FREE WHITEWATER

Campaign Ads, Daily Bread, Politics, WisDems, WISGOP

Daily Bread for 1.27.26: Contributions Tell What Donors Think

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Good morning.

Tuesday in Whitewater will be windy with a high of 13. Sunrise is 7:14 and sunset is 5:01 for 9 hours 47 minutes of daytime. The moon is a waxing gibbous with 66.1 percent of its visible disk illuminated.

Whitewater’s Finance Committee meets at 5 PM.

On this day in 2010, Apple announces the iPad.

Rich Kremer reports today that ‘fundraising reveals party priorities in battle for Wisconsin Legislature.’ The headline and story are spot-on — fundraising tells us what party donors think are the odds of taking one chamber of the Legislature or another. These donors may be right or wrong about the bets they’re placing. Kremer writes of what their contributions reveal about their sense of the race:

During the last half of 2025, the Republican Assembly Campaign Committee raised around $4.5 million with the help of a $3 million donation from GOP megadonor Elizabeth Uihlein and another $1 million donation from fellow megadonor Diane Hendricks. The group ended the year with around $5.2 million in the bank. 

During the same period, the Assembly Democratic Campaign Committee raised just more than $1.1 million, which included $175,000 from Democratic megadonor and LinkedIn founder Reid Hoffman and $100,000 donations from Lynde Uihlein of Milwaukee and David Hall of Pewaukee. The Democrats’ committee ended the period with around $241,000 in the bank. 

It was a different story on the Senate side of the fight for legislative control. The State Senate Democratic Committee raised around $772,000, while the Committee to Elect a Republican Senate raised around $307,000. At the end of the year, however, the GOP group had more money in the bank than its Democratic counterpart.

University of Wisconsin-La Crosse Political Science Professor Anthony Chergosky told WPR the best way to determine how political parties feel about upcoming elections is to see where their donors are putting their money. He said the latest Wisconsin data “reflects the simple math that Republicans are more likely to maintain control of the Assembly majority than they are to maintain control of the Senate majority.”

See Rich Kremer, Fundraising reveals party priorities in battle for Wisconsin Legislature, Wisconsin Public Radio, January 27, 2026.

Of the $4.5 million that the Republican Assembly Campaign Committee raised, $4 million — 89 percent — came from 2 donors. Campaign money makes a difference, but bets from a couple of donors who bet large and often tell more about what they think than anything else.

It’s been a theme here at FREE WHITEWATER that Wisconsin politics (and politics elsewhere) is increasingly national in focus. That focus will be so intense this fall, and views so firm among so many voters, that big donors with long-standing commitments and long-standing preferences won’t matter as much as in prior years.

City, Culture, Daily Bread, Local Government, Open Government

Daily Bread for 1.26.26: Tactical Emulation in Whitewater Will Perpetuate Error

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Good morning.

Monday in Whitewater will be sunny with a high of 9. Sunrise is 7:15 and sunset is 5:00 for 9 hours 45 minutes of daytime. The moon is a waxing gibbous with 54.4 percent of its visible disk illuminated.

The Whitewater School Board meets at 6 PM.

On this day in 1962, Ranger 3 is launched to study the Moon. The space probe later misses the Moon by 22,000 miles.

For many years, until the beginning of the last decade, Whitewater was mostly a center-right town. For the special-interest men who dominated community development, and found any number of operatives and catspaws to stack on the Whitewater Common Council, this political orientation probably seemed like the natural order of the universe. Their outward profession of faith was boosterism, and their inner belief was personal entitlement. A small and beautiful city run like a company town, or closer still to the truth, run like a company store.

Readers have sometimes written to ask why I did not concentrate on the special-interest men from FREE WHITEWATER‘s beginnings in 2007. I’ve two answers. First, there was a worse problem back then. Second, I did not believe that any normal community would continue to pay much attention to that ilk.

(Note well: When I described members of that clique as town squires, etc., it was not because I was envious — it was because I thought they were ridiculous. It seemed reasonable that they’d fade on their own.)

And yet, time erodes all, including the plans of these now-aged men. The city’s demographic has changed (from a preponderance of residents of longstanding families to one of newer residents, by ideology, and by ethnicity.) These older cronies and entitled types are still around, but others have come forward, a bit younger and often with a different partisan ideology. They’ve grown tired of listening to, and being under the control of, a few entitled Boomers. Whitewater understandably deserves more than an American version of the British aristocracy, where the Duke of Cadbury or the Viscount of Yorkshire Pudding dominates politics for life.

