Rob Mentzer
@robertmentzer.bsky.social
Journalist, Wisconsinite, thank you, I really appreciate all you are doing.
WPR spoke to Somali Wisconsinites about being called “garbage” by the president of the United States. www.wpr.org/news/somali-...
Somali residents in Wisconsin uneasy following Trump comments, federal raids
Federal immigration "strike teams" are in Minnesota looking for undocumented Somali immigrants, after President Trump referred to them as "garbage" and said he doesn't want them in the U.S.
wpr.org
WPR's dispatch from No Kings rallies around Wisconsin. www.wpr.org/news/wiscons...
Wisconsinites protest Trump administration at 'No Kings' rallies — with signs and unicorn suits
The protests were held in cities and rural communities in all parts of Wisconsin. Protesters said they hoped to bring attention to what they call an authoritarian power grab by President Donald Trump.
wpr.org
Okay another great one: Group sends Twain an invitation to speak at an event, but the mail gets delayed and when it arrives, the day of the event has passed. Twain: “I am very, very sorry, but all last week’s dates are full. I will gladly come week before last, if that will answer.”
Rob Mentzer@robertmentzer.bsky.social · last yr.Listening to the new Mark Twain biography by Ron Chernow and there are a lot of great Twain jokes from notebooks, letters and newspaper stories. He just wrote that French literature was “confined to the two great branches of modern French thought: science and adultery.”
This guy, a former state lawmaker and tourism secretary, left behind millions of pounds of hazardous waste including 60 pounds of elemental mercury that was not properly stored. The state spent $4.6 million to clean it up. www.wpr.org/news/former-...
Former state lawmaker, charged with fraud, left nearly 2.7M pounds of hazardous waste
In 2020, a grand jury issued a 10-count indictment against Kevin Shibilski, chief executive officer of 5R Processors.
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“In the past several months, leaders at federal agencies have made policy decisions and issued recommendations that aren’t supported by or directly contradict scientific consensus.” www.wpr.org/news/wiscons...
Wisconsin health department continues to urge new COVID-19 vaccine for anyone over 6 months old
The state's health department put out a standing order for the COVID vaccine. The goal is to ensure that Wisconsinites can get the jab at pharmacies across the state even without a prescription.
wpr.org
Guy works in a field with a serious worker shortage. Good worker, model employee. Marries a U.S. citizen. Travels from Manitowoc to Milwaukee for asylum hearing. Judge doesn't get to him, and he can't get transportation to rescheduled hearing. Now he's being deported. www.wpr.org/news/wiscons...
Wisconsin foundry worker who came to the US seeking asylum now faces deportation
Josue Rodriguez’s story reflects a broader conflict playing out nationally in the wake of the Trump administration's mass deportation agenda.
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“I signed that letter because it warned that the EPA is no longer using scientific findings to create and revoke regulation, and by doing so, it was placing American health in danger,” Cole said. www.wpr.org/news/wiscons...
Wisconsin biologist is among those fired by EPA after signing dissent letter
A Wisconsin man is among employees fired by the Environmental Protection Agency in recent days after signing a letter opposing the Trump administration’s policies.
wpr.org
U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders is coming to Wisconsin this weekend for a rally with Dem congressional candidate Rebecca Cooke. He spoke with WPR ahead of the visit. www.wpr.org/news/bernie-...
Bernie Sanders will join Rebecca Cooke in pitch to rural voters of 3rd Congressional District
Vermont U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders will campaign in Wisconsin Saturday for Rebecca Cooke in the 3rd Congressional District.
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Workers at a cheesemaking plant in Monroe have walked off the job to protest the new owner’s use of E-Verify to check immigration status, which they say will push out workers with decades of service. www.wpr.org/news/dairy-w...
Wisconsin dairy workers strike to protest changes that could affect immigrants
Dozens of workers at a Wisconsin dairy facility have been on strike for a week after new ownership changed internal policy in a way that workers say will put immigrants out of work.
wpr.org
A mining company is drilling for metals in Wisconsin. Opponents are on edge. www.wpr.org/news/green-l...
A mining company is drilling for metals in Wisconsin. Opponents are on edge.
Exploration for metallic mines is fairly rare. But, in Taylor County, mining company Green Light Wisconsin is drilling for copper and gold. Such metals haven’t been mined in Wisconsin for almost 30 ye...
wpr.org
The new special prosecutor investigating the Wausau mayor's removal of an empty ballot dropbox outside of city hall publicly hailed the state Supreme Court's 2022 decision banning ballot dropboxes. www.wpr.org/news/republi...
Republican DA Toney will oversee investigation into Wausau ballot drop box removal
Fond du Lac District Attorney Eric Toney has been appointed to oversee the investigation of Wausau Mayor Doug Diny's removal of a ballot drop box ahead of the 2024 election. Toney, a well known Republ...
wpr.org
Wait so these parents stole another family’s house and kidnapped the baby inside it… and you people are APPLAUDING them? www.wpr.org/news/blended...
A 'beautifully blended family’: Sandhill cranes take goose under their wing
Madison resident and wildlife photographer Alan Ginsberg has been chronicling a sandhill crane family that's adopted a goose as one of its own to the delight of neighbors and a growing fan base.
wpr.org
Wisconsin is in for a wild 2026 primary. www.wpr.org/news/tony-ev...
