(The Center Square) – When Chairman Robert Blanchard thinks about the impact of Line 5’s pipeline through or around the Wisconsin reservation of the Bad River Band of Lake Superior, he tries to think about the impact seven generations ahead.
Blanchard testified on Monday morning in Ashland as the Band and environmental groups attempt to block permits granted by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources for a 41-mile reroute of the Line 5 pipeline in northern Wisconsin.
“It’s all so important to us,” Blanchard told The Center Square. “Our land is our way of life and there’s a lot at stake here. We try to bring that forward.”
Supports of the reroute project have pointed to the an extensive review process for the permits on a project that still needs approval from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
But Blanchard, along with Mashkiziibii Natural Resources Director Naomi Tillison, groundwater expert Dr. John Bratton, water resources expert Noah Greenburg and wetlands expert Alice Thompson, were set to testify this week on the long-term negative impacts to the tribe and environment from the pipeline.
“I’d like to say everybody” understands the impact, Blanchard told The Center Square following his testimony. “Hopefully we’re getting through.”
Testimony from those opposing the project is scheduled to continue at 9 a.m. this week in Ashland.
Enbridge is scheduled to present its case on the challenged permits Monday through Friday next week in Madison before the Department of Natural Resources presents its case Sept. 29 through Oct. 2.
Public comment was heard in the case previously.
The Center Square was unsuccessful prior to publication of obtaining comment from Enbridge on Friday or Monday.
“After five years of extensive public review and input, the 41-mile Line 5 Wisconsin Segment Relocation Project is already the most-studied pipeline project in state history,” Enbridge previously told The Center Square. “The thorough Wisconsin permitting process resulted in a comprehensive Environmental Impact Statement and allowed the WDNR to identify mitigation measures that ensure the project’s impacts are minimal.”

(The Center Square) – State Sen. Kelda Roys, D-Madison, joined the race to be the next Wisconsin governor on Monday morning.
“We are in the fight of our lives, for our democracy and our kids’ future,” Roys said in her announcement.
Roys joins Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez and Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley in the race as Democrats while Republicans Bill Berrien, of Whitefish Bay, and Washington County Executive Josh Schoemann have entered the race and Northwoods Republican U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany has hinted that he would announce whether he is running in the next month.
The Democratic primary is scheduled for Aug. 11, 2026.
“As extremists attack our freedoms while families struggle to get by, we’re fighting back together,” Roys said in her announcement, with photos of President Donald Trump and Elon Musk shown on an overlay.

(The Center Square) – Lawyers from the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa and several environmental groups will present their case starting on Monday in Ashland to block Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources permits for a 41-mile reroute of the Line 5 pipeline in northern Wisconsin.
The tribe and environment groups are challenging the permits. Testimony is expected from Bad River Band Tribal Chairman Robert Blanchard, Mashkiziibii Natural Resources Director Naomi Tillison, groundwater expert Dr. John Bratton, water resources expert Noah Greenburg and wetlands expert Alice Thompson expected as the trial meets daily from 9 a.m. on Monday through Friday.
Enbridge and Wisconsin business leaders have pointed toward an extensive review process that took place before the permits were granted. The project also needs approval from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
“This phase of the hearing will center the voice of the Band, which faces an existential threat from both the existing Line 5 and the planned reroute,” Earthjustice senior attorney Stefanie Tsosie told The Center Square. “We look forward to sharing information and analyses showing the permanent and irreversible destruction that this reroute will cause to north Wisconsin.”
The Center Square was unsuccessful getting comment from Enbridge on Friday.
“After five years of extensive public review and input, the 41-mile Line 5 Wisconsin Segment Relocation Project is already the most-studied pipeline project in state history,” Enbridge previously told The Center Square. “The thorough Wisconsin permitting process resulted in a comprehensive Environmental Impact Statement and allowed the WDNR to identify mitigation measures that ensure the project’s impacts are minimal.”
Enbridge is scheduled to present its case on the challenged permits through Friday in Madison before the Department of Natural Resources presents its case next week.

