Podcasts

Announcer:
The following program is a PBS Wisconsin original production.

Frederica Freyberg:
Wisconsin responds with hope and caution that the war with Iran could have an end in sight, and a projected deficit for Milwaukee County forecasts the choppy waters ahead for the economy.
I’m Frederica Freyberg. Tonight on “Here & Now,” Wisconsin senators weigh in on Trump’s peace deal and local Iranians share their views. Analysis of the projected economic shortfall in Milwaukee. We hear from the candidates running in the Democratic primary for governor at their state convention. And land appropriated hundreds of years ago transitions back into the hands of the Ho-Chunk. It’s “Here & Now” for June 19.

Announcer:
Funding for “Here & Now” is provided by the Focus Fund for Journalism and Friends of PBS Wisconsin.

Frederica Freyberg:
The signed understanding between the U.S. and Iran has raised as many questions as it has provided answers. But since the war began more than 100 days ago, it’s the closest to a mutual agreement the public has seen. With fine details of negotiations still unknown, Wisconsin Senators Ron Johnson and Tammy Baldwin reacted with support and skepticism.

Ron Johnson:
It doesn’t matter how many votes we had to try and limit the president’s power here, the American people have a say in this. And I would say the American people, by and large, overwhelmingly the majority did not want President Trump to introduce the type of ground troops to completely defeat the Revolutionary Guard and the brutal dictators of Iran. So here we are. Again, I don’t know what’s in the memorandum of understanding. We can always go back in. The minute they make a move toward the nuclear sites, we can bomb them again. We can try and work with them.

Tammy Baldwin:
He needs to show the American people what is in this agreement. What our plan is to reach a real, long-term peace deal and explain how any of us are better off now compared to three and a half months ago. Until a long-term peace agreement is signed and sealed, and any nuclear agreement is delivered to Congress, I’m going to continue to do my job and force the Senate to vote to stop this war.

Frederica Freyberg:
At the start of the war in Iran, we checked in with two Iranians who have lived and worked in Wisconsin for years but maintain close ties with their country. The shock and awe of those early days was, of course, distressing and terrifying. This week we checked back in with them to see what they think of the end of hostilities with a signed agreement between the U.S. and Iran. They both said they don’t trust the Iranian regime to uphold agreements, and it must now be up to the civilian population in Iran to take back their country, no matter the odds. Here are Ali Soltani and Zara Fakhri speaking about the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and the regime in the face of the agreement with the U.S.

Zara Fakhri:
Iranians are in constant war while the IRGC is in power and the IRGC has repeatedly failed in any agreement with any country, with any group or community. So that’s why for Iranians, there is no longer hope or believing in any agreements that is done by these people. We do not trust them. We do not believe in them. And we are not seeing any progress because for 47 years they have shown themselves. So we also do not believe that it’s a real agreement.

Ali Soltani:
What we have to realize is that this cessation of hostilities, peace talks, whatever you want to call it, it’s only possible with freedom for the Iranian people. The nature of this regime has not changed. Whether what they’re doing is a result of basically military pressure. So they welcome war. They want war. They want crisis. They want these kind of things to suppress the internal aspirations of the Iranian people. So they’re there because they’re forced to. The real fight is actually between the Iranian people and this regime. Within the last four days, since Saturday until Tuesday, they have executed 61 people, 61 prisoners. That is one every three hours. So they’re very scared of the people and their uprising and their organized resistance.

Zara Fakhri:
It was a roller coaster for all of us because it’s not acceptable to see your country being bombed or being under air strikes. But at the same time, the wildest thing that I’ve heard from many Iranians is that we are even okay with that if the day after bombing or strikes, we see free Iran and there is no IRGC and they toppled. So that was the only thing that we were looking for. Although we were all full of fear, we were all worried about our family members, our relatives.

Ali Soltani:
You cannot overthrow a regime with bombing, okay, from air. It’s impossible, especially a regime that’s ideologically driven. You need the people inside Iran, the organized opposition that we have, they know every way there is. They know the people inside Iran. They know who is responsible.

