Happy Sunday! 

Is it just me or have the last two weeks felt like some kind of Groundhog’s Day reboot from 2017? 

I want to share a story from last weekend, when an older gentleman approached me and asked a question that caught me off guard. 

“Even if you don’t like Donald Trump,” he said, “you have to admit he makes your job easier.”

I don’t think he was trying to make a political point—just an observation that the current president has us once again playing Whack-a-Mole with an endless supply of quotes, memos, legal fights, and late-night social media posts. No more “slow news days,” so easier times for reporters, right?

No, I said. It definitely makes things harder if you’re dedicated to putting out a credible news product. 

A good reporter has to put everything into context. Fact-check quickly and thoroughly. Explain how people back home would be affected by this or that proposal. Explain the unintended consequences—for example, an idea might save some dollars at first but end up costing all of us a lot more down the line.

Not every newsroom or media outlet is working like this. Some will happily spread everything the president says because they know people are going to react to it. Trump counts on the people who don’t put his words and actions into perspective and only want clicks. Their jobs are easier these days.  

We just happen to think you appreciate news that puts things into perspective for Wisconsin. The work isn’t easy, but that wasn’t why we got into this business. So, let’s get back to work and update you on what your elected officials have been doing in Washington, DC and Madison.

PS: If you’d rather not get this politics-only newsletter going forward, that’s okay. Just click here to unsubscribe to this edition.

Every day in America, an estimated average of 65 people end their lives, usually with a firearm. There are 13 states that require a waiting period before a firearm purchase—intended to prevent rash decisions to purchases guns used in crimes or suicides. Wisconsin used to have a 48-hour waiting period for handguns, but it was repealed in 2015. 

What are your thoughts about restoring a waiting period to purchase handguns in Wisconsin?

Hit reply or email me directly at pat@couriernewsroom.com, and we may share it in a future newsletter or on UpNorthNews Radio.

(AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

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We talk about all of these stories and more every weekday morning on UpNorthNews Radio, 6-8 a.m. on seven Civic Media stations across Wisconsin, and on our YouTube and Facebook pages. And, of course, you can stay up to date every day through our social media feed—pick your favorite platform: Facebook, Instagram, Tiktok.

If you’re not yet aware that there’s a big election coming up April 1 for an open seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court, it won’t be long until you’re knee-deep in political ads as conservatives fight to regain control of the court. Retiring progressive Justice Ann Walsh Bradley has endorsed Dane Co. Judge Susan Crawford (as have the other three progressive justices), while conservatives are backing Waukesha Co. Judge and former Wisconsin Attorney General Brad Schimel.

Schimel’s campaign has been tripped up by his own recent comments: supporting an abortion ban, encouraging the notion of a “bloody revolution” in America, and complaining that the insurrectionists who launched a violent attack on the US Capitol in 2021 weren’t getting special treatment by the courts.

And that’s all on top of an issue that has been his lasting legacy as a former attorney general: the massive backlog of rape evidence kits that required processing in order to secure justice for the victims of sexual assaults. Schimel claims he was the one who addressed the backlog, while an ad from his opponent, Dane County Judge Susan Crawford, references the allegations of mismanagement that made the problem worse before it got better.

👉🏼 Guns and Poses: Among the first education bills introduced by majority Republicans in the Assembly and Senate: One that would require 11×14” posters in all classrooms reading, “In God We Trust.” And another that would allow teachers with a gun license to carry their weapons in school, if the school district has a rule allowing it. 

*My View:  If they pass a bill putting loaded guns in classrooms, they may as well pass the poster bill because “In God We Trust” is all those children will have if they can’t trust their elected officials to do something real to prevent the next attempt at carnage in our schools.

👉🏼Why Isn’t Conversion Therapy Banned in Wisconsin? Watch a video from reporter Elisabeth Montemurro explaining how a small committee of legislative Republicans is holding up a ban on trying to “convert” an LGBTQ person through questionable and dangerous methods. 

👉🏼 Immigration Consternation: Watch Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul push back on Trump administration plans to have the US Dept. of Justice investigate local and state officials who refuse to go along with their mass round-up and deportation plans. Kaul says public safety is always a top priority and nobody wants to stop the deportation of an undocumented immigrant who commits crimes, but it’s too extreme to round up people at workplaces, schools, and churches who have committed no crimes.

They’re our favorite kind! Watch Gov. Tony Evers, accompanied by the University of Wisconsin Marching Band, dance with new state Sen. Sarah Keyeski (D-Lodi) on the floor of the Wisconsin Assembly following his State of the State address. 

Cheers and have a great week!