Gary Overocker, 76, of New Munster – Obituary
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Tuesday, March 24, 2026
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Evers signs bill that shores up FoodShare while banning sugary food
From JSOnline:
Jessie Opoien
Jessie Opoien
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
MADISON – Wisconsin will bar FoodShare recipients from using benefits to purchase candy and soft drinks under legislation signed Monday by Gov. Tony Evers.
The bill, which the Legislature sent to the governor with bipartisan support earlier this month, also provides funding and additional positions requested by Evers' administration to ensure the state is not penalized under new federal requirements implemented under President Donald Trump's "One Big Beautiful Bill" last year.
In a statement announcing he had signed the bill into law, Evers championed the approval of those resources for the state Department of Health Services but did not address the new restrictions on purchases for recipients of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.
"In spite of the chaos at the federal level and the continued attacks on our FoodShare program, I am proud of the work my administration has done over the past year to ensure our kids, families, veterans, and seniors across our state receive the resources they need to access basic food and groceries," Evers said in a statement. "As long as I am governor, I will continue to do everything in my power to protect Wisconsin families and taxpayers from the harmful decisions of the Trump Administration."
Evers' administration estimated last fall that Trump's sweeping tax and spending law would cost the state $284 million over the span of its enactment and in August requested nearly $70 million to cover the implementation of the new requirements for SNAP.
The federal program, administered at the state level and known as FoodShare in Wisconsin, provides low-income families with cash assistance to purchase certain foods at authorized retailers. It is subject to work requirements.
The federal law imposed new work requirements and shifted more of the administrative costs onto states. It also subjects states that make too many overpayment or underpayment errors to hundreds of millions of dollars in penalties.
The bill recently passed both chambers of the Legislature with bipartisan support, emerging from the Assembly with a 71-22 vote and the Senate with a 25-8 vote.
Under the bill, DHS must request a waiver from the federal government to enact the ban on sugary purchases. The federal government has approved similar waivers in nearly two dozen states, allowing them to implement these bans as two-year pilot programs.
Bill author Rep. Clint Moses, R-Menomonie, said the policy will redirect benefits toward healthy foods in an effort to improve health outcomes.
Under the bill, DHS will be required to contract with a nonprofit organization to develop a platform with a database of eligible products to be implemented by retailers. The bill requires nonprofit organizations to partner with a technology firm that is "experienced with this state's Medical Assistance enterprise data warehouse and data analytics reporting system" to administer the platform.
The database could include an optional public-facing inventory of eligible products under the law.
The DHS funds requested by the Evers administration were attached as an amendment to the bill as the Assembly neared the end of its work last month.
"I think people should have the ability to make those choices when they're getting their food, but at the end of the day (this funding) is the one that's really important," Evers told reporters March 18 in Milwaukee when asked about the funds being attached to the purchase restrictions. "So was happy to do that. It's one of those things that we call compromise in the Legislature and the governor's office, so this for sure takes precedent."
SNAP recipients living in Colorado, Iowa, Nebraska, Tennessee and West Virginia sued the U.S. Department of Agriculture earlier this month over similar purchase restriction policies implemented in their states.
In the lawsuit, plaintiffs argued they or their family members rely on the restricted foods to manage health conditions such as diabetes and allergies, or to obtain energy boosts needed in their daily lives.
The lawsuit said the federal government exceeded its legal authority by approving waivers without conducting "reasoned decision-making" and seeks to void the waivers.
Jessie Opoien can be reached at jessie.opoien@jrn.com.
Is Wisconsin losing millions to states where cannabis is legal?
From JSOnline:
Madeline Heim
Madeline Heim
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel collaborated with Wisconsin Watch to develop this fact brief. Wisconsin Watch is a member of the Gigafact program, newsrooms across the U.S. that deliver bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. Read more about our methodology atjsonline.com/FactBriefMethods.
Yes
Cannabis isn’t legal in Wisconsin, so residents are purchasing it in states where it is, generating tax money for those states.
Wisconsin borders three states with legal recreational cannabis: Michigan, which legalized it in 2018; Illinois, which legalized it in 2019; and Minnesota, which legalized it in 2023.
Illinois tracks cannabis sales by in-state versus out-of-state purchasers. A 2023 analysis from Wisconsin’s nonpartisan Legislative Fiscal Bureau found that Illinois collected $36.1 million in tax revenue in 2022 from out-of-state residents who purchased cannabis in counties bordering Wisconsin.
About half of cannabis sales in 2022 at dispensaries in Illinois counties that border Wisconsin were to out-of-state residents, the analysis found.
Michigan and Minnesota do not track nonresident cannabis purchases.
In Michigan, marijuana tax revenue is shared with local governments and tribes, as well as the state’s School Aid and Transportation funds.
