Wisconsin
Evers lays out roadmap for advancing his workforce, environment and health agenda – Wisconsin Examiner
Gov. Tony Evers laid out his one-two punch playbook to work towards some of his key policy priorities, including addressing workforce challenges, during his sixth State of the State address Tuesday evening: First, urge the Republican-led Legislature to take action on issues that they have continually rejected, and second, take action on the issue that won’t require legislative action.
Evers started on an optimistic tone, celebrating some of the bipartisan accomplishments of the past year, including increasing local government funding and securing funding for renovations of the Milwaukee Brewers’ baseball stadium, and used that as a jumping off point to push Republicans to work with him on ongoing divisive issues.
“Our accomplishments don’t mean our work is finished. If anything, our progress demands our efforts continue,” Evers said. “There is, as always, more we can do, and that work begins in earnest here tonight.”
Evers spent much of the time calling on Republicans to take action on issues where they have blocked Evers’ proposals, while announcing steps that he would be taking to advance his agenda without needing legislative action.
Declaring it the “Year of the Worker,” Evers urged the Legislature to address two of the “greatest challenges facing” Wisconsin: the state’s difficulties in retaining, attracting and training workers to address workforce shortages and Republicans “disinterest in working toward a meaningful, bipartisan plan to do something about it.”
“Folks, ‘no’ isn’t a workforce plan. Asking more kids to work isn’t a workforce plan,” Evers said, alluding to a Republican bill that would allow some minors to work in the child care field. “Giving more big breaks to millionaires and billionaires isn’t a workforce plan. These are not serious proposals to address generational, statewide issues.”
He spoke after months and months during which Republicans lawmakers have largely ignored his calls to fund Child Care Counts and other priorities and opted to propose their own bills.
Republican lawmakers seemed poised Tuesday evening to continue that trend.
Assembly Speaker Robin Vos (R-Rochester) told reporters following the speech that Evers didn’t have “a lot of new ideas,” describing the speech as the “rehashing of old things that have been proposed over the course of the past few years and failed.”
Vos said the biggest disappointment is that Evers didn’t touch on potential tax cuts. Republican lawmakers announced four tax bills Tuesday morning.
“With a record surplus in the till, we didn’t hear him mention a single thing about giving relief back to the average taxpayer,” Vos said. “That’s different from what Republicans offered today. We actually put forward four different proposals for Gov. Evers to pick from, making retirement income exempt from the state income tax, an income tax reduction for anybody who’s working, a child care tax credit and another for those who are married.”
Vos said that Republicans would move forward with the bills and that he hoped Evers would sign them into law.
Evers identified three long-term solutions to the workforce challenges: finding a solution to the looming child care crisis, expanding paid family leave and investing in K-12 public education, including K-12 schools and technical colleges and universities. All were included in special session legislation he presented in August that GOP leaders in the Legislature went on to rewrite to their own preferences, leading Evers to veto the measure.
Evers recently directed $170 million to extend the Child Care Counts program, which provides financial assistance to child care providers, into 2025.
“I directed the funding that I could, but it wasn’t enough,” he said. “Wisconsin child care providers will soon receive their final payment from the federally-funded portion of Child Care Counts, so, the emergency $170 million I directed last fall as a stopgap measure now kicks in.
Evers said that Republicans are now “on the clock” to make the investments necessary to prevent the collapse of the child care industry.
Evers also noted that he has proposed investing $240 million to jumpstart a paid family leave program, which could help provide private sector workers with 12 weeks of paid leave.
“Republicans rejected my proposal. Twice,” Evers said. “Paid leave is the right thing to do for kids and families, and it’s also what we need to do to compete for and keep talented workers.”
Evers also announced that he will be launching a teacher apprenticeship pilot program, creating a task force on the health care workforce and establishing a state Office of Employee Engagement and Retention.
“If anyone on either side of this aisle has a better plan than mine that not only prevents the collapse of our state’s child care industry but also helps us compete against our neighboring states for talent and invests in public education at every level to prepare our kids for the future, let’s hear it,” Evers added. “I will work with any legislator, any partner, any stakeholder who’s willing to engage in meaningful conversations on these issues to do the right thing for Wisconsin.
Evers finds funding for Pelican River conservation project
On the environment, Evers announced that he is approving an additional conservation easement covering 54,898 acres of the Pelican River Forest. He also urged lawmakers to approve the release of PFAS funding.
The Pelican River Forest project — the largest forest conservation effort in state history — has been held up by Republicans on the Joint Finance Committee, who have prevented money from the state Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Program from being used. A grant from the U.S. Forestry Service Forest Legacy Program (FLP) has been secured to fund the project instead, Evers said.
“Conserving and protecting our natural resources and land continues to be a top priority for my administration,” Evers said. “In partnership with the Biden Administration and the Conservation Fund, we’ve approved the conservation easement for the Pelican River Forest’s remaining acres to protect the forest for generations of future Wisconsinites to use and enjoy. This is a big deal, folks.”
The state Department of Natural Resources (DNR) will move forward with the acquisition of the easement with the Conservation Fund, which is expected to be completed by the end of the week.
