Wisconsin
Wisconsin Elections Commission rejects effort to recall Assembly Speaker Vos • Wisconsin Examiner
The Wisconsin Elections Commission (WEC) voted 5-0, with one abstention, to reject the recall petition against Assembly Speaker Robin Vos (R-Rochester) Thursday. After confusion over which district the recall petition signatures should come from, the commission decided that the recall organizers did not have enough valid signatures from any of the districts that could have possibly been involved.
Recall organizers began the effort to remove Vos, the longest-serving Assembly Speaker in state history, from office over complaints that he was not doing enough to advance their belief that the 2020 election was stolen from former President Donald Trump and that the election officials involved in that election should be punished. The petition began after Vos refused to move forward with an effort to impeach WEC Administrator Meagan Wolfe.
The recall effort began as the state’s political maps were in limbo, however. In December, the state Supreme Court struck down the previous maps and Gov. Tony Evers signed new maps into law in February, but those maps don’t go into effect until the election this fall.
With the previous maps declared unconstitutional and the new maps not yet in effect, it was unclear which district recall organizers should collect the required number of signatures. Old Assembly district 63 contains the voters that elected Vos in the first place, but it doesn’t technically exist any more. The new Assembly districts 33 and 66 contain some of those voters, but also many who did not put Vos into office. The WEC and state Department of Justice had sought clarification from the Supreme Court on which district should apply, but the Court declined to weigh in.
Last month, the recall organizers filed thousands of signatures as part of their recall petition, but those petitions included signatures from all three of the potential districts, as well as many others that appeared to be forged or from voters who didn’t live in any of the districts. While the legal questions surrounding the petition worked through the Court, the statutory deadlines of a recall effort continued. No matter what district was used, Commission staff determined there were not enough valid signatures to force a recall election this summer.
On Thursday evening, the commission met to decide on Vos’ challenge to the validity of the petition signatures. Vos’ attorney, Matthew Fernholz, said the commission should take the easy option and reject the recall petition, while adding that there should be a formal investigation into the alleged forgeries in the petitions.
“So based on the review of all the signatures, and the challenges that have been sustained, the easiest thing and most straightforward path for WEC today is simply to reject and deny the recall petition,” Fernholz said. “They’re woefully short, regardless of whether we’re operating under the old 63rd Assembly district or the new 33rd Assembly district.”
Commissioner Ann Jacobs told Fernholz that the body is statutorily prevented from initiating investigations, adding that if Vos would like an investigation completed, he needs to submit a complaint to the agency.
The recall organizers were represented at the hearing by former Supreme Court Justice Michael Gableman. Gableman was hired by Vos following the 2020 election to investigate allegations of fraud. After being allowed to continue his review for over a year without any results, Vos fired the former judge. Gableman has since turned on Vos, frequently appearing at anti-Vos events and supporting his 2022 primary opponent.
Gableman spent about 30 minutes arguing with commissioners and WEC staff over whether or not a staff member told the recall organizers that the signatures should come from the 63rd District. At one point in the argument, Jacobs asked for a point of order after Gableman started insulting the agency’s attorney.
“Well, you managed to be arrogant, condescending and wrong in a matter of about 20,” Gableman said before Jacobs cut him off.
Gableman also refused to say whether or not the recall petitioners had gathered enough signatures from any of the districts because he doesn’t “know the basis for all the removals of the signatures.”
Twice, Gableman mentioned that the recall organizers had met with the FBI about potentially investigating the alleged forged signatures, and he discussed what the petitioners are calling “recall 2.0”— their second attempt at forcing a recall election. Much of the argument between Gableman and the commissioners centered around his request that they declare which district the signatures should come from and their refusal to do so because a request for an official advisory opinion from the commission has not been made.
The Commission ultimately approved a motion that rejected the recall on the grounds that there weren’t enough signatures from the old 63rd or new 66th districts and that the new 33rd district should not be used. Commissioner Mark Thomsen abstained from the vote after arguing for an amendment to the motion to narrow it to include just the lack of valid signatures from the 63rd district.
GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Wisconsin coach Kelly Sheffield shares his biggest spring takeaway
Wisconsin coach Kelly Sheffield shared his biggest takeaway from the spring following the Badgers’ four-set win over Northern Illinois.
MADISON – Kelly Sheffield has coached All-Americans, national players of the year, national champions and future Olympians in his 13 years as Wisconsin volleyball coach.
So Sheffield’s unique praise of Decelise Champion – a star pin-hitter from Puerto Rico who committed to the Badgers last fall – carries a lot of weight.
“Her highest-end potential is certainly as high as about anybody we’ve ever brought in,” Sheffield said. “She’s got a lot of work to get to where she’s capable of, and that’s on us as coaches and on her to help reach those dreams and goals. But when you’re watching people around her age, she’s different.”
That work is beginning earlier than initially expected after Wisconsin announced that Champion will reclassify from the 2027 recruiting class and join the Badgers as a freshman for the 2026 season.
Champion – currently 16 years old and turning 17 in September – will arrive with a resume that includes experience on Puerto Rico’s senior national team and the elite Italian club Volleyro Casal de Pazzi. That’s all while being strong enough academically to earn a GED degree and the necessary NCAA waiver for a few missing core classes.
“What made it really a lot better is that all of her grades at the different schools she’s been at have been fantastic,” Sheffield said. “She’s an excellent student. Was crushing it at a really, really good academic school in Italy in her third language.”
The timing of the June 12 announcement accounted for the second-last open roster spot for the 2026 season, but Champion and UW’s efforts to make the reclassification possible go back much earlier than that.
“We’ve known she’s wanted to do this since February,” Sheffield said. “We told our team in February that was the plan. And then we didn’t let anybody know publicly until she was done with her season. She just didn’t want to be a distraction for her team.”
Badgers have even more competition at pins
Wisconsin already had plenty of competition at the pin-hitting positions before Champion’s move to the 2026 class.
Grace Egan had a major role on the 2025 Final Four team, and Eva Travis had an impressive spring after transferring from UC-Santa Barbara. Others include Grace Lopez, Madison Quest and the highly-touted freshman duo of Halle Thompson and Audrey Flanagan.
Even with the upcoming addition of one more pin-hitter – and one with such a high potential – UW did not lose any players in the spring transfer portal cycle. Even the idea of someone leaving seemed outlandish to Sheffield.
“If they’re just going to get up and leave because somebody came, I would say that that person is probably chicken s—,” Sheffield said.
Sheffield’s praise of Champion’s proposal obviously does not come with a guarantee of playing time either at the crowded pin-hitting positions.
“I would say, yeah, she does have a chance of being out on the court for us this year,” Sheffield said. “But we’ve also got some other really talented people that play the pins.”
The outside and right-side hitters already on UW’s spring roster will have at least one key advantage over Champion in her freshman season – time.
Egan, Lopez and Quest are returning players (although Egan and Lopez spent their spring recovering from injuries). Travis, Thompson and Flanagan all enrolled in time to spend the spring with the Badgers and impressed in UW’s spring matches.
Champion’s arrival, on the other hand, will follow her participation in an Olympic-qualifying event for Puerto Rico. Sheffield expects that to be Sept. 2, which is the day before fall classes begin and already after UW’s first four matches of the season.
“She’ll be drinking out of a fire hose early on, no doubt about it,” Sheffield said. “Even though she’s been playing with her senior national team this summer, it will be a lot of things coming at her in her secondary language at 16, so there’ll need to be some patience along the way.”
His advice to Champion when she was on campus earlier in June was to “be where your feet are.”
“When she’s with her national team – even though we will have started our preseason, playing matches – don’t worry about us here,” Sheffield said. “Be where your feet are. Be the best you can be for your team there. … Then when you get here, you’re not thinking about your national team.”
