Announcer:

The following program is a PBS Wisconsin original production.

Zac Schultz:

The contest to elect a new representative in Wisconsin’s third congressional pits national politics against the local. School budgets are on the ballot this fall asking voters for hundreds of millions in referendum funds. And the national shortage of OB-GYNs hits close to home endangering healthcare’s capacity to deliver.

Good evening. I’m Zac Schultz filling in for Frederica Freyberg. Tonight on “Here & Now,” a look at the race in Wisconsin’s highly competitive third congressional district. A superintendent discusses the need to rely on referenda and an OB-GYN on impacts the shortage has had on pregnant patient. It’s “Here & Now” for September 9th.

Announcer:

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

Zac Schultz:

We turn first to western Wisconsin and the third congressional. The incumbent Democrat Ron Kind is retiring leaving an open seat. A recent poll found the Republican in the race holds a five-point lead but that the majority of voters still haven’t heard enough about either candidate. “Here & Now” reporter Nathan Denzin traveled to La Crosse and has our story.

Nathan Denzin:

The race to represent Wisconsin’s third congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives is heating up as election day approaches. Democrat Brad Pfaff is going up against Republican Derrick Van Orden in a competition of two very different campaign strategies.

Anthony Chergosky:

It’s hard to imagine two candidates with more different styles. You look at Brad Pfaff, low-key guy, really focuses on his family background from rural Wisconsin. Derrick Van Orden comes into the district, really wants to brand himself as an outsider in politics.

Derrick Van Orden:

I will pry that gavel out of Nancy Pelosi’s hand.

Anthony Chergosky:

Van Orden wants to come in as someone who’s going to get in the arena and fight those cultural battles and really show his support for Donald Trump.

Nathan Denzin:

Anthony Chergosky studies political science at UW-La Crosse. He says this race is garnering national attention due to the retirement of long-time Representative Ron Kind in the district’s highly competitive nature. Kind was one of the few Democrats elected to Congress in a district that voted for Donald Trump in 2020. The challenge for both candidates: how to relate to a large, geographically diverse district that includes six University of Wisconsin campuses and a large farming population?

Anthony Chergosky:

There are really key and significant rural elements of this district. And we know how well Republicans are doing in rural parts of Wisconsin. We know how well they’re doing in rural parts of America. This is no different.

Nathan Denzin:

So far in the race, Van Orden has chosen to nationalize his politics, often bashing Joe Biden for federal policies online. His website lists COVID-19 restrictions in schools, stopping tax hikes and “leading with integrity” as his top three issues going into the election.

Announcer:

Derrick Van Orden, former U.S. Navy SEAL.

Nathan Denzin:

Van Orden did not respond to several requests to be interviewed for this report. The Republican has found himself in the middle of numerous controversies over the past year, including reports he was at the U.S. Capitol on January 6 during the insurrection and an incident where he reportedly made library staff in Prairie du Chien feel threatened over a LGBTQ+ Pride display.

Derrick Van Orden:

I’m Derrick Van Orden. I’m a retired Navy SEAL and I’m the nominee for Wisconsin’s third congressional district.

Nathan Denzin:

The Republican spoke at President Trump’s rally in Waukesha on August 5th, a city about 100 miles from the closest point in the third district.

Derrick Van Orden:

I want to thank President Trump for having me here today and for continuing to fight for America. It is irrefutable that this nation was better under his leadership. It’s not a partisan statement. It’s reality.

Nathan Denzin:

At the rally, Van Orden bashed Joe Biden on rising inflation and fentanyl overdoses, illegal immigration and the removal of troops from Afghanistan.

Derrick Van Orden:

The one thing that all these things had in common, none of them, none of them happened under Donald J. Trump.

Nathan Denzin:

A fact check here. Despite Van Orden’s claim, none of these issues were prevalent during Trump’s time in office: fentanyl overdoses have been steadily arising in America since 2014. The number of apprehensions at the border in the last 12 months are 336% higher than Trump’s last year in office and Trump supported the removal of all troops from Afghanistan.

Brad Pfaff:

Life was a little different when I grew up on a farm.

