Dems fail to remove Green Party candidate from ballot
Kennedy can’t get his name off the ballot
One presidential candidate in Wisconsin wanted to stay on the ballot and one candidate didn’t. One candidate got her way last week and one didn’t.
The Ghost of Richard Nixon: Harris’s price control plan spurs debate
1971 price controls caused shortages, then sent prices skyrocketing
News analysis The last time a president tried price controls in the United States was 1971, when President Richard Nixon imposed a multi-phased wage-and-price control scheme to tamp down runaway inflation, which had then climbed to 5.8 percent.
Highway department facing $9.5M three-year shortfall
If Oneida County sticks with its current approach to funding its highways, the county’s highway department will face a funding shortfall of about $9.5 million for its capital renewal and replacement needs over the next three years.
Zuckerberg: Biden administration pressured Meta to censor
Won’t do it again, Facebook chief promises
In an August 26 letter to U.S. House judiciary committee chairman Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), the chief of Meta, Mark Zuckerberg, alleged that the Biden administration pressured Meta and its companies, including Facebook, to censor its users, especially during the pandemic.
County board creates deputy position to help lead new department
On the first day of its existence, the newly formed Oneida County Human Services Department will become Oneida County’s largest government agency — a huge department employing more than 100 people —and this past week the county board of supervisors created a new deputy director position to help the agency’s director hold down the fort.
Oneida County board shoots down mining resolution
But both yes and no votes preserved the status quo
It was a politician’s dream on Tuesday when the Oneida County Board of Supervisors took a vote that didn’t matter how supervisors voted — voting yes yielded the same result as voting no.
Harris unveils plan to fight inflation: Price controls
Democrat to push laws, regs to end ‘gouging’
The Harris for President campaign took aim at lingering inflation this past week, with the campaign announcing that the presumptive Democratic nominee, if elected, would propose the “first-ever federal ban on price gouging on food and groceries.”
Voters defeat both constitutional amendments in another win for Democrats
Wisconsin continued to gallop back toward its historic standing as part of the Democratic Party’s midwestern Blue firewall as Democrats celebrated the defeat by wide margins Tuesday of two major constitutional amendments the party had opposed.
Latest Marquette poll: Harris surges to lead
Harris opens wide 8-point lead among likely voters, with other candidates included
The latest Marquette Law School Poll national survey shows Democratic nominee and Vice President Kamala Harris leading the presidential race nationally, with 52 percent of support among of registered voters to 48 percent for former President Donald Trump.
On the ballot Tuesday: Two constitutional amendments
Control of federal monies and appropriations take center stage
One thing Gov. Tony Evers can’t veto is the will of the voters, and that’s why the Republican-controlled state legislature has put two proposed constitutional amendments on next Tuesday’s ballot.
Judge approves historic $1.5 billion payday loan settlement involving LdF tribe
Decision, if made permanent, would bring relief for nearly 1 million borrowers
A judge has given preliminary approval to a proposed settlement of a gigantic payday loan lawsuit that, if approved permanently, would forgive $1.4 billion in outstanding loans to nearly a million payday loan borrowers who took loans from the Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians (LDF) tribal corporation and its subsidiaries.
Survey says: Wisconsin’s economy among the worst in nation
WalletHub analysis runs against the grain of Evers’s claims
The administration of Gov. Tony Evers likes to tout what he calls a robust Wisconsin economy, featuring lower-than-national-average unemployment and higher-than-national-average labor force participation rates, but a new study from the personal finance company WalletHub actually puts the state’s economy near the bottom of the pile.
Biden-Harris Title IX transgender rules blocked in 21 states
But rules took effect this week in Wisconsin
A federal court last week blocked the Biden-Harris administration’s new Title IX transgender regulations in six more states, bringing the total to 21 which have won reprieve from the rules.
Judge dismisses Bangstad motions in zoning cases
Zoning panel revokes CUP; Bangstad heads to appeals court
It was a double whammy in Oneida County circuit court last week for Minocqua Brewing Company owner Kirk Bangstad, as circuit judge Michael Bloom thwarted Bangstad’s efforts to have a major zoning complaint against him dismissed and to have the circuit court issue an injunction prohibiting the county from shutting down his business by revoking his conditional use permit.
Court decision squashes legislative oversight of Stewardship purchases
Ziegler: Decision could aggregate power in the executive branch
A state Supreme Court decision earlier this month booted a key tool that the legislature’s Joint Finance Committee has used to oversee the state’s Stewardship land acquisition program, nullifying the committee’s power to block specific program projects.
Biden out, Harris in: Wisconsin reacts
The response by state politicians to last Sunday’s announcement that President Joe Biden had withdrawn from the presidential race was generally standard fare — Democrats heaped praise on the president and called him a “consequential” leader for the ages; Republicans criticized what they called a Democratic cover-up of Biden’s cognitive decline — but there were a few new wrinkles, from subtle language to turn-about proposals.
They’re back: Ballot drop boxes are in for November
The Wisconsin Supreme Court has reversed its own decision from two years ago, ruling 4-3 to reinstate the use of ballot drop boxes as a legal and legitimate way to vote in the state.