Evers also called on Republicans to release $125 million in funds allocated in the budget to address PFAS — or “forever chemicals.”
“I signed the budget last July. Today is January 23rd. It’s been over 200 days, and Republicans have not released one cent of that investment. A $125 million investment to fight PFAS statewide is sitting right here in Madison because Republicans refuse to release it,” Evers said. “That’s breathtaking. Republicans, please release this funding so we can get it out to the families, child care facilities, schools, businesses and communities across our state who need it.”
Republicans have spent several months negotiating with the DNR and other stakeholders over how to structure legislation that would help get the money used. The bill has passed the Senate, but has yet to progress in the Assembly, which has led to calls from Evers for the finance committee to release the funds.
Reproductive rights ‘under attack’
Evers also vowed, again, to veto any bill that would make reproductive health care less accessible in Wisconsin. His promise came four days after Wisconsin Republicans recently introduced a bill that would ban abortion after 14 weeks if it received approval from voters and on the same day that the Assembly health committee advanced it to the Assembly floor.
“Each time I’ve asked Republicans to restore Wisconsinites’ reproductive freedom to what it was the day before the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe, they said, ‘No.’ And because of that, Wisconsin women spent over a year experiencing firsthand what it’s like to live in a state that bans nearly all abortions, even in cases of rape or incest,” Evers said.
He gave thanks to the lawsuit filed by Democrat Attorney General Josh Kaul that challenged the state’s 1849 law that has been widely interpreted as applying to abortion. A Dane County judge recently ruled that the law applies to feticide, not abortion, which led Planned Parenthood to restart abortion services in the state. However, Evers warned that reproductive rights are still “under attack.”
“Republicans are advancing a bill that would ask Wisconsinites to strip themselves of some of the basic reproductive freedoms that were just recently restored to them and [with] no exceptions in cases of rape or incest,” Evers said.
The bill — AB 975 — was amended during an executive session just hours ahead of Evers’ address to include rape and incest exceptions.
Evers also announced that he would be taking steps to expand access to contraception for BadgerCare Plus members.
“Wisconsin, we’ve proven this past year that we can do big things when we’re willing to do them together,” Evers said to close out his speech. “I know we can build upon these efforts in 2024, and together we will.”
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Wisconsin
A Wisconsin family is suing Target after their 10-month-old died from swallowing a water bead
A Wisconsin family lost their ten-month-old daughter after she swallowed a water bead. They blame Target and the water bead manufacturer for her death.
This week, Taylor and Tyler Bethard filed a lawsuit against Target in Hennepin County, claiming that the company failed to warn them and other customers about the dangers of a water beads product that used to be sold exclusively at Target.
Water beads are marketed as toys that come with sensory kits or craft sets, but data shows the products are prone to injuring young children. The polymer material is extremely absorbent, allowing water beads – which are often colorful – to expand around 100 times their original size when they interact with water or liquid. This presents a hazard for kids; the United States Product Safety Commission states that between 2017 and 2022, there were 6,300 water bead-related ingestion injuries that required treatment from emergency departments across the country.
In 2023, a 10-month-old girl died. Her name is Esther “Jo” Bethard. According to court filings, Taylor Bethard found her daughter unresponsive in her crib on the morning of July 7, 2023, after she had suffered symptoms of a stomach illness overnight. Medical examiners told the family that her death was caused by swallowing a single water bead.
The Bethards had purchased a Chuckle and Roar water bead set in the spring of 2022 for Esther Jo’s older siblings, never intending for the infant to interact with the water beads.
Target and the Chuckle and Roar manufacturer, Buffalo Games LLC, mutually agreed to pull the product from the shelves in November of 2022. Court records show an email exchange between Buffalo Games and a product safety employee at Target where the manufacturer noted that while their water beads had met safety standards at the time, they wanted to “avoid any future unintended misuse of the product.”
That conversation was prompted after Buffalo Games was informed that an infant required surgery after ingesting a water bead from the Ultimate Water Beads kit. Target agreed to end sales, indicating that this would be classified as a “safety removal.”
The Bethard’s lawsuit alleges that Target clearly knew how dangerous these water beads could be, but failed to warn them or other customers. Target stopped selling the product about eight months before Esther Jo died. Daniel Mann, a personal injury attorney representing the Bethards in this case, said that Esther Jo would still be alive if Target had acted.
“With all this information Target didn’t do anything to reach out to the family or other consumers to let them know about this problem,” Mann said, “I think 10/10 people would say Target had a responsibility to do more than what they did, which was nothing.”
A spokesperson for Target said that they would not comment on ongoing litigation, but the company had already responded to an identical complaint filed by the Bethards in the State of New York. In 2025, the Bethards sued both Target and Buffalo Games in Erie County, N.Y., because that was where the manufacturer was based. In response to the lawsuit there, court filings show that Target denied the allegations that they knew of an extraordinary danger posed by the water beads and failed to notify customers.
The complaint was dismissed against Target in New York, Mann explained, due to jurisdiction. This lead to them refiling in Hennepin County this week.
