Democratic Congressman Steve Kagen has officially launched his campaign for the Eighth Congressional District. The two-term incumbent held a kickoff event Wednesday night the Radisson Paper Valley hotel in downtown Appleton. Kagen says he’s stood up to Wall Street and backed Main Street during his time in office. “I voted to make sure that we have jobs here in America, not overseas,” Kagen told WHBY. “I voted just several weeks ago to close the tax loopholes that these corporations use to ship our jobs overseas. Republicans voted against it.”

Kagen says he’ll continue to fight for his constituents if given the chance. “People have to answer the question, those side is Doctor Kagen on? I will fight my heart out to prevent the privatization of Social Security and the destruction of Medicare, as some extreme Republicans have attempted to do and have said they will do, when and if they take over the House of Representatives.”

Kagen’s announcement capped a four-day, 50-city tour throughout northeast Wisconsin. Four Republicans are on the ballot in this month’s primary, with the winner facing Kagen in the November general election. There are four Republicans on the primary ballot this month: DePere roofing contractor Reid Ribble, Appleton state Representative Roger Roth, former state Representative Terri McCormick of Appleton. Marc Savard of Liberty Grove withdrew from the race last month and is endorsing Ribble, but his name will remain on the ballot. The winner will face Kagen in the November general election.

Mike Kemmeter, WHBY

With students back in school, the IRS says education tax breaks are there for the taking.

Parents of college students are being reminded there’s still time to take advantage of tax credits for qualified tuition and related expenses. The American Opportunity Tax Credit, part of the federal stimulus package, modifies the existing Hope credit for tax years 2009 and 2010. “Think of the American Opportunity Credit for 2010 like the old education credit on steroids. It increases the income limit; provides for the first four years of education instead of just two; and is worth more; and it’s partially refundable. It’s also per student, not per return.”

IRS Spokesman Christopher Miller says the Credit can be a valuable tax break for families with college students, so save your receipts. “The American Opportunity Credit can be up to $2,500 and can help defray a lot of the education expenses.”

Miller says one change allows 529 plan users to pay for a student’s computer-related technology needs such as Internet access. The full credit is available for taxpayers whose modified adjusted gross income is $80,000 or less — that’s $160,000 for joint filers.

AUDIO: Jackie Johnson report 1:21

The state’s new rules on siting wind turbines take away from local control, but give certainty to the industry. The state Public Service Commission finalized wind siting rules this week. Not everyone is pleased. “The new rules are less strict than what our current setback are,” said Calumet County Administrator Jay Shambeau. “That will please some folks and anger others. The wind issue has been divisive in Calumet County and other locations.”

But Michael Vickerman, executive director of Renew Wisconsin, which advocated for the statewide standards, said the new rules will give the wind industry something the local rules don’t: certainty. “It just changed from place-to-place,” said Vickerman of the patchwork of local rules. “It left the industry with the sense that ‘we can’t really have any confidence in what sorts of terms and conditions we’ll be subject to’ because the rules keep changing.” Lawmakers in 2009 passed an act directing the PSC to formulate the statewide rules, which the legislature must now approve.

WHBY‘s Rick Schuh contributed to this report

The Kenosha Unified School District will have labor peace the next three years. Human Services Director Sharonda Glass approached the teachers’ union about re-opening the current year contract because of rising health care costs, and the two sides came to a deal on that, PLUS a 2-year successor agreement, including pay increases. “Knowing what your costs are going to be over the next couple of years, as it relates to health insurance, is huge,” Glass said.

Both sides accept the WEA Trust for insurance and a yearly premium cap of 9.9%. Savings pay the salary hikes of 2.5% this year, and 3% each of the next 2-years. Teachers will pay higher deductibles. School Board Gilbert Ostman suggested it’s a history-making move. “It’s not been recently that we’ve had three years of relative calm, without any labor unrest and what the raise was going to be and who was going to get laid off,” said Ostman. “I think it’s a deal.”

Teachers Union leader Joe Kiriaki said membership said yes, despite higher deductibles. “Teachers are thrilled to have the opportunity to face all the other challenges that are coming, without conflict, without interference on what’s going to happen with their salary and benefits, and can focus now on what needs to be done day-to-day in these classrooms,” said Kirianki.

Tom Karkow, WRJN

The President is coming to Wisconsin for the third time this summer.

President Barack Obama will be in Milwaukee on Labor Day. Republican Party of Wisconsin Chairman Reince Priebus says in a statement that this visit is indicative of just how desperate the Democrats are about their chances of winning in November.

Mordecai Lee, Political Science Professor at UW Milwaukee, disagrees. ”I think it’s fair to say that all politicians are pretty cold blooded and pretty pragmatic, and that when you’re president you don’t want to lose a day of campaigning … campaigning for somebody who’s for sure going to lose the election or for sure going to win the election. That’s simply not a rational allocation of time.”

Lee says, while it is important for Obama to get U.S. Senator Russ Feingold reelected and get Tom Barrett into the governor’s office, Obama’s visit doesn’t necessarily mean that the Democrats are in trouble. “So I think it’s fair to interpret his visit as saying that he thinks the U.S. Senate race and the governor’s race are in play, that there’s a chance for democrats to win, there’s a chance for Republicans to win, and he wants to do whatever he can to help his party win.”

