MADISON, WI – Today, the Wisconsin State Assembly returned for the first floor day of 2026. Rep. Lori Palmeri released the following statement:

GREEN BAY, WI - "I echo Governor Tony Evers’ pride in the bipartisan accomplishments of 2025, as well as his concerns that we did not do enough to help regular people with the cost of living,” said Senator Wall. “We learned today that state revenue could be as much as $1 billion above initial estimates, providing us with an opportunity to deliver real property tax relief to Wisconsin families by buying down the school levy with additional general aids. Plenty of families are still feeling the squeeze, and we can and should do more for them."

http://newiprogressive.com/images/stories/laura/trump-ice-2026-s435.pngMost Americans agree violent criminals should be dealt with. What they do not support is rounding people up based on how they look. Why Trump’s immigration push is really about control, and why turning ICE into a personal police force should alarm everyone.

MADISON — Gov. Tony Evers delivered his weekly radio address highlighting action he took this week to enact 35 bills into law. Bills enacted by the governor this week include new efforts to keep kids, families, and communities safe, including promoting roadway safety, increasing penalties for human trafficking and trafficking of a child, and requiring public, private, and charter schools to notify a pupil’s parent or guardian if the pupil is an alleged victim, target, or recipient of several types of alleged sex offenses while at school.

MILWAUKEE - We welcome Corrine Hendrickson, with Main Street Alliance, to talk about the upcoming Wisconsin Early Childhood Action Needed (WECAN) Lobby Day on January 20, 2026 at the state Capitol where childcare, education and healthcare funding will be center stage in day of action. We encourage our listeners to attend.

Next, we are joined by Amy Barrilleaux, Communications Director at Clean Wisconsin, to encourage our listeners to sign their petition calling for a statewide pause of approvals of A.I. data centers until we can get better, transparent data necessary to develop a comprehensive plan to protect the environment, avoid massive increases in utility costs for residential customers, and prevent a massive increase in climate-busting greenhouse gas emissions.

We discuss Department of Public Instruction’s report this week that the state will fail to meet 42% special education reimbursement promised in the recent state budget. In a classic bait and switch, the state will only pay 35% of special education costs, dumping the rest on already underfunded public school districts.. Democratic lawmakers are proposing a new bill to ensure schools get special education funding at the rate promised in the state budget process.

Robert does a deep dive into the health care drama in Washington, D.C. where Senate Republicans advance a junk alternative to renewing Affordable Care Act subsidies. We give you a full account of why the GOP plan would be a disaster for Americans already struggling to afford health care.

Listen to “Caring about democracy” Battleground Wisconsin Podcast

http://newiprogressive.com/images/stories/laura/affordability-hoax-trump-s464.pngDonald Trump says affordability is a hoax. I guess the rest of us just imagined our grocery bills, medical costs, rent hikes, insurance premiums, and heating bills. My sarcastic take on the strange little universe he lives in.

http://newiprogressive.com/images/stories/S5/disabled-mentally-s5.jpgNew bill reimburses special education at the levels promised in this year’s state budget.

MILWAUKEE - We discuss the latest shocking affront to basic human decency by the Trump Regime, starving food insecure American families by cutting off SNAP to states that have not shared the private personal data of recipients with the regime’s security forces. Governor Evers and Attorney General Kaul are right to tell Trump to pound sand. Will the federal courts or Congress stop them from triggering a hunger crisis in the U.S.?

We review a fascinating discussion earlier this week at a U.S. Senate panel which began as a discussion of extending ACA tax subsidies but evolved into a broader bi-partisan discussion of the broken and unaffordable healthcare system. Senators Bernie Sanders and Tammy Baldwin point out there is a consensus the system needs fundamental reform. We dig into the details and its implications for progressives and healthcare reform advocates.

We are joined by State Representative Darrin Madison to discuss the 2% of income utility rate cap bill. The legislation is still seeking co-sponsors until Monday December 8th. We urge our listeners to call their legislators today and email them by following this link. We look at how this bill connects to the current data center explosion, and the increasingly vehement and bipartisan protests, which are being ignored by most politicians.

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In his weekly radio address, Governor encourages Wisconsinites to shop local this Holiday Season.

MILWAUKEE - We discuss the pathbreaking Utility Rate Cap bill which is currently circulating for co-sponsors in the state legislature. We praise the current co-sponsors and encourage our listeners to reach out to their state legislators today.

We expose the continuing perversion of democracy and human decency that finds Speaker Robin Vos unilaterally blocking the latest effort to pass a PostPartum Care Expansion bill in the Assembly with overwhelming bi-partisan support. It already passed the Wisconsin Senate 32-1.

We continue the conversation on the un democratic rush to approve and throw tax giveaways at AI data centers owned by the world’s richest people and largest tech companies. We look at the public uprising where conservatives, independents and democrats agree the data center assault on communities is corporate welfare in the guise of economic development.

We close with a dive into the new national MU Law Poll that trumpets Trump vulnerability. We are not as sure. We also look at how voters’ clear top issue is the cost of living and how no matter where you live in Wisconsin you should make enough income to afford the basics of life. House Democrats call on Trump to act on an epidemic of claims denials in employer-sponsored health care. And, Group Health Co-op board to discuss motions to recognize the nurse and healthcare workers union.

Listen to “Wisconsin populist revival heats up heading into the winter” Battleground Wisconsin Podcast