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Use of absentee ballot drop boxes in Wisconsin down from 2020

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Absentee ballot drop boxes in the presidential battleground state of Wisconsin are only available in a small fraction of the places they were four years ago, with many conservative communities opting not to offer them for the upcoming election. In 2020, more than 500 drop boxes were available for voters to return absentee ballots in more than 430 communities across the state. But as of Wednesday, the Wisconsin Elections Commission was aware of only 78 drop box sites in 42 communities statewide. The count may actually be higher, elections administrator Meagan ...

UW-Oshkosh chancellor set to resign next year amid declining enrollment

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh Chancellor Andrew Leavitt announced Wednesday that he will step down next summer as the school continues to struggle financially. Leavitt has served as chancellor since 2014. He said on his blog Wednesday that he always believed spending 10 years as chancellor would be enough and staying longer "deprives the university of fresh vision and inventiveness it deserves." He said that he plans to remain at UW-Oshkosh as a chemistry professor following his resignation as chancellor. "I will cherish memories made and the people I have ...

Voting rights groups seek text message explanation

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Voting rights advocates on Tuesday asked state and federal authorities to investigate anonymous text messages apparently targeting young Wisconsin voters, warning them not to vote in a state where they are ineligible. Free Speech for People, on behalf of the League of ...

Republicans pour money into Wisconsin Senate race Democrats say will be close

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Sensing an opportunity in swing-state Wisconsin, Republicans are pouring money into the bid to unseat incumbent Democratic Sen. Tammy Baldwin in that state's closely watched Senate race. Democrats also have dialed up their efforts in the contest, which remains crucial ...

Parts of Wisconsin remain very dry

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Wisconsin officials are requiring people in 13 counties to obtain burning permits as dry conditions continue. The state Department of Natural Resources announced Monday that permit requirements will go into effect just after midnight Tuesday in areas the agency protects in all of Columbia, Crawford, Green Lake, Marquette, Portage, Richland, Sauk, Waupaca and Waushara counties and portions of Oconto, Dane, Grant and Iowa counties. People in those areas will need an annual DNR permit for burning in a barrel, a debris pile, and in grass and wooded areas unless the ...

Governors cry foul over report Trump sent Putin COVID tests

Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers and two other Democratic governors joined Friday in condemning Donald Trump after reports that as president Trump shipped COVID-19 tests to Russian President Vladimir Putin early in the pandemic. In a new book, journalist Bob Woodward writes Trump sent the tests to Putin secretly, and that Putin told Trump not to reveal what he had done to avoid political repercussions. The book, to be published Tuesday, Oct. 15, was the subject of a Washington Post report published Tuesday. A Trump spokesman dismissed the book’s claims about Trump as false. In a joint ...