We are managing the land to preserve native vegetation and reduce invasive species. Perhaps the greatest invasive will now be the MariBell project’s huge metal stanchions.

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• Massive 765kV transmission lines are being proposed for construction across western and eastern Wisconsin.
• One proposed project, the MariBell transmission line, would cut through the state’s Driftless region.
• The new lines would replace existing 161kV lines with structures soaring 200 feet high.
• Concerns have been raised about the project’s impact on the landscape, wildlife, and property values.

How much power do we really need and where should it come from? 

Across the state people are being asked to sacrifice precious land for the construction of massive 765kV transmission lines that are mounted on erector set-like structures that soar 200 feet into the air and cut a swath 250 feet wide across the landscape of both western and eastern Wisconsin. Land and resources that cannot be replaced.

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One of these lines is the MariBell transmission line that will cut through the heart of the Driftless region. This line, if it were to go through the Driftless area as proposed, will cross miles of land that avoided the assault of glaciers eons ago to now be destroyed by bulldozers to erect gigantic metal towers for the worship of greed.

This line would replace existing 161 kV lines with 765 kV lines that are more than double the width of existing lines. This means taking out trees, prairies, farms and homes for not only people but endangered wildlife.

Wisconsin wants more power, but at what cost?

The metal towers that soar 200 feet up in the air will be seen for miles away, some on ridgetops may need lights at night. Lights that could harm nocturnal animals and bring diffuse light for all of us who would prefer to see stars at night and occasionally the Northern Lights.

There has not been an established need for this massive line nor is the Driftless region a location worth destroying. This project will place an ever increasing financial burden on utility users who do not even benefit from the line and adversely affect property values in Crawford and Vernon counties. It will cause irreparable damage to the land, air and water as well as the beauty of the Wisconsin landscape that we all love.

It is past time for all Wisconsinites and all those we elect to take a step back and really identify what it is we value and what we want our future to look like. Then act to protect those values! Do electric power utilities, and the regulatory Public Service Commission, only have a responsibility to provide power and not the responsibility to do no harm to the people and native landscape?

Stewardship of Driftless landscape becoming more difficult

We are landowners in Crawford County, Wis., that currently has a 161kV power line going over it and will most likely be right on the route of this new 765kV powerline. We have a cabin that is not connected to electricity, as we are trying to have as small of a footprint on the land as possible. 

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We are managing the land to preserve native vegetation and reduce invasive species. Perhaps the greatest invasive will now be the huge metal stanchions. The challenge of being responsible, sustainable stewards of the land has just become harder.

OSHKOSH (WLUK) — ‘No Kings’ protests took place across Northeast Wisconsin Saturday in opposition to President Donald Trump.

These protests align with the national ‘No Kings’ protests occurring across the country Saturday.

People showed up with signs and flags at Rainbow Park in Oshkosh Saturday beginning at 10 a.m., protesting against the president to voice their concerns.

Protesters expressed their concerns over Trump’s decisions surrounding the war in Iran, as well as his immigration policies– which the protesters believe reflect an expansion of presidential power they oppose.

“This is also an open invitation to anyone who feels disappointed or even betrayed– those who promised greater affordability, fewer global conflicts/wars and transparency on issues such as the Epstein files, and are still waiting,” protester Deb Martin said.

Similar ‘No Kings’ protests and marches took place in Appleton, Green Bay, De Pere and Sturgeon Bay.

Beginning at 3 p.m. in Appleton, protesters marched from Houdini plaza down College Ave. for two blocks in a loop. Several organizations collaborated for the march including Appleton Area NOW, Wisconsin Resist, Hate Free Outagamie, ESTHER, Forward Fox Valley, Democratic Socialists of America and Citizen Action of Wisconsin.

Protesters say the Trump Administration’s actions are an attack on democracy.

Organizers planned more than 3,000 events nationwide, with turnout expected to reach into upwards of nine million people.

A flagship rally in St. Paul, Minnesota, drew thousands and featured high-profile speakers and performers, underscoring the scale and national reach of the movement.

Headlining the observance will be Bruce Springsteen, performing “Streets of Minneapolis,” which he wrote in response to the deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti, and in tribute to the thousands of Minnesotans who took to the streets over the winter.

The White House dismissed the planned protests as the product of “leftist funding networks” with little real public support.

“The only people who care about these Trump Derangement Therapy Sessions are the reporters who are paid to cover them,” White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson said in a statement.

Trump reacted to previous “No Kings” rallies by insisting “I’m not a king” and saying attendees were “not representative of the people of our country.”

A year and a half after Donald Trump’s victory in Wisconsin, Democrats are sensing a vibe shift that could reshape the balance of power in the critical battleground state.

In the last three months, seven state Republican lawmakers have announced their retirements — including the party leaders in the Assembly and the Senate — providing a boost to Democrats’ hopes they could win control of at least one legislative chamber for the first time in 16 years.

