(The Center Square) – Wisconsin school boards must create rules banning cell phones during instructional time with a deadline by July 1 after Gov. Tony Evers signed the bill into law Friday.
States across the country have moved to ban cell phones at school or during certain parts of school.
“It has always been my belief that decisions like this should be made at the local level by local school districts and that we should trust local school boards to work with students, parents and families, educators, staff, and administrators to make decisions that make sense for students in their community,” Evers said in a statement. “That continues to be my position. Nevertheless, my promise to the people of Wisconsin is to always do what’s best for our kids, and that obligation weighs heavily on me in considering this bill, as it does every bill affecting kids that reaches my desk.”
Pew Research showed that an increasing number of adults in the U.S. approve of school cell phone bans with 74% supporting a ban for middle and high school students during class, up from 68% last fall.
“While I wish the Legislature would have taken a different approach with this legislation, I will never stop fighting for Wisconsin’s kids and working to do what’s best for them, which is why I am signing this bill into law today,” Evers said.
School district-issued electronic devices are exempt from the prohibition and districts can create an exemption to the prohibition for emergencies, managing a student’s health care, through a student’s individualized education plan or for educational purposes authorized by a teacher.
Several Democrats pushed back on the bill as it made its way through the Legislature.
“Wisconsin seems to be the only state where this is a partisan issue,” Sen. Rachael Cabral-Guevara, R-Fox Crossing, said at the time.

(The Center Square) – An audit is expected to be ordered of Wisconsin’s educational license program as Department of Public Instruction Superintendent Jill Underly will appear before the state’s Joint Audit Committee at 9 a.m. on Wednesday.
The agenda for the meeting includes a public hearing on the proposed audit and a follow-up executive session.
“Superintendent Underly and DPI failed at their most basic oversight role: to ensure our kids are safe at school,” Sen. Eric Wimberger, R-Oconto, told The Center Square. “Recent reporting revealed a significant lack of accountability in how DPI tracks teachers and school officials accused of sexual misconduct with children.
“This audit will attempt to bring to light what DPI has tried to hide, and ensure we can keep Wisconsin’s students safe from predators at school.”
Underly was not present at last week’s meeting of the Assembly Committee on Government Operations, Accountability and Transparency related to a report showing that DPI hid 200 sexual misconduct and grooming accusations since 2018.
Underly was also invited to an informational hearing in front of the Senate Committee on Education on Tuesday but there is no agenda yet for that meeting.
The audit would examine how DPI handles complaints against teachers as it investigates related to state teacher licenses.
Deputy State Superintendent Tom McCarthy said that DPI requires that license revocations be made permanent if teachers choose to have their license revoked instead of going through an investigation.
McCarthy admitted that process was not in statute nor could they prevent a teacher from later asking for the license to be reinstated. He also said that there are jobs within schools, like some paraprofessional roles, that do not require licenses.
Questions have also arisen about when individual school districts must inform DPI of issues and communication with law enforcement in those cases to ensure teachers are not able to simply move districts to avoid accusations of sexual misconduct.

(The Center Square) – Southeast Wisconsin’s congressman says once the government reopens, hundreds of thousands of people in the state will see their food stamp benefits restored quickly.
Republican Congressman Bryan Steil told News talk 1130 WISN that it won’t take long to restart the program. But he said Democrats on Capitol Hill have to vote to reopen the government first.
“It would be very quickly,” Steil said. “You’d have to [see] how fast they can fund those programs, and sometimes there’s a day or two delay. But it would be near instantaneous for folks, that funding would then kick back on and flow through.”
Wisconsin’s Department of Health Services says nearly 700,000 people in Wisconsin receive SNAP or as it’s called in Wisconsin FoodShare.
Steil said those are the people, along with thousands of federal workers in the state, who are paying the price for what he calls the political games of Democrats.
“Democrats have voted for this time and again. In fact, Chuck Schumer voted for this multiple times in the past. And so you have to ask yourself what changed? What changed in the Democratic Party is the politics,” Steil said. “The policy has not changed. The politics have changed. Their radical base is demanding that they do anything to try to ‘stand up to
Trump.’ What does that mean? They’re willing to put American families through a ton of pain.”
As for when a vote may come to reopen the government, Steil said he didn’t know. But he echoed Vice President JD Vance who Thursday said Republicans will not surrender to the “hostage” situation created by Democrats.
“The Democrats are trying to cause pain to try to force Republicans to the table to capitulate to their demands. What we’re saying is we’re happy to have the conversation about different policy areas, but we’re not going to do it in a in an environment where you are holding hostage the American people, [and] countless paychecks. We should be doing this in a more reasonable and thoughtful way,” Steil said.

