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

Frederica Freyberg:
The Republican U.S. Senate candidate formally concedes, and a hyper focus on trans rights during the election makes its way back to school board politics.
I’m Frederica Freyberg. Tonight on “Here & Now,” Democratic incumbent Tammy Baldwin on her U.S. Senate win. A school district tests the limits of Title IX. The latest on the appointment of Wisconsin’s top election official. And thousands of aging dams are leaving communities underwater. It’s “Here & Now” for November 22.

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

Frederica Freyberg:
Just off her third win for U.S. Senate, Wisconsin Democrat Tammy Baldwin says she has not yet received a call from her Republican challenger Eric Hovde. Hovde did formally concede this week, but it came two weeks after the election and he continued to cast doubt on the razor tight results. Senator Baldwin is back in Washington and joins us now. And thanks very much for being here.

Tammy Baldwin:
It’s my pleasure to join you.

Frederica Freyberg:
So congratulations on your win.

Tammy Baldwin:
Thank you.

Frederica Freyberg:
What is your reaction to Eric Hovde continuing to cast doubt, though, on the election process?

Tammy Baldwin:
Look, it was a free and fair election and the results are in. I stand by what the Wisconsin voters have done in terms of placing their trust in me for another term, but also electing Donald Trump as their presidential candidate. And I think it’s incumbent upon all candidates to stand by the results of a free and fair election.

Frederica Freyberg:
What allowed you to narrowly win while Kamala Harris fell short?

Tammy Baldwin:
You know, my M.O. as a senator but also as a candidate for reelection is to travel the state extensively. Show up matters — showing up matters. I listen deeply to people, and then I deliver results. And I’ve done this now for years. I don’t just go to blue parts of the state. I go to deeply red parts of the state, rural areas, suburban areas, urban areas. And I think showing up really does matter. And I think that it takes time to build trust and to build relationships. And that’s what I’ve invested in.

Frederica Freyberg:
Clearly, out of the new Trump administration, we’re looking at some seismic policy shifts with Republicans taking both chambers and the presidency. What can you and others in the minority meaningfully accomplish?

Tammy Baldwin:
Look, I’m going to approach this session the same way I have all the time. I’m fighting for Wisconsin, and there are things that I can do in a bipartisan basis to fight for the people of this state, as I have in the past. I’ve served in both the minority and the majority party in the United States Senate. And when there are things that this administration offers that are not in the interests of the people of Wisconsin, I will stand up to them. And that’s always what I’ve been — what I’ve done, regardless of who is president and regardless of which party is in control of the Senate.

Frederica Freyberg:
So as to President-elect Trump’s cabinet picks, what is your reaction to some of those nominated and I will name them. Tulsi Gabbard for National Intelligence, Pete Hegseth for Defense and RFK Jr. for Health and Human Services.

Tammy Baldwin:
I expect that these candidates will be vetted first and then we will have hearings. I’m already thinking about the type of questions I would want to ask somebody like the nominee, Kennedy, to head Health and Human Services. I mean, Wisconsinites rely upon, you know, vaccines to prevent things like measles and mumps. We rely upon the National Institutes for Health to be doing cutting edge research, to try to create better treatments for cancer and cures for disease. We rely on the Centers for Disease Prevention for preventative measures. And I want to have a clear understanding of how these nominees would steward these agencies. And so I expect that the process of advise and consent will take place, and I will fight for that, and I will scrutinize these nominees very carefully.

Frederica Freyberg:
Former Wisconsin Congressman Sean Duffy was selected for transportation secretary. How might that benefit Wisconsin?

Tammy Baldwin:
Well, we have passed the bipartisan infrastructure law, and we have a number of really vital projects that are going on in the state. Among them, efforts to build out broadband so that every resident in Wisconsin has access to high-speed internet. We have a bridge project in northern Wisconsin connecting the city of Superior with the city of Duluth in Minnesota, the Blatnik Bridge replacement project. There’s $1 billion of federal funding going into that project. We have amazing things happening throughout the state, including major investments in public transit. And I think having a Wisconsin candidate filling that position is something that would be very helpful in terms of advocacy for completion of those projects.