Nathan Denzin:

Van Orden’s competition, Brad Pfaff, has taken a very different approach to his campaign, choosing to focus his attention on local issues.

Brad Pfaff:

We need to make sure any type of public policy we put in place understands the people’s needs and what is happening out here in the countryside.

Nathan Denzin:

Pfaff says he can relate to voters in western Wisconsin because he has lived and served his whole life here. The Democrat was a staffer for Ron Kind for more than 12 years representing the district before taking positions in President Obama, then Governor Evers’ administrations.

Brad Pfaff:

I’ve had the opportunity to do agriculture policy for U.S. Senator Herb Kohl. Do agriculture policy and rural policy for Congressman Ron Kind, to spend eight years at the U.S. Department of Agriculture in the Obama administration and it was a dream of a lifetime to be asked by Governor Evers to serve as our state secretary of agriculture.

Nathan Denzin:

Pfaff’s legislative goals include providing tax incentives for manufacturers that move back to America from overseas, investing in affordable education like trade schools and apprenticeship programs and protecting Wisconsin workers through legislation Tammy Baldwin introduced that aims to restore fair exchange rates for exported products.

Brad Pfaff:

Here in Wisconsin, particularly here in western Wisconsin, we know how to build things. We know how to innovate. We know how to engineer. And we have some of the best workers around the world. The thing is, they just need an opportunity in order to apply their trade.

Nathan Denzin:

Pfaff also criticized Van Orden saying his temperament and attitudes do not match the district.

Brad Pfaff:

Derrick Van Orden, my opponent in this fall election, he is not from here. He does not know the people or the communities of this district. He doesn’t share our values. The thing is that we’re hard working, God-fearing, patriotic people out here. What Derrick Van Orden’s temperament, his judgment and his character does not reflect the people of this district.

Nathan Denzin:

The big question, which style of campaign will turn out enough votes to win the election in November. Whether that be through nationalized politics…

Anthony Chergosky:

I think Derrick Van Orden learned he can really lock down those Republican supporters by emphasizing how much he backs Donald Trump.

Nathan Denzin:

Or if the path to victory is through local efforts.

Anthony Chergosky:

And so Brad Pfaff is really, I think, going to try to model his campaign after Ron Kind and try to show ways where he is distinct from Joe Biden and Nancy Pelosi and Washington Republicans.

Nathan Denzin:

For “Here & Now,” I’m Nathan Denzin in La Crosse.

Zac Schultz:

The future of public education is one of the big issues in this fall’s election but not just in terms of candidates. According to the Department of Public Instruction, 58 different school districts will have referenda on the November ballot asking voters to approve new buildings and to exceed the levy limit to fund operations. Appleton is one of those districts and we’re joined now by the superintendent there. Greg Hartjes, thanks for being here.

Greg Hartjes:

My pleasure, thank you for having me here.

Zac Schultz:

You’re asking voters two questions. First is $129 million for a new elementary school and other upgrades but you’re also asking for $5 million a year above the levy limit. What will that $5 million a year get you in terms of staffing?

Greg Hartjes:

So there are three parts to the $5 million. The first is $2.2 million for additional staffing at the kindergarten, first and second grade level. That came out of the pandemic. What happened in the fall of 2020 is we were looking to keep students in person but safely distanced within classrooms. We couldn’t do that with our normal staffing where we had 25 to 1. And so we reduced class sizes to 21. What our teachers and principals found out they really were able to meet the needs of students much better, as you can imagine, with 20 students in a classroom, especially around those grades where we’re teaching early reading and writing skills. And so, coming out of the success of the pandemic with small class sizes, we’re asking our communities to support kindergarten, first and second grade class sizes be reduced to 20 to 1 in perpetuity. So that’s the first piece. The second part is STEM staffing. We need to modernize our curriculum around science, technology, engineering and math. We feel like we’ve fallen a little bit behind and so we want to add actual STEM classes at the elementary and middle level. The final piece to that $1.6 million is to operate our new spaces. If we do pass the capital project part of the referendum where we’re building a new elementary school, we’re adding on to our middle schools, we’re looking at costs around heating, cooling, utilities, maintenance and cleaning and then a little bit of staffing that will go with moving sixth graders to our middle school. So we put all that together into a $5 million question.

