Marti Mikkelson
Marti was a reporter with WUWM from 1999 to 2021.
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Sparks flew last week between Interim UW System President and former Republican Gov. Tommy Thompson and GOP leaders in the state Legislature. Republican Sen. Steve Nass, who co-chairs the Rules Committee, threatened to file a lawsuit if Thompson doesn’t first get permission from the panel to enact any COVID-19 mandates on the campuses. Thompson rebuffed Nass' demand.
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Colectivo Coffee workers in Milwaukee Wednesday looked ahead to issues they’d like to discuss when they begin negotiating their first contract with the company. Workers voted 106-99 earlier this week to form a union with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers.
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Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett has ordered mandatory COVID-19 vaccinations for city employees. The requirement applies to general city employees as well as temporary employees and interns.
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Dane County is bringing back its mask requirement, and that has Milwaukee leaders wondering if they should do the same.
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Longtime Democratic Congressman Ron Kind of La Crosse shocked Wisconsin’s political world last week when he announced he won’t seek reelection next year. In this week’s “Capitol Notes” conversation, WUWM’s Marti Mikkelson asks JR Ross of wispolitics.com what he thinks are the chances of the GOP flipping this seat now that Kind has bowed out.
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Gov. Tony Evers says he’s concerned about a steady uptick in COVID-19 cases in Wisconsin. The seven-day average of new, confirmed cases has increased 40% over the past week and he attributes the climb to the delta variant.
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Democratic Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes has made it official — he’s in the race for Wisconsin’s U.S. Senate seat next November. Barnes has the highest political profile so far and joins a crowded field of Democrats who have either announced they are running or are thinking of running.
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Campaign finance reports are out, and they show Republican Sen. Ron Johnson raised more money between April and June than any of the Democrats who would want to run against him. But at least one potential Democratic challenger is close behind. Johnson hasn’t decided yet whether he’ll seek a third term next November.
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Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett is proposing spending nearly $14 million in federal funds on job readiness and employment opportunities. It’s part of nearly $400 million in American Rescue Plan funding the city will receive as the economy recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Democratic Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes is apparently getting closer to deciding whether he’ll run for Republican U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson’s seat next year. Barnes has reportedly begun fundraising for a run, and would join a growing, crowded field of Democrats wanting to take on Johnson in 2022.