(The Center Square) – Jill Underly, Wisconsin’s State Superintendent of the Department of Public Instruction, did not attend a Wednesday morning committee meeting she was invited to about her department’s 2024 standards-setting conference in the Wisconsin Dells.
But representatives from her department were present and adamant the work of the 88-member committee that met was not subject to open meetings or open records disclosure because it was setup by vendor Data Recognition Corp.
Committee Chair Rep. Amanda Nedweski, R-Pleasant Prairie, had the legislative legal affairs department read from state law that included a stipulation that a private company contacted to do public work had to follow the same record-keeping and notice process as a public entity.
Also, Institute for Reforming Government General Counsel Jake Curtis testified he believed prior case law was clear that the 88-member committee constituted an Ad Hoc Committee that should hold its meetings publicly.
“Given the decision by IRG to file an action in court against us … we are going to keep these comments to a fairly high level,” DPI Assistant State Superintendent Division of Government & Public Affairs Rich Judge said.
DPI Legislative Liaison Andrew Hoyer-Booth said that DPI feels “clearly and pretty strongly” that Data Recognition Corp.’s work at the conference did not constitute a public meeting.
IRG filed a complaint in Adams County Court about the meeting and plans to file a legal action on the meeting if no further action is taken by the court.
“Wisconsin case law is clear,” Curtis told the committee. “… The DOJ compliance guide is extremely clear on this.”
Judge was asked further questions about delays in the release of public records related to the conference, to which he responded that DPI’s legal department needs more resources to fulfill requests and that those same resources are then taken away from sexual misconduct investigations when they are used for public records.
Judge said that 100 legal hours have been spent on records related to the conference and the department expects that 100 to 150 more hours will be spent on the case.
The sexual misconduct work that Judge referenced that were heightened after a Capital Times report into how DPI handles teacher license investigations occurred after the public records response from DPI was delayed.
Rep. Mike Bare, D-Verona, asked Nedweski and Curtis if they would join him in a request for more funding for DPI for public records responses. He said that committee meetings like Wednesday’s unfairly add to educator and public school mistrust.
“The mistrust is growing because of theater like this,” Bare said.
Rep. David Steffen, R-Howard, said that Democrats always attempt to use discussions about DPI’s actions to push for more funding for the department.
“The solution provided from the other side is almost always money,” Steffen said. “I reject that. I know the public does as well.”

(The Center Square) – Wisconsin continued to drop in economic outlook, ranking 28th amongst the state’s in the new ‘Rich States, Poor States’ rankings from the American Legislative Exchange Council.
The group uses 15 state policy variables to project economic outlook and also computes economic performance based upon gross domestic product, absolute domestic migration and non-farm payroll employment.
Wisconsin ranked 32nd in economic performance between 2014 and 2024 because it was 34th in GDP, 27th in absolute domestic migration and 36th in non-farm payroll.
Wisconsin’s economic outlook has dropped from a top ranking of 12th in 2020 to the current 28th spot. It ranked 26th last year.
Wisconsin ranked at the top of the list for its right-to-work policy, relying on the federal minimum wage and not levying an estate or inheritance tax.
But the state ranked 40th for its 7.65% marginal personal income tax rate, 43rd for personal tax progressivity and 44th for its average workers’ compensation costs.
Wisconsin also ranked 30th in property tax burden, 36th in debt service as a share of tax revenue, 35th in top marginal corporate income tax rate and 18th in sales tax burden.

