hearing

MADISON, Wis.—A judge was expected Tuesday to consider remaining motions in the case of an Illinois man accused of shooting three people during a protest against police brutality in Wisconsin last year, setting the final ground rules before a trial begins next month. Kyle Rittenhouse of Antioch, Illinois, shot and killed Joseph Rosenbaum and Anthony…


Wisconsin Supreme Court Agrees to Consider Redrawing State’s Electoral Map

A divided Wisconsin Supreme Court voted 4-3 to take up a lawsuit from Wisconsin voters over the state’s redistricting process that may lead to the court drawing up the state’s new electoral map for 2022 if the Democratic governor and Republican state legislature fail to agree on one. The lawsuit, Johnson v. Wisconsin Elections Commission,…


Suspect in Deaths of 4 Found in SUV Surrenders in Arizona

MENOMONIE, Wis.—A suspect in the shooting deaths of four Minnesotans who were found in an abandoned SUV in Wisconsin surrendered to authorities in Arizona on Friday. Dunn County Sheriff Kevin Bygd said in a statement that Antoine Darnique Suggs, 38, turned himself into police in Gilbert, Arizona, a Phoenix suburb. He said Suggs had been…


Police: Case of 4 Found Fatally Shot in Wisconsin a Mystery

MENOMONIE, Wis.—Four people found slain in an abandoned SUV in a western Wisconsin cornfield had been shot and were all from Minnesota, authorities said Tuesday of a case they described as a mystery. Preliminary results of autopsies performed Monday by the Ramsey County Medical Examiner’s Office showed the two men and two women all died…


Authorities: 4 Found Slain in SUV in Wisconsin Cornfield

MENOMONIE, Wis.—Four people have been found slain in an SUV with Minnesota license plates that was abandoned in a western Wisconsin cornfield, authorities said. A 911 caller alerted deputies Sunday to the black SUV that was off a rural road in the Town of Sheridan, the Dunn County Sheriff’s Office. Authorities have not disclosed why…


Wisconsin Jail to Call Inmates ‘Residents’ to Maintain ‘Dignity’ of Criminals

A Wisconsin county jail will no longer refer to those incarcerated as “inmates,” but instead “residents” or “those who are in our care,” authorities announced. The change in vocabulary was confirmed by Dane County Sheriff Kalvin Barrett during a press briefing on Aug. 16, who explained the language can reduce barriers at the time convicted…


Wisconsin Leaders React to Afghan Refugees Coming to the State

There are more questions than answers about the likely thousands of Afghans who are coming to Wisconsin. The Pentagon on Tuesday said 22,000 Afghan refugees will be sent to military bases in Texas, Virginia, and Wisconsin. The Wisconsin base is Fort McCoy. Gov. Evers said he will welcome the Afghans. “Just as they protected us…


Woman Using Gun’s Laser Sight to Play With Cat Shoots Friend

KENOSHA, Wis.—A Wisconsin woman accidentally shot a friend while using the laser sight on a handgun to play with a cat, authorities said. A criminal complaint charging the 19-year-old woman with negligent use of a weapon said she was visiting a Kenosha apartment on Tuesday afternoon where a 21-year-old man had brought a handgun. The…