>> The following program is a PBS Wisconsin original
>> The Republican U.S. Senate candidate formally concedes, and
a hyper focus on trans rights during the election makes its
way back to school board politics. I'm Frederica Freyberg
tonight on "Here& Now" Democratic incumbent Tammy
Baldwin on her U.S. Senate win. A school district tests the
limits of title nine. The latest on the appointment of
Wisconsin's top election official. And thousands of aging
dams are leaving communities underwater. It's "Here& Now" for
November 22nd. provided by the Focus Fund for
Journalism and Friends of PBS Wisconsin.
>> Just off her third win for U.S. Senate, Wisconsin Democrat
Tammy Baldwin says she has not yet received a call from her
Republican challenger, Eric concede this week, but it came
two weeks after the election and he continued to cast doubt on
the razor tight results. Senator Baldwin is back in Washington
and joins us now. And thanks very much for being here.
>> It's my pleasure to join you. >> So congratulations on your
win. Thank you. What is your reaction to Eric Hovde
continuing to cast doubt, though, on the election process?
>> Look, it was a free and fair election and the results are in.
I stand by what the Wisconsin voters have done in terms of
placing their trust in me for another term, but also electing
Donald Trump as their presidential candidate. And I
think it's incumbent upon all candidates to stand by the
results of a free and fair election.
win? While Kamala Harris fell short?
also as a candidate for reelection, is to travel the
state extensively, show up matters. Showing up matters. I
listen deeply to people, and then I deliver results. And I've
done this now for years. I don't just go to Blue parts of the
state. I go to deeply red parts of the state, rural areas,
suburban areas, urban areas. And I think showing up really does
matter. And I think that it takes time to build trust and to
build relationships. And that's what I've invested in, clearly,
out of the new Trump administration, we're looking at
some seismic policy shifts with Republicans taking both chambers
and the presidency. >> What can you and others in
the minority meaningfully accomplish?
this session the same way I have all the time. I'm fighting for
Wisconsin, and there are things that I can do in a bipartisan
basis to fight for the people of this state, as I have in the
past. I've served in both the minority and the majority party
in the United States Senate. And when there are things that this
administration offers that are not in the interests of the
people of Wisconsin, I will stand up to them. And that's
always what I've been, what I've done, regardless of who is
president and regardless of which party is in control of the
Senate, so as to president elect Trump's cabinet picks, what is
your reaction to some of those nominated?
Gabbard for National Intelligence, Pete Hegseth for
defense and RFK Jr for Health and Human Services.
>> I expect that these candidates will be vetted first
and then we will have hearings. I'm already thinking about the
type of questions I would want to ask somebody like the
nominee, Kennedy, to head Health and Human Services. I mean,
Wisconsinites rely upon, you know, vaccines to prevent things
like measles and mumps. We rely upon the national Institutes for
health to be doing cutting edge research, to try to create
better treatments for cancer and cures for disease. We rely on
the centers for Disease Prevention for preventative
clear understanding of how these nominees would steward these
agencies. And so I expect that the process of advise and
consent will take place, and I will fight for that, and I will
scrutinize these nominees very carefully.
Sean Duffy was selected for transportation secretary. How
>> Well, we have passed the bipartisan infrastructure law,
and we have a number of really vital projects that are going on
in the state. Among them efforts to build out broadband so that
every resident in Wisconsin has access to high speed internet.
We have a bridge project in northern Wisconsin connecting
the city of superior with the city of Duluth. In Minnesota.
The Blatnik bridge replacement project. There's $1 billion of
federal funding going into that project. We have amazing things
happening throughout the state, including major investments in
public transit. And I think having a Wisconsin candidate
filling that position is something that would be very
helpful in terms of advocacy for completion of those projects.
>> What real concerns do you have that the Affordable Care
Act, which you were so involved in, will be scratched and what
would be the implications of that?
>> Well, I certainly worry, as I have heard, you know, within the
last year, President elect Trump talk about repealing the
Affordable Care Act. It would have devastating results. There
are tens of millions of Americans who have health care
because of the Affordable Care Act. The fact that we have told
the powerful insurance companies that you can no longer
discriminate against people based on a preexisting health
condition or existing health condition, has meant that so
many can now get health care. Who couldn't in the years before
the Affordable Care Act? But I think we also have to build upon
it. And so we have to fight against any efforts to repeal.
But we also have to make it even more accessible and affordable
for Americans. >> You just voted on three
resolutions to block arms sales to Israel. Why?
>> You know, the measures that were before the Senate did not
achieve the goals that I have articulated time and time again.