(The Center Square) – Democrat Brad Smith is running for Wisconsin’s 6th congressional seat and plans to hold a campaign launch from 5:30-7:30 p.m. on Wednesday at Edison Hall at Inventors Brew Pub in Port Washington.
Smith is a veteran of the Wisconsin National Guard and plans to advocate for middle-class families, farmers and access to health care.
The 6th congressional district is currently held by Republican U.S. Rep. Glenn Grothman, who has held the seat since 2015. Grothman retained the seat with 61.2% of the vote against Democrat John Zarbano in 2024. Grothman won the 2022 general election virtually uncontested with nearly 95% of the vote.
“I’m running because the Wisconsin I love, the one that gave my family a vibrant future, is slipping away,” Smith said in a statement. “I’ll fight for affordable healthcare, good jobs with fair wages, and real access to education and training that help move us all forward, together.”
Smith said his priorities including expanding access to education and job, protecting and improving affordable health care for all and growing good-paying jobs.

(The Center Square) – For the first time in the past 10 years of polling, more Wisconsin voters said they would vote against a school referendum than for it.
Fifty-seven percent of voters said they would vote against a referendum in the new Marquette Law School poll.
That compares to 52% in June, 57% in February and 55% in January saying they would vote for a school referendum if it was proposed by a local school board.
The poll asked 846 registered voters the questions between Oct. 15-22.
“This is one to keep an eye on to see if this trend continues or it’s just a fluke of this sample,” Law School Poll Director Charles Franklin said.
The poll also showed that 56% said they believe reducing property taxes is more important than increasing spending on public schools.
That compared to 57% in June, 58% in February and 55% in January who said the same.
Historical Marquette polling showed that 50% first said they would prioritize reducing property taxes in June 2023 after years of polling showing that spending more on public schools was more important to voters.
That total has trended up since the 2023 polling.
“People have gotten more concerned about school spending and property taxes in particular,” Franklin said.
The polling comes after Milwaukee voters said they would prefer consolidating schools over another property tax referendum increase when Embold Research asked 535 likely Milwaukee voters in 2026 the questions between Oct. 6-10 on behalf of City Forward Collective and CFC Action Fund.
Legislators are currently discussing a bill that would require districts to file the required paperwork before being eligible for a referendum.
There also are a set of bills in the works on school consolidation.
Public school enrollment in Wisconsin is expected to decline by 10,000 students annually for the five-year period that began in 2023-24 and the trend is expected to continue.
The bill would provide a consolidation model process, funding for consolidation or shared service feasibility studies and assistance for schools as they try to match up differing levies and determine school board positions when consolidation occurs.

(The Center Square) – The office of Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers spent $16,500 on airfare and hotel nights for Evers’ economic development trip to Europe in April but records provided by his office were unclear on whether any of those were the governor’s expenses.
The office responded after six months to a request from The Center Square for records of the governor and his staff’s expenses for the trip with one bill from the Wisconsin Economic Department Corp. including a pair of round-trip flights and hotel stays in four cities.
The bill did not identify who stayed in the rooms on the trip, which ran from March 29-31 in Braunschweig, April 1-2 in Wlesbaden, April 3-5 in Dijon and April 6-8 in Berlin.
The plane tickets were identified as “Gau” and “Schroeder,” seemingly indicating the tickets were for Evers Chief of Staff Maggie Gau and Evers Executive Assistant Jack Schroeder.
The flights – from Madison to Hanover, Germany and from Berlin back to Madison – cost $5,099.67 apiece.
WEDC has not responded to a similar request from The Center Square related to its staff’s expenses on the trade trip. WEDC’s legal counsel has not responded to multiple follow-up questions related to the timeline of its response.
Evers’ office did not respond to follow-up questions related to the public records request or why it didn’t include Evers’ expenses, travel expenses within Europe and food on the trip. The response also did not indicate if there were security expenses as Evers traveled.
The WEDC’s budget for the 2025-26 fiscal year included $900,000 for trade trips “including trips planned to Japan, Canada, Mexico and Germany” according to its budget documents.
Governors in other states, including Republican Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee and Democratic Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, have responded to similar requests for travel expenses and included both food and travel expenses in the responses.
Whitmer’s expenses have been covered by corporate donations to the Michigan Economic Development Foundation, which receives funding from companies that benefit from tax incentives from state government, the subject of a recent report from The Detroit News.

