Policy

Housing-First Hits Madison Amid Rising Tensions Over Homelessness

WisContext

At the end of July, volunteers will fan out across Wisconsin and attempt to count homeless people in their communities' shelters and streets. The twice-a-year process is known as a "point in time" count. In Madison, the count will happen as Mayor Paul Soglin pushes for a city ordinance limiting when homeless people can sleep on public sidewalks.

Creating A 21st Century Park System For Brown County

Allyson Watson

University of Wisconsin-Extension

Now the largest age-based demographic in the United States, millennials are setting a growing cultural tone for how consumer products and workplace practices are experienced. This cohort is also increasingly driving how local communities think about the services and public spaces they provide.

Series: CAFOs, Manure And Water

Bayfield County Confronts Challenges Of Regulating A Potential CAFO

Scott Gordon

WisContext

The debate over a proposed large hog operation in Bayfield County raises questions over how much power Wisconsin's local governments have to regulate farms.

A New Wisconsin Prairie Takes Shape At Badger Ammo

Scott Gordon

WisContext

The Badger Army Ammunition Plant, located just south of Devil's Lake State Park in Sauk County, produced smokeless powder, rocket propellant and other explosive materials used in World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War. Now, the site is in the midst of a gradual transition into its next chapter.

Series: Drinking Water Quality

Series: CAFOs, Manure And Water

Why Kewaunee County Is A Flashpoint For CAFOs And Water Quality

Scott Gordon

WisContext

Kewaunee County, home to about 20,000 people on the lower half of the Door Peninsula, is hardly the only place in Wisconsin that's seen a rapid growth of concentrated animal feeding operations, but it has become central to a debate over how to regulate manure irrigation.

Series: Wisconsin's Rural-Urban Continuum

Rural Wisconsin Counties Continue To Lose Population

Karen Faster

WisContext

Since the Great Recession, more people have been migrating out of Wisconsin than moving into the state — a pattern contrary to Minnesota and Iowa.

Series: Drinking Water Quality

Series: Waukesha And Lake Michigan Water

Waukesha Water Decision Puts Regional Spotlight On Wisconsin's Environmental Enforcement

Scott Gordon

WisContext

Waukesha scored a victory with the historic June 21, 2016 agreement to let the Milwaukee suburb draw 8.2 million gallons per day of drinking water from Lake Michigan. But following a years-long negotiation, both the state of Wisconsin and city of Waukesha had to make some concessions.

Series: Wisconsin's Wolves

Frequent Changes In Management Policy Escalate Wolf Debate

Scott Gordon

WisContext

For Erik Olson, an assistant professor of natural resources at Northland College in Ashland, the biggest weakness in Wisconsin's policy toward wolves hasn’t been any one particular policy decision.

The Uncertain State Of Road Funding In Wisconsin

Scott Gordon

WisContext

For well over a year, Wisconsin has been in a holding pattern about how the state should pay for building and repairing roads.

Series: Drinking Water Quality

DNR Lead Pipe Fund Doesn't Always Align With Greatest Needs

Scott Gordon

WisContext

A new Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources program might have difficulty targeting the Wisconsin communities experiencing the greatest lead contamination in terms of scale and intensity.