Wisconsin
Wisconsin members of Charlie Kirk’s Turning Point USA mourn founder’s assassination
Wisconsin members of Charlie Kirk’s Turning Point USA say they’re shocked, saddened and angry following his assassination at a college campus on Wednesday.
Kirk, 31, died after being shot in the neck during a question and answer session at a Turning Point USA event at Utah Valley University.
When University of Wisconsin-Madison junior RJ Hybben heard the news, he told WPR he felt “anger, sadness, confusion.”
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“A lot of really strong, raw emotions,” said Hybben, a former president of his campus’s chapter of Turning Point USA.
The group, founded by Kirk in 2012, mobilizes conservatives at high schools and college campuses around the nation. Hybben said he met Kirk in September, during his “You’re Being Brainwashed” speaking tour and was inspired by the campus visit.
“His energy was unmatched,” Hybben said. “His enthusiasm for what he believed in was incredible. And I think especially young men in Gen Z, think they really looked up to him as a person who was unashamed of what he believed in.”
Hybben said he awoke Thursday with feelings of sympathy for Kirk’s wife and two children. He also said he’s “more inspired than ever to get involved politically,” but seeing some on the left celebrating Kirk’s assassination also left him with a sense of fear.
“Frankly, it’s terrifying because as someone that worked for Turning Point Action, that means I’m pretty in agreement with a lot of what Charlie said,” Hybben said. “So, that basically signifies to me that if I got shot working at a political event, they would cheer and they would be happy as well. So, it’s frankly, very, very scary.”
Hybben referenced chalk drawings stating “Charlie Kirk is Dead” near the Madison campus. One of those had a heart drawn just below.
In a social media post Wednesday night, Brown County Board member and Turning Point Action Field Representative Dixon Wolfe recounted how Kirk “had a way of making politics not just accessible, but fun” when he joined the group in 2023.
“He didn’t treat it like a dull obligation or a distant world reserved for elites—he brought life, energy, and purpose to the conservative movement,” Wolfe said. “He breathed fresh air into a party that desperately needed it, and he did so by rallying young people, people my age, who otherwise might never have felt that their voice mattered.”
Wolfe’s post also spoke of Kirk’s Christian faith, which inspired him to speak his mind and hold firm to his convictions.
“And now, as we grieve his brutal and senseless murder on a college campus, my heart aches with sorrow and righteous anger. It is beyond me how our culture has allowed itself to fall into such radical hate.” said Wolfe.
Wisconsin Assembly holds moment of silence following Kirk assassination
Kirk’s role as a leader within the young conservative movement in America wasn’t without controversy. Democrats often attacked him for his criticisms of the LGBTQ+ community, not to mention his criticisms of diversity, equity and inclusion, known as DEI.
Still, the assassination drew widespread condemnation from both Republican and Democratic legislators in Wisconsin. At the start of a Wisconsin Assembly floor session, Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, led the chamber in a moment of silence for Kirk’s wife, two children “and the millions of people who are mourning this senseless act of political violence.”
“Many see the other party as their mortal enemies out to destroy the country, not just the good hearted political rivals that we should be,” Vos said. “That mindset makes each day a struggle between good and evil, rather than a contest between political ideas, both of which have value. Social media doesn’t help. Mainstream news doesn’t help. These bitter personal battles are wiping away any public displays of bipartisanship, and that’s a huge threat to our democracy and to our future.”
Ahead of the floor session, Wisconsin Senate Minority Leader Dianne Hesselbein, D-Middleton, addressed Kirk’s death and a school shooting in Colorado, news of which broke shortly after the shooting in Utah. Hesselbein said she and colleagues are still saddened about the political assassination of Minnesota state representative Melissa Horton.
“We stand together to condemn this violence wherever it happens, and we promise and pledge, we will work with anyone to stop this from happening again,” Hesselbein said.
Following news of Kirk’s assassination, Republican Congressman Derrick Van Orden, R-Prairie du Chien, posted dozens of times on the social media site X Wednesday evening and Thursday morning. He called several people celebrating Kirk’s death on social media “scum” and repeatedly said “the gloves are off” in response to the posts.
