Wisconsin
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.
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.
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.
“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.
Wisconsin
Wisconsin a ‘school to watch’ for SEC transfer wide receiver
Wisconsin is an ‘early school to watch’ for Oklahoma transfer wide receiver Jayden Gibson, according to On3’s Pete Nakos. The Badgers were given that designation along with South Carolina.
Gibson will officially enter the portal when it opens on Jan. 2. The former four-star recruit left the Oklahoma program in October. He was then officially reported to be entering the portal earlier this month.
Gibson joined the Sooners as one of the top wideouts in the class of 2022, ranked specifically as the No. 27 at his position and No. 22 from his home state of Florida. He caught just one pass for 12 yards as a true freshman in 2022. The receiver’s breakout season came as a sophomore in 2023; He appeared in all 13 games, catching 14 passes for 375 yards and five touchdowns.
The receiver could not continue that momentum in 2024, as he suffered a season-ending injury during training camp. He then did not see the field at the start of the 2025 campaign before leaving the program.
Wisconsin has a clear need at wide receiver entering 2026, with Eugene Hilton, Trech Kekahuna and Joseph Griffin Jr. all set to enter the portal. The team is looking to fix a passing offense that averaged just 136.4 yards per game in 2025, good for 132nd in the Football Bowl Subdivision.
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Wisconsin
Wisconsin Adds Robert Steeples to 2026 Coaching Staff
MADISON, Wis. — Wisconsin has added Robert Steeples to its 2026 coaching staff, head coach Luke Fickell announced on Tuesday. Steeples will serve as cornerbacks coach for the Badgers, moving Paul Haynes to oversee the entire secondary.
“Bringing Robert Steeples to Wisconsin is a great addition to our coaching staff,” Fickell said in a statement. “He has seen the game at every level – Playing professionally, coaching at the high school and collegiate level. Our players and staff will love working with him and we’re excited to get him here.
“With the addition, we will be moving Paul Haynes to a role that will allow him to work with our entire secondary to strengthen our unit.”
Steeples spent the last two seasons at Iowa State as a defensive analyst. Prior to his two seasons with the Cyclones, Steeples coached cornerbacks at LSU from 2022-23. The St. Louis native played collegiately at Missouri and Memphis. He went undrafted in 2013, but spent four seasons in the NFL with the St. Louis Rams, Minnesota Vikings, Kansas City Chiefs, and Dallas Cowboys.
“Wisconsin’s commitment to excellence and rugged style of play gives me the opportunity to work with the type of student-athletes that can benefit most from my style of coaching,” Steeples said in a statement. “The defensive structure and culture that Coach Fickell and Coach Tressel have implemented complements the guys on the island – the corners. The defensive staff is full of experience, great leaders, but most importantly great human beings – which makes for a fantastic environment for growth. I’m excited to get into the trenches with the guys and do my part. The opportunity ahead is a blessing.”
Steeples will inherit a Wisconsin cornerback room that currently returns two key performers from the 2025 season — redshirt freshman Omillio Agard and true freshman Cairo Skanes.
Steeples is the second off-season hire for the Badgers, joining offensive line coach Eric Mateos, who came over from Arkansas.
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Wisconsin
Wisconsin judge sends Slender Man attacker back to mental health institution after group home escape
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A Wisconsin woman who almost killed her sixth-grade classmate to please the fictional horror villain known as Slender Man was ordered back to a state psychiatric hospital Tuesday after she escaped from her group home last month.
Waukesha County Circuit Judge K. Scott Wagner granted a state Department of Health Services request to revoke 23-year-old Morgan Geyser’s release privileges. Geyser told the judge through her attorney, Tony Cotton, last week that she would not fight revocation. Wagner then approved the request during a short hearing.
Cotton didn’t immediately respond to an email message seeking comment.
Geyser and her friend Anissa Weier lured their classmate, Payton Leutner, to a Waukesha park in 2014. Geyser stabbed Leutner 19 times while Weier cheered her on. A passing bicyclist discovered Leutner, who barely survived. All three girls were 12 years old at the time.
Geyser and Weier later told investigators they attacked Leutner in hopes of impressing Slender Man enough that he would make them his servants and wouldn’t hurt their families. Both of them were eventually committed to the Winnebago Mental Health Institute — Geyser for 40 years and Weier for 25 years.
Weier earned conditional release in 2021. Wagner granted Geyser conditional release this past September despite warnings from state Department of Health Services officials that she couldn’t be trusted.
Geyser was placed in a Madison group home. Authorities say that on Nov. 22 she cut off her GPS monitor and fled the state with a 43-year-old companion. Police arrested both of them the next day at a truck stop outside Chicago, about 170 miles (274 kilometers) south of Madison.
Geyser’s companion told WKOW-TV that the two of them became friends at church and had been seeing each other daily for the last month. Geyser decided to escape because she was afraid the group home would no longer allow them to see each other, the companion said.
Slender Man was created online by Eric Knudsen in 2009 as a mysterious figure photo-edited into everyday images of children at play. He grew into a popular boogeyman, appearing in video games, online stories and a 2018 movie.
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