☀️ Good morning!

It’s Sunday, February 22, 2026

A new era will dawn in the Wisconsin state Capitol next January, when Wisconsin has a new governor, and the Legislature has a new Assembly speaker. Tony Evers and Robin Vos will move on to new chapters. Now we wait to see if our state government can move on from the division and obstruction forced upon us by Vos over the past eight years. 

This isn’t some kind of new invective, insulting someone as they’re heading out the door. Vos set the tone even before Evers took the oath of office as governor. In a lame-duck session the month after Evers unseated former Gov. Scott Walker, Vos pushed through unnecessary and vindictive changes to weaken the governor’s office. Then he spent both terms pretending he was governor: repeatedly passing bills he knew Evers would veto, abusing the rules process for implementing state laws, holding up hundreds of Evers’ nominations to key offices, and wasting millions of taxpayer dollars on court challenges to Evers. 

Wisconsinites consistently say what they want most is for grownups from both parties to work together, forge compromises, and get things done. Vos represented the polar opposite of that spectrum of moral character. His power was an illusion, built upon a shameful pile of rigged maps. He flees leadership with much of his caucus unhappy with his heavy-handed tactics that have put them on the verge of losing their majority. 

That would truly be the best thing to happen in Wisconsin. Everyone knows conservative friends, family, and neighbors who don’t think Vos and President Donald Trump represent actual Republican Party values. We need a healthy two-party system if America is to last another 250 years — or even make it through this particular 250th year. Vos is giving us a chance at a new kind of declaration of independence. Let’s hope Wisconsin voters seize the moment.

Don’t forget to scroll down for our Question of the Week about what Wisconsin will be like when Vos and Evers are both out of office next year. 

Have a great week — and remember to stay up to date with our social media posts.

1️⃣ Women Win – In hindsight, it was a harbinger of things to come, but less than 24 hours before Speaker Robin Vos announced his retirement, he ended a year-long block on a bill that would expand healthcare coverage for new moms on Medicaid. Wisconsin had dwindled to one of only two states that provided health insurance for just 60 days, even though the federal government provided incentives to cater to women’s health issues for a full year. 

WATCH: Reaction from Dr. Kristin Lyerly an obstetrician-gynecologist.

2️⃣ Bad Data – How did Wisconsin become such a hotbed for data center construction plans? Some of the seeds were planted in 2013, shortly after the GOP takeover of state government. Republican legislators (who once claimed to be the party of “local control”) restricted local governments’ ability to raise the funds needed for daily operations, allowing the property tax levy to go up only by the level of new construction. Small wonder, then, that almost any plan for new construction gets encouraged, even if it isn’t a good long-term investment.

WATCH: Comments from Blaine Halverson, an organizer against a proposed center in Dunn County.

3️⃣ Independent Candidate – Mequon firefighter Mark Thurow launched an independent bid for Congress in the east-central part of the state, saying there aren’t nearly enough “blue collar” representatives in Washington. He’s running in the 6th District, represented by Republican Rep. Glenn Grothman. In the past 80 years, only one Democrat has won the seat — for a two-year term in the 1960s.

WATCH: Part of our interview with Thurow.

READ: About Thurow’s campaign on our website.

We’ll say it again: If you picked any group of 132 people off the street, made them the new Wisconsin Legislature, and gave them only a day to find a way to put a $2 to $4 billion surplus to work as a “win-win” for Democrats and Republicans, they could do it. But despite Gov. Evers’ final plea in last week’s State of the State address, Republican leaders in the Assembly and Senate could not work with Evers to design a plan to put part of the surplus into some form of tax relief (property and/or income taxes) and some into general school aids, which received zero new dollars in last year’s state budget.

Vos said Friday that negotiations will continue and any deal will be handled in a special session.

Read reporting from Salina Heller about how all of the districts in one Wisconsin county have banded together to all but beg for the Legislature to get back to its fair share of education funding — rather than pushing it off onto local property taxpayers that depend on referendums.

WATCH a video with the superintendent in the Sauk Prairie district talking about the impact of the Legislature shortchanging schools over the past 15 years.

⏮️ Last Week: Are the Epstein files a “distraction” from the economy?

Congressman Tom Tiffany, the presumptive Republican nominee in the Wisconsin governor’s race, recently said so.

93% said 🄰  🤬 or  🤡 – I’m angry and/or he’s a clown for saying something so amazingly insensitive.

3% said 🄱  😣or 🫣- I’m just sad about it and/or I’m a Republican and embarrassed about that kind of line.

2% said 🄲  😐 – I’ve checked out. Maybe that’s wrong, but I don’t have an opinion on this.

2% said 🄳 👍🏻 – Ol’ Tom is 100% right. This might even be a hoax like Trump says.

Your Comments

Barb in Elk Mound: “He is wrong, this does need to be resolved, and the more they try and deflect the more it makes them look like they are covering it up.”

Bernard had one of the few (D) responses: “These files have been available starting back to the Obama years. Why is it now all on Trump?”

Kim in Green Bay: “I hope every woman in this state who was considering voting for him sees this and votes for someone else. He has no place being in public office.”

 ⏭️ This Week: Life after Evers and Vos

We know it’s easy to be cynical about politics. It’s why we try to highlight the importance of public service and good policies. Let’s see if our cynicism is up or down based on this week’s news.

How do you feel Wisconsin state government will work next year when Tony Evers and Robin Vos are no longer in their leadership roles and new, fairer maps are in place for all legislative seats?

Click the blue box (above) containing this week’s response options and you’ll be taken to a page on our website where you can press the specific option for your answer and leave more comments. 

If you get a pop-up window asking for your email address, go ahead and enter it even though you’re clearly already a subscriber. And please leave a comment, including first name and hometown. Or email me directly at pat@couriernewsroom.com. Thank you!

Here’s a small sample of what you need to know about next week.

Monday [Feb 23]

WI Fair Maps Coalition: Fair Maps Community Hearing, (Madison, 6-7:30 p.m.)

Learn about a proposal for an Independent Redistricting Commission.

Wednesday [Feb 25]

Wisconsin Public Education Network: The Power of Student Action, (Virtual, 6:30-8 p.m.)

A student-led conversation with Wisconsin Student Action, Kentucky Student Voice Team, and Students Engaged to Advance Texas on how students are fighting back against underfunding, privatization, and other attacks on our public schools.

Thursday [Feb 26]

Dunn County Democrats: Bring-a-Buddy Trivia Night with the Dunn County Democrats, (Menomonie, 6-9 p.m.)

A community event to connect and play trivia.

Have an event to add? Email State Organizing Coordinator, Abigail Deatrick, abigail@couriernewsroom.com with details (please send details at least one week before the event).

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

🏁 Thanks for reading our update.

Have a great week!