Zara Fakhri:
Right now. I think after all of the things and complications that has happened, they got even more confident because they faced the war with Israel and United States. I cannot call any other country who is more powerful in military services or powers in this kind of matter. But now they say that we won over Israel, we won over United States. So I think the worst thing that I could see after the war was seeing them getting more confident. That’s the worst thing that I could see.

Ali Soltani:
You know, the last four uprisings in Iran, one in I think was 2019 was for the gas prices that went up in 2018. I think it was price of chicken that went up. In 2026, the last one that we saw, it was in started from Bazaar because of the price of the dollar just increased a lot. So this regime is incapable of solving the Iranian people’s problems. So as long as the structure is corrupt and you cannot address the basic needs of the Iranian people, these uprisings will happen. It’s a matter of time.

Zara Fakhri:
We are full of hope. It has been for 47 years. I mean, I’m not the generation at the time that they were protesting or they were fighting against IRGC. I’m the second generation of that. And I know the third generation are right now joining us everywhere, even in social media, TikTok and Instagram. So I don’t see that anyone has lost their hope. We are full of hope because we read the history. There is no dictatorship that they can last long.

Ali Soltani:
The people of Iran need to rise up themselves and they do have organized resistance. They need to basically get the international community’s recognition. That’s what we need. We don’t need any help, money. We don’t need any soldiers or boots on the ground from foreign powers. We need their recognitions and their help to basically help the Iranian people.

Zara Fakhri:
The first priority for all Iranians right now is to be the voice of Iranian people inside Iran and also showing the whole world that what is real Iranians and how we are separating ourselves from IRGC.

Frederica Freyberg:
The economic engine of the state is looking at a whopping county government budget shortfall. Milwaukee County leaders project a $50 million deficit next year, and a nearly $170 million shortfall in five years. That’s if measures to cut costs aren’t taken. What is happening? We turn to Jason Stein, president of the Wisconsin Policy Forum, and thanks for being here.

Jason Stein:
My pleasure. Thank you.

Frederica Freyberg:
So what is happening? I thought that the shared rev deal and new county sales tax was supposed to make things okay.

Jason Stein:
Right. So you’re referring to a 2023 law that provided both new sales tax authority to the county, as well as additional state aid. And those were helpful. I mean, the sales tax revenue is going to be nearly $90 million projected for 2027. So without that money, that $50 million shortfall is even larger. But at the same time, that deal also imposed new costs on the county to, you know, shift to the state pension system, which is a good long-term fix but is challenging in the short term. And then additional law enforcement costs and other costs. So it was very helpful, but it didn’t change the fact that the county has a structural imbalance between how fast its revenues are growing and how fast its expenses are growing. And you see that showing up in this budget shortfall.

Frederica Freyberg:
So I understand that 75% of the county’s budget is mandated state services, some of which you just spoke to, including court operation and highway patrols. So what goes? The quality-of-life things like parks and pools.

Jason Stein:
Absolutely. And, you know, there are a number of also discretionary challenges that the county has. The county also has its transit program, which is facing a big challenge in 2027 because it’s finally exhausted the federal pandemic aid, which stuck around a little bit longer for transit operations than other parts of government. So that’s a challenge. It has a county courthouse that it needs to replace. That’s nearly a half a $1 billion project. And then you talk about its parks, something like that amount in deferred maintenance to its parks system. So it has a lot of generational challenges that are still pressing it pretty strongly.

Frederica Freyberg:
So how does the county stave off these deficits?

Jason Stein:
I mean, I think when you have a challenge of this size, you’re going to have to look on the cost side and the revenue side. So, I mean, the challenge on the cost side is that the county has really had 20 years now of making, you know, cuts and trims and other things. But, you know, they’re going to have to look in transit. They’re going to have to look across their system to try and find some savings. And then at the same time, they’re probably going to have to find revenues, whether that’s from the state, whether it’s from increasing their vehicle registration fee, whatever it happens to be that they can do because there aren’t a lot of levers they can pull.

