Wisconsin Watch

Wisconsin doctors say the state could help save lives by extending postpartum Medicaid coverage to a full year, as many states offer. But the Legislature again blocked an extension. By Rachel Hale of Wisconsin Watch

An unusual split in two Wisconsin Court of Appeals districts highlights growing partisan division in the judiciary. By Wisconsin Watch's Jack Kelly

An extreme shortage of guards at Wisconsin's prisons slowed basic operations to a crawl. Inmates escaped, prisons locked down and conditions deteriorated. By New York Times Local Investigations Fellow and Wisconsin Watch reporter Mario Koran and Justin Mayo of Big Local News. Originally published on Feb. 2, 2024.

A Sheboygan police recruit involved in an alleged sexual assault had been flagged as a suspected gang member in high school, but that information was not provided to an oversight board before he was hired. By Wisconsin Watch's Jacob Resneck. This story was produced as part of the NEW (Northeast Wisconsin) News Lab.

The Grand Chute police department didn't seek an outside investigation for a case involving its own employee, yet invoked “victim rights” laws to resist disclosing details of the incident involving two other police recruits. By Wisconsin Watch's Jacob Resneck. Wisconsin Watch reporter Phoebe Petrovic contributed. This story was produced as part of the NEW (Northeast Wisconsin) News Lab.

The charitable arm of PayPal, one of the world's largest digital payment companies, facilitated $141,194 in anonymous donations between 2019 and 2021 to groups trafficking in COVID-19 misinformation, anti-vaccine content and hate, tax records show. By Phoebe Petrovic of Wisconsin Watch. Originally published on Oct. 27, 2023.

A Wisconsin police department used Marsy's Law to block the release of the names of police officers involved in a shooting incident. By Jacob Resneck of Wisconsin Watch. Originally published on Aug. 8, 2023.

Former Badger Montee Ball offers a cautionary tale to University of Wisconsin-Madison students about the dangers of booze. By Sarah Eichstadt and Anupras Mohapatra of Wisconsin Watch. Originally published on Aug. 3, 2023.

Excessive alcohol use is taking a heavy toll in a state that celebrates its drinking culture. By Sarah Eichstadt and Anupras Mohapatra of Wisconsin Watch. Originally published on Aug. 3, 2023.

Heading into the 2024 election, Wisconsin faces a new challenge state lawmakers here have so far failed to address: generative artificial intelligence. The state of Washington required political ads to disclose if they use artificial intelligence while others banned deepfake technology in the runup to an election. By Phoebe Petrovic of Wisconsin Watch. Originally published on July 28, 2023.

Milwaukee sees a surge in police pursuits in years since loosening policy to target reckless drivers. Critics say the trend makes streets more dangerous. By Jonah Chester, Wisconsin Public Radio's 2022-2023 Mike Simonson Memorial Investigative Reporting Fellow embedded in the Wisconsin Watch newsroom. Originally published on Aug. 2, 2023.

Municipal Court officials refuse to comment on efforts to cancel JusticePoint's contract without lining up an alternative provider. A legal ruling allows the services to continue — for now. Story by Wisconsin Watch's Jonmaesha Beltran and Devin Blake of Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service, produced in collaboration with The Appeal. Originally published on July 27, 2023.

Social media and deceptive actors are allowing falsehood to spread even faster than the truth, but there are ways to inoculate yourself from information disorder. Story by Wisconsin Watch disinformation reporter Phoebe Petrovic. Originally published on July 20, 2023.

Walmart is no longer selling Milwaukee Tool-branded gloves on its online marketplace — responding to allegations that a subcontractor for the Brookfield, Wisconsin-based tool company relied on forced Chinese prison labor to manufacture certain models of gloves. Story by Wisconsin Watch's Zhen Wang. Originally published on July 17, 2023.

A group funded by deep-pocketed GOP donors is pushing to make it harder to vote and to receive unemployment insurance and Medicaid. By Wisconsin Watch's Jacob Resneck. Originally published on July 11, 2023.

Gov. Tony Evers signs a budget that excludes his plan to help staff-strapped local governments track and apply for federal infrastructure dollars. By Bennet Goldstein / Wisconsin Watch. Originally published on July 7, 2023.

A proposed pig CAFO spurred five northwest Wisconsin towns to regulate big farms. After one rescinded its ordinance, others wonder if they'll face lawsuits. By Bennet Goldstein / Wisconsin Watch. Originally published on July 6, 2023.

Arid conditions are expected to persist in eastern Iowa and Missouri, Illinois and Wisconsin. River barges are affected, too. By Bennet Goldstein / Wisconsin Watch. Originally published on June 23, 2023.

