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Founded 1901

Royal Purple

Founded 1901

Royal Purple

Founded 1901

Royal Purple

A strange spring indeed

A strange spring indeed

Chris Hardie March 24, 2024

One of the benefits of starting my seventh decade of life in Wisconsin is experiencing all kinds of weather and seasons – sometimes occurring on the same day. There’s usually one day every year when...

State legislative lines have been redrawn for 2024 and signed into law by Democrat Gov. Tony Evers.

State legislative lines have been redrawn for 2024 and signed into law by Democrat Gov. Tony Evers.

WisPolitics March 17, 2024

State legislative lines have been redrawn for 2024 and signed into law by Democrat Gov. Tony Evers. So, shouldn’t congressional lines be redrawn too, given that Republicans hold a 6-2 partisan advantage...

Ballot measures shape debate on hot-button issues across the country, drawing millions in outside spending

Ballot measures shape debate on hot-button issues across the country, drawing millions in outside spending

Albert Serna Jr. and Jimmy Cloutier, OpenSecrets March 17, 2024

Millions of dollars are funneled into ballot initiatives, which leave hot-button issues like abortion rights, marijuana legalization and medicaid expansion to the public to decide. In 2023, ballot initiatives...

Fiscal Facts: Municipal revenues rise sharply but not uniformly

Fiscal Facts: Municipal revenues rise sharply but not uniformly

March 10, 2024

With last year’s enactment of historic state legislation, most Wisconsin municipalities are receiving their first substantial increase in a generation in their main source of state aid, shared revenue.   However,...

Birds are bullies too

Birds are bullies too

Chris Hardie March 10, 2024

His name was Billy and he lived across the street from our family in the Milwaukee suburb of Hales Corners.   He was probably three years older than me – more like my brother’s age – but...

A statewide referendum – in August

A statewide referendum – in August

March 3, 2024

The Capitol Report, produced by WisPolitics.com — a nonpartisan, Madison-based news service that specializes in coverage of government and politics — provides a weekly analysis of issues being debated...

This tale stinks

This tale stinks

Chris Hardie March 3, 2024

I was outside at dawn recently getting some chores done when I was hit with one of the smells of the country – a malodorous whiff left by a mammal in the mephitidae family. It was the spray of a nearby...

Evers signs a GOP bill containing his legislative maps

Evers signs a GOP bill containing his legislative maps

WisPolitics.com February 25, 2024

The Capitol Report, produced by WisPolitics.com — a nonpartisan, Madison-based news service that specializes in coverage of government and politics — provides a weekly analysis of issues being debated...

Chris Hardie spotted a 1993 magazine in a clinic waiting room recently.

Just waiting around

Chris Hardie February 25, 2024

As hurried and busy as life seems these days, we still spend plenty of time waiting. Estimates are that we can spend an average of six months of our life waiting.   I thought about waiting recently...

Ron Johnson votes against bipartisan aid package for Ukraine, Israel. Baldwin joins most Dems, 22 Repubs to approve it.

Ron Johnson votes against bipartisan aid package for Ukraine, Israel. Baldwin joins most Dems, 22 Repubs to approve it.

Peter Cameron, The Badger Project February 18, 2024

A bipartisan supermajority of senators, including one from Wisconsin, approved a $95 billion national security package early Tuesday morning that included aid to Ukraine and Israel. It passed out of the...

Back Home by Chris Hardie

Explaining a Strange Winter

Chris Hardie February 18, 2024

A long, long time ago when I worked in newsrooms far, far away, I liked to tell aspiring journalists my definition of news: it’s what people are talking about.   It was justification and rationalization...

Fiscal Facts: Higher Education and Wisconsin's Future Job Market

Fiscal Facts: Higher Education and Wisconsin’s Future Job Market

Wisconsin Policy Forum February 11, 2024

Amid a national debate about the value of higher education, a college degree would be required for a nearly two-thirds of higher-paying job openings that state officials project to exist in Wisconsin through...

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