Frederica Freyberg:
Should or could the state do more?

Jason Stein:
I mean, the state in the current budget, it should be said, did a lot for the county in that the state put forward funds for patrolling the highways in Milwaukee County. So that was a big financial help. Governor Evers, with one of his partial vetoes, also lowered the cost to counties of housing juvenile offenders in a state prison for youth, which — that helped Milwaukee County more than any other county. So there was assistance there. But you’ll certainly hear elected officials from the county going to the state again over the next year.

Frederica Freyberg:
How vexing is this perennial problem, especially for the county executive now running for governor?

Jason Stein:
I mean, it’s every county executive faces this. I mean, another county executive who became governor, Scott Walker, you know, faced the same shortfalls and some of these capital challenges have built up over a period of time that goes back to the 2000s, when Walker was Milwaukee County executive. So it’s certainly a challenge. I think one of the things that I’m sure the county executive will ask for, you know, elected officials would ask for is freedom from the state limits on county property taxes. So more flexibility to raise local revenues to deal with these problems. But of course, the state has been reluctant to give that flexibility.

Frederica Freyberg:
So I trust that Milwaukee County is not the only county that is facing these kinds of budget crunches.

Jason Stein:
No, that’s certainly the case. I think it is worth noting, though, that Milwaukee County, particularly in the city of Milwaukee, has some of the poorest residents. So any county or any city that has a transit system, for example, is facing that same problem with the loss of federal revenue, ridership and ridership revenue being down and the cost being up. But in Milwaukee County, it has a particular pinch and resonance because you really have people that are relying on that transit system, low-income people to get to a job, to get to a doctor’s appointment, to get to the grocery store. And so the impact is magnified, I think, over many places in Wisconsin.

Frederica Freyberg:
All right. Jason Stein, thank you very much.

Jason Stein:
My pleasure. Thank you.

Frederica Freyberg:
Campaigns for governor ahead of the August primary head into high gear with some Democrats in the field getting a boost after the party’s state convention. A straw poll of party activists put Lieutenant Governor Sarah Rodriguez on top with state Representative Francesca Hong in second and state Senator Kelda Roys coming in third. Here’s a glimpse of candidates’ speeches at the convention.

Sarah Rodriguez:
The job I’m asking you for starts with showing up and then standing up. Here’s what I hear out there. Our neighbors are scared. They are angry because even if they are doing everything right, they cannot make ends meet. They work hard and want a paycheck that covers the rent or mortgage before it’s gone. They need a health insurance premium that they can afford so when they get sick, they have the care that they need. They need public schools that are fully funded for their kids so they don’t have to go to referendum.

Joel Brennan:
We’ve seen this before in Wisconsin. Scott Walker ran this con for eight years. Divide and conquer, gut the public sector, hollow out schools, attack workers and treat government like the enemy. When Tony Evers asked me to serve as his top cabinet official, we inherited a mess. Depleted reserves, structural deficits, teachers, state employees, and working people who had been treated like a punching bag for eight years. So we rolled up our sleeves and we got to work. We constructed responsible budgets that returned us to Wisconsin values.

David Crowley:
I do want to be honest, because as I travel, people always ask me, David, can a Black candidate become governor?

Audience member:
Hell yeah.

David Crowley:
If it’s a candidate with a track record of delivering results and winning and not just talking about them? Yes. If it’s a candidate that has a plan that’s built on proven public policy, not whatever the latest poll says is popular, then yes. The answer is simple, y’all. Yes. And I am that candidate. I’ve built a strong coalition in the state’s largest county while earning support from our rural, suburban, urban communities alike.

Kelda Roys:
I am running for governor to raise wages, lower costs, deliver great public schools, and protect our freedoms from this authoritarian regime. We will lower the cost of the biggest ticket items, from housing to health care, child care to utilities. I don’t just have bullet points. I have bills. I don’t just have social posts. I have plans. And we know this is possible because we’ve done it before, right? As the executive director of NARAL Pro-Choice Wisconsin, I helped pass the first pro-choice law in 30 years through an anti-choice Republican Assembly.

