It’s always nice to be reminded that there are still some nice people in the sports world who didn’t let becoming rich and famous turn them into jerks. In Wisconsin alone we’ve had Robin Yount and Paul Molitor of the Brewers, football players JJ Watt and Bart Starr, golfer Andy North, and the most recent example from the NBA, Giannis Antetokounmpo.

It’s what makes this week’s trade by the Milwaukee Bucks so sad. It would be bad enough losing a superstar, but we had to go and lose one of the nice guys, too.

We’re not in denial about the business situation. The team could no longer afford to sign enough high-dollar players to support a top shelf superstar — one who’s also not getting any younger and is prone to injury. All we can do is wish him well and thank him, not only for the highlights on the court but for the way he enthusiastically adopted Wisconsin as his home, right down to his drive-thru order for 50 chicken nuggets!

Good luck “taking your talents to South Beach,” as another basketball legend once quipped. We’ll buy your first Old Fashioned when you come back with your new teammates from Miami so long as you buy the first caipirinha when we see you on South Beach.

Personal plug #1: If you’d like to hear how a journalist up north describes Wisconsin politics to a radio audience in Chicago, give a listen to my latest appearance on WCPT’s Joan Esposito show. We get into passion vs. pragmatism in politics, and I have a little fun at the expense of the “Indiana Bears.”  

Personal plug #2: We’re nearing the end of our quarterly fundraising campaign. We’d be honored to have your support, perhaps for the amount you used to spend on a local newspaper. Maybe a little more? There’s a “Donate” button in the upper corner of our website you can use, or send a check to the Chippewa Falls Post Office box noted at the bottom of every issue. (Made out to our parent company Courier Newsroom.)

Have a great weekend. And be sure to stay up to date with our posts on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok.

🧀 Only four years ago, Rep. Greta Neubauer was a new legislator from Racine in a historically thin Democratic minority. Now she has the chance to become Wisconsin’s first woman elected Speaker of the Assembly if Democrats win majority control this November. 

She recently told a WisPolitics luncheon there won’t be any big secret to their success if they win. It’s all about taking affordability seriously while the Republican President is calling it a made-up word.

🥕 At the end of June, Wisconsin’s already dire childcare crisis will worsen. That’s because funding has run out for Child Care Counts, a federal pandemic relief program that transitioned into a state-supported bridge program. But the bridge to having fully state-funded support payments to providers wasn’t built, as Republicans in the Legislature refused to support it. 

Watch Salina Heller’s report.

🫒 Flock 101 – Have you heard of Flock surveillance cameras but want to know more about the pros and cons of these license plate readers?

Our Lucas Henkel has put together an explainer video with all of the basics about Flock and using artificial intelligence to track people. They’re not all criminals or suspects. 

Can Wisconsin balance the potential for a law enforcement tool with the temptation to use its data improperly?

🥦 The field of candidates running to be Wisconsin’s Democratic nominee for governor thinned a little this week, with Missy Hughes suspending her campaign.

The state’s former economic development leader endorsed Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez, one of the six remaining candidates who want to go up against Republican Rep. Tom Tiffany and succeed retiring Democratic Gov. Tony Evers.

You’re probably familiar with Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), and New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani — three political figures who embrace the label “democratic socialist” rather than “progressive” or “liberal.” This week, three congressional candidates endorsed by Mamdani won their primaries in New York, ousting two Democratic incumbents.

Gubernatorial candidate Rep. Francesca Hong (D-Madison) also proudly adopts the democratic socialist label, as do two other Wisconsin legislators.

One of them, Rep. Christian Phelps (D-Eau Claire) offered an explanation that starts with the label “moderate.” Phelps said the majority of voters would rightly consider themselves moderate. “They’d say their own value system is normal.” But it’s one thing for voters to be moderate, another for candidates.

“When political actors use ‘moderate,’ that’s a red flag. It means they’re not willing to ask for and fight for what we deserve in the ideal world.” In other words, they settle for far less than what voters really want.

Democratic socialists, Phelps said, want a better safety net on top of a capitalist system — versus classic socialists who want to replace private sector capitalism with a system where government controls industry. The two are not the same, but Republicans believe the label will be confusing enough that they can use it to defeat democratic socialists.

