Senate approves changes to how Wisconsin reports missing children

Published

2 years ago

February 20, 2024

Senate approves changes to how Wisconsin reports missing children

MADISON, Wis. (CBS 58) –Lawmakers reached their first hurdle in trying to change how law enforcement notifies the public when a child goes missing.

On Tuesday, the Senate unanimously approved a bipartisan bill that would reform the state’s Amber Alert system to include more children who currently don’t meet certain criteria.

“This bill is a big deal,” said Sen. LaTonya Johnson (D-Milwaukee), who co-authored the bill after the tragic death of 5-year-old Prince McCree.”

In October of 2023, McCree was murdered in Milwaukee after being reported missing. Police tried to issue a critical missing alert, but McCree did not fit the Wisconsin Department of Justice guidelines.

Under current law, for an Amber Alert to be issued in Wisconsin, the child must be 17 years of age or younger, and there also must be a reasonable belief by law enforcement that the child was abducted, in danger, or police must have a description of a suspect or a vehicle.

The proposal would change that by expanding the criteria to include more missing persons under the age of 18 and alerting the public by pinging their cellphones if they’re in the area where someone was reported missing.

“This bill unifies the entire state, and all missing children will have the same resources,” Johnson said.

This is the second time lawmakers have tried to change Wisconsin’s Amber Alert System. Back in 2022, a petition circulated to reform the system after the death of 10-year-old Lily Peters, who was murdered in Chippewa Falls.

Sen. Jesse James (R-Altoona) introduced the bill following Peters death.

“Anything we can do to improve the quickest recovery available if they are in harm’s way, I think that’s critical,” James said.

The bill still needs to pass the Assembly, which is expected to hold their final session day on Thursday. Currently, the proposal is scheduled for a vote, but Assembly Speaker Robin Vos said “it wouldn’t surprise” him if it gets added to the calendar.

Vos said some lawmakers still had questions about the bill, something that took James and Johnson by surprise.

“I don’t know what the holdup is, what the issues are, but I’m going to have conversations [with the Assembly],” James said.

Johnson said, “There are a lot of parents depending on this bill…but we’re having some bumps in the road, and we shouldn’t.”

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Sauna culture is expanding in Wisconsin. Here are locations to try.

Published

6 hours ago

February 2, 2026

Press Room

Sauna culture is expanding in Wisconsin. Here are locations to try.

Saunas aren’t new to Wisconsin, especially the northern parts of the state where Finnish immigrants first brought the tradition generations ago.

Nowadays, Wisconsin saunas are no longer just enjoyed Up North, at the gym, and in spas.

Sauna fanatics and newbies around the state are spending time in community saunas at local parks, on Great Lakes shorelines and by rivers, in parking lots and neighbors’ backyards.

The growing number of public sauna businesses is proof Wisconsin has hopped on the bus that neighboring Minnesota, known as the nation’s unofficial sauna capital, has been driving for years.

Here’s a list in alphabetical order of where to find sauna businesses around the state.

Heat Haven Sauna Park – Wauwatosa

Located in Wauwatosa’s Hart Park, Heat Haven Sauna Park offers daily, 75-minute sessions in barrel saunas. Select sessions are accompanied by fitness classes taught by local instructors. The sauna park plans events throughout the season and private sauna sessions are also available.

Heat Haven is open daily Nov. 21, 2025 through April 12, 2026.

Where: 7300 W. Chestnut Street, Wauwatosa, WI

Cost: $31.77 gets visitors a 75-minute public session in barrel saunas. Prices vary for sauna events accompanied by fitness classes.

For more information: https://heathaven.co/

Heat Retreat – Eau Claire

Heat Retreat offers sauna rentals nearby Eau Claure as well as community sauna sessions in their wood-fired saunas.

Where: Currently offers community sauna sessions at River Prairie Park, Altoona, WI near 44 North and the Helix. Saunas available for rental.

Cost: An hour-long community session costs $23. Check the website for varying costs on private bookings and rentals.

