Friday, March 13, 2026
37% of cannabis poisonings in Wisconsin involved children under 5
Gina Lee Castro
Most calls to the Wisconsin Poison Center about edible cannabis poisonings in 2025 involved children and teens.
According to Bre Campbell, a spokesperson for the center, 68% of the 309 calls the center received about cannabis poisonings last year involved people under 19 years old.
Children under 5 accounted for 37% of the calls. This age group often mistakes THC-infused edibles as candy and can eat multiple pieces or even the whole bag, Campbell said.
“That’s a dangerous scenario,” Campbell said.
According to Campbell, about 8% of calls related to edible cannabis resulted in patients being admitted to critical care.
Starting in November, most hemp products will become illegal nationwide due to a federal ban.
Until then, hemp products with low levels of THC are legal in Wisconsin. However, a recent Milwaukee Journal Sentinel investigation that tested 30 hemp products in Wisconsin found 18 of them contained THC above the federal limit.
Among older children and teens ages 6 to 19 years old, street drugs and stimulants like THC and nicotine were the fourth most common substances involved in poisonings in Wisconsin last year.
Thirty-one percent of calls related to edible cannabis involved 6- to 19-year-olds, Campbell said.
Adults 20 years or older accounted for a similar share.
Children under 5 years old are frequently exposed to nicotine, too. About 86% of poisoning calls related to e-cigarettes and liquid nicotine in 2025 were for children under 5 years old, Campbell said.
The best thing parents and guardians can do to avoid these exposures is store these substances safely locked away and have discussions about the risks of using things like nicotine and cannabis and other drugs, Campbell said.
Contact the Wisconsin Poison Center at 1-800-222-1222 or at www.wisconsinpoison.org.
Gina Castro is a Public Investigator reporter. She can be reached at GCastro@usatodayco.com.
City of Racine declares snow emergency from Sunday to Tuesday
Milana Doné
RACINE — The city's Commissioner of Public Works has declared a snow emergency effective from 3 p.m. Sunday until 6 a.m. Tuesday.
According to a City of Racine news release, the declaration is meant to aid the snow removal operations.
No parking will be permitted on either side of the city's arterial or collector streets. Alternate side parking will be in effect from 2 a.m. to 6 a.m. per city ordinance.
Parking restrictions will allow crews to remove as much snow as possible from city streets, the release said. Vehicles parked in violation of these restrictions will be ticketed and subject to towing.
An outline of the Snow Emergency Parking Restrictions and list of affected streets can be found at https://cityofracinewi.gov/publicworks/snowemergency/.
According to meteorologist Benjamin Sheppard at the National Weather Service Milwaukee/Sullivan station, some of the predictions regarding the incoming snow storm have shifted from yesterday.
The system is still expected to begin with rain and could bring a wintry mix as it transitions to accumulating snowfall. However, it will take longer to reach the Racine and Kenosha areas than originally predicted.
A wintry mix and rain will reach southeast Wisconsin by Sunday morning. Some thunder and hail are possible Sunday morning as well.
Coming from central Wisconsin, the snow front will reach Racine and Kenosha areas between 7 p.m. Sunday and 1 a.m. Monday.
Snow will begin accumulating then and keep falling into Monday morning. Lighter accumulations will occur Monday afternoon.
Most of the snow accumulation will happen six to 12 hours after the snow starts, Sheppard said.
Because it will take longer than originally predicted for the snow front to reach southeast Wisconsin, total accumulations for Racine and Kenosha are down from prior estimates. They are now 3-6 inches.
By midday Sunday, Racine and Kenosha could see wind gusts of up to 35 mph. Sunday night gusts may reach upwards of 45 mph.
High Wind Warning until FRI 4:00 PM CDT
High Winds Expected Until 4 PM CDT Friday, Potential for Power Outages
What’s Happening:
A High Wind Warning is in effect until 4 PM CDT Friday. South winds will shift to the west, maintaining speeds of 20 to 30 mph with gusts up to 60 mph.
Affected Areas:
- East Central Wisconsin
- South Central Wisconsin
- Southeast Wisconsin
What to Expect:
- South winds 20 to 30 mph, shifting to west winds 20 to 30 mph.
- Wind gusts up to 60 mph, especially during precipitation.
Impacts:
- Potential for trees and power lines to be blown down.
- Widespread power outages likely.
- Difficult travel conditions, particularly for high-profile vehicles
Safety Tips:
- Stay in the lower levels of your home and avoid windows.
- Be alert for falling debris and tree limbs.
- Use caution if you must drive; consider postponing travel if possible.
When to Check Back:
Monitor weather.gov or journaltimes.com/weather for updates.
This weather alert was produced with AI assistance using National Weather Service data.
Weekend system could bring up to 12 inches of snow to Kenosha and Racine counties
Milana Doné
RACINE — Southeast Wisconsin can expect a storm system this weekend, bringing rain, freezing rain and snow accumulations.