Will that work? Or are people seeing democratic socialists as an improvement over so-called “corporate Democrats” who choose incremental progress over bold changes?

Click the blue box above to visit our website and select the answer closest to your point of view. We’d really appreciate you adding your comments and your first name and hometown.

We asked if you have a favorite candidate for Wisconsin governor. The primary is on August 11.

36% said (A) They have a single favorite Democratic candidate. 

35% said (B) They’re torn between two Democratic candidates.

23% said (C) They still have no idea or might not vote in the primary at all.

6% said (D) They are backing Republican Rep. Tom Tiffany.

👉🏼 Kathy in Brookfield said: ”David Crowley!! Executive experience, legislative experience, authentic, great accomplishments, energetic, cares about all people throughout the entire state!”

👉🏼 Dean in Kenosha: “I’m rooting for Hong. What a delightful personality. What firm, strong stands on data centers and restoring union power. I also think she could really infuse badly needed funds into the public school funding formulas.”

👉🏼 “I support Kelda Roys. I think she would make the best governor because of her deep experience and I think she is one of the most electable candidates.”

👉🏼 “I support Sara Rodriguez because she is our best hope to win in November.”

👉🏼 “Joel Brennen. The Dems need to get behind him. He can beat Tiffany.” 

👉🏼 Julie in Muskego: “I’m torn between David Crowley & Mandela Barnes.”

👉🏼 “Barnes or Rodriguez”

👉🏼 “It is between Francesca and Sara.”

👉🏼 And from Candus in Hayward: “I currently stand at not knowing anything that draws me even towards two of them. I feel we are flooded with so much political information it becomes dizzying.“

Thank you, as always, for some great table talk about the race to become Wisconsin’s next governor.

Newsletter subscribers get this preview of a story that will be published in full on our website Friday morning.

In his latest TV ad, Rep. Tom Tiffany is standing alongside a cow in a barn while explaining his latest campaign. “The cost of living is udderly ridiculous,” he jokes. “I’m running for governor to make life more affordable.”

But Tiffany was part of Republican control of the Wisconsin Legislature over the past 16 years and is in the majority now in the US House, so it is worth asking what his record as a legislator and a congressman says about his priorities when it comes to the affordability of things like utility bills. 

Tiffany’s votes over the years reveal a pattern of support for policies that lead to higher energy costs for consumers while simultaneously receiving thousands of dollars in energy industry campaign contributions.

On the first day of President Donald Trump’s second term, he signed executive orders to speed up exports of liquified natural gas (LNG). The resulting global increase in demand caused prices to rise. But even before that, Tiffany was seeking the same thing, cosigning a letter in February 2024 urging President Joe Biden to lift a pause of LNG exports that had been put in place because of concerns about higher consumer prices. In November 2025, Xcel Energy announced a 15% increase in natural gas prices.

Tiffany’s vote for Trump’s so-called “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” repealed nearly $3 billion in clean energy investments in Wisconsin, according to the non-partisan energy and climate policy think tank Energy Innovation.

As a state legislator in 2015, Tiffany was a member of the powerful Joint Finance Committee when he voted to eliminate funding support for the Citizens Utility Board (CUB). The next year, with CUB forced to make major staffing cuts, the PSC approved rate hikes for Alliant Energy that doubled the monthly fixed customer charge.

Tiffany also opposed establishing a national standard for price gouging on fuel, and he supports the attack on Iran that pushed gas prices above $4/gallon in Wisconsin.

Read more details, including Tiffany’s campaign contribution from the energy and utilities industries, on our website starting Friday morning.

(Photo by Salina Heller)

We’re only about a week away from the United States marking the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

Those of us who were around for the Bicentennial celebration know things just don’t feel the same this time around. But folks are trying to help our country get to a more unified place.

The group Next250 has launched what it calls “a new declaration for America,” bringing people together around shared values like justice, belonging, dignity, democracy, and interdependence.

On Saturday, Next250 will host “All of US 250,” a nationwide day of action. We’ve listed some of the Wisconsin events on our website.

Send your events and announcements to Abigail Deatrick, regional community development organizer at Courier Newsroom at abigail@couriernewsroom.com 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!