The President was in Wisconsin just a couple of weeks ago attending fundraisers for Barrett and the Democratic Party of Wisconsin. Monday’s visit will be Obama’s fifth trip to the state since he was elected. Obama will speak on the economy at the annual Laborfest put on by the Milwaukee Area Labor Council.

AUDIO: Jackie Johnson report 1:30

Also, the professor says we Wisconsinites like to think we’re important, and by returning to our state, the President is saying we are, in fact, important. Lee says, the national media is looking for a good Labor Day political story.
Mordecai Lee :21 

Governor Jim Doyle has named Randy Romanski as Secretary of the Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection. That’s according to a statement released Monday from Doyle’s office. Romanski served as deputy secretary since December 2007 for Rod Nilsestuen, who he will replace. The 62 year-old Nilsestuen, who had served as secretary for seven years, drowned while swimming in Lake Superior in July.

Romanski has had a varied career within state government. Prior to his service with DATCP, Romanski served as the executive assistant for the Department of Natural Resources, as Doyle’s deputy chief of staff, executive assistant for the Department of Transportation, and as policy analyst and spokesman for the Department of Justice.

Republican candidate for U.S. Senate Ron Johnson wants health care reform repealed. It’s the issue which got him into the Senate race, and the Oshkosh business owner is unsparing in his criticism of the reform and Democrat Russ Feingold’s vote for it. “I certainly recognize what this health care bill was designed to do,” said Johnson. “It is designed to lead to a single payer, Canadian style, British type system. Obviously, Senator Feingold, that’s exactly what he wants. I have no idea why anybody would want to move in that direction.”

Johnson, who owns Pacor, an Oshkosh plastics firm, said the new health care law will lead to rationing of care, lower quality of care, and that it will hamper medical innovations. “Canada and Britain are actually trying to privatize part of their health care system,” Johnson told WRN. “Those types will lead to rationing . . . particularly for the elderly and for very sick individuals. Quite honestly, American medical innovation, the rest of the world feeds of it. Their socialistic medical systems take advantage of the medical innovations we create here in America. That’s really what’s at risk.”

Johnson, who faces Watertown businessman Dave Westlake in the Republican primary, pledges he’ll work to repeal the health care law. “I think we had the national momentum to do real health care reform,” he said. “I think we just blew it. We could have moved in market-based solutions. I think that’s what we need to do. I’m totally dedicated to repealing this health care bill.”

AUDIO: Ron Johnson at WRN (25:30)

Two brothers are walking across the U.S. to urge action on a constitutional amendment. Laird and Robin Monahan are both Vietnam veterans, both in their sixties, and both outraged by the U.S. Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision, which overturned the provision of McCain-Feingold barring corporations and unions from paying for independent political ads. “Corporations are an efficient economic tool,” said Laird, 69, at the Capitol on Friday. “But a Supreme Court that puts an economic tool above human beings will guarantee our exclusion from representative government.” Laird says we need a constitutional amendment stating that corporations aren’t people. “That’s what we have to tell all of the governing bodies of all of our municipalities. That if they can’t support a constitutional amendment to abolish corporate personhood, they aren’t representing us. They aren’t loyal to we the people.”

Robin, 67, says there are two distinct ways in which corporations are clearly not people. “What comes to mind first is mortality. Everyone in this room – I’m sorry to tell you – is going to die. Corporations are immortal. That gives them a long period of time to appeal decisions against them or that they find unfavorable to their profit margin,” said Robin. “I would also point out that corporations have huge financial resources that exceed any individual. It gives them unfair and unequal protection.” The brothers left San Francisco on May 16th and hope to reach Washington, D.C. in October.

AUDIO: Press conference (21:00)

Wisconsin is denied a waiver for new federal law meant to protect the voting rights of military personnel deployed overseas. Wisconsin was among nine states and the District of Columbia which applied to the Department of Defense for a waiver after passage of the MOVE Act – which requires ballots be sent at least 45 days before an election – last year. The Wisconsin Government Accountability Board, which had applied for the waiver, confirmed Friday that the state will not receive one.

Passage of the law – which requires ballots be sent at least 45 days before an election – posed a challenge to states like Wisconsin with late August or September primaries. Under terms of the MOVE Act, the deadline for distributing November ballots is September 18, just four days after Wisconsin’s primary and not enough time for the state’s results to be certified.

Republican U.S. House candidate Dan Kapanke has admitted taking twice as much as originally reported from his charitable foundation, to help pay back a loan connected with his baseball team.

Kapanke, a state Senator from La Crosse, told the Eau Claire Leader-Telegram that he had the La Crosse Loggers Foundation pay back $32,000 on a loan for stadium lights where the Loggers play in the Northwoods League. It was originally reported that the foundation has used almost $17,000 in donations for the lights.

The transfer raised ethical questions because the charity is partially funded by donations from lobbyists at the State Capitol. It’s against the law for legislators to take anything of value from lobbyists.

State Democrats filed a complaint this week asking the Government Accountability Board to seek charges against Kapanke, one of two Republican candidates for the House seat now held by Democrat Ron Kind of La Crosse.

Kapanke said the payments were a mistake, but the stadium is used by many other people beside his baseball team.

The Accountability Board has not said what it would do about the case.