Mandela Barnes:
We have been failed by the status quo for far too long. And it’s not just enough to be anti-Trump. It’s not enough to just be a Democrat if you’re going to cave to corporate interests. We need a governor who rejects the Washington way of rampant corruption and corporate greed and that’s why I’m running for governor to do things the Wisconsin way. That means taxing the rich. That means freezing the rates. That means keeping our communities safe, ending the AI schemes that rig the system, fully funding our public schools, passing universal child care, and delivering health care to every single person in this state, and standing up to those monopolies that continue to bankrupt our family farms and raise our utility bills. I am asking for your support in August, and I’m asking you to organize with me all the way through November to take back.

Francesca Hong:
I am running on a platform of permanent affordability, not as a slogan. Not as a slogan, but as a practice. I am the only candidate in this race who has called for a moratorium on the construction of AI data centers. I will not meekly accept the sellout of Wisconsin to trillionaires, billionaires and big tech. I am the only candidate in this race with a plan for free childcare. I am the only candidate in this race who has even considered what AI will do, what it means for our workers and our civil rights.

Missy Hughes:
The first thing I had to do as secretary of Economic Development was clean up Foxconn. No problem. I had three children under the age of two. I know how to clean up a mess. So I cleaned up Donald Trump and Scott Walker’s mess and saved the state and Wisconsinites billions of dollars. And then Covid hit. Covid hit and let me tell you, that’s not a great time to be in charge of the state’s economy. But we rolled up our sleeves and we got to work.

Frederica Freyberg:
On the Republican side, current 7th Congressional U.S. Representative Tom Tiffany got his party’s endorsement in his run for governor at their convention.

Tom Tiffany:
We’re going to take a shovel to waste and fraud. We’re going to root out corruption. And we’re going to bring common sense back to Madison. Because I refuse to accept failure. I refuse to accept decline, and I refuse to see the state of Wisconsin fall behind.

Frederica Freyberg:
Republican Andy Manske is also running.
In other news, the Ho-Chunk Nation will receive 165 acres of their ancestral homelands in a land transfer. The effort was funded by the Dane County Conservation Fund in collaboration with the county’s Land and Water Department. “Here & Now” reporter Erica Ayisi went to the site to hear how the Ho-Chunk will use the property. This report is in collaboration with ICT, formerly Indian Country Today.

Bill Quackenbush:
Every plant is a resource, right? They say everything our Mother Earth gifts us, like that, is a form of medicine. You just have to find out what it is. So you can smell that.

Erica Ayisi:
Bill Quackenbush, tribal historic preservation officer for the Ho-Chunk Nation, says plants can soothe sores on the body.

Bill Quackenbush:
It allows you to heal a lot better. So it’s a different form of medicine.

Erica Ayisi:
The plants, trees, mounds, and waterways in the Lower Mud Lake Natural Resource Area are a part of 165 acres of property returned to Ho-Chunk Nation from Dane County. Quackenbush says the land acquisition is an opportunity for the public to learn.

Bill Quackenbush:
So the milkweed itself, we call it maahic. You just – during this time of year these heads over here, while they’re really young — you pick that and it doesn’t hurt the plant at all. Once you gain the knowledge and use of it there, that’s something that we tend to pass on from generation to generation the plants.

Erica Ayisi:
Nearly $6.5 million from the Dane County Conservation Fund was used to purchase a private property south of Babcock County Park, including significant frontage along Yahara River, Lower Mud Lake and Lake Waubesa. Dane County will place it in a co-hold conservation easement in partnership with Groundswell Conservancy, a nonprofit environmental organization, to permanently prohibit development, preserve public access and protect the land’s cultural significance.

Tony Abate:
Ho-Chunk Nation will own and manage the land, steward the land in perpetuity.

Erica Ayisi:
Quackenbush says the Ho-Chunk are the land’s original caretakers.