The Wisconsin Department of Health Services in 2021 found synthetic opioids, particularly fentanyl, caused 91% of opioid overdose deaths, Grace Friedman and Max Stapleton report for Wisconsin Watch. Originally published on June 22, 2023.

The courts and Evers administration have stepped in, but bipartisan efforts to make state law neutral to reflect status of same-sex couples have stalled. By Matthew DeFour / Wisconsin Watch. Originally published on June 16, 2023.

Milwaukee County parents spend more of their income on child care than most Americans. Gov. Tony Evers wants to intervene as Wisconsin providers face a fiscal cliff. By Tyler Dedrick for Wisconsin Watch. Originally published on June 15, 2023.

A dearth of affordable housing and the cost and availability of child care remain barriers to opportunity for many working families in the northeast region. The story was reported by Wisconsin Watch's Jacob Resneck as part of the NEW (Northeast Wisconsin) News Lab's Families Matter project, which explores the barriers to sustainable family life in northeast Wisconsin. Originally published on June 7, 2023.

Public schools must serve all students living within their boundaries, including those needing special accommodations. But not all neighborhood schools are to meet the needs of students with disabilities, Mario Koran reports for Wisconsin Watch. The state's biggest school choice program, open enrollment, allows students to apply to public schools outside of district boundaries. But those schools can limit or deny slots for out-of-district students with disabilities. Originally published on May 31, 2023.

The story was reported by Wisconsin Watch's Phoebe Petrovic as part of a series of stories about discrimination in taxpayer-funded schools. The story focuses on Nat Werth, a gay student who was banned from delivering his valedictory speech in 2019 at Sheboygan Lutheran High School after officials discovered he planned to come out as gay during the speech. Reviewing the school's current handbook, Werth says the school has beefed up its anti-LGBTQ+ policies. Said Werth: “If I was a kid with gender dysphoria, or even, like, questioning how people refer to me using my pronouns or if I wanted to use a different name and I read this, if this was what the school provided to me, that would have been extremely traumatic.” Originally published on May 31, 2023.

Gov. Tony Evers in 2020 revived a plan to widen a 3.5-mile segment of the Interstate 94 East-West Freeway corridor in Milwaukee — calling it one of the state's “most congested and dangerous roads.” But the highway cuts through the city, and opponents say the expansion will disproportionately disrupt Milwaukee's West Side neighborhoods that the highway shaped six decades ago, Jonmaesha Beltran reports for Wisconsin Watch's News414 collaboration. Originally published on May 23, 2023.

The story was reported by Wisconsin Watch's Phoebe Petrovic. This is Petrovic's second story examining the laws and rules that allow publicly financed voucher schools to expel certain children for immutable characteristics, including having a disability or identifying as LGBTQ+. Originally published on May 20th, 2023.

In Milwaukee County, government and nonprofit officials have in recent years bolstered resources for eviction prevention, Jonmaesha Beltran reports for Wisconsin Watch. But little, if any, aid is available to help residents retain or reclaim their possessions following an eviction. Originally published on April 25th, 2023.

Wisconsin Watch's Matt Mencarini reports the story about how voting access in Wisconsin has plummeted compared with other states — from fourth best in 1996 to 47th in 2022. However voter turnout remains high because of the work of community groups such as Black Leaders Organizing Communities in Milwaukee. Originally published on May 2nd, 2023.

The story follows up on a Wisconsin Watch report from last month that highlighted the decades-old process of lawmakers making anonymous objections to agency funding requests and then not scheduling a public meeting to discuss the objection, something a legislative lawyer said might have violated state law. This story was reported by Wisconsin Watch's Jacob Resneck. Originally published on April 19, 2023.

The story was reported by Wisconsin Watch's Phoebe Petrovic, who reveals that voucher schools must accept students with disabilities and LGBTQ+ students for admission — but can expel them based on those same inherent qualities. A spokeswoman for the state Department of Public Instruction called the situation “unfortunate,” but said the agency is powerless to enforce anti-discrimination laws for students enrolled in voucher schools. Originally published on May 5th, 2023.

Wisconsin Watch reporter Zhen Wang found evidence that prisoners in China's central Hunan Province were forced to make Milwaukee Tool-branded work gloves under grueling conditions, earning pennies each day. A supplier for Milwaukee Tool subcontracted work to the prison, two former prisoners said in separate interviews conducted in Mandarin. A self-identified salesperson of the supplier told Wang it manufactured the majority of Milwaukee Tool's work gloves. And regulatory filings confirm that the company was contracted to manufacture “Performance Gloves” for a subsidiary of Milwaukee Tool's parent company. Originally published on May 4th, 2023.

