>> The following program is a PBS Wisconsin Original
production. >> And send the crazy
people back home where they belong. God bless you and
thank you for having me here in Milwaukee.
>> An official visit from Vice President JD Vance
brings political and election related rhetoric.
And what's to blame for the increase in ATV accidents
and fatalities? [MUSIC]
tonight on Here and now. A recent surge in Ice arrests
in Wisconsin. Another candidate drops out of the
race for governor and inside Wisconsin politics
president visits Milwaukee to talk fraud of all kinds.
An uptick in off road vehicles across the state
means more crashes, and the small city of fond du Lac
seeks to attract working age residents. It's "Here&
Now" for Friday, July 10th. [MUSIC]
>> Funding for Here and now is provided by the Focus
Fund for journalism. And friends of PBS Wisconsin.
>> A surge of immigration and border control arrests
in Wisconsin over the past few weeks is part of a
nationwide push on the part of Homeland Security,
resulting in the detention of more than 10,000 people,
according to National Reporting in Milwaukee.
Waukesha, the Madison area and elsewhere in the state.
Dozens of arrests have been confirmed by immigrant
rights groups and attorneys for reaction. On this, we
turn to Milwaukee and Darryl Morin national
president of Forward Latino. And thanks very much for
being here. >> Thank you for asking me
to join you this morning. >> So what is your reaction
to this recent surge of detentions in Wisconsin and
elsewhere? >> Well, I'll tell you,
tremendous frustration and to a certain degree, anger.
You know, it would be different if they were
going around and detaining people who were bad doers
in the community. But we're continuing to see that
operations are continuously targeted at people, for the
most part, who've been trying to do everything the
right way, who filled out all their asylum papers,
have been showing up to all their court dates, etc.
that are that came here with TPS, only to see it
removed from them. So it's really been a very dark
time for many in our community, and we
appreciate the support and that we're seeing come from
all other communities throughout the state and
the country, quite honestly. >> Do you have the numbers
of arrests in Wisconsin in this most recent surge?
>> Well, I know that we've been able to confirm 39.
Immigrations put out the number of 57. We're still
working to confirm that. But 39 is what we're
comfortable reporting at this time.
>> What stands out to you as to how these recent
arrests are physically being carried out?
>> Well, I'll tell you, there's there's plenty of
video out there to support what I'm going to be
sharing with you. We've seen families, particularly
mothers, even with infants in the car, have their
windows being broken, being violently pulled out and
thrown to the ground. Having immigration agents
literally holster their weapon before they have a
chance to do anything and threaten their lives. It's
been very, very scary for many folks, both immigrant
and citizen alike. Because we're seeing this happen to
people who are both lawfully and unlawfully
present at this time. So a lot of concern, especially
given what we saw in previously up in
Minneapolis and now with the the shooting that's
been ruled a homicide that just happened down in
Houston, there's a lot of fear and a lot of concern.
>> Because in your mind, the kind of police tactics
are are not in keeping with general rules of, of such.
>> Yeah. Generally, we're used to seeing law
enforcement officers using rules of de-escalation. And
immigration officials are actually doing quite the
opposite right now. And I think they've actually
realized this because what we're seeing is instead of
wearing vests now that that, say, ICE or denote them as
being immigrant officials, they're now wearing vests
that are now exclusively say police. So I think
that's a self admission that they no longer have
the trust and credibility throughout our country and
are being forced to try to steal or borrow or take the
trust and credibility that people have with their
local law enforcement departments.
>> How will this continue to unfold in your mind,
given increased funding to Ice?
>> Well, we know that we had put out an alert about
two weeks ago because we had seen this coming. So we
put out a community alert on it. In fact, it just
expired today. But we're expecting to see, while not
at the same levels, we're expecting to see the
standard operating tempo of immigration. Actually step
it up a little bit as we move forward. We're now
starting to see that they are graduating additional
classes of agents through their training program.
With the recent funding increase that they received
yet again, they are now Ice is now receiving more
funding on an annual basis than the United States
Marine Corps is just to tell you that outrageous
amount of resources that are being thrown at this.
