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Republican businessman Hovde to enter Wisconsin US Senate race against Baldwin

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Republican businessman Hovde to enter Wisconsin US Senate race against Baldwin


Madison, Wis. – Multimillionaire Republican businessman Eric Hovde is planning to launch a bid for U.S. Senate against Democratic incumbent Sen. Tammy Baldwin next week.

Hovde campaign spokesperson Ben Voelkel said Thursday that Hovde, 59, will get into the race next week after months of preparation.

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Reelecting Baldwin to a third term is critical for Democratic hopes to maintain majority control of the Senate. Democrats are defending 23 seats in the Senate in November, including two held by independents who caucus with Democrats. That’s compared with just 11 seats that Republicans hope to keep in their column.

Hovde has been laying the groundwork for a run for months, lining up support from the National Republican Senatorial Committee and recently hiring staff. He has also appeared at Republican events across the state.

Hovde previously ran for Senate in 2012, describing himself then as a free-market conservative, losing in the Republican primary to former Gov. Tommy Thompson. Thompson went on to lose to Baldwin, who is now seeking her third term.

In that race, Hovde ran as a supporter of overturning the Affordable Care Act, the national health care law signed by former President Barack Obama. Hovde also ran as an opponent of abortion and supporter of overturning Roe v. Wade. The U.S. Supreme Court did that in 2022, fueling wins by Democratic candidates that year who supported abortion rights. Baldwin has already said she plans to highlight abortion rights in this year’s Senate race.

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Hovde has largely stayed out of the public eye since that run, although he did run a television ad in 2020 criticizing Democratic Gov. Tony Evers’ stay-at-home order during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Hovde’s business empire includes Hovde Properties, a real estate development company founded by his grandfather in 1933, and three banking companies. He is CEO of Sunwest Bank, has appeared in television commercials for them that air out west, and owns a $7 million estate in Laguna Beach, California, in addition to his property in Madison.

He returned to Madison in 2011 after living in Washington, D.C., for 24 years.

Scott Mayer, a Franklin businessman, and former Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke are also considering Senate runs. Other higher profile Republicans, including U.S. Reps. Tom Tiffany and Mike Gallagher, opted against running.

Baldwin most recently won reelection by 11 points in a race that was seen as a model for how to run as a Democrat statewide in Wisconsin. She is a tireless campaigner, garnered broad support, including among independents and voters outside of Democratic strongholds in Madison and Milwaukee, and she raised millions of dollars to fuel the successful bid.

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Stepmom from hell accused of starving 35-pound teen daughter enters plea — could spend the rest of her life behind bars

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Stepmom from hell accused of starving 35-pound teen daughter enters plea — could spend the rest of her life behind bars


The Wisconsin stepmother from hell accused of abusing her 35-pound 14-year-old daughter by depriving her of food and water has entered a no-contest plea in the twisted case.

Melissa Goodman, 52, now faces up to 46 years in prison if she’s handed the maximum sentence for charges of chronic neglect causing great bodily harm, chronic neglect causing emotional damage and false imprisonment.

She’s set to be sentenced on July 1.

Goodman, along with husband Walter Goodman, have been accused of starving her autistic stepdaughter. Outagamie County Jail

Goodman, along with husband Walter Goodman, has been accused of starving her autistic stepdaughter.

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Goodman’s daughter Savanna Goodman and her girlfriend Kayla Stemler were also charged over the alleged abuse, People reported.

The family is accused of locking the teen in a bedroom without a mattress, restricting her to only her room for years and depriving her of food and water, according to Wisconsin prosecutors.

The mobile home they lived in became a house of horrors for the teenager, who was mistaken for a 6-year-old when she was found by cops in August 2025 and rushed to the hospital.

Walter Goodman, the victim’s father, called 911 to report that his daughter was lethargic and ill.

Responding officers found her weighing just 35 pounds; she was hospitalized with multi-organ dysfunction, including respiratory failure and pancreatitis.

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Melissa Goodman
Walter Goodman, the victim’s father, called 911 to report that his daughter was lethargic and ill. WBAY TV-2 | Green Bay, WI/YouTube

From 2020 until August 2025, the victim, whose name is not disclosed because she is a minor, was allegedly isolated in a trailer on Hattie Lane, in Oneida, Wisconsin.

