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Trump 3rd indictment, Wisconsin ‘fraudulent electors’ plot at center

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Trump 3rd indictment, Wisconsin ‘fraudulent electors’ plot at center


Wisconsin is at the center of the third indictment against former President Donald Trump, with federal prosecutors pointing to a fake elector plot in the Badger State.

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According to federal prosecutors, Trump’s strategy to stay in office was to use a number of “alternate” electors, including in Wisconsin, who would ignore the votes cast and choose him as president.

“To a certain extent, this is really stunning,” said Mordecai Lee, UW-Milwaukee professor. 

Jack Smith, US special counsel, speaks during a news conference in Washington, DC, US, on Tuesday, Aug. 1, 2023. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

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The unprecedented indictment is focused on the 2020 election. The 45-page document lists four counts against Trump and centers around a conspiracy to use fake electors to steal the presidency.

“Wisconsin became one of the hubs of all of these activities,” said Lee.

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The indictment says Trump repeatedly made false claims of election fraud in Wisconsin and called for the results to be overturned, even going so far as to use false electors who filled out paperwork claiming Trump had won and submitted it to Congress.

Former U.S. President Donald Trump enters Erie Insurance Arena for a political rally while campaigning for the GOP nomination in the 2024 election on July 29, 2023, in Erie, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Jeff Swensen/Getty Images)

“Wisconsin was so important in putting Trump over the top or not over the top that is the reason we’re getting so much attention,” said Lee.

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In July, Michigan became the first state to charge the fake electors. Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul wouldn’t comment Tuesday on whether that could happen here.

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“We remain focused on following developments as they happen, and we’re going to make decisions based on our best judgment about what the law provides, what the facts show and what’s in the best interest,” said Kaul.

Former U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to supporters during a political rally while campaigning for the GOP nomination in the 2024 election at Erie Insurance Arena on July 29, 2023, in Erie, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Jeff Swensen/Getty Images)

Trump called the allegations a political witch hunt.

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Lee said the indictment is historic and has boosted Trump’s support.

“We’re dealing with a civics textbook case that is so unprecedented that one is just glued to headlines and news reports,” said Lee.

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As Trump leads the Republican primary polls, he is showing no signs of dropping out of the race, an election Wisconsin could once again help decide.

“Wisconsin has become the middle of everything political in America,” said Lee.

Former U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to supporters during a political rally while campaigning for the GOP nomination in the 2024 election at Erie Insurance Arena on July 29, 2023, in Erie, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Jeff Swensen/Getty Images)

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The federal indictment was filed in Washington, D.C. 



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Wisconsin

More than 100 pets head to Wisconsin to find 'fur-ever' homes

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More than 100 pets head to Wisconsin to find 'fur-ever' homes


WISCONSIN — Dozens of doggone lucky pets in need are heading to Wisconsin to find fur-ever families.

About 110 cats and dogs will fly to Wisconsin on Tuesday, Feb. 25. These adoptable pets are coming from overcrowded southern shelters in Birmingham, Alabama, and Columbus, Georgia.

“Transport is a lifeline to at-risk adoptable pets as shelters throughout the nation struggle with overcrowding,” said Cathy Bissell of the BISSELL Pet Foundation. “BISSELL Pet Foundation is incredibly grateful for our shelter partners who have opened their doors to give these deserving pets a second chance.”

BISSELL Pet Foundation is coordinating and funding the animals’ transportation.

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The pets will be taken in by 10 Wisconsin shelters and rescues, including:

  • Dane County Humane Society
  • Adams County Humane Society
  • Angel’s Wish Pet Adoption and Resource Center
  • Elmbrook Humane Society
  • Eau Claire Community Humane Association
  • Green County Humane Society
  • Humane Animal Welfare Society
  • Humane Society of Sheboygan County
  • Humane Society of Southern Wisconsin
  • Marshfield Area Pet Shelter

“Shelters and rescues across the county are facing overcrowding. Thanks to our animal-loving community, DCHS is able to help these pets find new beginnings in Wisconsin,” said Amy Good, director of development and marketing at Dane County Humane Society. “By working collaboratively with BISSELL Pet Foundation and these other Wisconsin organizations, we are able to help even more animals together.”

