Wisconsin
‘Wisconsin Media Row’ delivered local, affordable RNC coverage
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The recently wrapped Republican National Convention in Milwaukee rolled out the red carpet (literally!) for local Wisconsin media outlets — the first arrangement of its kind at a national political convention.
And by most accounts, “Wisconsin Media Row” was a success.
Over the four-day nominating event, delegates and elected officials — most of them from Wisconsin — made their way to the western concourse of the UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena where they found a bustling collection of the state’s newspaper, radio, TV and online journalists.
Each of the 24 participating outlets paid $125, and the RNC provided wifi, electricity, tables, chairs and signage. The RNC designed a “Wisconsin Media Row” logo featured prominently on the arena marquee and directed delegates and surrogates to the space. Navy blue pipe-and-curtain dividers emblazoned with the RNC 2024 logo, a central suite of comfy couches, and the splash of red carpeting really tied the space together.
U.S. Rep. Glenn Grothman, who represents conservative parts of central and eastern Wisconsin, said it was “a cool sort of thing” that he could do an interview with Milwaukee’s 101.7 The Truth, a station with which he had never interacted before.
“It’s a smart idea,” Grothman said of a local media area at the convention. “For cost reasons, in part, the little radio station, the little newspaper gets left behind, and there’s no reason that should be so.”
He encouraged both the Republican and Democratic national parties to make similar accommodations at future events.
“It’s important for us to promote the little media, right?” Grothman said. “We don’t want everybody just listening to Fox or MSNBC and that sort of thing. It’s important to support your small media outlets, and that’s one way to do it.”
National political conventions are challenging for small local outlets to cover. They draw some 50,000 people, including thousands of reporters from all over the world. Larger organizations like CNN, NPR, CBS News and The New York Times can shell out hundreds of thousands of dollars to set up broadcast booths and mini-newsrooms within the security perimeter.
That’s why Wisconsin Watch worked with local media organizations and the RNC to create a first-of-its-kind space at a national political convention.
Members of the Wisconsin media consortium praised the local reporter accommodations.
“Wisconsin Media Row gave local reporters a sense of place amidst a wild week when many factors felt up in the air,” said Erin McGroarty, politics and government reporter for the Madison-based Cap Times. “The presence of a dedicated space for local press organizations allowed Wisconsin news groups to work together, bounce ideas off of each other and feel a sense of camaraderie as we worked to give our state critical coverage of a historical event.”
John Laughrin, news director for WFRV-TV in Green Bay, appreciated the practical aspects of having a place to store extra gear and equipment, plenty of power strips to support everyone working on laptops and reliable internet.
Wisconsin State Journal state government reporter Mitchell Schmidt said his team used Wisconsin Media Row primarily as a space to file stories, discuss the day’s plans, catch delegates and lawmakers as they came through for sit-down interviews or quick press gaggles, and simply recuperate.
After doing a round of interviews with several of the participating outlets, including the State Journal, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and Urban Milwaukee, U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson credited the generosity of the donors to the RNC Host Committee, which raised $85 million for the entire convention.
“Those things cost money, so somebody’s got to pay,” Johnson said of Wisconsin Media Row.
Former Wisconsin Gov. Tommy Thompson, attending his 12th RNC, endorsed creating a local media area at future conventions, calling it “a no-brainer.”
“You guys convey the message,” Thompson said. “And if you don’t convey the message, you don’t get your message out, you don’t win. It’s just utterly stupid if you don’t do it. I think it’s fantastic.”
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Fond du Lac County Sheriff’s Office
FOND DU LAC COUNTY, Wis. – Two people from Illinois were arrested following a police chase that started in Fond du Lac County and ended in Winnebago County on Friday, May 8.
Initial traffic stop
What we know:
According to the Fond du Lac County Sheriff’s Office, just after 1 p.m. the sheriff’s office got an alert for a stolen vehicle out of Illinois heading northbound on I-41 from County Road Y.
It was learned that the vehicle was involved in two different police chases in the past week in Illinois, but had eluded officers each time.
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A short time later, a deputy spotted the vehicle on I-41 near Winnebago Street. The deputy continued to follow the suspect vehicle northbound, waiting for more deputies to get into position to attempt a high-risk traffic stop. Once those deputies were in position, a high-risk traffic stop was conducted. The vehicle initially pulled over and stopped, but right after deputies got out of their squad cars and started telling the people to get out of the vehicle, it instead fled northbound on I-41.
Chase into Winnebago County
What we know:
The chase went into Winnebago County, with the vehicle failing to pullover and instead speeding up. As the chase continued, the vehicle continued driving recklessly, passing by other vehicles on the interstate, including passing on the shoulder and weaving between vehicles, all at a high rate of speed.
The vehicle exited I-41 and ran three red lights. The chase continued southbound on State Highway 26, with the vehicle continuing to pass vehicles at a high rate of speed on the two-lane highway.
The vehicle then went off the road and drove through the yard of a home before circling around in the yard, traveling through the ditch, and reentering the highway going northbound. It then went into a field near County Road Z and Clay Road.
As a sergeant with the sheriff’s office was moving in to perform a Pursuit Intervention Technique (PIT Maneuver), the suspect vehicle went into reverse and rammed the front of the squad. The vehicle then attempted to leave the field by traveling through a ditch and back up onto the road, where another sheriff’s squad ended the chase by intentionally striking the vehicle and pushing it off the road and back into the ditch.
The vehicle rolled over in the ditch, came to rest upright, but was then disabled and could not move. Two people got out of the vehicle and were taken into custody. The vehicle started on fire and a fire department had to respond to extinguish the fire. Both people from the vehicle were evaluated by medical personnel on scene.
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Facing charges
What we know:
The driver of the vehicle was identified as a 23-year-old man from Des Plaines, Illinois. He was taken to the Fond du Lac County Jail on the following charges:
- Fleeing/Eluding an Officer
- 1st-Degree Reckless Endangering Safety (2 Counts)
- Resisting/Obstructing Officer
- Delivering Illegal Articles by Inmate (Ecstasy Pills).
The driver’s criminal history in Illinois was flagged as armed and dangerous with previous weapons offenses, dangerous drug offenses, and criminal damage to property.
The passenger of the vehicle was identified as a 23-year-old woman from Franklin Park, Illinois. She was taken to the Fond du Lac County Jail on the following charges:
- Fleeing/Eluding—Party to a Crime
- 1st Degree Reckless Endangering Safety—Party to a Crime
- Possession of THC
- Possession of Drug Paraphernalia
- Resisting and Obstructing an Officer
The Source: The Fond du Lac County Sheriff’s Office sent FOX6 a press release.
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.
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
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