ICE in Wisconsin, Hong on the trail

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“I feel like we’re not dealing with people. I feel like we’re dealing with some kind of entity that’s just here to terrorize, and disrupt, and break apart our way of life.”

– Milwaukee County Board Supervisor Juan Miguel Martinez, on ICE’s surge into southern Wisconsin

Francesca Hong on the campaign trail

Reporter Baylor Spears hit the campaign trail with state Rep. Francesca Hong (D-Madison), who is running an unapologetically progressive campaign for the Democratic nomination for governor and surprising political onlookers across the country, as she tests whether Democratic Socialism can win over swing-state voters.

One year of OBBBA

Saturday marks America’s 250th birthday and one year since President Donald Trump signed his One Big Beautiful Bill Act into law. Deputy Editor Erik Gunn assesses the bill’s effects on Wisconsin since its passage last year.

ICE surges into Wisconsin

Federal immigration agents have made dozens of arrests across southern Wisconsin this week, with agents popping up in the Madison and Milwaukee areas. Isiah Holmes reports on ICE’s presence and how its affecting the state’s immigrant communities and covers a protest where Milwaukee residents educated themselves and prepared to stand up to ICE.

Editor Ruth Conniff examines the arguments in Judge Hannah Dugan's sentencing next week after her conviction on charges of blocking federal immigration agents who came to make an arrest in her courtroom. In a commentary, Conniff weighs the arguments and considers the meaning of July 4th celebrations of freedom from tyranny amid the current ICE surge.

Following the Knowles-Nelson thread

Tuesday marked the expiration of Wisconsin’s 37-year-old Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Grant program, which has helped the state acquire and maintain thousands of acres of public lands across the state. Henry Redman writes the program’s obituary and hears from advocates about what comes next.

The expiration marks a major moment in a thread Redman and the Examiner have been following since 2023 when Republicans on the Legislature’s Joint Finance Committee began anonymously holding up the use of funds through the program, including the creation of the Pelican River Forest — the largest land conservation project in state history. Redman investigated the origin of that Republican opposition to conservation spending, which stems from complaints about taking land off the property tax rolls of small northern Wisconsin towns but also includes the ties that some northern Wisconsin Republicans have with national right-wing groups active in the fight against federal land conservation.

In 2024, Gov. Tony Evers filed a lawsuit that argued the Legislature was unconstitutionally exercising executive power by holding up projects through the program. That summer, the Wisconsin Supreme Court sided with Evers in a 6-1 ruling.

But that ruling supercharged the Republican opposition, with opponents of the program now arguing that the program had no oversight. Early in the Legislature’s 2025-26 session, Rep. Tony Kurtz (R-Wonewoc) warned that the program was at risk. The legislative wrangling began from there, with a bill proposed by Kurtz and a few other Republicans, Evers attempting to extend the program through the state budget and a bill proposed by Democrats. While the issue percolated throughout the legislative session, Redman analyzed how much public land in the state comes from the program, spoke with conservation groups about the program’s importance and assessed what its loss will mean.

Now, legislative Democrats said this week that revitalizing the program will be a priority if they win control of state government in November. The Examiner will cover those developments just as doggedly.

Healthcare

The extension of postpartum Medicaid coverage from 60 days to one year that Wisconsin lawmakers signed into law earlier this year kicked in this week. Spears reports on the thousands of women who will benefit from Wisconsin becoming the 49th state to make this change.

Wisconsin’s health department is set to lose millions in federal funding for teen pregnancy prevention. Deputy Editor Erik Gunn reports on that lost funding and what it will mean for organizations across the state.

Gunn also covers the federal government’s decision to weaken the rights to long-term home care for the elderly and people with disabilities and a Wisconsin construction union launching a peer support program to help members with addiction, substance abuse or mental health challenges.

PLUS:

Mount Pleasant residents file class action suit over Microsoft data center noise

State health dept. confirms US cuts for pregnancy prevention, seeks other funding

Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee announces 9 Wisconsin Legislature targets

Wisconsin contends with extreme summer heatwave

More from Washington:

US labor market weakened in June

America’s 250th birthday is on sale. Where’s all that merch money going?

States gird for new Medicaid ‘medically frail’ rule

Tick bites are surging in the US this year. Here’s what to know.