Ron's Weekly Recaps

Following his partial veto (on page 67) removing the Brillion dredging project from the Wisconsin state budget last week, Governor Evers released a press release on Wednesday announcing that the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) will now do the project to dredge the north branch of the Manitowoc River to prevent future flooding.  This announcement comes after a backlash from Brillion residents at Evers for playing politics with their daily lives.

The legislature passed the 2025-27 Wisconsin state budget early on Thursday morning in a compromise between Republican leadership and the Governor’s office.  I had agreed to vote in favor of the budget because we were still able to cut taxes on the middle class and because we had earmarked $70,000 to dredge the north branch of the Manitowoc River to prevent flooding in Brillion. 

This week, I want to focus on multiple big conservative wins.  A court win is different because the law was not followed by liberal governments.  All of these wins are tied together by the general principle that the court should protect the law, not make it.  

The APRN Modernization Act is a bill that has been in the making for nearly a decade.  After Governor Evers vetoed the critical healthcare upgrade last session, a deal has already been made with the governor and stakeholder groups this time around.

On Thursday, the Wisconsin Election Commission (WEC) took an unprecedented step when all six Commissioners unanimously decided to use its investigative powers for the first time in its eight-year history to delve into why nearly 200 absentee ballots in Madison were not counted during the November 5th election.

On Monday morning, a 15-year-old female student at Madison Abundant Life Christian School (ALCS) opened fire in a classroom, resulting in the deaths of teacher Erin Michelle West and student Rubi Patricia Vergara. Six others were injured, two critically, before the shooter took her own life. 

In an interview with WISN on Sunday, Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers tried to make a ridiculous argument for state employees to continue working from home.  Evers said, “I think it’s important for the state to be open to having people working from home, especially in parts of the state that we haven’t had a chance.”

On Monday, Dane County activist Judge Jacob Frost ruled to overturn Act 10, which was signed by Governor Walker in 2011 to end collective bargaining by state employees.  Before Act 10, Wisconsin had more than a $2 billion budget deficit.  Our taxpayers were getting consistently ripped off as we were paying more to keep state employees who were protected by tenure even if their work wasn’t up to standards.  The result was Wisconsin’s tax burden had steadily grown along with our debt.  The passage of Act 10 has saved Wisconsin taxpayers at least $16 billion.  In comparison, Wisconsin's entire budget is roughly $100 billion.  Yeah, it's a big deal!

The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction, led by State Superintendent Jill Underly (pictured above), met behind closed doors last summer to lower academic standards in Wisconsin’s Forward Exam.