(Again, an aside: While it’s certain that I don’t support yesterday’s tired special-interest men, and Whitewater will be better off when they stop obstructing possibilities, I am not a member of any faction in this city. If that’s not obvious, then nothing is. My tenets are my faction — of policy in this city I neither need nor want more. Actually, of policy in this city, no one needs more than his or her unselfish convictions, steadfastly held. This is the true high ground, the good ground on which to fight, being both right and formidable. Family, friends, and cats are private matters, not policy ones. Those who hold to their own unselfish tenets will find that, in fact, family, friends, and cats will respect them all the more for it.)

So, what’s all this about tactical emulation? New people, new factions, new ideas have — and should — come along to uplift this city. What a terrible waste it would be for residents who offer new and better to adopt the tactics of old and worse. Good ideas for this city, advanced with yesteryear’s bad tactics, are not primarily good ideas — they’re primarily bad tactics. The corruption of an action (using corruption as the Ancients would have, as the rejection of the common good in service of a private advantage) indelibly taints a policy or program.

Along will come an act utilitarian who will insist he’s simply looking for the greatest good for the greatest number, only to injure others for his defined good. Later will come along a rules-based utilitarian who insists he’s rules-based, and would not step on anyone based on his rules, except in this one case right now where he has to make an exception…

No and no again.

New ideas and new people should not, and if they are to advance this city’s betterment must not, emulate yesterday’s old tactics.

Daily Bread, Health, Wisconsin

Daily Bread for 1.25.26: DeForest, Wisconsin Returns to Reason, Plans to Refluoridate Its Water

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Good morning.

Sunday in Whitewater will be cloudy with a high of 10. Sunrise is 7:16 and sunset is 4:58 for 9 hours 42 minutes of daytime. The moon is a waxing crescent with 43.6 percent of its visible disk illuminated.

On this day in 1964, Blue Ribbon Sports, which would later become Nike, is founded by University of Oregon track and field athletes.

DeForest, Wisconsin has decided to refluoridate its water supply. It’s one small step, from one Wisconsin community, back from crackpottery:

The action follows a protracted controversy that inflamed local politics in the village of some 12,000 people.

Fluoride can be naturally present in drinking water, and many communities in the U.S. add fluoride to their water supply to maintain levels that are ideal for preventing tooth decay.

Fluoride strengthens teeth, which helps stop cavities. For that reason, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has previously celebrated water fluoridation as one of the greatest public health achievements of the 20th century.

But fears about the effects of fluoride in water supplies have been spreading for decades in communities across the country, including DeForest. And U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy is among those promoting false information about fluoride.

Last February, DeForest trustees voted 4-3 to stop adding fluoride to the village’s water supply. This week, trustees took another step toward reversing that decision. 

The board voted 5-2 on Tuesday night to direct village staff to prepare a resolution that would rescind the prior anti-fluoride resolution. Trustees are expected to approve the new resolution during a meeting next month. After that, it will likely take several months before added fluoride is re-introduced to the water, Village Administrator Bill Chang wrote in an email to WPR.

See Sarah Lehr, DeForest prepares to reintroduce fluoride to its water after protracted controversy, Wisconsin Public Radio, January 22, 2026.

We live in a time beset by ignorance, intemperance, and outright idiocy. DeForest now looks to be on the mend, and one wishes that community a full recovery.

Moment Alex Honnold climbed to the top of Taipei 101 skyscraper without ropes:

Cheers erupted from a street-level crowd as he reached the top of the spire of the 508-meter (1,667-foot) tower about 90 minutes after he started. Wearing a red short-sleeve shirt, Honnold waved his arms back and forth over his head.

Daily Bread, Games/Puzzles, Sports, Weather, Wisconsin

Daily Bread for 1.24.26: Crokicurl in Altoona

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Good morning.

Saturday in Whitewater will be cold with a high of 1. Sunrise is 7:16 and sunset is 4:57 for 9 hours 41 minutes of daytime. The moon is a waxing crescent with 32.8 percent of its visible disk illuminated.

On this day in 1984, Apple Computer places the Macintosh personal computer on sale in the United States.

By Sailko – Own work, CC BY 3.0, Link.

Crokicurl puts a new spin on sport of curling:

Curling is a well-known pastime both in the Upper Midwest and across Canada. Popular in Canada, but largely unknown to the south, is a tabletop board game called Crokinole. Both games are deceptively simple at first, but rely on a lot of strategy to master. Crokicurl combines them.

