Evers makes final submission for federal broadband funding (UNDATED)
Wisconsin has submitted a final proposal for federal broadband internet funding. Governor Tony Evers and the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin have submitted the proposal, with the hopes of expanding high-speed internet access across the state. If approved, the governor’s office says the funding could expand access to high-speed internet to more than 170,000 homes and businesses across Wisconsin. Evers says despite the Trump administration’s attempt to delay the funding; his office and the PSC have been able to keep the program on track. Since 2019, Evers’ administration has allocated more than $345 million in state and federal funds to expand high-speed internet.
Country music superstar Garth Brooks to open 2026 Summerfest (MILWAUKEE)
Country music star Garth Brooks will open Summerfest in 2026. The show will be Brooks’ first ever at Summerfest, and his first show in Milwaukee in more than a decade. Tickets for the show go on sale Friday and include admission to Summerfest 2026 any day of the festival. Those with tickets can take part in a Garth Brooks pre-party that features live entertainment, food, beverages and more. Brooks’ last performances in Wisconsin came in 2015, when he performed two nights at the BMO Harris Bradley Center in Milwaukee.
DNR holding open houses at fish hatcheries and facilities (UNDATED)
Fish hatcheries and spawning facilities across the state will hold open houses over the next couple of months. The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources says open houses will be held at Governor Tommy Thompson and Wild Rose Fish Hatcheries, as well as Besadny and Root River Steelhead fish facilities. Each of these free events will give attendees a chance to see fish up close and learn how hatcheries and spawning facilities help sustain Wisconsin’s fish populations. A full list of dates and more details can be found on the DNR’s website.
Don’t lose your season tickets to crooks, says Consumer Protection (UNDATED)
Be careful with your season tickets and don’t let scammers get control of them. Wisconsin Consumer Protection is reminding people to keep their tickets secure after multiple reports of tickets being copied or stolen. As many sports teams have gone to digital ticketing, it’s important to follow the usual rules of password safety. Keep those passwords private and make them difficult for a computer to guess by making them longer phrases that are easy for you to remember. If your team offers it, be sure to set up multifactor authentication, like requiring a text message or phone call if you are trying to access your account. If you have actual physical tickets, be sure not to post a picture of it online before the game.
Healthcare groups oppose bill that could reopen Wisconsin bars to indoor smoking (MADISON)
Health care groups are opposing a proposed law that could reopen up Wisconsin bars to smoking. A group including UW-Health, the American Cancer Society and the American Heart Association say Assembly Bill 211 creates large loopholes to allow smoking in nearly any bar. The bill would allow smoking inside of “tobacco bars” and allow the use of cigars, pipe tobacco and brown cigarettes indoors. Current law defines a tobacco bar as any bar that gets 15 percent of its revenue from tobacco sales and it had to be established before the 2009 indoor smoking ban passed. The bill’s language would allow any current tavern to qualify so long as they purchase a tobacco sales license. The State Assembly could take up the bill on the floor this week. A companion bill in the State Senate has not made it to committee for discussion.
Evers won’t support National Guard deployment to Milwaukee (WAUSAU)
Governor Tony Evers opposes the idea of sending the National Guard to Milwaukee to handle crime and police work. Speaking at an event in Wausau on Monday, Evers says soldiers from the Guard can’t find enough to do in Washington DC as it is and have instead been doing yard work and beautification on the National Mall and elsewhere. Milwaukee is just one of several cities that President Trump or the White House have mentioned as being targets for deployment, along with New Orleans and Chicago.