Laura Benjamin of Eau Claire, the most recent entry into the 2026 3rd Congressional District race, says it’s time to make America work for working Americans.

The former city council member and owner of a marketing and communications company, was a recent guest on our radio show, where she outlined her priority issues and the reasons why she believes Democratic primary voters will want to make a change next year when they decide who should take on second-term Republican US Rep. Derrick Van Orden.

Rebecca Cooke, the party’s 2024 nominee, has already announced her 2026 campaign, as has Eau Claire City Council President Emily Berge for the district that takes up much of western and parts of central Wisconsin.

BUDGET BAIT & SWITCH – State Sen. Jeff Smith (D-Eau Claire) is calling out majority Republicans for not being transparent about getting public input on the state’s next biennial budget.

The Joint Finance Committee recently finished holding four public hearings around Wisconsin, but Smith points out that nobody there could actually comment on what the final budget bill is likely to be since Republicans haven’t written it yet.

Smith says instead of talking about general concepts, Republicans should allow public input on the specifics of a bill once they write it.

That Republican bill, whenever it’s written, is what will likely be passed by the Senate and Assembly and sent to Gov. Tony Evers for his signature or some form of a veto.

NATURE AND SERVICE VOLUNTEERS CUT – The latest cuts from President Trump and Elon Musk affect more than 400 community volunteers in Wisconsin.

They are part of nationwide cuts to AmeriCorps, a program that for more than 30 years has allowed more than 1 million Americans to participate in community service with nonprofit groups, ranging from conservation to health care, from homelessness to helping youth in crisis.

In many instances, Trump and Musk have claimed the programs they are cutting are engaged in waste, fraud, and abuse or specialize in diversity, equity, and inclusion programs that they oppose.

State Rep. Jodi Emerson, an Eau Claire Democrat, said no one can figure out what would prompt a president to make cuts that impact Beaver Creek Reserve, Western Dairyland, Girl Scouts, and other service and education projects.

An Eau Claire native is among the parents nationwide expressing outrage over Robert Kennedy, Jr.’s recent remarks about autism.

Kennedy, President Trump’s secretary of health and human services, that implied autistic children and members of the neuro-divergent community could not be contributing members of society.

Sarah Driever, who said she is also on what’s commonly called the autism spectrum, described her twin 5-year-old sons as medically complex, but capable of learning, thinking, communicating and participating. Driever said she is, like others, alarmed at Kennedy’s claim that an “environmental toxin” must be the cause of autism and that he wants to build a registry of people with autism, using personal medical records. Decades of research has found no single cause—and Driever said if Kennedy and Trump want to be helpful, they can start by reversing all of the cuts they’ve made to medical research.

A March 12, 2025 panel discussion in Madison about the impact of the April 1 state Supreme Court election. Panelists: Julie Mead, retired UW Madison School of Education professor of school law; Heather DuBois Bourenane, WI Public Educ Network; Peggy Wirtz-Olsen, WEAC; Rep. Christian Phelps, D-Eau Claire. Moderator: Todd Allbaugh of Civic Media.