WORT Local News

This is your WORT local news for Wednesday, June 14.

• City officials say that the first half of 2023 has been the safest since the beginning of the pandemic,
• A Madison videographer is looking for volunteers to help create a tourism video for the city of Madison,
• The state’s budget writing committee calls off a vote on the UW systems budget,
• And in the second half, how wildfires in Canada are having a major effect on the air quality in the Midwest, and a trip back to Madison in 1968.

This is your WORT Local News for Tuesday, June 13.

• Lawmakers hold a public hearing to overhaul the state’s laws regulating alcohol...
• Metro riders share what they think about Madison’s new bus routes…
• We learn how voucher schools in Wisconsin can legally discriminate against LGBTQ students and students with disabilities…
• And in the second half, free speech continues to be a focus on UW campuses, we join a hike on a village of Oregon trail, and grape jelly poses risks to birds.

This is your WORT local news for Monday, June 12.

• Lawmakers, educators, and food advocates march for healthy, free lunch for all, 
• Republican lawmakers vote to gut the state’s Office of School Safety,
• Wildfires in Canada lead to dangerous air quality conditions across the U-S,
• And two new movie reviews.

In this show:

• The governor and the legislature reached a deal on state funding for local governments.
• A federal judge signals that the Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa can continue their road blockage.
• Tim Michels, the former candidate for governor, sues an organizer who worked or him.
• TruStage CEO resigns following a worker strike.
• Republicans propose a new bill to address reading education.
• Riders prepare for the new bus routes this weekend.
• Marchers take to the streets to protest gun violence.
• We talk with the Wisconsin ACLU about increased punishments for people involved in drug-related death.
• Fishy Business talks about what to do in Madison if you are a rookie fisher.

Here's your local news for Wednesday, June 7:

• The Wisconsin State Legislature was busy, busy, busy today. Amidst legislation to increase hoops for unemployment, protect gas-powered vehicles, create more transparency for parole, and ongoing negotiation over shared revenue, legislators also passed a package of bills that would make changes to the state's key credentialing agency, the Department of Safety and Professional Services. Our reporter watched the today's hearings in real time.

• Meanwhile, it's been a season of flag-raisings this month. Today, local leaders hoisted the trans pride flag above the Madison Municipal Building, where it'll fly for the next week,

• Madison educators will be getting the maximum allowable raise of 8%, more than double what MMSD had initially proposed, and

• Two chefs at Madison's Fairchild restaurant have won a top honor: a James Beard Award.

• Meanwhile - what do those air quality alerts mean?, Rob has the most comprehensive weather forecast on the WORT airwaves, and a national magazine fawns over Paul Soglin on this week's Madison in the Sixties.

The local news for Tuesday, June 6th. In this show:

• An appeals court weighs whether lawmakers can override the Attorney General.
• Southern Wisconsin has an unusually dry May.
• Details of the planned John Nolen Drive construction are released.
• Dane County distributes drug overdose boxes.
• Madison teachers get a wage increase.
• Blue-green algae comes early to Madison lakes.
• We talk with Wisconsin Policy Forum's research director about high turnover in the state government.
• A Juneteenth flag-raising ceremony takes place downtown
• And the Dane County Humane Society has a raft of ducks

Here is your local news for Monday, June 6:

• CUNA mutual group strike pauses.
• Bipartisan group dedicated to restoring trust in elections opens a branch in Wisconsin.
• Madison airport opened its new terminal.
• Republican lawmakers propose plans for PFAS chemicals
• Madison Police are contracting out their lengthy transports to the only state-run psychiatric facility. 
•  Advocates say postpartum care should end up in the next state budget.
•  Forward Lookout takes a gander at the week ahead, we jump back in time to 130 years ago, and review two new movies. 

This is your WORT local news for Thursday, June 1.

•  A complaint against the Madison school district’s communications director outlines a history of bullying and harassment towards staff and the press,
• Governor Evers raises the Pride flag above the Capitol on the first day of Pride month,
• And in the second half, the messy but important work of fixing your toilets, and when and if you should start a new project.

This is your WORT local news for Wednesday, May 31.

• A local restaurant receives the Wisconsin Emerging Small Business of the Year award,
• Madison in the ‘60s looks at changes in childbirth rules and traffic patterns from 1969,
• And the most comprehensive weather report on the airwaves.

On the 6pm Local News tonight, it's an all-outdoors show.

• A local environmental attorney unpacks a recent Supreme Court ruling that guts parts of the Clean Water Act and threatens the nation’s waterways,

• Then, put on your hiking boots for Trail Tuesday— our new summer feature explores trails across south-central Wisconsin,

• Wildlife Weekly tells us what makes a cardinal red — and how the bird can be spotted sporting other colors. 

Other headlines in brief:

• Statehouse Republicans today unveiled a bill package that would, among other things, clarify procedures that would be permitted under Wisconsin’s broad 1849 ban on abortion.

• Meanwhile, Wisconsin celebrated its official 175th birthday yesterday. Wisconsin became the 30th state to join the United States on May 29, 1848 — one year before the current abortion ban was passed.

• Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce, the state’s largest business lobby, says it’ll head to court to block new rules regulating surface water pollution.

• Wisconsin’s public affairs channel Wisconsin Eye, a state-level version of C-SPAN, could be getting a boost from the state Legislature in the upcoming budget,

• An internal complaint filed against Madison Metropolitan School District’s head of communications was unsealed by a Dane County judge late last week. In it, seven current and former employees allege a pattern of mistreatment from MMSD's top spokesman Tim LeMonds,

• And, The 95th Annual Scripps National Spelling Bee in Maryland kicked off today.  Among the 251 spellers competing in the national spelling bee is Wisconsin’s own Aiden Wijeyakulasuriya, a seventh-grader at Blessed Sacrament School. The spelling kicked off today with a preliminary round. Wijeyakulasuriya appeared to still be in the running as of this afternoon, spelling the word bahuvrihi correctly. You can watch it all this week at spellingbee.com.

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