In 2025, Wisconsin Watch experienced a year of visual firsts that reshaped how stories were told across the state.

A new village being built in Sheboygan County is reimagining what life with dementia can look like in the United States. Read the story here: wisconsinwatch.org/2025/12/livi... By Addie Costello Photo by Angela Major WPR #Wisconsin #HealthCare #Aging #Dementia #CommunityCare

As energy hungry data centers loom, Wisconsin ratepayers are still paying nearly $1 billion for power plants that no longer produce electricity.

This is such a great independent news source.

As managing editor @jmalewitz.bsky.social notes, we've changed a lot as an organization over the past several years -- in response to evolving information needs across Wisconsin and shifting trends in how and where people find news online. So here's where you can find us. And please share! ❤️

UPDATE: If you’ve been following this story, Dailin Pacheco-Acosta will return to Madison once the immigration court approves her bond.

@wisconsinwatch.org checks just how much state funding of the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources has been reduced.

@wisconsinwatch.org fact-checks U.S. Rep. @markpocan.bsky.social on how many countries make homosexual acts illegal.

An immigration court judge granted asylum to a Venezuelan couple whose story was previously reported by Wisconsin Watch. But they remain jailed hundreds of miles apart as Trump administration officials defend a policy blocking most in ICE custody from seeking bond. Read the latest from Paul Kiefer.

Students are flocking to public policy classes as polarization paralyzes legislative action. So UW-Madison is launching an undergrad major focused on civil dialogue and finding common ground. wisconsinwatch.org/2025/12/wisc... (@Wisconsinwatch.org)

Here’s hoping folks will support their independent local media wherever they live. For Wisconsinites or the Wisconsin-curious, @wisconsinwatch.org, @milwaukeenns.org or @isthmusmadison.bsky.social are good options (and they add alphabet diversity)!

Sick of those Wisconsin Supreme Court campaign attack ads? Nonpartisan commissions nominate top judges in 11 states. And 12 states use independent performance reviews by experts to help voters determine judges’ competence. Part 3 @wisconsinwatch.org wisconsinwatch.org/2025/12/wisc...

“Wisconsin is becoming the centerpiece for billionaires trying to influence elections,” Rivera-Wagner said. “This is just unacceptable.” Thanks to @wisconsinwatch.org for covering this important story: wisconsinwatch.org/2025/12/wisc...

Wisconsin's recusal rules are SO WEAK that they are essentially non-existent. This has led to the BIG spending that we are seeing in Wisconsin's Supreme Court races. 👎 Strong recusal rules are a must! #MoneyInPolitics Thanks to @wisconsinwatch.org for reporting! wisconsinwatch.org/2025/12/wisc...

U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany, a candidate for Wisconsin governor, said he would ensure state government jobs go to Americans. @wisconsinwatch.org looks at whether that's possible.

A shift in recusal rules, a short-lived venture in public financing of high court races and the campaign finance laws that followed ... Larry Sandler looks at how these factors help explain how Wisconsin Supreme Court campaign spending exploded this spring to a national record of $114.2 million.

ICYMI: Part one of a three-part series on how Wisconsin's supreme court elections have changed for the worse -- and how we could make them better. Don't miss the data visualizations on spending in this first piece. 📈📈📈 👇

We fact-checked 7 claims about Former Lt. Gov. Barnes and his positions on defunding the police, immigration, abortion and more. Test your knowledge👇

How well are you keeping up with issues in the news? Take the @wisconsinwatch.org fact briefs quiz. gigafact.org/quiz/wiscons...

Wisconsin State Supreme Court races have become everything they were never meant to be. Larry Sandler looks at how we got here.

always a good idea to support fact based journalism like @wisconsinwatch.org:

Wisconsin high schools want to offer more college classes to give students a jump start. However, teachers with the qualifications to teach college courses are in short supply. For busy teachers, grad school has been a hard sell, @wisconsinwatch.org wisconsinwatch.org/2025/12/wisc...

This day — it’s giving…Tuesday.

As living costs soar, tax relief shrinks for low-income Wisconsin residents, @wisconsinwatch.org wisconsinwatch.org/2025/12/wisc...

Wisconsin leaders want more high school students to have the opportunity to take college-level courses, called dual enrollment. But a shortage of qualified teachers is one of the biggest barriers to growing their dual enrollment programs. Here's what could be done to change that.

TODAY is #GivingTuesday. Most #LocalNews in Wisconsin is behind a PAYWALL. Ours is free because of people like you. If you aren't a supporter yet, please consider becoming one today. If you can't afford to give this year, help this message reach as many people as possible by reposting.

Tomorrow is #GivingTuesday. Free, independent local news supports every other worthy cause by helping communities stay informed and connected. Will you help us do more for Wisconsin in 2026? Thanks to matching funds, whatever you can afford to give will have twice as much impact. ❤️

“You work hard and you pay into programs, and then when you need them in your older years like this, they’re not there for you.” - Edith Butler, 68, of Eau Claire. Butler is one of a growing number of Wisconsinites affected by rising housing costs and a shrinking homestead tax credit.