Frederica Freyberg:
What real concerns do you have that the Affordable Care Act, which you were so involved in, will be scratched and what would be the implications of that?

Tammy Baldwin:
Well, I certainly worry, as I have heard, you know, within the last year, President-elect Trump talk about repealing the Affordable Care Act. It would have devastating results. There are tens of millions of Americans who have health care because of the Affordable Care Act. The fact that we have told the powerful insurance companies that you can no longer discriminate against people based on a preexisting health condition or existing health condition, has meant that so many can now get health care who couldn’t in the years before the Affordable Care Act. But I think we also have to build upon it. And so we have to fight against any efforts to repeal. But we also have to make it even more accessible and affordable for Americans.

Frederica Freyberg:
You just voted “present” on three resolutions to block arms sales to Israel. Why?

Tammy Baldwin:
You know, the measures that were before the Senate did not achieve the goals that I have articulated time and time again. So, first of all, Israel has the right to defend itself. The attacks on October 7th by Hamas terrorists were horrific, killing 1200 resulting in hostages being taken, including some American hostages. But the conduct of the Netanyahu government in executing its war in Gaza has caused the lives of too many innocent Palestinians to be lost. And I have called for a cease fire for nearly a year now. That has to happen. The hostages must be released. We must surge humanitarian aid into Gaza. Those are the goals that I have. And the vote options before me yesterday did not achieve those goals.

Frederica Freyberg:
What will be your sharp focus now that you’re back in Washington?

Tammy Baldwin:
All right. So it’s definitely fighting for Wisconsin. And it’s the kitchen table issues that I’ve been hearing about throughout this campaign and throughout recent years. You know, the affordability of things that people need: groceries, their health care, their prescription medications, housing, childcare. Those things are vital. And a champion for a plan to restore Roe v. Wade as the law of the land.

Frederica Freyberg:
What is your message to Wisconsin, so narrowly split politically, so purple?

Tammy Baldwin:
Look, I still think we have a lot more in common than we do that separates us and I know a lot of people are still in disbelief that Wisconsinites place their trust in me but also opted to elect Donald Trump both by narrow margins. But I think it is about, you know, that we have much more in common.

Frederica Freyberg:
Senator Tammy Baldin, thank you very much.

Tammy Baldwin:
Thank you for having me.

Frederica Freyberg:
As discussed with Senator Baldwin, former Wisconsin Congressman Sean Duffy has been tapped by President-elect Trump for Secretary of Transportation. Duffy served as the Republican U.S. Rep to Wisconsin’s 7th Congressional District from 2011 to 2019, when he resigned to care for his ninth child, who was born with a medical condition. Before serving in Congress, Duffy was a reality TV cast member and following that was appointed district attorney of Ashland County before running for Congress.
In Watertown, emotions ran high at the Board of Education meeting on Monday as a controversial decision was made regarding transgender students. “Here & Now” reporter Aditi Debnath was there and has the details.

Aditi Debnath:
It was a packed house at Riverside Middle School Monday, as the Watertown School Board voted on a new gender support plan that significantly changes policies for transgender students. The meeting drew hundreds of attendees, with the cafeteria and a secondary overflow room filled to capacity. Many in the audience held signs reading “Vote C” urging the board to adopt the more restrictive option C plan and that’s exactly what they did. Board President David Schroeder explained the decision.

David Schroeder:
My goal is to protect the district and to protect the kids.

Aditi Debnath:
The new plan requires students to use bathrooms and participate in sports based on their gender assigned at birth. Board member Tina Johnson was the only member to vote against plan C, praising current policies that defer to the student’s preferences.

Tina Johnson:
The administration and staff have done a great job in working with all students. They’ve done a great job with the transgender guideline, and I will continue to support them.

Aditi Debnath:
Gender support plans, which can be more restrictive, like the one passed or more inclusive, are not new to Wisconsin schools. Abigail Swetz is executive director of Fair Wisconsin, an LGBTQ+ civil rights organization.

Abigail Swetz:
And the best practices in a gender support plan, which many districts do have, is to ensure the safety of the child by working with the kid to figure out how to best talk to parents and then bring them into conversations.