So we're telling everybody, well, we have lifted we've
led the community alert expire here in southeastern
Wisconsin. It's still important for people who
are lawfully present, who are U.S. citizens or who
are at risk of separation, really, to have an
emergency plan in place should you be pulled over
or run off the road by unidentified vehicles and
be violently thrown out of your vehicle and detained?
>> Because I was just going to ask you what someone in
your position says to people you advocate for in
the midst of all of this? >> Well, we're very
fortunate that as a community, we're strong of
faith. We've had to overcome a lot throughout
our history. Sadly, we thought chapters like this
were relegated to the past. And we're seeing them
brought forward to the future. So we will continue
to persevere. And as I mentioned, we are receiving
calls and financial support and volunteers from all
different communities, many from people who've never
been involved in any kind of such action. And the one
common theme I'm hearing from them is this isn't the
America we grew up in. This isn't right. How can I help?
And that's what makes it easier to get up every
morning. Quite honestly. >> We leave it there. Daryl.
Maureen, thank you so much. >> Thank you.
>> In related news, former Milwaukee County Circuit
Court Judge Hannah Dugan will not serve prison time
for ushering a Mexican defendant out of her
courtroom to evade Ice agents. At sentencing this
week, a federal judge, fine Dugan $5,000, saying she
lived an otherwise law abiding life. Federal
prosecutors had sought a stiffer sentence. Steil
Dugan is expecting to appeal the conviction. And
then there were five. This week, one of the six
Democrats running for governor dropped out of the
race. Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley
announced he would no longer seek the position,
saying it has become clear that I will not be the
Democratic nominee for governor. After being
outpaced by other candidates, he threw his
support to Lieutenant Governor Sarah Rodriguez,
also still in the race. Francesca Hong, Mandela
Barnes, Kelda, Roys and Joel Brennan. This week's
Inside Wisconsin politics took up changes in the
primary campaigns for governor.
>> Now we're down to five. Zac is it's still crowded,
or is this race shifted to you in a meaningful way?
>> I think the crowd. It depends more on the lanes
of what we're talking about. I think there's clearly a
progressive lane. There's clearly a more
establishment center, government lane. And then
there's a question of if there's room in between for
any of the rest of them to kind of stake their own
area, or if they're competing for those two
groups. But there clearly is this sense, as the two
candidates have dropped out, that have now endorsed Sara
Rodriguez, that there is an establishment going on and
that fits this national theme that we're seeing of
establishment Dems worrying about progressive Dems
potentially undermining chances to win seats in
November, versus progressives who are saying,
no, we are the ones that are going to win these
primaries and win in November, get behind us as
we keep going forward. So there's definitely a
shrinkage there, but it's almost a shrinkage into
lanes as opposed to these individual candidates.
>> How do you see those lanes? I mean, I think just
a few weeks ago, I was kind of having a hard time
putting the candidates into different lanes or buckets,
however you want to do it. What are the lanes now as
you see it? >> Yeah, I think Zac sort
of hit the nail on the head with establishment versus
progressive. And one way that we're seeing that is
when these candidates are dropping out, that they are
endorsing other candidates. There's a world in which
you drop out and you say, I love my party and I all I
want is for a Democrat to win. And David Crowley did
that kind of initially in his original announcement
that he was stepping down. He didn't immediately
endorse anyone. He said, the most important thing is
just that somebody beats Tom Tiffany in the fall and
then this morning came out and endorsed Sara Rodriguez.
So I think that's a sign that people are kind of
choosing teams and trying to say, who do I think is
the best ability for Democrats to win in
November? Is it the sort of Hong progressive lane? Is
it the Rodriguez, more sort of establishment? Lane?
>> Nobody that I've heard has come out and said, well,
we got to stop Francesca Hong, you know, but we've
seen this debate that you've referenced at the
national level where you have sort of the national
establishment, Democrats fighting against this, you
know, Democratic Socialist caucus that's growing. Is
there an unspoken we got to stop Francesca Hong in all
this, or are we making that up? Are we looking for
conflict where there is none here in Wisconsin?
