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Of note: This week we showcase a story by Wisconsin Watch’s Mario Koran about the efforts of parents in Kiel, Wisconsin to take back their local school district. Kiel has been roiled in a culture war over the district’s investigation of bullying of a Black high school student and a transgender middle school student. The district’s steps to make the schools more welcoming created a backlash. Now, some parents are fighting back.
Access to some stories listed in the Wisconsin Weekly roundup may be limited to subscribers of the news organizations that produced them. We urge our readers to consider supporting these important news outlets by subscribing.
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Tired of turmoil, Kiel residents rebuke far-right school officials
Wisconsin Watch — January 24, 2023
Rebuking far-right officials who last year gained control of their school board, concerned residents of Kiel, Wisconsin, this month clawed back political power by blocking the ouster of a popular superintendent. Two members subsequently resigned from the Kiel Area School District board, returning the usually seven-member body to a moderate majority — at least temporarily.
Earlier coverage from Wisconsin Watch here and here.
Milwaukee County residents could see $153M in medical debt erased under new partnership
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel — January 17, 2023
Roughly 67,000 Milwaukee County residents could soon receive a letter in the mail informing them all their crippling medical debts have been wiped away. A new partnership between Milwaukee County and New York-based national nonprofit RIP Medical Debt could cover the costs of $153 million in medical debt, if county officials approve designating $1.6 million in federal ARPA funds.
See Wisconsin Watch’s Costly Care series.
Milwaukee replaced 1K lead pipes in 2022. City leaders hope federal funds will ramp up the program.
WPR — January 24, 2023
Beginning in 2017, the city of Milwaukee started the tall task of replacing its 73,000 lead water service lines. Six years later, there’s around 67,000 of the water lines still in use in the state’s largest city.
Previously from Wisconsin Watch: ‘It’s criminal’: Milwaukeeans call for speedier lead pipeline removal to cut childhood poisoning
Madison food pantries predict surge as pandemic FoodShare benefits end
The Capital Times — January 24, 2023
Wisconsinites who get help paying for groceries through the state’s FoodShare program will soon see a drop in their monthly benefits as the federal government ends the extra assistance it offered for two years during the COVID-19 pandemic.
See Wisconsin Watch’s Beyond Hunger series to learn more about food insecurity in Wisconsin.
‘It’s just really, really bad’: Social Security offices can’t keep up with crush of disability benefits claims
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel — January 25, 2023
More than 2,000 people in Milwaukee are waiting for the Social Security Administration’s approval to receive disability benefits, according to the latest data available from the agency. The average wait time is 368 days, leaving many people struggling without adequate housing or money to pay for their basic needs for more than a year.
Access to some stories listed in the Wisconsin Weekly roundup may be limited to subscribers of the news organizations that produced them. We urge our readers to consider supporting these important news outlets by subscribing.
Thanks for reading!
Access to some stories listed in the Wisconsin Weekly roundup may be limited to subscribers of the news organizations that produced them. We urge our readers to consider supporting these important news outlets by subscribing.
Thanks for reading!
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