(The Center Square) – Local governments across Wisconsin could soon lose their ability to raise a tax without asking voters first.
Sen. Rob Hutton, R-Brookfield, this week introduced legislation to give voters a say on wheel taxes.
“This doesn’t take away options from local governments, but it does require local officials to make their case directly to the people and ensures taxpayers have the final say at the ballot box,” Hutton said.
Wheel taxes are the name for fees that many cities and counties in Wisconsin charge as part of vehicle registrations in the state. Usually those charges cost anywhere between $10 and $40 per year, and are in addition to Wisconsin’s $85 registration fee.
Many communities already have local wheel taxes and have had them for years. But Hutton said more communities are looking to add wheel taxes as a way to pay for road projects, or simply to bring-in more revenue.
Both Elm Grove and New Berlin, which are both part of Hutton’ s district, have both said they are considering a new wheel tax. Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson’s new city budget includes a $30 increase in Milwaukee’s wheel tax. Johnson said he hopes to raise $2.7 million a year from the increase.
“[Wheel taxes] are not make-or-break amounts, but every cost adds up, especially when you’re a family who lives paycheck-to-paycheck and struggles to afford groceries or a senior citizen who has to get by on a fixed income,” Hutton said.
In all, wheel taxes are worth nearly $67 million to local governments.
Local governments in the state can create a wheel tax with a simple majority vote. Hutton said that’s different from other local taxes, including over-the-levy property tax increases, which require approval from the voters.
“By placing these decisions directly in the hands of voters, our bill strengthens accountability and transparency in local tax decisions, which is particularly important for those least able to absorb new costs like these wheel taxes,” Hutton added.

(The Center Square) – The Biden administration’s probe into President Donald Trump’s 2020 election loss progressed far beyond investigating potential fraud and potentially targeted 156 conservatives and conservative organizations.
Whistleblower-sourced records, made public Wednesday by Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, show that the Arctic Frost probe, pushed by Biden administration special counsel Jack Smith, conducted extensive and legally dubious investigations into Trump-supporting Republicans nationwide.
Smith, the FBI, and the Department of Justice spent thousands of taxpayer dollars to collect personal cellular phone data, conduct dozens of interviews, and issue 197 subpoenas to 34 individuals and 163 businesses.
“Arctic Frost was the vehicle by which FBI agents and DOJ prosecutors could improperly investigate the entire Republican political apparatus. Contrary to what Smith has said publicly, this was clearly a fishing expedition,” Grassley told reporters Wednesday.
“If this had happened to Democrats, they’d be as rightly outraged as we are outraged,” he added. “We’re making these records public in the interest of transparency and so that the American people can draw their own conclusions.”
The records reveal some of the targets on page 60, including multiple state Republican party chairs or former chairs; many state lawmakers and attorneys; individuals believed at the time to be “fake electors;” and conservatives involved in election integrity efforts.
Records of additional individuals and organizations targeted, beginning on page 101, list everyone from Trump campaign staffers to former senior White House advisor Stephen Miller and White House Deputy Chief of Staff Dan Scavino. The list spans multiple states and includes some significant redactions.
The Arctic Frost team also collected phone records of at least nine Republican senators without notifying them, and attempted but failed to collect phone data on others.
Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., called the records “nothing short of a Biden administration enemies list” and deemed it “far worse, orders of magnitude worse” than the Watergate scandal of the Nixon administration.
“People need to realize how politicized the Biden administration turned all these agencies,” Johnson said. “It’s outrageous, it should shock every American…we need to get to the bottom of this…so that this doesn’t happen again in America.”
The revelations build on previous documents showing that the Biden administration targeted 92 conservative groups, including the Republican National Committee; Republican Attorneys General Association; the America First Policy Institute; and Turning Point USA, the organization previously headed by political commentator Charlie Kirk, who was fatally shot in September.
In a Truth Social post Wednesday, Trump called the investigators a “disgrace to humanity.”
“These thugs should all be investigated and put in prison,” he said. “Deranged Jack Smith is a criminal!!!”