Every animal coming to Wisconsin is looking for a fur-ever family and most will be available for adoption in the coming days. All animals have been examined by a veterinarian. They’ve also been vaccinated and have health certificates. 



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Wisconsin Inspire Skating headed to National Championship

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Wisconsin Inspire Skating headed to National Championship


MADISON, Wis. (WMTV) – The 2025 U.S. Synchronized Staking Championships are this Saturday in Colorado Springs and a local team is one of the 98 teams competing.

Wisconsin Inspire Intermediate Synchronized Skating team will represent the state at intermediate Nationals, after they placed second at sectionals.

Last season, Inspire took fourth at Nationals and return a majority of skaters this season. The skaters are from Beaver Dam, Madison and Milwaukee-areas. Due to limited rink availability, Inspire travels between all three cities to practice.

Seventeen-year-old Cameron Johnson has competed at nationals four times. He gets into a flow state while competing.

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“I black out during performances, but you enter this sort of like flow state where everything is kind of happening in the moment,” Johnson said. “Moments come and go, but you know you’re present within each one and in those types of moments and those types of areas, it really it’s just such a great experience. And it’s just, it just comes right out and it’s really fun to dance and do choreography.”

Coach Megan Roquet added what an honor it is to represent the state at nationals.

“We’ve heard so much from other members of the skating community how honoured they are to have us going, the nationals representing Wisconsin and the Madison-area and southwest Wisconsin as a whole,” Roquet said. “So we know we’ve got a lot of people support, which always helps us and it’s it’s an honor.”

Wisconsin Inspire will compete on Saturday.

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How more than 300 members of Immanuel Lutheran made the dream of a new church a reality

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How more than 300 members of Immanuel Lutheran made the dream of a new church a reality



Reporter Caitlin Shuda, a lifelong member of Immanuel Lutheran, shares how volunteers have been working for decades to build a new church in the community.

WISCONSIN RAPIDS − Here’s the church, here’s the steeple, open the doors and see all the people who spent the last few decades planning and preparing for our newly-built Immanuel Lutheran Church.

As a lifelong member, I remember people talking about building a new church for most of my life.

In our new church, we won’t have these stairs to climb. So-and-so would be able to worship again in a more accessible building. In our new church, we’ll have more space, and we could expand this class or community event. Someday, we won’t need these nets and tennis rackets to catch bats flying overhead during the sermon.

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Conversations and discussions around member and community needs became a little more tangible when we purchased land in 2007, and those conversations and discussions continued for the next 16 years. There were disappointments and frustrations. There were also revelations and breakthroughs.

The latest plans started rolling the last few years as we worked through designs for an event center and church. Those discussions evolved into action as we broke ground in July 2023, then moved from Eighth Street to our Mission Center in August 2024 while windows, organ pipes, repurposed pews and other items were moved and secured at the new site. Now, Immanuel has opened at 1517 24th St. S., bringing to life the vision of the last few generations across the last few decades.

Every time I walk into the new church, whether to rehearse with the choir, get some practice time in on the organ or to help set up chairs for worship, my heart expands. I take in the glow from the stained-glass windows, the height of the organ pipes, the thoughtfully refurbished altar, the notes that hang in the air at the end of a song. I see home. I see pieces of so many people I love who put so much of their hearts and souls into this space.

I spent the last week ahead of the church’s official opening talking with members of the church who have been working for decades to make this dream a reality. Here’s what they had to say.

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‘Our members have been dreaming about this space for 30 years’

About 250 members of Immanuel were involved in the planning stages, from teenagers to the oldest generations, offering suggestions and requests of what they wanted to see in a building, said Jonathan Blum, Immanuel’s facility administrator. When it came to the construction phase, more than 300 members actively helped in some shape or form, he said.

Rev. Tim Ritter, Immanuel’s senior pastor, said while previous rounds of building plans included a few renderings and smaller building committees, Immanuel took a different approach this time, holding listening sessions to learn what members wanted, essentially making the entire congregation part of the building committee.