Aditi Debnath:
The Watertown School District’s previous policy, which had been in place for eight years, allowed transgender students more flexibility with options to use unisex restrooms or separate locker room schedules. One Watertown student argues the majority of her peers aren’t concerned about gender politics.

Watertown High School student:
As a student in Watertown High School, I can say with full pride that I have met very few students who are bothered by transgender students.
Aditi Debnath:
Supporters of the plan point to safety concerns.

Gene Schmidt:
When you start putting men in women’s/girls’ bathrooms that are biologically male, you’re going to have more than one lawsuit.

Aditi Debnath:
Mollie McQuillan is a social scientist at the UW-Madison School of Education. She questions the legal validity of the policy.

Mollie McQuillan:
I think that there’s a lot of confusion among school boards and certainly among superintendents and principals and teachers about what the law actually is.

Aditi Debnath:
She says that policies like Plan C aren’t legally binding due to a federal law called Title IX.

Mollie McQuillan:
Title IX, broadly speaking, is to prevent discrimination based on sex.

Aditi Debnath:
McQuillan says that two different Title IX Circuit Court of Appeals decisions in 2017 and 2023 found that school policies that restrict which bathroom a student can use are not enforceable. Board President Schroeder acknowledges that this could change after President-elect Trump takes office in January.

David Schroeder:
Whatever you think about the law today, in two months, it’s likely going to change.

Aditi Debnath:
Any change made to Title IX would take time to work its way through the political process but gender politics are front of mind for the new administration.

Donald Trump:
I will ask Congress to pass a bill establishing that the only genders recognized by the United States government are male and female, and they are assigned at birth. The bill will also make clear that Title IX prohibits men from participating in women’s sports.

Aditi Debnath:
Swetz says that the change in administration only means there’s more work for civil rights advocates to do.

Abigail Swetz:
It is true that Title IX protects LGBTQ+ students and staff. We have civil rights, and no matter who occupies the White House, and our organizations are here to make sure those rights are respected.

Aditi Debnath:
Back in Watertown, it’s now up to the superintendent and district staff to decide how to enforce the policy moving forward. Reporting from Watertown, I’m Aditi Debnath for “Here & Now.”

Frederica Freyberg:
The Wisconsin Elections Commission is wrapping up the final details of the 2024 election. And as we head into next year, one large question hovers over the commission. Will its administrator, Meagan Wolfe, be allowed to remain in her position? The answer will be provided by the Wisconsin Supreme Court, which heard oral arguments this week on a lawsuit that seeks to force her out. “Here & Now” senior political reporter Zac Schultz explains the twists and turns of the situation.

Zac Schultz:
Meagan Wolfe’s original four-year appointment as administrator of the Wisconsin Elections Commission ended in June of 2023. Her appointment to another four-year term would require Senate approval. At the time, the Republican majority in the Senate were still playing up Donald Trump’s 2020 election conspiracies and wanted the six member Wisconsin Elections Commission to nominate her again so they could reject her, essentially firing Wolfe and forcing the commission to nominate a new administrator. While the three Republican appointees to the commission voted to advance Wolfe’s nomination, the three Democrats did not vote, saying without a majority, Wolfe’s nomination was not officially sent to the Senate and therefore she could not be rejected. After a lawsuit, Wolfe was allowed to keep her job as a legal holdover thanks to a recent decision when the Supreme Court was controlled by conservatives and they ruled Fred Prehn, nominated to the DNR board by former Republican Governor Scott Walker, could stay on the board past the end of his six year term as long as the Senate refused to approve his successor, who was nominated by Democratic Governor Tony Evers.

Capitol Police Officer:
All rise.

Zac Schultz:
Before the Supreme Court, lawyers for Democratic Attorney General Josh Kaul argued, because a majority of the commission could remove the administrator at any time, there was no requirement to renominate after the four-year term is up. While lawyers for the Republican Legislature argued that could mean the administrator stays on indefinitely.

Jill Karofsky:
Six of the seven of us sat in this courtroom two years ago when your client, your client, insisted that Fred Prehn should be able to retain his position on the DNR board, even though his six-year term had expired and your client won. This is a case of careful what you wish for, isn’t it?