(The Center Square) – One of Wisconsin’s Republican congressmen says it could be a “frustrating” return to Capitol Hill this week.
Congress is back after a two-week break, and Rep. Bryan Steil said there is a lot on the to-do list.
“It’s frustrating,” Steil said during an interview on News Talk 1130 WISN. “We have narrow majorities in both the House and the Senate, that’s not lost on anybody, so making progress is difficult.”
Steil isn’t sure how much will actually get done, but he said his focus is on ending the shutdown at the Department of Homeland Security.
“The path forward on this is to move it through on a party-line vote and using the tactic of reconciliation to get around the Senate filibuster,” Steil said. “Getting the funding through for the Department of Homeland Security is so absolutely essential. That is going to take a ton of energy in the room, but I think we will be successful in the coming weeks.”
Steil is also focusing on his now three-year-long investigation into the fundraising platform ActBlue.
“What are online portals, like ActBlue, doing to prevent foreign donations from being processed on their platforms?” Steil asked. “We asked ActBlue a series of questions, and now it appears that they were not fully truthful.”
Politico wrote about Steil’s investigation Tuesday and followed a New York Times report that said ActBlue leaders may have “misled” Congress during testimony in 2023.
President Donald Trump on Wednesday called ActBlue the “most corrupt group in Government” in a post on Truth Social.
Steil said he expects “significant action in the coming weeks.”
“We’re taking this incredibly seriously, because at the end of the day the American people deserve to know that in U.S. elections there is no foreign funding,” Steil said.
As for how the ActBlue investigation ends, Steil said he is focusing on getting answers for the American people. Anything else would have to come from the Justice Department.
“The DOJ may have their own investigation that would result in an individual being held accountable to the law,” Steil said. “On the Congressional side, what I can do is provide transparency that can move the Department of Justice…but also to make sure that we are changing the laws on the books.”

(The Center Square) – Wisconsin’s Senate and Assembly decided to keep Gov. Tony Evers’ special session open on Tuesday as conversations continue on redistricting in the state, with Assembly Republican leaders saying that will allow for “meaningful dialogue” on the topic.
Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, and Majority Leader Tyler August, R-Walworth, sent a joint statement at noon Tuesday announcing the continuation of the special session.
“We view the Governor’s proposal as a first step on which to build a more comprehensive, workable solution for Wisconsin and we hope that Governor Evers will agree to meet face-to-face with us to discuss our ideas on how to accomplish this shared goal,” the leaders said in a statement. “We’re committed to a transparent and balanced solution that reflects the interest of all Wisconsinites.”
Evers called the special session to “ban partisan gerrymandering” but did not provide details of his proposal, something he also mentioned in his State of the State speech.
Evers said Tuesday that he did not plan to compromise.
“There’s nothing to negotiate because there’s no room for compromise when it comes to making sure Wisconsinites’ voices matter and their votes count,” Evers said in a statement.
“Rigging maps so that one political party stays in power is wrong, it’s anti-democratic, and it’s un-American—there’s nothing to negotiate because there’s no room for compromise when it comes to making sure Wisconsinites’ voices matter and their votes count,” Evers added. “This is a first step—if we don’t get a ban on partisan gerrymandering put in Wisconsin’s constitution, lawmakers will never be forced to create the independent and nonpartisan redistricting process Wisconsinites deserve.
“Lawmakers either want to ban partisan gerrymandering in Wisconsin or they don’t. It’s that simple. If lawmakers fail to take a public vote on this basic question, then Wisconsinites have no choice but to assume their lawmaker’s position on this issue.”

(The Center Square) – Two more Wisconsin Republicans announced onTuesday that they will not be running for reelection as Sen. Jesse James, R-Thorp, and Rep. Scott Allen, R-Waukesha, will not attempt to retain their seats.
James called it a retirement from the Senate while Allen, who recently lost his bid to become the next Waukesha mayor, called it a sabbatical from public office.
“I had the opportunity of a lifetime,” James said in a statement. “However, this role came at a price, a price of being away from my family. For this reason, and for other personal reasons I have decided to retire from the Wisconsin State Senate. It has been an honor and a privilege to represent the people of the 23rd Senate District.”
Others who won’t be running for reelection include Rep. Rob Brooks, R-Saukville, Rep. Jerry O’Connor, R-Fond du Lac, Sen, Rob Hutton, R-Brookfield, Sen. Steve Nass, R-Whitewater, and Sen. Van Wanggaard, R-Racine.
Rep. Calvin Callahan, R-Tomahawk, announced that he will be running again for his seat.
Republican Michele Magadance Skinner announced that she will be running for James’ seat. Skinner fell to Jodi Emerson for the District 91 seat in the Assembly in 2024. She thanked James’ for his endorsement in the race, making her announcement right as James public said he would be retiring.
“On the Eau Claire County Board, I have seen firsthand the impact the state government can have on our community,” Skinner said in a statement. “Hardworking families deserve a Senator in Madison who will roll their sleeves up, work across the aisle, and deliver. That’s what Senator James did, and that’s what I will do as your next State Senator.”
Allen was first elected to the Assembly in 2014 and has been reelected every two years since.
“Scott has served with honesty, integrity, and a deep respect for this institution,” Assembly Majority Leader Tyler August, R-Walworth, said in a statement. “He has always approached his role with a clear sense of responsibility, focusing on doing the job the right way and staying true to the people he represents.
“He has been a thoughtful and principled member of our caucus, someone who took the time to understand the issues and speak with sincerity.”
Republican Bryson Reyes announced on Tuesday that he would run for Allen’s seat. Reyes is an Army veteran who works in manufacturing.
“I am running for State Assembly because I want to fight for the American dreams of my
family and my neighbors,” Reyes said in a statement. “I see lack of economic opportunity for the people who call this place home. Overregulation and lack of support from Madison for our small businesses inhibit growth and do not provide long-term stability for working families.”

