Supreme Court rules Wolfe may remain as elections administrator (MADISON)
Wisconsin’s chief elections administrator will remain on the job. A unanimous state Supreme Court ruling on Friday allows Meagan Wolfe to continue in the role indefinitely. Republican legislative leaders have attempted to remove Wolfe since her original four-year term expired in 2023. The justices found that state law requires the six-member Wisconsin Elections Commission to appoint a new administrator only if a vacancy occurs, and no vacancy exists with Wolfe still on the job. The court cited a 2022 ruling which allowed Fred Prehn, an appointee of former Governor Scott Walker, to remain on the Natural Resources Board after his term expired. Citing that decision, the court found, “WEC does not have a duty to appoint a new administrator to replace Wolfe simply because her term has ended.”
Green County government phone and internet outage (MONROE)
A major phone and internet outage is impacting most of Green County government. County Clerk and Administrative Coordinator Arianna Voegeli briefed the media late Wednesday. She said at approximately 5:41 Tuesday, the county network and Internet connection went offline. The county IT department spent the day investigating and troubleshooting into the issues but were ultimately unable to identify the issue and contacted IT support. Voegeli said IT support determined that a “network incident” is causing the outage, and that the county does “not have an ETA for resolution.” The sheriff’s office is not impacted by the outage, which is expected to take days to resolve.
Grothman bill would restrict future student loan forgiveness (WASHINGTON DC)
A Wisconsin congressman wants to restrict any future student loan forgiveness. 6th District Republican Congressman Glenn Grothman has reintroduced his Protecting Taxpayers from Student Loan Bailouts Act, which he says will “prevent future Administrations from replicating President Biden’s student loan bailout scheme that could have cost taxpayers up to $1.4 trillion.” This act requires that the Department of Education review the fiscal impact of any future plans to forgive student loan debt to ensure costs to the federal government do not increase and result in taxpayers footing the bill. Any regulation that does not meet this standard would be prohibited from issuance, fundamentally prohibiting any future administration from ordering broad student loan forgiveness.
State Senate bill would have Wisconsin join national Driver License Compact (MADISON)
Two state Senators want Wisconsin participating in a multi-state compact aimed at reducing deaths on the road. Senator Andre Jacque of De Pere has joined Senator Chris Larson, a Democrat from Milwaukee, to introduce a bill aimed at getting Wisconsin to be a part of the national Driver License Compact. Wisconsin is currently one of only four states not involved in the DLC, which requires member states to share with each other all traffic convictions and license suspensions or revocations for offenses that include drunk driving. The lawmakers note that because Wisconsin is not involved, “individuals have been able to slip through the cracks and receive licenses, with tragic consequences.” They say that if the bill were to be passed, it would “close a dangerous loophole, improve data sharing and best practices moving forward, and help keep dangerous drivers off the road — in Wisconsin and every member state.”
Former fire chief will stand trial for child enticement and sexual assault (WAUSAU)
Trial dates are set for a former Wisconsin fire chief accused of child enticement and sexual assault. Attorneys for Robert Bowen say they are not on course for a plea agreement with the state, leading a Marathon County judge to schedule a three-day trial beginning November 18th. Bowen faces more than a decade in prison after investigators say he made inappropriate sexual contact with a child on multiple occasions between June 20-23 and May of 24, He was put on leave by the department shortly after the accusations came to light, and later resigned for “personal and professional” reasons. Riverside, which covers the Village of Rothschild and City of Schofield, has since hired a new chief. Bowen returns to court for a pre-trial conference in early November, until then he’s free on bond.
Baldwin wants automakers to retain AM radios (WASHINGTON DC)
U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin wants to make sure new vehicles will keep their AM radios. The Wisconsin Democrat says she’s getting pushback from manufacturers that claim it’s hard to use AM radio in electric vehicles, but thinks anyone who can make and design an electric car can figure out how to get an AM signal to play on the radio. Baldwin says access to the AM band is vital to deliver news and information to rural communities, many of which need access to the long range AM signals can offer.
Wisconsin license plates will ‘B’ getting a new look (UNDATED)
Wisconsin motor vehicle license plates will be getting a different look of sorts. The State Division of Motor Vehicles will soon debut a new series of plates, beginning with the letter B. This comes after nearly eight years and more than four and a half million letter number combinations beginning with the letter A. DMV estimates it will take approximately 7 years to get through all possible B combinations. Wisconsin’s current format of seven-character license plates began in April 2017, with the letter A.