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  The Assembly approved a state budget today that expands school vouchers statewide, rejects Medicaid funds, and cuts taxes for all income brackets.

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Gogebic Taconite (GTAC) has filed an intent to mine with the state, the first formal step towards an open pit mine in the Penokee Hills.

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  Outgoing University of Wisconsin-Madison Chancellor David Ward says that a legislature-mandated tuition freeze without any larger debate is wrong.

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A report from the National Juvenile Justice Network gives Wisconsin high marks for reducing the number of juveniles it locks up each year.

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  Highway 41, Northeastern Wisconsin's main north-south highway, is poised to become an interstate as early as next year.

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Debate on the Wisconsin state budget got off to an awkward start Tuesday as Democratic Rep. Brett Hulsey of Madison reportedly discussed leaving his caucus to become an independent.

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Updated 9:12 a.m.: Assembly Speaker Robin Vos's office confirms the Racine voucher expansion is now off the table.

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A Wisconsin group's campaign called Hours Against Hate is asking people to volunteer a single hour to try to reduce bigotry and hatred.

U.S. Census Bureau numbers show that Asian ethnic groups and people of two or more races are the fastest-growing racial groups in Wisconsin.

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An emergency rule may be used to keep protesters away from exploratory drill sites in the Penokee Range.

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  Assembly Republicans are planning several changes to the state budget that’s up for debate today.

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The state Senate has passed a $25-million venture capital bill, but even its supporters say more should be done to help foster new businesses.

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  A study done for the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation finds that longtime industries, like manufacturing paper and printing, continue to drive the state's economy.

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A study done for the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation finds that longtime industries, like manufacturing paper and printing, continue to be major players in the state.

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  Despite cuts to AmeriCorps due to federal sequestration, Wisconsin will get over $9 million to help nonprofit organizations.

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  Asian carp might be able to spawn in shorter stretches of Great Lakes tributaries than previously thought.

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  Sales of Wisconsin homes have increased each month for almost the last two years.

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Environmental groups say they have several major concerns about some things that were added to the Joint Finance Committee's version of the state budget, and hope to see them changed before final passage.

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Great Lakes cargo numbers rallied in May after a slow start. Shipping officials have some cautious optimism about the coming season, though the forecasting is based on a lot of “ifs.”

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Finding work isn't easy for the more than 60 million people in the country with a past conviction. A Milwaukee-based organization is offering to help ex-offenders get their foot in the door by making it easier for them to clear their criminal records.

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In northeastern Wisconsin, 80 nonprofits are getting nearly $1.8 million in grants to combat poverty. It's part of a collaborative project between two private foundations and three community foundations.

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Two Wisconsin mayors — Paul Soglin, of Madison, and Tom Barrett, of Milwaukee — have signed on to a national agreement to better make communities ready for climate change.

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Update: No charges will be filed today.

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The state Assembly is scheduled to begin debate on the Wisconsin state budget tomorrow, but already the focus is on what might happen in the state Senate. Two Senate Republicans would need to buck their party leadership in order to make changes to the bill.

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New York City's mayor, Michael Bloomberg, is looking to try something at least two Wisconsin cities already do: compost food scraps.

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Following the Obama administration’s decision to send Syrian rebels arms, Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisc) says she hopes the weapons remain in the right hands.

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Turkish-Americans in Wisconsin are celebrating a new symbol of cultural growth in the state, but an ongoing protest in Istanbul may dampen some of the celebration here.

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  A Madison family is going to Washington, D.C. next week to lobby Congress to prevent Medicaid cuts.

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The budget that lawmakers will vote on this week includes 94 non-fiscal policy items, a number that's high even by the legislature's standards.

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Republicans in the Assembly passed three abortion-related bills Thursday, including one requiring ultrasounds for women seeking abortions.

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The Wisconsin Supreme Court has agreed to consider two controversial cases today.

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The Department of Natural Resources has denied an appeal from the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Ojibwe to stop exploratory drilling in Iron County.

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  The Department of Natural Resources has a new permit process for cleaning up dead fish, algae and invasive species on waterfront property.