Tony Evers won't seek reelection, setting up wide-open race for Wisconsin governor
Democratic Gov. Tony Evers has announced he won't seek reelection, a bombshell decision that shakes up Wisconsin politics ahead of the 2026 election.
wpr.org
Commercial harvest of lake whitefish, a fish fry favorite, from Lake Michigan has declined nearly 90 percent in the last quarter-century. They are the victims of warming temperatures and invasive mussels, and they really could disappear. www.wpr.org/news/decline...
Decline of whitefish in Lake Michigan sparks fears that the fish might disappear
State regulators say the commercial harvest of lake whitefish in Lake Michigan has reached its lowest level since 1990, and some fisheries biologists fear the species might largely disappear in parts ...
wpr.org
A Wisconsin bald eagle nearly died. A skin graft from a fish saved its life. www.wpr.org/news/wiscons...
A Wisconsin bald eagle nearly died. A skin graft from a fish saved its life.
A bald eagle that nearly died from a leg injury took flight this summer in northwestern Wisconsin, after it was rehabilitated for nearly a year using a first-of-its-kind cod fish skin graft treatment ...
wpr.org
Listening to the new Mark Twain biography by Ron Chernow and there are a lot of great Twain jokes from notebooks, letters and newspaper stories. He just wrote that French literature was “confined to the two great branches of modern French thought: science and adultery.”
Is conservative Justice Rebecca Bradley running for reelection? She has said yes, but she's raised $0 so far. That's unusual! www.wpr.org/news/justice...
Justice Rebecca Bradley is up for election. But will she be on the ballot?
Wisconsinites have grown accustomed to multimillion dollar, record-shattering, nationally scrutinized state Supreme Court races.
wpr.org
EPA workers in Wisconsin and Minnesota are among those the Trump administration has placed on leave after they signed a letter against what they called the politicization of their scientific work. www.wpr.org/news/epa-wor...
EPA workers in Duluth placed on leave after signing letter criticizing Trump policies
Federal workers living in Wisconsin and Minnesota are among those who have been placed on administrative leave by the Environmental Protection Agency after voicing concerns about politicization of the...
wpr.org
Yes, you are seeing more fireflies in Wisconsin this year. www.wpr.org/news/wiscons...
Have you seen more fireflies this year?
People in southern Wisconsin could be seeing more fireflies this summer as lifting drought conditions improve habitat for the insects, according to a UW-Madison entomology professor.
wpr.org
I have some news I have not shared on this platform yet. I am very proud and excited to have accepted a job as managing editor of news for @WPR. I will oversee our news team’s editors and reporters around the state. It is a great team!!
This is the fourth of five Charles Portis novels I have read. I am a Charles Portis Bro now fyi.
Wisconsin's Medicaid director told WPR about 63,000 people would lose coverage if the House budget bill becomes law. www.wpr.org/news/wiscons...
Wisconsin Medicaid director: New federal requirements would affect ‘the whole health care economy’
In Wisconsin almost 1.3 million children and adults are enrolled in Medicaid, and more than 700,000 receive FoodShare. Wisconsin’s Medicaid Director Bill Hanna says under the new legislation, many of ...
wpr.org
I am sure a lot of people know about Driftless Books & Music, but I learned about it from this story and now I am definitely taking a road trip there.
Viroqua's Driftless Books & Music is part of Wisconsin's growing indie bookstore scene
Books are more available than ever before thanks to the internet. But during the era of two-day shipping and audiobooks, many independent booksellers are finding that readers still want the connection...
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I have a feeling this bill proposing to crack down on people falsely claiming their pets are service animals will be politically popular. www.wpr.org/news/wiscons...
Wisconsin bill would crack down on fake service dogs
A Republican-authored bill hopes to crack down on Wisconsinites who misrepresent their pets as service animals.
wpr.org
I got to tour the new sawmill at Northcentral Technical College's Antigo campus, the first professional-grade training sawmill in the nation. They are working on cool, cutting-edge stuff in wood. www.wpr.org/news/antigo-...
Antigo school's first-in-the-nation training sawmill readies students for lumber industry
A newly opened commercial-scale sawmill in Antigo is the only training sawmill of its kind in the U.S.
wpr.org
This showed up on one of those spammy facebook accounts and I instantly remembered a great line by Zadie Smith, but I haven’t been able to track it down and may be misquoting. She quoted this from DFW and added “Perhaps the joke loses something in the telling.” Good joke!
The secretary of the federal Department of Health and Human Services either lied or was misinformed when he claimed the department has a "team" assisting in Milwaukee's lead crisis. www.wpr.org/news/rfk-jr-...
RFK Jr. claims federal 'team' is in Milwaukee for school lead crisis, city says there isn't
On Tuesday, U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. told a Senate committee there was a federal "team" in the city from the CDC's Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program. Th...
wpr.org
The year after I graduated from college I joined the AmeriCorps VISTA program and worked for an adult literacy program in Ohio, mostly helping people who wanted to get a GED to find services. Now AmeriCorps is the latest federal funding battle. www.wpr.org/news/tony-ev...
Tony Evers to sue over Trump administration's halt to $400M in AmeriCorps grants
Gov. Tony Evers plans to join a multi-state lawsuit suing the Trump administration for terminating nearly $400 million in federal grants for AmeriCorps programs.
wpr.org
Fun interview with Wausau's poet laureate: www.wpr.org/culture/waus...
Wausau’s poet laureate makes poetry personal, accessible and local
“I think it's really unique that Wausau, being the size that it is, has such a great program and promotes that,” Tiffany Rodriguez-Lee said. “It means a lot to people. I think we should be proud of th...
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