This fact brief responds to conversations such as this one.
Sources
Ballotpedia, Michigan Proposal 1, Marijuana Legalization Initiative (2018)
National Public Radio, Illinois Governor Signs Law Legalizing Recreational Use Of Marijuana
Minnesota Office of Cannabis Management, Cannabis law
Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation, Illinois adult use cannabis monthly sales figures
Legislative Fiscal Bureau, Illinois Marijuana Tax Collections on Sales and Estimated Wisconsin Residents
Email with Jim Walker, public information officer, Minnesota Office of Cannabis Management
Email with David Harns, public relations manager, Michigan Cannabis Regulatory Agency
Michigan Department of Treasury, Adult-Use Marijuana Distributions Based on Marijuana Revenues Collected in Fiscal Year 2025 February 2026
Michigan Legislature, Michigan Regulation and Taxation of Marihuana Act (excerpt)
Sunday, March 22, 2026
Saturday, March 21, 2026
Friday, March 20, 2026
Racine mayor proposes renaming Cesar Chavez Community Center
From The Journal Times.com:
Holly Gilvary
“The recent allegations regarding Cesar Chavez are deeply troubling, and I believe they merit a serious response,” Mason said in a statement. “I am proposing the council consider renaming the center in honor of Dolores Huerta, a remarkable leader whose own legacy of courage and service speaks for itself.”
Holly Gilvary
RACINE — Mayor Cory Mason is proposing that the Common Council consider renaming the Cesar Chavez Community Center to the Dolores Huerta Community Center.
He made the proposal Thursday after Dolores Huerta, who co-founded the United Farmer Workers alongside Chavez, accused Chavez of sexual assault.
A New York Times investigation Wednesday found Chavez also groomed and sexually abused young girls who worked in the movement.
 |
| Mason |
A resolution to rename the community center will be introduced at the Common Council meeting April 20.
The Cesar Chavez Community Center is on Racine’s north side at 2221 Douglas Ave.
Recent stories by Racine Journal Times reporter Holly Gilvary
Thursday, March 19, 2026
Data center legislation falters as Wisconsin public opinion shifts
From JSOnline:
Jessie Opoien
Jessie Opoien
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
MADISON – Legislative efforts to regulate the boom of data centers in Wisconsin stalled in the state Senate, which failed to vote on any such bills before concluding its work for the year.
The Senate's inaction follows a dramatic tide shift in public opinion against these projects, with a Marquette University Law School poll last month showing 70% of Wisconsin voters believe the costs to the state outweigh the benefits.
Lawmakers in both parties have introduced bills aimed at legislating that balance, and the Assembly passed one such bill in January. While a Senate committee considered several of those proposals last month, none made it to the floor for a vote in the chamber's final scheduled votes for the year on March 17.
That could hurt Republicans on the ballot in November, Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, warned at a WisPolitics Q&A event this week.
"I think it is absolutely sad the state Senate is not voting on data center regulation," Vos said. "That is a huge issue, probably bigger than most that I have seen in my 22 years."
Vos said Assembly Republicans will be able to say they did what they could to regulate data centers, but Republican senators up for reelection "who don't have that vote, I think they’re going to regret it" in the fall.
Republicans currently have an 18-15 majority in the Senate and a 54-45 lead in the Assembly. This fall, Democrats would need to pick up two seats to take the majority in the Senate, and five to earn a majority in the Assembly.
In October 2025, 55% of Marquette poll respondents said the costs of large data centers are greater than their benefits. Over a period of four months, opposition was up to 70%.
"Data centers are a big issue for almost every part of Wisconsin. It’s not partisan. Republicans, Democrats, independents are concerned that we need to have some sort of reasonable regulation," Vos told reporters while the Senate met.
Under the bill passed by the Assembly earlier this year, the state Public Service Commission would be tasked with ensuring no other ratepayers would absorb the costs of the construction or extension of electric infrastructure that primarily serves a data center. Any renewable energy facility that primarily serves a data center would be required to be located on-site.
The PSC testified that while the agency supports efforts to shield ratepayers from costs raised by data centers, the language of the legislation "would be challenging to implement."
The bill would also require any water used by data centers for cooling purposes to be used in a closed-loop system, or any other system that uses an equal or lesser amount of water. Each year, the operator of a data center would be required to report its annual water usage to the state Department of Natural Resources.
The bill would enact requirements for land restoration at the discretion of local government officials, including requiring data center operators to file a bond in advance with the DNR large enough to cover those efforts.
Developers would be required "to the extent possible" to "encourage" the hiring of Wisconsin workers for construction.