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A coalition of African-Americans asked Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wisc, to support an immigration bill today, in a multi-racial push for immigration reform.

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  On the six-month anniversary of the mass shooting in Newtown, Conn., gun control advocates are pushing for new background check legislation.

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  Women in the state Assembly gave emotional speeches Thursday night on how a bill requiring ultrasounds before abortions might affect their daughters.

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  The Wisconsin Towns Association (WTA) has joined others in criticizing a state budget item that streamlines permit approval for high-capacity wells.

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Critics of statewide school voucher expansion are again calling attention to campaign donations given to Sen. Alberta Darling, R-River Hills.

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  The Lac Courte Oreilles tribe is trying a unique way to help stop the proposed iron ore mine in the Penokees: gathering wild onions and mushrooms.

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Governor Scott Walker has confirmed that his office pulled the nomination of a University of Wisconsin-Platteville student for the board of regents.

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    Legal and ethical experts on the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus give today's U.S. Supreme Court ruling on genetic patents mixed reviews.

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In addition to speaking out against voucher expansion, public school advocates questioned a tax deduction in the state budget proposal today.

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Suburban Milwaukee school leaders are joining the fight against the proposed statewide expansion of school vouchers.

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 The Iron County Sheriff's Department is investigating damage to a Gogebic Taconite (GTAC) drill rig, allegedly caused by protesters on Tuesday.

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A controversial effort to help control milk production and stabilize prices passed this week as part of the U.S. Senate’s farm bill. The plan faces an uncertain future in the House, however.

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A campaign and elections bill approved by the state Assembly Wednesday is being touted as a bipartisan triumph. Both parties say they got at least some of what they wanted.

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Immigration advocates from Wisconsin are again headed to Washington, D.C., in hopes of keeping a federal immigration bill moving forward.

The Milwaukee Shepherd Express newspaper is reporting allegations that bonuses and promotions are being given to relatives of managers at a Department of Health Services food stamp office.

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  “Street Pulse” is a documentary about homelessness in Madison. It was produced and directed by local filmmaker Marc Kornblatt.

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There are more mental health care providers for veterans than ever before — not only nationally, but in Wisconsin – following recent hires.

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Republican state senators abruptly cut off debate this morning as they passed a bill requiring women seeking abortions to get an ultrasound.

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“30 Americans,” a prominent traveling exhibition of artwork by African-Americans, goes on display this Friday at the Milwaukee Art Museum.

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A federal judge has ruled that police violated a Crivitz man’s free speech by removing an American flag he had hung upside down.

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Sara Imhof of the Concord Coalition, a national group dedicated to eliminating the country's deficit, was in Madison Wednesday.

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Wisconsin’s homeless population has remained relatively stable during the past few years, according to a semiannual report. 

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Protesters disrupted drilling by Gogebic Taconite on Tuesday, as the mining company explores a potential open-pit iron ore mine in far northern Wisconsin.

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After an alleged property theft, Gogebic Taconite says it will hire private security while doing exploratory drilling in the Penokee Range.

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Some communications between utility regulators and stakeholders will no longer be public record under a bill passed by the state legislature Tuesday.

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Some Wisconsin insurers are waiting before selling coverage in the new online marketplaces this fall as part of the Affordable Care Act.

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A confrontation between protesters and the mining company Gogebic Taconite (GTAC)  today ended peacefully and without arrests in Iron County.

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Wisconsin Republicans are poised to pass a bill that would require women seeking abortions to get an ultrasound first.

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Governor Scott Walker says he's probably won’t veto a proposed cap on the expansion of taxpayer-funded school vouchers in Wisconsin.

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  Lawyers are stepping up their attack on a provision in the state budget that will make it harder to sue lead paint producers.

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Wisconsin’s first lady, Tonette Walker, took her “Walker Walk” to far northern Wisconsin Monday.

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If you have Wisconsin's oldest working electric refrigerator and are willing to part with it, it could be worth a cool $1,000.

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Governor Scott Walker will make his second official overseas trip later this year when he joins other Midwest governors on a trade mission to Japan.

