Milwaukee, WI
Milwaukee County is not paying into the Common School Fund. Is that constitutional?
A provision in the 2025-27 Wisconsin budget allowing Milwaukee County to divert $4.4 million from school libraries to fund district attorney positions is being challenged in court.
The Common School Fund was established in the Wisconsin Constitution in 1848. The fund is maintained by money generated by counties through traffic fines and forfeitures.
But a provision in the biennial budget exempted Milwaukee County, instead allowing the county to use that money — $2.2 million per year — to help pay for 12 prosecutors.
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The Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty, or WILL, filed a lawsuit this week in Waukesha County Court, calling the move a “flagrant and unconstitutional money grab by Milwaukee County.”
The suit says if the provision stands, the next budget could include more carveouts from the Common School Fund.
Milwaukee County Treasurer David Cullen, who is named in the suit, and other county officials did not respond to requests for comment.
WILL is representing Waukesha County resident Christine Stueland, a former Menomonee Falls School District board member who is referred to as a “library user and taxpayer.”
The suit argues Stueland is directly harmed because her library will have fewer resources. And it contends the state Legislature overstepped its constitutional authority by granting a unique carveout to a single county.
“It’s frustrating to watch politicians in Madison give Milwaukee special treatment while others are shortchanged,” Stueland said in a statement. “If we don’t fight back for fairness and equal treatment for all, it will only get worse.”
In 2025, the Common School Fund distributed $70 million to school libraries across the state. The biennial budget increased school library aid by $36 million over the biennium.
The Common School Fund is managed by the Board of Commissioners of Public Lands, or BCPL.
The group has been uneasy about the budget provision since it was passed and has also considered taking action, said Tom German, executive secretary.
German and the BCPL board believe the provision violates a 1973 Wisconsin Supreme Court decision regarding the fund and the Legislature’s authority.
The Legislature’s budget committee added the provision during the last executive session of this budget cycle under a “miscellaneous items” section of the motion as part of a budget deal with Gov. Tony Evers.
On Sept. 2, the BCPL board passed a resolution “expressing its serious concerns” with the budget change.
“BCPL recognizes Milwaukee County’s need for funding the District Attorney’s office, but not at the expense of a constitutionally created and protected trust fund that benefits public education,” the resolution states. “BCPL and the other parties seek a legislative solution that addresses the above concerns prior to commencement of litigation.”
Board member and Attorney General Josh Kaul abstained from voting.
Kaul’s office did not respond to requests for comment Thursday.
Evers’ spokesperson Britt Cudaback said providing additional assistant district attorney positions for Milwaukee County was part of the negotiations with Republican leaders during the budget process, but the mechanism for funding them were not.
“The decision to specifically use the Common School Fund was made by Republican lawmakers alone,” Cudaback said.
Joint Finance Committee chairs Rep. Mark Born, R-Beaver Dam, and Sen. Howard Marklein, R-Spring Green, could not immediately be reached for comment.
The Board of Commissioners of Public Lands manages four funds: the Common School Fund, Normal School Fund, University Fund and Agricultural College Fund.
German said the funds become less consequential if their financial support does not continue to grow.
“The Common School fund has grown over the years to $1.5 billion,” German said. “But the University Fund and the ag college fund did not have a mechanism for growing, and so those funds are roughly the same size as they were 150 years ago. At one time, the University Fund could pay for about half the cost of running the entire system. Now it couldn’t pay for the cost of a (teacher’s assistant).”
Wisconsin Public Radio, © Copyright 2025, Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System and Wisconsin Educational Communications Board.
Milwaukee, WI
Milwaukee fatal shooting; Water Street bar manager wants safety changes
MILWAUKEE – A person of interest remains in custody following a fatal shooting on Water Street that left one person dead and two others injured early Sunday.
The Milwaukee Police Department says 22-year-old Dylan Jackson was killed. An 18-year-old and a 19-year-old were also injured.
Local perspective:
Before the shooting, a bar manager says the area was already chaotic.
Tim Sluga, general manager of Duke’s on Water, said problems were brewing outside the bars before shots were fired. He said he was working Saturday night into Sunday morning and feared violence would occur.
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“Chaos. It was just chaos outside,” said Sluga. “The pistol whippings, the shootings, everything else. The street was already chaos when that happened.”
Sluga said he was working Saturday night into Sunday morning and feared violence would occur.
“My reaction in general that night was, ‘here we go again,’” said Sluga. “It’s sadly not surprising.”
Sluga said the violence over the weekend reflects a recurring problem in the entertainment district.
Dig deeper:
Last July, city leaders held an emergency meeting after increased violence in the area. Police later announced plans to increase their presence and curb loitering.
Sluga said he expected more enforcement.
“We were told by MPD there was going to be a curfew enforced this year, we didn’t see that this weekend,” said Sluga.
Some patrons say they are also frustrated.
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“It’s like the younger crowd pushing out the older crowd now. If you ain’t 21, there’s no reason for you to be down here,” said Dequan Cave of Milwaukee.
