Wisconsin

Republican leaders of Wisconsin Legislature at odds over withholding university pay raises

Published

1 year ago

December 5, 2023

Republican leaders of Wisconsin Legislature at odds over withholding university pay raises

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The Republican head of the Wisconsin Senate said Monday he wants to see pay raises approved for Universities of Wisconsin employees, pitting himself against the state Assembly speaker who has vowed to withhold UW funding until it cuts its spending on diversity, equity and inclusion.

Republican Assembly Speaker Robin Vos refused to approve pay raises for UW employees in October when the Legislature’s employment relations committee, which Vos co-chairs, okayed them for other state employees. Vos said he doesn’t believe the UW system deserves more funding until it cuts its so-called DEI programs.

Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu said Monday that he opposes withholding the money.

“I totally understand where Speaker Vos is coming from, but a lot of employees who work at the UW system have no control over the DEI protocol and all that stuff,” LeMahieu said in an interview with WisconsinEye.

LeMahieu said he has been talking with Vos about the issue and hopes to see the raises passed “sooner rather than later.”

Earlier this year, Wisconsin Republicans rejected funding for UW’s top budget priority: a new engineering building on the flagship Madison campus. LeMahieu said Monday that he hopes to see that funding approved by the end of the current legislative session.

Vos did not immediately respond to an email requesting comment on Monday, but he has been adamant in calling for an end to DEI programs on UW campuses.

While writing the budget in June, Republicans slashed UW’s funding by $32 million because they estimated that’s what the system’s 13 campuses put towards DEI efforts over two years. Democratic Gov. Tony Evers used his veto power to save 188 DEI positions at the university, but the funding cut remained.

Vos said in October that he would consider approving pay raises if UW gives up its ability to create its own jobs, including DEI roles.

Evers sued the Republican-controlled Legislature later that month, accusing lawmakers of obstructing basic government functions. The governor called it “just bull s—-” that Republicans didn’t okay raises for the roughly 35,000 UW employees who were expecting them.

The fight over DEI initiatives reflects a broader cultural battle playing out in states such as Florida and Texas, where Republican governors have signed laws banning the use of DEI factors in making admissions and employment decisions at public colleges and universities. Similar proposals have been made in nearly a dozen Republican-led states.

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Harm Venhuizen is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.

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Wisconsin

Wisconsin Lottery Powerball, Pick 3 results for Jan. 6, 2025

Published

1 hour ago

January 7, 2025

Press Room

Wisconsin Lottery Powerball, Pick 3 results for Jan. 6, 2025

The Wisconsin Lottery offers multiple draw games for those aiming to win big. Here’s a look at Jan. 6, 2025, results for each game:

Winning Powerball numbers from Jan. 6 drawing

17-34-46-66-67, Powerball: 14, Power Play: 2

Check Powerball payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Pick 3 numbers from Jan. 6 drawing

Midday: 2-2-4

Evening: 4-5-9

Check Pick 3 payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Pick 4 numbers from Jan. 6 drawing

Midday: 4-1-1-0

Evening: 4-9-0-3

Check Pick 4 payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning All or Nothing numbers from Jan. 6 drawing

Midday: 05-06-07-09-10-13-14-15-16-17-18

Evening: 02-04-06-08-09-12-13-15-17-18-19

Check All or Nothing payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Badger 5 numbers from Jan. 6 drawing

03-05-06-16-31

Check Badger 5 payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning SuperCash numbers from Jan. 6 drawing

03-13-16-17-21-24, Doubler: N

Check SuperCash payouts and previous drawings here.

Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results

Are you a winner? Here’s how to claim your lottery prize

Prizes up to $599: Can be claimed at any Wisconsin Lottery retailer.
Prizes from $600 to $199,999: Can be claimed in person at a Lottery Office. By mail, send the signed ticket and a completed claim form available on the Wisconsin Lottery claim page to: Prizes, PO Box 777 Madison, WI 53774.
Prizes of $200,000 or more: Must be claimed in person at the Madison Lottery office. Call the Lottery office prior to your visit: 608-261-4916.

Can Wisconsin lottery winners remain anonymous?

No, according to the Wisconsin Lottery. Due to the state’s open records laws, the lottery must, upon request, release the name and city of the winner. Other information about the winner is released only with the winner’s consent.

When are the Wisconsin Lottery drawings held?

Powerball: 9:59 p.m. CT on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday.
Mega Millions: 10:00 p.m. CT on Tuesday and Friday.
Super Cash: 9:00 p.m. CT daily.
Pick 3 (Day): 1:30 p.m. CT daily.
Pick 3 (Evening): 9:00 p.m. CT daily.
Pick 4 (Day): 1:30 p.m. CT daily.
Pick 4 (Evening): 9:00 p.m. CT daily.
All or Nothing (Day): 1:30 p.m. CT daily.
All or Nothing (Evening): 9 p.m. CT daily.
Megabucks: 9:00 p.m. CT on Wednesday and Saturday.
Badger 5: 9:00 p.m. CT daily.

Missed a draw? Peek at the past week’s winning numbers.

This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a Wisconsin editor. You can send feedback using this form.

