Rolling back of environmental protections, Vocational Villages, Trans people in rural areas

Air Date:
Heard On Wisconsin Today
People in safety gear practice climbing and maneuvering on a large tree setup indoors, using ropes and harnesses in an industrial space.
Prisoners work on climbing indoor at the Parnall Correctional Facility’s Vocational Village in Jackson, Mich., Thursday, Dec. 1, 2022. More than a dozen prisoners are learning how to climb trees and trim branches around power lines. In his latest budget, Gov. Evers has proposed a similar vocational program. (Paul Sancya/ AP Photo)

A WPR reporter explains how the Trump administration’s erosion of environmental regulations could affect Wisconsin. Then, we look at an alternative form of incarceration that teaches people skills. Then, a trans person explains how LGBTQ+ people are finding connections in rural Wisconsin. 

Featured in this Episode

  • Rollback of environmental protections

    The Trump administration is reducing environmental protections in an effort to support the logging and energy industries. We talk to WPR’s environmental reporter about how these changes could affect Wisconsin forests, power plants and vehicles.

  • Michigan’s vocational villages offer an different model of incarceration 

    Gov. Evers is proposing an overhaul of correction facilities, including turning Waupun Correctional Institution into a “vocational village” that trains inmates trades. We get perspective from the director of the first vocational village in the nation and a person who graduated from the program. 

  • Creating community for trans people in rural Wisconsin

    A self-described “country mouse,” Hawthorn McCracken has always felt most at home in rural settings. But as a trans person, they haven’t always found the community they needed. We talk with McCracken about how they founded the group, “Trans on the Land,” to connect LGBTQ+ people in rural areas.

Episode Credits

  • Rob Ferrett Host
  • Kate Archer Kent Host
  • Danielle Kaeding Guest
  • Marcos Fernandez Guest
  • Heidi Washington Guest
  • Hawthorn McCracken Guest
  • Lorin Cox Producer
  • Mackenzie Krumme Producer
  • Joe Tarr Producer
  • Tyler Ditter Technical Director
  • Sarah Hopefl Technical Director
  • Dean Knetter Executive Producer
  • Tim Peterson Managing Producer