The latest Wisconsin hiring forecast from Milwaukee-based ManpowerGroup shows a positive outlook, but less so than from a year ago.

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A bill passed out of committee today that lets residents register to vote online and allows politicians to raise more from campaign donors.

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  A $5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs will enable more nursing students to enroll this fall at Marquette University.

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Department of Natural Resources officials say the ecological recovery for 7,442 acres burned in last month’s wildfire is already underway.

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A provision in the state budget would make it harder to sue lead paint manufacturers for health damages caused by their products.

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Some Wisconsin soybean farmers are still waiting for their fields to dry out so they can plant. The delay could cost them in reduced crop yields.

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No one announced plans to run for governor at the state Democratic Party's annual convention over the weekend.

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Stockton Island, situated in Lake Superior’s Apostle Islands, no longer holds the title of most black bear bruins per square mile in the country.

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  The Walworth-based soy sauce-maker Kikkoman has announced a million-dollar grant for the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

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  Work on plans to implement the state’s Deer Trustee Report is hitting the halfway point this weekend.

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The University of Wisconsin System regents voted today to pursue pay raises for all UW employees.

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  Mosquitos are expected to thrive in Wisconsin this summer in a return to a normal season.

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  A permanent museum exhibit honoring guitarist Les Paul will open Sunday in Paul's hometown of Waukesha.

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Criminal investigator Dan Bethards is suing his employer, the state Department of Justice (DOJ).

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  The federal government wants to take grey wolves off the endangered species list following population growth in the Western Great Lakes region.

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  Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), is an emerging health issue for women that was once thought of as a man's disease.

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More people would be allowed to hunt deer with a crossbow under a measure that passed the state Assembly on a unanimous vote.

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The state of Wisconsin would set up a $25 million venture capital fund under a measure that passed the Wisconsin state Assembly.

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Circuit court judges would be powerless to block laws they find unconstitutional, under a measure that passed the state Assembly last night.

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Some UW regents are wondering about their decision-making role following the latest budget dust-up with the state legislature.

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Department of Health Services (DHS) Secretary Kitty Rhoades says the state will help former BadgerCare enrollees transition to the private market.

Juvenile justice reform advocates are speaking out against a budget item approved last-minute by the budget committee.

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A reforms package to fix problems with the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC) is headed to the floor of the Assembly and Senate.

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At their meeting in Milwaukee today, University of Wisconsin regents talked about the latest proposed budget cutbacks for the university system.

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Bayfield High School’s commencement speaker caused a stir when she said the school hurts Native American students during her speech.

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Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Burlington, is standing by a budget provision aimed at the Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism (WCIJ).

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Foreclosure against the operators of Telemark Lodge in Cable has been filed in Bayfield County Court.

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An aerial survey of bald eagle nests in Wisconsin indicates a record number of occupied nests in a record number of counties.

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  Greg Glienna is the writer, director, and star of the original “Meet the Parents.”

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Governor Scott Walker is giving the Joint Finance Committee (JFC) high marks for changes they made to his budget during an all-night session.

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The Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism (WCIJ) might have to leave its offices on the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus.

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The Milwaukee County executive is joining judges, prosecutors and sheriffs across the state in condemning a new budget provision on bondsmen.

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Governor Scott Walker says he is pleased the Joint Finance Committee approved a rejection of federal Medicaid expansion dollars.

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Milwaukee homicides are down about 20 percent from last year, but racial minorities are the majority of those being killed and wounded.

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A group representing Wisconsin doctors is against a bill requiring ultrasounds before an abortion.

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Federal money will help a Menomonee Falls company try to build a more efficient LED.

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Republican lawmakers added a provision to the budget early this morning that legalizes commercial bail bondsmen in five Wisconsin counties.

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Republicans on the legislature’s budget committee have voted to nearly double the tax cut proposed by Governor Scott Walker.

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The legislature's budget committee approved plans early this morning to expand vouchers statewide and increase public funding for schools. 

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  La Crosse’s mayor has proposed a moratorium on converting certain homes into rental properties.

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Rangers in Wisconsin’s national parks will be less visible this summer, thanks to the effects of federal sequestration.