Zac Schultz:

For the past several years, Republicans have not increased the amount of money going to schools through the budget saying that the federal ESSER funds should be enough to alleviate that. If there had been an increase, would you still need this $5 million or is this a direct response to the shortfall from the state?

Greg Hartjes:

They certainly play together. Had we gotten that increase, that would have gone towards more of our operations. And so this is operational. So some of that may have been able to offset the $5 million. But our reality is we have inflationary increases. Busing costs and obviously staffing when we’re talking about health insurance increases, wanting to be able to give a 2% compensation increase to our employees. We put all of that together and we need $4 to $5 million in new revenue every year just to cover our operational increases and inflation costs. We didn’t have that last year. We’re not having it this year so very challenging for us to just simply meet the operational increases that all businesses or employers in general see. So yeah, a challenge for us.

Zac Schultz:

On the November ballot along with your referenda is going to be the race for governor with two very different visions for the future of public education. Governor Evers wants to pump billions into public education and Tim Michels has said he wants to expand school choice. Do you want your voters in your area to be thinking about the governor election when they reach down the ballot and reach your referenda?

Greg Hartjes:

What we wanted to do is put our referenda on a ballot so the November election, when a large number of our community would turn out for the election. We really felt that was the most transparent way to go about a referendum. We obviously could have gone here in August. We could go in February. Those are not large elections. We want to put it on the biggest election this year just to get the most community members out and be able to vote whether they vote yes or no, we want them to be informed and make the best decision for themselves and we think having that at that big election for the governor race is going to happen.

Zac Schultz:

How much do you think the two different philosophies of the gubernatorial candidates will impact voters? Do you think they will see those discrepancies and make a decision on all these questions together?

Greg Hartjes:

You know, that will be interesting to see what happens. Certainly the Appleton community has supported public education for generations and we’re hoping that that continues. And we feel like the cost of our referendum is very reasonable. It’s going to be around $20 on $100,000 of property annually. That’s a number that generally is looked at as being reasonable and so we hope that even if you are perhaps looking at property taxes and concerns about those taxes, you feel like it’s worth that investment into our education. So we think that we may get voters from both Democrat and Republican side that support our referendum.

Zac Schultz:

All right. Superintendent Greg Hartjes. Thank you for your time today.

Greg Hartjes:

Absolutely, enjoyed it.

Zac Schultz:

In other election news, a Waukesha County judge ruled Wednesday that election clerks cannot fill in missing witness address information on absentee ballot envelopes, saying only the voter or the witness may correct the missing information.

Also this week, the Wisconsin Elections Commission adopted new guidance for clerks. This comes after a federal judge ruled last week that voters with disabilities must be ensured the right to get assistance returning an absentee ballot. The commission argued over whether the voter or the assistant must provide their address or certification. The commission voted 4-2 that neither should be required to fill out additional paperwork.

Mark Thomsen:

The federal court’s order was that we issue guidance consistent with the Voting Rights Act. How can we create a hurdle? Aren’t we poking the federal judge? I mean, how do we change the rule for disabled voters in 2022 when they’ve never had to do this in 2016, 2018 or 2020?

Zac Schultz:

The race for Wisconsin attorney general doesn’t receive as much attention as races for governor and U.S. Senate but it should. This fall Republican Eric Toney is taking on the incumbent Democrat Josh Kaul. Toney is trying to make public safety and crime in Milwaukee a key issue.

Man:

Policies that are going to make a difference must start at the top.

Zac Schultz:

Republican Eric Toney held a press conference in Milwaukee earlier this week touting his endorsements from law enforcement and saying he would seek to expand the power of the attorney general to prosecute more crimes in Milwaukee.

Eric Toney:

If we protect Milwaukee, we will protect all of Wisconsin. That’s why I have advocated for granting our attorney general original prosecution authority here in Milwaukee so we can take on the crime that they are unable or unwilling to prosecute.

Zac Schultz:

Currently, the AG and the Department of Justice can only prosecute certain crimes, leaving the rest up to the local district attorney. The change would require the legislature to pass a law giving the AG that authority. Democrat Josh Kaul doesn’t disagree with expanded powers but says it shouldn’t be limited to one county.

