Connect with us

Wisconsin

Wisconsin Supreme Court hearing case targeting swing state's top elections administrator

Published

on

Wisconsin Supreme Court hearing case targeting swing state's top elections administrator


MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The Wisconsin Supreme Court will hear arguments Monday that could determine whether the swing state’s top elections official, who has been the target of disproven Republican election conspiracy theories, will remain in her post.

Republicans who control the state Senate tried to fire Wisconsin Elections Commission Administrator Meagan Wolfe last year, leading the commission to sue in an effort to keep Wolfe on the job.

The commission argues that the state Supreme Court should uphold a lower court’s ruling in Wolfe’s favor, which would allow her to remain in her position and not face a confirmation vote by the Senate.

But Republican lawmakers argue that the commission must appoint a commissioner, either Wolfe or someone else, so the Senate can vote on confirming that person. Wolfe can’t be allowed to remain in the position as a holdover, they contend.

Advertisement

Wolfe was first appointed for the nonpartisan position in 2018 and confirmed to a four-year term by the GOP-controlled state Senate in 2019. The commission is overseen by a bipartisan board that is evenly split between Republicans and Democrats, and Wolfe is head of the nonpartisan staff.

Wolfe was targeted for removal by Republican lawmakers who were unhappy with the 2020 presidential election won by President Joe Biden. President-elect Donald Trump won Wisconsin this year, just as he did in 2016. Unlike after his loss in 2020, Trump backers are not alleging widespread fraud in this year’s election.

Wolfe was the subject of conspiracy theories and targeted by threats from election skeptics who falsely claim she was part of a plot to rig the 2020 vote in favor of Biden. Biden’s win by nearly 21,000 votes in Wisconsin withstood two partial recounts, a nonpartisan audit, a conservative law firm’s review, and multiple state and federal lawsuits.

When Wolfe was up for reappointment in 2023, all six members of the commission voiced support for her. Three Republicans voted to reappoint, but the three Democrats abstained, resulting in a deadlocked vote. Had she gotten a fourth vote in support, her appointment would have been sent to the Senate, which then could have voted to fire her.

Even though her appointment was not forwarded to the Senate, Republican senators voted in September 2023 to fire Wolfe over objections from Democrats and the Legislature’s nonpartisan attorneys. They argued that the Senate didn’t have the authority to vote at that time because Wolfe was a holdover in her position and had not been reappointed.

Advertisement

The commission sued to challenge that Senate vote. Republican legislative leaders changed course and claimed in court filings that their vote to fire Wolfe was merely “symbolic” and had no legal effect.

Republicans asked the judge to order the elections commission to appoint an administrator for the Senate to vote on.

Dane County Circuit Court Judge Ann Peacock, in a 2023 ruling, said Wolfe is legally serving as administrator of the elections commission as a holdover given that the commission did not have a majority vote to appoint her. The Senate’s vote to remove her had no legal effect and the commission has no duty to appoint a new leader while Wolfe is serving as a holdover, Peacock ruled.

Republican leaders of the Legislature appealed and the state Supreme Court will hear arguments Monday. It will issue a decision weeks or months from now.

Wolfe was asked about the case during a news conference the day after this month’s election and whether she was committed to remaining in her position “for the long haul.” She made no promises.

Advertisement

“I’m completely committed to seeing through this election and making sure that this election is certified,” Wolfe said.

The state Senate is charged with voting on approving appointees such as Wolfe. However, the GOP majority starting in January will shrink from 22-11 to 18-15 as a result of this month’s election. That means Republicans can only lose one vote on their side and still have a majority.



Source link

Continue Reading
Advertisement
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Wisconsin

Wisconsin chef shares tips to ensure your apples don’t go to waste

Published

on

Wisconsin chef shares tips to ensure your apples don’t go to waste


Laurel Burleson, a Dane County chef, thinks ugly apples make the best dishes. 

One of her goals as a chef and restaurant owner is to save usable produce from the waste bin.

“I know how hard (Wisconsin farmers) work every day, making these products that are delicious and nutritious and for anything to get thrown away just because it’s not aesthetically perfect is just outrageous,” said Burleson, owner of Ugly Apple Cafe. 

News with a little more humanity

WPR’s “Wisconsin Today” newsletter keeps you connected to the state you love without feeling overwhelmed. No paywall. No agenda. No corporate filter.

Advertisement

The latest fruit monitoring report from the University of Wisconsin-Madison shows many parts of  the state having great harvests, although northeastern Wisconsin orchards suffered from a cool spring. But most apple orchards are busy with the fall harvest. So what do you do with that abundance of apples? 

Burleson shared some recipes and her philosophy on cooking with WPR’s “Wisconsin Today.”

This conversation has been edited for brevity and clarity. 

Advertisement

Rob Ferrett: What do you like to do with apples apart from just eating them?

Laurel Burleson: One that I really like to do is making apple marmalade. That is shredding apples and preserving them in sugar so that they keep their structure. It’s kind of the opposite of making applesauce. 

