Wisconsin Watch

07/17/2026

ICYMI: Wisconsin Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez has dropped out of the Democratic primary for governor.

Rodriguez said she made the decision after discovering financial issues within her campaign that she said would become an ongoing distraction. The announcement comes just days after she fired her campaign manager after learning the campaign had hundreds of thousands of dollars less on hand than expected.

Read more from the Associated Press at the link in the comments.

07/17/2026

Wisconsin just experienced the highest air pollution levels on record.

Hongyu Liu analyzed 16 years of air quality data and found that Thursday's wildfire smoke surpassed the record-setting pollution event of July 2023 at many Wisconsin monitoring stations.

Swipe through to learn more, and read the full analysis at the link in the comments.

07/17/2026

On Milwaukee’s North Side, women 40 and up are coming together to jump double Dutch. Members say that beyond the ropes they are building a sisterhood, strengthening their health and becoming confident in aging.

40+ Double Dutch Club is a nonprofit founded in Chicago by Pamela Robinson in 2016 that uses double Dutch and other fitness activities to encourage wellness, sisterhood, mental health and more for women over 40.

“It amazes me how God can use something as simple as a plastic clothesline to connect women all over the world,” said Robinson, who is also the group’s CEO and board president.

Robinson, 55, launched the organization after discussing the idea with her friend Catrina Dyer-Taylor. At the time she was battling depression.

“My husband and I were about to get divorced, my oldest kids were grown and I just had my youngest one in the house,” Robinson said. “I needed to find a happy place.”

Click the link in our coments to read more from Chesnie Wardell, with photos from Jonathan Aguilar.

07/16/2026

Wildfire smoke is causing hazardous air quality in Wisconsin. Astrid Code explains how to track air quality in your area and stay safe. Learn more at WisconsinWatch.org.

07/16/2026

Wildfire smoke has created some of the worst air quality Wisconsin has ever recorded.

Swipe through for practical tips on how to protect yourself, what the Air Quality Index means and what forecasters expect over the next couple of days.

Reporting by Astrid Code. Photos by Jonathan Aguilar and Natalie Yahr.

Read more at the link in the comments.

07/16/2026

Curious whether a claim you've heard is actually true?

Wisconsin Watch's 150-word Fact Briefs provide quick, sourced answers to questions making headlines.

Recent Fact Briefs explain:
• Whether you can legally record a conversation without another person's consent in Wisconsin.
• Why about one-fourth of Wisconsin state employees work for the Department of Corrections.

Read them all here:

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

07/16/2026

For decades, the anti-poverty nonprofit Newcap provided shelter and supportive services in 10 northeast Wisconsin counties. Newcap's abrupt closure in March left other nonprofit organizations scrambling to prevent their clients from becoming homeless again.

The situation reveals how the loss of a single agency can have a staggering effect, especially in rural areas where resources for the unhoused are already few and far between.

Read more from Astrid Code at the link in this comments.

07/16/2026

Oracle's credit rating just dropped — at the same time the tech giant is fighting Wisconsin regulators over new rules tied to its planned Port Washington data center.

S&P Global Ratings downgraded Oracle to BBB-, the lowest rung of investment-grade credit, citing uncertainty around the company's massive AI investments.

The timing is notable: Oracle recently sued Wisconsin's Public Service Commission over new financial requirements for large data center operators seeking electric service from We Energies. Under the rules, companies with lower credit ratings must post substantial collateral — such as cash or letters of credit — to protect ratepayers if they can't cover the cost of new power infrastructure.

Read more from Paul Kiefer: https://wisconsinwatch.org/2026/07/wisconsin-oracle-data-center-credit-rating-drop-rules-fight-tech-energy-ai-utility/

07/15/2026

Billionaire Elon Musk likely broke Wisconsin law when he promised to hand out $1 million checks to voters in the 2025 state Supreme Court election, a bipartisan panel has found.

The Wisconsin Elections Commission last week referred two complaints to the Brown County district attorney’s office, which can choose to bring criminal charges over violating the state law against election bribery. Prosecutors have 40 days to report back to the commission.

Musk, the founder of SpaceX and CEO of Tesla, was deeply involved in the effort to flip majority control of the highest court in battleground Wisconsin.

The tech titan and groups he supported spent at least $20 million on the candidate backed by Republicans, Brad Schimel. However, he lost by 10 percentage points to Democratic-backed candidate Susan Crawford.

A month after the lopsided loss, Musk announced that he would be spending far less on political campaigns. Spending on the election topped $100 million, making it the most expensive judicial race in U.S. history.

Click the link in the comments to read more from the Associated Press.

07/15/2026

Who gets to build Wisconsin's power grid — and profit from it? ⚡

A fight over a major transmission project has moved to Washington, where federal regulators will decide whether Wisconsin's largest transmission utility deserves another shot at the work.

The case could help determine how billions of dollars in future grid projects are awarded as data centers drive demand for more electricity.

📖 Swipe through for the key takeaways, then read reporter Paul Kiefer's full story at the link in the comments