Josh Kaul:

Mr. Toney seems to be targeting Milwaukee County specifically. I think the authority the attorney general has should be consistent throughout the state of Wisconsin. So it’s my view there are times when the Department of Justice should be prosecuting cases and having statewide original prosecution authority is something I’m supportive of for the Department of Justice but what we really need in our communities is resources in our communities to fight these crimes.

Zac Schultz:

Kaul says local police departments and prosecutors are underfunded because the Republican-controlled legislature hasn’t increased shared revenue in years.

Josh Kaul:

While he is now saying that, he was silent when the legislature attacked the DOJ’s budget in the lame duck session. He has been silent as the legislature has consistently declined to provide funding to support Milwaukee in particular.

Zac Schultz:

Toney says he will work with Republicans in next year’s budget but says in the meantime Democratic governor Tony Evers should take ARPA funds designed to provide COVID relief and distribute them to local police departments to fight crime.

Eric Toney:

We’ve got a budget surplus and that’s going to be an issue the legislature is going to have to address and I’m going to work with them in making sure Milwaukee has those resources but that can’t happen until next year. We need that now and the governor has the ability right now with those ARPA funds to help deploy and put money into Milwaukee to keep Milwaukee and all of Wisconsin safe.

Zac Schultz:

This week the legislature’s Joint Finance Committee approved the allocation of $31 million in opioid settlement funds awarded to the state of Wisconsin. The action comes after Republicans rejected the Department of Health Services proposal last month. Overall the funding will go toward the distribution of Narcan and fentanyl testing strips, medication-assisted treatment, Tribal Nations and law enforcement training. GOP committee members said they agreed with 85% of the original plan but amended it to prioritize funds for law enforcement over family support programs.

Mark Born:

Unfortunately, Josh Kaul and Tony Evers continues to turn their back on law enforcement and does not want to work with these people in public safety in our communities. Legislative Republicans will always stand with them and that’s an important part of today’s plan.

Shannon Zimmerman:

I think it’s negligent in this situation if we don’t speak with law enforcement. I called the sheriff of St. Croix County, the sheriff of Pierce County and every chief and law enforcement leader I knew in my district and asked them the questions about what is happening on the frontline.

Jon Erpenbach:

Family centers, the money was cut and obviously moved over to the law enforcement side of things. I can tell you, the amount of questions a family has when somebody is going through the struggles of addiction. It doesn’t matter if it’s alcoholism or opioids or whatever the case may be. There are a million places to turn to but there aren’t any to turn to. Families don’t know where to go. The more rural you are in this state, the tougher it is to get answers. So these are really important. These will help the stability of the family unit. These will help the family members deal and better understand the addiction.

Zac Schultz:

Turning to healthcare, a nationwide shortage of OB-GYNs will force some pregnant women in northern Wisconsin to travel even farther to give birth. Earlier this week Mayo Clinic announced they would no longer provide delivery services in their facility in Barron County and will shut down delivery at their Menomonie clinic at the end of the year. Patients will need to travel to Eau Claire to give birth. Joining us now is Dr. Amy Domeyer, a practicing OB-GYN and legislative chair for the Wisconsin chapter of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. Thank you for your time.

Amy Domeyer:

Thank you.

Zac Schultz:

In their announcement, Mayo Clinic said they spent two years “aggressively recruiting for several open positions.” How bad is the shortage?

Amy Domeyer:

So, you know, we know that access to OB-GYN care in rural counties is declining. And part of that is with some of these hospital shortages and shuttering of OB units. Less than half of rural women live within a 30-minute drive to the nearest hospital. So that can lead to really significant disparities in care and then really significant changes in terms of outcomes as people aren’t always able to access a doctor early enough in their prenatal care or a birth center in a timely fashion when it is time for them to deliver their baby.

Zac Schultz:

What’s leading to the shortage? Are there just not enough OB-GYNs period? Are they not being offered enough in pay to live in a rural area?

