Tuesday, September 30, 2025
Monday, September 29, 2025
Drugmakers hit deadline to cut prescription costs | Morning in America
RUSD Board considering district-wide cellphone ban
Ryan Patterson
RACINE — The Racine Unified School District is considering a potential district-wide cellphone ban.
During its business meeting Sept. 22, the district’s board approved a referral to discuss the topic at its next governance committee meeting.
The date has not yet been scheduled.
The governance committee will discuss whether RUSD “should go to a cellphone free district policy,” according to the referral.
The topic likely then will be discussed during a board work session and business meeting.
Board member Scott Coey submitted the referral.
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| Coey |
He said cellphones can be distracting and pose a safety issue.
“I think it’s beyond time that we do something bigger,” Coey said. “I’m done waiting for the state to do its part. I know that there will be costs. I know that there will be concerns, but I can’t expect (Superintendent Soren) Gajewski to get good results with (cellphones) distracting all of these kids.”
Board member Theresa Villar said she has noticed “a lot more momentum” regarding how cellphones “interfere with education and human development in general.”
“I think it’s worth revisiting and seeing where we need to go from here,” she said.
Existing policy
Wisconsin is one of eight states with no laws or rules regarding cellphoneuse in public schools, according to the Associated Press.
The RUSD cellphone policy is in the district codebook of rights and responsibilities: “The use of electronic devices, including but not limited to cellphones, tablets, computers, etc., is allowable ONLY with approval from school staff for instructional purposes.”
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| Villar |
Last school year, RUSD began more strictly enforcing cellphone limitations in high schools and middle schools in an effort to improve learning.
RUSD students cannot use cellphones during instruction time, with limited exceptions.
Efforts to address cellphone use in RUSD schools began more than two years ago.
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If a Walden school student uses a phone during instruction time, it must go into a classroom storage area. If a student is unwilling to give up the phone, it is stored in the main office in a box for the rest of the day.
In June 2023, the RUSD Board approved a referral directing administration to pursue options to remove cellphones from classrooms during the school day.
An RUSD cellphone committee was formed as a result, and then each middle school and high school formed a building cellphone committee to determine procedures.
Teachers and administrators at different buildings also met in spring 2024 to discuss potential ideas before making decisions.
Beginning near the end of 2023-24, administrators regularly informed students and families of the new 2024-25 cellphone procedures.
Schools also provided families with staff phone numbers to call if they needed to immediately reach a student at school.
The new procedures were emphasized at the start of the 2024-25 school year, with teachers and administrators explaining why they were happening.
A 2019 Pew Research Center study found that 95% of Americans ages 13-17 have access to a smartphone, with 45% saying they are “almost constantly” using the internet.
Microsoft president Brad Smith optimistic about $7.3 billion Racine County data centers
Ricardo Torres
Microsoft is making a $7.3 billion bet on data centers in Racine County -- a sum that almost surely will grow -- that it hopes will pay off in the future, despite uncertainty about the economy and AI.
“Right now, what we really strive to ensure is that Microsoft is a source of digital stability and a source of economic stability,” said Microsoft president and vice chair Brad Smith in an interview with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
“And we live in a time where we all could benefit from, I’ll just say, both change and stability. Depending on how you look in the world.”
Sunday, September 28, 2025
Can I bring my underage kids to a bar in Wisconsin? Here's what the law says
Sophie Carson
It's a classic Wisconsin scene that sometimes surprises out-of-state visitors: kids hanging out with their parents in bars.
In this state, a person under 21 years old can enter an establishment serving alcohol if they're accompanied by a parent, guardian or spouse who's of legal drinking age.
But there's a bit more to the law. Here's what you need to know about Wisconsin law on underage patrons in places that sell alcohol:
Can kids and young adults under age 21 be in Wisconsin bars?
Yes, people under 21 can enter a bar or tavern with parents, guardians or spouses of legal drinking age, but it's up to the establishment and the holder of the alcohol license, according to the Wisconsin Department of Revenue.
Someone under 21 could also go into a number of other establishments with alcohol licenses, such as a restaurant, axe-throwing facility, golf course or club house, movie theater, painting studio, ski chalet or stadium.
Can kids and young adults under age 21 drink in Wisconsin bars?
Yes, people under 21 also can drink alcohol if they're with parents, guardians or spouses of legal drinking age, and if the establishment allows it.
Wisconsin isn't the only state to allow it. Many other states have similar laws, according to American Addiction Centers.
What are the fines for illegal underage drinking in Wisconsin?
Those who illegally allow underage patrons into the bar may face fines of up to $500. The underage person entering the bar unaccompanied could also face a fine of $250 to $500. Then there are additional fines for selling alcohol illegally to underage individuals, with increasing amounts, based on the number of offenses.
I grew up in bars. Until I was old enough to stay home alone, my parents took me with them. I still remember the telephone number to George's Bar. I never drank in a bar as a child, though.