(The Center Square) – The Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa will have another chance to halt construction on a Line 5 pipeline reroute during a Thursday morning hearing at the Bayfield County Courthouse.
The judge will appear live at the hearing via Zoom from Iron County while public viewing of the hearing will be in Bayfield County.
The hearing is challenging Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources permits for the project in response to a petition for judicial review of an administrative law judge’s decision to uphold the permits in February.
The Bad River Band, along with Clean Wisconsin and Midwest Environmental Advocates, asking for construction to be paused because the groups believe that state regulators did not properly apply Wisconsin’s environmental laws and didn’t fully account for the environmental harm from the project.
The permits allow for a 41-mile Line 5 reroute in northern Wisconsin. Permit applications for the project were initially submitted in 2020.
The pipeline transports more than 500,000 barrels of crude oil and natural gas liquids each day through the Bad River Band reservation.

(The Center Square) – There is now a legal challenge to Wisconsin’s recently lowered state test scores.
The Institute for Reforming Government filed a case in Adams County that claims Wisconsin’s Department of Public Instruction violated the state’s open meetings law by secretly playing host to a working group of education bureaucrats in 2024. That working group drove DPI’s effort to rework Wisconsin’s standardized test scores.
“This workshop was essentially set up to refigure the cut scores, to rename them,” IRG attorney Jake Curtis explained in an interview on News Talk 1130 WISN.
Curtis said reworking the scores actually lowered them and misled parents about how well their kids are reading, writing and doing math.
“The problem, from a public policy standpoint, is that was lowering expectations,” Curtis added. “You’re not going to have an apples-to-apples comparison of how your kid was doing from previous years.”
But more than that, Curtis said DPI went to lengths to keep the effort to change the test scores from parents and the public.
“Attendees were asked to sign non-disclosure agreements, not allowed to post anything on social media,” Curtis said. “The public deserves to know. And those who attended, at least should have the right to discuss what was debated, and why these scores were lowered.”
But this isn’t the only time Curtis said DPI has hidden information from parents.
“Clearly, the concern here is, at DPI there seems to be a pattern of not informing the public,” Curtis said, “and most critically, on issues that the public really cares about.”
A Cap Times story last fall showed a pattern at DPI of ending or dismissing sexual misconduct and grooming investigations when suspected teachers surrendered their teaching licenses.
DPI has never addressed the claims that its 2024 waterpark weekend working group violated the open meetings law, but DPI officials have said they reworked the state’s test scores to better reflect how and what Wisconsin school kids are actually learning.
State Superintendent Jill Underly has been invited to testify at a legislative hearing at 10 a.m. on Wednesday about the secrecy at DPI.