Amy Domeyer:

I would say there are many factors that are involved in the shortage of OB-GYNs. It is challenging in that maternity care in general is undervalued compared to other health services so that can impact decisions for folks going into OB-GYN but also for hospitals in terms of continuing OB-GYN services because it does require a complex team of –you know, a system of folks to ensure we’re providing safe access to care. I would say, you know, certainly there are incentives for folks to try to get people to these rural areas and I think the institutions in Wisconsin are — have an eye to that. Specifically the University of Wisconsin has a rural track for their OB-GYN residents, which is one of those unique things in the country. So — but I think we’re feeling in general healthcare shortage with respect to a lot of the things that are happening more recently with the COVID pandemic, with recent legislative interference into OB-GYN practice that are further exacerbating some of the challenges that likely Mayo has been seeing for a while.

Zac Schultz:

You talked about legislative interference. What about the Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v. Wade? How has that affected your industry?

Amy Domeyer:

Yeah. I would say in general I think this is unique in terms of — right now in Wisconsin there is some debate over which law can be enforced or which law is the law of the land with respect to abortion care. But because of an 1849 law which would ban abortion care, that would make people who are practicing OB-GYN care, if they needed to provide abortion services, a felon and so you can kind of see that if a specialty has — is faced with a law that could potentially make them a felon, how that would be scary for someone who maybe wants to come to Wisconsin to practice OB-GYN care or provides abortions as part of their practice, they might not be interested in coming here. And then as well as recruiting students and residents to join our field, I don’t know of other specialties that are faced with such criminal penalties, so obviously as this situation in our state and in others across the country since that decision was made.

Zac Schultz:

There have been some stories nationally, even from Wisconsin, about horror stories of women who needed to decline in health even more to meet the exception for the life of the mother. What kind of situations are you seeing in terms of what qualifies for a woman’s health and how much legislative clarity do we need on this issue?

Amy Domeyer:

Yeah. The health of the mother exception is very, very broad. I guess I should say it’s not the health of the mother, it’s the life of the mother exception is very broad. We don’t really know what that means from a criminal standpoint because these cases have not been, you know, this law has not been enforced in a very long time. So, you know, in general, physician groups are coming together to try to understand or to build a consensus around what we think that means. But that can be difficult because different physicians may be comfortable with a different level of risk and that unfortunately then leads to differences in terms of patient care. So certainly things like hemorrhage, bleeding excessively would be one of those things. Problems with significantly high blood pressure. There’s all kinds of things that could warrant those services but we’re still in a place where doctors and I think the public and lawyers, lawyers for hospital systems, are asking how sick is sick enough? And facing those sorts of legal challenges, the idea that one could be a felon who is just trying to do their job and take care — the best care they can of the patient in front of them. That can be scary for folks either entering the field or thinking about coming to Wisconsin.

Zac Schultz:

Dr. Amy Domeyer. Thanks for your time today.

Amy Domeyer:

Thank you so much.

Zac Schultz:

As we shift from summer to fall and people spend more time indoors, health officials are urging Wisconsinites to get an omicron-specific booster. The vaccine is coming to the state through federal allocations and private pharmacies and is said to better protect against the newest strains of the virus. Moderna’s booster is approved for anyone 18 and older. Pfizer’s is approved for 12 and older.

Smriti Khare:

In the last two weeks since school has started, we’ve seen a jump of about 14% in the cases of children with COVID-19. So about 90,000 cases across the country. Recognize this might be actually underreported since a lot of children are receiving home tests and they aren’t always reported. I think it’s an important data point because it reminds us that COVID-19 is still very much present in our communities. And as we go into the winter season, we worry about other viral entities that tend to have a higher instance during the winter, particularly influenza. So the ability to be able to receive the booster that is specifically targeted towards the omicron variant BA.5, which is the most prominent variant right now in the community, really helps us to keep our children safe.

Zac Schultz:

For more on this and other issues facing Wisconsin, visit our website

at pbswisconsin.org and then click on the news tab. Coming up next week on “Here & Now,” we’ll have a report on turnout in southeast Wisconsin and how it could determine the outcome of the election. And stay tuned in the weeks to come as we have more on the races for U.S. Senate, governor and attorney general. That’s our program for tonight. I’m Zac Schultz. Have a great weekend.

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