For more information: www.homesteadsaunas.com/

Homestead Saunas – Sharon

Homestead Sauna runs wood-fired sauna sessions at its homebase “The Homestead” as well mobile sauna sessions elsewhere. Saunas are available for rent for public and private events. The business also advertises the Sauna Synergy Festival, a collaborative sauna gathering, planned for April 10 and 11 at Kettle Moraine Ranch, according to Instagram.

Where: The Homestead, 133 Martin St. Sharon, WI 53585

Cost: A general, 90-minute-long community session costs $22, according to the website. Costs vary for women’s and men’s sauna sessions, private sessions, and other events.

For more information: www.homesteadsaunas.com

Hot Island Sauna – Madeline Island

Hot Island Sauna rents saunas out to folks on Madeline Island any time of year. The business also offers custom sauna builds for both in-home and mobile units.

Where: Madeline Island

For more information: www.hotislandsauna.com

Hot Spell Sauna – McKinley Marina

From sunup to sundown all winter, employees of Hot Spell Sauna keep a pair of boxy wood-fired saunas warm at McKinley Marina as visitors trickle in to spend 75 minutes moving from time in the sauna to the chilly air, and the cold plunge in the marina if they’re bold.

Where: 1750 N. Lincoln Memorial Dr. Milwaukee, WI

Cost: A 75-minute session costs $39.92 including tax. Memberships and other services vary in price, check the website.

For more information: www.hotspellsauna.com/

Kiln (Chicago for the winter, Baileys Harbor for the summer)

Floating in Navy Pier Marina this winter, Kiln is owned and operated by Wisconsin-born Zoë Lake. The business is among the few floating saunas in the United States.

Where: Through the winter, Kiln is located at Navy Pier Marina in Chicago, IL at 797 E. Grand Ave. In the summer, Kiln is located at Gordon Lodge, 1420 Pine Dr., Baileys Harbor

Cost: Prices may vary, check on the business website. At the Chicago location, a 75-minute public session costs $90, and a 45-minute public session costs $50 for the winter 2025 to 2026 season.

For more information: www.kilnfloatingsauna.com

Kindled Community Sauna – Spring Green and Madison

Kindled Community Sauna is a mobile, wood-fired sauna and cold plunge experience in southwest of Madison, Wisconsin. The business offers community sauna sessions, private sessions, and sauna rentals around the area, often partnering with local businesses.

Where: Sessions occur around Southwestern Wisconsin.

Cost: Costs may vary, check the website for specific event costs. For example, a public session scheduled Feb. 20 through 22 at Working Draft Beer in Madison costs $30.

For more information: www.kindledcommunitysauna.com/

Nordic Night Community Sauna – Stevens Point

Nordic Night offers public and private community sauna sessions in Stevens Point.

Nicole Terrill and Abbey Laufenberg co-own the sauna business, which operates year-round and opened in June 2023.

“The purpose is deeper than it appears, it’s not a gym and it’s not a spa,” Terrill said. “The heat and the atmosphere provide for a grounding and attunement that people aren’t used to meeting each other at, they’re connecting at a different level.”

The business also offers special events and gender-specific sauna sessions. The “Iceberg Sessions” are facilitated for men, the “Queer Sauna” session is open to LGBTQ+ folks and allies, and the Sweaty Betty Sauna Sessions for women, trans women and non-binary or genderqueer people. All sessions are 18+.

Where: 1027 Union Street, Stevens Point, WI

Cost: One hour-long community sessions cost $23 Monday through Thursday, and $30 Friday through Sunday. Discount packages are available. Check online for the private session costs.

For more information: www.nordicnightsauna.com or call (715) 489 5361

Northern Lights Sauna – Wausau

Northern Lights Sauna is located outside at Newfound Power Gym in Wausau. The business announced it will close at the end of its season March 15, 2026, but there’s still time to try out a session until then.