Misha Tseytlin:
If Meagan Wolfe was nominated, was appointed by the, by the commission, and sent over to the Senate and the Senate acted the same way they did with Prehn, which is not hold hearings. Then Meagan Wolfe would stay as a holdover exactly like Prehn did.

Zac Schultz:
Meagan Wolfe and WEC issued a statement this week saying she serves at the will of the commissioners, who voiced unanimous support for her in their vote last June. Reporting from Madison, I’m Zac Schultz for “Here & Now.”

Frederica Freyberg:
Former Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Michael Gableman has been hit with a ten-count complaint from the state Office of Lawyer Regulation. Republican Assembly Speaker Robin Vos hired Gableman to lead an investigation into Donald Trump’s loss in the 2020 election. The former justice proceeded to spread election conspiracy theories, and in the process, according to the complaint, violated multiple rules of conduct. His investigation cost taxpayers more than $2.3 million. The current high court metes out sanctions in such cases, which could include the loss of Gableman’s law license.
In environmental news, Wisconsin is home to more than 4,000 dams and most of them are very old and at risk of failing. It’s left communities across the state in a position to decide their future before the dams burst and wreak havoc on the communities downstream. “Here & Now” reporter Nathan Denzin visited communities in western Wisconsin which are grappling with what to do with their old dams.

Nathan Denzin:
In the summer of 2018, Wisconsin’s Driftless Area was hit by massive and destructive storms.

Dean Daniels:
They were good ones. They were really dandy.

Bob Micheel:
If you were standing on top of the dam, which is about 39 feet above the valley floor, your boots would have been in water.

Charlie Burke:
The cleanup took well over six months.

Nathan Denzin:
The storms caused dams to fail in the Coon Creek and West Fork Kickapoo watersheds near Viroqua.

Bob Micheel:
There’s over 10,000 structures in the United States. Five structures breached in one event in 2018 that never happened before.

Nathan Denzin:
Bob Micheel is the Monroe County Land Conservation director, which is in charge of the dams in the Coon Creek watershed. Somehow, no human lives were lost in 2018, but roads were washed away and debris spread for miles.

Bob Micheel:
If you have a structure that fails, it’s like a giant bulldozer racing down the valley floor, destroying everything in its path.

Nathan Denzin:
There are 23 earthen dams between the two watersheds, and to the untrained eye, they just look like big dirt hills. They’re all past their 50-year expected lifespan and climate change has supercharged storms the dams were never designed to hold back.

Bob Micheel:
We have 11 more structures that are still standing. That potential of happening again is still there.

Nathan Denzin:
The county commissioned a study, along with state and federal officials, to figure out what the future of the dams might look like. The study considered nine options, including rebuilding or repairing but in the end, found removal was the only viable solution. If they are taken out, it would be the largest dam removal project in U.S. History.

Dave Eggen:
I was actually dumbfounded that there would even be a discussion about taking these dams out. They’ve saved this community and this valley from flash flooding now for nearly 60 years.

Nathan Denzin:
Dave Eggen is a retired farmer and representative on the Vernon County Board, who has lived most of his life within a mile of at least six of the dams. Despite the aging dams, residents still say that they play a critical role in reducing flood events. They worry that removing the dams would mean multiple floods a year, hurting farming operations.

Dave Eggen:
There is no protection from flash flooding, like a 30-foot-high earthen dam.

Nathan Denzin:
His neighbors agree.

Charlie Burke:
I have a concern over what will happen to our farming operation.

Dean Daniels:
What scares me the most is, you know, how are we going to have to react when the dam is gone?

Mark Andrews:
Bottom line is I don’t see what the benefit really is.

Nathan Denzin:
Eggen recalled a story from his grandfather who had farmed the valley before the dams were built.

Dave Eggen:
After five years of farming out here on these fields, he realized that he wasn’t going to make a living farming in this valley because of the constant flash flooding.

Nathan Denzin:
But the cost to repair or replace these dams is steep, estimated at about $61 million. Removing them would only cost about $4 million.

Mark Erickson:
And Vernon County doesn’t have the financial resources to operate, maintain and repair dams.

Nathan Denzin:
Mark Erickson is the Vernon County resource conservationist who has been overseeing one dam that’s already in the process of being removed.