(The Center Square) – Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers iwants a court order to enforce his interpretation of a Wisconsin Supreme Court ruling on rulemaking that Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, recently described as “outside of the law.”
Evers directed Wisconsin agencies to create rules and then send them to the Legislative Reference Bureau for publication without those rules being first submitted to a committee.
That process led Vos to speak out at a recent meeting of Wisconsin’s Joint Committee on Employee Relations, saying “I would say that it’s unfortunate that something that has literally worked for generations, not just decades but generations, is being upended by an administration that is drunk with power.”
Vos then added that he believes Evers’ directives to bypass rules being heard in a committee is “outside the law” and beyond what the Wisconsin Supreme Court said about rulemaking in a recent ruling.
Agencies have submitted 12 rules to the Legislative Reference Bureau since the supreme court ruling but the Joint Committee on Legislative Organization has asked that nine of those rules not be published.
The new rules are leading to increased costs for a variety of businesses, including an increase in the livestock market fee from $420 to $7,430 from the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection, according to Badger Institute.
The agency will also increase the registration fee for livestock truckers from $60 to $370 in 2027 because its registration programs will be $1.1 million short of budget by then, the group said.
Many of the new rules being pushed through without committee approval were previously rejected in committee. Evers, however, contests that the agencies are following the new interpretation of the law.
“The Legislature cannot continue to indefinitely obstruct my administration from doing the people’s work – and the Wisconsin Supreme Court agrees, but Republican lawmakers are continuing their unlawful behavior anyway,” Evers said about the filing. “At the end of the day, this lawsuit is about following the law and making sure there’s accountability for elected officials if they fail to do so.
“It shouldn’t take going to court to get Republican lawmakers to comply with state law and Supreme Court decisions, but it seems like that’s what it’s going to take, unfortunately. Elected officials have to follow the law just like everyone else, folks. It’s pretty simple stuff.”
The Assembly Republicans have created a rulemaking task force to explore legislation in the upcoming session to address rulemaking in response to Evers’ orders to state agencies to bypass the committee process.
They called Evers’ directive a “180” from how the legislature has operated in the past.
Vos went as far as stating that the rulemaking debate will lead to issues when state leaders work on the next Wisconsin budget.
“It really seems like, rather than being collaborative and go through the normal process where Republicans, Democrats, Legislators, executive branch all sit down and work out a deal, they’re just going to try to impose their will on the state,” Vos said. “Which will, unfortunately, mean a that during the next budget discussion it will be dramatically different.”
Senate President Mary Felzkowski created a social media video on Friday to explain the process to the public and her concerns about the changes that Evers has attempted to implement.
“Until a few weeks ago, rules went through a review process by the Legislature, which is very important, and why?” Felzkowski explained. “To make sure they follow the intent of the law that your elected officials wrote. This review process also included time for public input meaning anyone could come to the Legislature and express concern or support for a rule.”

(The Center Square) – Wisconsin’s long moratorium on new cigar bars is a step closer to coming to end.
The Wisconsin Assembly approved Assembly Bill 211, which tweaks the state’s indoor smoking ban to allow new cigar bars to allow customers to smoke their cigars inside.
Wisconsin exempted cigar bars from the indoor smoking ban when it went into place in 2009.
Rep. Nate Gustafson, R-Fox Crossing, said the cigar bar rules needed to be updated.
“We can protect public health and strengthen communities at the same time,” Gustafson said.
Because of how Wisconsin’s 2009 smoking ban was written, new cigar bars were not allowed to get new licenses. That meant Wisconsin could not open any new cigar bars.
The new legislation allows new cigar bars to open as long as they only allow customers to smoke cigars and pipes, not cigarettes. And new cigar bars or lounges could not also have restaurants.
“[This plan] strengthens Wisconsin’s smoke-free law with modern safeguards, while respecting the right of adults to make informed choices,” Gustafson said.
Gustafson has been working on the plan for the better part of a year and has had to make some changes in order to gain support.
“This bipartisan vote proves that when we put constituents before politics, we can find common ground,” Gustafson added. “AB 211 is pro-balance, pro-accountability, and pro-Wisconsin.”
The plan passed on a 57–37 vote, and now heads for the Wisconsin Senate.

(The Center Square) – A bill that would limit local executive emergency proclamations to 60 days was heard in Wisconsin committee this week.
The bill aimed to match the limitation of power to a state law limiting the Wisconsin governor to 60 days of emergency powers before the Legislature must approve an extension.
Representative Brent Jacobson, R – Mosinee, is sponsoring Assembly Bill 306 and said that it “makes sure power cannot be concentrated.”
Like the state law, this law was created after emergency powers were used during the COVID-19 pandemic to install rules.
“The COVID 19 pandemic exposed many flaws in our emergency response procedures,” Jacobson said. “It is vital that we learn from the mishandling and mistakes, and implement changes now, or else we will continue to see these same mistakes and abuses happen in the future.”

