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Southwest Region
Wisconsin counties include: Vernon, Richland, Crawford, Grant, Iowa, Lafayette
Southwest Region
Latest Stories
Sydney Widell, Nancy Wedwick on floods, dams and community
Coon Creek Community Watershed Council members Sydney Widell and Nancy Wedwick discuss plans to remove earthen dams in southwest Wisconsin and the use of agricultural practices to control flooding.
December 4, 2024
Dave Eggen on opposing plans to remove dams in the Driftless
Vernon County Board Supervisor Dave Eggen discusses plans to decommission multiple earthen dams in southwest Wisconsin after breaches by floods and desire to instead devote funding to their repair.
December 3, 2024
Mark Erickson on assessing earthen dam stability and failure
Vernon County resource conservationist Mark Erickson describes documenting the risk of failure for earthen dams and the dangers posed downstream when water overtops or breaches these structures.
November 27, 2024
Bob Micheel on plans to remove Coon Creek dams after floods
Monroe County Land Conservation Department Director Bob Micheel describes how 2018 floods breached aging dams in southwest Wisconsin's Coon Creek watershed and why they are to be decommissioned.
November 21, 2024
What to do about aging dams in Wisconsin’s Driftless Area?
Extreme weather and limited budgets are central to plans for removing a series of earthen dams in southwest Wisconsin, but local residents are concerned about the consequences to their communities.
November 20, 2024
Trump blames Harris for illegal immigration, lists other grievances in Prairie du Chien speech
During a campaign rally in the southwestern Wisconsin city of Prairie du Chien, former President Donald Trump meandered through a list of grievances against Vice President Kamala Harris and other issues in an event intended to link his opponent to illegal border crossings.
September 28, 2024
Three utility companies complete Cardinal-Hickory Creek transmission line
American Transmission Company, Dairyland Power Cooperative and ITC Midwest announced that work is done on the Cardinal-Hickory Creek transmission line — which runs over 100 miles between Iowa's Dubuque County and Wisconsin's Dane County — and the line is fully energized.
September 27, 2024
Scott Walker’s campaign baffles voters who think of Wisconsin’s former governor
Scott Walker is running for the state Legislature, but he's not who voters might think he is — this is not former Gov. Scott Kevin Walker, but Scott Abbot Walker, a Democrat running against Republican incumbent state Rep. Travis Tranel in southwestern Wisconsin's 49th Assembly District.
September 12, 2024
Biden’s Westby visit highlights push for rural votes in 2024
President Joe Biden visited rural Vernon County to tout federal funding for infrastructure — coming a week after a Trump rally in La Crosse, the event also confirms the area's electoral significance.
September 6, 2024
Cooke, Van Orden and Wisconsin’s 3rd Congressional in 2024
Republican incumbent U.S. Rep. Derrick Van Orden is being challenged by Democratic candidate Rebecca Cooke in the 2024 election for Wisconsin's 3rd Congressional District in another high-profile race.
September 5, 2024
The race for Wisconsin’s 3rd Congressional District again attracts national attention
Rebecca Cooke, Katrina Shankland and Eric Wilson are running in the Democratic primary to challenge incumbent Republican U.S. Rep. Derrick Van Orden in the 2024 fall general election.
June 25, 2024
Ellen Voss on protecting mussels in rivers during a drought
River Alliance of Wisconsin climate resilience director Ellen Voss describes efforts to move freshwater mussels in the Wisconsin River to deeper water as drought imperiled multiple endangered species.
June 5, 2024
Lisie Kitchel on sensitivity of mussels in rivers to drought
Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources conservation biologist Lisie Kitchel explains how freshwater mussels are able to respond to changing river levels and can be stranded outside deeper waters.
June 4, 2024
How drought and dams strand mussels on the Wisconsin River
Severe drought and a series of dams on the Wisconsin River caused thousands of mussels to die in 2023, but a wide-ranging group of people are trying to find solutions so it doesn't happen again.
May 30, 2024
Utilities start work on transmission line crossing in Mississippi River wildlife refuge
ITC Midwest and Dairyland Power Cooperative have started construction on the final mile of the contentious Cardinal-Hickory Creek transmission line where it crosses the Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge near Cassville.
May 14, 2024
Federal appeals court halts injunction against power line through Mississippi River refuge
The 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals vacated an injunction that stopped work on a transmission line linking Iowa's Dubuque County and Wisconsin's Dane County, allowing utilities to finish construction as a lawsuit proceeds.
