Wisconsin Weekly: Lawsuit filed against former UW doctor

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Child abuse doctor sued; WI’s food deserts; Barnes security costs high; invasives threaten the Mississippi; Supreme Court spouse: Overturn WI election

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Back to the news. This week we highlight the latest installment of our Flawed Forensics series. In this story, reporter Hope Karnopp details the mounting legal challenges to diagnoses of child abuse by former University of Wisconsin Dr. Barbara Knox — and questions about her application for a Florida medical license.

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Ezekiel Acker, 2, looks concerned as his mother, Emily Acker, cries while recounting what it was like to be separated from her children. Photo taken Jan. 13, 2022. (Emily Mesner / Anchorage Daily News)

Two couples sue former UW child abuse doctor for alleged misdiagnoses

Wisconsin Watch — August 27, 2022

Shortly after former University of Wisconsin Dr. Barbara Knox left Alaska in April, two sets of parents filed a federal lawsuit alleging Knox made “false accusations” of child abuse against them. Wisconsin Watch also found Knox provided answers on her application for a Florida medical license that appear to contradict her work history.

Tony Moore, executive director of mental health clinic Birds of a Feather, talks while preparing lunch for residents at his group home in Kenosha, Wis. (Joe States / Wisconsin Watch)

Wisconsin: Land of plenty includes plenty of ‘food deserts’

Wisconsin Watch — September 1, 2022

Data from 2015 show that 10% of Wisconsin, or about 570,000 people, live in areas meeting the standards of a food desert, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Read Wisconsin Watch’s Beyond Hunger series.

Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes is seen at Gov. Tony Evers’ second State of the State address at the State Capitol on Jan. 22, 2020 in Madison, Wis. (Coburn Dukehart / Wisconsin Watch)

Bice: Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes had 10 times more hours of security than his predecessor

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel — August 30, 2022

In his first three years as the state’s No. 2, Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes has averaged more than 13½ hours of security protection a day — more than 10 times the number of hours as his predecessor. Barnes staffers say all decisions about his security detail are made by the State Patrol, not the lieutenant governor or his staff.

Scientist Jim Lamer is seen holding an invasive silver carp with both hands. (Juanpablo Ramirez-Franco/ WNIJ-Northern Public Radio)

Millions spent to keep invasive fish out of the Great Lakes, but who is protecting the Mississippi River?

WNIJ-Northern Public Radio — August 30, 2022

Federal and state agencies spend millions of dollars every year to keep destructive invasive carp out of the Great Lakes. Meanwhile, at least 25 destructive species — like water fleas and bloody red shrimp — are inching closer to the Mississippi River Basin.

Ginni Thomas pressed Wisconsin lawmakers to overturn Biden’s 2020 victory

Washington Post — September 1, 2022

Virginia “Ginni” Thomas, the conservative activist and wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, pressed lawmakers to overturn Joe Biden’s 2020 victory not only in Arizona, as previously reported, but also in a second battleground state, Wisconsin, according to emails obtained under state public-records law.