Champion’s NCAA eligibility clock starts earlier
Champion’s reclassification comes with the drawback of beginning her NCAA eligibility one year earlier in her volleyball career.
Had she stayed in the 2027 recruiting class, she theoretically would have begun her college career shortly before her 18th birthday and exhausted her eligibility at age 22. Instead, she will begin her college career shortly before her 17th birthday and likely exhaust her eligibility at age 21.
Those scenarios take into account the NCAA Division I Cabinet’s unanimous approval on June 23 of a new eligibility model that will give players five seasons of eligibility in five years. (That replaces the current system with four seasons, redshirts and other waivers.) The NCAA noted that its decision is not final, however, until the meeting concludes on June 24.
“We’re certainly excited to have her this year, but if you kind of think over the course of five years, it’s probably worse for us that she comes a year early,” Sheffield said. “You expect her to be better at 20 and 21 than what she is at 16 or 17. … It really wasn’t something that we were pushing for, but she was ready.”
Of course, volleyball at age 16 or 17 looks different for someone like Champion who has been competing against much older players as a senior national team member and studying halfway across the world from her hometown of Dorado, Puerto Rico.
“When you talk to her, she doesn’t come across as somebody who’s 16,” Sheffield said. “She’s very mature, very easy to talk to, very driven. She’s independent. … She’s had a lot more life experience than most people her age, and that certainly comes across when you’re around her.”
Wisconsin
Cult-classic filmed in central Wisconsin returns to big screen, with enhancements, this weekend
STEVENS POINT, Wis. (WSAW) – A giant spider isn’t actually invading central Wisconsin this weekend.
But an enhanced, big-screen version of the cult-classic 1975 film The Giant Spider Invasion is crawling back into local theaters — and it’s bringing some central Wisconsin nostalgia with it.
The movie was famously filmed in Merrill and Stevens Point, and the updated 2026 release adds enhancements designed for a modern theatrical experience.
What’s new in the 2026 enhanced version?
Executive Producer J.B. Thompson says the team took the original 1975 film and enhanced it for the big screen in 2026, giving audiences a refreshed way to experience a movie that’s long been a Wisconsin oddity — and a point of pride.
Actor and Producer Dan Davies is featured in newly filmed scenes created specifically for this updated release.
Stevens Point’s role in the original film
While much of the film is associated with Merrill, Stevens Point Mayor Mike Wiza says Point also played a major role in the production — another reason the film’s return matters to local history buffs and movie fans alike.
Why does this movie still capture attention 50 years later?
Whether it’s the over-the-top creature feature story, the uniquely Wisconsin filming locations, or the nostalgia of seeing familiar places on screen, the group says the film’s staying power is real — even five decades later.
Screenings this weekend
The enhanced version of The Giant Spider Invasion is set for local screenings this weekend in Central and North Central Wisconsin. To purchase tickets for showings in Stevens Point, Marshfield or Waupaca, click here.
Click here to download the WSAW news app or WSAW First Alert weather app.
Click here to submit a news tip or story idea.
Copyright 2026 WSAW. All rights reserved.
-
Virginia2 minutes agoVirginia Tech introduces Brian White as new Athletics Director
-
Wisconsin14 minutes agoTop 100 Prospect Visiting Wisconsin on Wednesday
-
West Virginia17 minutes agoYeager Airport director receives four percent pay increase – WV MetroNews
-
Wyoming22 minutes agoSpeedy Cow community-owned internet service goes live in Wyoming County
-
Crypto29 minutes ago14 AI Models Including Claude, ChatGPT and Grok Predict Bitcoin’s Price Outlook
-
Finance32 minutes agoG7 Recommits to Development, Investment Finance to Drive Shared Prosperity
-
Fitness32 minutes agoSocial Fitness: Why Independent Living Communities Are Vital for Healthy Aging
-
Movie Reviews47 minutes ago‘Supergirl’ review: DC Studios serves up a second less-than-super movie