The story is based on documents filed with the state Department of Safety and Professional Services, federal court documents unsealed at the request of Wisconsin Watch, a patient complaint filed with Aurora St. Luke's, and interviews with the whistleblowing surgeon and seven other doctors who worked with obstetric gynecological surgeon Dr. Scott Kamelle. Kamelle and the hospital declined comment except to say that the Milwaukee hospital's review of Kamelle's work found no fault with his performance. The federal false claims lawsuit naming Kamelle was withdrawn, and one DSPS complaint against him was dismissed. Another is pending. The story was reported by Wisconsin Watch's Phoebe Petrovic. Originally published on April 24, 2023.

A story dispelling the speculation that Republicans could simply remove Supreme Court justices because they disagree with their decisions. One way the Legislature could do so is impeachment, which only requires a majority of the Assembly and a two-thirds majority of the Senate, which Republicans have. However, impeachment is reserved for civil officers who commit crimes or acts of corruption. A justice could be removed for violations of judicial ethics under a separate constitutional provision called “address,” but that would require two-thirds of both chambers of the Legislature, which Republicans don't have. Originally published on April 6, 2023.

Previous legislative attempts to help innocent purchasers have fallen through, in large part due to lack of funding, Erin Gretzinger of Wisconsin Watch reports. But a bipartisan group of lawmakers has introduced a fresh bill— this time with new potential funding options. Separately, Gov. Tony Evers proposes to broaden eligibility for funding to individuals who can show they thoroughly investigated potential contamination before buying a property. Originally published on April 6, 2023.

Thousands of Wisconsinites have been “adjudicated incompetent” to vote under state laws designed to protect mentally incapacitated people from having someone else fill out their ballot, Zhen Wang of Wisconsin Watch reports. Disability rights advocates and legal experts disagree over whether — and to what extent — certain people with mental disabilities should lose their voting rights. Originally published on April 3rd, 2023.

The story was reported by Wisconsin Watch's Phoebe Petrovic. American Principles Project PAC has poured at least $796,000 into digital advertisements and peer-to-peer messaging supporting Kelly, Petrovic found. The PAC has targeted trans people in elections nationwide for at least two years and fits into a much larger anti-trans movement. Originally published on March 31st, 2023.

A story about the unprecedented amount of money being spent on next Tuesday's Wisconsin Supreme Court race. The story notes the top 41 donors to Judge Janet Protasiewicz's campaign each giving the maximum $20,000 gave more than the more than 25,000 donors who gave $50 or less. Meanwhile former Justice Daniel Kelly's campaign only has about 3,800 donations of less than $50, yet his billionaire backers have given him an overall spending edge in the race. The story was reported by Wisconsin Watch's Jacob Resneck. Originally published on April 1st, 2023.

The story explains the role of precedent on the court through conflicting decisions related to the medical malpractice cap reported by Wisconsin Watch's Matt Mencarini.

The story was reported by Wisconsin Watch's Matthew DeFour, who is investigating gaps in the state's process for ensuring that people deemed “incompetent” to vote by a court are removed from voting rolls. In this story, DeFour reports that Dane County has discovered 95 people who voted in recent years despite being on a state list of ineligible voters. DeFour also found two people who have voted multiple times who were unaware they were ineligible and are now seeking to restore their rights. Originally published on March 25th, 2023.

The story was reported by Wisconsin Watch's Phoebe Petrovic. Petrovic analyzed more than 400 ads in the three-week period between Feb. 22 and March 14, finding advertising that boosted Protasiewicz and blasted Kelly was running 23-to-1 against Kelly. But that changed in recent weeks, as outside groups poured money into the race with a flurry of new ads favoring Kelly, according to the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign. Originally published on March 28th, 2023.

Wisconsin automatically restores voting rights of people who have committed felonies once they are “off paper,” meaning they've finished probation, parole or extended supervision — a process that can last years, Jonmaesha Beltran reports for Wisconsin Watch. But many formerly incarcerated people don't realize they can vote once their eligibility is restored, advocates told Beltran. Originally published on March 21st, 2023 .

A story reported by DeFour and Wisconsin Watch's Matt Mencarini. DeFour's package outlines how the court has become increasingly fractured in the past 20 years, even among justices who agree on the outcome of a case. That leaves an opening for a liberal majority — if Judge Janet Protasiewicz wins — to revisit previous cases. In the second story, DeFour and Mencarini explain the cases that liberals and conservatives say illustrates the “judicial activism” that both sides routinely rail against. Originally published on March 29th, 2023.

