WPR Politics

Attention dear listeners, we have an announcement: The WPR Politics Podcast is taking a quick winter break!!

Do you remember 2021? That's OK, neither do we! But that just means it's time to take a look back at the year that was in Wisconsin state politics news on another episode of everyone's favorite fake podcast game show! Let's play!!!

The Wisconsin Supreme Court's conservative majority issued a ruling this week laying out how they'll handle the political map-drawing process in the state: basically change things from the existing, GOP-slanted maps as little as possible. And how better to make sense of the news? Soft rock piano!

A new bipartisan bill sparked fresh discussion about marijuana policy in Wisconsin this week. It would standardize penalties for marijuana possession across the state, and while it would mellow out restrictions in many areas, some communities that have lax rules aren't feeling the vibe. Plus, can it actually pass, or will it go up in smoke as so many week bills before it?

Our very own Shawn Johnson has been away on a journey for many weeks, but today is the day he returns, and with news of Wisconsin redistricting no less. Just in time for GOP lawmakers' passage of their political maps. So sit back and let yourself be regaled!

It is just over 12 months until election day 2022 in Wisconsin, and that means it's high time for a podcast breakdown of the major races to keep an eye on over the next year — you've got your governor's race, the U.S. Senate, the 3rd Congressional District — so much excitement it's going to be hard to stay calm. But we are going to make it through this year if it kills us!

Deep in the bowels of the Capitol square, shrouded in mystery, you’ll find the LAB. What goes on there, nobody’s quite sure. But for months, day and night, something has been growing, bit by bit, taking on a life of its own. And now it’s in the light of day — a massive, incomprehensible entity that’s already started to spawn!! It has long, nonpartisan tentacles wrapped around the core parts of state government. It is … the Legislative Audit Bureau 2020 elections administration report !!!!!!!!

No tiny tweets or scrawny stories here! This week we have literally all the information there is on crane hunting, school transfers, election investigations, you name it! Hours and hours of state Capitol news on this special extended cut!

Yeah, it's October 2021, but somehow November 2020 is front-page political news in Wisconsin this week. It's like a wise man once said: "Time is a flat circle. Yes it is, yes it is."

The wheels are turning on Wisconsin's once-a-decade legislative redistricting process and everyone has mapmaking fever — Republicans in the state Legislature, the governor and his fellow Democrats, and eventually probably the courts. But let's not get ahead of ourselves.

It has been a refreshing few weeks off for summer vacation, but the seasons are changing it's time to get back to work! That's right, fall is in the air and as the leaves start to drop, so will crisp new episodes of the WPR Politics Podcast. There is so much news to dig back into, so dust off that podcast app and get ready!

Attention dear listeners, we have an announcement: The WPR Politics Podcast is going on summer vacation!!

We were preparing for this for weeks. Training day and night. Running through all the eventualities. Time to cover Gov. Tony Evers' action on the two-year state budget. Partial vetoes? One big veto? You name it. So what happened? Strap in and listen to find out!

The Republican-controlled Wisconsin Legislature has been passing a lot of bills lately that raise the prospect of gubernatorial vetoes. For some of the legislation it seems likely, for others it's harder to tell. We could use our experience as political reporters to tell listeners what seems likely … or we could invent a fake supercomputer to do the work instead.

Long week in the Legislature — Joint Finance wrapped up their work on the state budget, Republicans introduced a massive tax cut proposal, and Laurel didn't get much sleep. So how about some terrible parody karaoke to bring it all together?

What happens when you run a state like, say, Wisconsin, and all of a sudden you find out that your state has more money coming in than you expected? Like a lot more money? Billions of dollars more money? Well, you fight about it of course!

Alright class, settle down. If you'll open your budget papers, today we're talking about state and federal funding for Wisconsin's K-12 schools and the UW System. Now who knows how the ed funding plan from the GOP-controlled Wisconsin Legislature compares to the governor's spending proposal? Anyone? How about the surprise this week involving the UW System tuition freeze? Did nobody do the reading?

Another week in Wisconsin's divided state government and it seems like we've seen this one before — Both Democrats and Republicans push big ideas that they know they other side won't buy. But maybe that's part of the point.

It's that time in point in the Wisconsin legislative session where things are humming along — bills are being considered, votes are being taken — pretty run-of-the-mill stuff. But wait just a darn minute, because even run-of-the-mill lawmaking can be pretty important, or at least interesting. Election changes, police reform bills, singing at the ball game. Yeah, it was all there this week.

It's that time in the biennium when the budgetary blocks are being stacked. The governor has made his spending proposal, lawmakers have held public hearings on the issues, and this week the Legislature's budget committee took their first vote. But there was no balancing act to be seen. Republicans sent pieces flying.