Wisconsin
Here are Wisconsin Watch's top 10 most read fact briefs
Reading Time: 4 minutes
On Sept. 24, 2022, Wisconsin Watch published its first fact brief. It marked a new partnership with Gigafact, a nonprofit network of nonpartisan local, regional and expert newsrooms that fact-check and verify influential claims circulating online.
In the two years since, our more than 500 fact briefs stand out from other fact-checking efforts. We tackle questions that can be answered yes or no, and each brief is limited to 150 words.
Politicians and other news outlets have pointed to our fact briefs as an authoritative check on misinformation being injected into the public discourse. Online readership has spiked for relevant fact briefs during this summer’s political conventions and two presidential debates.
Bill Adair, founder of PolitiFact and author of “Beyond the Big Lie,” has spoken highly of Gigafact.
“In the years that we’ve been studying the rise of misinformation, we’ve realized there simply aren’t enough fact-checks to counter all the falsehoods,” Adair said. “Gigafact is addressing this head-on with a wonderfully simple approach that should yield a dramatic increase in fact checks.”
At Wisconsin Watch, we can report that Adair’s prediction turned out to be true. Fact briefs have been some of the most widely read articles that Wisconsin Watch has produced.
Here in reverse order is a countdown of our top 10 most read fact briefs.
10. No, Wisconsin Supreme Court candidate Janet Protasiewicz as a Milwaukee County judge did not release Darrell Brooks on bail before his deadly Waukesha Christmas Parade attack.
Milwaukee County Court Commissioner Cedric Cornwall approved Brooks’ release on $1,000 bail on Nov. 5, 2021.
On Nov. 21, 2021, Brooks drove a Ford Escape through the parade. The attack left six people dead and injured more than 60.
The claim about Protasiewicz was made during the campaign leading up to her election to the Supreme Court in April 2023.
9. No, Wisconsin’s constitution does not “clearly” say the Wisconsin Supreme Court chief justice administers the Supreme Court.
Wisconsin’s constitution says: “The chief justice of the Supreme Court shall be the administrative head of the judicial system and shall exercise this administrative authority,” but adds “pursuant to procedures adopted by the Supreme Court.”
8. Yes, you can collect unemployment in Wisconsin if you get fired.
It depends on the circumstances. Employees may not receive unemployment benefits if they get fired for “violating reasonable requirements of the employer.”
7. No, a law Tim Walz signed does not allow a child to be taken away from parents who don’t consent to “sex changes.”
Republican vice presidential nominee Sen. JD Vance of Ohio made the claim while campaigning in Eau Claire, Wisconsin.
Walz, the Minnesota governor and 2024 Democratic vice presidential candidate, signed legislation allowing Minnesota courts to take temporary jurisdiction in a child custody dispute between parents in another state if one wants a child to obtain “gender-affirming care” in Minnesota.
The law does not change when the state can take custody away from parents or enable the state to take away custody in connection with such care.
6. No, “just about every law enforcement agency in the country” had not endorsed Donald Trump for president in early 2024.
Former President Donald Trump made the claim in an April 2024 Milwaukee radio interview.
As of early that month, few law enforcement organizations had announced endorsements in the 2024 presidential election.
Police unions — not law enforcement agencies such as police or sheriff’s departments — endorse candidates.
In early September, the Fraternal Order of Police, the country’s largest lobbying organization representing more than 350,000 law enforcement officers, endorsed Trump. In response, about 100 law enforcement officials endorsed Democratic nominee Vice President Kamala Harris.
5. Yes, Donald Trump suggested rules in the U.S. Constitution could be terminated in response to election fraud.
Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie made the claim during a 2023 Republican presidential debate in Milwaukee, drawing attention to Trump’s false claim.
Trump said in a 2022 social media post: “A Massive Fraud of this type and magnitude allows for the termination of all rules, regulations, and articles, even those found in the Constitution. Our great ‘Founders’ did not want, and would not condone, False & Fraudulent Elections!”
