Key Reads

We have news today from Green Bay, Madison, and Whitewater, but we begin with an update about the sad and bizzare missing child case in Two Rivers.

Federal investigators are asking the public to come forward with information about Elijah Vue, who has been missing since last week. The boy is from the Dells, and according to his mother was left with a Two Rivers man who was helping him with discipline? ??

FBI offers $15,000 reward in case of missing Wisconsin boy – Associated Press

Manitowoc County District Attorney Jacalyn LaBre said Friday that Baur had sent Elijah to stay with Vang for disciplinary purposes and that Baur wasn’t in Two Rivers, located about 30 miles (48 kilometers) southeast of Green Bay, when Elijah disappeared.

Baur told police she had left Elijah with Vang on Feb. 12 because she wanted him to teach her son “to be a man,” and she had intended to pick him up on Feb. 23, a criminal complaint said.

Vang called police on Feb. 20 and reported Elijah missing, telling police he had taken a nap that morning and brought Elijah in the bedroom with him, but when he awoke about three hours later he was gone, the complaint states.

Vang told police he was in a relationship with Bauer and had been trying to help with her son’s bad behaviors, according to the complaint.

Governor Evers continues to demand the Wisconsin Legislature abdicate its authority to have oversight over major expenditures. Don’t expect the legislature to bow down.

Evers promises PFAS veto, demands lawmakers release PFAS money anyway – The Center Square.

Gov. Tony Evers promised to veto the latest plan to deal with PFAS chemicals, while also demanding that Republicans release the $125 million included in the doomed legislation.

…The Republican-controlled legislature last week approved a plan, Senate Bill 312, which would use that $125 million to start a grant program to help local communities test their water for PFAS, and help those communities clean their water if it’s found.

The governor says that plan has a “poison pill.”

“In Wisconsin, if someone pollutes our water, property and natural resources, Wisconsinites expect them to pay to clean it up. That’s just common sense. I’m not signing a bill that lets polluters off the hook for cleaning up their contamination and asks Wisconsin taxpayers to foot the bill. No way,”

Sen. Eric Wimberger, R-Green Bay, wrote the plan and told The Center Square last week Evers is playing fast and loose with the definition of “polluters.”

“Gov. Evers engages in semantic overload with the term ‘polluter,’ and then laments that SB312 doesn’t ‘hold polluters accountable,’ and ‘limits the DNR authority’ to hold polluters accountable,” Wimberger said. “[My legislation] does not alter the liabilities for point-source-polluters, [who] you would consider in the commonsense definition of a polluter. Instead, it exempts innocent landowners and victims of pollution from draconian enforcement orders if they let the DNR monitor and remediate as requested.”

As we predicted over the last few weeks, the drama over the Green Bay Superintendent is not over. The entire saga, prompted by the former Superintendent’s own words and actions, seemed to be a manufactured conflict aimed drive attention. (and perhaps a large settlement?)

Some Green Bay community members call on school district to reinstate superintendent – WPR

Monday night’s meeting included roughly three hours of public comment. The overwhelming majority of people who addressed the board asked that Tiller be reinstated.

Those who spoke to the board Monday included community leaders of color from local nonprofits, current Green Bay students, former students and concerned parents. They said Tiller’s comments during the interview were taken out of context, and were not grounds for losing his job.

In a joint statement before the meeting, the school board said it received concerns from community members after the interview aired. The board also said that Tiller was represented by legal counsel throughout the investigation process. They said Tiller voluntarily submitted his resignation, which was unanimously approved after hours of deliberation.

“We understand that this is not what some members of the community want to hear,” the board stated. “That does not mean we have disregarded concerns regarding equity and equality and the need for greater understanding and inclusion among all stakeholders.”

In a statement Tuesday, Tiller said he and his family watched the school board meeting, saying the outpouring of support “brought tears to our eyes.”

“I have come to realize that the sacred trust the Green Bay community has placed in me has shown how this is much bigger than myself,” he said. “Although out of my control, I want to provide an answer to the pressing question so many continue to ask, by publicly expressing my willingness to engage in conversations regarding the possibility of my return.”

National issues can have an impact on local communities, no matter their size. As the fiscal, social and public safety struggles of one Wisconsin city illustrate.

How the Border Crisis Hit a Small Wisconsin Town – Washington Free Beacon

Two internal Whitewater Police Department slide shows obtained by the Free Beacon describe considerable strain on local law enforcement, with officers responding to calls that sound like something out of a police procedural.

In March, one slide states, law enforcement responded to a “deceased infant … located in a cardboard box.” Another individual familiar with the immigration situation described finding a woman living in a shed with her infant during the Wisconsin winter.

“None of the information in this presentation is intended to vilify any group of individuals; it is solely meant to communicate factual information about trends we are seeing in the City of Whitewater,” a slide reads.

Neighboring counties have expressed concern about cartel activity among Whitewater’s migrants. One slide describes the surge in fentanyl seizures in recent years.

“All states are now affected, just like southern border States,” the slide reads. “Narcotics investigations are a substantial investment of an agency’s resources including financial, manpower, physical assets, and time.”

Law enforcement officials said last November that they had traced nearly $250,000 worth of funds back to drug cartels in just four months. In the words of one law enforcement official, the migrants perform “farm or factory labor during the day and cocaine sales at night.”

Whitewater police chief Dan Meyer, who declined to comment for this story, is one of several state and local leaders who have asked the Biden administration to send aid.

“It is a simple fact that we are not currently providing the Whitewater community with the degree of service that our residents are accustomed to,” Meyer told local media in January. “That needs to change for the sake of both long-time residents, as well as individuals who have recently moved here from Central America.”

So, let’s be honest, we knew this was coming.

Packers announce higher ticket prices for upcoming season – WEAU

The Green Bay Packers have announced plans for a price increase on stadium bowl tickets for the 2024 season. Regular-season tickets will increase between $4 and $10 per game, depending on location.

Invoices were sent to Season Ticket Holders today and are available now to view and pay online. The invoices include a brochure that outlines the new pricing and previews next season’s home opponents. Preseason ticket prices, which are roughly half of regular-season prices, will increase between $2 and $5 per game.

“Our overall average ticket price, which includes general bowl and premium seating components, is expected to be just below the NFL’s average,” said Packers President/CEO Mark Murphy in a letter sent to Season Ticket Holders. “This is our annual goal that we feel represents a great value for the top-rated Lambeau Field gameday experience and also allows us to be a good business partner to the other NFL clubs, with whom we share ticket revenue.”

Finally, we end today’s key reads by bringing attention to some of the new content up on the main website. When you have time, check it out.