Bill Quackenbush:
We’re the only tribe that has the ability to speak confidently about the — we were the first and original people from this region right here.

Erica Ayisi:
When you say ancestral territories, were Ho-Chunk always here?

Bill Quackenbush:
We have beautiful stories that talk about how we adapted through time from living in a place of refuge and moving back into these first places as that glacier began to recede.

Erica Ayisi:
He says their oral history talks about their cultural and environmental adaptation as Ho-Chunk people moved through the region for thousands of years.

Bill Quackenbush:
That place of refuge that we referred to, today’s society calls Driftless Area.

Erica Ayisi:
He says their indigenous language mentions ‘red banks’ of the past that are still evident in Wisconsin today.

Bill Quackenbush:
We say Mogauc in our language. It places you exactly where that location is. These ‘red banks’ that are associated with this ancestral place of origin.

Erica Ayisi:
According to Quackenbush, the Ho-Chunk Nation will be solely responsible for costs, including property taxes and maintenance of the land with insight from the conservancy that includes six archeological sites and 22 ancient burial mounds.

Bill Quackenbush:
There’s a mound system that rises right straight through. That’s nothing more than a large mortuary site. It’s like walking across a burial system for modern people out there. There’s some respect that needs to be instilled in that.

Erica Ayisi:
According to archeologists, there’s at least 118 previously recorded archeological sites in the Dunn Township part of Dane County. But the sites on the 165 acres donated to Ho-Chunk were lost in a series of treaties between the Ho-Chunk and the federal government during the 1800s, long before Wisconsin was an established state. This began an era of forced removals for Ho-Chunk, the original caretakers of this land and its waters.

Jon Greendeer:
By captions in time, in the 1800s primarily where a lot of land was ceded because there was forced removals.

Erica Ayisi:
Jon Greendeer, president of the Ho-Chunk Nation, says the treaties forced the tribe to relocate across the Midwest, but they returned to Wisconsin.

Jon Greendeer:
We were able to not only survive in some of those regions, we were also able to thrive and repopulate.

Erica Ayisi:
Ho-Chunk became an official nation in 1963 and today has about 8000 enrolled members. Greendeer says the land acquisition is about regaining their cultural footprint on their ancestral homelands.

Jon Greendeer:
For the Ho-Chunk Nation, we never really believed in land ownership. We believed that the land was there for us to use as we needed.

Erica Ayisi:
Considering that there’s a conservation easement between Dane County and Groundswell Conservancy, who is on the title in this project?

Jon Greendeer:
The Ho-Chunk Nation is going to be entitled to the project, and it’s going to be a part of anything going forward if there’s any decisions to be made in terms of development in that area.

Erica Ayisi:
As to the property, Groundswell Conservancy says the group, along with Dane County, will do annual visits to the location.

Heidi Habeger:
To make sure that the conservation values are being upheld in conjunction with the Ho-Chunk Nation.

Erica Ayisi:
And support Quackenbush in meeting the tribe’s goals to preserve the site.

Bill Quackenbush:
What we want is the protection and enhancement of the environmental resources.

Erica Ayisi:
And to build a gazebo for the public to sit and engage and learn.

Bill Quackenbush:
This property is a beautiful educational opportunity unfolding before our eyes.

Erica Ayisi:
In Madison, I’m Erica Ayisi for “Here & Now” and ICT.

Frederica Freyberg:
Finally tonight, in honor of the end of slavery more than 160 years ago, on June 19th, 1865, Governor Tony Evers raised the Juneteenth flag at the state Capitol. This marked the seventh straight year the flag has flown over the dome. Juneteenth was declared a federal holiday in 2021 and is recognized and celebrated in 50 states and the District of Columbia.
For more on this and other issues facing Wisconsin, visit our website at PBSWisconsin.org and then click on the news tab. That’s our program for tonight. I’m Frederica Freyberg. Have a good weekend.

Announcer:
Funding for “Here & Now” is provided by the Focus Fund for Journalism and Friends of PBS Wisconsin.