(The Center Square) – Most voers in Wisconsin haven’t decided who they support to be the state’s next governor, according to a new Marquette Law School poll.
The poll showed that 81% of Democrats and 70% of Republicans have not made their choice in a crowded field to replace Gov. Tony Evers in the Aug. 11, 2026, primary. The general election is Nov. 3, 2026.
Those polled were asked which candidates they knew about with 39% saying they recognize and have an opinion of Rep. Tom Tiffany while 17% recognize Washington County Executive Josh Schoemann and 11% recognize medical service technician Andy Manske.
Of the Democrats Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley has the highest recognition at 26%,with Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez at 25%, State Rep. Francesca Hong at 22%, state Sen. Kelda Roys at 17%, former Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. CEO Missy Hughes at 16%; former state Rep. Brett Hulsey at 15% and Milwaukee beer vendor Ryan Strnad at 11%.
The poll asked 846 registered voters the questions between Oct. 15-22.
The poll had similar responses related to supreme court candidates Maria Lazar and Chris Taylor, with 86% saying they don’t have enough information on Lazar and 84% saying the same about Taylor while 69% of those polled said they did not have enough information on what each candidate stands for.

(The Center Square) – Wisconsin voters believe that the costs of data centers outweigh the benefits, according to a new Marquette Law School poll.
The poll showed that 55% believe the costs outweigh the benefits while 44% believe the benefits outweigh the costs.
“This is interesting because there is no difference by party across this,” Law School Poll Director Charles Franklin said.
The poll showed 53% of Republicans, 55% of independents and 56% of Democrats opposed data centers. The poll asked 846 registered voters the questions between Oct. 15-22.
“I think one of the things this teaches us is that if an issue is new, and candidates haven’t run campaigns on that issue,” Franklin said.
Data centers have become hot button issues across Wisconsin with a proposal on the table to give $450 million in local property tax breaks toward Vantage’s $8 billion data center through a tax increment district.
Microsoft pulled out of a data center proposal in Caledonia in response to public opposition of the project while Menomonie Mayor Randy Knaack recently rejected a data center proposal.
Along with property tax breaks, qualified data centers in Wisconsin are exempt from sales tax on many construction materials through a program that has cost the state $70 million in forgone sales tax in its first two years.
A poll from Libertas Network earlier this year showed that most U.S. voters oppose having data centers built in their community and even more oppose the data centers if tax incentives are awarded to have them built.
The questions were asked upon suggestion from The Center Square.
A least 10 states are currently losing $100 million or more in taxes from data centers, according to an April report from Good Jobs First.

(The Center Square) – A pair of Republicans have joined Wisconsin’s 7th Congressional race to fill the seat currently held by Tom Tiffany, a Republican running for governor.
Conservative Michael Alfonso, the 25-year-old son-in-law of U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, entered the race along with conservative attorney Paul Wassgren.
The candidates join conservative Jessi Ebben in the race.
All three candidates have voiced support for President Donald Trump.
Wassgren called himself a leading advocates for economic development using the federal opportunity zone program and that he intends to prioritize creating economic opportunity, fighting against lawfare, build strong communities and protect Wisconsin’s outdoors.
Growing up in Ashland, his family owned the Mountain Valley Cheese Factory in Bayfield County.
“Growing up in Ashland was the ideal childhood experience – fishing and boating in the summer, jumping in piles of leaves in the fall, and throwing snowballs and skiing in the winter,” Wassgren said in a statement. “Economic opportunities were plentiful, and social problems like homelessness, violent crime, and addiction were scarce,” Paul said. “I’m running for Congress because we need more successful businessmen like Donald Trump and Ron Johnson to shake up the status quo and revitalize our communities.”
Alfonso started in Vilas County and moved to Wausau when he was young before graduating from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Alfonso said he has been inspired by the late Charlie Kirk. He is the grandson of Cuban refugees.
“I was born and raised with the traditional Wisconsin values of faith, community, and hard work – and now I’m ready to give back to the area that gave so much to me,” Alfonso said in a statement. “I’ve watched as the American Dream has continued to slip away from the people who so deserve it,” said Alfonso. “I’ve seen the effects of higher taxes and the increased cost of living on our families and our farms, and the erosion of our constitutional rights.”