According to meteorologist Michaela Heeren at the National Weather Service Milwaukee/Sullivan station, the system is expected to begin with rain or a wintry mix on Saturday evening. It will be mainly rain for Kenosha and Racine areas, but the counties could see sleet mixing in if the temperatures fall below freezing.
Then, there will be a period of rain Sunday morning as temperatures warm again.
The rain will change back to freezing precipitation by the afternoon hours Sunday and then to snow in the overnight hours. The snow could accumulate between six and 12 inches because of lake enhancement.
“We have quite a bit of moisture that comes off the lake when we have melting patches, which will allow for taller clouds which will allow for moisture to be created into snow and fall across the lakeshore counties,” Heeren said.
Heeren clarified the enhancement isn’t exactly a lake effect snow band where there is a short window of snow but a broad scale snowstorm with “locally higher snow totals from that lake enhancement.”
Temperatures will fall below freezing Sunday night so most of snow will stick as it falls.
"Going into Monday, as well, we are expecting those temperatures to remain below freezing, so there’s not going to be a lot of melting once the transition (to snow) happens,” Heeren said.
The upcoming snow system will also bring widespread gusts of wind, which could reach 30-40 mph, Heeren said.
Sunday’s windchill be in the 20s. Overnight, between Sunday and Monday, the wind chill could reach zero.
Heeren noted this can cause worse visibility during driving conditions.
She said the National Weather Service expects transportation to be impacted by the weather, particularly when the sleet is transitioning to snow.
“Go slow, especially during the period of snowfall,” Heeren said. “Be prepared to have traction in your car, a shovel and anything that is available to be more protective if you’re going out during the time of snowfall.”
Thursday, March 12, 2026
Late winter storm could drop up to a foot of snow in Milwaukee this weekend
Maia Pandey
70-degree weather followed by potentially one of the biggest snow storms of the season: welcome to March in Milwaukee.
Just days after this week's spring-like weather, heavy snowfall is expected to hit central and southern Wisconsin and could lead to more than a foot of snow in some areas, according to Michaela Heeren, a meteorologist with the Milwaukee/Sullivan National Weather Service.
The snow will impact central and southern Wisconsin, but it's unclear so far which areas will be hit hardest, Heeren said. Snowfall will start around 6 p.m. Saturday, March 14, continue through the weekend, before finally tapering off the morning of Monday, March 16. The heaviest snowfall will likely be on Sunday.
So far, forecasters are most confident central Wisconsin will see hefty snow accumulations up to a foot, Heeren said. Depending on how the band of snow travels, the Green Bay area could be hit harder, while Milwaukee gets more sleet and freezing rain than snow.
Even in that case, southeast Wisconsin could get around 6 inches of snow on the "back side" of the storm, Heeren said.
On the other hand, the heaviest band of snow could hit southeast Wisconsin directly and lead to snow accumulations as high as 12 to 18 inches, she said.
Here's why Racine received more rainfall than other parts of SE Wisconsin on Tuesday
Holly Gilvary
RACINE — While a narrow swath of heavy rainfall Tuesday night that spanned from Lake Geneva to Racine left significantly more rain locally compared to the rest of Southeast Wisconsin, Racinians can expect a drier end to their week.
The greater Racine area received 2.5 to 3 inches of rain Tuesday night into early Wednesday morning, compared to about 1.7 inches in Burlington and half an inch in Kenosha and Milwaukee, according to the National Weather Service.
NWS Meteorologist Marcia Cronce said "repeated rounds of individual cells of storms" caused the band of heavier precipitation.
"This fairly typical," she said. "We call it (thunderstorm) convection. You always get localized areas of higher versus lower precipitation. It just depends on where the storms track."
A light snow and rain mix was expected for Wednesday evening in Racine, according to Cronce.
Another round of light rain with a possible snow mixture is forecast for Racine on Thursday evening, Cronce said. Friday will be windy, but dry.
Wednesday, March 11, 2026
'PO'd' Evers vows to resist any FBI effort to seize Milwaukee ballots
Molly Beck
MADISON - Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers said his administration will resist any efforts by the FBI to seize voting documents if federal authorities expand their probe of the 2020 presidential election to Wisconsin.
Evers made his comments after the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel first reported a potential threat to Milwaukee voters' right to a secret ballot.
The FBI in recent weeks has seized voting data in two battleground states where President Donald Trump lost reelection in 2020. If the FBI takes its effort to relitigate the 2020 presidential election to Milwaukee County, federal authorities will be able to figure out how tens of thousands of residents there voted because of a state law that sets Wisconsin apart from other battleground states.
The law requires poll workers to affix a voter number to all absentee ballots counted in a central counting facility, which exist in Milwaukee and more than three dozen other Wisconsin municipalities.
And because Milwaukee election officials have not yet destroyed the 2020 presidential election ballots, those voter numbers could be matched against poll book information to determine which candidate voters picked that year if such voting documents are seized.
So far, there has not been any movement in Wisconsin by federal authorities on this front.
“In this state, Wisconsinites have a constitutional right to cast a secret ballot, and that’s something we take really seriously — even Kathy and I don’t always talk about who we vote for," Evers told the Journal Sentinel in a statement, referring to his wife.
