Erin McGroarty

Madison

State Politics and Disinformation Reporter at The Cap Times

Alaskan in Wisco. Politics for @CapTimes | @uw_sjmc M.A '23 | Past: @WisconsinWatch @UWJournEthics @newsminer | @nlgja | Bylines: @poynter @Chicago_Reader

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Articles

Wisconsin parents would have more time to give up babies under bill

6 days ago | captimes.com | Erin McGroarty

It’s been 24 years since Wisconsin first adopted its safe haven law that allows parents to surrender a newborn to a safe location, with no questions asked so long as the baby is no more than 72 hours old. Since 2012, a total of 224 infants have been surrendered under the law in Wisconsin, according to the state Department of Children and Families. Now, a group of lawmakers wants to give parents up to 30 days after birth to drop off a newborn.
Wisconsin veto power targeted in proposed constitutional amendment

1 week ago | captimes.com | Erin McGroarty

Last month, the Wisconsin Supreme Court upheld a veto from Democratic Gov. Tony Evers that extended K-12 funding for four centuries. Now, Republicans in the Legislature are trying to change the state Constitution to limit this type of veto. “This resolution for a proposed amendment to the Constitution is decades overdue,” said Rep. Scott Allen, R-Waukesha, who co-authored and introduced the proposal earlier this session.
Wisconsin mental health bills would overhaul treatment of kids

1 week ago | captimes.com | Erin McGroarty

A bipartisan group of lawmakers wants to overhaul the ways young people receive emergency psychiatric care in Wisconsin after a committee last year found that hundreds of youths had been sent to out-of-state facilities.
It’s past time to prioritize missing Black women, Madison lawmaker says

2 weeks ago | captimes.com | Erin McGroarty

Last year, one Republican senator stood in the way of a legislative effort to look deeper into the issue of Wisconsin’s missing and murdered Black women and girls. Now, with a new Legislature and the financial backing of Gov. Tony Evers, a Madison lawmaker said she plans to bring the topic back to the forefront. Rep.
Evers' online jobs site for fired federal workers gets 8,000 hits

2 weeks ago | captimes.com | Erin McGroarty

A state online site designed to recruit fired or worried federal workers has attracted thousands of visitors since it went live last month, according to the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development. Gov. Tony Evers launched the webpage with the state workforce development agency to recruit federal employees who had been fired by President Donald Trump's administration or are looking to leave their current positions because of ongoing job uncertainty.
Bake sales for freedom: Ukraine civilians help military any way they can

3 weeks ago | captimes.com | Erin McGroarty

KYIV, Ukraine — On a cold Saturday morning in February, Tetiana Lopushanka and her sister, Liubov Vdovtsova, brave the winter air to sell homemade pastries, honey, crafts and herbal tea at a small table outside St. Michael’s Monastery in central Kyiv. Passersby leaving the iconic blue-walled church drop coins in a donation jar and walk away with hands full of sugary treats. The sisters are here every weekend, no matter the weather, Lopushanka tells a visiting Cap Times journalist.
Wisconsin Supreme Court allows Evers’ 400-year boost to school funding

3 weeks ago | captimes.com | Erin McGroarty

Gov. Tony Evers had the right to use a creative veto in 2023 to lock in annual increases in public school funding for the next 400 years, the Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled today. Wisconsin’s largest business lobbying group argued the Democratic governor’s 34-character switcheroo took things too far, but the liberal-leaning Supreme Court defended what some say is the broadest interpretation of gubernatorial veto power in any state.
Wisconsin Supreme Court allows Evers’ 400-year veto

3 weeks ago | captimes.com | Erin McGroarty

Gov. Tony Evers had the right to use a creative veto in 2023 to lock in annual increases in public school funding for the next 400 years, the Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled today. Wisconsin’s largest business lobbying group argued the Democratic governor’s 34-character switcheroo took things too far, but the liberal-leaning Supreme Court defended what some say is the broadest interpretation of gubernatorial veto power in any state.
Literacy Network loses federal grant for citizenship program

4 weeks ago | captimes.com | Erin McGroarty

Another round of federal funding cuts by President Donald Trump means fewer immigrants in the Madison area will have access to tutoring to pass the U.S. citizenship test. The Literacy Network, which serves adults in Dane County, will no longer receive the remainder of a federal grant that helped the nonprofit run a citizenship test study program. It doesn’t make sense, said Literacy Network executive director Robin Ryan.
Wisconsin Democratic Party Chair Ben Wikler won’t seek reelection

1 month ago | captimes.com | Andrew Bahl |Erin McGroarty

Wisconsin Democratic Party Chair Ben Wikler will not seek another term as the party’s leader, he announced this afternoon. The announcement came about a week after his party claimed victory in sending Dane County Circuit Court Judge Susan Crawford to the Wisconsin Supreme Court, ensuring a liberal majority on the high court through at least 2028. “Our state party is now in extraordinarily strong shape.