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Wisconsin

Packers, Sargento Foods continue ‘Touchdowns for Hunger’ during playoffs for Wisconsin Hunger Relief

Published

9 hours ago

January 6, 2025

Press Room

Packers, Sargento Foods continue ‘Touchdowns for Hunger’ during playoffs for Wisconsin Hunger Relief

Following another successful season of Touchdowns for Hunger resulting in a donation of $104,000, Sargento Foods Inc. will continue donating $2,000 for every Packers touchdown during the NFL playoffs. The Packers ended the regular season with 52 touchdowns.

As the Official Cheese of the Green Bay Packers, Sargento donates $2,000 toward hunger relief in Wisconsin for every touchdown the Packers score during the regular season. These funds are shared by **Paul’s Pantry** in Green Bay and **Hunger Task Force** in Milwaukee who are on the front lines of hunger relief.

“‘Touchdowns for Hunger’ demonstrates our pride for the Packers and our community,” said Sargento Chairman & CEO Louie Gentine. “We’re proud to continue our donation in the postseason and cheering for Packers touchdowns to help feed families across Wisconsin.”

Since it began in 2002, Touchdowns for Hunger has raised more than $1.9 million to help alleviate hunger in Wisconsin and has provided more than one million meals for those in need.

With over 2,500 employees and net sales of nearly $1.8 billion, Sargento Foods is a family-owned company that has been a leader in cheese for more than 70 years. Founded in 1953 in Plymouth, Wisconsin, Sargento is proud to be the company that successfully introduced America to pre-packaged sliced and shredded natural cheeses and cheese blends. Today, Sargento Foods is still based in Wisconsin, where they manufacture and market amazing shredded, sliced and snack natural cheese products, as well as ingredients. Company leadership lives to serve local communities and employees, whom they refer to as the Sargento Family. www.sargento.com.

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Wisconsin

Wisconsin's first Black-founded alcohol distributorship adds new whiskey line

Published

17 hours ago

January 6, 2025

Press Room

Wisconsin's first Black-founded alcohol distributorship adds new whiskey line

Mequon-based Big League Distributing has announced that it will distribute Illinois-made Alexander James Whiskey expressions – a brand created by former Division I college athlete Jesse Steward Jr. – in Wisconsin.

Steward – who was a sprinter and jumper at Purdue University and Lewis University (as well as being an operations supervisor at O’Hare International Airport, which is probably a challenging sport of its own!) – has a bourbon and a rye so far.

Each is distilled by Two Eagles Distillery in Mount Prospect, Illinois, aged four years in charred American white oak barrels and bottled at 90 proof.

“Big League Distributing and Alexander James are a great match,” says Steward, who launched his whiskey brand on his 30th birthday in October 2021. “The BLD team understands that behind every high-quality product is a meaningful story. And those stories are key ingredients.

“Alexander James was born of my family’s rich history passed down to me from my father, his father and so on, each story told over a glass of whiskey. BLD also made history in its founding. Wisconsin is a state of discerning diners and drinkers, and we are confident that Alexander James will resonate.”

The deal is the first to distribute Steward’s whiskeys outside Illinois.

But, I admit I’ve buried the lead here, because Big League Distributing (BLD), founded in March by former professional baseball player Larry Hisle Jr. and journalist James H. Burnett III, appears to be Wisconsin’s first-ever Black-owned alcohol distributor.

“BLD, to the best of our knowledge and that of alcohol industry veterans we consulted, is the first Black-founded, minority-owned alcohol distributorship in Wisconsin,” Hisle says, noting that four years of planning went into the 2024 launch.

“Black-founded because two African American men created the company before bringing in our third partner, an Indian American man (Krishan Mehta), whose father was a successful first-generation immigrant from India.”

In addition to Steward’s bourbon and rye, BLD distributes more than a dozen wine varietals from two different California-based wineries and a New York-Jersey Metro-area importer. Among them are Baker Family Wines, which is co-owned by former LMB star Dusty Baker, and Robert Randolph Prosecco, a label created by Grammy-nominated guitarist Robert Randolph.

“We had a great tequila brand on board as well, but a catastrophic production issue iced that arrangement,” Hisle says. “It has been a roller coaster ride – but thankfully far more ups than downs – as we’ve grown our business over the past five years.

“We’ve learned a great deal, including the solution to the chicken-or-egg question of which to put the most energy into at first/up front: scoring more ‘carriers’ or building up a variety of product offerings and inventory to ensure stability and lower the risk of supply line interruptions.”

What they learned? Focus on the latter and the former will come.

“Now that we’ve got a healthy variety, we’re making an aggressive push to get into more venues,” he says. “We hear from restaurant and tavern owners every week requesting meetings to either taste or coordinate the purchase of our products. This game is a marathon and not a sprint. And we’re in a good place, a great place.”

To help further expand its business, BLD will host an industry tasting event later this month for owners, managers and buyers at local restaurants, taverns, retail outlets and entertainment venues that sell alcoholic beverages.

Of course, the Alexander James Whiskey bourbon and rye will be featured.

“We’re especially excited to work with Jesse Steward, founder of Alexander James, for several reasons,” Hisle says. “His distillery produces quality whiskeys. To date, his products are the closest to Wisconsin that we carry, geographically. So, the logistics will be easier.

“And there’s a personal element. We want people to work with us because we offer great products and service. But we recognize that we’ve made history with our entree into the wholesale alcohol business. To be executives on the distribution side of this industry is extremely rare for people of color, especially Black Americans. It’s less rare but still something of a novelty to see ‘us’ on the production side. So we feel a bond with Jesse as both his operation and ours push to rise and thrive in this industry.”

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