Earlier this month, the Wisconsin Public Service Commission awarded $100 million dollars in federal pandemic relief money to projects expanding fiber broadband access. This comes at an especially crucial time. Work-from-home and virtual schooling have become increasingly common, even as nearly 22 percent of Wisconsin’s rural residents don’t have reliable internet access. Governor Tony Evers […]
State Budget + Wisconsin GOP Convention Debrief
Republicans—what are they thinking? That’s the theme for today’s show with Tuesday host Carousel Bayrd. First, Senator Jon Erpenbach from the Joint Finance Committee discusses missed opportunities related to the state budget and Wisconsin’s unexpected, once-in-a-lifetime surplus. Why isn’t the state legislature willing to spend it on education, broadband access, and healthcare? Then, John Nichols, […]
New Domains: Understanding the Push for Broadband
Governor Tony Evers has declared 2021 “the year of broadband access,” joining lawmakers across the country making plans to increase spending for high-speed internet access. This week on New Domains, we look at the state of broadband in Wisconsin, why high-speed internet is critically needed, and what to expect in the debate for how the […]
Gov. Evers Focuses on Broadband, Unemployment, and Redistricting in St...
Like many other events in the wake of COVID-19, this year’s State of State looked much different. For the first time in state history, Democratic Governor Tony Evers gave the annual address virtually, starting his speech with some lightheartedness on the situation. “Tonight’s speech will take a heckuva lot less time and since you’re watching […]
Internet Access and the Digital Divide
As with many other social and economic problems, the pandemic has only deepened the digital divide. “Unlike in other wealthy nations, the federal government has imposed no cost controls to make broadband more affordable,” writes Will Carless in a recent article for Reveal. “The result: massive inequality in one of the modern world’s most basic […]
COVID-19 relief bill drops funding for rural internet improvement
The state Senate passed a COVID-19 relief package today. Governor Evers signed the bill into law shortly after its approval on the Senate floor The fight for a COVID-19 relief bill pitted the governor’s office against state Republicans. Weeks ago, Governor Evers introduced two relief packages to the republican-held assembly, which were not taken up. […]