In a statement to WCCO on the new legal action, a Target spokesperson said “We extend our deepest sympathies to those affected by this tragedy, and we worked closely with the manufacturer of the product at the time the incident occurred.”
Taylor Bethard, Esther Jo’s mother, has lead the charge to ban water beads entirely. Her efforts lead to the United States Consumer Product Safety Commision recalling the more than 52,000 Chuckle and Roar Ultimate Water Beads Activity Kits that were in circulation. The recall took effect in September of 2023. Target, Walmart and Amazon announced that they would stop marketing water beads to children.
Bethard is also working with Wisconsin U.S. State Senator Tammy Baldwin to establish federal legislation to permanently outlaw all water beads. This past spring, the CPSC established new legal guidelines that restrict the size of water beads to try to ensure high safety standards.
(WLUK) — Wisconsin State Patrol troopers are teaming up with truckers to better spot dangerous driving behaviors.
The annual Trooper in a Truck initiative kicks off next week in Wisconsin.
Troopers will ride along with with semitruck and bus drivers to use the higher vantage point to spot dangerous driving behaviors, especially near commercial motor vehicles.
Troopers will be looking for risky driving behaviors, including distracted driving, speeding, following too closely and seatbelt violations. When an officer identifies a violation from the truck or bus, they will radio to patrol cars in the area for appropriate enforcement action.
Drivers can expect to see Trooper in a Truck enforcement in the following areas:
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New Wisconsin athletic director Shawn Eichorst, who spent the last eight years at Texas, believes his new and old schools have much in common.
Both are well-regarded research universities in state capitals that belong to major conferences and have relatively similar enrollments.
He also pointed out one difference.
“There’s swag at Texas, right?” Eichorst said Tuesday during his introductory news conference. “There’s 30 million people in Texas. We’ve got swag, too, but we have a little humility with that deal. We need to get our shoulders up. We need to feel good about what it is that we’re doing.”
Wisconsin could gain more of that Texas swagger if its football program gets back to winning the way it did the last time Eichorst was employed in Madison. Eichorst, who most recently worked as a deputy athletic director at Texas, received a five-year deal worth $1.6 million annually, with provisions for increases and incentives. He was hired 2½ months after Chris McIntosh left to become the Big Ten’s deputy commissioner for strategy.
Eichorst worked at Wisconsin from 2006-11 when Barry Alvarez was AD and Bret Bielema was leading the football program. He followed that up with stints as an athletic director at Miami (2011-12) and Nebraska (2012-17) before Texas athletic director Chris Del Conte hired him in 2018.
He returns to Wisconsin with the Badgers coming off back-to-back losing seasons in football, a notable fall for a program that had 22 straight winning seasons from 2002-23. Wisconsin coach Luke Fickell has gone 17-21 after posting a 53-10 record with one College Football Playoff appearance in his last five years at Cincinnati.
Eichorst hasn’t worked with Fickell before but said he’s encouraged by their initial conversations.
“Obviously he’s won every place he’s been,” Eichorst said. “My expectation is more of me than him, meaning I need to pour into him, learn more about his program, how he has things set up, how his athletes are taken care of, how we’re supporting that endeavor. And then we can figure out, as we move along, what that might look like.”
Football struggles led to Eichorst’s downfall the last time he was an athletic director.
He fired Nebraska coach Bo Pelini in 2014 and hired Mike Riley, who had gone 93-80 in 14 seasons at Oregon State. Eichorst was dismissed shortly after Nebraska suffered an early-season loss to Northern Illinois in 2017. Riley was fired at the end of that season after going 19-19 in three years.
When Eichorst’s hiring was announced last week, he spoke about how much he had grown from that Nebraska stint. Wisconsin interim chancellor Eric Wilcots led the search and has emphasized Eichorst’s accomplishments at Texas, which has won the Learfield Directors’ Cup all-sports standings five times in the last six years.
Texas ranked anywhere from fifth to ninth in the Directors’ Cup standings in the five years before Wilcots’ arrival. Texas’ football team went a combined 23-27 from 2014-17 but has made two College Football Playoff appearances in the last three years.
“Everybody looks at the end result of what we did at Texas,” Eichorst said. “When we got there in 2018, we weren’t very good in a lot of areas. And that didn’t change overnight.”
Eichorst said one thing that has caught his attention about Wisconsin is the overall quality of its head coaches.
“You’re going to be as good as your coaches,” Eichorst said. “That’s it. If you have an elite group of coaches who are working together and uniting and galvanizing and learning from one another and taking it out to their individual programs, I think you can start to build something special. I go back to Texas. We built a room of really elite head coaches and put them at the top of everything we did to help guide us.”
Eichorst said this job is particularly important to him because of his Wisconsin roots. He was born in Lone Rock, about 45 miles northwest of the Madison campus.
He treasured his previous stint at Wisconsin and says he believes this school “represents everything that is great about higher education and college athletics.”
“Nobody will work harder for Wisconsin athletics,” Eichorst said. “I love this state, and I love everything that it represents. The passion is there. You can see it. I don’t have to make it up. I’ve lived it. It’s in my heart.”
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