>> I don't think it'd be wise for anyone to say that
out loud from the Democratic Party, because
there's a very good chance that Hong can win this, and
then they have to unite behind her. So that is the
the other half of this game is you can drop out and you
can endorse someone that you would prefer, but then
you still want to create a sense of party unity that
that is still the goal is for the Democrats in their
minds, is to beat Tom Tiffany. And whether that
is Francesca Hong or whether that's Sara
Rodriguez or Mandela Barnes or Brennan or Roys or
anyone that's still in this race at this point. They
have to worry about that in the long run. So in the
short run, we're not seeing some of the disunity of
attacking each other. That was a potential with a more
crowded race. There's still time. There's still million
dollar ad buys coming up. Kelda Roys just announced
an hour ago that she's got 1.2 million that she's
going to announce, and she's going to spend every
last penny of it. She's not going to drop out of this
race. And she has a history in some of these big
competitive elections of towards the end. So I don't
think it's going to be all quiet and rosy from from
here until August. There's going to be some fireworks
as they try and create that last separation to
hopefully put themselves over the 30 to 35% that may
be needed to win.
>> In other election news, in a 5 to 2 ruling this
week, the Wisconsin Supreme Court rejected an attempt
by a conservative activist to obtain records of people
who are deemed not to be competent to vote. The
court, citing personal privacy rights. The case
was connected to moves to overturn President Joe
Biden's victory over President Trump in 2020.
Vice President JD Vance came to Milwaukee this week
with a message of stamping out fraud in taxpayer
funded programs. Ahead of his visit, Merrick Cavalier
Johnson asked the vice president to come see
Milwaukee's election operation because he wrote,
quote, federal law enforcement agents deployed
at the direction of the president's administration
have been present in my city interviewing election
officials. I know of no justification for this
activity. Evidence of wrongdoing is entirely
absent, he said, and the investigation is
intimidating. Honest public servants. Vance was asked
to respond. >> Some guy sends me a
letter, the mayor of Milwaukee, and says, we
don't do any election fraud. We don't do any election
fraud. We don't do any election fraud. When I hear
a guy protesting out of nowhere, I did not do any
election fraud. I did not do any election fraud. It
makes me wonder, why is that guy protesting so
aggressively? It's a little odd. A second thing I'll
say is, look, there's, of course, this big debate
about how much election fraud happens in the United
States of America. You guys know my views. We're not
going to settle this here. First of all, any election
fraud is too much election fraud in the world's
greatest and oldest constitutional republic.
And number two, if Democrats want us to stop
talking about election fraud, I make them a simple
deal pass the Save America Act and get voter ID, and
we'll stop talking about election fraud.
>> Vance said he could not meet with the mayor or tour
election sites, but said Johnson was welcome to
visit him in DC. Turning to the outdoors with summer at
its peak, ATV and side by side vehicles are out in
force across thousands of miles of trails in
Wisconsin, and we have the most registered off road
vehicles of any state at more than half a million.
The explosion in rioters comes with a steady
increase, though, in fatality and injury
accidents involving the vehicles. A new law went
into effect in June that requires seatbelt use, part
of work to enhance the safety of ATVs and utvs.
DNR conservation Warden Jake Holsclaw oversees the
Off Highway vehicle program and joins us now from Eau
Claire. And thanks very much for being here.
>> Absolutely look forward to it.
>> So how busy is it out there on the ATV routes?
>> Yeah. Great question. It seems like it's getting
busier every day. Wisconsin, like you said, we have over
half a million registered machines. It seems like
that number is going up every year. And we have
about 2500 miles of off road trail routes. And then
we have over 65,000 miles of on road routes. So
basically roadways, you know, roadway routes shared
with other motor vehicles. So it really does keep us
busy. >> As we've said, the
uptick in the number of riders, though, also
results in an increase in accidents and injuries and
even fatalities. >> Yeah, unfortunately, I
think that that's just a kind of a byproduct of the
increased numbers. We really started to see an
increase around 2020, 2021. I think people were just
with everything else going on, they were trying to get
outdoors, find something to do. And it really has
stayed steadily increasing ever since then. And when
you have more people on the landscape, you have more
folks potentially are, you know, not being safe and
not following the rules. And then we have seen an
uptick in crashes because of that.