“What began as a shared vision grew into a space rooted in wellness, restoration, and community,” according to the website. “We invite you to join us before we say goodbye.”

Where: 227307 Rib Mountain Drive, Wausau, WI 54401

Cost: For an hour-long public session, weekday rates cost $25 per person, weekends cost $30 per person. Check online for private session pricing.

For more information: www.northernlightswausau.com

Saunaday – Madison

Saunaday owners drew inspiration from the many cultures that have relied on bathhouses and saunas for thousands of years to bring Madison its own brick-and-mortar bathhouse. Among many offerings, Saunaday features cedar salt scrub showers, a Finnish sauna and a drop-in cold plunge pool.

Where: 315 S. Blount St. Madison, WI 53703

Cost: $55 for the 2-hour communal bathhouse experience. Check online for a cost break down per service, as prices vary.

For more information: www.sauna.day

Smokin’ Barrel – Madison

This mobile sauna business in Madison offers wood-fired saunas for rent. Public pop-up sauna sessions are also advertised online.

“We built this barrel to keep the Madison sauna community growing, whether it’s for backyard hangs, winter plunges, or milestone celebrations,” according to the website. Every booking includes delivery, setup, and a walkthrough of the service.

For more information: www.smokinbarrelsauna.com

The Hive Wellness & Social – Milwaukee area

The Hive Wellness & Social organizes guided communal sauna and cold plunge sessions around Milwaukee. The group joins contrast therapy, yoga, breathwork and personalized coaching to help people reach their full potential with the support of a group.

Where: Event locations vary, mostly around Milwaukee.

Cost: Costs vary, check the website

For more information: www.hivemke.com/

Tuli Sauna and Plunge – Paoli

Located on the banks of the Sugar River at Seven Acre Dairy Co., Tuli Sauna and Plunge is operational year-round. Riverside social sauna sessions are rooted in Nordic sauna traditions.

Where: 6858 Paoli Rd. Belleville, WI

Cost: A 1 hour and 20 minute-long social sauna session costs $39.00. Check online for membership packs and the costs of other offerings.

For more information: www.tulisaunaandplunge.com/

Are we missing a public sauna in Wisconsin that would be a good fit for this list? Email Bridget Fogarty at bfogarty@usatodayco.com.

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Wisconsin

Worker in stable condition after crane accident at Madison construction site

Published

18 hours ago

February 1, 2026

Press Room

Worker in stable condition after crane accident at Madison construction site

A worker is in stable condition after a crane dropped a massive beam at the site of the future Wisconsin History Center on Madison’s Capitol Square, where construction is now paused.

The Madison Fire Department responded to the incident around 9:30 a.m. Jan. 31. A construction crane dropped a beam weighing 20,000 to 30,000 pounds, which fell about 50 feet through sublevels of construction.

One employee fell with the beam; he was taken to a hospital with critical injuries. It is unclear where he fell in relation to the beam. Crews rescued another, uninjured employee who was stranded with the crane above the site. No other injuries were reported.

The injured employee has not been identified. Findorff, a Madison-based construction company overseeing the project, said in a Feb. 1 statement that the worker is in stable condition at a nearby hospital.

“The health and safety of our employees and everyone on our job sites is our highest priority. Work on site has been paused, and we are working closely with local authorities and safety officials as we work to determine the cause of the incident,” Findorff said.

The fire department was dispatched to the corner of State Street and Fairchild Street, or the 100 Block of State Street.

That exact location lines up with a building that houses Ian’s Pizza, which is not under construction. But it’s across the street from the construction site for the future Wisconsin History Center.

The Wisconsin State Journal first reported the incident happened at the center’s buildout site.

A $106.5 million center is replacing the former state historical museum, which was demolished in late 2024. The new project broke ground in April 2025 and is expected to open in 2027.

The project is led by the Wisconsin Historical Society, which is simultaneously a state government agency and a private membership organization.

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel requested comment from the Wisconsin Historical Society and asked the Occupational Safety and Health Administration whether it is investigating the incident.

