Wisconsin Right Now

  An industry group says the Biden administration’s new staffing regulations for long-term care facilities are unrealistic. The mandate requires that all nursing homes that receive Medicare and Medicaid funding provide a total of at least 3.48 hours of nursing care per resident per day. Plus, nursing homes must have a registered nurse onsite at all times. Research by SeniorLiving.org shows  82%, or nearly 12,000 facilities in the U.S., will need to hire staff or face being shut down. Spokesperson Corie Wagner said Illinois is home to the fifth highest number of understaffed nursing homes in the country. “If we were to apply the new policies and new standards to nursing homes in Illinois today, 84% of facilities would need more staff, and that is really significant,” said Wagner. The mandate will be phased in over three years, with rural communities having up to five years. Nursing home operators strongly objected to the minimum staffing proposal in September, saying they...

A Northwoods’ congressman says he has the science on his side in the debate over what to do about the gray wolf. Republican Congressman Tom Tiffany got his plan to take the gray wolf off the endangered species list through the House. It was a close vote, just 209 to 205, and the plan faces a dim future in the U.S. Senate. Still, Tiffany said there’s more than enough evidence that the gray wolf population is large enough to remove it from the protected list. “The science is clear; the gray wolf has met and exceeded recovery goals,” Tiffany said in a statement. “[This vote] represents an important first step towards restoring local control over the skyrocketing gray wolf population in Wisconsin.” Tiffany said there have been plenty of attacks on dogs, deer and cattle in Wisconsin that prove his point. Keith Mark, founder and CEO of Hunter Nation, said the proposal to de-list the gray wolf should get a vote in the Senate. “Wildlife should not be a partisan issue. Unmanaged w...

One of Wisconsin's congressmen says he wants to get ahead of any policy that may invite Palestinian refugees into the U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany, R-Wisconsin, introduced a piece of legislation that would not allow people fleeing the Gaza Strip to be brought to America. “It prevents people that have a Palestinian Authority visa from being able to come into the United States,” Tiffany told Jay Weber on News Talk 1130-WISN. Tiffany says the legislation is necessary after how the Biden Administration handled the evacuation of U.S. troops and allies out of Afghanistan. “We saw what happened in Afghanistan a little over two years ago when you had about 100,000 people that came in unvetted. This would be the same thing,” Tiffany said. Tiffany, who has long been a critic of President Biden and his immigration policies, said the United States must do a much better job of vetting the people who come into this country. “When you have children that are given maps without Israel on i...

A new report says Wisconsin shouldn’t have to pay $240 million if a new casino opens in Kenosha. The report from the Legislative Reference Bureau says the cost to the state is not as big under the latest gambling compact with the Forest County Potawatomi as it was under the last. “The financial risk to the state is not as great as during the 2013-15 deliberations. Since Gov. Walker rejected the Kenosha casino, the state agreed to a 2018 compact amendment with the Potawatomi that significantly reduces the state’s liability if a casino opens between 30 and 50 miles from the tribe’s Milwaukee casino,” the report states The old agreement with the tribe could have cost Wisconsin $243 million in compensation if a new casino opened within 50 miles of the tribe’s Milwaukee casino. “Most significantly, the 2018 amendment provides mitigation for revenue losses only on a going-forward basis,” the LRB analysis said. “In other words, unlike in the 2014 arbitrated amendment, the state would...

Tim Michels says Wisconsin’s State of Education speech was more of a political stump speech than a report card on the state’s schools. Michels, who is running for governor against incumbent Gov. Tony Evers, told The Center Square Friday that State Superintendent Jill Underly’s focus on Pride flags and pronouns is frustrating parents across the state who want their kids to get back to the fundamentals. “A lot of parents believe there’s too much indoctrination happening in schools,“ Michels said Friday. “Parents want their sons and daughters to be taught the ABCs. To get the life skills that are necessary to get a job and be a productive member of society,” Underly mentioned parents in her speech just a handful of times, and never in a way that suggests moms and dads should have a say in what their kids are learning. Michels said parents must be involved in their kids’ education. “Educrats in Wisconsin think they know what is best for students, they think they know what is best f...