The best Black Friday deal is FREE LOCAL JOURNALISM YOU CAN TRUST, and Wisconsin Watch offers it every day. Will you help us do more in 2026? ❤️ Become a local news supporter today: wisconsinwatch.org/support-wisc...

The best Black Friday deal is FREE LOCAL JOURNALISM YOU CAN TRUST, and Wisconsin Watch offers it every day. Will you help us do more in 2026? ❤️ Become a local news supporter today: wisconsinwatch.org/support-wisc...

“For the last eight years we’ve had divided government, but we’ve had a heavily gerrymandered Legislature …For Republicans in the Legislature, there has been no cost and everything to gain from pursuing the most radical and extreme proposals in their party.” - Sen. Kelda Roys, D-Madison

In the spirit of gratitude and giving, here are five stories that remind us of the power of community and how ordinary people can spark extraordinary impact. We hope you enjoy reading them as much as we enjoyed reporting them.

Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service, a division of Wisconsin Watch, was recognized for its work advancing inclusion, diversity, equity and accessibility. NNS journalism amplifies underrepresented voices, deepens public understanding and builds bridges across Milwaukee. Follow them @milwaukeenns.org.

"On a dry, rocky patch of his family’s farm in Door County, Wisconsin, Dave Klevesahl grows wildflowers. But he has a vision for how to squeeze more value out of the plot: lease it to a company that wants to build a community solar array." (reporting by @canarymedia.com)

Love this! The closer we get to the natural world, the healthier we become. @milwaukeenns.org 'New nonprofit wants to connect Black and Brown people to nature' milwaukeenns.org/2025/11/24/n...

Hegseth calls six Democrats seditious. Is sedition punishable by death? wisconsinwatch.org/2025/11/sedi...

Why do so many local officials run for reelection unopposed? How a Madison woman’s question sparked the Wisconsin Civics Games — a growing contest to get young people interested in government. wisconsinwatch.org/2025/11/how-... (@wisconsinwatch.org)

Crash test dummies are in the news. Our fact-check: wisconsinwatch.org/2025/01/cras...

Is sedition punishable by death? No. @tomkertschernews.bsky.social has the facts ✅ wisconsinwatch.org/2025/11/sedi...

🏡 Are manufactured homes a potential solution to the affordable housing crisis? In this series, Wisconsin Watch and WPR investigate opportunities and risks associated with manufactured homes, sometimes called mobile homes, as an affordable path to home ownership in Wisconsin.

Our look at which constitutional rights are extended to all persons, including unauthorized immigrants.

Sen. Bernie Sanders said premiums will double for 20 million Obamacare recipients. Sen. Ron Johnson said Sanders is wrong. We sort it out.

ICE arrested a man in Manitowoc seeking asylum from Nicaragua before his Nov. 4 hearing before an immigration court judge. Now he may be deported to a third country: Honduras. A system where rule of law is replaced by "crazy arbitrariness" @wisconsinwatch.org wisconsinwatch.org/2025/11/wisc...

Feeling lonely? Appleton’s Community Living Room offers an antidote to isolation. Community leaders across the state want to replicate their approach, @mirandadunlap.bsky.social reports. wisconsinwatch.org/2025/11/wisc...

"Veterans Day is a time to pause & think about what they endured & fought for, not only for their families but for the ideals that define our country. It reminds me how easily those freedoms can fade when we forget the cost of protecting them," Rich Brown @wisconsinwatch.org tinyurl.com/mrxcybsr

Update on our @wisconsinwatch.org story on permanently and totally disabled workers: New legislation would give them a raise for the first time since 2016. The lack of raises has cost 77-year-old Jimmy Novy an estimated $21,000, had his worker's comp check kept pace with inflation.

On the eve of Veterans Day, Wisconsin lawmakers are considering these 12 bills impacting veterans. A hot debate has been funding for the Veterans Housing and Recovery Program, which supports vets at risk of homelessness @wisconsinwatch.org wisconsinwatch.org/2025/11/wisc...

Three years ago, Laurie Doxtator realized she’d been using substances for 50 years, including drinking since age 8. At a sober living house in Green Bay, she learned other ways to deal with past trauma. Here is Laurie's recovery story, as told to Wisconsin Watch photo journalist Joe Timmerman.

A host of challenges face those choosing Affordable Care Act marketplace health insurance for 2026. Here is some information that might help folks in Wisconsin who are feeling anxious or overwhelmed @wisconsinwatch.org wisconsinwatch.org/2025/11/how-...

“I came from nothing and built a community.” After years of healing, a Green Bay woman takes her next step in sobriety — carrying new perspectives and a support network with her. Beautiful storytelling by @josephmtimmerman.bsky.social wisconsinwatch.org/2025/11/laur...