Tom Kertscher

Fact briefs - Wisconsin Watch Wisconsin Watch is partnering with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims.

The latest from @wisconsinwatch.org: No, 6 million people didn't unknowingly get Obamacare health insurance coverage; Yes, ICE is offering local police agencies $100,000 to help apprehend unauthorized immigrants. wisconsinwatch.org/series/fact-...

Do 6 million people receive Obamacare health insurance without knowing it? No. Evidence of massive health insurance fraud is speculative and disputed, though health care experts say broker fraud is a problem.

wisconsinwatch.org/2025/10/wisc...

Fact-checking U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson: Fraud has occurred in Affordable Care Act coverage. But No, there isn't documentation that 6 million people got Obamacare coverage unknowingly, @wisconsinwatch.org finds.

New from @wisconsinwatch.org: Courts approve 11% of petitions for compassionate release from prison. Some inmates must first present evidence indicating they will die within a year, then get a committee's unanimous recommendation.

Here are some claims GOP gubernatorial candidate Tom Tiffany has made — and the facts The Wisconsin congressman has a mixed record on statements that Wisconsin Watch has fact-checked.

wisconsinwatch.org/2025/10/wisc...

How right has Wisconsin's Tom Tiffany, the GOP frontrunner for governor, been in making claims? @wisconsinwatch.org reviewed 11 of his statements on tariffs, transgender women in sports, Ukraine, the terrorist watchlist and more.

Check Wisconsin Watch for a new roundup of statements made by U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany, the Republican frontrunner for Wisconsin governor. We look at whether questions posed by his claims earned a Yes or No.

Is ICE offering police departments $100,000 to cooperate in finding unauthorized immigrants? Yes. At least 13 sheriff’s offices and one police department in Wisconsin are working with ICE in some capacity.

ICYMI: U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement offers up to $100,000 for vehicle purchases to local law enforcement agencies that assist ICE in apprehending unauthorized immigrants. For more fact checks like this one, follow @tomkertschernews.bsky.social.

Is ICE offering police departments $100,000 to cooperate in finding unauthorized immigrants? Yes. At least 13 sheriff’s offices and one police department in Wisconsin are working with ICE in some capacity.

Among other bonuses and reimbursements, local police agencies can receive up to $100,000 for vehicles for working with ICE on apprehending unauthorized immigrants, @wisconsinwatch.org finds. wisconsinwatch.org/2025/10/wisc...

Wisconsin Watch Nonprofit, nonpartisan news about Wisconsin

In just the past few days from @wisconsinwatch: 1. Wisconsin rarely inspects manufactured home parks, allows many to go unlicensed. 2. Wisconsin is one of six states not regulating Delta-8 THC. Intoxication from THC in food has put people in the emergency room. wisconsinwatch.org

Legal loopholes in Wisconsin cannabis laws leave consumers vulnerable A year after the Famous Yeti’s THC pizza incident, the state doesn’t have laws regulating THC in food preparation.

From @wisconsinwatch.org: Wisconsin is one of six states not regulating Delta-8 THC. Intoxication from THC in food can lead to serious health effects. wisconsinwatch.org/2025/10/wisc...

‘They are squeezing everybody in this park to death’: Owners of manufactured homes get little protection as private equity moves in Wisconsin regulators rarely inspect parks and allow many to go unlicensed — all while frustrations simmer with unresponsive landlords.

From @wisconsinwatch.org: Wisconsin rarely inspects manufactured home parks, allows many to go unlicensed and doesn’t even know which parks are operating. The parks house an estimated 100,000 people. wisconsinwatch.org/2025/09/wisc...

Wisconsin Watch Quiz - Gigafact

Federal health grants down $5 billion? Most Americans say violence against leaders is OK? Communist Party is banned by law? Take the @wisconsinwatch.org quiz. gigafact.org/quiz/wiscons...

On trial for journalism in Kentucky. Two months after their arrests while covering a protest, a pair of local reporters face criminal charges.

@liamjscott.bsky.social reports on two @citybeatcincy.bsky.social reporters who covered an immigration detention protest being put on trial on criminal charges. www.cjr.org/news/madelin...

