Saturday, November 1, 2025
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Gov. Tony Evers declares state of emergency over impact of government shutdown
Molly Beck
MADISON – Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers on Friday declared a state of emergency due to the effects of the month-long federal government shutdown, directing state officials to police price gouging and to suspend state rules that he says would hinder the state's response.
The order focuses on the shutdown's effects on food assistance programs. Nearly 700,000 Wisconsin residents receive benefits through a program known as FoodShare, which is federally funded and administered by state officials. Around 270,000 of FoodShare recipients are children.
Funding for such programs is set to evaporate Saturday, Nov. 1, because Congress has been unable to agree on a new bill to fund the federal government.
A pair of federal judges intervened in the matter on Friday, compelling the Trump administration to make available contingency funding to keep the programs alive as the shutdown persists. But Trump officials have said they disagree with that analysis of the law.
Evers' office said that unlike in other states, the Wisconsin governor cannot unilaterally spend state funds on federal programs that do not already have an appropriation.
State lawmakers must vote to create an appropriation to direct state funds to the program, or expand an existing appropriation, according to the nonpartisan Legislative Fiscal Bureau. Republican leaders of both legislative houses have indicated they are not supportive of the idea.
Evers issued an executive order Friday declaring a state of emergency and period of abnormal economic disruption related to the shutdown "that is jeopardizing access to critical resources and programs that are necessary for the health, safety, well-being, and economic security of Wisconsinites and calling for state agencies to take a whole-of-government response to the situation," according to his office.
The order directs the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection to police price gouging while FoodShare benefits are depleted. The order requires the agency "to take any and all measures to respond, including reviewing and suspending any administrative rules that will hinder or delay the state’s response to the emergency."
Aides to Assembly Speaker Robin Vos and Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu did not immediately have a reaction to the order.
Molly Beck can be reached at molly.beck@jrn.com.
(This story was updated to add new information.)
Friday, October 31, 2025
Gov. Tony Evers signs law banning cellphones in public schools. 'Our kids are struggling.'
Jessie Opoien
MADISON – Public school students will largely be banned from using cell phones in classrooms under a bipartisan bill Democratic Gov. Tony Evers signed into law Oct. 31.
The law will require public school boards to develop a policy by July that generally bars students from using cell phones during the school day.
The legislation, which passed the state Senate 29-4 on Oct. 14 and was approved by the state Assembly in February, allows school boards to create exemptions for certain reasons, like emergency situations and to manage a student's health care. The law also allows for the use of school district-issued electronic devices.
Evers said he continues to believe it's best to leave such decisions to local school boards in cooperation with their communities, and he wishes the Legislature would have taken a different approach with the legislation.
"Nevertheless, my promise to the people of Wisconsin is to always do what’s best for our kids, and that obligation weighs heavily on me in considering this bill, as it does every bill affecting kids that reaches my desk," Evers, a former educator and state Superintendent of Public Instruction, said in a statement.
The governor, who declared 2025 the "Year of the Kid" in his January State of the State address, said he is "deeply concerned about the impacts cell phone and social media use are having on our kids and their mental health, school outcomes, and how our kids engage and interact with each other and the world around us."
"Our kids are struggling today, perhaps now more than ever. It’s really tough to be a kid these days, and we know that cellphones can be a major distraction from learning, a source of bullying, and a barrier to our kids’ important work of just being a kid," Evers said.
While schools must prepare students for a "21st-century world, economy, and future," Evers said educators must also evolve along with technology — including "taking pragmatic steps to keep our kids safe and protect them from the harmful impacts of new and emerging technology."
As the state Senate debated the bill earlier this month, Sen. Melissa Ratcliff, D-Cottage Grove, suggested lawmakers should pass legislation addressing the prevalence of firearms and the scourge of school shootings instead of regulating cell phone use, noting her daughter alerted her to a school shooting nearby because she had access to a cell phone.
Bill author Sen. Rachael Cabral-Guevera, R-Appleton, said the bill allows for exceptions and should help students listen in class and would keep communication lines from being clogged during a threat at the school.
The vast majority of public school districts — 90% — already report having a policy similar to what is prescribed in the bill, according to a survey conducted by the state Department of Public Instruction.
Research compiled by the state Office of Children's Mental Health points to concerns with smartphone use among children impairing development of social skills, contributing to mental health issues, disrupting ability to focus and exposing kids to inappropriate content and cyberbullying.
Some school administrators told lawmakers earlier this year that they oppose the bill because it is written too broadly to be effective.
"Limiting cell phones, gaming devices etc. to maintain an effective learning environment is essential in the classroom," Greg Kabara, Nicolet Union High School District superintendent, wrote in a letter to lawmakers.
"While I understand the overall intent of the bill it seems too broad and less effective than allowing schools local control in regards to wireless devices during the school day."
Rep. Joel Kitchens, R-Sturgeon Bay, said in February that the bill would help school officials maintain their existing policies.
"We are saying to the school districts that we’re standing with you on this, because everyone agrees this is a problem," he said ahead of the Assembly vote.
In recent years, a growing number of states have adopted statewide bans or policies for cell phone use in schools, and such policies are generally popular with voters across the political spectrum, according to a recent report by the Wisconsin Policy Forum.
Jessie Opoien can be reached at jessie.opoien@jrn.com.
Thursday, October 30, 2025
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Tuesday, October 28, 2025
'I'm glad people haven't forgotten about us': Brewery reopens in downtown Racine
Holly Gilvary
RACINE — Nine months after its closure, a beloved downtown brewery has made its comeback.
Littleport Brewing Company, 214 Third St., reopened Oct. 13, according to Mark Flynn, who co-owns the brewery with his wife, Chris Flynn.
The brewery will be open 5-9 p.m. Mondays through Thursday, 4-10 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, and noon to 6 p.m. Sundays, “or until the Packers game is over” on Sunday nights when Green Bay plays, Flynn said.
The Flynns’ first opened Littleport in April 2021.
Littleport closed in January after original investors “decided they wanted their investment back in their entirety,” leading the brewery to put the building up for sale, the Flynns’ wrote in a Facebook post at the time.
The couple also said in the post that they were hopeful they would reopen in another location in six to 12 months.
Mark Flynn said he and Chris were “shocked” when investors turned the building back over to them, not having found success in selling it after six months.
“It’s nice that we didn’t lose the building,” he said. “Had we lost it, that would have been a loss we’d be carrying the rest of our lives.”
The feel of Littleport is largely the same as it was nine months ago, but Flynn said they will likely host more events. The brewery was just ramping up live music and open mic nights when it closed, and now, Flynn said, they’ve received inquiries about hosting dance classes or yoga classes in the space.
The brewery’s new equipment takes up half the space of their original equipment, leaving room for about 40-50 more people inside, according to Flynn. Support from the community has allowed the brewery to restock and reopen that much quicker, Flynn said.
“Customers’ reaction has been fantastic,” he said. “I’m glad people haven’t forgotten about us.”
The Flynns’ haven’t asked for donations, but customers have been giving them — including donations from a GoFundMe page that has so far raised $5,300 for the brewery.
“It was a friend of ours who set it up and I didn’t know she was doing it,” Flynn said. “It’s nice to see the community rallying around us.”
From: https://journaltimes.com/news/local/business/article_dca79299-e392-4035-85dd-ec7f95275afa.html
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