4. Yes, individuals under age 21 can legally drink alcohol in a bar in Wisconsin if they are with a parent.
Wisconsin’s legal drinking age is 21, but people under 21 can legally drink alcoholic beverages in establishments such as taverns and restaurants if they are with their parents, guardians or spouses of legal drinking age.
However, establishments can refuse to serve underage people.
3. No, Tim Walz didn’t sign legislation requiring female hygiene products to be installed in boys’ bathrooms.
Walz signed a Minnesota law requiring public schools to provide free menstrual products to “all menstruating students in restrooms regularly used by students in grades 4 to 12 according to a plan developed by the school district.”
The Minnesota Education Department told Wisconsin Watch: “Each school district should have its own plan to comply with the legislation. (The department) has not directed schools to provide these products in boys’ bathrooms.” Some schools have stocked them in unisex bathrooms instead.
2. No, the U.S. has not “lost” seven embassies during Joe Biden’s presidency, the most under any president.
U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., made the claim about embassies, the official headquarters for U.S. diplomats and government representatives serving in foreign countries, at the 2024 Wisconsin Republican Party convention.
Under Biden, three U.S. embassies — in Afghanistan, Belarus and Sudan — suspended and have not resumed operations, each following unrest in those countries.
1. Yes, the U.S. debt increased by $7.8 trillion during Trump’s presidency
Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis made the attack in an interview with the conservative Wisconsin Right Now website as he was competing with Trump and others for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination.
The federal debt was $27.8 trillion when Trump left office, $7.8 trillion higher than when he entered.
The debt — borrowing done when the government spends more than it takes in — is a result of decisions made by a president and Congress during a president’s term, but also by decisions made by previous presidents and Congresses.
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Matthew Jacobson found his calling in middle school history class.
As a sixth grader at St. John Vianney Catholic School in Brookfield, he voluntarily completed additional research projects and jumped at the chance to present to his classmates. He never saw the extra assignments as work — he was having fun. When Jacobson’s teacher told him he’d make a great educator himself, he set his sights on the profession. In high school, he participated in Elmbrook School District’s future teachers program and planned to enroll in university for his teaching degree.
But life had other plans. Several weeks before his high school graduation, Jacobson was forced to move out on his own. He picked up a cooking job to “pay the bills and survive.” The gig didn’t leave extra money or time for college.
“I didn’t really know how to get back into college and go meet my dream,” Jacobson said.
Two years later, he heard about a novel apprenticeship program, where future teachers earn money working in schools as they obtain their education and certifications.
“I was like, ‘That’s my way back in,’” he said.
State officials launched the program in 2024 to ease the educator shortage by offering students an alternative route to the profession — one where they don’t have to put their careers on pause while racking up student debt. Jacobson is one of the first eight teacher apprentices.
Today, Jacobson has returned to Elmbrook to serve as a classroom aide. In two years, he’ll have the proper training for the district to hire him as an elementary or middle school teacher.
But as participants reach the program’s halfway point, its future beyond this initial “pilot” phase is unclear — raising questions about whether apprenticeships will become a viable solution to Wisconsin’s struggle to find and keep educators.
While the route has been life-changing for students like Jacobson, program leaders are having trouble enticing school districts to take on more apprentices. Enrollment has ground to a halt; the two technical colleges involved don’t have any new students signed up to begin in the fall.
Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development officials say whether the program continues or grows depends on if districts get on board and sponsor trainees to join up. But district leaders say a major hurdle is the cost — a key appeal of an apprenticeship is the employer paying them for the time they spend learning, but many public schools are already strapped for cash. Some want more funding tied to the program.
“(It’s) stalling a little bit,” said Trent Sorensen, a Fox Valley Technical College dean. “We don’t have any (students) coming in for the fall. … There’s plenty of time, but it’s not taking off like it did in other states, and it’s simply because of the funding.”
A new way to train teachers
Wisconsin schools struggle to find enough teachers needed to lead classrooms — a problem largely fueled by poor retention and new workers moving to other states after graduating.
In 2024, Congress came through with some assistance: $570,000 in federal funds earmarked for establishing a teacher apprenticeship program in Wisconsin.
