Wisconsin
Tony Evers opposes efforts to block Donald Trump from Wisconsin ballot
MADISON – Democratic Gov. Tony Evers does not support efforts to keep Republican former President Donald Trump off the ballot in Wisconsin, he said this week.
In an interview with the Journal Sentinel, Evers said he fears such efforts would only serve to fire up Trump supporters and make them feel the deck is stacked against them.
“My frustration is it gives his supporters a much larger thing to use as, ‘Oh, woe is me, the world is picking on Donald Trump,’ that sort of thing, because I think at the end of the day it’s going to be thrown out by the Supreme Court anyway,” Evers said. “So it’s not that I’m against other states doing it, but I just think it’s not helpful.”
The bipartisan state Presidential Preference Selection Committee, which is made up of state Democratic and Republican party chairs, majority and minority leaders in the state Legislature, and others, met in the state Capitol on Tuesday to determine which presidential candidates will appear on Wisconsin’s primary ballot.
The six candidates named by the state Republican Party include: Trump, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former United Nations Ambassador and South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson and businessman Vivek Ramaswamy.
The state Democratic Party presented only one name for the ballot: President Joe Biden. Author Marianne Williamson and Minnesota Congressman Dean Phillips are also running as Democrats.
State law requires the committee to include all names “whose candidacy is generally advocated or recognized in the national news media throughout the United States,” and can include additional names.
The names now go to the Wisconsin Elections Commission, which contacts the candidates to inform them they will appear on the ballot unless they notify the commission by Jan. 30 that they do not intend to run.
Trump has appealed rulings in Maine and Colorado barring him from their primary ballots. Courts in Arizona, Michigan and Minnesota have ruled against efforts to block the former president.
Kirk Bangstad, a Democratic activist and owner of the Minocqua Brewing Co., has said he plans to file a lawsuit in Dane County Circuit Court challenging Trump’s eligibility for the ballot. Bangstad alleges that Trump violated a provision of the 14th Amendment that disqualifies certain officials who take part in an insurrection from holding office again, based on his actions surrounding violence at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
He filed a complaint with the elections commission last week, which was disposed of without conisderation because it was filed directly against commissioners, which requires recusal under WEC policies. Bangstad said he’s hopeful the case will ultimately be decided by the state Supreme Court, which in August flipped to a liberal majority for the first time in years.
Jessie Opoien can be reached at jessie.opoien@jrn.com.
Wisconsin
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, has been accused of starving her autistic stepdaughter.
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.

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.
Wisconsin
‘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.
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.
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
Wisconsin
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.
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.
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