Wisconsin
Prisons make headlines for abhorrent conditions. Where’s the will to fix them? | Opinion
Inmates can still be shackled while giving birth in Wisconsin prisons
Stories about conditions in Wisconsin prisons hasn’t led to change
After months of journalists reporting about the conditions Wisconsin prisoners are living under, there doesn’t seem to be urgency to fix the problems.
Wisconsin prisons have been in the headlines a lot lately. The stories have exposed abhorrent conditions for inmates and documented long-festering problems. While the crisis has generated months of headlines, it hasn’t produced much will to tackle the issues.
At the beginning of this month, the New York Times and Wisconsin Watch published a joint investigation on the extreme shortage of correctional officers. The story outlined the extent of how significant the shortage is and how little had been done prior to last year, despite a decade of warning signs.
Ever since Act 10 passed, there has been an increasing exodus of correctional officers who no longer could collectively bargain. As of today, almost half of the guard jobs in Wisconsin’s prison have been unfilled.
The story goes on to highlight what the effects of this shortage has led to: shortcuts in how prison officials run facilities, two men escaped from Columbia Correctional Institution in 2020 when four out of the five guard towers were unmanned, and two of the state’s prisons have been in lockdown, or what Department of Corrections Secretary Kevin Carr called “modified movement”, for 10 months due to not enough staff to handle the number of inmates.
Rodents, lockdowns, shackles, suicides happening under state’s care
Multiple Wisconsin publications have been reporting on limitations being imposed on inmates due to the lockdowns despite Governor Tony Evers declaring in November that restrictions would be lifted. The Journal Sentinel reported last month that, “limitations on recreations, visitation, meals, showers programming and more persist without a clear end in sight”.
There has also been reports of the horrendous condition of some of the prisons are in, including a ongoing rodent problem.
All of this is also happening while an ongoing investigation and lawsuit against the DOC is playing out in the aftermath of a Waupun prison suicide, where staff allegedly failed to give the inmate his bipolar and antidepressant medications as prescribed in the months leading up to his death.
In addition to these current conditions, investigations and lawsuits, there are further conversations happening at the Capitol regarding sentencing and protocol for pregnant incarcerated women.
There are dual bills circulating in the Legislature that would end life sentences for children. Under Wisconsin statute, children as young as 10 are subject to adult treatment for first-degree intentional homicide with a life sentence without parole.
There is also a bill that would ban shackling pregnant inmates during childbirth, since that is still allowed under Wisconsin law and left up to the discretion of staff.
There are reports. There are lawsuits. There are noncommital suggestions of independent investigations. There are Senate committee questions. But, after months of journalists informing the public about the conditions incarcerated people in Wisconsin are living under, there doesn’t seem to be a lot of urgency to fix it.
Kristin Brey is the “My Take” columnist for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Laurel Burleson, a Dane County chef, thinks ugly apples make the best dishes.
One of her goals as a chef and restaurant owner is to save usable produce from the waste bin.
“I know how hard (Wisconsin farmers) work every day, making these products that are delicious and nutritious and for anything to get thrown away just because it’s not aesthetically perfect is just outrageous,” said Burleson, owner of Ugly Apple Cafe.
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The latest fruit monitoring report from the University of Wisconsin-Madison shows many parts of the state having great harvests, although northeastern Wisconsin orchards suffered from a cool spring. But most apple orchards are busy with the fall harvest. So what do you do with that abundance of apples?
Burleson shared some recipes and her philosophy on cooking with WPR’s “Wisconsin Today.”
This conversation has been edited for brevity and clarity.
Rob Ferrett: What do you like to do with apples apart from just eating them?
Laurel Burleson: One that I really like to do is making apple marmalade. That is shredding apples and preserving them in sugar so that they keep their structure. It’s kind of the opposite of making applesauce.
But we also make a lot of apple sauce and apple butter. That’s a good way to use a lot of apples all at once.
RF: What goes into making apple butter?
