Foxconn woes; mining permit fights; Wisconsin battleground state; voting security concerns
Of note: As construction continues in Mount Pleasant on the huge flat-screen manufacturing plant, questions linger about how many of Foxconn’s promises will be fulfilled in exchange for billions in state and local government subsidies. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel’s Rick Romell looks at the various promises from the Taiwanese manufacturer and the chances they will be realized.
Access to some stories listed in the Wisconsin Weekly roundup may be limited to subscribers of the news organizations that produced them. We urge our readers to consider supporting these important news outlets by subscribing.
Thanks for reading!
To have the free Wisconsin Weekly newsletter (as well as story alerts and news about the Center) delivered straight to your inbox, sign up here! You can change your preferences at any time.
Foxconn at two years: Factory being built, innovation centers unfilled, pledge to UW not yet met
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel — July 26, 2019
Foxconn has stepped back from building the type of factory it contracted with the state to build and has shifted its planned employment mix away from a heavy emphasis on production workers — changes that have prompted new Gov. Tony Evers, who defeated Walker, to say the contract may need to be revised. But amid much skepticism, including from Evers, Foxconn has held fast to the key 13,000-jobs pledge. The company said this week that it was “reaffirming our investment and job creation commitments” and was “thrilled to be moving into the next stages of construction” on the country’s first liquid crystal display panel factory.
The right to mine: Michigan grants Canadian mining company permits while Wisconsin Menominee tribe fights those permits in court
Great Lakes Now — July 22, 2019
Toronto-based Aquila Resources has been pursuing the necessary permits from Michigan’s Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE, formerly Department of Environmental Quality) to begin construction of mine facilities, including a waste management building slated to be constructed only 150 feet away from the Menominee River. The case was dismissed in December and is now being appealed by the Menominee Tribe in the 7th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals.
‘Send her back:’ white voters and Trump’s path to re-election
The New York Times: The Daily podcast — July 22, 2019
The majority of Americans disapprove of President Donald Trump. But Democrats will still have a hard time defeating him. The New York Times’ The Daily podcast looks at how a campaign rooted in racial polarization could affect President Trump’s chances of winning in 2020. A key state in this battle: Wisconsin.
Wisconsin and local officials beef up voting security ahead of the presidential election
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel — July 25, 2019
Wisconsin’s second most populous county relies on one computer locked in Madison’s City-County Building to program every municipality’s voting machine. It’s one step the county has taken to try to ensure Wisconsin’s elections are secure as the nation prepares for the next big test of its voting systems — the 2020 presidential election. With the 2020 election just over a year away, federal officials continue to warn about Russia’s ongoing effort to interfere in elections. This has led Wisconsin elections officials to put an emphasis on securing voting information. Previously from Wisconsin Watch: How hackers could attack Wisconsin’s elections and what state officials are doing about it.
The nonprofit Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism (www.WisconsinWatch.org) collaborates with Wisconsin Public Radio, Wisconsin Public Television, other news media and the UW-Madison School of Journalism and Mass Communication. All works created, published, posted or disseminated by the Center do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of UW-Madison or any of its affiliates.
Republish our articles for free, online or in print, under a Creative Commons license.
