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Politics

Left perspectives on power and policy across Wisconsin and the Madison area.

Distant aerial photo of a rural landscape covered in patches of snow. A large construction site is in operation in parts from the foreground into the background with various machines and equipment.

Wisconsin communities face scrutiny over data center secrecy

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Politics
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March 18, 2026

The town of Beloit is the fifth Wisconsin community with an NDA for a possible data center.

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Latest in Politics
Medium shot of a brunette woman wearing a red sweater and holding a large stack of papers. She smiles and stares directly at the camera. Alternating white and navy blue signs appear in rows on the wall behind her. The signs read "Judge Chris Taylor Supreme Court www.ChrisForJustice.com."
Eyeing voting rights, liberals aim to secure Wisconsin Supreme Court through 2030
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Politics
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March 16, 2026

In the April election, Wisconsin liberals are hoping to expand their majority on a body that could be a critical backstop for voting rights during the next presidential race.

A daylight photo of a Flock automatic license plate reader (ALPR) camera that is centered in the foreground amid a cloudy sky and trees in the background. The image has light CRTV filter lines.
Police surveillance technology needs proper accountability
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Microtones
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March 13, 2026

Grassroots resistance against Flock cameras are writing the blueprint for comprehensive reform.

A partly distorted map of Dane County districts that are numbered and named as well as primarily designated by squiggly red and black lines. A background image filter is a dark grey color that obscures many of the district numbers, towns, cities, and route names.
Don’t shrink the Common Council and County Board
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Microtones
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March 6, 2026

Madison needs more representation, not less.

Photo of a large, boxy, multi-family housing complex at a street corner. It's painted in shades of white and grey. Each unit has thin, elongated sets of windows. The traffic intersection at a BRT (Bus Rapid Transit) stop can be seen in the foreground.
Starter homes? No, we need starter apartments
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Microtones
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February 27, 2026

As homeownership continues to be out of reach for too many Madisonians, we should build more owner-occupied, multi-family housing.

A color-altered photo taken from the westernmost edge of the University of Wisconsin–Madison campus and University Bay. UW Health University Hospital, the UW–Madison Health Sciences Learning Center, and the Wisconsin Institutes for Medical Research buildings cast heavy shadows onto Lake Mendota in the foreground.
The federal war on trans healthcare mirrors that of abortion
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Politics
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February 23, 2026

Hospitals are folding to anti-trans hate, but the community continues to advocate for trans youth.

Daytime photo of the outdoor food pantry and bench on Few Street around the corner from the Social Justice Center in Madison. The wooden bench sits in the foreground at an angle with a small plaque on the back that reads "Rest, my brothers and sisters, from your friend, Dr. Dave Deci Madison Street Medicine 2017-2023." Behind it is a larger wooden cabinet with two sets of doors and glass panels that contains only a few canned goods on the shelving inside. The rightmost door is open.
Madison needs a wake-up call
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Microtones
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February 13, 2026

The longer we pretend this City is a progressive haven, the more people will be harmed.

A collage illustration with a yellow slate background. Fragments of natural gas pipelines, positioned at an angle from the bottom left corner, extend into the center of the image and connect to yellow and turquoise data cables that then connect to server ports. Below that is a cut-out of a power plant in greyscale. In the upper left corner, a $100 American bill with Benjamin Franklin's face is shown, which, in the lower half, cuts into a greyscale image of a data center.
Wisconsin energy utilities sacrifice affordability and sustainability to fuel the AI gold rush
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Politics
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February 9, 2026

Gas plants used to power data centers increase costs for consumers, risk of exposure to pollutants, and accelerate the harms of climate change.

A simple image collage that is split in a vertical orientation. The left image shows a poster light box for Luc Besson's "Dracula" that features the AMC logo in white text on a red-bar background at the top. The surrounding wall is painted a golden-brown color. The right image shows the poster for Brett Ratner's "Melania" in a similar light box. The wall surrounding the poster is painted black.
Stop spotlighting new films by known abusers
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Microtones
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February 6, 2026

Madison boasts a dynamic movie culture, yet still needs programmers and community voices to facilitate change.

Angled photo of a press conference from mid-2021 shows several women and men standing in an ornately decorated government building. A woman in a salmon-colored shirt stands at a lectern and speaks into several microphones that sit on top. Signs displaying "Raise The Wage $15/Hour" and "$15 Minimum Wage Is The Covid Relief We Need" are displayed and held up around her.
What Wisconsin’s stagnant minimum wage means for workers and the economy
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Politics
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February 4, 2026

With its minimum wage frozen at $7.25 since 2009, Wisconsin lags most states, and shrinks the buying power of many workers while fueling debate over economic trade-offs.