Wisconsin
Stop the Torture Coalition protests Wisconsin prisons in five counties • Wisconsin Examiner
A small group of protesters gathered by the Brown County Courthouse late Sunday afternoon, demanding change in Wisconsin’s correctional system.
“I don’t want any other mothers to suffer the way I am,” Kerrie Hirte said.
Hirte’s daughter, Cilivea Thyrion, died in the Milwaukee County Jail and her death was ruled a suicide, FOX6 News Milwaukee reported. Hirte believes that if her daughter had been in a mental health facility instead of a jail, she would still be alive.
At the protest, she said that “our jails are breeding grounds for inhumanity, and the conditions inside have amounted to torture and death.”
“Just by me telling me and Cilivea’s story … and by all of us telling our stories, then the message will spread more,” Hirte told the Examiner. “Because people will begin to understand, they’re not the only ones.”
Groups of protesters demonstrated in Brown, Milwaukee, Ozaukee, Racine and Kenosha Counties on Sunday, according to Dant’e Cottingham, a founding member of the Stop the Torture Coalition who used to be incarcerated in Green Bay Correctional Institution.
“[People] also spoke about how important it is for the [district attorneys] and the judges to be accountable for the sentences that they hand down,” Cottingham said. “Look, we know the judges and the DAs have a job to do. But we also want the judge and the DA to be accountable for keeping our loved one safe no matter if they made a mistake or not.”
The protests come after a Waupun warden and eight others were charged last month with crimes related to the treatment of incarcerated people. Advocates, formerly incarcerated people and former staff testified about problems in the prison system before the Assembly Committee on Corrections on July 9.
In a letter to the committee, Wisconsin Department of Corrections Secretary Jared Hoy gave examples of operational changes made over the last several months to ensure the safety of staff and incarcerated people, such as enhancing training and frequency of security rounds. He also said the department is in contract negotiations with a consulting and management firm for a third party review.
“While the past several weeks have been challenging, there have been countless occasions where I am reminded of how our dedicated staff and the individuals in our care remain at the heart of our mission,” Hoy said in the letter.
Jeffrey Watson, who also attended the Brown County protest, said he was previously incarcerated at the Green Bay and Waupun prisons. He hopes the protests raise awareness.
“I left [Waupun] in 2019,” Watson said. “So I know how they deal with mental illness… [with] someone even just calling out for help.”
Hirte called for the closure of the prisons in Green Bay and Waupun. She also advocated for “[confronting] the root causes of mass incarceration” and reducing the prison and jail population so that it becomes unnecessary to build new facilities.
“[Children with mental illness] should not be put in jails, in prisons, when they can be helped outside, in our communities,” Hirte said. “That only happens if the communities come together and fight for our children.”
Cottingham hopes for protests in all 72 of Wisconsin’s counties. Another protest will take place in the middle of next month.
“Part of the strategy of the protest is to get statewide and then, ultimately, national attention,” Cottingham said.
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Wisconsin guard Andrew Rohde reflects on early March Madness exit
Wisconsin guard Andrew Rohde said the Badgers ‘thought we could do so many things’ in the NCAA Tournament before it ended abrupty with an upset loss.
Wisconsin men’s basketball has added a sharpshooting wing via the transfer portal.
Miami (Ohio) transfer Eian Elmer has signed with the Badgers, the team announced April 18. The 6-foot-7 wing will join UW with one year of eligibility remaining.
Elmer averaged a career-high 12.7 points and 5.9 rebounds while shooting 49.8% from the field and 42.9% from 3-point range in 2025-26. His production helped the RedHawks go 32-2 and earn an at-large NCAA Tournament bid.
“We are really excited to add another excellent addition to our spring signees,” UW coach Greg Gard said in a release. “Eian brings a wealth of experience and scoring punch as a 6-7 wing. … A terrific shooter, his skillset and production fit excellently into our plan as we build out next year’s team. Throughout our evaluation process, our staff loved his size, power and skill and truly believe he will thrive in our system.”
Elmer is Wisconsin’s third transfer portal addition since the end of the 2025-26 season, joining former George Washington guard Trey Autry and former Hofstra forward Victory Onuetu. UW also added Australian guard Owen Foxwell.
The additions of Autry, Onuetu and now Elmer leave Gard’s staff with three more roster spots to fill ahead of the 2026-27 season.
The Badgers are looking to replace much of their production from a 2025-26 team that went 24-11. Nolan Winter is expected to be the team’s only returning starter after John Blackwell and Aleksas Bieliauskas entered the transfer portal and Nick Boyd and Andrew Rohde exhausted their eligibility.
MILWAUKEE – Friday’s severe storms have passed. And with that, the threat of any severe weather has also passed for the immediate future as no storms or rain are expected for several days.
However, plenty of damage remains across southeastern Wisconsin as of Saturday morning, in addition to the ongoing flooding threat.
Several area rivers are at flood stage, and there are multiple river flood warnings in effect.
FOX6 Weekend WakeUp on Saturday begins at 6 a.m.
On the scene in the morning
What we know:
Farmstead damage in Franklin
FOX6’s Hayley Spitler is in Franklin on Saturday morning, April 18, getting a daylight look at the damage from last night’s storms.
Storm damage in Caledonia
Friday’s storms left quite the mark across southern and southeastern Wisconsin, including at L and L Farms and Greenhouse in Caledonia.
FOX6 Weather Extras
Local perspective:
Meanwhile, FOX6Now.com offers a variety of extremely useful weather tools to help you navigate the stormy season. They include the following:
FOX6 Storm Center app
FOX LOCAL Mobile app
FOX Weather app
Maps and radar
We have a host of maps and radars on the FOX6 Weather page that are updating regularly — to provide you the most accurate assessment of the weather. From a county-by-county view to the Midwest regional radar and a national view — it’s all there.
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School and business closings
When the weather gets a little dicey, schools and businesses may shut down. Monitor the latest list of closings, cancellations, and delays reported in southeast Wisconsin.
FOX6 Weather Experts in social media
The Source: Information in this post was compiled by the FOX6 Weather Experts.
How Aleksas Bieliauskas has grown in first season with Wisconsin Badgers
Wisconsin coach Greg Gard has high praise for Aleksas Bieliauskas about a month into the Lithuania native’s freshman season.
MADISON – One of Wisconsin men’s basketball’s departing transfers is headed to an SEC program with some connections to the Badgers.
Ex-UW forward Aleksas Bieliauskas has committed to South Carolina, he announced on April 17.
Bieliauskas left the Badgers after appearing in all 35 games as a freshman and making 28 starts. He averaged 4.9 points and 4.4 points in 20.2 minutes, and highlights of his freshman year included his five 3-pointers in UW’s upset over eventual national champion Michigan.
He’ll join a program with plenty of Wisconsin ties. South Carolina head coach Lamont Paris was an assistant coach at Wisconsin from 2010-17 on Bo Ryan and Greg Gard’s staffs. South Carolina assistant coach Tanner Bronson and director of video services Roman DiPasquale also are UW alumni.
Bieliauskas is the second of UW’s four departing transfers to commit to a new school. Reserve forward Jack Robison committed to North Dakota State on April 15. Starting guard John Blackwell and reserve forward Riccardo Greppi have not announced their next schools yet.
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