MILWAUKEE, WI - The Milwaukee Brewers’ billionaire owner traded All-Star Freddy Peralta yesterday for prospects, leaving fans upset at the trade and the financing of Major League Baseball that created and normalized such a lopsided and unfair trade.

We welcome Simon Rosenblum-Larson, a former minor league baseball player who helped organize a union for minor league players, to provide his perspective on the trade and take a deep dive into the financing and politics of MLB that enriches billionaires while extracting money from taxpayers.

We close the show with Lisa Lucas the co-host of the Brewers Babes Podcast to get her take on the trade and MLB’s broken system.

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Read Simon Rosenblum-Larson op/ed in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel calling for The New Wisconsin Idea, a vision for democratic renewal rooted in our progressive tradition.

Listen to Brewer Babes Podcast, featuring Lisa Lucas.

http://newiprogressive.com/images/stories/S5/childcare-s451.jpgGovernor celebrates launch of Wisconsin’s first-ever entirely state-funded child care program to provide direct payments to providers, free programming for families to get kids ready for school.

MILWAUKEE - We applaud a victory for local democracy this week in little Greenleaf, Wisconsin. When Big Tech came calling, local residents pushed back so quickly on a proposed data center that the developers immediately pulled out. We put the Greenleaf story in perspective, taking a deep dive into the details of bills from Legislative Republicans and Democrats, and commitments so far by candidates for Governor, to create a framework for regulating data centers. Are the current proposals enough to make sure the data center binge will not jack up already high utility rates, and prevent a response to global warming at the scale and urgency of the crisis?

We also evaluate the first 2026 Affordable Care Act enrollment numbers in the aftermath of the end of enhanced affordability subsidies. Will the enrollment numbers get worse without meaningful action by Congress? We close with the ongoing attempt to criminalize dissent at the state Capitol.

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http://newiprogressive.com/images/stories/S5/tony-evers-talks-2u-s5.jpgGovernor urges passage of $1 billion property tax relief plan, K-12 school funding, lower costs for seniors and families, cut red tape in affordable housing, support veterans and farmers, fight PFAS, and renew the Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Program.

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.