Van Orden accused Democrats and the media of being directly “culpable” in the shooting and claimed the “democratic Party has been fostering, a 21st century Civil War.”
“I would encourage them,” he continued, “look at the results of the last one that they started.”
In response to Van Orden’s repeated comments, U.S. Rep. Mark Pocan, D-Town of Vermont, said there is no place for political or gun violence, and “Overheated rhetoric hurts us as well.”
“Read his Twitter account,” Pocan said of Van Orden’s X posts. “And ask him to tone it down. It’s crazy.”
During an appearance on WPR’s “Wisconsin Today,” Republican Party of Wisconsin Chair Brian Schimming said he abhors political violence of all kinds, but videos of Kirk’s assassination spread far and wide on social media “brought it to life.”
“I just encourage the people to debate their views strongly,” Schimming said. “The people are smart. They know how to decide, but we want to make sure they hear both sides. And I think Charlie Kirk was on campus in Utah yesterday to make sure that the conservative movement was felt on that campus, and that conservative views were heard and seen on that campus. And in the case of yesterday, Charlie Kirk paid for it with his life.”
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Wisconsin coach Kelly Sheffield shares his biggest spring takeaway
Wisconsin coach Kelly Sheffield shared his biggest takeaway from the spring following the Badgers’ four-set win over Northern Illinois.
MADISON – Kelly Sheffield has coached All-Americans, national players of the year, national champions and future Olympians in his 13 years as Wisconsin volleyball coach.
So Sheffield’s unique praise of Decelise Champion – a star pin-hitter from Puerto Rico who committed to the Badgers last fall – carries a lot of weight.
“Her highest-end potential is certainly as high as about anybody we’ve ever brought in,” Sheffield said. “She’s got a lot of work to get to where she’s capable of, and that’s on us as coaches and on her to help reach those dreams and goals. But when you’re watching people around her age, she’s different.”
That work is beginning earlier than initially expected after Wisconsin announced that Champion will reclassify from the 2027 recruiting class and join the Badgers as a freshman for the 2026 season.
Champion – currently 16 years old and turning 17 in September – will arrive with a resume that includes experience on Puerto Rico’s senior national team and the elite Italian club Volleyro Casal de Pazzi. That’s all while being strong enough academically to earn a GED degree and the necessary NCAA waiver for a few missing core classes.
“What made it really a lot better is that all of her grades at the different schools she’s been at have been fantastic,” Sheffield said. “She’s an excellent student. Was crushing it at a really, really good academic school in Italy in her third language.”
The timing of the June 12 announcement accounted for the second-last open roster spot for the 2026 season, but Champion and UW’s efforts to make the reclassification possible go back much earlier than that.
“We’ve known she’s wanted to do this since February,” Sheffield said. “We told our team in February that was the plan. And then we didn’t let anybody know publicly until she was done with her season. She just didn’t want to be a distraction for her team.”
Badgers have even more competition at pins
Wisconsin already had plenty of competition at the pin-hitting positions before Champion’s move to the 2026 class.
Grace Egan had a major role on the 2025 Final Four team, and Eva Travis had an impressive spring after transferring from UC-Santa Barbara. Others include Grace Lopez, Madison Quest and the highly-touted freshman duo of Halle Thompson and Audrey Flanagan.
Even with the upcoming addition of one more pin-hitter – and one with such a high potential – UW did not lose any players in the spring transfer portal cycle. Even the idea of someone leaving seemed outlandish to Sheffield.
“If they’re just going to get up and leave because somebody came, I would say that that person is probably chicken s—,” Sheffield said.
Sheffield’s praise of Champion’s proposal obviously does not come with a guarantee of playing time either at the crowded pin-hitting positions.
“I would say, yeah, she does have a chance of being out on the court for us this year,” Sheffield said. “But we’ve also got some other really talented people that play the pins.”