Ice Pancakes Roll Over Waves on Lake Michigan:

Pancake ice formed on Lake Michigan as cold weather passed through portions of Indiana and Michigan as part of a massive winter storm.

Conservation, Daily Bread, Legislation, Legislature, Nature, Wisconsin

Daily Bread for 1.23.26: Conservation Lite

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Good morning.

Friday in Whitewater will be cold with a high of -5. Sunrise is 7:17 and sunset is 4:56 for 9 hours 39 minutes of daytime. The moon is a waxing crescent with 23.1 percent of its visible disk illuminated.

On this day in 1957, American inventor Walter Frederick Morrison sells the rights to his flying disc to the Wham-O toy company, which later renames it the “Frisbee.”

It was probable that the Assembly majority would let the existing Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Program expire, then replace that program with something less robust, and give it the same name as the original. Mission accomplished:

A pared-back proposal that will continue the Knowles-Nelson Stewardship program, but without allowing for new land acquisition, passed the Assembly on Thursday, eliciting critical reactions from Democrats who said it won’t uphold the legacy of the program.

The Warren Knowles-Gaylord Nelson Stewardship Program was initially created during the 1989-1990 legislative session and signed into law by former Gov. Tommy Thompson. With the goal of preserving wildlife habitat and expanding outdoor recreation opportunities throughout the state, the program has authorized state borrowing and spending for state land acquisition and for grants to local governments and nonprofit conservation organizations. It has traditionally received bipartisan support in Wisconsin as it has been reauthorized several times over the years.

Two GOP bills, coauthored by Rep. Tony Kurtz (R-Wonewoc) and Sen. Patrick Testin (R-Stevens Point), passed the Assembly in a 53-44 vote along party lines. The bills would extend the program for an additional two years, but in a limited form.

Under the amended proposal, the Knowles-Nelson program would be reauthorized until 2028, but the money set aside would mostly be for maintaining land that has already been purchased under the program.

The program’s land acquisition provisions have been essentially stripped in the legislation. 

See Baylor Spears, Assembly passes pared down Knowles-Nelson stewardship bill that limits land acquisition, Wisconsin Examiner, January 23, 2026.

Bright aurora lights up Alaska sky:

The northern lights lit up the night sky over Fairbanks, Alaska, on Jan. 21, with ribbons of green and pink shimmering above snow-covered woodland.

City, Film

Film: Tuesday, January 27th, 1:00 PM @ Seniors in the Park, After the Hunt

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Tuesday, January 27th at 1:00 PM, there will be a showing of After the Hunt @ Seniors in the Park, in the Starin Community Building:

Psychological Drama/ Thriller Rated R (Language; moderate sexual content)

2 hours, 18 minutes (2025)

A college professor (Julia Roberts) finds herself at a personal and professional crossroads when a star pupil levels an accusation against one of her colleagues, and a dark secret from her own past threatens to come to light. Also stars Andrew Garfield. An AARP 2026 Movies from Grown Ups Award nomination for Julia Roberts.

One can find more information about After the Hunt at the Internet Movie Database.

Daily Bread, Law, Litigation, Madison, Voting Rights, Wisconsin

Daily Bread for 1.22.26: City of Madison Argues Wrongly on Absentee Ballots

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Good morning.

Thursday in Whitewater will be windy with a high of 22. Sunrise is 7:18 and sunset is 4:55 for 9 hours 37 minutes of daytime. The moon is a waxing crescent with 15 percent of its visible disk illuminated.

On this day in 1968, Apollo 5 lifts off carrying the first Lunar Module into space.

By NASA – Public Domain, Link.

It’s sometimes the case, too often, regrettably, that in defending against accusations or litigation, a public institution will advance an argument that protects the institution but harms the public. That’s the situation with the City of Madison’s argument that absentee ballots are a privilege, not a right:

Gov. Tony Evers is pushing back against arguments Madison city officials made in a recent lawsuit contending they can’t be sued for failing to count nearly 200 mail-in ballots in 2024 because absentee voting is not a right but a privilege.

A group of Madison voters represented by the liberal law firm Law Forward sued city and county election officials in March over the city’s failure to count 193 absentee ballots cast during the 2024 presidential election.

The voters are accusing the former Madison clerk of disenfranchising their right to vote in a class-action lawsuit.

[…]

A Dane County Circuit judge overseeing the lawsuit granted a motion from Evers earlier this month to file a brief that the governor’s attorney said would argue the Madison officials’ position “ignores longstanding state constitutional protections” and a state Supreme Court interpretation of the state law at issue that argues otherwise. Evers’ brief is due Jan. 23. 