LB: Very basically you make applesauce, so just cook down your apples and blend them up. Then you take that applesauce and cook it extremely slowly, either in a slow cooker or in the oven. Cook it down until it’s dark and rich and more closely resembling a peanut butter than applesauce.
From there, you can put in whatever spices you want: cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, bay leaf. You just have to be careful because whatever you start with in the big batch will get super concentrated and reduced in your end product.
RF: With applesauce or apple butter, do we have to be fussy about the type of apples? Or can we mix and match?
LB: I like to mix and match, especially because the apple season starts really early. Some years you can get the first season apples in July.
They don’t hold very long and they’re very juicy, so they break down really easily, but they are very tart. I like to get some of those early season apples and make them into applesauce and freeze them and then when I have other sweeter varieties later I mix them and then reduce that all down into butter.
RF: You shared a savory recipe with us for pork chops with apple bacon cabbage. Tell us a little bit about this recipe.
LB: It’s really fun for the fall and even into the winter. You can kind of use any kind of variety of apple that’s a little bit tart and it’s OK if it breaks down and blends in because the cabbage is going to maintain its structure.
If the onions and apples melt away into a delicious sauce it’s just fine. But also, if you end up with some apple pieces, then it’s a nice little surprise like a little sweetness.
The Ugly Apple Cafe operates cafes inside the Dane County Courthouse and the City County Building in Madison and sells its products at the Monona Farmers Market.
While the Wisconsin Badgers struggle on the football field, sitting at a disappointing 2-2 through four weeks, some of the program’s former transfers continue to find success.
One of those players is tight end Riley Nowakowski, who transferred to Indiana this offseason after five years with the Badgers. The Milwaukee, Wisconsin, native originally walked on to the program as an unranked outside linebacker. After playing sparingly during his first few seasons with the Badgers, he flipped over to fullback in 2022, then out to tight end after Phil Longo arrived in 2023. Nowakowski totaled 18 receptions for 131 yards and a touchdown from 2023-24; his two years as a primary offensive contributor.
The former Badger is already making significant progress toward those totals, now just four games into his Indiana career. He has four catches for 72 yards and a touchdown, plus one carry for a one-yard score. The versatile fullback/tight end delivered the highlight play of his career during Indiana’s blowout win over Illinois on Saturday, taking a 1st-down screen pass 43 yards to the house.
Wisconsin, meanwhile, has received solid contributions from Montana State transfer tight end Lance Mason. The veteran has 14 catches for 177 yards and two touchdowns to date, leading the team in each of those respective categories.
While Mason has been one of the Badgers’ few bright spots through four weeks, it’s hard to ignore Nowakowski’s emergence as one of Indiana’s dependable offensive playmakers.
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Get ready for an overall warmer stretch of weather as we head into this upcoming workweek. After some fog lifts this morning, we’ll have plenty of sunshine today with highs in the mid to upper 70s along the lake and low 80s inland.
Tonight will be dry with lows in the low 60s lakeside and upper 50s inland.
Monday through Wednesday should be very similar, with upper 70s to near 80 near the lake and low to mid 80s inland with plenty of sun.
We’ll start to bring in chances of showers or a T’storm starting Thursday right on into the weekend.
WATCH: Southeast Wisconsin weather: Dry Today, Warm Workweek Ahead
Southeast Wisconsin weather: Dry Today, Warm Workweek Ahead
TODAY: Any fog lifting through the morning, then becoming mostly sunny.
High: 77 lakefront… 83 inland.
Wind: E 5-10 MPH.
TONIGHT: Mostly clear.
Low: 62.
Wind: ESE 3-8 MPH.
MONDAY: Mostly sunny.
Highs: 78 lakefront… 83 inland.
Wind: ESE 5-10 MPH.
TUES: Mostly sunny and warm.
High: 80 lakefront… 84 inland.
WEDS: Mostly sunny and warm.
High: 81 lakefront… 85 inland.
THUR: Partly cloudy with a chance of a shower
or T’storm.
High: 80.
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