Well, some people think we have just too few elections in Wisconsin…
This morning, a bizarre coalition will submit signatures intent on triggering a recall of Wisconsin Assembly Speaker Robin Vos. The group consists of organizers from Arkansas, local Democrats, and disaffected local Republican candidates who have lost previous elections and are upset that Wisconsin Elections Commission Megan Wolfe has not been removed from her job.
If they’ve turned in enough signatures from adult residents of the correct district, Vos would face a recall election just a few weeks before the regularly-scheduled August primary.
Nobody knows how much money has been spent on the effort, or where the funds have come from, but expenditures for radio and internet advertising have well surpassed the six figure mark. This drama will play out over the next several weeks and we will keep you posted.
Group says it obtained enough signatures to trigger a recall of Assembly Speaker Robin Vos | Associated Press
Vos has dismissed the recall attempt as a waste of time and resources, which he reiterated in a statement Sunday. He questioned the group’s tactics and the validity of the signatures, promising that a team he had assembled would “evaluate each individual signature.”
The recall campaign’s announcement Sunday comes after the Wisconsin Supreme Court declined Friday to take up Democratic Gov. Tony Evers’ request to clarify if Wisconsin’s new legislative district maps apply to elections before November, leaving uncertainty about whether signatures for the recall attempt should be collected in Vos’ new district.
[One recall leader Matthew] Snorek said Sunday that they took the court’s move as a signal that their efforts in Vos’ current district were correct.
First elected in 2004, Vos is the longest-serving Assembly speaker in state history, holding the post since 2013.
From someone in political jeopardy to someone excelling at the game show of the same name…
This Wisconsinite is a finalist for the Jeopardy! 2024 Tournament of Champions | WPR
Green Bay’s “King of the North,” assistant professor of philosophy Ben Chan won his round in the Jeopardy! Tournament of Champions quarterfinals and semifinals.
Marking his 10th and 11th Jeopardy! wins, Chan is a finalist in this year’s Tournament of Champions. The entire 2024 Tournament of Champions was filmed over four days in February.
Chan joined WPR’s “The Morning Show” the day his quarterfinal game aired. He shared wisdom gained during his Jeopardy! career and provided a look behind the scenes of a Jeopardy! taping.
As we’ve previously shared with you, a state appeals court has ruled that the Evers Administration has over-stepped it’s authority when trying to regulate hazardous chemicals. One legislator says the governor and the Department of Natural Resources have the ability to implement rules on an emergency basis, and not wait on the State Supreme Court to rule on an expected further appeal.
Wimberger: Ruling wasn’t a surprise, governor can act | The Center Square
Democrats in Wisconsin, including the governor and Attorney General Josh Kaul, said the court’s decision will delay their efforts to clean up Wisconsin’s drinking water.
But Wimberger said the governor and the attorney general could take action today, without waiting for the Legislature or the state Supreme Court.
“They can issue an emergency order on PFAS levels,” Wimberger said. “They could actually do research to trigger other enforcement sections in the Spills Law for anything ‘hazardous’ that may be discharged into the environment. Attorney General Kaul has an active lawsuit that he started a month or two before his election more than two years ago. Has he even done any depositions or interrogatories? Is there even a trial schedule?”
Wimberger also said the DNR could act on PFAS.
“The DNR could have used other parts of the Spills Law to accomplish what they set out to do,” he said. “They could have actually done the work to show that the amount of pollution was, in fact, to a level hazardous to human health. That would have taken merely some research, quantifiable data, and expert testimony about it. The DNR failed in this case because it was lazy, did not build a case to prove the pollution levels reached a level hazardous to human health, and thinks it can just order people around.”
Wimberger’s plan would use $125 million in grant money to help local communities test, and deal with PFAS chemicals when those communities find them.
Wimberger said the hold-up is not because of point-of-source polluters. He says the governor wants the Department of Natural Resources to be able to order any landowner who finds PFAS chemicals on their land or in their water into long, and costly remediation programs.
State and local transportation agencies have advanced the reconstruction of one of Wisconsin’s most important stretches of Interstate.
I-94 widening on Milwaukee’s west side wins final federal approval. Construction date on the $1.2 billion project is set | Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
[A] plan to expand Interstate-94 on Milwaukee’s west side is moving forward after final federal approval Friday.
The road redesign will widen the freeway from six to eight lanes between 16th and 70th streets.
Construction is set to begin in late 2025 on the $1.2 billion (in 2021 dollars) project, after the Federal Highway Administration officially approved the Wisconsin Department of Transportation proposal.
The project will be largely funded by the federal government…
Commercial truck traffic is a key concern of the WisDOT and other proponents of the widening project.
Proponents say trucks hauling freight throughout Wisconsin and other states routinely pass through this stretch of I-94, and the additional lanes would ensure that truck traffic flows smoothly.
Business groups, including the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce, have said the freeway expansion would be a boon for the state’s economy.
We cap today’s Key Reads with the results of the exciting action in Green Bay this weekend. As always, click on the headline for more details.
State Girls Basketball Tournament Delivers Excitement in Determining Champions | WIAA
