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Western Wisconsin on edge as protests, ICE enforcements surge in Minneapolis

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Western Wisconsin on edge as protests, ICE enforcements surge in Minneapolis


Western Wisconsin residents are following the protests and clashes in Minneapolis-St. Paul over federal immigration enforcement actions with concern.

“It feels a bit like a pressure cooker over here,” Eau Claire City Council President Emily Berge said Friday in an interview with WPR’s “Wisconsin Today.” 

The Trump administration has surged some 2,000 federal agents in the Twin Cities, with plans to add 1,000 more. Many of them are agents with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, and protests have broken out over their aggressive enforcement tactics. Those protests have intensified since an ICE agent fatally shot Renee Macklin Good in her car last week. On Wednesday, the Department of Homeland Security said an ICE agent had shot a man in the leg in an enforcement action. 

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In Wisconsin border communities including Hudson, many people make daily commutes to the Twin Cities for work, shopping or recreation. A Hudson resident who asked to remain anonymous over safety concerns said she has been involved in organizing to support protesters in the area. She said people all across the metro area have been making sure protesters and organizers have rides, are fed and are safe.

But the psychological effects of the unrest have been widespread. She said some of the students at the elementary school where she teaches are afraid to come to class.

“It is just the saddest thing to see tiny children who are just starting school have this kind of fear and uncertainty,” she said.

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That echoes the experience of others in immigrant communities.

“Everybody is terrified,” immigration attorney Marc Christopher told “Wisconsin Today.” “They see what’s been broadcast on TV. They see the indiscriminate arrest of people. … The level of fear and anxiety in our immigrant community is off the charts.”

And Berge, who is also a Democratic candidate for Congress, said people in the Hmong community worry they will be targeted for being members of a minority group, regardless of legal status.

“Even though they’re American citizens,” she said, “they have to bring their documents with them, their passports or ID with them when they leave the house — even to walk their dog or bring their kids to school.”

In an interview with PBS Wisconsin’s “Here and Now,” GOP U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson placed the blame for the unrest squarely on Democratic Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and other politicians he said were “inciting people to resist and obstruct justice.” 

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Aliya Rahman is detained by federal agents near the scene where Renee Good was fatally shot by an ICE officer last week, Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026, in Minneapolis. Adam Gray/AP Photo

Local officials respond to rumors, concerns about ICE enforcement

With attention focused on Minneapolis, unfounded rumors of ICE agents staging or planning large-scale operations in Wisconsin spread widely on social media. Officials in Baldwin, Wausau and Stevens Point all told WPR that social media chatter was false. 

Still, officials in many communities have felt pressure to review policies and plans should federal immigration enforcements scale up. 

The Hudson School District this week sent a message to parents reiterating its visitors policy and how district officials work with law enforcement.

Superintendent Nick Ouellette said there is not a separate policy for ICE, nor any branch of law enforcement.

“We’re not taking a political side of the argument,” Ouellette said. “We’re just saying this is how we handle things.”

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If a district employee is approached on school property by a federal agent requesting information about a student or the student’s family, district policy and federal law prohibit the employee from sharing any student information without a valid judicial warrant or subpoena.

This includes confirming whether a student is enrolled at the school or within the district.

The Hudson School District serves about 5,000 students. Ouellette said it does not keep records of students who are not U.S. citizens.

WPR’s Evan Casey, Corrinne Hess, Danielle Kaeding and Liz Harter contributed.



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President Trump endorses Tom Tiffany for Wisconsin governor

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President Trump endorses Tom Tiffany for Wisconsin governor


President Donald Trump has endorsed U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany, R-Minocqua, in his bid to be the next governor of Wisconsin.

Trump announced the endorsement Tuesday night, writing on his social media platform Truth Social that Tiffany had his “Complete and Total Endorsement.”

“He will fight to advance Common Sense Values, and put WISCONSIN, AND AMERICA, FIRST,” Trump wrote.

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The endorsement puts to bed the questions of whether — and when — Trump would weigh in on the GOP primary for governor.

Tiffany, who has represented northern Wisconsin’s 7th District in Congress since 2020, was considered an early favorite to clinch the Republican nomination against Washington County Executive Josh Schoemann, but recent fundraising numbers suggested Schoemann could put up a fight.

The backing from Trump has proven critical in Republican primaries across the country, and it’s almost certain to give Tiffany a boost. Four years ago, Trump’s endorsement helped propel businessman Tim Michels over former Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch in the 2022 GOP primary for governor.

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But whether the president’s nod is a help or a hindrance in the general election is an open question, especially in a cycle that polling suggests could favor Democrats. Four years ago, Michels lost to Democratic Gov. Tony Evers in the general election. And almost immediately after Trump’s endorsement Tuesday, the Democratic Party of Wisconsin looked to seize on the president’s support of Tiffany as a condemnation.

“We agree with Donald Trump—Tom Tiffany has been by his side for all of it: ICE murdering Americans in the streets, the Big Ugly Bill, ending funding for the Affordable Care Act, invading Greenland, and raising every day costs,” read a statement from state Democratic Party Chair Devin Remiker. “Donald Trump just made Tom Tiffany the general election nominee, and we will stop him from bringing his chaotic and dangerous agenda in November.”

At least seven candidates are running in the Democratic primary for governor, where many of them have made attacking Trump central to their campaigns. The winner of the general election will replace Evers, who is not seeking a third term.

Trump’s announcement came as part of a slate of endorsements posted to his Truth Social platform late Tuesday evening. He also endorsed Michael Alfonso, who is running for Tiffany’s soon-to-be-vacant seat in Congress.

Alfonso is the 25-year-old son-in-law of U.S. Treasury Secretary Sean Duffy, who represented the 7th District before Tiffany. He’s one of four Republicans running to replace Tiffany.

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Trump called Alfonso “a young ‘STAR’.”

In a post on X, Alfonso wrote that it is his “greatest honor to accept this endorsement from President Donald J. Trump,” and pledged “to be a steadfast MAGA warrior.”



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Polaris to lay off 200 Wisconsin workers, close facility in Osceola

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Polaris to lay off 200 Wisconsin workers, close facility in Osceola



The move comes after Polaris announced it was separating from Indian Motorcycle.

Powersports company Polaris has announced it plans to wind down the operations at its facility in Osceola which specializes in manufacturing Indian Motorcycle.

The move impacts roughly 200 Wisconsin workers at the facility.

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On Jan. 27, during a fourth quarter and full year earnings call for 2025, Polaris said the company expects to sell Indian Motorcycle by the end of the first quarter of 2026 to Carolwood, a private equity firm based in Los Angeles. However the company plans to maintain some stake in the company.

Polaris officials said called the sale of Indian Motorcycle was a “difficult decision” and added it was a “move that we believe is best for Polaris and Indian Motorcycle.”

In a post on X, Wisconsin Democrat Sen. Tammy Baldwin said:

“We have seen this story in Wisconsin too many times – a private equity firm buys a company, hollows it out, & fires its workers, all to pad their profits. It’s simply wrong.”



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Prison ordered in western Wisconsin child porn case

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Prison ordered in western Wisconsin child porn case





















Prison ordered in western Wisconsin child porn case | News | wqow.com

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