Policy

Series: Extreme Precipitation And Wisconsin's Climate

Washed Away: Northwest Wisconsin Copes With The Costs Of A Changing Climate

WisContext

Massive rainstorms hit northwest Wisconsin in 2012, 2016 and 2018, causing tens of millions of dollars in flood damage to public infrastructure. Local officials responsible for rebuilding hope they're able to make improvements to withstand more big storms when they come.

Series: Refugee Resettlement In Wisconsin

Series: Wisconsin's Diverse Waves Of Immigration

Even Where Permitted, Marijuana Presents Serious Legal Risks For Immigrants

Ting-Chia Kan

Wisconsin Watch

Immigrants face severe consequences for marijuana convictions, even in states where it is legal for medical or recreational use.

Series: Wisconsin's Rural-Urban Continuum

Series: UW Applied Population Lab: Wisconsin's Demographics

How Wisconsin's Past And Present Population Will Shape Its Future

Malia Jones

UW Applied Population Lab

Wisconsin's population structure is dominated by the magnitude of the baby-boom generation, and their presence is strongest in rural areas.

Series: UW Applied Population Lab: Wisconsin's Demographics

What Population Pyramids Reveal About The Past, Present And Future

Malia Jones

UW Applied Population Lab

Comparing population pyramids over time can explain a lot about what life is like in a place, as well as its economic and social challenges.

How Polarized Are Wisconsin's Lawmakers?

Aaron Weinschenk

UW-Green Bay

Talk of political polarization — epitomized by the growing divide between Republicans and Democrats — is ubiquitous these days.

Series: Policing Practices And Accountability In Wisconsin

Wisconsin's Racial Chasm In Marijuana Enforcement

Izabela Zaluska

Wisconsin Watch

In 2018, blacks were four times as likely to be arrested as whites for marijuana possession in Wisconsin.

Why Offenders In Wisconsin Go Back To Prison Without Committing New Crimes

Izabela Zaluska

Wisconsin Watch

Revocations for rule violations — and not the commission of new crimes — is the No. 1 cause of incarceration in Wisconsin, accounting for 40% of new admissions.

The Bumpy Path For Efforts To Cut Wisconsin's Prison Numbers

Izabela Zaluska

Wisconsin Watch

While 31 states saw decreases in their prison populations from 2017 to 2018, Wisconsin is not one of them.

The Story Of Wisconsin's Singular Partial Veto

Will Cushman

WisContext

The ability to issue partial vetoes of appropriations bills has allowed Wisconsin governors since 1930 to wield a quasi-legislative power that can substantially — and sometimes controversially — alter the text and implications of appropriations bills with little if any legislative input.

Series: Wisconsin Historical Society Press Excerpts

When The University Of Wisconsin Persecuted Gay Students

R. Richard Wagner

For nearly two decades after World War II, leaders at the University of Wisconsin-Madison systematically outed gay students to their families, extended harsh punishments for suspected homosexual activity and participated in harmful attempts at psychiatric treatment.