Key Reads

This Day in Wisconsin History

On this day in 1921, the Wisconsin legislature passed the nation’s first bill ensuring that women have the same legal rights as men. Section 6.015 opened, “Women shall have the same rights and privileges under the law as men…” It was signed into law on July 1 [Wisconsin Historical Society]

We end this week with a few stories of statewide significance. Here are today’s Key Reads.

The rise in Wisconsin home prices continued upward last month, but not to the extent they had been climbing, this according to a new report out this week.

Median Wisconsin home price up $15,000 | The Center Square

Home prices in Wisconsin continue to go up, but economists say they are not going as quickly as in the recent past.

The report released Thursday from the Wisconsin Realtors Association says the median price for a house in Wisconsin is now $315,000, up from $300,000 last month.

“This is a result of strong unmet demand in an environment of improving but still limited supply,” David Clark, professor emeritus of economics and consultant to the association told The Center Square. “The tight supply and strong demand are driving up our prices, but since our listings have improved, we are selling more homes than in May of 2023.”

His reference is to new and total listings.

Home sales for May jumped 11% compared to the year before.

Clark said Wisconsin continues to have more people who want to buy a home than there are houses for sale. And that, he said, is why prices continue to go up.

Home prices are much higher priced in the Madison and Milwaukee areas.

The report shows the median price in south central Wisconsin, which includes Madison, is just over $369,000. While the median price in southeast Wisconsin, which includes Milwaukee, is $330,000.

“Inventories are tight throughout the state, but they are tightest in our metropolitan areas,” Clark said. “We expect more price pressure in areas that have less available supply, and less pressure in areas with more available supply.”

Clark said people shouldn’t focus only on the price of homes. He said it’s important to note that prices have been going up slower than in the recent past.

“The issue is not how high they will go, but rather how quickly will they rise over a given period of time,” Clark said. “We have seen a moderation in the annual appreciation of prices in 2023 compared to the three years earlier. Specifically, the statewide annual median price rose 10.8% from 2019 to 2020, 9.5% from 2020 to 2021, 9.9% from 2021 to 2022, 7.5% from 2022 to 2023. For 2024 after five months, prices are up 7.3% year to date. When we get to the end of 2024, we suspect that the growth rate in prices will look very similar to the growth rate in 2023.”

Wisconsin’s former Porno Chancellor (TM pending) is not going down without a fight. He explained his position Thursday as a faculty hearing came to a close in La Crosse.

Gow pushes back on university claims of computer misuse, insubordination | WPR

Former University of Wisconsin-La Crosse chancellor Joe Gow pushed back on claims that he used university computers to visit pornography websites during a hearing on whether the university has grounds to dismiss him from faculty.

Gow was fired as chancellor by the Universities of Wisconsin Board of Regents in December following the discovery that he and his wife, Carmen Wilson, appeared in online porn videos. The couple have also published several books under pseudonyms.

…Gow also claimed that login information for a number of porn websites found on both his and Wilson’s laptops did not come from them. He said he and his wife did not use university computers for their adult content work, and said they did not post content on some of the websites listed in a report from a university-hired firm.

…The university laid out their evidence for the charges during the first day of the hearing on Wednesday, detailing the login findings as well as evidence that a release agreement for a porn website was printed by Gow’s computer on campus.

On Thursday, Wade Harrison, UW System senior legal counsel who represented the university, reiterated Gow’s alleged insubordination by refusing to participate in an interview with private law firm Husch Blackwell, which UW System hired to complete an investigation into Gow while he was on paid administrative leave. He said Gow’s refusal cast doubt on whether he would follow the direction of university leadership if he were allowed to return to the classroom.

Harrison said Gow acted unethically by failing to disclose his previous business relationship with porn actress Nina Hartley before bringing her to campus for a talk on free speech in 2018. The decision created a public controversy and led to a reprimand from then-UW System President Ray Cross.

He also described a lack of concern from Gow about his conduct or the impact to the university’s reputation.

…The hearing, which would normally take place in private, was opened to the public by Gow’s request. The committee will continue to meet in private to make a recommendation to the chancellor “as soon as practicable,” according to university policy.

The chancellor can ultimately make their own recommendation to the UW System President Jay Rothman, who will bring it to the Board of Regents for a final decision.

If you’ve spent some time on a lake in the last few years, you’ve likely encountered wake boats. The controversy over these vessels, which displace vast amount of water, continues to swirl.

Local ordinances on wake-enhanced boating gaining momentum in Wisconsin | Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

The scene has played out at least 10 times this year at town halls in Wisconsin: a crowd of local residents attends a town board meeting to express their support for an ordinance on a type of recreational activity.

Although town supervisors typically hear from just a handful of public attendees at monthly meetings, these gatherings are standing room-only.

They also feature a passion not often seen in local governmental affairs.

The issue: wake-enhanced boating.

…Wake-enhanced boating involves use of a special power vessel with water-filled ballast tanks to increase its displacement and create large waves for surfers or tubers to ride.

Though a new source of fun for some, the activity has generated substantial criticism from those who have observed the large waves cause damage including to shorelines, docks, fish beds, aquatic vegetation and shore-nesting birds.

..Wake-enhanced boating is generally allowed on any Wisconsin water that allows operation of a motorboat above no-wake speed.

But as it has increased in popularity, so have calls for it to be regulated.

However, the Legislature and Department of Natural Resources have taken no action.

It has left the matter in the hands of local units of government to address it through ordinances or other rules.