But we also make a lot of apple sauce and apple butter. That’s a good way to use a lot of apples all at once.

RF: What goes into making apple butter?

LB: Very basically you make applesauce, so just cook down your apples and blend them up. Then you take that applesauce and cook it extremely slowly, either in a slow cooker or in the oven. Cook it down until it’s dark and rich and more closely resembling a peanut butter than applesauce. 

Advertisement

From there, you can put in whatever spices you want: cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, bay leaf. You just have to be careful because whatever you start with in the big batch will get super concentrated and reduced in your end product.

RF: With applesauce or apple butter, do we have to be fussy about the type of apples? Or can we mix and match?

LB: I like to mix and match, especially because the apple season starts really early. Some years you can get the first season apples in July. 

They don’t hold very long and they’re very juicy, so they break down really easily, but they are very tart. I like to get some of those early season apples and make them into applesauce and freeze them and then when I have other sweeter varieties later I mix them and then reduce that all down into butter.

RF: You shared a savory recipe with us for pork chops with apple bacon cabbage. Tell us a little bit about this recipe.

Advertisement

LB: It’s really fun for the fall and even into the winter. You can kind of use any kind of variety of apple that’s a little bit tart and it’s OK if it breaks down and blends in because the cabbage is going to maintain its structure. 

If the onions and apples melt away into a delicious sauce it’s just fine. But also, if you end up with some apple pieces, then it’s a nice little surprise like a little sweetness. 

The Ugly Apple Cafe operates cafes inside the Dane County Courthouse and the City County Building in Madison and sells its products at the Monona Farmers Market. 



Source link

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Wisconsin

Former Wisconsin transfer scores 43-yard touchdown in Indiana’s big win over Illinois

Published

on

Former Wisconsin transfer scores 43-yard touchdown in Indiana’s big win over Illinois


While the Wisconsin Badgers struggle on the football field, sitting at a disappointing 2-2 through four weeks, some of the program’s former transfers continue to find success.

One of those players is tight end Riley Nowakowski, who transferred to Indiana this offseason after five years with the Badgers. The Milwaukee, Wisconsin, native originally walked on to the program as an unranked outside linebacker. After playing sparingly during his first few seasons with the Badgers, he flipped over to fullback in 2022, then out to tight end after Phil Longo arrived in 2023. Nowakowski totaled 18 receptions for 131 yards and a touchdown from 2023-24; his two years as a primary offensive contributor.

The former Badger is already making significant progress toward those totals, now just four games into his Indiana career. He has four catches for 72 yards and a touchdown, plus one carry for a one-yard score. The versatile fullback/tight end delivered the highlight play of his career during Indiana’s blowout win over Illinois on Saturday, taking a 1st-down screen pass 43 yards to the house.

Wisconsin, meanwhile, has received solid contributions from Montana State transfer tight end Lance Mason. The veteran has 14 catches for 177 yards and two touchdowns to date, leading the team in each of those respective categories.

Advertisement

While Mason has been one of the Badgers’ few bright spots through four weeks, it’s hard to ignore Nowakowski’s emergence as one of Indiana’s dependable offensive playmakers.

Contact/Follow @TheBadgersWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Wisconsin Badgers news, notes and opinion





Source link

Continue Reading

Wisconsin

Southeast Wisconsin weather: Dry Today, Warm Workweek Ahead

Published

on

Southeast Wisconsin weather: Dry Today, Warm Workweek Ahead


Get ready for an overall warmer stretch of weather as we head into this upcoming workweek. After some fog lifts this morning, we’ll have plenty of sunshine today with highs in the mid to upper 70s along the lake and low 80s inland.

Tonight will be dry with lows in the low 60s lakeside and upper 50s inland.

Monday through Wednesday should be very similar, with upper 70s to near 80 near the lake and low to mid 80s inland with plenty of sun.

We’ll start to bring in chances of showers or a T’storm starting Thursday right on into the weekend.

Advertisement

WATCH: Southeast Wisconsin weather: Dry Today, Warm Workweek Ahead

Southeast Wisconsin weather: Dry Today, Warm Workweek Ahead

TODAY: Any fog lifting through the morning, then becoming mostly sunny.
High: 77 lakefront… 83 inland.
Wind: E 5-10 MPH.

Advertisement

TONIGHT: Mostly clear.
Low: 62.
Wind: ESE 3-8 MPH.

MONDAY: Mostly sunny.
Highs: 78 lakefront… 83 inland.
Wind: ESE 5-10 MPH.

TUES: Mostly sunny and warm.
High: 80 lakefront… 84 inland.

WEDS: Mostly sunny and warm.
High: 81 lakefront… 85 inland.

THUR: Partly cloudy with a chance of a shower
or T’storm.
High: 80.

Advertisement

It’s about time to watch on your time. Stream local news and weather 24/7 by searching for “TMJ4” on your device.

Available for download on Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, and more.





Source link

Continue Reading
Advertisement

Trending