(The Center Square) – There’s a new request to let the city of Milwaukee
off the hook for The Hop.
Milwaukee Alderman Scott Spiker wrote a letter to
U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy to allow the city out of the grant that
paid for the streetcar.
“Mr. Secretary, we need your help. I ask the U.S. Department of Transportation to release the City of Milwaukee from the remainder of the grant obligations it incurred during the development of the Milwaukee streetcar. Moreover, I ask that the city be held harmless in future grant requests,” Spiker wrote. “I realize the somber significance of this request…You did not put [the streetcar] there, but neither did the taxpayers of Milwaukee. They were never asked whether they wished to take on the burden they now bear. They bear it nevertheless. It has become too heavy to endure.”
Milwaukee’s mayor says the city will need $4 million for the streetcar in the next budget.
Spiker said that’s $4 million that cannot go to streets, libraries or the city’s old and aging fire truck fleet.
The problem, according to Milwaukee’s mayor, is that if the city stops running The Hop, Milwaukee could have to repay $48 million in federal grants.
Spiker is not the only one hoping that Duffy will help Milwaukee.
Republican Rep. Bob Donovan, R-Greenfield, and Sen. Van Wanggaard, R-Racine, also joined with their own request to Duffy.
“If this is granted, the city of Milwaukee could once and for all end this public works ‘boondoggle’; that has plagued the city’s finances for years. This wasteful spending will be required to persist unless the federal government acts decisively,” the two said in a statement. “We believe the decade of sunk costs and the annual hemorrhaging of taxpayer resources will only continue if the federal government does not take direct action.”
Duffy is the former congressman from the Northwoods.

(The Center Square) – Months after an ice storm devastated Northern Michigan, certain public assistance for recovery efforts has been officially denied by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
This comes after President Donald Trump already approved Michigan’s request for a major disaster declaration in July. In that approval, 13 counties were allowed to request public assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
“With this initial support, we can help communities recover costs associated with cleanup efforts,” Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said at that time.
Additionally, Trump approved $50 million in aid for the state’s recovery efforts, as previously reported by The Center Square.
While millions were approved, some assistance was denied in Michigan’s initial application and the state subsequently appealed that decision in August. Now, FEMA has also denied its appeal for that additional relief.
The state does not seem concerned that denial will greatly impede recovery efforts.
“While the denial of additional federal aid is disappointing, Michigan has a strong foundation for recovery,” said Capt. Kevin Sweeney, deputy state director of Emergency Management and commander of the Michigan State Police, Emergency Management and Homeland Security Division. “Together with our local and state partners, we will continue to provide the support and coordination needed to help communities recover.”
The additional resources the state was seeking included:
Public Assistance Category F funding, which would have supported permanent repairs to damaged utilities like water, power, and communication infrastructure.
Individual Assistance, which would have helped Michigan residents with housing and disaster-related losses.
FEMA is still reviewing Michigan’s application for the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program, which funds long-term projects to reduce future risks from storms. That application was also previously denied.
The March storm has been labeled “historic” by state officials. On March 31, Whitmer declared a state of emergency to respond to the storm’s impact. The declaration initially covered 10 counties, but was then expanded to include 12 counties.
Nearly 100,000 Michiganders were without power, while the storm left hundreds of miles of roads blocked by fallen trees and debris. Even the Mackinaw Bridge, which connects lower Michigan to the upper Northern peninsula, was closed for a time.
This denial for Michigan funding follows on the heels of FEMA also denying taxpayer-funded emergency assistance to Wisconsin for severe storm and flooding recovery. Pounded by storms in August, the state was seeking assistance for $26.5 million in eligible disaster costs. FEMA also denied that claim, stating that “it has been determined that the public assistance program is not warranted.”
Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers pushed back against that decision.
“The federal government should not expect our communities go through this alone, and we are going to fight tooth and nail to ensure they get every possible resource to rebuild and recover,” Evers said. “We are hopeful that the Trump Administration will reconsider this decision, so we can make sure folks have the resources and support they need.”
While under previous presidents, federal storm aid was often seen as a “given,” not so under the Trump Administration. Instead, it has shifted some of the burden back to the states.
“The federal government focuses its support on truly catastrophic disasters—massive hurricanes, devastating earthquakes, or wide-scale attacks on the homeland,” said Brian Hughes, a spokesman for the National Security Council, according to May reporting.