Wisconsin

Wisconsin’s sandhill cranes are beautiful but damage our crops. Let hunting help. | Opinion

Published

11 months ago

February 1, 2025

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Wisconsin’s sandhill cranes are beautiful but damage our crops. Let hunting help. | Opinion

In addition to crane festivals and viewings, hunting can honor the bird — and carefully manage flocks while funding more conservation.

Brian Reisinger
| Special to Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

The sandhill crane descending on the Wisconsin countryside is a beautiful thing.

Its gray wings are long and graceful, and it doesn’t swoop — it floats in, like a cloud slipping from the sky. Its forehead is a proud red. It often travels in pairs, because it tends to prefer one mate for life. And it is prone to dance, bowing and leaping in a ritual that it has honed for eons as one of Earth’s oldest animals.

The problem is in between, it eats the hell out of your local farmer’s crops.

That’s the rub that has made such a striking bird the subject of fierce political debate as Wisconsin considers a sandhill crane season this year. As a farm boy and a conservationist, I’m here to tell you the reality: If we want to save the sandhill crane, it’s time to organize a responsible hunt. At the root of this argument is the idea that hunting is conservation — one I know not everyone who loves the sandhill crane supports. But for the sake of our gray feathered friend, I hope you’ll hear me out and reserve hate mail for the end.

Regulated hunting and conservation have protected endangered wildlife

Good hunters know that to continue to enjoy their way of life, a hunt must have boundaries so that our natural resources of woods, water, and game can persist. It’s the reason our country did away with unregulated hunting in favor of seasons and bag limits. It’s the reason hunters fund so much conservation, not only through government license fees, but also through voluntary organizations like Ducks Unlimited that have literally restored or conserved millions of acres of natural habitat, and raised billions of dollars. And it’s the path for transforming a once protected bird into a sustainable success story.

Almost wiped out in the 1800s by unregulated hunting and habitat loss, the sandhill crane has since surged to more than 1 million, with experts of all stripes acknowledging stable populations in Wisconsin and numerous other states. Reported crop damage in Wisconsin, meanwhile, has reached more than $2 million annually, mainly corn and wheat.

Now, the crane is at a crossroads. It can go the way of the sustainable success story, like the whitetail deer, the wild turkey and the duck, all persisting in Wisconsin as a beloved animal that nature-lovers and hunters alike are able to appreciate in abundance. Or, it can go the way of the invasive presence like the coyote in Wisconsin, the wild boar in many parts of the country, and other animals facing open season — without limits — to thin them out.

Comparing the sandhill crane to a mangy coyote is where some may get hot, if they’re not already, given the crane’s history and beauty. Yes, there are reasons particular to coyote and boar that they’re capable of becoming so problematic. But let’s not insult the clever coyote — also a sight to behold slipping from field to woods in the early morning — or the proud boar once held in high regard by western civilization.

Gray wolves show how attitudes about animal’s can change

And we’ve seen how attitudes about animals can change.

Consider the gray wolf, once deeply endangered, now going off and on the endangered species list depending upon which political party is in power. The crane is headed toward similar division. The first time I saw a crane was as a kid in the 1990s, when my mom told me the story of their recovery as two cranes drifted across an evening field, then issued their softly purring trumpet of a call before taking flight. I remember her gasping at their beauty. Today I usually hear them referred to as “those dang things,” if profanity isn’t involved, as they ravage farmers’ fields.

A responsible hunt — with well-timed seasons to protect the hatching of new cranes, bag limits, and fees to fund game law enforcement and even more conservation — can prevent this. Keeping the crane in its hallowed, no-hunt status for too long simply leaves it vulnerable to future generations not giving a damn what happens to it.

This spring, North America’s sandhill cranes will begin their great journey north, from as far south as Mexico. They’ll rest on the Platte River in Nebraska near the sandhills that gave them their name, a sight National Geographic calls “one of the greatest wildlife phenomena in North America.” Then they’ll stop off in the fertile fields of Wisconsin.

You can believe that nature is a delicate ecosystem, with a natural balance that we must protect to preserve such a sight. I certainly do. All I’m saying is, mankind is a part of that balance.

