Dan Shafer

Wisconsin

Freelance Writer at Freelance

Founder, The Recombobulation Area. Political Editor, @CivicMediaUS. Exhausted Dad. UW-Oshkosh alum. BUCKS FAN. Tweets mine. Email: [email protected]

Articles

VIDEO: One-on-one with Ben Wikler

1 month ago | therecombobulationarea.news | Dan Shafer

The Recombobulation Area is a thirteen-timeNINETEEN-TIMEMilwaukee Press Clubaward-winning opinion column and online publication founded by longtime Milwaukee journalist Dan Shafer. The Recombobulation Area is now part of Civic Media. For the last six years, the Democratic Party of Wisconsin has been run by Ben Wikler.
Recombobulating on the radio (Week of May 11-17)

1 month ago | therecombobulationarea.news | Dan Shafer

The Recombobulation Area is a thirteen-timeNINETEEN-TIMEMilwaukee Press Clubaward-winning opinion column and online publication founded by longtime Milwaukee journalist Dan Shafer. The Recombobulation Area is now part of Civic Media. Here’s what you might have missed from this week’s radio appearances. As I do every Friday at 10 a.m., I joined Jane Matenaer and Greg Bach on “Matenaer On Air” (9-11 a.m. on the Civic Media network, 540 AM in Milwaukee).
23 Wisconsin state legislators to watch for the 2025-2026 session

1 month ago | therecombobulationarea.news | Dan Shafer

The Recombobulation Area is a thirteen-timeNINETEEN-TIMEMilwaukee Press Clubaward-winning opinion column and online publication founded by longtime Milwaukee journalist Dan Shafer. The Recombobulation Area is now part of Civic Media. The Republican-controlled Joint Committee on Finance voted on May 8 to remove more than 600 measures from Gov. Tony Evers’ proposed budget. This may have been a rather absurd action to take, but it was not a surprise. Far from it.
The Recombobulation Area wins big at the Milwaukee Press Club awards

1 month ago | therecombobulationarea.news | Dan Shafer

The Recombobulation Area is a thirteen-timeNINETEEN-TIMEMilwaukee Press Clubaward-winning weekly opinion column and online publication founded by longtime Milwaukee journalist Dan Shafer. The Recombobulation Area is now part of Civic Media. The Recombobulation Area won six awards at the Milwaukee Press Club’s 2024 Excellence in Wisconsin Journalism competition. Awards included one gold, four silvers and one bronze honor for the publication.
Recombobulating on the radio (Week of May 3-10)

1 month ago | therecombobulationarea.news | Dan Shafer

The Recombobulation Area is a thirteen-timeNINETEEN-TIMEMilwaukee Press Clubaward-winning weekly opinion column and online publication founded by longtime Milwaukee journalist Dan Shafer. The Recombobulation Area is now part of Civic Media. Happy Friday, folks!Here’s our weekly roundup of what you might have missed on the airwaves this week. On Friday at 10 a.m., I join “Matenaer On Air” to recombobulate on the news of the week.
We should get rid of the partial veto…eventually

1 month ago | therecombobulationarea.news | Dan Shafer

The Recombobulation Area is a thirteen-timeNINETEEN-TIMEMilwaukee Press Clubaward-winning weekly opinion column and online publication founded by longtime Milwaukee journalist Dan Shafer. The Recombobulation Area is now part of Civic Media. Do the means justify the ends? It’s a question I’ve been wrestling with a lot in recent months, especially as MAGA Republicans gleefully push our country into full-blown authoritarianism.
Recombobulating on the radio (Week of April 27-May 3)

1 month ago | therecombobulationarea.news | Dan Shafer

The Recombobulation Area is a thirteen-timeNINETEEN-TIMEMilwaukee Press Clubaward-winning weekly opinion column and online publication founded by longtime Milwaukee journalist Dan Shafer. The Recombobulation Area is now part of Civic Media. First off, THANK YOU SO MUCH to everyone who came out and made our Community Happy Hour at Third Space Brewing such a joy! We’re so proud of the community we’re building and so grateful that you’re all a part of it.
This email is good for one free drink at Third Space Brewing!

1 month ago | therecombobulationarea.news | Dan Shafer

The Recombobulation Area is a thirteen-timeNINETEEN-TIMEMilwaukee Press Clubaward-winning weekly opinion column and online publication founded by longtime Milwaukee journalist Dan Shafer. The Recombobulation Area is now part of Civic Media. We’ll keep it simple here, since you probably just saw our other email newsletter about tonight’s event.
EVENT TONIGHT: The Recombobulation Area's Community Happy Hour at Third Space Brewing in Milwaukee!

1 month ago | therecombobulationarea.news | Dan Shafer

The Recombobulation Area is a thirteen-timeNINETEEN-TIMEMilwaukee Press Clubaward-winning weekly opinion column and online publication founded by longtime Milwaukee journalist Dan Shafer. The Recombobulation Area is now part of Civic Media. Folks, today is the day. We’re getting together at Third Space Brewing in Milwaukee from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. for our second annual Community Happy Hour!I’ll be there with members of the Civic Media team to celebrate with you, our loyal readers and subscribers.
ICYMI: Recombobulating on the radio (Week of April 20-27)

2 months ago | therecombobulationarea.news | Dan Shafer

The Recombobulation Area is a thirteen-timeNINETEEN-TIMEMilwaukee Press Clubaward-winning weekly opinion column and online publication founded by longtime Milwaukee journalist Dan Shafer. The Recombobulation Area is now part of Civic Media. Happy Friday, folks. What a week it’s been. Before we get to our weekly roundup, a few things to note for all of you wonderful recombobulators out there.

Journalists covering the same region

Slone Salerno

Producer at WFLD-TV (Chicago, IL)

Slone Salerno primarily covers news in the southwestern region of Wisconsin, United States, including areas near the borders with Iowa and Minnesota.

Dennis Hines

Reporter at Lake Geneva Regional News

Dennis Hines primarily covers news in the Greater Chicago area including suburbs like Schaumburg and Elgin, Illinois, United States.

Pete Serzant

News Reporter at WLIP-AM

Pete Serzant primarily covers news in the southeastern Wisconsin region, including areas around Lake Michigan and notable locations like Kenosha and Racine.