Officials from DWD, the Department of Public Instruction, the Wisconsin Technical College System, and two universities teamed up to debut the pilot in January 2024. They praised the “earn-while-you-learn” approach to establishing a pipeline of workers: Districts could guarantee they’d have future teachers, while also filling lower-skilled jobs in the meantime.
Typically, aspiring teachers work a shorter classroom internship while studying for their bachelor’s degree and then complete a semester of student teaching after graduating. The apprenticeship is “taking that entire approach and flipping it on its head,” said Nick Abbott, senior program and policy analyst at the Bureau of Apprenticeship Standards — creating a potentially more accessible path to the profession.
“Traditional educator preparation programs can be expensive, as they often require unpaid student teaching, which might not be feasible for low-income students, nontraditional students or individuals looking to change careers,” Gov. Tony Evers said when the program launched. “The new teacher apprenticeship pilot program will help address issues in turnover and retention, reduce barriers and encourage young people to enter the field.”
Apprenticeships are becoming more common in Wisconsin in fields ranging from plumbing to nursing. Participation has hit record highs for the last four years. These gigs are far more common for hands-on jobs in the skilled trades than fields like education and health care, but that’s changing with initiatives like the teacher apprenticeship program.
Here’s how it works: A school district hires an apprentice, who enrolls at Fox Valley Technical College or Waukesha County Technical College for two years to complete a Foundations of Teacher Education associate’s degree. When finished, the student transfers to Lakeland University or the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater at Rock County to finish a bachelor’s degree.
Throughout those roughly four years of schooling, the apprentice works inside the classroom as an assistant for 32 hours each week and spends eight hours a week learning at college. The school district the person works for pays an hourly wage for those 40 total hours. When apprentices finish the training, they’re qualified to work as a classroom teacher.
“Nothing prepares you for doing this job, other than doing the job,” Jacobson said. “Being at a school working with kids is easily 10 times more important than any of the classes I’ve taken, and I get way better experience and much more value out of just doing it and learning through failure.”
As a way of incentivizing the program during its infancy, the eight students get half of their tuition costs reimbursed with federal grant funds.
Four districts participate in the pilot: Wauwatosa, Greendale, Elmbrook and Appleton. The districts are not required to pay for the remainder of the apprentice’s tuition — Elmbrook, a relativelywealthy district, was the only one that did.
State leaders also hope the apprenticeships might help with teacher retention. Teachers will start with four years of classroom management experience already under their belt, far more than usual.Plus, other teachers mentor them on the job. That essentially eliminates the difficult experience of being a first-year teacher, said Appleton Area School District Chief Human Resources Officer Julie King.
“Managing a classroom and the curriculum and all the demands of the job is very overwhelming after having maybe 18 weeks of student teaching experience,” King said. “To learn alongside a professional that has been in the career, knows all the ins and outs, has skill sets and strategies to work with students – to have that benefit of working alongside somebody like that for four years, you’re much, much better prepared.”
Given these promises, teacher apprenticeships have recently exploded nationwide — 45 states have brought programs online in the last few years. They vary widely in their funding approaches and in the costs to districts and students. States have often looked to Tennessee, the country’s first program, as a standout model. The state’s program, launched in 2020, now helps fund 600 new teacher trainees annually at no cost to the apprentices.
Enticing schools a challenge
In his Foundations of Reading class last fall, Jacobson learned about phonological and phonemic awareness, or the ability to recognize distinct parts of a word — a key skill for learning how to read. Using what he learned, he started running his own reading support group for students needing extra help.
“The second you learn something, I don’t have to wait two years before I actually apply that knowledge to my job,” Jacobson said. “No, I’m applying it that same day or the next day, which then makes it stick a lot more.”
The program gets high marks from trainees and schools. So why aren’t more signing up?
Money. Both school districts and apprentices are struggling to afford it.
The four districts that already have apprentices are waiting until their current students graduate to decide whether to add more, Abbott said.
