Category: Wisconsin

3 Deaths in Western Wisconsin Investigated as Homicide

WEST SALEM, Wis.—Workers discovered three bodies early Friday at the entrance to a quarry in far western Wisconsin, and authorities said they are investigating the deaths as a triple homicide. La Crosse County Sheriff Jeff Wolf called the deaths a “targeted act” but declined to tell reporters how the three died, WXOW-TV reported. Wolf said…


Sen. Johnson: ‘I May Not Be the Best Candidate’ for 2022 Midterms

Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) said this week he may not be the best Republican candidate for the current election cycle, pointing to how he is targeted frequently by critics. “I want to make sure that this U.S. Senate seat is retained in Republican hands,” Johnson told radio host Lisa Boothe. “You see what the media’s…


Wisconsin Lawmaker Calls for ‘Full Forensic Audit’ After Georgia, Arizona Updates

A Wisconsin representative on Friday said 2020 election reviews being done in the state should be expanded into a “full forensic audit” following alleged irregularities being revealed in Arizona and Georgia. State Rep. Timothy Ramthun, a Republican, formally requested “a more comprehensive audit” from former state Supreme Court Justice Michael Gableman, who is leading a…


Son Charged With Death of Father; Additional Remains Found

MADISON, Wis.—The son of a Wisconsin couple who went missing last week was formally accused Thursday of killing his father and dismembering his body, while authorities announced that additional human remains were found in another location. Chandler Halderson, 23, who was living with his parents in Windsor, is charged with first-degree intentional homicide, hiding and…


Gunman Dead in Wisconsin Gas Station Shooting Is Identified

CALEDONIA, Wis.—Authorities in Wisconsin have identified the man they say was lying in wait at a travel center before quietly walking up to a young man who was pumping gas and fatally shooting him. John McCarthy, 32, of Hartland, was later killed after confronting an undercover sheriff’s investigator at another gas station not far away…


Sheriff: Man Kills One at Gas Station, Is Slain in Shootout

FRANKSVILLE, Wis.—A man filling up his car at a Wisconsin gas station was shot and killed by another man on Tuesday, with the suspect fleeing the scene and dying soon after in a shootout with an undercover sheriff’s investigator. Racine County Sheriff Christopher Schmaling said the initial shooting happened about 7:30 a.m. at the Pilot…


Wisconsin Governor Vetoes Bill That Would Ban Private Funding of Election Administration

Wisconsin’s governor this month vetoed legislation that would restrict county clerks and the state election commission from accepting some private funding for administering elections. Assembly Bill 173 would “generally prohibit any county or municipality from applying for or accepting any non-governmental grants or donations for election administration,” Gov. Tony Evers said in a statement to…


World’s Tallest Horse, Big Jake, Dies in Wisconsin at Age 20

POYNETTE, Wis.—The world’s tallest horse has died in Wisconsin. The 20-year-old Belgian named Big Jake lived on Smokey Hollow Farm in Poynette. Valicia Gilbert, wife of the farm’s owner, Jerry Gilbert, said Big Jake died two weeks ago but declined to give the exact date of death when The Associated Press reached her Monday via…


Wisconsin Supreme Court Rejects Lawsuit to Ban Absentee Ballot Drop Boxes

The Wisconsin Supreme Court recently rejected a lawsuit that sought to ban the state’s usage of absentee ballot drop-boxes, although another legal challenge on their use is still being considered in a lower court. Conservative businessman and GOP donor Jere Fabick in March petitioned (pdf) the state Supreme Court in March to consider a ban…


‘Invites Fraud and Abuse’: Wisconsin Elections Commission Sued Over Ballot Drop Boxes

A conservative nonprofit law firm filed a lawsuit that challenges Wisconsin’s law that allows ballot drop boxes, coming just days after the Wisconsin Supreme Court declined to hear a similar suit. In a suit filed (pdf) Monday in a county circuit court on behalf of two voters in Waukesha County, the Wisconsin Institute for Law &…