Extended family members were told she was away on vacation or with other relatives to explain her absence.



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‘Song Sung Blue’ subject Claire Sardina playing Wisconsin State Fair

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‘Song Sung Blue’ subject Claire Sardina playing Wisconsin State Fair


When “Song Sung Blue” – the biopic about Milwaukee Neil Diamond tribute act Lightning & Thunder – had a premiere at the Oriental Theatre in Milwaukee last December, star Hugh Jackman gave Claire Sardina (played in the film by Kate Hudson) an engraved bench honoring Lighting & Thunder to be installed at Wisconsin State Fair Park.

In August, Sardina will get to have a seat on that bench – and sing again on a State Fair stage.

Sardina will perform with tribute act So Good: The Neil Diamond Experience Aug. 9 at the Bank Five Nine Amphitheater, the largest stage at the fair featuring free concerts with admission.

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For Sardina, it will be a return to a place central to Lighting & Thunder. The band performed in the Milwaukee area from 1989 until Mike Sardina, aka Lightning, passed away in 2006. The State Fair was one of their favorite places to play, and the couple got married there in 1994.

The couple’s wild story – from a performance at a Pearl Jam Summerfest concert to major health issues – was the subject of the documentary “Song Sung Blue” that inspired the biopic, and earned Hudson an Oscar nomination for portraying Claire Sardina.

Fair officials May 8 revealed the full headliner lineup for the stage, which includes:

  • Aug. 6: Sixteen Candles
  • Aug. 7 and 8: Here Come The Mummies
  • Aug. 10 and 11: Herman’s Hermits starring Peter Noone
  • Aug. 12: Hairbangers Ball
  • Aug. 13: Too Hype Crew
  • Aug. 14: The Gufs
  • Aug. 15: Let’s Sing Taylor – An Unofficial Live Tribute Show
  • Aug. 16: Pat McCurdy

All Bank Five Nine Amphitheater concerts are included with fair admission.

The lineup is also nearly complete for the Bank Five Nine Main Stage, with just a show on Aug. 11 to be announced.

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Tickets are on sale for these shows at wistatefair.com and include same-day fair admission:

  • Aug. 6: Hairball
  • Aug. 7: Nelly
  • Aug. 8: Bailey Zimmerman with Chandler Walters
  • Aug. 9: Wynonna Judd and Melissa Etheridge
  • Aug. 10: For King + Country with Rachel Lampa
  • Aug. 12: John Mulaney
  • Aug. 13: The All-American Rejects with Joyce Manor
  • Aug. 14: Lindsey Stirling with PVRIS
  • Aug. 15: AJR with Em Beihold
  • Aug. 16: The Beach Boys



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Wisconsin universities and schools impacted by Canvas data breach

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Wisconsin universities and schools impacted by Canvas data breach


WAUSAU, Wis. (WSAW/GRAY NEWS) – A ransomware group has claimed to have breached the learning management system Canvas, possibly exposing the personal information of students, teachers and staff across the country.

According to a statement from the Universities of Wisconsin website, they were notified of a nationwide security breach experienced by Instructure, the provider of Canvas. Universities of Wisconsin schools use the cloud-based management system.

UW-Stevens Point tells NewsChannel 7 they have not confirmed UWSP was involved in the breach, but did send communication that Canvas was down and students should not perform any asked actions if prompted, as it may not be legitimate while Canvas is down.

Instructure, the parent company of Canvas, posted on May 1 about a cybersecurity incident that had been reported and was under investigation.

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The next day, Chief Information Security Officer Steve Proud wrote that the information involved in the attack included names, student ID numbers, messages between users and email addresses.

“At this time, we have found no evidence that passwords, dates of birth, government identifiers, or financial information were involved. If that changes, we will notify any impacted institutions,” he wrote.

The Wausau School District sent a letter to parents Wednesday regarding the cybersecurity incident. They said there is no evidence that passwords, single-sign-on credentials, financial information or social security numbers were impacted. They stressed that type of information is not stored in Canvas.

Wausau School District email to parents regarding Canvas data breach(WSAW)

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