Blue “EMS” letters on a glass window reflecting a partly cloudy sky, green trees, and industrial buildings in the background.

Policy

Three bills before the Wisconsin Legislature seek to address EMS staffing shortfalls

A package of legislation aims to relieve stress on Wisconsin's EMS departments, including funding to bolster enrollment in training courses, incentives to develop regional emergency systems, and improved reimbursement for 911 calls that don't involve patient transportation.

June 17, 2025

Essence Wilks sits at a table with papers and two plastic beverage containers with straws on its surface as Paige Berg stands to one side, with a glass door and out-of-focus illuminated hanging lamps and exit signs in the background.
Essence Wilks sits at a table with papers and two plastic beverage containers with straws on its surface as Paige Berg stands to one side, with a glass door and out-of-focus illuminated hanging lamps and exit signs in the background.

Social Issues

Three women build a ‘third space’ in Green Bay for community members who have felt left out

Launched in 2024, the nonprofit Third Space Green Bay aspires to create community for LGBTQ+ residents and people of color who live in and around the northeast Wisconsin city — making all feel welcome.

June 16, 2025 • Northeast Region

A wanted-style poster with the logo of the FBI and the words Law Enforcement Assistance shows the name Vance L. Boelter and the crime of Murder above four photographs, each with the word Captured superimposed over their bottom margin.
A wanted-style poster with the logo of the FBI and the words Law Enforcement Assistance shows the name Vance L. Boelter and the crime of Murder above four photographs, each with the word Captured superimposed over their bottom margin.

Politics

Friends say Minnesota assassination suspect is deeply religious and conservative

The man accused of assassinating the top Democrat in the Minnesota House of Representatives worked as a security contractor, a funeral service driver and a preacher, and was described by friends and former colleagues as holding deeply religious and politically conservative views.

June 16, 2025

Adam Faust stands in a room with his right arm holding an overhead brace for a milking system and his left hand holding a door handle, with a daylight illuminated window in the background and multiple digital gauges in a row in the foreground.
Adam Faust stands in a room with his right arm holding an overhead brace for a milking system and his left hand holding a door handle, with a daylight illuminated window in the background and multiple digital gauges in a row in the foreground.

Courts

Wisconsin dairy farmer sues USDA claiming discrimination against white farmers

The conservative Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty filed a federal lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Agriculture on behalf of dairy farmer Adam Faust alleging the Trump administration is illegally denying financial assistance to white farmers by continuing programs that favor minorities.

June 16, 2025

An oval logo showing an illustration of a multi-story Beaux Arts-style building with a U.S. flag on a flagpole in front of a colonnade is mounted in front of a stage curtain and between a U.S. flag and the U.S. Department of Justice flag, with an out-of-focus podium with a microphone mounted to its surface in the foreground.
An oval logo showing an illustration of a multi-story Beaux Arts-style building with a U.S. flag on a flagpole in front of a colonnade is mounted in front of a stage curtain and between a U.S. flag and the U.S. Department of Justice flag, with an out-of-focus podium with a microphone mounted to its surface in the foreground.

Politics

US Justice Department’s moves on elections signal a shift from protecting voter access

The Trump administration's Justice Department has begun targeting Democratic and presidential swing states with demands for election data or changes to voter registration procedures, suggesting the agency is moving away from its traditional stance of protecting access to the ballot box.

June 16, 2025

Frederica Freyberg sits at a desk on the Here & Now set and faces a video monitor showing an image of Zac Schultz.
Frederica Freyberg sits at a desk on the Here & Now set and faces a video monitor showing an image of Zac Schultz.

Politics

‘Here & Now’ Highlights: Zac Schultz, State Sen. Jesse James, Tracy Vruwink, Jeanne Duffy

Here's what guests on the June 13, 2025 episode said about lawmakers writing the state budget, a pilot program for student mental health. Impacts of federal funding cuts in one community and the status of AmeriCorps projects in Wisconsin.

June 16, 2025

Vance Luther Boelter stands outdoors with a spotlight illuminating his face, with multiple law enforcement officers wearing camouflage uniforms and helmets with headphones and mounted scopes standing in the background with black areas redacting their faces, with foliage and a tree line on the horizon under a cloudy sky at dusk.
Vance Luther Boelter stands outdoors with a spotlight illuminating his face, with multiple law enforcement officers wearing camouflage uniforms and helmets with headphones and mounted scopes standing in the background with black areas redacting their faces, with foliage and a tree line on the horizon under a cloudy sky at dusk.

Politics

Man suspected of assassinating Minnesota lawmaker arrested

Vance Luther Boelter, the man suspected of shooting two state lawmakers and killing one of them, has been taken into custody in Minnesota, bringing an end to a massive, nearly two-day search that put the entire state on edge.

June 15, 2025

Melissa Hortman stands and speaks into a microphone mounted to the top of a wood podium with an out-of-focus wood gavel on its surface and a name plate reading Melissa Hortman on its front, with a wood-carved chair, framed painting and the then-Minnesota flag in the background.
Melissa Hortman stands and speaks into a microphone mounted to the top of a wood podium with an out-of-focus wood gavel on its surface and a name plate reading Melissa Hortman on its front, with a wood-carved chair, framed painting and the then-Minnesota flag in the background.

Politics

Politically motivated gunman assassinates DFL leader of Minnesota House of Representatives, wounds another lawmaker

State Rep. Melissa Hortman, the Democratic-Farmer-Labor leader in the Minnesota House of Representatives, and her husband were shot and killed in a Minneapolis suburb early June 14, with state Sen. John Hoffman and his wife wounded in what authorities describe as targeted attacks.

June 14, 2025

A still image shows Zac Shultz standing in front of the main chamber at the state Capitol with two green marble pillars behind him, with a graphic in the bottom reading 'State capitol,' 'Zac Schultz' and 'Here & Now.'
A still image shows Zac Shultz standing in front of the main chamber at the state Capitol with two green marble pillars behind him, with a graphic in the bottom reading 'State capitol,' 'Zac Schultz' and 'Here & Now.'

Budgets

Zac Schultz on lawmakers writing Wisconsin’s 2025-27 budget

PBS Wisconsin senior political reporter Zac Schultz describes how the state Legislature's Republican-controlled Joint Committee on Finance is assembling portions of the 2025-27 biennial state budget.

June 13, 2025

A still image shows state Senator Jesse James seated in front of a U.S. flag and a Wisconsin flag, with a graphic in the bottom reading 'State capitol,' 'Sen. Jesse James' and '(R) Thorp.'
A still image shows state Senator Jesse James seated in front of a U.S. flag and a Wisconsin flag, with a graphic in the bottom reading 'State capitol,' 'Sen. Jesse James' and '(R) Thorp.'

Policy

Sen. Jesse James on mental health services offered at school

State Sen. Jesse James, R-Thorp, discusses legislation to create a two-year pilot program to provide year-round school-centered mental health services for at-risk students at two schools in Wisconsin.

June 13, 2025