Weekly Fiscal Facts are provided to Wisconsin Newspaper Association members by the Wisconsin Policy Forum, the state’s leading resource for nonpartisan state and local government research and civic...

Even in a divisive world that will become even more so between now and the November election, there’s always room for a little kindness. After writing about the recent death of our beloved Labrador...

Enrolling in Advanced Placement courses can be an important step in preparing for college success. But to realize the full benefits, students must take and score well on Advanced Placement (AP) exams. Among...

Our topsy-turvy spring weather so far this year has not inspired ambitions of gardening, but the show must go on. At least that’s what my wife Sherry told me recently when she decided it was time...

While unprecedented levels of federal pandemic relief have swept into Wisconsin since 2020, the combined aid to its state and local governments ranks in the bottom 10 states when measured as a share of...

Total state financial aid to college and university students in Wisconsin has lagged or declined in the last decade, leaving students to shoulder more of the cost of education – and undermining a tool...

I was having a conversation recently with a crop farmer who remarked that she was enjoying the calm before the storm. It was early April and in just a few days she and her husband would be busy with...

Moving back to the country 16 years ago brought me back to many tasks and chores I experienced as a farm kid, but it also gave us the chance to try some new activities. One of them was raising pigs...

After the COVID-19 pandemic dramatically decreased traffic on Wisconsin’s roads, weekend traffic now has largely returned to near pre-pandemic levels. But weekday traffic, a much greater part of the...

Two reports from the University of Wisconsin highlight the good and potential bad of the state’s currently roaring economy. The mixed outlook reflects similar worries on the national level. One...

At a time when many Wisconsin students need additional support, statewide summer school enrollment plunged in the early months of the pandemic and did not fully recover last summer. The initial decline...

Even when the icy grip of winter keeps holding on, there are signs of spring around us. One sure sign for me was when my animal waterer that froze at the end of January finally thawed. It’s a relief...