Marshfield Clinic, Sanford Health aim for year-end merger
Health care systems pursue swift union amid past hurdles
After two previous failed merger attempts, Marshfield Clinic Health System is hoping the third time will be the charm, as the ailing health care giant recently announced a merger with Sanford Health, which has a number of failed mergers under its belt as well.
CUP approved over neighbors, town’s objections
A Lake Tomahawk couple secured a conditional use permit for a large home in Lake Tomahawk last week, overcoming objections from neighbors and the town board.
County schedules another permit revocation hearing for Bangstad
New allegations trigger hearing
For the second time in just more than a month, the Oneida County Planning & Development Committee has scheduled a revocation hearing after complaints that Minocqua Brewing Company owner Kirk Bangstad has continued to violate conditions of his conditional use permit to operate an outdoor beer garden at his Minocqua Brewing Company location.
Wisconsin Supreme Court tosses injunction against pro-life protester
Late last month, the Wisconsin Supreme Court unanimously struck a blow for free speech, concluding that a court order prohibiting an anti-abortion protester from being near a Planned Parenthood worker violated his First Amendment rights.
Door County judge grants relief to short-term rental owners in Sister Bay
Judge pins injunction on village’s procedural violations
In a case that could ultimately have ramifications for short-term rentals around the state, a Door County judge has issued a temporary injunction against the village of Sister Bay, allowing a short-term rental cottage to resume rentals while the owners of the cottage appeal a decision to deny them a license.
State Supreme Court will hear challenge to Evers’s 400-year veto
WMC: Four centuries of tax increases with no voter approval
The Wisconsin Supreme Court has accepted a petition to hear a challenge to Gov. Tony Evers’s veto last year that allows property taxes to increase for the next 402 years, filed by the WMC (Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce) Litigation Center on behalf of two taxpayers.
Affair roils Vilas County courthouse
Editor’s Note: On Tuesday, June 25 the Vilas County Board of Supervisors discussed a pair of resolutions supporting the recall of the officials named in this story. Ultimately, the board tabled the resolution with respect to Judge Daniel Overbey. The resolution related to Clerk of Court Beth Soltow failed on an 18-2 vote. A full story on the county board action will follow in our next edition.
Oneida County zoning suspends Bangstad permit for 90 days
Outdoor operations would trigger a new revocation hearing
Concluding that Minocqua Brewing Company owner Kirk Bangstad has still failed to meet many conditions of his conditional use permit to operate an outdoor beer garden at his Minocqua Brewing Company location, the Oneida County zoning committee suspended the permit for 90 days on Thursday, June 20.
County to hire outside consultant, counsel to aid HSC transition
The Oneida County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously last week to retain outside counsel and to hire an outside consultant to aid in the transition of delivery of services from the soon-to-be-defunct Human Service Center to a newly created county human services department.
WILL challenges constitutionality of DNR gun rule
Says rule could lead to fines for law-abiding citizens
The Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty (WILL) is taking on an administrative rule crafted by the state Department of Natural Resources, saying it violates the Second Amendment and could result in fines for law-abiding citizens this summer.
Judge denies temporary injunction against Bangstad
County says allowing law to be flaunted renders code ‘toothless’
Saying he was not judging the merits of the case, Oneida County circuit judge Michael Bloom on Monday nonetheless said Oneida County did not meet the criteria for a temporary injunction that would have immediately shut down Kirk Bangstad’s Minocqua Brewing Company.
Court grants contempt motion against Bangstad
MBC owner must meet court’s conditions or serve 120 days in jail
A Wisconsin circuit court judge has granted a motion for contempt against Minocqua Brewing Company (MBC) owner Kirk Bangstad for failing to show up at a court-ordered hearing, and he must meet an array of conditions — including paying legal fees and costs and providing certain financial records — or spend 120 days in the Oneida County jail.
Wisconsin tourism scores another record-breaking year
Hampered by mild December, Oneida, Vilas growth lags state
Wisconsin’s tourism industry delivered to the state another record-breaking year in 2023, generating $25 billion in total economic impact, according to newly released state data.
Lawmakers ask tough questions about ATF shooting of airport director
Northwoods congressman Tiffany decries ‘dual system of justice’
In multiple congressional hearings, lawmakers have asked tough questions about the recent shooting and killing of the Little Rock, Arkansas, airport director by federal agents as they executed a search warrant in a predawn raid of his house.
Oneida County schedules revocation hearing for Bangstad CUP
Committee says evidence shows multiple violations of permit conditions
The Oneida County zoning committee has scheduled a public hearing to consider revoking Kirk Bangstad’s conditional use permit for a Minocqua beer garden, after reviewing evidence pointing to a bevy of alleged violations of permit conditions.
Oops! ‘Secret group’ is secret no more
Butkus group monitors OC zoning
A secret (or maybe not-so-secret) group of environmentalists that has supposedly been suspected of monitoring the activities of the Oneida County zoning committee has been accidentally exposed by the organizer of the group, an activist with Wisconsin Lakes.