(The Center Square) – Wisconsin state Sen. Howard Marklein, R-Spring Green, announced Monday he will be running for reelection in the 17th Senate District.
Marklein is a co-chair of the state’s Joint Finance Committee and his announcement comes after a flurry of Republicans announced that they would not run again, including Assembly Speaker Robin Vos and Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu.
“I am running again to keep investing in our shared priorities, protect Wisconsin’s checkbook, continue working across the aisle to solve problems, and move Wisconsin forward,” Marklein said in a statement.
Others who won’t be running include Rep. Rob Brooks, R-Saukville, Rep. Jerry O’Connor, R-Fond du Lac, Sen, Rob Hutton, R-Brookfield, Sen. Steve Nass, R-Whitewater, and Sen. Van Wanggaard, R-Racine.
The State Senate Democratic Committee pointed to the recent state Supreme Court race, when Judge Chris Taylor won all of the counties in Marklein’s district.
“Sen. Marklein talks about investments in our schools, investments in hospitals, in our healthcare system — ignoring the fact that while he’s been in office, schools in his district have closed their doors, hospitals in his district have closed their doors, and health care costs have skyrocketed,” State Senate Democratic Committee Communications Director Will Karcz said in a statement. “Sen. Marklein sat back and did nothing as veterans’ housing facilities in Eau Claire and Green Bay closed their doors. When he could have acted.
“The people of Wisconsin’s 17th Senate district deserve better than the failed leadership Howard has brought to Madison. This November, they will reject the failures of Howard Marklein and elect Jenna Jacobson as the new State Senator in Southwestern Wisconsin.”
Marklein pointed to the nearly 20 bills he authored that have been signed into law and nearly 100 that he co-authored.
“We have made a lot of progress, but there is more work to do. I am running again to keep investing in our shared priorities, protect Wisconsin’s checkbook, continue working across the aisle to solve problems, and move Wisconsin forward,” Marklein said.

(The Center Square) – The Wisconsin Assembly Committee on Government Operations, Accountability and Transparency will hold an informal hearing Wednesday related to open records and open meetings for the Department of Public Instruction’s Forward Exam.
DPI has come under fire for not complying with public records requests from Dairyland Sentinel related to its 2024 standard-setting conference in the Wisconsin Dells while the Institute for Reforming Government has questioned why the meetings were not noticed with an agenda as General Counsel Jake Curtis told The Center Square that he believes the meeting fits under the definition of a state Ad Hoc Committee.
Conference attendees signed non-disclosure agreements through Data Recognition Corp., which currently has a 10 year, $80 million contract with the state to conduct the Forward Exam. DPI paid Data Recognition Corp. $8 million on resetting its standards on the Forward Exam and operating the test in 2023-24.
Curtis and DPI State Superintendent Jill Underly are scheduled to speak at the hearing.
DPI spokesperson Chris Bucher told The Center Square that “standard setting and assessment item review is a ‘routine’ part of this process.”
Bucher was previously quoted as saying that the Wisconsin Dells location was aimed at supporting Wisconsin tourism and stating the Wisconsin Dells meeting was a “common approach.”
But a Center Square investigation showed that hosting standard-setting meetings outside the state capital city, where the department is located, is unique to Wisconsin and not done in other states, adding expenses for DPI staff to stay and attend the meetings along with bringing in computers, hotspots and technology to use at the meeting.
Curtis told The Center Square that, while the conference spending raised eyebrows and drew headlines, he believes the 88-member standards-setting group filled with school employees and leaders fits the exact definition of an Ad Hoc Committee and that meetings of that committee should be public and not subject to the non-disclosure agreements signed by conference attendees.
“In Wisconsin, we have very robust open meetings laws, public records laws and we have a strong sunshine set of laws in Wisconsin,” Curtis told The Center Square. “What the Department of Public Instruction did here was pretty obvious, just did not want the scrutiny from the public. And that’s frankly why it’s such a problem for DPI.”

