It’s Been a Hot Summer for News

Sunshine. (CC0 Public Domain).

Whew. It’s been a summer of nonstop news and a lot of issues to keep track of, much less understand their significance. Here’s a quick guide to recent developments:

Tariffs on Canada could hurt Wisconsin: Gov. Tony Evers says President Donald Trump’s tariffs on Canadian products will especially hurt Wisconsin, since Canada is Wisconsin’s largest trading partner.

In his weekly radio address, Evers said, “President Trump has started a trade war with Wisconsin’s largest export partner, Canada, leaving farmers and producers here in America’s Dairyland in the lurch…. Republicans in Congress, including every Republican of Wisconsin’s own Congressional delegation, are enabling him. They have caved to him on his erratic tariffs and rubber stamped his reckless policies one by one, leaving Wisconsin families and farmers behind.”

A Canadian government agency lists four facts about that nation’s trading relationship with Wisconsin: “146 Canadian-owned businesses employ 23,950 workers in Wisconsin. Wisconsin exports $7.5 billion in goods to Canada annually. Wisconsin imports $5.7 billion in goods from Canada annually. Wisconsin exports $777 million in services to Canada annually.”

That report lists Wisconsin’s top imports from Canada as plastics, $540 million; paper and paperboard, $486 million; wood pulp, $329 million; wood, semi-finished wood products, $220 million; natural gas, other gases, $180 million; fuel oil, $179 million; softwood lumber, $166 million; aluminum, aluminum articles, $155 million; iron, steel alloys and related products, $139 million; and automobiles, $120 million.

Wisconsin’s top exports to Canada are plastics, $566 million; paper and paperboard, $523 million; electric motors and generators, $423 million; beverages and alcohol, $231 million; motor vehicle parts, $206 million; engines and turbines, $188 million; iron and steel tubes, $181 million; and optical, medical and precision instruments, $181 million.

No charges for Musk: In a statement, La Crosse County District Attorney Tim Gruenke, a Democrat, said he won’t charge billionaire Elon Musk with offering a bribe for his $1 million prize for voters in the April 2005 election for state Supreme Court justice. Musk and groups he funds spent more than $22 million backing the losing campaign of former Republican Attorney General Brad Schimel.

A March 2025 social media post from Musk “could be seen as an offer to pay someone the possibility of winning a lottery…by voting,” Gruenke said, but a second social media post “apparently recognized that potential violation and corrected it.”

“Even if I could convince a jury that the original post was still a bribe, I do not believe that a jury would convict Elon Musk of a crime after considering the intent, the second post, and the fact nothing of value was ever given to anyone for voting,” Gruenke added.

The state Elections Commission referred Musk’s $1 million offer to prosecutors.

Inmates petition for commutations: Being one of the 10 members of Gov. Tony Evers’ advisory board on commutations is a tough, thankless job. They must decide if any petitioning prison inmates convicted of major crimes 20 and 30 years ago — when some were juveniles — have truly changed, no longer pose a threat to public safety, and deserve a get-out-of-prison commutation from Evers.

The 10 began hearing personal appeals from inmates who offered compelling apologies for their murders, assaults and thefts many years ago. The public process, which included statements opposing their release from victims and their relatives, was broadcast online.

The 10 advisory board members include Evers’ chief counsel, a former Corrections Department administrator, a former district attorney, a retired Dane County judge, a former inmate who works with those being released from prison, and a UW-Madison Law School faculty member.

Because any commutation by Evers would be controversial, don’t expect announcements before the Nov. 3 elections.

Who’s on my November ballot? The Aug. 11 primary decided who will be on your Nov. 3 ballot for statewide offices.

These are the major-party candidates for statewide offices: Governor/lieutenant governor: Republicans Tom Tiffany and David Varnum, Democrats David Crowley and Sarah Godlewski; attorney general: Republican Eric Toney and Democrat Josh Kaul (incumbent); state treasurer: Republican John Leiber (incumbent) and Democrat Yee Leng Xiong; and secretary of state: Republican Jay Schroeder and Democrat JoCasta Zamarripa.

There are contests for seven of the state’s eight U.S. House seats (2nd District Democrat Mark Pocan is the only incumbent without opposition); 17 of the 33 seats in the state Senate and all 99 seats in the Assembly are up on Nov. 3.

Candidates were certified by the state Elections Commission, which also formally approved three proposed changes to the state Constitution forwarded by Republican legislators.

The first Marquette University Law School poll since the primary had Crowley and Tiffany tied at 44% among registered voters. Crowley had a 49% to 44% lead among likely voters.

In the same poll, 67% of registered voters favored a one-year ban on new data centers. Opposition to data centers has been growing, pollster Charles Franklin noted. It’s already emerging as an issue in the governor’s race.

Steven Walters started covering the Capitol in 1988. Contact him at stevenscotwalters@gmail.com.