Wednesday is Veterans Day. This year, part of the story is the COVID-19 toll at Wisconsin state veterans homes and federal VA facilities. The Wisconsin Department of Veterans Affairs says there have been 30 COVID-19-related deaths at the largest veterans home — King in central Wisconsin. Ten residents have died of COVID-19 at the mid-sized Union Grove facility. One died at a smaller state home in Chippewa Falls. According to a federal website , 24 vets have died of COVID-19 while under VA care

If there’s one thing the 2020 presidential election showed us, it's that many polls were wrong again. Yes, they did correctly predict that Joe Biden would win, but they got all kinds of details wrong . Some national polls projected that Biden would win Wisconsin by more than 8 points. That was a gross overestimate, as he only won by less than 1 point. On Tuesday, Charles Franklin, director of the Marquette Law School Poll, discussed a hypothesis for why the polls were off. He says it has

Wisconsin State Superintendent Carolyn Stanford Taylor is calling for a $1.4 billion education funding increase over the next two school years. The Department of Public Instruction released its budget ask Monday night. It would restore the state’s commitment to fund two-thirds of school districts’ expenses. And it would put more money toward special education, mental health, students living in poverty, and English learners. In her State of Education address in September, State Superintendent

Coronavirus cases are exploding across Wisconsin . Local leaders gave an update Tuesday about what’s going on here. Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett says a record number of people were tested Monday for the virus. “If you look [Monday] at Miller Park, we tested 2,805 people. On the northwest side, we tested 586 people. On the south side, we tested 528 people. So, the city of Milwaukee total for one day, with our resources, is close to 4,000,” Barrett says. Barrett says the testing facility at Miller

Updated Wednesday at 10:49 a.m. CT Gov. Tony Evers issued an advisory Tuesday recommending people stay home and businesses allow employees to work remotely as the coronavirus surges unchecked across Wisconsin, saying projections show the death toll could double in a matter of months. The Democratic governor announced the advisory during an unusual evening address on the same day the state broke daily records for infections and deaths. Evers has sounded the same themes for months during twice

Joe Biden edged out Donald Trump in Wisconsin’s presidential election by about 20,000 votes , according to unofficial results. Political scientists, pollsters and statisticians are now breaking down the vote to see how geography and demographics factored into the win. Turnout in Wisconsin was up for both Republicans and Democrats — at nearly 3.3 million ballots. That exceeded the expectations of Marquette Law School Poll Director Charles Franklin, who spoke Monday during a meeting. “Frankly, I

Beginning Tuesday, UW-Milwaukee and other University of Wisconsin System campuses are offering to the public and university employees a free rapid COVID-19 test . But medical experts warn the exam may need a follow-up. UW System Interim President Tommy Thompson served as secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services during part of the George W. Bush administration. The former Republican governor of Wisconsin has obtained from the Trump administration 250,000 COVID-19 tests called

With a vote of 14-4, the Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors on Monday approved a $1.2 billion budget for 2021. While the spending plan is about $4.2 million less than this year’s, the property tax levy will increase due to a reduction in shared revenue payments from the state. Supervisors for about four hours discussed the merits of a number of amendments, most of them put forth by Ryan Clancy. They were in response to calls all summer from groups upset over the treatment of Black people. The

Four southeast Wisconsin colleges have made an ambitious pledge : to close racial and income-based graduation gaps within the next 10 years. UWM, MATC, UW-Parkside and Carthage College signed on to an initiative called Moon Shot for Equity , led by Washington, D.C.-based education consultant EAB. It involves reimagining how colleges support students in an effort to eliminate equity gaps. Four Southeast Wisconsin Colleges Pledge To Close Racial Graduation Gaps It will likely be an uphill battle.

Coronavirus numbers have been exploding across Wisconsin . Racine is one area seeing a particularly large number of cases. Public Health Administrator Dottie-Kay Bowersox says nearly 500 new COVID-19 cases have been reported over the past week, an average of 71 per day. She says as a result, her office has been swamped — and that’s forced the decision to prioritize the groups of people who will be notified of positive COVID-19 tests. “Yes, we’ll be taking a look at those individuals, their