(The Center Square) – University of Wisconsin-Madison Athletics Director Chris McIntosh is leaving the school less than a week after a name, image and likeness bill was signed into law by Gov. Tony Evers that will send $15 million annually to the athletic department along with creating a broad public records exemption for any spending or revenue.
McIntosh will join the Big Ten Conference office May 1 as the deputy commissioner for strategy, the conference announced onMonday.
McIntosh pushed the bill as necessary to save women’s and Olympic sports at the university. While lawmakers said that 32 states had NIL state laws in place, no other public university has a sweeping exemption to public records like the Wisconsin law and no other state has passed a bill that would send $15 million of general taxpayer money annually a public university related to NIL.
“In the event that this legislation is not passed, we will be forced to reconcile our revenues with our liabilities, like we always have,” McIntosh told a Senate committee. “And that will come through a series of painful reductions, further emphasis on increasing our revenues.
“And, what I fear is, that through those reductions in support of our sport programs, all of our sport programs, all 23 of our sport programs, we’ll be left in a situation in which it will be difficult to say the least, for us to be competitive in the sports that generate in excess of 80% of the revenues. And it will also be difficult to be competitive.”
Part of the argument from McIntosh and lawmakers supporting the bill came from a report from a 2022 marketing report from eConsult Solutions that claimed each UW-Madison football game brings $19 million of economic impact to Dane County.
A later report from UW-Madison’s CROWE Center for Research said that continued losing by the football program could cost the athletic department $20 million in profit, but that report also cited and relied upon the numbers from eConsult Solutions.
The type of hired marketing reports that eConsult Solutions provides are consistently rejected by sports economists who point out the flaws in the math used and how they do not factor in items such as diverted spending, crowding out effects and the costs related to large events and facilities.
Sports teams and athletic programs then use those marketing reports to justify public spending, the UW-Madison athletics officials are doing with AB 1034, which does not have a fiscal estimate attached yet.
UW-Madison athletics operated with a $4.3 million surplus in its most recent annual NCAA financial report covering the financial year that ended in June 2025.
Athletic department officials told the Assembly Committee on State Affairs on Wednesday that football is responsible for 80% of the athletic department’s revenue. That was $113.6 million last fiscal year, according to the NCAA report, which showed the football program brought in $72 million in excess during the year.

(The Center Square) – A new report says there are some lingering questions about how Milwaukee County communities figure out their property taxes.
The Wisconsin Policy Forum is out with a new study on how Milwaukee County’s local tax assessment process helps and hurts.
“In Milwaukee County alone, there are 10 cities and nine villages, each of which are responsible for assessing property values each year and transmitting them to the state Department of Revenue. These 19 municipalities – ranging from the city of Milwaukee to smaller, quieter communities such as the village of River Hills – use a mix of in-house assessors and contract firms to separately determine property values,” the report states. “Though this approach maximizes local control, it also limits economies of scale, leads to quite different approaches among neighboring communities, and may at times affect the accuracy and uniformity of assessments.”
One of the biggest concerns is that the local control model leads to differences between neighboring communities.
The report said allowing each community to handle its own taxes, and save money, is not always a good thing.
“In our survey, the leaders of eight municipalities, or almost
half, said their annual costs of conducting assessments totaled amounts that worked out to less than $15 per parcel. Two communities – Hales Corners and Cudahy – reported costs that amount to less than $10 per parcel, a strikingly low cost,” the Policy Forum wrote. “Perhaps not surprisingly, assessors and other experts said that this low-cost approach can affect quality. The current system can lead to out-of-date or inaccurate property information and involve inadequate or even in some cases improper methods of valuing property.”
The report noted that one community is currently suing the assessor it hired to calculate property taxes.
Wisconsin law allows local communities to handle their own tax assessments, so it’s not just a Milwaukee County issue. And the report said other communities could be dealing with the same issues as Milwaukee County communities.
The Policy Forum report doesn’t make any recommendations, but it does offer a look at an “option.”
“The biggest change would involve municipalities voluntarily partnering with one another to form a new commission that would hire its own assessment staff to value properties. This approach could improve the accuracy and uniformity of assessments but could involve a substantial increase in costs for nearly all of the 16 municipalities that currently use a contract assessor. A similar tradeoff would result from potential partnerships between two or three municipalities to start handling their assessment in-house,” the report added.
Read the full report here.