Brian Reisinger is a writer who grew up on a family farm in Sauk County. He contributes columns and videos for the Ideas Lab at the Journal Sentinel, and is the author of “Land Rich, Cash Poor: My Family’s Hope and the Untold History of the Disappearing American Farmer.” Reisinger works in public affairs consulting for Wisconsin-based Platform Communications. He splits his time between Sacramento, Calif. — America’s “farm-to-fork capital,” near his wife’s family — and the family farm in Wisconsin. You can find him on X at @BrianJReisinger

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Wisconsin

Wisconsin DHS reaffirms childhood vaccine recommendations after CDC changes

Published

9 hours ago

January 8, 2026

Press Room

Wisconsin DHS reaffirms childhood vaccine recommendations after CDC changes

article

MADISON, Wis. – The Wisconsin Department of Health Services on Thursday reaffirmed its recommended childhood vaccine schedule after recent changes at the federal level.

Wisconsin vaccine guidance

Local perspective:

On Monday, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control announced changes to its childhood vaccine schedule. The DHS said those modifications further stray “from alignment with America’s leading medical associations and organizations.”

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At this time, the DHS said it is not making changes to its vaccine recommendations – including no changes to Wisconsin’s school or child care vaccine recommendations.

The DHS said it continues to endorse the American Academy of Pediatrics schedule and has issued guidance to Wisconsin health care providers reaffirming that recommendation.

What they’re saying:

“The CDC’s new recommendations were based on a brief review of other countries’ practices and not based on data or evidence regarding disease risks to children in the United States,” DHS Secretary Kirsten Johnson said in a statement. “This upends our longstanding, evidence-based approach of protecting our children from the viruses that pose a risk in our country.

“Copying another country’s schedule without its health and social infrastructure will not produce the same health outcomes. It creates chaos and confusion and risks the health of Wisconsin’s youngest and most vulnerable citizens.”

Big picture view:

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services said the CDC will continue to recommend that all children are immunized against 10 diseases for which there is international consensus, as well as chickenpox.

The updated schedule is in contrast to the CDC child and adolescent schedule at the end of 2024, which recommended 17 immunizations for all children. On the new schedule, vaccines – such as those for hepatitis A and B, meningitis, rotavirus and seasonal flu – are now more restricted. They are recommended only for those at high risk or after consultation with a health care provider.

What they’re saying:

“President Trump directed us to examine how other developed nations protect their children and to take action if they are doing better,” Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said. “After an exhaustive review of the evidence, we are aligning the U.S. childhood vaccine schedule with international consensus while strengthening transparency and informed consent. This decision protects children, respects families, and rebuilds trust in public health.”

The Source: The Wisconsin DHS released information about its childhood vaccine recommendations. Information about the CDC changes is from LiveNOW from FOX with contributions from The Associated Press.

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Wisconsin

Wisconsin man accused of killing parents to fund Trump assassination plot set to enter plea deal

Published

21 hours ago

January 8, 2026

Press Room

Wisconsin man accused of killing parents to fund Trump assassination plot set to enter plea deal

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A Wisconsin man accused of killing his parents and stealing their money to fund a plan to assassinate President Donald Trump is set to enter a plea deal resolving the case Thursday.

Nikita Casap, 18, is expected to agree to the deal during a morning hearing in Waukesha County Circuit Court in suburban Milwaukee. He goes into the hearing facing multiple charges, including two homicide counts, two counts of hiding a corpse and theft, with a trial scheduled to begin March 2.

Online court records did not list the terms of the plea agreement. Harm Venhuizen, a spokesperson for the state public defender’s office, which is representing Casap, said state Supreme Court ethics rules prevent the office from commenting on cases. The Waukesha County District Attorney’s Office did not respond to questions about the deal.

According to a criminal complaint, investigators believe Casap shot his mother, Tatiana Casap, and his stepfather, Donald Mayer, at their home in the village of Waukesha on or around Feb. 11.

He lived with the decomposing bodies for weeks before fleeing across the country in his stepfather’s SUV with $14,000 in cash, jewelry, passports, his stepfather’s gun and the family dog, according to the complaint. He was eventually arrested during a traffic stop in Kansas on Feb. 28.