So, first of all, Israel has the right to defend itself. The
attacks on October 7th by Hamas terrorists were horrific.
hostages being taken, including some American hostages. But the
conduct of the Netanyahu government in executing its war
in Gaza has caused the lives of too many innocent Palestinians
to be lost. And I have called for a cease fire for nearly a
year now. That has to happen. The hostages must be released.
We must surge humanitarian aid into Gaza. Those are the goals
that I have. And the vote options before me yesterday did
not achieve those goals. >> What will be your Sharpe
focus now that you're back in Washington?
>> All right. So it's definitely fighting for Wisconsin. And it's
the kitchen table issues that I've been hearing about for
throughout this campaign. And throughout recent years. You
know, the affordability of things that people need
groceries, their health care, their prescription medications,
housing, childcare, those things are vital. And a champion for a
plan to restore Roe v Wade as the law of the land.
>> What is your message to Wisconsin so narrowly split
politically, so purple? >> Look, I still think we have a
lot more in common than we do that separates us and I know a
lot of people are still in disbelief that Wisconsinites
place their trust in me. But also opted to elect Donald Trump
both by narrow margins. But I think it is about, you know,
that we have much more in common.
you very much. >> Thank you for having me.
>> As discussed with Senator Baldwin, former Wisconsin
Congressman Sean Duffy has been tapped by president elect Trump
for Secretary of Transportation. Duffy served as the Republican
U.S. Rep to Wisconsin's seventh congressional district from 2011
to 2019, when he resigned to care for his ninth child, who
was born with a medical condition. Before serving in
Congress, Duffy was a reality TV cast member and following that
was appointed district Attorney of Ashland County before running
for Congress in Watertown, emotions ran high at the Board
of Education meeting on Monday as a controversial decision was
made regarding transgender students "Here& Now". Reporter
Aditi Debnath was there and has the details.
>> It was a packed house at Riverside Middle School Monday,
as the Watertown School board voted on a new gender support
plan that significantly changes policies for transgender
students. The meeting drew hundreds of attendees, with the
cafeteria and a secondary overflow room filled to capacit.
Many in the audience held signs reading Vote See, urging the
board to adopt. The more restrictive option C plan. And
that's exactly what they did. Board President David Schroeder
explained the decision. district and to protect the
kids. students to use bathrooms and
participate in sports based on their gender assigned at birth.
Board member Tina Johnson was the only member to vote against
plan C, praising current policies that defer to the
student's preferences. >> The administration and staff
have done a great job in working with all kids. They've done a
great job with the transgender guidelines, and I will continue
to support them. >> Gender support plans, which
can be more restrictive, like the one passed or more
inclusive, are not new to Wisconsin schools. Abigail Swetz
is executive director of Fair Wisconsin, an LGBTQ plus civil
rights organization and the best practices in a gender support
plan, which many districts do have, is to ensure the safety of
the child by working with the kid to figure out how to best
talk to parents and then bring them into conversations. The
Watertown School district's previous policy, which had been
in place for eight years, allowed transgender students
more flexibility with options to use unisex restrooms or separate
locker room schedules. One Watertown student argues the
majority of her peers aren't concerned about gender politics.
>> As a student in Watertown High School, I can say with full
pride that I have met very few students who are bothered by
transgender students. >> Supporters of the plan point
to safety concerns. >> When you start putting men in
women's girls bathrooms that are biologically male, you're going
to have more than one lawsuit. >> Mollie McQuillan is a social
scientist at the UW-Madison School of Education. She
questions the legal validity of the policy.
>> I think that there's a lot of confusion among school boards
and certainly among superintendents and principals
and teachers, about what the law actually is.
>> She says that policies like plan C aren't legally binding
due to a federal law called title nine.
>> Title nine. Broadly speaking, is to prevent discrimination
based on sex. >> McQuillan says that two
different title nine Circuit Court of Appeals decisions in
2017 and 2023 found that school policies that restrict which
bathroom a student can use are not enforceable. Board President
Schrader acknowledges that this could change after president
elect Trump takes office in January.
law today, in two months, it's likely going to change.
>> Any change made to title nine would take time to work its way
through the political process. But gender politics are front of
mind for the new administration. >> I will ask Congress to pass a
bill establishing that the only genders recognized by the United
States government are male and female, and they are assigned at
birth. The bill will also make clear that title nine prohibits
men from participating in women's sports.
>> Swetz says that the change in administration only means
rights advocates to do. >> It is true that title nine
protects LGBTQ plus students and staff. We have civil rights, and
no matter who occupies the white House, and our organizations are
here to make sure those rights are respected.