(The Center Square) – The Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty filed a federal lawsuit on behalf of New Richmond Parents for Good Schools over the school district’s policy on gender identity and the use of bathrooms at the school.
“The policy has resulted in at least one male being frequently present in the girls’ bathrooms with girls, causing anxiety, stress, and an invasion of personal privacy for the girls,” WILL wrote in a description of the lawsuit.
WILL argues that Title IX states that schools can provide separate locker rooms, toilets and shower facilities on the basis of sex.
The lawsuit is looking for a declaration that New Richmond’s policy violates the 14th Amendment, which prohibits sex discrimination, and an injunction against the New Richmond school district from allowing anyone besides females from entering the female facilities and anyone besides a male from entering boys facilities.
“Girls should feel safe at school and their privacy should be respected,” WILL Deputy Counsel Cory Brewer said in a statement. “New Richmond schools left parents and young girls no choice but to go to court and sue to end this ridiculous policy allowing biological boys into the girls’ bathroom. WILL is proud to represent this association of parents and students to bring an end to this destructive and dangerous policy.”
New Richmond Junior Ella Frei is a WILL client who has been outspoken against the district’s policy.
“Protecting girls by not allowing boys in the girls’ bathroom shouldn’t be controversial – it should be common sense,” Frei said in a statement. “We are not going to abandon our identity as girls or ignore the real privacy concerns the school district has forced on us.”

(The Center Square) – The list of Wisconsin lawmakers who are not running again continues to grow.
Two more Republicans recently announced plans to step away from the Wisconsin Capitol.
State Rep. Jerry O’Connor, R-Fond du Lac, called it quits.
“Serving as your Assembly Representative has been more rewarding than I could have imagined,” O’Connor said. “While I look forward to spending more time with my family and pursuing personal interests, I remain committed to completing my term through the end of the year and focusing on the work I was elected to do,” O’Connor said.
O’Connor served just two terms.
Rep. Rob Brooks, R-Saukville, announced his retirement after 12 years in the Assembly.
“While I am stepping away from office, I still care deeply about the future of Wisconsin,” Brooks said. “Strong leadership in Madison matters, and it is important that we continue to elect people who understand our communities and are willing to stand up for them,” Brooks said.
Brooks and O’Conner join other Republicans like Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu, and Sen, Rob Hutton, R-Brookfield, in retiring this year.
In all, nine state lawmakers have announced that they will not run again in November.
Some of the retirements, like in Vos and LeMahieu’s districts, will likely not end with a Democrat replacing a Republican. But that’s the case for every retiring Republican.
Hutton’s decision not to run has touched off what could be the most intense race in the state legislature this year.
Pewaukee doctor Mike Roberts is running against Democratic state Rep. Robyn Vinning, D-Wauwatosa.
Roberts has said his race is the key for Republicans to hold the Senate majority.
There will also be a crucial race in Racine.
Longtime Sen. Van Wanggaard, R-Racine, last month announced that he won’t run for re-election. He said he is stepping away from the Capitol to spend more time with his family.
Democrats partially redraw Wanggaard’s district in 2022 and see his seat as a possible pick-up.
Candidates for state legislative seats can begin to gather signatures in their races next week.

(The Center Square) – No committee vote was taken Thursday as two of the 10 University of Wisconsin System Regents appeared before the committee for confirmation of their nominations to the board in the days following the board’s decision to fire UW President Jay Rothman.
The Senate Committee on Universities and Technical Colleges chose not to vote on the nominations on Thursday with Sen. Rob Hutton, R–Brookfield, saying the committee will evaluate the testimony from Regents Amy Bogost Blumenfeld and Tim Nixon on Tuesday and seek more information from the UW System before taking further action.
“I was dismayed that they were unable to provide any documentation whatsoever – not so much as a meeting note – on the performance reviews that they repeatedly cited as leading to Rothman’s termination,” Hutton said in a statement. “Even the smallest of private businesses must keep extensive documentation on similar personnel matters. I was also disappointed that the remaining 8 nominees whose nominations were to be considered were not in attendance.”
Meanwhile, Gov. Tony Evers issued a statement as the committee began its work assuming a vote would be taken, saying the committee vote is “largely symbolic and will have no impact on the confirmation of Gov. Evers’ UW Board of Regents appointees.”
“If Republicans are going to use this as a pretext to justify firing people just because they were appointed by a Democratic governor, that would be a mistake,” Evers said in a statement. “It would also seriously jeopardize our continued bipartisan work this session on behalf of the people of our state.
“It’s pretty simple: I trust that the Regents are doing what is best for students, faculty, staff, and our UW System—lawmakers should, too.”
Meanwhile, the committee felt many of its questions on the firing remained unanswered.
“In all my years in the legislature, I have only known the Board of Regents to be guardians of the status quo, so I have my doubts that the Regents have been stonewalled in a desire to make significant reforms,” Hutton said. “I look forward to receiving specifics about the comprehensive reforms they sought that President Rothman allegedly held back.”

