It takes the average Latina, 12 extra months to earn what the average White, non-Hispanic man earns. That is because Latinas are only paid .55 cents to the dollar of […]

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Next Tuesday, April 7 is the Spring Election in Wisconsin. On today’s show, host Ali Muldrow is in conversation with two local election officials: Madison City Clerk, Lydia McComas, and Dane County Clerk, Scott McDonell. They talk about absentee and early voting, voter turnout, and the vicious environment around elections created by the Trump administration.

McDonell says that Madison is the gold standard for early voting in the state. That’s because the city has made early voting available at libraries even at night and on the weekends. He says that this measure has increased voting by 3-4%, especially engaging the casual voters out there. He’s noticed an increase in-person early voting this year, closer to pre-pandemic levels.

McComas discusses the quick turnaround between the Spring Primary in February and the Spring Election in April and all the work that her office does to make this quick transition seamless. She says that no matter how you cast your ballot, it will be counted in Madison and that she’s working to rebuild trust after 193 ballots went uncounted in 2024.

They reassure listeners that our local elections are safe and secure, despite the erosion of trust in voting that the Trump administration has fostered. And they talk about efforts to help students engaged in voting, how they have been threatened at their jobs, increasing access to voting for the elderly and eligible voters in Dane County jails, and the importance of showing gratitude to poll workers.

If you want to find your polling place, register to vote, or learn what’s on your ballot, go to myvote.wi.gov.

Lydia McComas is Madison’s City Clerk. She graduated from the University of Minnesota with a degree in political science. She holds a graduate certificate in election administration from the Humphrey School of Public Affairs. Her previous role was as Voter Engagement Division Manager with Hennepin County in Minnesota.

Scott McDonell has served as the Dane County Clerk since he was first elected in 2013. In 2014, McDonell became the first clerk in Wisconsin to issue a same-sex marriage license, and he is the only clerk in the country to oversee two presidential recounts in 2016 and 2020.

Featured image of a polling sign courtesy of WORT.

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Earlier this week, the Atlanta City Council approved an addition $31 million dollars for the construction of the Atlanta Public Safety Training Center. This was after more than 16 hours […]

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On today’s show, host Dana Pellebon is in conversation with Madison Common Council District 14 Candidates, Kate Blood and Noah Lieberman. District 14 encompasses parts of South Madison and is currently represented by Alder Isadore Knox Jr. The candidates speak about their priorities for their district, what they’d like to see in Madison, and how to reduce racial disparities in the city.

Next Tuesday, April 7 is Election Day. Find out what’s on your ballot here.

Common Council District 14 Candidate: Kate Blood

Kate Blood says that she decided to run for office when a housing development was proposed in her neighborhood without the input of her Latinx neighbors. She supports restorative justice, restorative courts, and using diversion programs to keep people out of jails and prisons. Blood says that reducing racial disparities in Madison should start with supporting our students. That means reevaluating discipline formats using deescalation protocols. She says that fully funding the CARES program is a long-term investment in our community.

Kate Blood worked for WHEDA and the DOA providing affordable housing around the state. She now works as a chaplain.

Featured image: remix of a photo of Kate Blood with the Madison City Council district map by Sara Gabler/WORT.

Common Council District 14 Candidate: Noah Lieberman

Noah Lieberman is running for Common Council because local government is where community is put into practice, from parks and libraries to good roads and transportation. He wants to create home ownership opportunities for Black and Brown residents of his district to help address long-term racial disparities in the city. He also supports state-level changes to the minimum wage and wants to see the city build up tenants’ rights in order to stop predatory landlords who he says are an impediment to making the city affordable.

Noah Lieberman is a stay at home dad. He previously served as vice chair of the Dane County Democratic Party, helping to recruit and support progressive candidates around the county. He also served as chair of Madison’s Landlord Tenant Issues Committee.

Featured image: remix of a photo of Noah Lieberman with the Madison City Council district map by Sara Gabler/WORT.

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“The Philippines is under a new administration, but still the government’s case against de Lima hobbles along, a symbol of the country’s degradation from the Duterte years of violent populism […]

The post Timothy McLaughlin on Leila de Lima and the cost of criticism in The P... appeared first on WORT-FM 89.9.

The Spring Primary election is next Tuesday and on today’s show, Sara Gabler is in conversation with Madison Metropolitan School District School Board Seat 7 Candidates, incumbent Nicki Vander Meulen and challenger Dana Colussi-Lynde. They speak about their priorities for the school district, how they would address opportunity gaps, safe learning environments, literacy rates, student enrollment in the district, and more.