In recent filings, Witzel-Behl and Madison officials argue the voters’ constitutional protections were removed when they decided to vote absentee.

“The Complaint’s prefatory allegations in (the complaint) describe the right to vote as ‘fundamental’ and ‘sacred,’ and cite a century-old precedent that the right to vote ‘may not under our Constitution be destroyed or even unreasonably restricted.’ … These points are undoubtedly true. However, the manner in which Plaintiffs exercised their right to vote – by absentee ballot – took the process out of its core constitutional protection,” the officials argue. “When the absentee process unfortunately results in a vote not being counted, it is not a violation of a constitutional right.””

See Molly Beck, Evers pushes back against Madison argument in absentee ballot lawsuit, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, January 22, 2026.

Here we are: the City of Madison, to defend itself against litigation, argues for the effective disenfranchisement of 193 of its own voters.

Attorney Haas argues that the defense in the City of Madison’s legal brief is merely about the amount of damages (a monetary amount) that need to be paid in this case. Perhaps he thinks this is clever representation, but it’s closer to the British insult that sometimes one is ‘too clever by half.’ The affected voters will not see this defense as supportive of their voting rights and the majority of Madison residents will not see this defense as supportive of their voting rights. Only the opponents of absentee voting will find this defense supportive of their interests.

Note well: This is an occasion when a lawyer, representing a public client, undermines the rights of those that the public client is, itself, obligated to represent. Always a mistake, always a serious mistake, and always a mistake requiring a genuine remedy.

An immediate remedy would be for the City of Madison to withdraw its line of defense. A later remedy would be for a court to reject that defense if it is not withdrawn.

In other cases, a genuine remedy may require a public client to seek new in-house or outside counsel, and to remove officials who supported an egregious line of defense.

James Webb Space Telescope delivers ‘clearest infrared look’ of Helix Nebula:

The James Webb Space Telescope has captured an amazing closeup of the Helix Nebula. “Blistering winds of hot gas from the dying star are crashing into colder shells of dust and gas that were shed earlier in its life, sculpting the nebula’s remarkable structure,” according to the European Space Agency.

Business, Daily Bread, Legislation, Legislature, Regulations, Wisconsin

Daily Bread for 1.21.26: Assembly Passes Limited Data Center Regulations

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Good morning.

Wednesday in Whitewater will be cloudy with a high of 24. Sunrise is 7:19 and sunset is 4:53 for 9 hours 34 minutes of daytime. The moon is a waxing crescent with 7.4 percent of its visible disk illuminated.

Whitewater’s Parks and Recreation Board meets at 5:30 PM, and the Library Board meets at 6:30 PM.

On this day in 1793, after being found guilty of treason by the French National Convention, Louis XVI of France is executed by guillotine.

A data center boom has swept the nation, and Wisconsin is no exception. Posts at FREE WHITEWATER on 1.13.26 concerned Wisconsin gubernatorial candidates’ views on data centers, and on 1.14.26 Microsoft’s view of Wisconsin data centers. There’s now more news about possible data center regulations and Microsoft’s plans for data center expansion.

Proposed state regulations for data centers are thankfully light (thus allowing the industry to grow as the marketplace makes possible):

Lawmakers in the state Assembly voted Jan. 20 to advance a bill proponents say would balance the economic benefits of Wisconsin’s booming data center industry with environmental and cost concerns.

Detractors called it a “completely unserious attempt” to address the issue.

The Republican proposal’s trajectory since it was introduced Jan. 9 has highlighted both the contentious nature of the issue and the pressure on public officials to keep pace with the rapid rate of development. It passed 53-44 largely on party lines, with Rep. Lindee Brill, R-Sheboygan Falls, joining Democrats in voting no and Reps. Steve Doyle, D-Onalaska, and Jodi Emerson, D-Eau Claire, joining Republicans in support.

[…]

Under the bill passed Jan. 20, the state Public Service Commission would be tasked with ensuring no other ratepayers would absorb the costs of the construction or extension of electric infrastructure that primarily serves a data center. Any renewable energy facility that primarily serves a data center would be required to be located on-site.

The PSC has not taken a position on the bill, but director of policy and legislative affairs Tanner Blair wrote in testimony last week that while the agency supports efforts to shield ratepayers from costs raised by data centers, the language of the legislation “would be challenging to implement.”

The bill would also require any water used by data centers for cooling purposes to be used in a closed-loop system, or any other system that uses an equal or lesser amount of water. Each year, the operator of a data center would be required to report its annual water usage to the state Department of Natural Resources.