(The Center Square) – Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers signed a bill Thursday that will legalize online sports wagering in the state.
Evers will now negotiate compacts with Wisconsin’s 11 tribes to send revenue from gaming from the tribes to the state. Those compacts must be approved by the federal government.
Evers framed the bill signing as “the beginning of a conversation, not the end of one” and vowed to come up with agreements that benefit all of the state’s tribes.
“I have heard from each of the 11 affected Tribes that this bill offers an opportunity for their governments and for their people to improve the quality of life, health, and stability of their communities,” Evers wrote in a statement. “As governor, I am responsible for ensuring the state of Wisconsin upholds Tribal treaty rights and appropriately respects Tribal sovereignty in Wisconsin.
“Most importantly, this means respecting every Tribal Nation’s right to do what is best for its people. I do so today as I always promised I would, but I am not without reservations about signing this bill.”
The proposal changes the state’s definition of “bet” to allow the state’s tribes to offer mobile sports wagering if the bettor is in Wisconsin and the sportsbook servers are on tribal land, an amendment to current compacts allowing for casino gambling and sports wagering on tribal lands despite the state’s ban on betting.
The law would allow for a similar sports wagering model as Florida, where the state’s sportsbook operators have servers on federally recognized tribal lands while users can be in the state of Wisconsin.
“This is an opportunity to avoid the mistakes of past compact amendments that left some Tribes and their members in poverty while only lifting up a few,” Evers wrote. “It is further my expectation that we look beyond mere dollar signs and economics and insist these decisions also be guided by respect, humility, compassion and solidarity.”
The law received opposition from large national sports wagering companies like DraftKings, FanDuel, BetMGM, Fanatics and Bet365 through the Sports Betting Alliance because those groups believe the agreement will keep them out of Wisconsin sports wagering in favor of the tribes and partnering with the tribes would result in deals that would not cover the large sportsbook’s expenses.
“Wisconsin voters definitely want to have a say in this policy and they haven’t gotten that opportunity,” SBA President/CEO Joe Maloney said previously.
Maloney said the law would create a monopoly rather than a competitive market between sportsbooks that would give users the best options.
The Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty has said it believes the sports wagering bill is unlawful and explained the reasoning, starting with a state law that the Legislature cannot pass a law to allow for gambling in the state and because the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act prevents creating a tribal gambling monopoly off reservation.

(The Center Square) – The Wisconsin mayor who moved his community’s ballot drop box will not face any criminal charges.
Fond du Lac County District Attorney Eric Toney recently announced he will not pursue charges against Wausau Mayor Doug Diny.
Toney said the lack of clarity in Wisconsin’s rules for ballot drop boxes played a role in his decision.
“The Election Commission correctly, I believe, determined that the drop box in question here did not fit the statutory definition of a ballot box,” Toney said. “And so that left us with determining whether or not there could be ballots inside it that we could look at it. And the clerk in Wausau knew or determined there were no ballots in it when it was ultimately removed.”
Diny made national headlines when he moved Wausau’s ballot drop box from the sidewalk in front of city hall into his office in September 2024.
Diny originally said he moved the box because he was “uncomfortable” with the idea of allowing people to drop off ballots in an unmanned, unmonitored box.
“This wasn’t intended to solely be a drop box for ballots,” Toney added. “It could take any correspondence related to city government. So, you could have letters to the mayor’s office, other city departments, and once it would have been unlocked, ballots [would have been] all co-mingled together.”
Toney asked other prosecutors in northeast Wisconsin to review the case along with him. They also decided against filing official charges.
Toney acknowledged that the decision will not be popular.
“There are some that wanted charges issued based on politics and others that did not want charges issued based on politics,” Toney explained. “However, the facts are the facts, and the law is the law, no matter how badly someone may wish for a result, our duty is to follow the facts, and the law, not politics or emotions. Partisan politics has no place in the justice system, and we will not in engage in lawfare.”