Sluga said bars themselves are generally safe, but problems occur outside.
“It’s a great place and there’s a lot of really good people,” said Sluga. “These are just issues that are out of our control.”
What’s next:
MPD said a Code Red deployment focused on safety in the entertainment district was in place over the weekend. Police also say plans may be modified to improve downtown safety.
The Source: The information in this post was collected and produced by FOX6 News.
Milwaukee, WI
Can the Brewers duplicate the success of 2025? Here are our predictions for 2026
Brewers new foods and drinks at American Family Field for 2026 season
From fried kringle, cream puffs, funnel cake fries, brisket loaded waffles, s’mores cheesecake and more, here are the new food items at Brewers games for the 2026 season.
Spring training in Phoenix has wrapped up and the Milwaukee Brewers are set to begin the 2026 regular season at 1:10 p.m. Thursday, March 26 at American Family Field against the Chicago White Sox.
The Brewers exceeded expectations in 2025, recording a franchise-record 97 wins and the best record in baseball (97-65) and advancing to the National League Championship Series. Can they match that in 2026? Here are Journal Sentinel staff predictions for the season.
HOW I SEE IT: I understand what I’m doing with this prediction, ultimately putting so much of the Brewers’ 2026 outlook on a group of largely unproven, young starters. But I think the Brewers do, too. I’d be lying to you if I said I felt good about the plan to throw Brandon Woodruff and a cavalcade of guys with minimal big-league experience, but I also have to acknowledge the potential upside here. It’s been a few years since the Brewers’ rotation was this talented, and we know what the Brewers can do with those kinds of arms. On offense, I’d also be lying if I said I wasn’t somewhat concerned about their chances of repeating last year’s scoring output without adding any external thump to the lineup. My brain says it’s going to be a step back this year – although not a big one, maybe just to a wild-card spot – but my eyes have seen this film before. And it usually ends with the Brewers fielding a roster much better than the public is giving them credit for.
2026 PREDICTION: 89-73, NL Central champions, lose in NL Wild Card round.
HOW I SEE IT: Count me among the group of non-believers a year ago at this time. Heck, as late as the start of that series against the Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park in late May I penned a story guessing all the players the Brewers would be trading away in the near future because they were going nowhere. How wrong I was. And I’ve learned my lesson – don’t bet against these guys. Especially with the bulk of the team that ended up winning a franchise-record 97 games and advanced to the National League Championship Series for the first time since 2018 returning. No doubt, Freddy Peralta would look really good anchoring the staff. So would Caleb Durbin at third base. All five of the players Milwaukee received in return are going to factor in, however, with right-hander Brandon Sproat, left-hander Kyle Harrison and infielder David Hamilton in particular expected to fill large roles. There are major questions – most notably whether veteran Brandon Woodruff can remain healthy and how the young starting pitching will fare. No question, the Chicago Cubs, Cincinnati Reds and Pirates are all improved. But the road to the Central Division title has run through Milwaukee the past three years, and this group expects to win.
2026 PREDICTION: 90-72, NL Wild Card spot, advance to NL Division Series.
HOW I SEE IT: I should finally just trust that this franchise can identify the correct unproven arms in the rotation and players who weren’t seen as building blocks in other organizations, transforming that brew into a runaway Central Division title. They did it last year. And 2024. And 2023. Why do I still have this nagging feeling that 2027 will be the year the Brewers really swing for the fences, and 2026 is about seeing what they’ll still need? Remember how weird it was that the Brewers thrived at scoring runs last year because other teams kept committing errors? They were one of the best run-scoring offenses in baseball, and yet it still feels like they got a lot of breaks offensively. Then, they didn’t get perceptively better in the offseason, while the chief rival Cubs and other NL Central brethren did. You know what? Maybe the Brewers just need the semi-professional prognosticators like me to keep hating. And maybe it’s just impossible for me to accept this team has solved the riddle of how to win consistently without overtly addressing their perceived weaknesses. One of these years, though, they really won’t get away with it.
2026 PREDICTION: 86-76, miss playoffs (barely)
Milwaukee, WI
Milwaukee man identified as victim in shooting that injured four others
Milwaukee police chief negotiated big salary bump. Is fire chief next?
How an overlooked footnote impacts pay negotiations for Milwaukee’s fire chief.
A 25-year-old Milwaukee man has been identified as the fatal victim following a shooting that injured five people on the city’s north side.
Simeon I. Calvert was shot on March 21 a little after 11 a.m. at the intersection of North Darien and North 37th streets, according to the Milwaukee County Medical Examiner’s Office.
Calvert was transported to a hospital where he died in the operating room, the medical examiner said.
Four other people were injured in the shooting, ranging in age from 20 to 29 years old.
Police said March 23 that they have “persons of interest” in custody but continue to seek additional information.
The investigation is ongoing, police added, but it is believed that the incident was the result of an argument.
Anyone with any information about the incident is being asked to contact the Milwaukee Police Department at 414-935-7360. To remain anonymous while providing information, contact Crime Stoppers at 414-224-TIPS.
This story was updated to add new information.
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