The five-story, 100,000-square-foot facility will include a lobby, classrooms, rotating exhibits, permanent galleries and a rooftop terrace. The project received bipartisan support; former Govs. Jim Doyle and Tommy Thompson co-chaired the fundraising campaign.

Hope Karnopp can be reached at HKarnopp@usatodayco.com.

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Wisconsin

Wisconsin lawmakers hear bill to codify IHRA antisemitism | The Jerusalem Post

Published

1 day ago

February 1, 2026

Press Room

Wisconsin lawmakers hear bill to codify IHRA antisemitism | The Jerusalem Post

The Wisconsin Senate Committee on Judiciary and Public Safety held a public hearing last week on bipartisan legislation aimed at strengthening the state’s response to antisemitism by formally adopting the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) Working Definition of Antisemitism into state law.

The bill, SB 445, would require state and local authorities to use the IHRA definition, including its 11 contemporary examples, when evaluating discriminatory intent in civil rights violations and determining enhanced penalties for hate crimes. The measure is sponsored by a bipartisan group of lawmakers led by Senators Rob Hutton, Rachael Cabral-Guevara, Dianne Hesselbein, Jesse James, Brad Pfaff, Patrick Testin, Jamie Wall, Van Wanggaard, and Bob Wirch.

A companion bill, AB 446, sponsored by a broad coalition in the Wisconsin Assembly, was heard earlier this year by the Committee on State Affairs.

The legislation states that government entities and officials should consider the IHRA definition when assessing whether crimes or discriminatory acts were motivated by race, religion, color, or national origin, particularly in cases involving enhanced criminal penalties.

The bill is supported by the Combat Antisemitism Movement (CAM), whose representatives testified during the hearing at the State Capitol in Madison.

CAM Director of State Engagement David Soffer told lawmakers that the bill would provide clarity and consistency in addressing antisemitism.

“SB 445 will make a difference in combating antisemitism,” Soffer said. “It helps identify what is, and just as importantly, what is not, antisemitism, and gives state institutions the tools they need to properly recognize and address antisemitic conduct. The Jewish community is asking for action, and this bill answers that call.”

Also testifying was CAM Public Affairs Officer Natalie Sanandaji, a survivor of the October 7 Hamas attacks. She warned lawmakers that contemporary antisemitism increasingly disguises itself as political activism.

“When people call for October 7 to be repeated, when they chant to ‘globalize the intifada’ or glorify those who carried out mass murder, they are not calling for peace,” Sanandaji said. “They are calling for the killing of Jews.”

Written testimony was also submitted by CAM President of U.S. Affairs Alyza Lewin, who emphasized that the IHRA definition does not restrict legitimate political speech.

“The IHRA definition provides a framework for identifying modern antisemitism while protecting free expression,” Lewin wrote. “It does not prohibit criticism of Israel. It simply draws the line when criticism becomes demonization, delegitimization, or the application of double standards to Jews or the Jewish state.”

“Hate that is ignored does not disappear,” she added. “It escalates. If we want to stop antisemitic violence, we must first be willing to recognize antisemitism in all its contemporary forms.”

According to data compiled by CAM’s Antisemitism Research Center, 37 U.S. states have now adopted the IHRA definition in some form. Wisconsin’s proposal is part of a broader nationwide effort to address rising antisemitism through legislation, education, and law enforcement coordination.

Over the past year, CAM has worked closely with lawmakers in multiple states on similar initiatives. Legislative efforts have been introduced in Arkansas, Kansas, Kentucky, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, Oklahoma, and Tennessee, with six of those states enacting new laws since April 2025.

In June, elected officials and senior government representatives from 17 states gathered in Kansas City for the first-ever CAM-organized State Leadership Summit on Antisemitism, aimed at coordinating policy responses and sharing best practices nationwide.

If enacted, SB 445 would place Wisconsin among a growing number of states using the IHRA definition as a formal tool to confront antisemitism in law enforcement, education, and public policy.

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