May 8, 2024
Steve Board on the Richland School District and defeasance
Richland School District Superintendent Steve Board discusses its Board of Education's decision to prepay debt, called defeasance, to save interest costs while holding its tax levy rate level.
April 25, 2024
American Transmission Company, ITC Midwest and Dairyland Power Cooperative are building a transmission line linking Iowa's Dubuque County and Wisconsin's Dane County — a federal judge has temporarily blocked those plans after conservation groups filed a lawsuit.
March 22, 2024
A coalition of conservation groups filed a federal lawsuit seeking to stop a 102-mile high-voltage transmission line from crossing the Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge near Cassville.
March 7, 2024
Scientists tag and track invasive carp to slow their Great Lakes push
Wildlife agencies have worked to capture invasive carp in Lake Erie and the Illinois and Mississippi rivers, implanting them with transmitters and following their movements to aid in their removal.
November 20, 2023
State Rep. Katrina Shankland announces 2024 run for Wisconsin’s 3rd Congressional District
State Rep. Katrina Shankland of Stevens Point has joined a crowded field of Democratic candidates in western Wisconsin's 3rd Congressional District to challenge Republican U.S. Rep. Derrick Van Orden.
October 3, 2023
Tara Johnson launches 2024 bid for Wisconsin’s 3rd Congressional District
Former La Crosse County Board Chair Tara Johnson announced a run for Wisconsin's 3rd Congressional District, making her the third Democratic candidate seeking the seat in the 2024 primary.
September 6, 2023
Cooke announces 2024 candidacy to challenge Van Orden in Wisconsin’s 3rd District
Rebecca Cooke, who finished second in the 2022 Democratic primary for Wisconsin's 3rd Congressional District seat, is running again in 2024 to challenge U.S. Rep. Derrick Van Orden, the Republican incumbent.
July 10, 2023
Deepening drought conditions stir fears of Wisconsin farmers
Farmers are worrying about their crops as drought conditions expand across the majority of Wisconsin — Green County farmer Stan Turner and UW Extension educator Josh Kamps discuss the situation.
June 23, 2023
La Crosse, Prairie du Chien brace as spring flooding spreads
Melting winter snowpack and springtime rains are causing major floods on the Mississippi River in western Wisconsin, with communities facing road closures and neighborhood evacuations as waters rise.
April 26, 2023
Linda Gentes on effects of UW-Platteville Richland closing
Richland County Board Supervisor Linda Gentes, an administrator and lecturer at UW-Platteville Richland, considers causes and community effects of the UW System ending in-person classes on the campus.
December 16, 2022
Students at UW-Platteville Richland navigate its closure
Members of the UW-Platteville Richland student body share their concerns about their future educational opportunities after the UW System announced an end to in-person classes on the campus.
December 16, 2022
Federal judge orders Packers Sanitation not to hire children
The Wisconsin-based company entered into an agreement with the U.S. Department of Labor, promising to hire an outside consultant to review its hiring policies and provide additional training for its managers.
December 7, 2022
Wisconsin-based Packers Sanitation draws child labor order
The U.S. Department of Labor issued a temporary restraining order against Wisconsin-based Packers Sanitation after an investigation found children allegedly working long hours in hazardous conditions.
November 18, 2022
What’s next for Derrick Van Orden in Congress after winning Wisconsin’s 3rd
Here & Now extra: The winning Republican candidate for a U.S. House seat in western and central swaths of the state is getting ready to serve in the majority while Democratic candidate Brad Pfaff thinks his party can learn from the close margin in this 2022 race.
November 17, 2022
Anthony Chergosky on Van Orden’s win in Wisconsin’s 3rd
UW-La Crosse political science professor Anthony Chergosky examines Derrick Van Orden's victory over Brad Pfaff for a western Wisconsin U.S. House seat and the rural-urban split in partisan politics.
November 11, 2022
Anthony Chergosky on Pfaff, Van Orden and the 3rd District
UW-La Crosse political science professor Anthony Chergosky assesses the race between Brad Pfaff and Derrick Van Orden for Wisconsin's 3rd Congressional District seat in the last weeks of the election.