The bill would enact requirements for land restoration at the discretion of local government officials, including requiring data center operators to file a bond in advance with the DNR large enough to cover those efforts.

Developers would be required “to the extent possible” to “encourage” the hiring of Wisconsin workers for construction.

See Jessie Opoien, Republican bill setting data center rules passes but faces opposition, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, January 20, 2026.

Meanwhile, and not coincidentally, Microsoft plans 15 more data centers in Mount Pleasant.

I’ve argued that Microsoft would not find any proposed regulations as a barrier to Microsoft’s plans, and that seems a sound assessment. Whether any given data center is a good idea requires a particular review of each center and each campus on which that center would be located. That review — and community debate — yet awaits. Some centers may succeed, others fail. Some corporations will prosper, others fall short. That’s simply the condition of a competitive marketplace. There’s no reason to stymie those private efforts.

Competitive marketplaces lead to competitive societies. That’s all to the good.

A coyote swam over a mile to reach Alcatraz Island:

See also Amanda Bartlett, San Francisco coyote swims to Alcatraz for first time ever, SF Gate, January 18, 2026.

When coyotes find a way to swim away from (former) prison islands, that’s when one needs to be concerned. For now, they’re heading in the wrong direction.

City, Conflicts of Interest, Daily Bread, Local Government, Open Government

Daily Bread for 1.20.26: How to Think About Proper Government

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Good morning.


Tuesday in Whitewater will be partly sunny with a high of 13. Sunrise is 7:20 and sunset is 4:51 for 9 hours 31 minutes of daytime. The moon is a waxing crescent with 0.6% of its visible disk illuminated.

Whitewater’s Alcohol Licensing Committee meets at 5 PM and the Whitewater Common Council meets at 6 PM.

On this day in 1937, Franklin D. Roosevelt and John Nance Garner are sworn in for their second terms as President and Vice President; it is the first time a presidential inauguration takes place on January 20 since the 20th Amendment changed the dates of presidential terms.

Now: if there are Steps for Blogging on a Policy or Proposal, and if a blogger assesses What Ails, What Heals, and if one chooses between a posture to Support, Oppose, or Refrain, then is there any other fundamental to add?

There is at least one more: the public and private, political and private institutions, are of fundamentally different natures. The public is, and in a well-ordered society must be, open and available to all. In Whitewater, that means open and available to all to 15,000 residents. (To apply a welcome expression from the Whitewater Unified School District’s superintendent, “all means all.”)

And yet, and yet, we see in our small city of fifteen thousand a mere fifteen or so who would bend the public institutions to their will, for their ends. For them, public institutions are to be captured and directed to their private ends. They see local government as another object to be acquired. Government is simply another purchase for them.

(Perhaps they were told years ago that the city was more theirs than others, that it was their birthright. I don’t know; it doesn’t matter. You’ll excuse me if I do not set aside centuries of political teaching for the selfish delusions of a few small-town men. Those who would prefer that a small and beautiful American city were possessed by only a few should work on a time machine to take them back to a vulgar medieval village. It would be, I think, where they would be happiest.)

Whitewater’s government belongs to all and yet to no one person. This is the fundamental limitation on its conduct — it cannot be possessed by a few, it must be open to all, and none can act within it in conflict with these precepts.

How should we imagine a sound government’s nature and limitations? Well-ordered government is like a fish that, however beautiful, can live only in water. For fish, gills allow the extraction of oxygen from water. Some can live for a short time outside the water, but not for long. Without water, no respiration, without respiration, no life. A fish’s body might yet remain after death, but the fish’s nature is wholly different.

To think of sound government this way — as a fish that can live only in water, only under definite conditions — reminds us that sound government cannot be anything that any one person wants for himself or herself. A ‘fish out of water’ is more than an animal out of place; it’s a dead animal.

There are a few private men in this town who are quite sure that local government can be, indeed must be, whatever they want.

No and no again.

City, Daily Bread

Daily Bread for 1.19.26: Support, Oppose, Refrain

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Good morning.


Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day in Whitewater will be windy with a high of 5. Sunrise is 7:20 and sunset is 4:51 for 9 hours 31 minutes of daytime. The moon is a waxing crescent with 0.6% of its visible disk illuminated.

On this day in 1937, Howard Hughes sets a new air record by flying from Los Angeles to New York City in seven hours, 28 minutes, 25 seconds.

