Jim Malewitz

This is delightful.

"What can Wisconsin first-graders expect as they start this school year? We asked the experts: former first-graders"

www.greenbaypressgazette.com/story/news/e...

Jack Link’s beef: How the snack giant is lobbying Trump and fighting the Make America Healthy Again movement The world’s largest meat snack brand, with dual headquarters in Minong, Wisconsin, and Minneapolis, has spent millions on Trump campaigns and is advocating for support in the nation’s nutrition pro…

The world’s largest meat snack brand, with dual headquarters in Minong, Wisconsin, and Minneapolis, has spent millions on Trump campaigns and is advocating for support in the nation’s nutrition programs. wisconsinwatch.org/2025/08/wisc... (via @jmcjmc.bsky.social)

Excellent reporting from @mirandadunlap.bsky.social.

‘I did drop a tear’: Camp Reunite helps kids connect with their incarcerated parents A unique camp offers welcoming space for Wisconsin prisoners to spend time with their children, but stigma and other barriers limit its reach.

“I did drop a tear…Me and my mom are really close.”

Camp Reunite helps kids connect with their incarcerated parents, but stigma and other barriers limit its reach.

Moving reporting from @addiecostello.bsky.social and @josephmtimmerman.bsky.social.

wisconsinwatch.org/2025/08/wisc...

Trump Wants Admissions Data on Grades and Race, but Who Will Collect It?

“When you fire the professionals, the statisticians, the scientists that can analyze the data, that allows you to make up whatever facts you want.” www.nytimes.com/2025/08/09/u...

Wisconsin on track to see record number of days plagued by wildfire smoke Smoky skies have now hovered over Wisconsin for more days than 2023, and the state is likely to break the previous record set 15 years ago.

Our new climate normal, and it's so upsetting. www.wpr.org/news/wiscons...

Trump is trying to exclude immigrants from many federally funded programs. Here’s what it means for Wisconsin. The rules seek to bar certain immigrants from accessing Head Start, health clinics, career training, substance abuse treatment and more. Much is still unclear, but here’s what we know so far.

Trump is trying to exclude immigrants from many federally funded programs. Here’s what it means for Wisconsin. (via @wisconsinwatch.org) wisconsinwatch.org/2025/08/wisc...

Alec Luhn, Missing American Hiker, Is Found Alive in Norway

Amazing news to wake up to. www.nytimes.com/2025/08/06/w...

“I was ill and bedridden for weeks. When I was finally able to get up I was a skeleton. My pants couldn’t stay up and my clothes hung on me.” — Door County resident Pam Goodlet recalls her experience of measles in 1963 as a 13-year-old.

Rent Smart training helps tenants navigate Wisconsin’s housing crunch A University of Wisconsin-Madison program educates renters about how to find affordable housing, what to ask landlords and more. It also trains people to teach others in their community.

Rent Smart training helps tenants navigate Wisconsin’s housing crunch. One of the most common concerns expressed in community listening sessions held by @wisconsinwatch.org is the high cost of housing, both homes and rentals.
share.google/KhlkXXU4lFWZ...

Why we’re tracking opioid settlement spending Wisconsin Watch created a tool to show how counties and municipalities are spending millions intended to address the opioid crisis.

Behind the story: "Like millions of other Americans, I have a loved one who faces substance use challenges. I can still remember the gut-wrenching feeling early in the pandemic whenever I encountered headlines describing rising rates of overdoses and fentanyl poisonings."

Scammers Are Coming for College Students The U.S. Department of Education used to employ people whose job was to stop waste, fraud, and abuse. Now almost all of their desks are empty.

“Trump promised to trim the federal bureaucracy. In this case, he has instead defunded the police.” www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archiv...

A house is shown along a rainy street scape, with the words: “We needed this.”

Tonight’s @tigers.bsky.social game was like a healthy Midwest summer rain.

How are Wisconsin’s local governments spending millions in opioid settlement payouts? Three years into disbursements, strategies vary — and so does transparency. Some governments submitted required reports only after a reporter asked. Others have yet to spend anything.

This story and tool by @addiecostello.bsky.social shows Wisconsinites how their local govts are spending millions in opioid settlement payouts.

Her reporting prompted some to file required reports they hadn't yet submitted. Others corrected errors she flagged. wisconsinwatch.org/2025/07/how-...

Trump’s Education Department says it will unfreeze billions in grant money for schools In Wisconsin, some had worried the frozen funds would prompt adult education and literacy programs to scale back, hindering workforce training.

UPDATE: The Trump administration is releasing billions of dollars in withheld grants for schools, the Education Department said today, ending weeks of uncertainty for educators around the country who rely on the money for English language instruction, adult literacy and other programs.

How Wisconsin Watch is covering disruption from Washington Prioritizing context over reader tips and questions, context over speed and plenty of collaboration.