>> Back in Watertown, it's now up to the superintendent and
district staff to decide how to enforce the policy moving
forward. Reporting from Watertown. I'm Aditi Debnath for
"Here& Now". Commission is wrapping up the
final details of the 2024 election. And as we head into
next year, one large question hovers over the commission. Will
its administrator, Meagan Wolfe, be allowed to remain in her
position? The answer will be provided by the Wisconsin
Supreme Court, which heard oral arguments this week on a lawsuit
that seeks to force her out. “Here& Now” senior political
reporter Zach Schultz explains the twists and turns of the
situation. year appointment as
administrator of the Wisconsin Elections Commission ended in
June of 2023. Her appointment to another four year term would
require Senate approval. At the time, the Republican majority in
the Senate were still playing up Donald Trump's 2020 election
conspiracies and wanted the six member Wisconsin Elections
Commission to nominate her again so they could reject her,
essentially firing Wolfe and forcing the commission to
nominate a new administrator. While the three Republican
appointees to the commission voted to advance Wolfe's
nomination, the three Democrats did not vote, saying without a
majority, Wolfe's nomination was not officially sent to the
Senate and therefore she could not be rejected. After a
lawsuit, Wolfe was allowed to keep her job as a legal holdover
thanks to a recent decision when the Supreme Court was controlled
by conservatives and they ruled Fred Prehn, nominated to the DNR
board by former Republican Governor Scott Walker, could
stay on the board past the end of his six year term as long as
the Senate refused to approve his successor, who was nominated
by Democratic Governor Tony Evers. All rise before the
Supreme Court, lawyers for Democratic Attorney General Josh
Kaul argued, because a majority of the commission could remove
the administrator at any time, there was no requirement to
renominate. After the four year term is up. While lawyers for
the Republican legislature argued that could mean the
administrator stays on of us sat in this courtroom two
years ago when your client, your client, insisted that Fred Prehn
should be able to retain his position on the DNR board, even
though his six year term had expired.
a case of careful what you wish for, isn't it?
nominated, was appointed by the by the commission, and sent over
to the Senate and the Senate acted the same way they did with
Prehn, which is not hold hearings. Then Meagan Wolfe
would stay as a holdover exactly like Prehn did.
>> Meagan, Wolfe and WECA issued a statement this week saying she
serves at the will of the commissioners, who voiced
unanimous support for her in their vote last June. Reporting
from Madison. I'm Zach Schultz for "Here& Now", former
Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Michael Gableman has been hit
with a ten count complaint from the state Office of Lawyer
Regulation. >> Republican Assembly Speaker
Robin Vos hired Gableman to lead an investigation into Donald
Trump's loss in the 2020 election. The former justice
proceeded to spread election conspiracy theories, and in the
process, according to the complaint, violated multiple
rules of conduct. His investigation cost taxpayers
more than $2.3 million. The current high Court metes out
sanctions in such cases, which could include the loss of
Gableman's law license. In environmental news, Wisconsin is
home to more than 4000 dams and most of them are very old and at
risk of failing. It's left communities across the state in
a position to decide their future before the dams burst and
wreak havoc on the communities downstream, “Here& Now” reporter
Nathan Denzin visited communities in western Wisconsin
which are grappling with what to do with their old dams.
>> In the summer of 2018, Wisconsin's Driftless Area was
hit by massive and destructive storms.
>> They were good ones. They were really dandy.
>> If you were standing on top of the dam, which is about 39ft
above the valley floor, your boots would have been in water.
The cleanup took well over six months.
fail in the Creek and West Fork. Kickapoo watersheds near
Viroqua. structures in the United States,
five structures breached in one event in 2018 that never
happened before. >> Bob Macheel is the Monroe
County Land Conservation director, which is in charge of
the dams in the Creek watershed. Somehow, no human lives were
lost in 2018, but roads were washed away and debris spread
for miles. >> If you have a structure that
fails, it's like a giant bulldozer racing down the valley
floor, destroying everything in its path.
>> There are 23 earthen dams between the two watersheds, and
to the untrained eye, they just look like big dirt hills.
They're all past their 50 year expected lifespan and climate
change has supercharged storms. The dams were never designed to
hold back. >> We have 11 more structures
that are still standing. That potential of happening again is
still there. >> The county commissioned a
study along with state and federal officials, to figure out
what the future of the dams might look like. The study
considered nine options, including rebuilding or
removal was the only viable solution. If they are taken out,
it would be the largest dam removal project in U.S. History.