Mark Erickson:
But where that clay meets these sandstone abutments or hillsides, that’s proven to be the weak point.

Nathan Denzin:
All of the old dams in this area were connected to sandstone underneath hillsides, but over time, that sandstone will crack and the dam could breach.

Bob Micheel:
You’ve seen one structure, you’ve seen them all because they breach the same way.

Nathan Denzin:
And if they breach, a violent burst of water would be released downstream with huge destructive power. Monroe, La Crosse and Vernon Counties have all approved a plan to remove the dams, but it will take additional studies, consultation and grant applications before any earth is actually moved. That leaves about 18 months for Eggen and his allies to stress the importance of the dams and provide viable alternatives to removal.

Dave Eggen:
I’m sensing a lot of sympathy towards these dams being taken out with hardly any options.

Nathan Denzin:
He thinks that with the right material and a friendly contractor repairing the dams might not be as expensive as initially thought.

Dave Eggen:
I personally talked with a general contractor in the county to give me a ballpark to dig down and put in new age plumbing. He said $200 to $250,000.

Nathan Denzin:
But his frustration runs deeper than the ballpark figures noted in the study. Cost benefit ratios were calculated to determine if federal funding would be justified to repair the dams. That ratio concluded that not enough people and structures are downstream for those dollars to be released.

Dave Eggen:
Our country can spend $111 million on a missile, and they’re shooting them off every day over in the middle East. But you can’t come up with a handful of millions of dollars to help restore life-saving dams like we’re standing on.

Nathan Denzin:
The one dam that did qualify for federal funding to be reconstructed only did so because it holds back a standing lake. Though that lake has been contaminated multiple times by manure runoff. If the plans go forward and the dams are removed, the community knows it will have to change to survive future floods.

Sydney Widell:
The dams have definitely been a reckoning about how we live on this land.

Nancy Wedwick:
Biggest concern really is what are the next steps?

Nathan Denzin:
Sydney Widell and Nancy Wedwick are members of the Coon Creek Community Watershed Council. Wedwick serves as the president and Widell is watershed coordinator.

Nancy Wedwick:
We started to learn and find out that there are indeed many things that you can do just as people or as landowners, to mitigate flooding, to slow water, to make running water walk.

Nathan Denzin:
The Coon Creek Watershed is no stranger to first of its kind interventions. In the 1930s, the federal government used this land to demonstrate the effectiveness of sustainable farming practices.

Nancy Wedwick:
Here we are again. What are we going to do next?

Nathan Denzin:
The likely answer: return to many of the practices implemented in the ’30s.

Nancy Wedwick:
Building the terraces, returning to the contour strips, doing whatever we can to infiltrate good quality water.

Nathan Denzin:
Terrace farms are higher on ridges and build berms between strips of crops to slow water. She also mentioned the effectiveness of planting perennials, oats, or even building more mini dams. Anything to build the quality of the soil and slow water down.

Sydney Widell:
There’s some levers that we have more control over than others, and it’s a matter of using the levers we have as effectively as possible.

Nathan Denzin:
But they added…

Nancy Wedwick:
We should not think that, yes, by implementing a few practices, we’re going to solve problems, flooding problems. No, we are not. We can slow water and we can start a process.

Nathan Denzin:
A healthy ecosystem, they argue, will somewhat reduce the danger of smaller floods.

Bob Micheel:
These smaller events: the 2, 5, 10, 25-year storm events, we can manage those. We can do that. But when we get these 100-year storm events every year, those are the ones we have to respect and stay out of harm’s way.

Nathan Denzin:
Beyond the question of if people will have to relocate from the valley floor, there are ever more concerns. Will sediment from recently decommissioned dams get washed downstream? How will it affect the famous trout streams around Coon Creek? How will farms be impacted? There aren’t easy answers for any of those questions, but these communities will have to grapple with them over the coming months.

Dave Eggen:
For the people that are living and using those buildings, that’s their livelihood.

Nancy Wedwick:
This is the most important work I’ve ever done or will ever, ever do.

Nathan Denzin:
For “Here & Now,” I’m Nathan Denzin in Coon Valley.

Frederica Freyberg:
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.