Welcome to Thursday’s Key Reads. As of today, an appeals court has ruled that the role of the Wisconsin Legislature still matters. Also, the UW gets hundreds of millions of dollars in facilities now that the Governor agreed to the last component of a deal brokered by the Assembly Speaker. See, if allowed to work, the three branches of government can get it right. We’d say this is the end of the Civics lesson for today, but as long as power is within reach, there will be those in government itching to abuse it.
We will remain vigilant, so you can remain informed. But it’s not all politics here, our dedication to Wisconsin history and culture also has us bringing you a sports story, mixed in with a little economic development and more hot news as we continue to march through this first week of the month.
A State Appeals Court has ruled that state agencies must follow legislative intent and must also provide Wisconsinites greater direction and specifics when enforcing environmental laws. Perhaps this will prompt the Evers Administration to find a compromise with the legislature over the matter. Just kidding. We realize this will likely just delay the arbitrary regulations until the activist Wisconsin Supreme Court chimes in once the case is appealed.
Wisconsin appeals court says regulators must develop PFAS restrictions before mandating clean-up | Associated Press
Environmental regulators can’t unilaterally force polluters to clean up contamination from so-called forever chemicals without going through the Legislature to establish specific limits on the compounds, a state appellate court ruled Wednesday.
The 2nd District Court of Appeals’ decision all but eliminates the Department of Natural Resources’ authority to unilaterally mandate reporting PFAS contamination in groundwater and force responsible parties to clean it up. If the decision stands, the DNR will now wait for legislators to impose groundwater limits on PFAS through state law or an administrative rule. Both approaches can take years. Environmental advocates also fear that the ruling could slow the DNR’s response to other emerging forms of pollution.
It’s State Girls Basketball Tournament time! One of the WIAA’s best moves was an actual move. When they relocated the finals of the State Tourney to Green Bay it was a boost to the event, and the city. Best of luck to all the competitors, their coaches and fans.
WIAA State Girls Basketball Tournament brings business boom to Northeast Wisconsin | WLUK
Since 2013, the Resch Center in Ashwaubenon has been home to the WIAA State Championship Tournament.
Finishing touches were put on the Resch Center court Wednesday as 20 of the best high school girls basketball teams — including five from Northeast Wisconsin — will battle it out for a state title in Ashwaubenon this weekend. Games start late Thursday afternoon and by Saturday night, the five division champions will be crowned.
Here’s a link to who is playing, when the games tip off, and where/how you can watch.
Reluctantly accepted or not, a compromise forged by Assembly Speaker Robin Vos has proven fruitful for Wisconsin’s public universities.
Evers OKs millions for UW construction, tuition distribution changes | The Center Square
Gov. Tony Evers on Wednesday signed a new law that clears the way for a new engineering building at UW-Madison, as well as classroom renovations in both Madison and Whitewater. The new law also includes nearly $200 million for central plant renovations and demolition projects…
In all, the UW will get $700 million for construction projects,
The other part of the new law will send more tuition money to campuses.
Currently Wisconsin allows Minnesota students to attend UW school without having to pay out-of-state tuition. Some of the tuition dollars from those Minnesota students have, for years, gone straight to the state. Under the new law signed Wednesday, those Minnesota student’s tuition dollars will now go directly to the UW campus that they attend.
This funding was held up earlier due to legislative Republicans’ opposition to UW System race-based hiring and programing practices. The monies were approved once the System agreed to repurpose many positions and scale back those efforts.
The warm weather may get more people out on the trails and into state parks earlier than usual. The DNR reminds everyone to be vigilant. The dry conditions have greatly increased the risk of wild fires this Spring.
Wildfire season starting to heat up in Wisconsin | WXOW
As mild temperatures continue to roll through Wisconsin, that’s resulted in an elevated fire danger for much of the state, according to the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.
“To have us be in fire danger in February is just really unusual. In my 15 years, I’ve never seen that happen,” said Amy Penn, a forestry specialist for the Wisconsin DNR.
Of the observed wildfires across the state since the start of the year, there is a large concentration in central Wisconsin, per this map.
“We have a lot more activity and a lot more acreage burned at this time this year than we traditionally do,” Penn said.
While the doom and gloom alarmists confuse one year of a Super El Niño with a cataclysmic change in the planet, the warmer, drier Winter will merely necessitate some changes in behavior this Spring.
Those hitting the parks and trails early this year should follow the same directive we have when assembling the Dairyland Sentinel’s Key Reads: Exercise common sense, be aware of conditions and report any signs of trouble as soon as possible.
Have a great day.