“Our members have been dreaming about this space for 30 years,” Ritter said.

The longer Immanuel waited to build, the clearer it became to members that between space, accessibility and the state of the building, it was time for a new home.

Dennis Hall, a member of Immanuel, said he has been involved since the day he and his wife, Patty, joined almost 49 years ago, often with maintenance needs. He said a new church means a new beginning for Immanuel with something fresh, without needing to worry about the steps, fixing the elevator, making sure the boiler is running, and every other issue on his checklist at the old church building.

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‘It’s a labor of love’

As construction began, Immanuel organized several volunteer groups to help on site, Blum said. About 60 people made lunch for construction crews every two weeks. About 70 members helped clean at the work sites and completed buildings. Other members have been around regularly to help with whatever needed to be done, some almost daily, with some spending more than 20 hours on any given week to help, Blum said.

Cyndi Knorr, a lifelong member, said she initially got involved with the group that fed the builders once construction started, and she joined the cleaning crew. The timing of construction allowed Knorr to be more involved, since she’s retired and has more time to volunteer.

Timing worked out well for Nell and John Slinkman, too, now retired members who joined Immanuel in the early 1980s. They helped design the coffee area and lead the committee that fed the builders. Nell Slinkman was on a committee focusing on accessibility, and John Slinkman was on a committee that repurposed wood from the pews and he helped put the baseboards in the sanctuary.

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Hall said he was part of every planning group Immanuel organized, starting with the first planning group 30 years ago, as well as the second one that followed. He served as a liaison for the third and said this effort was Immanuel’s fourth shot. This time, he shared his thoughts and expertise on blueprint designs early on, and he helped dismantle and install various parts of the church.

“It’s a labor of love, that’s what it is,” Hall said.

Blum said Immanuel has been encouraging members to get involved with a sense of ownership, and this project has shown how members took that to heart, sharing what they wanted in a new building, rolling up their sleeves and helping make it happen. Blum said everything moved so quickly, and it was often hard to keep up with all of the work done by volunteers.

“Before you even had the next task ready, you had people willing and waiting to help,” he said.

Blum said one of the most visible pieces of member involvement involves the cross at the front of the sanctuary. He said Immanuel planned to use wood from trees that had been on the property to build a cross, but those plans fell through. He turned to Hall for any ideas.

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Hall said Blum asked him if he could build a cross for the front of the church, and since he had a lot of barn beams in his own barn that various people have given him over the years, he had plenty of options. He ultimately dug up a barn beam that was more than 100 years old that someone had donated to him about five years ago. All it took was a bit of cleaning up and a few coats of varnish, Hall said, and Immanuel had its new cross.

“The fingerprints of our congregation are all over this place,” Ritter said.

‘It’s being a part of something bigger than me’

Hall said he has been awestruck many times throughout the project, especially as it approached its official opening. He has been at the building almost every day in the last three weeks leading up to the opening, and every time he came in, there was something new. The completion of the church building means Immanuel is finally home, he said.

A few days before the church officially opened its new doors, Jerry Herman sat in the church’s welcome area and looked around at the space. He said he had been so focused on the work up to that point that it was nice to stop and look at how far the project has come. Herman said it felt like just yesterday members were gathered out in the middle of an empty field on a hot summer day, breaking ground for the project, and now the official opening was on the horizon. The thought of the last couple of years made Herman feel a sense of pride, community and ownership.

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“It’s being a part of something bigger than me,” he said.

Nell Slinkman said the greatest part of the project has been the idea of leaving a legacy behind not only for her family, but for the church and community for generations to come.

Immanuel not only built a new sanctuary for worship, but it built a new building for the community. Blum said the entire plan for the property on 24th Street centered around community and welcoming everyone.

Hall said the entire project was created with community in mind, and he hopes they come in to see it.

“There’s an open door whenever they want to come in,” Hall said. “We built it for them.”

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Contact Caitlin at cshuda@gannett.com or follow her on Twitter @CaitlinShuda.





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