(The Center Square) – Wisconsin gross property tax levies grew by 4.2% statewide in 2024, only surpassed by a 4.6% rise the year before, according to a new report.
The two increases are the largest increases in levies since 2009.
The property tax levies grew 11.3% in Milwaukee, 5.1% in Madison and 5.7% in Dane County and 7.5% in Washington County, according to Wisconsin Policy Forum in its new Property Values & Taxes DataTool.
The property tax rate in Wisconsin, however, dropped for the 11th straight year due to an increase in equalized property values, meaning that homeowners paid more but the value placed on their home by local governments rose at a higher rate than the property tax increase.
The taxable value of Wisconsin property again rose 8% in 2025.
There is now $982.8 billion worth of property in the state with $724.4 billion of that residential.
That has jumped from $654.8 billion in 2021, $126.6 billion in 1988, then $514.4 billion in 2008 before going to $467.5 billion in 2013.
Southeast Wisconsin saw the largest property tax increases for 2024. But the seven-county area that makes up the region also saw the largest property value increase at 7.2% compared to 6.2% the year before.
Five of those seven counties saw larger property value increases in 2025 than 2024 with Ozaukee and Racine counties seeing double digit value growth over the year.
Milwaukee’s growth was 3.4% compared to 6.3% the year before while Dane County property values increased 9.2%.

(The Center Square) – The top Republican in the Wisconsin Assembly says the current plan to allow local schools to decide cell phone rules for themselves is “weaker” than it should be.
Assembly Speaker Robin Vos told News Talk 1130 WISN’s Jay Weber he’d like to see a total ban on cell phones for students while they are in school.
“If it were up to me, we’d do a bell-to-bell ban on the use of cell phones in school,” Vos said. “All the data shows one thing: That less access to technology during part of the day results in better emotional situations for kids, and better learning.”
Vos, however, said there’s not enough will in the rest of the legislature to make that happen.
The Assembly approved a plan in the spring that requires Wisconsin’s school districts to come up with their own cell phone policies. That means some schools may ban phones all together, while other schools could allow students to use their phones during the school day.
“The legislature, at the request of DPI and the governor, passed something that I think is weaker than it should be,” Vos added. “Every school district has to have a policy in place. So at least they debate it and decide what’s best.”
Vos said there’s an overwhelming amount of evidence that shows banning phones for students during the school day helps with grades, with class participation and with social skills.
“All of the evidence points in one direction,” Vos said.
Vos said the goal is to get a law on the books to deal with cell phones in schools, then fight for something stronger in the future.