October 21, 2022
Pfaff, Van Orden and Wisconsin’s 3rd Congressional District
A Republican promoting national political issues and a Democrat focusing on local economic desires are vying in a high-profile 2022 contest for a U.S. House seat in rural, western swaths of the state.
September 9, 2022
Anthony Chergosky on Wisconsin’s 3rd Congressional District
UW-La Crosse political science professor Anthony Chergosky explains why a race between Brad Pfaff and Derrick Van Orden for a western Wisconsin U.S. House seat is in the national political spotlight.
August 12, 2022
McGrath on 3rd Congressional District run
Retired CIA officer Deb McGrath of Menominee discusses her run as a Democratic candidate for Wisconsin's open 3rd Congressional District seat and the issues she plans to prioritize in the campaign.
January 14, 2022
Cooke on 3rd Congressional District run
Eau Claire business owner Rebecca Cooke discusses her run as a Democratic candidate for Wisconsin's open 3rd Congressional District seat and the issues she plans to prioritize in her campaign.
November 19, 2021
Pfaff on 2022 3rd Congressional District Run
State Senator Brad Pfaff discusses his run as a Democratic candidate for Wisconsin's open 3rd Congressional District seat and the issues he plans to prioritize in the campaign.
October 8, 2021
Whither Wisconsin’s Third Congressional District?
Charles Franklin, Director of the Marquette Law School Poll, considers the future of Wisconsin’s Congressional Delegation in the wake of a high profile retirement and release of 2020 Census data.
August 13, 2021
Southern Wisconsin’s Deepening Drought
UW-Madison agronomy and environmental studies professor Chris Kucharik details how limited rain and hot weather are contributing to drought conditions across southern Wisconsin.
June 11, 2021
A Wet Decade Shifts To Drought In Southern Wisconsin
Following the state's wettest decade on record, lower-than-normal precipitation in the spring of 2021 is leading drought conditions to emerge in agricultural areas reliant on steady rains.
June 7, 2021
Skeptical Crawford County Man Almost County’s First Fatality
Craig Bell was skeptical COVID-19 would affect his small town in southwest Wisconsin. Now he's sharing a story of survival. Bell became Crawford County’s first case of the virus in late March. According to doctors, he was nearly its first COVID-19 fatality. He says people now ask him, "How bad really is it? Is it like the flu?” Bell says, “Not even close to the flu. This thing is mean."
May 15, 2020
Craig Bell was skeptical COVID-19 would affect his small town in southwest Wisconsin. Now he's sharing a story of survival. Bell became Crawford County’s first case of the virus in late March. According to doctors, he was nearly its first COVID-19 fatality. He says people now ask him, "How bad really is it? Is it like the flu?” Bell says, “Not even close to the flu. This thing is mean."
May 10, 2020
Wisconsin Hunters on Chronic Wasting Disease
A look at Marquette poll numbers on the spread of Chronic Wasting Disease in the state. Four hunters explain differing reasons why some get their deer tested for CWD and the overwhelming reason why most do not. The poll shows that of the people who have heard of CWD, 64% feel it represents a threat to the future of deer hunting in Wisconsin.
November 22, 2019
Free Speech Proponent on Controversy in Lafayette County
After information related to water contamination was released, Lafayette county officials proposed a resolution that would prosecute journalists if they did not quote county news releases verbatim. Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council President Bill Lueders talks about Lafayette County Board's activities that raise freedom of the press questions.
November 15, 2019
The issue of contaminated drinking water in Wisconsin has drawn the attention of both sides of the aisle. Gov. Tony Evers declared 2019 the year of clean drinking water and Assembly Speaker Robin Vos created the Speaker's Task Force on Water Quality. Here & Now’s Marisa Wojcik reports on the efforts to improve water quality in the state.
May 24, 2019
Noon Wednesday: Private Well Water Quality
Ken Bradbury of the Wisconsin Geological and Natural History Survey discusses a comprehensive study his group conducted in collaboration with local county conservationists. The study found that 40 percent of private wells in southwest Wisconsin are contaminated beyond safe limits. Bradbury discusses next steps as the Legislature prepares to find solutions during the budgeting process.
May 1, 2019
Fast Facts: Well Contamination
A recent analysis shows more than 40 percent of private wells in southwestern Wisconsin failed to meet drinking water standards. Marisa Wojcik reports on new rules implemented last summer that attempt to curb groundwater contamination in other parts of the state.
January 4, 2019
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