University of Wisconsin System Interim President Tommy Thompson is directing campuses to plan for a mostly in-person fall semester. Thompson wants campuses to get back to as close to normal as possible, by offering at least 75% of classes fully in-person or hybrid. In pre-pandemic times, he said about 80% of classes were in-person, with the rest online. “I want students to come back and enjoy their college years,” Thompson told reporters Thursday morning. “It’s been tough on the students this

Nearly one year into the coronavirus pandemic, adults continue to suffer from mental health struggles brought on by the stresses of COVID-19. Job loss and isolation are among those stressors. Some folks are having trouble sleeping and eating, or they’re drinking more, or using other substances to deal with their worries and stress. That’s what health experts had to say on Wednesday during the state’s Black Legislative Caucus panel discussion about rising mental health struggles in communities of

Citizen groups are urging a federal agency to ask many questions about a proposal to extend the life of Wisconsin's only remaining nuclear power plant. The two reactors at the Point Beach plant along Lake Michigan, north of Manitowoc, are licensed to run about another decade. But the plant owner, Next Era Energy, has applied to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to extend the licenses until about 2050. Milwaukee-based WE Energies used to own Point Beach, and still buys power from it.

The snow depth in Milwaukee is now the deepest it's been in about 20 years — as snow shovelers with sore backs or shoulders can well attest. In most cities, it's up to the property owners to hire a plowing service. Or, they buy a snowblower or a good shovel, and do pavement clearing themselves. But West Allis recently joined the ranks of snowy North American cities that match older, or disabled, homeowners with volunteer shovelers. West Allis has about 60,000 residents. Some people live in older

Millions of people have lost their jobs in Wisconsin during the coronavirus pandemic, resulting in a massive influx of 9.2 million unemployment insurance claims since last March. For perspective, Wisconsin handled just more than 7 million claims in the previous four years combined. The increase in claims has exposed the cracks in an aging system and has sometimes resulted in people waiting months to get their unemployment checks. Legislators on the Joint Finance Committee took up modernization

President Joe Biden took the stage at the Pabst Theater in Milwaukee Tuesday night in his first official trip as president. He spent much of the CNN town hall meeting discussing the coronavirus, including a $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package. Biden took questions from people in a nearly empty theater, as attendance was limited for the sake of social distancing. He spoke on wide range of topics including a $15 minimum wage, immigration reform, student loan forgiveness and defunding the police.

Updated Wednesday at 11:25 a.m. CT The race for Wisconsin State Superintendent of Public Instruction is a little less crowded, after voters narrowed a field of seven candidates down to two in Tuesday’s primary election. Unofficial results show Jill Underly with 27.31% of the vote and Deborah Kerr with 26.49%. Meet The 2021 Wisconsin State Superintendent Candidates Underly is current superintendent of the rural Pecatonica School District. She received the endorsement of the statewide teachers’

Updated Wednesday at 8:27 a.m. CST Gov. Tony Evers called on the Republican-controlled Legislature Tuesday to bolster funding for K-12 and higher education and reform both the state’s criminal justice systems, while delivering a state budget with $1 billion in taxes increases and liberal policy priorities that GOP leaders promised to quickly kill. Evers pitched his $91 billion two-year state budget to the Legislature as a “Badger Bounceback” agenda as the coronavirus pandemic enters its second

President Joe Biden is expected to talk about the COVID-19 pandemic, when he speaks during a national cable television town hall meeting in Milwaukee Tuesday night. As more people are receiving the COVID vaccination, there's a growing focus on potential problems from variants, or mutated versions of the virus. Wisconsin researchers are trying to keep track of variants through studying genetic material in some human cells. The state of Wisconsin reports about 12% of residents have been given at

Updated Feb. 17 at 12:28 p.m. Wisconsin's Department of Health Services has announced a $3.1 million grant program to promote equity in the state's COVID-19 vaccine distribution. In a joint statement, Milwaukee Aldermen Cavalier Johnson and Khalif J. Raine and Alderwoman Marina Dimitrijevic praised the state agency for committing to help make the process more equitable. “We want to thank DHS for recognizing the equity issues that exist, and initiating this program that will engage local partners