(The Center Square) – A combination of increased spending and significant tax cuts will eliminate much of the Wisconsin state government’s remaining historic surplus and — if the economy tanks — might lead to spending cuts in future years.
“The biggest factor is economic growth,” said Tyler Byrnes, a senior research associate for the Wisconsin Policy Forum. “If you’re having good economic growth, you can weather the storm more easily.”
The nonpartisan group analyzes policies to help inform the decisions of elected leaders. It recently called the latest budget an “all of the above” compromise between Republicans and Democrats.
That’s because — along with significant income tax cuts — total spending is set to increase about 12% for the 2025-2027 budget years, which started in July. Wisconsin is among about 20 states that have biennial budgets.
That percentage increase to about $111 billion matches another large increase for the last budget, which featured more one-time spending. The new budget differs because spending increases and tax cuts will persist into future years, Byrnes said. It includes about $1 billion in income tax cuts for workers and retirees for the next two years.
In the past decade the state budget has swelled from about $73 billion to $111 billion, a 53% increase.
States have been flush with cash since the coronavirus pandemic due to higher levels of federal funding and sales tax revenues, and many have matched those surpluses with more spending and tax cuts.
Wisconsin had a general fund balance of about $7 billion in 2023. That is projected to dwindle to about $770 million in 2027, although the state has an additional emergency fund with $2 billion.
The economic factors loom large because a downturn has wide-ranging effects: It can lead to decreased revenues from sales taxes and the state income tax — which is the largest revenue source for Wisconsin — and spending increases for residents who qualify for subsidized health insurance and other assistance.
“If we see continued softening in economic growth, that will make it tough,” Byrnes said.
Other important factors that might complicate future budget decisions include: increased costs for Medicaid; reductions in federal aid; and inflation, he said.
A statement from the office of Gov. Tony Evers, a Democrat who will not seek reelection next year, did not address all those concerns when asked by The Center Square but criticized President Donald Trump and federal Republican leadership for changes to healthcare and food subsidies in the recently passed One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
Evers estimates those changes will cost the state more than $140 million each year.
Wisconsin Senate President Mary Felzkowski and Speaker Robin Vos of the State Assembly, both Republicans, did not immediately respond to requests to comment for this article.
Steady growth
Republicans for more than a decade have had majorities in both chambers of the legislature, although Evers has been governor since 2019. And the Republican Senate ranks were reduced below a supermajority by Democrat wins in last year’s General Election.
That led five Democrats in the Senate to join Republicans to approve the current budget. Four Senate Republicans voted against it.
Before the pandemic the state’s budget had routine spending increases of between about 4% and 7%, according to a Center Square analysis. Massive general fund surpluses led to increases of about 12% in each of the past two budget cycles.
“If you take the pandemic out, the overall state budget from 2010 to 2025 has had pretty steady increases,” Byrnes said.
The largest spending increases in the past decade have been tied to education and healthcare, the analysis showed. An example: funding for the state universities of Wisconsin jumped about 16% in the new budget, or about $2.2 billion. University spending by the state increased between 2% and 4% in the budgets immediately before the pandemic.
State leaders have also used a significant portion of the surplus for roads projects. The transportation budget had increases of about $1 billion and $700 million in the two most-recent budgets, in part to fund those one-time projects.
Other significant spending increases were tied to special education, childcare and hospital reimbursements for low-income residents.
Medicaid funding
The most-significant departmental increase in funding in the new budget is for health services. Part of that nearly $8 billion increase stems from raising reimbursement rates to hospitals for subsidized care for low-income residents.
The state will charge more taxes from Medicaid health providers in exchange for paying the providers more in a bid to gain more federal funding. Wisconsin is among a handful of states that have eschewed more federal funding to cover those expenses for fear that the funding might diminish.
The decision to increase hospital taxes was spurred by the Big Beautiful Bill’s changes to Medicaid funding, which will block those increases and the federal funding that often accompanies them. Overall, the change is projected to add about $300 million to the state’s general fund this budget cycle, Byrnes said.
Health services spending in future years will be affected by Wisconsin’s aging population. The state’s median age is estimated to be more than 40 — significantly higher than many of its neighboring states.
Medicaid costs increase by age. It can cost the state an average of less than $2,000 per year to cover a child, whereas older residents can average more than $20,000 for long-term care.

(The Center Square) – The Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty filed a lawsuit on behalf of the Institute for Reforming Government attempting to have requests for investigations into Wisconsin judges become public records.
The lawsuit challenges a law that prevents those records from being released, claiming the law violates the First Amendment.
The challenge comes after IRG sent a request for investigation to the Wisconsin Judicial Commission for what IRG considered judicial misconduct.
The lawsuit also states there is a threat of punishment if anyone reveals that they have filed a request for investigation of a judge.
“The State of Wisconsin, through law and regulation, threatens any member of the public with punishment if they disclose that they have made allegations of judicial misconduct via requests for investigation which are filed with the Defendant Wisconsin Judicial Commission,” the lawsuit states.
The judicial investigation request was dismissed and IRG was denied the records when it requested the records to find out why the investigation was denied.
“IRG, and every Wisconsinite, has a fundamental right to hold government officials accountable and then to be able to talk about those efforts in the public domain,” WILL Deputy Counsel Lucas Vebber said in a statement. “Unfortunately, the Judicial Commission’s process operates behind closed doors, prohibiting public discourse and scrutiny of its actions. The lawsuit seeks to ensure every Wisconsinite can learn about requests for investigation brought against members of the judiciary. Our lawsuit makes clear that no one is above the law.”
The lawsuit claims that the Judicial Commission has no compelling interest in keeping the complaints and denials from the public.
“The Wisconsin Judicial Commission’s gag order that prevents IRG from communicating its critical oversight work to the public violates the First Amendment and cannot stand,” said IRG General Counsel Jacob Curtis. “Public accountability for the judicial branch is essential to ensuring public trust in government.”

