For most of the state, that was one beautiful Spring weekend. We hope you were able to get outside and enjoy it. But, if you spent most of it inside watching The Masters or doing some much-needed Spring cleaning, we hope it was at least a welcome break from your routine.
Alas, Monday is here. But fear not, so are we, armed with today’s Key Reads.
As much as you want to get rid of the winter-kill brush, you need to hold off on burning it for now.
Fire danger remains high across Wisconsin | WLUK
Elevated fire danger continues to be a concern across Wisconsin. The DNR is asking the public to refrain from outdoor burning as it responded to more than 35 wildfires in just one day.
And it continued to see incidents throughout the weekend, including a major fire in Shawano County on Sunday.
“Hot, dry and windy – that’s always a recipe for disaster,” said DNR Forester Ranger Garrett Lubbers.
And as the DNR is seeing this weekend, those conditions, are cooking up an array of wildfires, statewide.
Saturday, across the state, 37 different fires burned hundreds of acres of land.
A Milwaukee “anti-poverty” agency with a troubled past and an annual budget of more than $30 million is under investigation, again.
State orders audit of SDC over unpaid contractors, as CEO admits agency is on ‘shaky’ financial ground | Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
In recent weeks, the SDC admitted it owes contractors thousands of dollars, laid off about a third of its workforce, and is undergoing a state-ordered forensic audit. The actions come after the agency announced last month in a public letter that it had “misallocated” an undisclosed amount of taxpayer money from its weatherization program.
The state has since suspended the SDC’s Weatherization Assistance Program, an action that is having a ripple effect on the agency and the community. The hit is felt by dozens of workers and companies who depended on SDC for work…
Meanwhile, the agency’s leaders said they were still trying to figure how the funds got misplaced and what impact, if any, the financial goof will have on the future of Hinton and the agency. Hinton’s pay package increased by 17% from 2018 to 2022, going from $187,259 in 2018 to $218,532 in 2022, according to the agency’s filings with the IRS.
SDC provided few details about the misallocation and has declined to say how much money it owes to individual contractors and vendors.
It’s time Wisconsin’s lawmakers make some serious, and difficult, decisions regarding the UW System. Ignoring the issues will not make them go away.
External review raises alarms about financial future at multiple UW campuses | WPR
A newly released third-party analysis raises concerns about the financial future of multiple state universities.
Last year, a forecast from the Universities of Wisconsin projected structural deficits at 10 of Wisconsin’s public universities ranging from millions to tens of millions of dollars.
Only three campuses — Madison, LaCrosse and Stout — were projected to generate enough revenue to meet expenses.
On Thursday, the UW system released updates from an external review into the finances at seven of the universities with projected deficits.
And, as Universities of Wisconsin President Jay Rothman noted, Wisconsin ranks 42nd in the nation when it comes to state funding for public universities.
The reports completed by the firm Deloitte point to fiscal headwinds, including falling enrollment, struggles to retain students, and the end of federal COVID-19 aid.
That’s enough for today. There’s plenty more in your inbox, we know.
As if being a Monday wasn’t enough, it is, of course, tax filing day as well.
Good luck and Godspeed.