“I want to stress that the apprenticeship model itself remains available to all school employers in the state who wish to adopt it,” Abbott said. “It comes down to finding partners.”
But getting more of Wisconsin’s 400-plus districts to bite has been difficult.
Sorensen, the Fox Valley Tech dean, said the college isn’t seeing interest from districts because many are contending with too-tight budgets. School leaders have long argued the state’s funding system hasn’t kept up with rising costs, which, as Wisconsin Watch recently reported, has resulted in a recent wave of school closures, layoffs and budget cuts.
That’s made it hard for districts to pay for the hours when trainees are in college, and not working in the classroom.
“It’s challenging for school districts to be able to build in that release time. We did hear that, and that’s really understandable,” said Dena Constantineau, Waukesha County Tech’s associate dean of education and human services. “I mean, they really rely on their people, and so they need them in the classroom.”
Even with the discount from the federal grant, tuition can be costly. For example, the average annual tuition costs at least $5,900 for the technical college portion and about $6,000 for UW-Whitewater at Rock County. That means the leftover cost to apprentices could still be upwards of $12,000.
Plus, the federal funds that helped launch the pilot run out next March, so there could be even less tuition assistance for future apprentices.
The Appleton Area School District would love to put more students into the program, “if there was funding” to entice participants, King said. The district couldn’t afford to give students more tuition assistance, which hampered participation.
“The unknown for us moving forward is there is no state funding. If there’s other opportunities for that tuition relief for the individual, that’s really what entices people to engage in that program,” King said.
“The question on the future really is, ‘Where is the funding and the structures going to be in the future to make sure that it’s a viable option moving forward?’” King said. “‘That it reduces the financial barrier? That it’s accessible?’”
Miranda Dunlap reports on pathways to success in northeast Wisconsin, working in partnership with Open Campus. Find her on Instagram and Twitter, or send her an email at mdunlap@wisconsinwatch.org.
MADISON, Wis. (WMTV) – The Wisconsin Department of Transportation Division of Motor Vehicles announced on Thursday it revoked the licenses for eight wholesale dealers throughout Wisconsin.
The DMV Dealer and Agent Section determined that the dealers violated state law when they failed to maintain a dealer bond.
The following dealers had their licenses revoked:
Located at 101 Skyline Drive #1 Arlington:
- Alpha Motorworks Inc.
- Slick One Auto Sales LLC.
Located at 1645 North Spring Street #210 in Beaver Dam:
- Point B Auto LLC
- Aurum Lane Auto Group LLC
- Turbo Motor Vehicles LLC
Located at N5876 US Highway #12 in Elkhorn:
- Empire General Motors Inc.
- Culture Motorsports LLC
Located at 6830 West Villard Avenue #170 in Milwaukee
The decision to revoke these licenses was confirmed by hearing examiner on April 17.
Following a 30-day appeal period, the revocations became final on May 17.
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Copyright 2026 WMTV. All rights reserved.
The Wisconsin Badgers were extremely well represented at the most recent UA Next Camp.
In total, seven future Badgers competed at the May 24 UA Next Camp in Chicago, IL.
Shockingly, two of the seven recruits in attendance aren’t Wisconsin natives. Knowing how well represented Luke Fickell’s class of 2027 is with in-state talent, it was great to see the likes of quarterback Jack Sorgi (Indiana) and defensive lineman David Hill (Illinois) make the trip to Chicago.
The complete list of Wisconsin players who were at the camp can be found below:
- QB Jack Sorgi
- EDGE Isaac Miller
- IOL Hunter and Reece Mallinger
- DL David Hill
- OT Cole Reiter
- OT Ethan McIntosh
Of those seven, Reiter is the team’s highest-ranked recruit.
Notable absences included:
- Four-star running back Kingston Allen
- Four-star tight end Korz Loken
Nonetheless, Wisconsin received a ton of praise from Billy Tucker, the director of the UA All-America game.
Currently, they still have the No. 17-ranked class of 2027, according to 247Sports.
Contact/Follow @TheBadgersWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Wisconsin Badgers news, notes and opinion.
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