Back in February @jmalewitz.bsky.social shared our newsroom’s plan for covering President Donald Trump’s return to the White House. Here's an update on how we’ve leaned into our strengths in keeping communities connected and informed during exhausting news cycles. Feedback welcome!

Older adults make up 1 in 5 suicides in Wisconsin. Here’s what can be done to fix that. Isolation and health problems are among the complex factors driving older adult suicides, while possible solutions include senior-centered community organizations, improving Medicare mental health …

"Though there is no legislation circulating to address geriatric mental health and suicide prevention, legislators are pushing broader bills related to mental health, substance abuse and gun control, which they say will start to help." wisconsinwatch.org/2025/07/wisc... (via @wisconsinwatch.org)

As local news orgs shut down, alt publications step up A need to fill the hole left by legacy outlets was a frequent theme sounded by those attending the annual conference of AAN Publishers conferring in Madison. Common challenges include the need for mor...

Energizing to see that @littlevillage.bsky.social — one of the first outlets to publish my reporting — is expanding its scope as Iowa’s daily newspapers retreat.

As local news orgs shut down, alt publications step up.

isthmus.com/news/news/as... (@liamberan.bsky.social)

Can’t afford not to.

Madison clerk was on a cookie-baking staycation as missing-ballot mess unfolded Records obtained by Votebeat provide some details on what Maribeth Witzel-Behl’s staff was working on as it sat on the discovery of 193 uncounted ballots.

BAKING NEWS: 🍪 🚨: Madison clerk was on a cookie-baking staycation as missing-ballot mess unfolded wisconsinwatch.org/2025/07/madi... (via @alexandershur.bsky.social)

New grants aim to fill workforce gaps, boost low-income workers Workforce Pell grants will pay for short-term workforce training for low-income students. Here’s what that means for Wisconsin.

New Workforce Pell grants aim to fill workforce gaps, boost low-income workers. Here’s what that means for Wisconsin. wisconsinwatch.org/2025/07/wisc... (@wisconsinwatch.org)

Trump funding freeze threatens programs that prepare thousands for jobs in Wisconsin Wisconsin needs the $7 million currently on hold for adult education to build its workforce, officials say. Now the state is suing to get what it was promised.

The Trump administration is withholding $7 million that Wisconsin was set to receive for adult education. The shortfall could shrink programs in a state where 340,000 adults don't have a high school diploma @wisconsinwatch.org wisconsinwatch.org/2025/07/wisc...

‘What goes up must come down’: Illegal fireworks linked to rising number of Milwaukee fires Illegal fireworks were the cause of a fire near Sherman Park on the Fourth of July. The incident is part of a growing trend in Milwaukee: fires caused by illegal fireworks on the Fourth of July.

‘What goes up must come down’: Illegal fireworks linked to rising number of Milwaukee fires wisconsinwatch.org/2025/07/milw... via @milwaukeenns.org

The Trump Administration Is About to Incinerate 500 Tons of Emergency Food Federal workers warned for months that the high-energy biscuits would go to waste.

“Five months into its unprecedented dismantling of foreign-aid programs, the Trump administration has given the order to incinerate food instead of sending it to people abroad who need it.”

Taxpayer cost: $130K— on top of the $800K used to purchase the food.

www.theatlantic.com/health/archi...

😝

Headline screenshot: Wisconsin officers find drugs, guns in bag labeled ‘Definitely Not a Bag Full of Drugs’

Ope. www.wearegreenbay.com/news/local-n...

Wisconsin still losing out from not expanding Medicaid — even under Trump’s big bill Wisconsin has missed out on $2.6 billion in Medicaid funding and will still be subject to new work requirements.

Wisconsin still losing out from not expanding Medicaid — even under Trump’s big bill wisconsinwatch.org/2025/07/wisc... (@WisconsinWatch.org)

FEMA Didn’t Answer Thousands of Calls From Flood Survivors, Documents Show

“Two days after catastrophic floods roared through Central Texas, the Federal Emergency Management Agency did not answer nearly two-thirds of calls to its disaster assistance line.” www.nytimes.com/2025/07/11/c...

‘Band-Aid on the problem’: Past raises haven’t fully solved Wisconsin prison staffing problems Following initial progress, staffing vacancies are again rising in Wisconsin prisons. Improving training, safety and workplace culture would help retain officers, some say.

Boosting corrections officers’ pay initially helped address staffing shortages in Wis. prisons, but vacancies are again rising.

“It’s not a matter of needing more money. It’s a matter of how much of your soul can you afford to lose?” a former officer said. wisconsinwatch.org/2025/07/wisc...

Help us report on local workforce challenges and opportunities in northeast Wisconsin Introducing Miranda Dunlap, Wisconsin Watch’s Green Bay-based pathways to success reporter.

So excited for @mirandadunlap.bsky.social to join our team. Follow her — and share your tips and perspectives, particularly if you care about workforce challenges and opportunities in northeast Wisconsin. wisconsinwatch.org/2025/07/wisc...