Appleton school district to ask for $15 million referendum (APPLETON)
Appleton is the latest school district to ask its residents for more tax funding. W H B Y reports the school board on Monday night voted in favor of a 15 million dollar referendum. The school district is facing a 11 million dollar structural deficit in its budget heading into next year. School board president Kay Eggert says that 15 million dollars will make sure the district can keep its music, AP and co-curricular courses. Board member Oliver Zornow blames the state legislature for the shortfall that led to the referendum question in the first place, and told residents the district has been carefully managing its money for decades.
Winter is the best time to test your home for radon (UNDATED)
Winter is the best time to do home radon testing. Radon is a radioactive gas that can seep into homes through the foundation, and it’s more likely to infiltrate a home in the winter when the furnaces are running. 1 in 10 Wisconsin homes have radon, and it’s been shown to increase cancer chances. You can find a low cost testing kit from the Department of Health Services at D H S dot W I dot Gov.
UW Hospital and Children’s Wisconsin halt gender-affirming care (MADISON)
UW Hospital and Children’s Wisconsin have halted gender-affirming care for minors. The decision comes less than a month after U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced new proposed rules that the federal government would deny Medicaid and Medicare payments to hospitals and clinics if they provide gender affirming care for patients 17 and under. Children’s has confirmed it is no longer able to provide care to its transgender and gender nonbinary patients outside of behavioral health services. UW Health has also confirmed it’s paused much of its care.
Democratic lawmakers hope Republicans will be willing to help get WisEye back online (MADISON)
At the Capitol, Democratic lawmakers say they’ll work to reinstate Wisconsin’s version of C-SPAN, WisconsinEye. Assembly Minority Leader Greta Neubauer says transparency is an essential part of a functioning democracy and not having the service is a step in the wrong direction in trying to gain the public’s trust. Neubauer says the current situation isn’t sustainable and is calling on Republican lawmakers to join them in finding a way to get WisEye back online. WisEye needs to raise $250,000 in order to continue operations and is fundraising to do that.