Tuesday, October 27, 2026·Focal News
Independent local reporting across America
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Local
A sales-tax exemption for data center construction and electricity was added to Wisconsin’s 2023-25 budget, despite an identical bill never receiving a Senate hearing or vote. With costs now projected in the billions and public opposition rising, both major-party candidates for governor say they support ending it.
Local
Firefighters from multiple departments spent hours containing a woods fire on Lehman Road in the Town of Sumpter after a report…
Local
The university will pay about $17 million to shift a portion of its data center services to Milwaukee-based Data Holdings as its…
Local
Deaths and injuries involving high-speed e-bikes and scooters have prompted lawmakers to consider age limits, licensing, helmets…
Local
Archbishop Jeffrey Grob apologized after video showed him and other bishops praying with President Donald Trump in the Oval…
Local
A pressure drop in South Wayne’s water system prompted a boil-water advisory after affecting at least a quarter of the…
Local
A man died after being shot early Saturday in downtown Madison, police said. Investigators had not announced an arrest as of…
Local
A Madison-area family marked Brooke Elfers’ birthday with a Saturday fundraiser at Bowl-A-Vard Lanes, supporting the nonprofit…
Local
A pedestrian was taken to a local hospital after being struck at Park Avenue and North University Avenue around 7 p.m. Friday.…
Local
A man died at a hospital after Madison police found him with a gunshot wound downtown early Saturday. No suspect was in custody…
Local
A 66-year-old Belleville man was hospitalized Friday after his vehicle left State Highway 92 and went through a fence in the…
Local
A Rock County sheriff’s deputy arrested Dennis Ellis, 56, early Saturday after a traffic stop in the Town of Turtle. The…
Local
Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway says threats, harassment and the personal toll of public service led her to end her reelection…
Local
University police say they found no evidence that activist Ryan Blum entered campus to film pigs being stunned with carbon…
Local
The university held a ceremony Friday for physicist Francis Halzen, honored with the 2026 Nobel Prize in physics for work on…
Local
UW-Madison broke ground Oct. 23 on an expansion built around a new cyclotron, which the university expects to boost production…
Local
Two men face theft and burglarious-tools charges after police say they found six containers of restaurant cooking oil in a truck…
Local
Dane County deputies responded Friday after a caller threatened gun violence at Deerfield Elementary School. Authorities said…
Local
A $13 million Fisher House is under construction in Middleton, offering free lodging, meals and support for as many as 16…
Local
A 44-year-old man was arrested after a gun was fired during an argument Thursday in the 1200 block of Park Avenue, Beloit police…
Local
Three candidates seeking to lead the Universities of Wisconsin will take part in public forums Oct. 26 and 27, including one at…
Local
A unanimous City Council vote moves about 4,000 properties out of planned development zoning, easing approvals for routine home…
Local
A petition seeking a Wisconsin Department of Justice review of Katelyn Fleischauer’s death gathered more than 600 signatures in…
Local
Waunakee voters will decide Nov. 3 whether to approve recurring school operating funds and a separate $97.5 million facilities…
Local
A 10-year-old bicyclist suffered minor injuries when a school bus turned from Church Street onto Valley Street in Cross Plains…
Local
Rock County’s Board of Supervisors approved a resolution opposing the proposed BECI transmission line’s route through the…
Local
Online video from an Oct. 7 house fire in Windsor led viewers to question why a firefighter appeared to stand back as flames…
Local
Madison’s civilian oversight board says investigations will pause until the city hires a permanent independent police monitor.…
Local
Three out-of-state higher education administrators are competing to lead Wisconsin’s 13 public universities, which serve about…
Local
The south-side brewery says rising expenses, inflation and weaker consumer spending made continued operations unsustainable.…
Local
FEMA approved more than $898,000 for recovery work by the Janesville School District and Orfordville Fire Protection District.…
Local
Jonathan Lever, a nonprofit executive with more than 25 years of experience, will become president and CEO of the Madison…
Local
Employer health plan premiums rose 5% in 2026, while workers’ average contribution toward family coverage jumped 9%. The…
Local
Three higher-education executives are set to make public appearances as finalists to lead the Universities of Wisconsin. The…
Local
A capsule sealed into Mt. Zion Baptist Church in the early 1960s held letters, a dollar bill and a ring. The congregation opened…
Local
Madison’s Police Civilian Oversight Board says the Common Council lacked authority to fire interim monitor Aeiramique Glass,…