A massive fundraising advantage in next month’s open Wisconsin Supreme Court race has liberals feeling confident about further expanding their majority on a bench that up until a few years ago was long dominated by conservatives. Liberals are already even eyeing another seat next year, after a conservative justice said she wouldn’t run for re-election.

And Democrats are hoping another state Supreme Court victory would provide a jolt of momentum heading into a governor’s contest that will bring significant change no matter the result. A crowded field of Democratic candidates is vying to succeed Gov. Tony Evers and likely take on GOP front-runner Rep. Tom Tiffany in November.

“These retirements have largely confirmed what we had already thought, which is that we have an extraordinary opportunity this year in Wisconsin,” Wisconsin Democratic Party Chairman Devin Remiker said in an interview, referring to the GOP lawmakers who declined to run for re-election. “I think that a very potent disaster is brewing for Republicans, and it is my desire to capitalize on it by winning the Democratic trifecta.”

Recent polling underscores that the political winds are currently blowing in Democrats’ direction. A Marquette University Law School poll conducted in mid-March found that about half of Wisconsin Democrats said they were very enthusiastic about voting in the technically nonpartisan Supreme Court election in April, compared to a third of Republicans. And the survey showed that 56% of registered voters disapproved of Trump’s job performance. That’s the highest share from any of Marquette’s Wisconsin polls during the president’s two terms in office, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel noted.

The 2026 elections mark a continuation of Democrats’ efforts to unravel Republicans’ hold on state power that began in 2010, when the GOP had a trifecta. Over two terms in office, Republican Gov. Scott Walker, with majorities in the Legislature and on the Supreme Court, enacted a sweeping conservative agenda.

Since then, Democrats have gained control of the governorship and the Supreme Court, and now have their sights on maintaining their advantages there while making inroads in the Legislature this year, with more competitive maps in place. Most notable among the recent string of retirements was Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, who had held the position since Walker first took office.

“There is certainly a changing of the guard. The top three people in the Capitol today are all not going to be there a year from now. It’s going to be a significant turnover in terms of who’s making decisions in that building come next year,” said Mark Graul, a Republican strategist in Wisconsin.

In addition to Vos, Wisconsin Senate President Devin LeMahieu, who has held the job since 2021, announced last week he would not seek another term. Of the seven retiring Republican lawmakers, all but one has served in the Legislature for at least a decade, and in many cases far longer.

The Republican lawmaker exodus is also inextricably linked with the liberals’ ascent on the state Supreme Court. Armed with their first majority on the high court in 15 years after an expensive and high-profile election in 2023, liberals quickly struck down the state’s legislative maps that heavily favored the GOP. Democrats then made substantial gains in both legislative chambers in the 2024 elections. This year, they would need to net two seats to control the state Senate and five seats to have a majority in the Assembly.

After retaining their majority in an even more expensive state Supreme Court race last year, liberals could put control of the bench out of reach for conservatives for at least the rest of the decade in less than two weeks.

The Democratic-backed Chris Taylor holds a clear fundraising and ad spending advantage over Republican-backed Maria Lazar in the race to fill a seat held by retiring conservative Justice Rebecca Bradley. The election has been much quieter than the last two court races in Wisconsin, with 46% of voters saying they were undecided in the new Marquette poll. But Taylor held a slight lead with 30% support, compared to 22% for Lazar.

Democrats have said they’re encouraged by early voting data in the race, even as turnout is down so far from last year’s election.

Meanwhile, the governor’s race is still taking shape. Of the eight Democratic candidates included in Marquette’s poll, only one, former lieutenant governor and Senate candidate Mandela Barnes had name identification above 50%. The primary will mark a generational shift for the party, as the leading candidates are all much younger than Evers, 74.

Wisconsin Republican Party spokesperson Anika Rickard rejected that the raft of GOP lawmaker retirements would fuel Democratic gains and expressed optimism around her party’s prospects in the Supreme Court and governor races, too.

“I don’t think their departures indicate anything when it comes to flipping the Senate or the Assembly. We’re very confident we’ll hold both of those,” she said. “The energy is still on our side, not with Democrats.”

Democrats and Democratic-backed candidates have won 18 of the last 23 statewide races in Wisconsin. But that hasn’t affected its swing state status. The last three presidential elections in Wisconsin, two of which Trump won, were decided by less than 1 point. Regardless of what happens in the state this year over the next seven months, it will once again be at the center of the 2028 map.

To that point, Graul said Democrats’ recent string of success is less about what they have accomplished and more about their ability to seize on anti-Trump sentiment, particularly when the president isn’t on the ballot.

“What’s shaping Wisconsin, in 2026, to be a good year for Democrats is what’s happening in Washington, not what is happening in Wisconsin,” he said.