Wisconsin Watch's Jacob Resneck reports on a story about how the state's Joint Finance Committee has increasingly used its secretive “pocket veto” to thwart land acquisitions and other state spending requests. The committee may be violating state law, but Gov. Tony Evers has been reluctant to challenge a process that has been in place for decades under both Republicans and Democrats. Originally published on March 11th, 2023.

A story in Wisconsin Watch's Democracy on the Ballot series in which Matt Mencarini reviewed every election fraud prosecution since 2012 and found not only a small number of cases, fewer than 200, but the majority of them are related to felons voting while still on probation. The Wisconsin Watch review also found racial disparities in election fraud cases are more pronounced than in the overarching criminal justice system. Originally published on March 9th, 2023.

A recent study highlighting the potential dangers of “forever chemicals” has raised questions about the health effects of consuming Great Lakes fish, Bennet Goldstein of Wisconsin Watch reports. But oversimplifying the risks and underplaying health benefits can have consequences for populations that rely heavily on eating fish — such as Ojibwe nations that center fish in their culture and traditions, experts told Goldstein. Originally published on March 14th, 2023.

Immigrant advocacy groups have long pushed to repeal Wisconsin's 16-year-old ban, saying doing so would expand the state's tight labor force and boost public safety, reports Jonah Chester, a WPR reporter embedded in the Wisconsin Watch newsroom. Gov. Tony Evers' budget would do just that, but the Republican-controlled Legislature is unlikely to advance the idea. Republicans say the spending plan shouldn't include non-fiscal proposals that merit debate through standalone legislation. Originally published on March 16th, 2023.

Though long sought by environmental and health advocates as a way to make drinking water safer, the regulations may increase water rates in PFAS-contaminated communities as utilities upgrade filtration technology or drill for cleaner water sources, Bennet Goldstein of Wisconsin Watch reports. Originally published on March 15th, 2023.

Bennet Goldstein of Wisconsin Watch joined a fishing excursion in Lake Superior while reporting on the central role of fishing to the Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa and other Ojibwe communities in the Upper Midwest. States spent a century disregarding or rejecting treaty rights — fining or arresting tribal citizens who exercised them, Goldstein reports. A series of court rulings, starting in 1971, would affirm their reserved rights within territory ceded to the United States, including the right to fish on Lake Superior. But pollution in the Great Lakes — including hazardous PFAS chemicals — encroaches on how Ojibwe communities exercise their treaty rights, scholars and environmental advocates told Goldstein. Tribes aim to fill regulatory vacuums through their own regulation and input they share on cross-government committees. They may get support from a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency proposal that elevates consideration of treaty rights when states set water quality regulations. Originally published on February 24th, 2023.

The story was reported by Wisconsin Watch's Phoebe Petrovic in collaboration with Sheboygan Press reporter Maya Hilty. In late 2022, Petrovic and Hilty obtained more than 200 pages from the three sexual harassment probes from 2021, which resulted in discipline and counseling for 12 male and female officers. The internal investigations started with complaints from two female officers that semi-nude photos had been taken and passed around the department without their consent. A third probe was launched after female trainees reported inappropriate behavior by a male training officer. A review of the records showed the department failed to use best practices in carrying out the series of internal investigations and that female officers were, in some ways, more harshly punished than their male colleagues. Originally published on February 6th, 2023.

"This is a followup story to the report from Feb. 6 that revealed for the first time that a dozen officers had been disciplined or verbally admonished over allegations of misconduct, including sharing semi-nude photos of their colleagues without their knowledge or permission. The city also had paid $110,000 to a female officer who alleged harassment. Details of the findings of the three internal investigations are here. Officer Bryan Pray, who received the stiffest punishment — a 10-day unpaid suspension — resigned two days after that story was published. And the state Department of Workforce Development determined there was probable cause to believe that former HR Director Vicky Schneider was retaliated against by then-Sheboygan City Administrator Todd Wolf after she raised concerns about the thoroughness of the probes. The story was reported by Sheboygan Press reporter Maya Hilty and Wisconsin Watch's Phoebe Petrovic." Originally published on February 27th, 2023.

Jonah Chester of WPR and Wisconsin Watch rides along with Curative Connections, which serves folks with disabilities and the elderly, including transporting them to medical appointments and other important stops in and around Green Bay. The nonprofit is part of a fractured transportation system for Brown County's non-drivers, Chester reports. That includes Green Bay Metro's traditional busing and door-to-door services in the metro area. Those services will become more important as Brown County's population, like much of Wisconsin, increasingly skews older and less mobile. But a host of challenges threaten their viability — from driver shortages to decreasing revenue. Originally published on January 5th, 2023.