That said, I make an implied reference to the ol’ “effenheimer” or F-bomb in today’s visit.

It has been a frustrating week for those of us anticipating next week’s primary elections. There is still time to make your case for the people you want to see advance to the November general election, but what we’re observing instead is a wave of smears and sneers coming from people who are normally on the same side of the political aisle. These kinds of attacks do more good for Tom Tiffany than for that person’s preferred candidate.

While some say the squabbling is rooted in the notion of electability, let’s not kid ourselves that one nominee or another has the easier path. From Francesca Hong’s old tweets to Kelda Roys’ abortion rights advocacy to David Crowley coming from “big bad Milwaukee,” the Republican party and its billionaire backers will be ready with a truckload of attacks — all designed to keep attention off the current economy, Tiffany’s pro-insurrection record, and President Trump failing at almost everything he touches. 

Fortunately, I think we have tremendous potential to come together after all of the upcoming primary contests. The next 12 weeks were never going to be easy; there’s no sense in making it harder by wallowing in a pity pool filled with sour grapes. 

I spoke this morning with Secretary of State Sarah Godlewski, who will be the Democratic nominee for lieutenant governor. She’s just standing there at the metaphorical starting line of the sprint to November with no idea yet of who her running mate will be. But she knows what the message will be starting first thing Wednesday when that person joins her: This is the person we need to elect governor. Game on. Stick to what voters are dealing with. Don’t get distracted. No whining. 

Or as I’d put it, omitting the swears: LFG, as in “Let’s … go!”

Have a good weekend. Be sure you have a plan to vote on Tuesday, if you haven’t already. And stay on top of our social media feeds on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and more.

(Image via Shutterstock)

If you were to create a ladder of political involvement, it might start out like this: putting up a lawn sign, attending a protest, taking part in a march, going door-to-door for a candidate, running for office.

But there are many other ways people can get involved and one of them involves visiting people and engaging in some personal storytelling about healthcare.

Grass Roots Organizing-Western Wisconsin (GRO-WW) trains volunteers in “deep canvassing,” which isn’t designed to promote a particular party or candidate, but to ask people their feelings about the current healthcare system and establish some common ground around ways to make things better.

“Everybody has a story,” said GROWW’s John Calabrese, and the door-to-door visits begin with volunteers sharing theirs. “I haven’t gotten to one conversation — to that point of when they hear my story — saying, ‘yeah, I don’t relate to that, I love our healthcare system.’ It just doesn’t happen.” 

Calabrese says volunteers then read a script that explains who GROWW believes is responsible for the costs and complexities of health insurance.

“We mention that big corporations and pharmaceutical companies have purchased our politicians and rig the rules in their favor,” Calabrese said. “And most of the time, the person at the door agrees with that. And then you move on to asking them if they’re planning to vote, if they know who they’re going to vote for, if they’re registered to vote.”

They are then invited to upcoming public forums if they would like to talk more about the issue.

“It can be nerve wracking,” Calabrese said. “But the amount of times that people engage when someone is at your door, authentically listening to you, especially around healthcare, it’s amazing. Everybody has a story.”

GROWW is holding a deep canvassing training workshop this Saturday in Chippewa Falls. To learn more, go to their website: GRO-WW.org.

Thanksgiving tweets, really? Gas is at $4/gallon. Childcare and healthcare are more expensive than ever. The president has forced our troops into a “forever war” situation. And we’re supposed to base our vote for Wisconsin governor on a tweet from five years ago about whether to cancel Thanksgiving?

Unfortunately, that’s the nature of politics. The only question is this: Will it work? Will voters be distracted by shiny objects or stay focused on who would be best to address their needs? 

Here’s where you have to decide if your answer is going to be guided by cynicism or optimism.

Click the box above to be taken to our website where you can select your response. Feel free to say more in the comment box—and leave your first name and hometown so we can share your answer in our next newsletter.

Related to a question from last week’s gubernatorial debate, we asked at what level you’d want to see a new state income tax bracket. The current top tax bracket is 7.65%. For the sake of argument, we said it would be 9.65%, but starting at what annual income?

32% said (A) $500,000 like JP from Manitowoc: “At this level of income they definitely are not worried about paying their bills, like those of us under $100,000. I’m sure that in the scheme of things the extra amount is not missed on a daily basis like taxes are for the lower income people.”

57% said (B) $1,000,000 and by the way, nearly 30,000 Wisconsin taxpayers — or 1% of all households — reported a seven-figure annual income for 2022, the most recent figures available.

Only 5% said (C) $2,000,000 and another 6% said (D) and opposed any tax increase because, as one reader said, “The wealthy will always gravitate to lower tax areas if they feel like they are being singled out.”

Thank you for your responses!

March on Washington, 1963 (Photo by Marion S. Trikosko)

The League of Women Voters (LWV) has declared a “constitutional crisis” over President Donald Trump’s assaults on voting rights and free elections. The group has launched Unite and Rise 8.5, a nationwide initiative to engage and mobilize 8.5 million voters to protect and preserve democracy. 

On Saturday, LWV will lead hundreds of civic actions across the country to mark the anniversary of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, and to mobilize voters ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.

Read more about this story on our website.

Click here for a full list “Unite & Rise for Voting Rights” Day of Action events in Wisconsin. A few examples include: 

Voting Rights Action Day GOTV Canvass in Dane County, 10 a.m.-1 p.m.

Voting Rights Presentation in Rock County, 2-4 p.m.

Community Gathering in Milwaukee, 3-4 p.m.

Send your events and announcements to Abigail Deatrick, UpNorthNews’ regional community development organizer, at least one week before the event to see them here.

📱 Remember, you can stay up to date all day with all of our team’s work through our social media feeds, including Facebook, Instagram and TikTok.

🏁 Thanks for reading our update.

Have a great weekend!