Lives on Hold
‘I got nothing left’: Wisconsin’s jobless pushed to brink as ideas swirl for mending torn safety net
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Upgrading outdated technology could help. So could making claims more user-friendly and overcoming partisan paralysis.
Coronavirus Coverage
So you’ve been diagnosed with COVID-19. What next?
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Wisconsin experts share tips for limiting spread and boosting your immune system — aiming to prevent hospitalization.
Outbreak Wisconsin
‘I’m happy to be part of history’: An ER nurse gets the coronavirus vaccine, offering example to others
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Health care workers were among the first in Wisconsin on Dec. 14 to receive doses of the new Pfizer vaccine after the state’s first shipments arrived.
Costly Care
‘I just kind of panicked’: Patients confused as hospitals file liens to recoup costs of treating injured uninsured
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Hospitals file liens against uninsured patients to get a cut of compensation in personal injury lawsuits.
Costly Care
A Wisconsin hospital promised to stop suing most patients during the pandemic. Then it filed 200 lawsuits.
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Consumer advocates see an ‘electronic debtor’s prison’ when hospitals and collection agencies take patients to court.
Duane Bark — beloved educator and football coach who painted daughter’s nails, dies of COVID-19 at 61
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Markesan district schools superintendent, athletic director mentored those around him without seeking recognition
NewsMatch
A story that lifted one woman’s burden
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This pandemic has upended life in Wisconsin, as it has around the globe. Each day in this state thousands of people are diagnosed with COVID-19, dozens of people die and many, many more struggle to keep a roof over their heads and food on their tables. This new reality has added greater weight to the journalism we produce at Wisconsin Watch to protect the vulnerable, expose wrongdoing and explore solutions.
We’re proud of our work.
Coronavirus Coverage
Illness, stress fill a COVID-19 unit as Wisconsin leaders stalemate
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Health care workers scrambled to treat patients on a day when 92 Wisconsin lives were reported lost. Outside of the hospital, politicians postured.
Lives on Hold
Thousands await jobless aid as Wisconsin leaders blame each other for failure
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Wisconsin’s unemployment system buckled during the pandemic. State leaders are moving slowly to address a crisis years in the making.
Health & Welfare
How politics paralyzed Wisconsin’s pandemic response — and left families to grieve their losses
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Courts and the Republican-controlled Legislature limited the powers of the Democratic governor. Partisan messaging led many residents to spurn masks and distancing.
Outbreak Wisconsin
‘This is slowly grinding us into dirt’: An ER nurse reflects on the relentless pandemic
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As of October 12, 74 COVID-19 patients were hospitalized in Dane County alone, where Mariah Clark works as an emergency department nurse. Clark said the spike was predictable. “Wisconsin, I love you, but you’re doing it wrong,” she said.
evictions
Evictions damage public health. The CDC aims to curb them — for now.
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Housing and health are intertwined, experts have long preached. Now the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is pausing evictions to slow the spread of COVID-19.