A stubborn slump in milk prices is hammering Wisconsin's dairy industry. In 2015, prices plummeted, and have yet to recover. In 2018, the state lost dairy herds at a record-breaking pace, and led the nation in farm bankruptcies.

This is an early draft of notes on the meetings - as always the full details are in the video that will appear by Wednesday.

Reorganization Meeting - 5:30 PM

1. Call Meeting to Order \

2. Seating of Newly Elected Members

3. Roll Call and Quorum

4. Election of Board Officers

President nominations - David Styer, Amy Riddle-Swanson - results, Styer  4, Riddle-Swanson 5

The Governor's Budget Listening Tour rolled into Eau Claire on April 16 at the Western Wisconsin Technical College. This session was unusual in several ways for Wisconsin. For one, it has been a long time since a Wisconsin Governor has held open listening sessions where the public was invited. For another, the new Governor held this somewhat differently than normal. After an address from the Governor, Lt.

In a press release just sent out by the City of New Richmond, the city announced that ICA has withdrawn their request for rezoning for an ICE detention facility in the city. The city recently produced a staff report on the request, and after obtaining the report ICA withdrew. According to the press release

Turnout was very heavy at the JFC Budget Hearing in River Falls on Monday. The general tone of this hearing was very different than the hearings during the Walker administration, as almost all of the testimony this time around was in favor of the Evers budget, which is much more liberal in its spending plans.

The City of New Richmond released further information on the zoning process for the proposed ICE detention center this afternoon. The city will hold a community meeting on April 23 at 4:30 PM at Wisconsin Indianhead Technical College, New Richmond. This is an informal discussion and will not include any action on the part of the city.

On April 4 and 5, the city of New Richmond received applications for zoning changes for a 500 bed detention center for ICE. The detention center would be built by Immigration Centers of America, a private company located in Virginia. It's not clear from the date of the application whether this will be heard in the May plan commission meeting or the June meeting. The zoning request is for a space of approximately 35 acres. The facility would be constructed near the corner of 115th St.

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Just in time for Tax Day, the for-profit tax preparation industry is about to realize one of its long-sought goals. Congressional Democrats and Republicans are moving to permanently bar the IRS from creating a free electronic tax filing system.

Last week, the House Ways and Means Committee, led by Rep. Richard Neal, D-Mass., passed the Taxpayer First Act, a wide-ranging bill making several administrative changes to the IRS that is sponsored by Reps. John Lewis, D-Ga., and Mike Kelly, R-Pa.

In one of its provisions, the bill makes it illegal for the IRS to create its own online system of tax filing. Companies like Intuit, the maker of TurboTax, and H&R Block have lobbied for years to block the IRS from creating such a system. If the tax agency created its own program, which would be similar to programs other developed countries have, it would threaten the industry’s profits.

Thanks to Wisconsin Eye for this video of today's press conference at the Oak Creek JFC hearing. 

A maelstrom of economic and demographic forces are hammering Wisconsin's dairy farmers. But what's causing such exceptional distress in one of the state's iconic industries? Here are six charts — and a map — that can help make sense of these complex trends.