Wisconsin's agricultural bounty is possible thanks in part to the state's voluminous supply of freshwater. At the same time, the use of this resource to grow crops and nourish livestock poses risks to the quality of these waters.
Declining enrollments and complicated funding streams are making it harder and harder for rural schools to keep the lights on. Wisconsin Rural Schools Alliance director Kim Kaukl discusses this seemingly inescapable pattern and shares his own story in Spring Valley.
The Wisconsin Legislature voted to postpone a proposal to increase fees on concentrated animal feeding operations. Wisconsin Dairy Alliance president Cindy Leitner and Wisconsin's Green Fire executive director Fred Clark discuss the scope of the proposal.
Wisconsin courts have suffered from a dearth of attorneys to hire when public defenders are unavailable. State Supreme Court Chief Justice Pat Roggensack says a budget measure increasing pay for these attorneys is "absolutely critical."
The quality of drinking water resources is increasingly an area of focus among Wisconsin's political leaders. Their efforts, in turn, are generating significant interest around the state.
In the 1960s and 1970s, several dozen rural taverns were located within a 7-mile radius from the center of the city of Marshfield. But by the end of the 20th century, more than three-fourths had closed their doors.
Dane County has been selected as one of 13 sites across the country to test a new model: a public-defender-style system aimed at providing a lawyer to every detained, indigent immigrant.
Among immigrants living in Wisconsin whose cases began between 2010 and 2015, those who had lawyers were more than six times as likely to be allowed to stay in the country as those who didn't have representation.
The ongoing trade dispute between the U.S. and China continues to raise concerns among Wisconsin farmers. Wisconsin Farmers Union president Darin Von Ruden discusses how farmers navigate low commodity prices on top of this trade uncertainty.