The Assembly bill passed 53-44 largely on party lines, with Rep. Lindee Brill, R-Sheboygan Falls, joining Democrats in voting no and Reps. Steve Doyle, D-Onalaska, and Jodi Emerson, D-Eau Claire, joining Republicans in support.
Democrats were generally critical of the GOP bill. Assembly Minority Leader Greta Neubauer, D-Racine, argued at the time of the Assembly vote that it would not adequately hold corporations accountable and would defer to fossil fuels over renewable energy sources by limiting where such facilities could be located.
Last month, the Senate Committee on Utilities, Technology and Tourism held a public hearing on a slate of bills aimed at regulating data centers, including the Assembly bill, a competing Democratic proposal and a bill that would ban nondisclosure agreements for data center projects.
When asked in the Marquette poll to identify possible benefits of data centers, voters put creating new jobs for technical workers at the top of the list. Voters identified high water usage and strain on local water resources as the top cost.
Jessie Opoien can be reached at jessie.opoien@jrn.com.
Wednesday, March 18, 2026
Microsoft vows to end secret data center agreements with local governments
From JSOnline:
Ricardo Torres
Ricardo Torres
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Microsoft is ending its policy of using non-disclosure agreements with local municipalities as it builds out its data centers, according to an announcement by the company on March 18.
A company statement said it "made the decision that being transparent with the communities where we operate or seek to operate is paramount. This shift is about strengthening public trust, enabling better dialogue, and ensuring that our growth is matched by meaningful engagement. "
Transparency, or lack there of, on data center projects by technology companies has been raised as a major criticism by local residents opposed to data center projects.
For those municipalities that already have an NDA in place with Microsoft, the company said it is reaching out to those local governments to "coordinate termination."
"Microsoft has sometimes used NDAs during early stages of data center development to help protect sensitive commercial information, address early security considerations, and ensure we can comply with local regulatory and permitting processes," the company said. "It is a common industry practice to seek NDAs to protect early information about development proposals."
However there are some parts of development that require proprietary information and Microsoft said it will "seek to protect such information from records disclosure to protect our business interests" where the law allows.
"We often work in close coordination with local governments to develop our designs to reflect local requirements and priorities," the company said. "Because of this coordination and the sequential nature of our development, we may not have all development details from the beginning, but we endeavor to share information transparently when it is available."
Rima Alaily, corporate vice president and general counsel for Microsoft, said in a LinkedIn post the company "will continue to use NDAs in connection with private transactions when acquiring land, and we will continue to rigorously protect our trade secrets and data center design information. But we will not use NDAs as a default mechanism in our engagement with local governments."
Bill Lueders, president of the Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council, applauded Microsoft for taking this step.
"It's important to note that it's happening only after their attempts to work with these work with these non-disclosure agreements blew up in their face," he said.
"When people found out there was an agreement with local officials and companies to change the character of their communities, they resented it bitterly and pushed back," Lueders said. "I think that it was pretty clear that the revelations about non-disclosure agreements was bad PR for the companies. It was not a good look and it's not a surprise that they're eager to move beyond that."
Lueders believes other companies could take similar action.
"It's likely that these efforts to work with local officials under secrecy agreements are counter productive and they need to take a different tact," Lueders said.
Peg Sheaffer, communications director for Midwest Environmental Advocates, said the Microsoft decision is "an indicator that public opposition is gaining real traction and that the data center developers are getting nervous."
"Companies typically don't make announcements about building community trust unless those communities are already pushing back pretty hard," Sheaffer said in a statement. "If you’re a community member who’s been showing up to meetings, asking tough questions, and asserting your right to open and transparent government—keep it up. You are making a difference."
NDAs part of reason Caledonia residents opposed Microsoft
In 2025, Microsoft planned to build a data center in Caledonia, but the project involved a level of secrecy in the beginning that caused residents to oppose the development.
After hearing the outcry from residents, Microsoft decided to change course and dropped its plans.
“It doesn’t make sense to go where people don’t want us," said Microsoft President Brad Smith said in an interview on Jan. 13. "But I do think it’s our opportunity to have the conversations in a variety of other places about what we would hope to bring to a community.”
Microsoft is finishing its first data center on its campus in Mount Pleasant, and has began construction on a second data center. So far the company has committed to about $7.3 billion to build its data center campus in the village.
Patrick Brever, deputy village administrator for Mount Pleasant, said this policy changed does not impact its relationship with Mount Pleasant.
"The village did not enter into a non-disclosure agreement with Microsoft while negotiating their investment in Mount Pleasant," Brever said.
Microsoft has approval from Mount Pleasant to build 15 more data centers during the next 10 years.
Microsoft is on track to be Racine County's largest taxpayer when it pays its bills in 2026, based on 2025 assessments.
This story has been updated with additional information.
Tuesday, March 17, 2026
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