Wisconsin Weekly is a roundup of the week’s top headlines from around the state by Wisconsin Watch and other trusted news outlets.
In this issue:
- New liberal Supreme Court majority fires conservative state courts director
- Lawsuit filed to overturn Republican-gerrymandered legislative maps
- Milwaukee police chases have increased 20-fold over past decade
- Unhealthy Wisconsin series explores rise in alcohol-related deaths
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Supreme Court
New liberal majority on state Supreme Court fires director of state court system
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel — Aug. 2, 2023
Liberals took control of the Wisconsin Supreme Court as Justice Janet Protasiewicz was sworn in this week. They wasted no time in asserting their majority by firing state courts director Randy Koschnick, a conservative who had run against former liberal Justice Shirley Abrahamson in 2009. Conservative Chief Justice Annette Ziegler called the move “unprecedented, dangerous … overreaching” and “shameful.”
New Wisconsin lawsuit seeks to toss Republican-drawn maps
The Associated Press — Aug. 2, 2023
The Wisconsin Supreme Court has been asked to take up a new lawsuit supported by Democrats that would declare the state’s legislative boundaries unconstitutional. Republicans control two-thirds of the Senate seats and nearly two-thirds of the Assembly seats despite Democrats winning the majority of recent competitive statewide elections.
Public Safety
Hot pursuit: Milwaukee police chases now top 1,000 per year. Some prove deadly.
Wisconsin Watch — Aug. 2, 2023
Milwaukee police chases increased from 20 in 2012 to 1,028 in 2022 as restrictions on pursuits were loosened. The biggest increase came after the Milwaukee Fire and Police Commission allowed pursuits in reckless driving and drug dealing cases.
Health
Wisconsin’s ‘death grip with alcohol’ is killing more residents
Wisconsin Watch — Aug. 3, 2023
Wisconsin’s alcohol-related death rate has tripled since 2000, and is now 25% higher than the national rate.
Read more from Wisconsin Watch’s Unhealthy Wisconsin series:
- How alcoholism derailed former Wisconsin running back Montee Ball’s football career
- ‘They die so quickly’: Fentanyl killing 1,000+ people in Wisconsin each year
- Here’s where to find Narcan in Wisconsin — and how to reverse an opioid overdose
Elections
Election disinformation campaigns targeted voters of color in 2020. Experts expect 2024 to be worse
The Associated Press — Aug. 1, 2023
A growing number of voters of color, especially in communities where English is not a first language, are questioning the integrity of elections based on disinformation seeded during and after the 2020 election.
Climate
Most of the Midwest is in drought – and there’s no simple way to get out of it
St. Louis Public Radio — July 31, 2023
Intense rainfall in late July isn’t helping address drought conditions throughout the Midwest as the rain more easily runs off and doesn’t soak into farmland. Climate change is part of the reason for the dry spring, record hot summer and sporadic rain.
Are Republican presidential candidates offering financial incentives to campaign donors in order to qualify for the Milwaukee debate? (YES)
Has Milwaukee Public Schools enrollment dropped 10% in three years? (YES)
Do Republican presidential candidates participating in the Milwaukee debate have to pledge not to participate in debates the GOP doesn’t sanction? (YES)
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