The outside and right-side hitters already on UW’s spring roster will have at least one key advantage over Champion in her freshman season – time.
Egan, Lopez and Quest are returning players (although Egan and Lopez spent their spring recovering from injuries). Travis, Thompson and Flanagan all enrolled in time to spend the spring with the Badgers and impressed in UW’s spring matches.
Champion’s arrival, on the other hand, will follow her participation in an Olympic-qualifying event for Puerto Rico. Sheffield expects that to be Sept. 2, which is the day before fall classes begin and already after UW’s first four matches of the season.
“She’ll be drinking out of a fire hose early on, no doubt about it,” Sheffield said. “Even though she’s been playing with her senior national team this summer, it will be a lot of things coming at her in her secondary language at 16, so there’ll need to be some patience along the way.”
His advice to Champion when she was on campus earlier in June was to “be where your feet are.”
“When she’s with her national team – even though we will have started our preseason, playing matches – don’t worry about us here,” Sheffield said. “Be where your feet are. Be the best you can be for your team there. … Then when you get here, you’re not thinking about your national team.”
Champion’s NCAA eligibility clock starts earlier
Champion’s reclassification comes with the drawback of beginning her NCAA eligibility one year earlier in her volleyball career.
Had she stayed in the 2027 recruiting class, she theoretically would have begun her college career shortly before her 18th birthday and exhausted her eligibility at age 22. Instead, she will begin her college career shortly before her 17th birthday and likely exhaust her eligibility at age 21.
Those scenarios take into account the NCAA Division I Cabinet’s unanimous approval on June 23 of a new eligibility model that will give players five seasons of eligibility in five years. (That replaces the current system with four seasons, redshirts and other waivers.) The NCAA noted that its decision is not final, however, until the meeting concludes on June 24.
“We’re certainly excited to have her this year, but if you kind of think over the course of five years, it’s probably worse for us that she comes a year early,” Sheffield said. “You expect her to be better at 20 and 21 than what she is at 16 or 17. … It really wasn’t something that we were pushing for, but she was ready.”
Of course, volleyball at age 16 or 17 looks different for someone like Champion who has been competing against much older players as a senior national team member and studying halfway across the world from her hometown of Dorado, Puerto Rico.
“When you talk to her, she doesn’t come across as somebody who’s 16,” Sheffield said. “She’s very mature, very easy to talk to, very driven. She’s independent. … She’s had a lot more life experience than most people her age, and that certainly comes across when you’re around her.”
Wisconsin
Cult-classic filmed in central Wisconsin returns to big screen, with enhancements, this weekend
STEVENS POINT, Wis. (WSAW) – A giant spider isn’t actually invading central Wisconsin this weekend.
But an enhanced, big-screen version of the cult-classic 1975 film The Giant Spider Invasion is crawling back into local theaters — and it’s bringing some central Wisconsin nostalgia with it.
The movie was famously filmed in Merrill and Stevens Point, and the updated 2026 release adds enhancements designed for a modern theatrical experience.
What’s new in the 2026 enhanced version?
Executive Producer J.B. Thompson says the team took the original 1975 film and enhanced it for the big screen in 2026, giving audiences a refreshed way to experience a movie that’s long been a Wisconsin oddity — and a point of pride.
Actor and Producer Dan Davies is featured in newly filmed scenes created specifically for this updated release.
Stevens Point’s role in the original film
While much of the film is associated with Merrill, Stevens Point Mayor Mike Wiza says Point also played a major role in the production — another reason the film’s return matters to local history buffs and movie fans alike.
Why does this movie still capture attention 50 years later?
Whether it’s the over-the-top creature feature story, the uniquely Wisconsin filming locations, or the nostalgia of seeing familiar places on screen, the group says the film’s staying power is real — even five decades later.
Screenings this weekend
The enhanced version of The Giant Spider Invasion is set for local screenings this weekend in Central and North Central Wisconsin. To purchase tickets for showings in Stevens Point, Marshfield or Waupaca, click here.
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