School Board Seat 7 Candidate: Nicki Vander Meulen

Nicki Vander Meulen is seeking a fourth term on the school board. She says that Madison is a “property rich but tax poor district” and that the current state funding formula has created two separate school systems for public schools and charter schools. She would like greater transparency when it comes to funding and at the same time better compensation for veteran teachers so that their talents stay in the district.

Serving students with disabilities is a top priority for Vander Meulen, who says that having the opportunity to attend public schools changed her life. She wants to see K-3rd grade classrooms capped at 23 students and more partnerships with community organizations who could provide tutoring to MMSD students. Equitable staff compensation, tutoring, keeping police out of schools, and addressing the culture of bullying would all contribute to reducing the opportunity gaps and declining enrollment in the district, Vander Muelen says.

Nicki Vander Meulen is a juvenile attorney and member of the Madison Board of Education. When Nicki was elected in 2017, she became the first openly autistic school board member in the United States.

Featured image of Nicki Vander Meulen.

School Board Seat 7 Candidate: Dana Colussi-Lynde

Dana Colussi-Lynde comes from a family of educators, and she’s running for school board because she’s concerned about the state of our democracy. She says her background in information technology has prepared her to address process improvement and assess the effectiveness of student technology use. She points to the unfavorable data on student technology use and test scores and supports the “bell to bell” cell phone ban in the district.

She is also concerned about the educational opportunity gap and would like to see partnerships with the Goodman Center, NAMI, and other organizations to support students’ wellbeing. She wants to see students graduating at their reading level and an increase in apprenticeship programs so students can be future-ready when they leave the school system.

Dana Colussi-Lynde was born in Madison and raised in the Madison area by two teachers before graduating from Madison West High School. She then went on to Madison College for a degree in Information Technology, leading to a 25-year career in IT leadership, analysis and process improvement. She was a board member of New Leaders Council, a progressive leadership organization, for two years following their institute in 2019. She has also volunteered for Courage Plus and Planned Parenthood along with canvassing for local and national political campaigns. She was recently endorsed by the Wisconsin State Journal, Dane Dems and Wisconsin Muslim Civic Alliance and designated as a Mental Health Now Candidate. The school board would be her first, but hopefully not her last, public service role.

Featured image of Dana Colussi-Lynde.

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Sold in headshops and on the grey market, “spice” or K2 is a way to get high while avoiding showing up on a drug test. Whether or not they’re legal […]

The post Synthetic Cannabinoids, the Analogue Act, and an Unprecedented Prosecu... appeared first on WORT-FM 89.9.

On today’s show, host Esty Dinur is in conversation with four guests–Joe Bates, Matthew Borke, Rob Lee, and Gracie Waukechon–who are fighting against the reroute of the Enbridge Line 5 pipeline around the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa reservation in northern Wisconsin. Enbridge has begun construction on the reroute though the legal battle has not been fully resolved.

Joe Bates discusses how he uses his drone to observe the construction. He’s captured footage of the new easement where Enbridge plans to use horizontal directional drilling to install the new pipeline. Matthew Borke says that what we’re hearing from the Trump administration is a forked-tongue message. He encourages folks to stay informed about the legal proceedings.

Gracie Waukechon says that this issue is personal. In light of the threat that the pipeline poses to the lands and waters of the region she says, “I feel as if my future has been taken away from me.” She’s also worried about the future of resistance in light of a contract that Ashland County officials signed last month for policing protests.

Rob Lee talks about how Enbridge is starting to break ground on construction of the reroute, but it’s not a foregone conclusion that they will get final approval. He reminds listeners that the oil that passes through Line 5 passes from Canada and back to Canada, which should concern people across the political spectrum.

Joe Bates is a Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa tribal elder and water protector.

Matthew Borke was raised in southern Michigan and graduated as a Chef from Northern Michigan University’s Culinary Arts program. Matthew has been organizing for the complete shutdown of Enbridge Line 5 since 2017 locally, nationally, and internationally.

Rob Lee is a Senior Staff Attorney at Midwest Environmental Advocates. His work spans a wide range of environmental and public health issues. His areas of focus include PFAS contamination, oil pipelines, Clean Water Act compliance, wetlands and waterways, the Great Lakes, Wisconsin’s Public Trust Doctrine, hazardous substances, mining, and open government.

Gracie Waukechon/Meyāwāēw (May-yow-way) is a member of the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa and a Menominee Descendant. She resides near the Menominee Reservation with her family. Gracie is a student at the College of Menominee Nation and interns at the Sustainable Development Institute.

Featured image of the proposed Line 5 reroute via the Wisconsin DNR.

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