Politics. Wisconsin. Music. Not always in that order. Associated Press Statehouse correspondent based in Madison.
Madison, Wisconsin
Joined April 2009
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Hegseth and staff reprimanded by guard at Tomb of the Unknown Soldier
apnews.com/article/hegseth-t…
Mississippi elects Democrat Scott Colom as state's first Black US senator since Reconstruction
apnews.com/article/scott-col…
In a 5-1 decision, the Wisconsin Supreme Court today agreed to hear a lawsuit brought by unions seeking to overturn the 2011 law known as Act 10 that effectively ended collective bargaining for most public workers.
Conservative Justice Annette Ziegler dissented
Justice Brian Hagedorn, who was working as then-Gov. @ScottWalker's legal counsel and helped write Act 10, did not participate.
The court is taking the case as Democrats who take over the Legislature in January are talking about repealing Act. 10:
wicourts.gov/sc/order/Displa…
Gov.-elect @DavidCCrowley announces that Jeff Pertl will serve as his chief of staff.
Pertl was Department of Children and Families secretary under @GovEvers and was a top official at the Department of Public Instruction under Evers
He's also been a Dane County supervisor
Incoming Democratic Assembly Speaker @RepGreta:
“We are united and we are ready to govern.”
“We know we have to deliver for the people of Wisconsin.”
Incoming Gov. @DavidCCrowley dodges questions about his priorities for the coming session and Democratic lawmakers aren't giving many details either.
Assembly Speaker-to-be @RepGreta says Democrats are working on a 100-day agenda, what will be in the state budget and beyond
Wisconsin Democrats are being coy about what exactly they will propose out of the gate next year when they take over.
In general, they say their priorities will be funding schools, AI and data center regulation, reducing child care, housing and education costs
(more)
Democratic Senate Majority Leader @SenHesselbein says she assured Republican Minority Leader @SenBradley that Democrats will hear GOP bills to set a model of bipartisanship for the nation.
Wisconsin Republican Senate Minority Leader @SenBradley asked how Republicans will deal with being in the minority after 16 years in the majority:
“I was born in the minority, so it’s a little bit easier for me.”
Bradley said he did speak by phone with incoming governor @DavidCCrowley. He said Crowley has started out "rough" for saying he would sign a bill redrawing congressional maps after earlier saying he wouldn't
Bradley says they both talked about their priorities
Wisconsin Senate Democrats have elected their leaders for the two-year session starting in January:
Majority Leader: @SenHesselbein
Senate President: @MarkForWI
Assistant Majority Leader: Sen. Kristin Dassler-Alfheim
Assembly Democrats also electing leaders today
A legend in Wisconsin journalism offers some thoughts as his career on TV comes to a close.
Thank you @CharlesBenson4 for being there to tell all of the stories through the decades.
You will be missed!
My thoughts for today:
For the first time in 44 years, I started my morning without having to think about work. No calls to make. No sources to check in on. No deadlines to meet.
And I’m OK with that. At least for now.
Day-to-day journalism is hard. It can be demanding, unpredictable and occasionally exhausting. But I loved doing it.
It was never simply a job for me. It was a passion, and I had the incredible good fortune to make that passion my life’s work. Along the way, I worked alongside an extraordinary group of colleagues. They are truly awesome, and I’m grateful to so many of them.
My career began in 1982 as a young reporter in Peoria, Illinois. My first stop in Wisconsin was WBAY in Green Bay, a very good place to land. It’s also where I met my wife, Sharon. In 1986, I arrived in Milwaukee and spent 15 years at WITI-TV. After a three-year detour to Madison at WKOW, I came back to Milwaukee in 2004 and spent the next 22 years at TMJ4.
There were plenty of big stories along the way. Thank you, Packers, Bucks and Brewers, for giving me some championship seasons to cover. When I arrived in Wisconsin 40 years ago, I had no idea I would stay this long. But there were always stories to tell, places to go and, of course, politics in battleground Wisconsin to keep me busy.
What an incredible journey it has been.
I leave this chapter filled with gratitude. Most of all, I’m thankful to the people of the Milwaukee area who trusted me to tell their stories and help make sense of a complicated and ever-changing world. That trust has meant more to me than I can adequately express.
As for what’s next, I honestly don’t know. “Retiring” doesn’t seem to fit my DNA, so I’ll still be around. I hope there’s more to do but I’ll keep you posted.
I’ll definitely be on the bicycle more. Wisconsin has some great bike trails. And I expect to spend a little more time hanging out in coffee shops.
So if you see me, say hello. I love a good conversation.
My final farewell at TMJ4 will be on Wednesday during the 4p News.
“What a day,” Democratic @SenHesselbein says as newly elected Democrats caucus for the first time after taking the majority.
“It’s the beginning of unfinished work we know we have to do.”
The storm that sank the Edmund Fitzgerald 51 years ago today was felt all across the Great Lakes region, including at Gordon Lightfoot's house in Toronto where he was home working on a new tune that didn't have words yet.
A month later he had the words:
apnews.com/article/wreck-edm…
Wisconsin legislative Democrats meet this morning behind closed doors to elect their leaders for the next two years.
@RepGreta is poised to become the first female Assembly speaker in Wisconsin history
@SenHesselbein is expected to be elected as Senate majority leader
The sons and the wives and the daughters of the 29 men aboard the Edmund Fitzgerald had no idea what the Great Lakes freighter was headed into 51 years ago today.
Debbie Gomez-Felder, whose dad was on board, went to high school in Milwaukee that morning
apnews.com/article/edmund-fi…
Hegseth says bipartisan impeachment push is about ‘policy disagreements,’ not high crimes
apnews.com/article/hegseth-i…
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Democrats have gained control in more states. That could change the way the US elects its president
We can do away with it,” Wisconsin’s new Democratic Gov. @DavidCCrowley said of the Electoral College in an interview with @ap
apnews.com/article/midterms-…
Here are some of the House seats that Democrats didn't expect to win this year, including Wisconsin’s 1st District held by @BryanSteil
apnews.com/article/house-mid…
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51 years ago right around now (roughly 2:30 p.m.), the Edmund Fitzgerald departed from the Burlington Northern Railroad Dock No.1 in Superior, Wisconsin, on its way to Zug Island outside of Detroit.
It carried 29 men and 26,116 long tons of taconite
apnews.com/article/edmund-fi…