So, if there are Steps for Blogging on a Policy or Proposal, and if a blogger assesses What Ails, What Heals, then writing requires an approach of supporting or opposing, doesn’t it? Almost.

There are three possible postures: supporting, opposing, and yet a third, refraining.

A supportive approach is easy to understand: the relevant policy or proposal is sound and beneficial. A response is required.

An opposing approach is also as easy to understand: the relevant policy or proposal is unsound and harmful. A response is required.

And yet, and yet, there is a third possible approach: when a policy or proposal, whether sound or unsound, is likely to fail and so have no consequence either beneficial or harmful. In that situation, it is often enough to refrain from comment.

If the proposal (even a well-meaning one) has no chance of any success, influence, or lasting effect, then there are reasons simply to let that proposal wither without comment. This is true even in cases where the proposal has a beneficial goal. Sometimes, even the most positive goal is beyond reach.1

And so, and so, it’s not support or oppose. It’s support, oppose, or refrain.

_____

  1. People choose freely, sometimes well, sometimes poorly. Some choices, some actions, cause irreparable damage to an effort. Afterward, however regrettable, there’s nothing anyone else can do. ↩︎

Industrial crane collapses in Russia’s Tatarstan region:

An industrial crane collapsed at a factory in Russia’s Tatarstan republic on Sunday. Authorities said a woman who was in the crane cabin at the time suffered injuries in the accident.

Music

Monday Music: Minuet in G Major Variation

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Provided to YouTube by Sony Classical/Sony Music Minuet in G Major Variation (After Notebook for Anna Magdalena Bach, BWV Anh.116, No. 7: Menuet in G Major) [Arr. for Violin, String Quintet & Piano by Jan-Peter Klöpfel] · Eldbjørg Hemsing · Norwegian String Quintet · Tim Allhoff · Johann Sebastian Bach Colors of Bach.

Daily Bread, Education, Politics, State Government, University, UW System, Wisconsin, Writing

Daily Bread for 1.18.26: Wisconsin Legislative Committee Releases Additional Funds for UW System

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Good morning.


Sunday in Whitewater will be cloudy with a high of 16. Sunrise is 7:21 and sunset is 4:50 for 9 hours 29 minutes of daytime. The moon is new.

On this day in 1977, scientists at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announce they have identified a previously unknown bacterium as the cause of the mysterious Legionnaires’ disease.

There is a difference between criticism of a university administration and criticism of university education itself. I have been a critic — rightly so — of now-former administrators at UW-Whitewater, but there has never been a time when I have been a critic of universities. On the contrary, I have always found university life both enriching and enjoyable. I’m quite comfortable when visiting a campus, whether my own schools as an alumnus or others’ schools. Always an exploration; always something new to learn.

(The Whitewater Unified School District is like this for me, too. There’s an absurd accusation that if this libertarian blogger critiques a person or policy within the district, he must dislike education. Not at all.)

Of university life in Wisconsin, it’s reassuring to read that the Legislature’s Joint Finance Committee has now voted unanimously to release additional funds for UW schools:

The Joint Finance Committee unanimously approved the release of $53 million for the University of Wisconsin system to support campuses struggling with declining enrollment. 

The UW system will have $26.5 million in the 2025-26 fiscal year and $26.5 million in the 2026-27 fiscal year that can be used for grants to campuses. The funds were initially set aside for the system in the recent state budget. 

In each year, $15.25 million will be distributed to campuses with declining enrollment over the last two years and $11.25 million will be distributed through a formula dependent on the number of credit hours undergraduates complete.

In 2025, enrollment across the system’s 13 campuses remained stable with about 700 more students enrolled in the fall when compared to 2024. The slight increase represents the third consecutive year of increased enrollment. 

UW President Jay Rothman thanked lawmakers and Evers in a social media post and said the release of the funds “affirms our shared commitment to student success and Wisconsin’s workforce.” 

“Together, we’ll keep more talented graduates in Wisconsin and ensure our universities are delivering the education students deserve and parents expect,” Rothman said.

See Baylor Spears, Joint Finance Committee votes to release $53 million for UW system, Wisconsin Examiner, January 15, 2026.

This vote should have happened sooner; still, it’s to Wisconsin’s benefit that the funds have now been released.

Honestly, I didn’t know this was a thing — World Euchre Championship draws players to New Glarus:

Each spring, New Glarus hosts the World Euchre Championship and becomes the center of the euchre universe. Strategizing their way through round after elimination round, players young and old compete in the staple Wisconsin card game. But the real victory isn’t winning a hand — it’s the community built across the table.