Wisconsin GOP passes resolution supporting income tax elimination
Idea has traction among grassroots; GOP leadership, not so much
It was pretty much a run-of-the-mill state Republican Party convention in May over in Appleton — notwithstanding some expected fireworks involving Assembly speaker Robin Vos — with the GOP passing resolutions that have become mainstream for the party but that Democrats call extremist.
DNR official cautions towns about enhanced wake regs
Multiple towns across Wisconsin are passing ordinances regulating artificial enhanced wakes on state waters, but many of them lack any evidentiary mechanism, and last week a state Department of Natural Resources administrative warden cautioned that towns could be headed for troubled legal waters of their own if they resort to ad hoc or citizen enforcement.
Trump, Biden run neck-and-neck with summer looming
April presidential polls have brought May …. more presidential polls, and the last batch looks eerily similar to all the others over the past half-year, with Donald Trump clinging nationally to an ever-so-slight lead over President Joe Biden, including the latest Marquette Law School poll released this past week.
Oneida County board taps Hartman for administrative coordinator
Oneida County has a new administrative coordinator, and it is one of the county’s own elected officials, Tracy Hartman, who is also the county clerk.
SCOTUS lets federal agency fund itself
Alito dissent: Consumer bureau ‘blatantly attempts’ to evade constitution
In a 7-2 vote, with four conservatives joining three liberals, the U.S. Supreme Court last week rejected a challenge to the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau’s funding mechanism, which largely allows the federal consumer protection agency to fund itself with only a limited monetary cap and no congressional oversight.
Oneida County moves closer to shoreland ordinance revisions
Agency still opposes boathouse stairs, other provisions
Oneida County is moving forward with shoreland ordinance revisions, some of which the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources says it won’t approve, but this week the county’s zoning director told the committee the agency had softened some positions in meetings with staff and outside counsel.
Federal judge tosses lawsuit challenging absentee witness signatures
Judge: Argument by Dem allies ‘makes no sense’
A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit brought by Democratic activists that sought to void a state law requiring voters to have a witness signature for their absentee ballots.
Oneida County moves closer to job offers for HSC staff
Rideout proposes additional 50 positions for new Human Services Department
Oneida County officials have been promising for a while now that most employees of the soon-to-be-defunct tri-county Human Service Center (HSC) would be offered jobs in the county’s newly formed Department of Human Services, and sure enough the county took a big step last week in making those offers a reality, presenting a plan to the county’s executive committee to create 51 new positions for 2025.
Election year duel: Microsoft and Biden versus Foxconn and Trump
Biden: Foxconn was just that, ‘a con’
President Joe Biden, Gov. Tony Evers, and a bevy of Democrats descended on Racine County this past week to celebrate Microsoft’s announcement that it would invest $3.3 billion in an artificial intelligence (AI) datacenter campus in Mount Pleasant — and to gloat that the facility is planned for land that Republicans once promised would be an economic Goliath powered by Foxconn.
Bradley, Dallet frame age-old constitutional debate
Independent interpretation or inventing constitutional rights?
It is an argument as old as the Republic itself — whether the U.S. constitution should be strictly or loosely interpreted — and in a recent Wisconsin Supreme Court decision the debate exploded full scale in a case that, oddly enough, the justices decided unanimously.
Biden administration sides with tribes on Line 5
Then again, administration opposes tribes on Line 5
The Biden administration has weighed in, in court on a controversial Canadian oil pipeline known as Line 5, which runs through tribal lands, both agreeing with tribes that the Canadian pipeline owner is trespassing but opposing the court’s order to immediately shut the pipeline down.
Police remove pro-Palestinian protest encampment at UW-Madison
WILL files discrimination lawsuits against Northwestern
After issuing multiple warnings, scores of police with riot shields forcibly removed a Pro-Palestinian tent encampment from the UW-Madison’s Library Mall last week, as campus protests against Israel’s war to annihilate the terrorist group known as Hamas spread across the country.
Kaul wants state Supreme Court to allow voter drop boxes
In Teigen, Kaul argues, the previous court rewrote the law
In a brief filed last week before the Wisconsin Supreme Court, state attorney general Josh Kaul asked justices to overrule the state’s current ban on election drop boxes, arguing that Wisconsin law does not prohibit the use of drop boxes as a way for Wisconsin voters to deliver their absentee ballots in Wisconsin elections.
Federal judge denies Bangstad motion for preliminary injunction
Court stresses ruling is no reflection on the merits of case
A federal judge has denied Minocqua Brewing Company (MBC) owner Kirk Bangstad’s motion for a preliminary injunction that would have given his business immediate access across town land without the town’s permission.
Nemec is Oneida County’s new forestry director
Oneida County has a new forestry director, Jill Nemec, after the county board confirmed her hiring during its April 16 meeting.
Bangstad a no-show at supplemental examination hearing
Oneida County also files complaint for forfeitures
Legal complications for Minocqua Brewing Company owner Kirk Bangstad continued to pile up this past week, as Oneida County filed a complaint for forfeitures for zoning violations that could cost Bangstad tens of thousands of dollars.
County board re-elects Holewinski board chairman
The Oneida County Board of Supervisors has re-elected supervisor Scott Holewinski as chairman of the board, with a unanimous vote by acclamation this week after no one ran against him.
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