"So, the idea that the state should somehow turn over sensitive voter information and documents that could enable the federal government to know how Wisconsinites voted and who they voted for is wrong, and we’ll continue fighting to protect Wisconsinites’ right to vote by secret ballot."
"We want to keep our elections safe and secure, and caving to the Trump administration’s demand will do the exact opposite. That’s something we’re going to fight all the way.”
The Democratic governor said he would sign a repeal of the state law that requires absentee ballots in central counting facilities to include a voter identification number given clerks' support for doing so.
But Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, said he wants to keep the law in place as an added safeguard.
"It’s important we don’t eliminate any law that will prevent double voting or allow anyone here illegally to cast a vote," Vos said in a statement.
"Our number one priority should be keeping our elections secure and ensuring our citizens trust the system."
Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu did not respond to questions about the matter.
State and local election officials were on alert Monday after the FBI issued a grand jury subpoena for voting information in Maricopa County, Arizona − the second battleground state where federal authorities have compelled the release of records related to the 2020 election.
In late January, federal investigators seized hundreds of boxes related to the 2020 election in Fulton County, Georgia.
Election officials are bracing for the probe to expand to Milwaukee, where Trump has repeatedly leveled baseless claims of fraud in the 2020 election − including on the night of the election, when it became clear Trump would lose.
'It gets me PO'd,' Tony Evers says of election conspiracy theories
"It gets me PO’d when President Trump lies and spreads baseless conspiracy theories about Wisconsin’s elections, because what he’s doing is attacking the integrity and hard work of Wisconsinites across our state," Evers said.
Absentee voting skyrocketed in the 2020 presidential election because of the advent of the coronavirus pandemic, which pushed people to avoid public places. In Milwaukee, nearly 180,000 people voted absentee.
Following Trump's loss, his campaign paid for a recount in the liberal Dane and Milwaukee counties and unsuccessfully sought to throw out all absentee ballots cast in those counties, which would have overturned the election result.
Trump continues to falsely claim he won Wisconsin's 2020 presidential contest, despite court rulings and audits showing otherwise.
Molly Beck can be reached at molly.beck@jrn.com.
Tuesday, March 10, 2026
Monday, March 9, 2026
Sunday, March 8, 2026
DOJ releases Epstein files containing sexual assault allegations against Trump
Newly released Epstein files include ‘explosive’ assault allegations against Trump
Saturday, March 7, 2026
Epstein files tied to Trump sexual assault allegations released
DEA Investigated Epstein Over Ketamine, Prostitution and Money
Sexual grooming of children now felony crime under new law signed by Evers
Molly Beck
MADISON - The sexual grooming of children is now a felony crime under legislation Gov. Tony Evers signed into law this week.
Evers also signed a second bill into law that requires school districts to establish rules for how school staff communicate with students in an effort to prevent school employees from creating a situation where a student could be groomed.
"We have an important obligation to make sure our kids can feel secure, supported, and cared for by educators and staff in our schools — adults they should be able to trust and depend on — while also providing more clarity about what interactions with students are inappropriate and unacceptable and enhancing punishments for adults who violate that sacred trust," Evers said in a statement.
“Defining grooming is a critical step to give law enforcement and local school districts the tools they need to hold bad actors accountable for hurting our kids, and I’m glad the Legislature took this seriously this session and passed bipartisan legislation to get this done."
Under one bill, it would be a felony offense for an adult to engage in "a course of conduct, pattern of behavior, or series of acts with the intention to condition, seduce, solicit, lure, or entice a child" for the purpose of engaging in sexual intercourse or sexual contact, or to create and distribute child pornography.
Examples of behavior that could constitute grooming under the legislation include written or spoken communications as well as physical contact.
If convicted, a person could face between 10 and 25 years in prison, depending on who the person is to the child and whether the child has a disability, among other factors that could increase penalties. Those convicted of grooming would be required to register with the Department of Corrections as a sex offender.
According to an analysis from the nonpartisan Legislative Reference Bureau, the crime does not apply to a person who is 18 or under if it involves a child who is not more than four years younger than the person, unless the violation involves force, coercion, or abuse of a position of trust or authority over the child.
The second bill Evers signed Friday, March 6, requires all schools to adopt by Sept. 1 a policy on appropriate communication among employees and volunteers and students.
The law requires the policy to include a range of consequences for policy violations, including termination of employment. It also requires the policy to apply to communications at any time of day or night.
The bills were authored by Republican lawmakers Rep. Amanda Nedweski of Pleasant Prairie and Sens. Jesse James of Thorp and Romaine Quinn of Birchwood.
The measures were drafted last fall as State Superintendent Jill Underly came under scrutiny over how the state education department handles allegations of grooming and sexual misconduct by licensed school staff.
The focus was triggered after the Capital Times reported on 200 cases of such incidents since 2018, including instances of teachers who were able to later reapply for a license.
The details of the cases were not proactively made public beyond being made available for review for anyone who files a request under the state's public records law.
Molly Beck can be reached at molly.beck@jrn.com.
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