(The Center Square) – Some University of Wisconsin campuses have a few more students this fall after the system released its preliminary enrollment numbers.
“New freshman enrollment is up 3%, or nearly 900 students, according to the preliminary estimates — with eight universities showing new freshman enrollment increases of 5% or more,” the university said in a statement. “Overall, enrollment is 164,340 in fall 2025, according to the preliminary estimates, down 96 students from the final 2024 fall enrollment counts.”
The university credits its Direct Admit program, where UW campuses accept students who graduate from Wisconsin high schools without requiring them to apply first, for some of the enrollment jumps at some campuses.
“We are seeing positive signs on enrollment for the third straight year,” Universities of Wisconsin President Jay Rothman added. “New freshman enrollment is particularly promising. It’s a win when our state’s public universities continue to attract and retain talent Wisconsin will need to prosper.”
The university is blaming a drop in international students for some of the enrollment decline across the UW system.
UW-Madison continues to be the largest campus in the UW System, with 51,550 students this fall. That’s 250 or so students less than last fall. UW-Green Bay saw the largest year-over-year enrollment increase. The Green Bay campus has nearly 300 more students this fall. Both the Stevens Point and Whitewater campuses have about 350 more students this year.
UW-Eau Claire and UW-Oshkosh saw the biggest drops in the UW System. Both campuses have about 500 fewer students than last fall.
“Eight of 13 universities showed increases under the preliminary enrollments. The Universities of Wisconsin have been providing enrollment estimates based on day one counts since fall 2020. Official enrollment counts will be released later this fall based on the 10th day of enrollment,” the university said.

(The Center Square) – Wisconsin Republican lawmakers intend to push a bill to require Wisconsin to opt in to a new federal school choice tax credit.
But Gov. Tony Evers has said that he does not intend to allow the state to join the program.
Assembly Republicans and Rep. Jessie Rodriguez, R-Oak Creek, said that the bill was coming during a Tuesday afternoon news conference on the group’s plans for education bills this session. Soon after, Evers indicated that he does not plan to opt in to the program, which allows a 100% tax credit for anyone who donates up to $1,700 to a school choice scholarship granting organization.
“It’s unfortunate the Governor does not intend to opt Wisconsin into the new federal school choice tax credit, which would give dollar-for-dollar tax credits to people who donate to organizations that award scholarships for students in private and public schools,” Rodriguez said.
Governors and legislators across the country have debated whether to opt in after the tax credit was created through a federal reconciliation bill, with debates in neighboring Illinois and across the country. The tax credit is set to begin in 2027.
“The governor is hurting all students in Wisconsin by refusing to opt into this tax credit,” Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty Research Director Will Flanders wrote. “This is why Wisconsin continues to fall behind other states who are more than willing to think outside the box when it comes to educating their students.”
Flanders took part in Tuesday’s news conference. Rodriguez said that, if Wisconsin fails to opt in for the tax credit, it will allow donors in other states to benefit from Wisconsin tax dollars while state residents cannot.
She asked that Evers reconsider his decision, which she said has no cost to Wisconsin taxpayers.
“I fear the Governor may not understand the policy too well,” Rodriguez said. “He claims that opting our state in would be ‘catastrophic’ to public schools, but the federal tax credit can benefit students in private and public schools alike. This program isn’t about one type of school. It helps public, private, charter, and homeschool families access the tools their kids need to succeed. These scholarships can be used for tutoring, transportation, or supplemental courses that directly support children in the classroom.”

(The Center Square) – One of suburban Milwaukee’s Republican congressmen says the federal government must provide oversight to Milwaukee’s bus system.
Congressman Bryan Steil last week wrote to the nation’s transportation secretary, asking for federal oversight after reports showed that a full third of people riding Milwaukee County buses are not paying fares.
“We need far more transparency about what’s going on. Why did it take investigative reporters to discover this? Why wasn’t this front and center in front of Milwaukee County leaders?” Steil said Tuesday on News Talk 1130 WISN. “Oversight, standards, transparency. This is what the federal government apparently has to provide, because Milwaukee County Transit System is not going to do it themselves.”
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel last week first reported that nearly 3.5 million people haven’t paid fares so far this year. At $2 per-fare, that’s nearly $7 million.
Steil said that’s clearly one reason why Milwaukee County’s Transit System is running an $11 million deficit.
“One-out-of-three people are walking right by the fare box,” Steil added. “You know who that’s really unfair to? The two-out-of-three people that are actually playing by the rules in paying their way. So, this is all about oversight, about transparency, and about the United States Department of Transportation having standards that we’re going to enforce.”
Steil said the federal government “subsidizes” Milwaukee County’s bus system by about $50 million.
“We have President Trump in office if we can finally address the waste, fraud, and abuse that’s occurring with the massive amount of taxpayer dollars that are going to a whole host of programs across the country,” Steil said. “We should be making sure that we have some oversight, clear standards, and transparency about what’s going on in Milwaukee County. That we’re operating fairly and efficiently, because at the end of the day this is taxpayer money that’s being lost by the fact that Milwaukee is not enforcing the rule of law.”