Have Wisconsin electricity price increases exceeded the Midwest average for 20 years? Yes. Wisconsin’s rate was second-highest in 2023-24 and third-highest in 2024-25 among 12 central region states.

wisconsinwatch.org/2025/09/wisc...

Power can be expensive in Wisconsin. Electricity rates -- residential, commercial and industrial -- have exceeded the Midwest average for two decades. Many residential bills have doubled.

Supreme Court should suspend Michael Gableman’s law license for 3 years, referee says The punishment would be for the former Supreme Court justice’s conduct in investigating the 2020 election

2/2 on reaction to the recommendation, issued today, for a three-year suspension of Gableman's law license. wisconsinwatch.org/2025/09/supr...

A formal recommendation of punishment for Michael Gableman, whose career rise and fall set him apart in Wisconsin legal and political history, signals the end of a case that has been humiliating for the former state Supreme Court justice and the court itself. @wisconsinwatch.org reports on 1/2

Do some rankings put Wisconsin among the bottom 10 states in job creation and entrepreneurship? Yes. Some rank Wisconsin low for its high taxes and low funding for businesses. But others rank Wisconsin higher for its infrastructure and low business costs.

wisconsinwatch.org/2025/09/wisc...

Fact-checking new Wisconsin governor candidate Tom Tiffany on whether Wisconsin is among the lowest states in business rankings.

Fact briefs - Wisconsin Watch <p>Wisconsin Watch is partnering with <a href="https://gigafact.org/">Gigafact</a> to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims.</p> <p>Read more about <a href="https://wisco…

wisconsinwatch.org/series/fact-...

Latest fact briefs from @wisconsinwatch.org: Yes, Wisconsin is among the bottom 10 states in some business rankings; Yes, the federal National Institutes of Health has distributed $5 billion less in grants in 2025.

Father shares young daughter’s one-liners in self-made book - Wisconsin Life One of the pure joys of spending time with young children is hearing the wild, hilarious and beautiful things that come out of their mouths. Milwaukee journalist Tom Kertscher feels gratitude that man...

wisconsinlife.org/story/father...

“Daddy, what is my life?”...“Dad, you’re definitely not going to get married — not with those toenails!”...And more of my daughter's childhood quotes, voiced by the two of us for Wisconsin Public Radio, ahead of National Daughters Day on Sept. 25.

YouTube video by Wisconsin Watch In Wisconsin, severely injured workers haven’t had a raise in 9 years. Here's why that matters.

Here's the video version of our @wisconsinwatch.org story on how the most seriously injured-on-the-job workers, those declared permanently and totally disabled, haven't had a raise in worker's compensation benefits since 2016. www.youtube.com/watch?v=S4O_...

Father shares young daughter's one-liners in self-made book Milwaukee journalist Tom Kertscher feels gratitude that many years ago, he put his reporter skills to work and captured some of the things his daughter said as a child.

So blessed to have experienced this and now to be able to share it. Thanks to Wisconsin Public Radio for suggesting that my daughter voice it with me. www.wpr.org/culture/fath...

Do most Americans say violence against leaders is OK? No. Most polls consistently find the vast majority of Americans do not support political violence.

wisconsinwatch.org/2025/09/poli...

In the wake of Charlie Kirk's assassination, @wisconsinwatch.org fact-checks Wisconsin Assembly Speaker Robin Vos on how many Americans are OK with violence against leaders.

Fact briefs - Wisconsin Watch <p>Wisconsin Watch is partnering with <a href="https://gigafact.org/">Gigafact</a> to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims.</p> <p>Read more about <a href="https://wisco…

Our latest fact-checks: Yes, the U.S. has a law that bans the Communist Party; No, National Guard troops, such as those being dispatched to cities to crack down on crime, generally are not trained in law enforcement. wisconsinwatch.org/series/fact-...

Is there a US law that bans the Communist Party? Yes, though the law has rarely been enforced, and Congress has repealed most of its provisions.

wisconsinwatch.org/2025/09/comm...