>> I was actually dumbfounded that there would even be a
discussion about about taking these dams out. They've saved
this community and this valley from flash flooding now for
nearly 60 years. >> Dave Eggen is a retired
farmer and representative on the Vernon County Board, who has
lived most of his life within a mile of at least six of the
dams. Despite the aging dams, residents still say that they
play a critical role in reducing flood events. They worry that
removing the dams would mean multiple floods a year, hurting
farming operations. >> There is no protection from
flash flooding, like a 30 foot high earthen dam.
>> His neighbors agree. >> I have a concern over what
will happen to our farming operation.
you know, how are we going to have to react when the dam is
gone? what the benefit really is.
>> Eggen recalled a story from his grandfather who had farmed
the valley before the dams were built.
>> After five years of farming out here on these fields, he
realized that he wasn't going to make a living farming in this
valley because of the constant flash flooding.
replace these dams is steep. Estimated at about $61 million.
Removing them would only cost about 4 million.
the financial resources to operate, maintain and repair
dams. County resource conservationist
who has been overseeing one dam that's already in the process of
being removed. >> But where that clay meets
these sandstone abutments or hillsides, that's proven to be
the weak point. >> All of the old dams in this
area were connected to sandstone underneath hillsides, but over
and the dam could breach. >> We've seen one structure.
You've seen them all because they breached the same way.
>> And if they breach a violent burst of water would be released
downstream with huge destructive power. Monroe, La Crosse and
Vernon counties have all approved a plan to remove the
dams, but it will take additional studies, consultation
and grant applications before any Earth is actually moved.
That leaves about 18 months for Eggen and his allies to stress
the importance of the dams and provide viable alternatives to
removal. towards these dams being taken
out with with hardly any options.
material and a friendly contractor repairing the dams
might not be as expensive as initially thought.
>> I personally talked with a general contractor in the county
to give me a ballpark to dig down and put in new age
plumbing. He said 200 to $250,000.
>> But his frustration runs deeper than the ballpark figures
noted in the study. Cost benefit ratios were calculated to
determine if federal funding would be justified to repair the
dams. That ratio concluded that not enough people and structures
are downstream for those dollars to be released.
>> Our country can spend $111 million on a missile, and
they're shooting them off every day over in in the middle East.
But you can't come up with a handful of millions of dollars
to help restore life saving dams like we're standing on.
>> The one dam that did qualify for federal funding to be
reconstructed only did so because it holds back a standing
lake. Though that lake has been contaminated multiple times by
manure runoff, if the plans go forward and the dams are
removed, the community knows it will have to change to survive
future floods. a reckoning about how we live on
this land. >> Biggest concern really is
what are the next steps? >> Sidney Widell and Nancy
Wedwick are members of the Creek Community Watershed Council.
Wedwick serves as the president and Widell is watershed
coordinator. out that there are indeed many
things that you can do just as people or as landowners, to
mitigate flooding, to slow water, to make running water
walk. stranger to first of its kind
interventions. In the 1930s, the federal government used this
land to demonstrate the effectiveness of sustainable
>> Here we are again. What are we going to do next?
>> The likely answer returned to many of the practices
implemented in the 30 seconds building the terraces, returning
to the contour strips, and doing whatever we can to infiltrate
good quality water. Terrace farms are higher on ridges and
build berms between strips of crops to slow water. She also
mentioned the effectiveness of planting perennials, oats, or
even building more mini dams. Anything to build the quality of
the soil and slow water down. >> There's some levers that we
have more control over than others, and it's a matter of
using the levers we have as effectively as possible.
>> But, they added, we should not think that, yes, by
implementing a few practices, we're going to solve problems.
Flooding problems. No, we are not. We can slow water and we
can start a process. >> A healthy ecosystem, they
argue, will somewhat reduce the danger of smaller floods.
>> These smaller events the two, five, ten, 25 year storm events,
we can manage those. We can do that. But when we get these 100
year storm events every year, those are the ones we have to
respect and stay out of harm's way.
people will have to relocate from the valley floor, there are
ever more concerns. Will sediment from recently
downstream? How will it affect the famous trout streams around
Creek? How will farms be impacted? There aren't easy
answers for any of those questions, but these communities
will have to grapple with them over the coming months. For the
people that are living and using those buildings, that's their
livelihood. work I've ever done or will
ever, ever do for "Here& Now". >> I'm Nathan Denzin in Valley.
>> For more on this and other issues facing Wisconsin, visit
our website at PBS Wisconsin. Org and then click on the news
tab. That's our program for tonight I'm Frederica Freyberg.
Have a good weekend.
>> Funding for "Here& Now" is provided by the Focus Fund for
Journalism and Friends of PBS Wisconsin.