A key component of Wisconsin’s fishing industry will not open this year, a symbol of ongoing Republican underfunding of government services. The Department of Natural Resources says the Brule State Fish Hatchery will stay closed because of ongoing issues over a decrease in federal funding, stagnant state funding that doesn’t keep up with inflation, and legislators who say money exists for the hatchery but they haven’t given the DNR the authority to spend it. Democratic State Senate candidate Charly Ray, running for an open seat in northwest Wisconsin’s 25th District, noted a comparison to schools and local governments that are also trying to get through tight Republican budgets — until programs ultimately have to be cut.