Federal authorities have accused Casap of planning his parents’ murders, buying a drone and explosives and sharing his plans with others, including a Russian speaker. They said in a federal search warrant that he wrote a manifest calling for Trump’s assassination and was in touch with others about his plan to kill Trump and overthrow the U.S. government.

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“The killing of his parents appeared to be an effort to obtain the financial means and autonomy necessary to carrying out his plan,” that warrant said.

Detectives found several messages on Casap’s cellphone from January 2025 in which Casap asks how long he will have to hide before he is moved to Ukraine. An unknown individual responded in Russian, the complaint said, but the document doesn’t say what that person told Casap. In another message Casap asks: “So while in Ukraine, I’ll be able to live a normal life? Even if it’s found out I did it?”

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Wisconsin

Wisconsin bill stirs issue of parental voice, trans youth autonomy

Published

1 day ago

January 7, 2026

Press Room

Wisconsin bill stirs issue of parental voice, trans youth autonomy

A Republican-authored bill would require Wisconsin school boards to adopt a policy that would inform a parent or guardian if a student requests to be called by names and pronouns not aligned with their gender assigned at birth.

The bill would require legal documentation, parental approval and a principal to approve changes to a student’s name and pronouns. The bill makes exceptions for nicknames or students going by their middle names.

Although the bill has no chance of being signed into law by Democratic Gov. Tony Evers, it reflects the continuing political energy of two issues: parental authority in schools, and the treatment of trans youths.

Notably, hundreds of trans-related bills were introduced at multiple levels of government across the country in the last year.

The lawmakers who introduced the bill, Rep. Barbara Dittrich (R-Oconomowoc) and state Sen. Andre Jacque (R-Franken), said it is about parental rights and transparency. At a Capitol public hearing Jan. 6, Jacque cited a ruling from October 2023 in which a Waukesha judge sided with parents who sued the Kettle Moraine School District after staff at the middle school used a child’s chosen name and pronouns. The parents did not support their child’s transition.

But the Senate Committee on Education hearing grew heated as LGBTQ+ youth, parents of transgender children, Democratic lawmakers and other advocates called the bill unnecessary and potentially violence-inducing. They said it makes life worse for a vulnerable population that makes up less than 1% of Wisconsin pupils.

Jacque argued that without the bill, educators can make decisions about children’s health and well-being in secrecy.

“Hiding from us important things that are going on in their lives is not only disrespectful to parents, it is harmful to our children and deliberately sabotaging the ability for vital communication to take place,” Jacque said.

Sen. Sarah Keyeski (D-Lodi) questioned why the Legislature should be involved when school boards already have the ability to approve such policies.

“I think it’s interesting how much you lean on local control for certain things, but then all of a sudden, you want government control,” she said.

Abigail Swetz, executive director of Fair Wisconsin, said such a bill would prevent educators from “engaging in the best practice” for using names and pronouns. Swetz, a former middle school teacher who advised a Gender and Sexuality Alliance club, said she’s seen firsthand the positive impact of affirming trans and nonbinary students.

“The mental health struggles that trans youth face are not a self-fulfilling prophecy. They’re entirely pressured outcomes, and bills like SB120 add to that pressure,” Swetz said.

Jenna Gormal, the public policy director at End Abuse Wisconsin, said forcing students to come out to parents before they’re ready reinforces power and control while stripping students of their autonomy.

Alison Selje, who uses they/them pronouns, spoke of the seismic shift in their well-being and academic performance when someone used their correct pronouns. Selje was a student at Madison West High School at the time. The Madison Metropolitan School District has a policy – which has survived a court challenge – protecting the use of names and pronouns of trans students.

“I remember the first time I heard someone use the right pronoun for me. This was during the pandemic so I was still wearing a mask, but underneath it, I was smiling ear to ear,” Selje said. “The use of my pronouns was a confidence boost, but it was also a lifesaver.”

Support for the bill came from two women representing Moms for Liberty. Laura Ackman and Amber Infusimo shared stories of parents finding out about their children’s new gender identity through school playbills and yearbooks.

“This bill rightly affirms schools shouldn’t be making significant decisions without parental knowledge or involvement,” Ackman said. “It does not prevent kindness, respect or compassion.”

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