Saturday, September 27, 2025
USA: Donald Trump 'witch hunt' allegations intensify • FRANCE 24 English
Escalator expert reacts to Trump's U.N. mishap, as Trump claims sabotage
More Epstein documents released: Musk, Thiel, Bannon & Prince Andrew mentioned | The Hill
Friday, September 26, 2025
Thursday, September 25, 2025
White House demands probe after Trump’s UN escalator mishap
US Park Police remove Trump-Epstein statue from National Mall
New documentary on Afghanistan War falsehoods
Wednesday, September 24, 2025
Trump administration rehires hundreds laid off during DOGE cuts
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Marijuana is illegal in Wisconsin, so why do other THC products get a pass?
Most people know you can’t legally consume marijuana in Wisconsin, regardless of whether it’s for medical or recreational purposes.
So what’s with all those “legal weed” billboards along the highways, and how are these shops advertising delta-8 products in their windows still allowed to sell the cannabis compound?
Put simply: Because unlike delta-9, the main psychoactive compound in marijuana, other compounds like delta-8 are not regulated by the state. When concentrated and altered, these compounds can produce a similar effect on the body as pot, if only a slight one.
Most delta-8 also comes from hemp, which is legal to grow in Wisconsin.
What’s the difference between marijuana and hemp?
Marijuana and hemp are the same plant, cannabis sativa. But whether it’s legally considered marijuana or hemp comes down to how much THC, or delta-9, the plant contains. The current limit for the amount of THC content for hemp is 0.3%, which is a trace amount, UW-Madison professor of pharmaceutical history Lucas Richert said.
To keep the crop’s THC within the legal limits, farmers have to stay vigilant. Typical plant stressors like droughts, floods or temperature extremes can lead to spikes in THC content.
If the percentage of THC is higher than 0.3%, it’s considered marijuana and becomes illegal to sell. Farmers whose crops contain a percentage higher than the legal limit have to destroy them — sometimes, ironically, by burning them. Crop insurance often doesn’t cover losses when the THC potency is too high.
Assuming the THC level in the hemp is within limits, the buds can then be turned into CBD oil or further processed into compounds like delta-8 or THC-V.
Why is hemp now legal?
Hemp had been a staple crop in Wisconsin for more than 100 years before the federal government decided to regulate cannabis plants, Richert said.
But by the 1930s, most states had some form of regulation for marijuana. The federal government first put regulations and taxes on the plant in 1937 under the Marijuana Tax Act. The law allowed the government to charge an annual tax of $24 (about $551 in today’s dollars).
While the taxes were meant to reduce the amount of recreational marijuana use, they also decimated the industrial hemp industry. In 1957, the last legal hemp crop was grown in Wisconsin. By the 1970s, the federal government had listed marijuana as a Schedule I drug, an illegal drug with no accepted medical use and highly susceptible to abuse.
That all changed in 2018, when the federal farm bill carved out a legal definition for hemp for the first time, Richert said. The bill only set a legal limit for delta-9, however, leaving the plant’s other isomers and compounds, such as delta-8 and delta-10, legalized and unregulated at the federal level. In creating the definition of hemp, federal lawmakers set the legal limit of THC at 0.3%.
“It's been very recently that people are starting to think about closing some of those loopholes,” Richert said.
What’s the difference between all of these cannabis products on the market?
Delta-9 remains the main psychoactive compound people think of as marijuana, and is illegal in Wisconsin.
But by extracting cannabidiol from hemp plants and subjecting it to chemical reactions in a lab, called isomerization, scientists can rearrange the molecular structure of cannabidiol to create compounds like delta-8, delta-10, THC-V and THCA.
“You're one molecule away from a misdemeanor,” Richert said. “Those chemical differences are tiny, but they can mean really big legal consequences.”
Are compounds like delta-8 safe to consume?
Each of the products extracted from hemp plants can have differing effects on the body, and testing on those products is often less rigorous than traditional marijuana products, Richert said. In general, the psychoactive effects are milder, meaning the high and other side effects someone might feel are less pronounced than if they were ingesting marijuana.
The federal Centers for Disease Control says consumption of cannabis-related products is not risk-free. A de-regulated market without testing standards makes it more difficult for consumers to know whether what they’re consuming is safe.
The biggest misconception Richert sees around the THC market is that all of the different products with varying CBD derivatives will have the same effect on a person.
Two delta-8 products made by two different companies could have different impacts on a person because there are no testing standards.
“It's really important that the consumer have a good understanding of variability in the marketplace and that they are seeking to understand the type of products that they're they're purchasing outside of a regulated cannabis market,” Richert said. “Because we don't have a regulated personal use market in the state, we don't have a really robust way of protecting the consumers.”
What is the state doing to regulate any of this?
Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have attempted to regulate these products.
Democrats like Gov. Tony Evers would like to see marijuana legalized and regulated for both medical and recreational use, with Evers having attempted to include it in recent budget proposals.
Republicans in the Legislature got close to allowing medical marijuana for people with chronic illnesses like cancer last session, but infighting on how to regulate it stalled the bill. Senate Republicans balked at the idea of state-run dispensaries through the Department of Health Services, arguing that was not the government’s responsibility.
Two-thirds of Wisconsinites believe marijuana should be legalized, a Marquette Law School poll from June showed.
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