(The Center Square) – While recent polls covering the U.S. Senate race in Wisconsin show Democrat incumbent Sen. Tammy Baldwin with a 7-point lead over Republican challenger Eric Hovde, a project survey released this week by Cook Political Report suggests the race is one of the most competitive in the nation. Compared to its survey in August when Baldwin led by +7, Cook Political Report's most recent numbers show she has a 2-point lead of 49%, compared to Hovde’s 47% support. By contrast, results from a recent Marquette Law School poll indicated Baldwin holds a substantial lead over her oppone ..read more

(The Center Square) – The Wisconsin Department of Justice’s Division of Criminal Investigation is now reportedly heading up the investigation into any wrongdoing by Wausau Mayor Doug Diny related to his removal of a ballot drop box that was not yet in use. Diny told WISN-TV in Milwaukee that he worked with someone from Wausau’s maintenance department over the weekend to return the drop box, which was then opened to the public on Monday. Diny told WISN that he now plans to take the topic of using the ballot drop box to the Wausau Common Council, which was all he ever wanted, and that he does no ..read more

(The Center Square) – Wisconsin’s governor is less popular as more voters say the state is heading in the wrong direction. The latest Marquette Law School Poll shows Gov. Tony Evers’ job approval fell in September. “Evers’ job approval has been over 50% all year, but he dipped under this time,” MU chief pollster Charles Franklin explained. “This is the first time in a year that he's been below 50%, Though still more approve than disapprove, by a point or two, but there's been just this little bit of movement in this last month. Notice that it also parallels the change in the [answer to] the st ..read more

(The Center Square) – Wisconsin ranks 22nd and was given a “B” grade with $1,000 of taxpayer surplus per taxpayer in Truth in Accounting’s Financial State of the States report. Each year, the nonprofit group looks at the overall government finances in a state and measures the amount each state has on hand and owes in net pension liability compared to promised benefits. The top states noted in the report are North Dakota with a taxpayer surplus of $55,600 and Alaska at $55,100. The lowest “sinkhole states” are New Jersey (negative $42,500) and Connecticut (negative $44,300). Wisconsin was one o ..read more

(The Center Square) – A trio of Wisconsin Republican lawmakers are again pitching a tax-free retirement plan that would exempt $75,000 of retirement income for single filers and $125,000 for married joint filers. The 2025 legislation was pitched and passed earlier this year that was ultimately vetoed by Gov. Tony Evers. This time, the legislation will be in addition to any retirement income that is already tax-exempt in Wisconsin, such as Social Security. Thirteen other states, including Illinois and Iowa, have tax-free retirement laws. “We can’t afford to keep losing seniors to other states ..read more

(The Center Square) – Less than five weeks out from Election Day, a new poll shows Wisconsin voters are increasingly excited to vote and Independents remain persuadable over candidate choice, unlike their Democrat and Republican counterparts. Vice President Kamala Harris continues to lead former president Donald Trump among Wisconsin voters overall, partly due to a favorable shift in Independent’s views, according to Marquette Law School’s October poll released Wednesday. “With Independents, you see that they were favoring Trump through the period when Biden was the candidate. They still favor ..read more

(The Center Square) – The former owners and operators of Morning View Dairy in Merrill agreed to pay $70,000 for its violations that led to a 2021 fish kill in Devil Creek caused by the dairy. The Department of Natural Resources will receive $50,000, according to a settlement approved by the Lincoln County Circuit Court. The fish died after a leaky valve on the dairy’s manure storage allowed manure to go into Devil Creek. The DNR received a report of the contamination June 9, 2021 and the next day DNR fisheries staff then observed distressed, dying and dead fish in Devil Creek from the dairy d ..read more

(The Center Square) – The American Civil Liberties Union of Wisconsin has come out with a new resource kit for students, teachers and parents in public schools that outlines how they can utilize their constitutional rights to free expression at the school level. The toolkit, entitled “Guide to Advocating For Your Civil Rights and Liberties in Wisconsin Schools," is meant “to empower students, parents, and teachers to understand and use their legal rights and protections in public schools.” The guide specifically discusses the right to student protests, protecting teachers’ free speech and expr ..read more

(The Center Square) – Wisconsin’s utility watchdog is asking people to speak up about the proposed rate hikes from We Energies and WPS. The Citizens Utility Board is asking people to “be heard” at We Energies’ rate hike meeting Thursday in Milwaukee, and WPS’ public hearing Oct. 10 in Ashwaubenon. “Now is the time for customers paying the bills to speak out and tell the regulators what they think of utility price increases,” CUB Executive Director Tom Content said. “There’s power in numbers – and the more people participate, the better.” We Energies is asking state regulators for $605 million ..read more

(The Center Square) – Swing state voters are feeling the pain of high prices and want to hear more from presidential candidates about their energy policies, newly released polling data shows. A new Morning Consult/American Petroleum Institute poll obtained exclusively by The Center Square surveyed registered voters in the key swing states of Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. While economists have heralded the slowing of inflation, Tuesday’s poll shows that swing state voters still are feeling the pain. In the swing states, anywhere from 81% to 86 ..read more