crashes mostly happen? >> Well, it's any number of
reasons. A number of our crashes are going to be
alcohol or drug related. The majority of them would
be alcohol related. When we're looking at, you know,
some kind of substance, so to speak, that's causing
folks to crash. And so I think folks need to
remember that, you know, just like the motor vehicle
world, you really need to make a smart decision and
realize that even with these recreational vehicles
like ATVs and Utvs, maybe even more so, they're very
dynamic machine and folks have to be you want to be
on your best, right? You want your mind to be
working the best. You want your body, your reaction
time to be working the best when you're out operating
these. One of the other things is that people need
to remember. I think they sometimes forget that these
machines handle differently roadways. The original
design of these machines, in fact, that's what the
you know, you'll see manufacturers
recommendations is that they are only operated off
the road. So I think folks need to remember that the
knobby or softer tires on a lot of these machines, they
tend to grip pavement really well. And if people
drive them like they would drive their car going to
work, it can cause some problems. They tend to tip
easier if people aren't slowing down into their
curves and really anticipating their stops.
So a number of the crashes we're seeing, a little over
half are occurring on roadway routes.
>> So as to the operation of these vehicles while
under the influence of whatever it is. What are
the penalties for that? I mean, you can write
citations for that, but what are the penalties that
someone would face for that? >> Yeah, ultimately it
would be it would be a citation or a couple
citations. Typically, you know, the citation is
issued for the operating while intoxicated. If
they're operating over that 0.08 level, they would be
issued an additional citation for that. And then
sometimes they're issued to other citations for other
violations that may have occurred because they were
intoxicated and not not really thinking clearly and
and violating some other safety issues. So yeah, so
a number of citations can be issued. But typically,
you know, most of what we're running into is a
first offense. And in Wisconsin, like any, oh, to
be a first offense is just a civil forfeiture. It's
really just a fine. There's typically typically no jail
time or extra fines associated with that unless
unless there is something more major, like somebody
dies in the crash or something like that happens.
>> And so people could be right back out there on, on
those vehicles after that kind of a citation. Now, I
took a look at your annual report, and it says that
95% of fatal accidents are among operators who have
not taken a safety course, but those are that course
is only required for people born after 1988. Why is
that? Yeah. >> Yeah, you're spot on.
Well, back when the law was created, they they decided
to. My understanding is that they decided to set a
date. They had to set a time frame where they
wanted everybody born on or after that date to complete
the course. Like you said, it's one one of 88. And so
the idea behind that then was that folks born before
that are essentially grandfathered in their
older age. But what we are seeing, like you said, 95%
haven't completed a safety course, but also the
majority of our crashes are happening with folks that
are older and grandfathered in. So folks that were born
before that one, one of 88 date. And so I think it
really points to the fact that you're never really
too old to learn safety. You're never, you're never
too old to know the rules and regulations. And we
just want folks to remember that the majority, the vast
majority of our regulations are there for your safety
and for you to continued enjoyment of that sport.
>> All right. Well, we appreciate it. Thanks very
much for joining us from Eau Claire. Jake Holsclaw.
>> Thank you. >> Up next, a push to
attract a working age population. Would you
consider moving to the small city of fond du Lac
to work? There's an incentive for that.
Actually, two one offers $9,500 to individuals from
out of state to move to the city and maintain their
remote jobs. The other helps employers recruit
employees from areas at least 100 miles away, and
helps them offer prospective workers a
$15,000 hiring bonus. Here to explain the program is
Sadie Howell of Envision Greater Fond du Lac. And
thanks very much for being here.
>> Thanks for having me. >> So why the push to help
people move to fond du Lac. >> In Fond du Lac County?
We're facing a population decline which isn't unlike
the rest of the state. Most of the state of Wisconsin
and at envision, we are the combined Chamber of
Commerce and Economic Development organization.
And so we have heard from our members and businesses
for years that it's really hard to attract talent and
find workers. So this has been a push at envision and
our strategic plan on talent attraction campaigns.
The $15,000 one you referenced, we've had for
quite a few years. And then most recently we launched a
talent attraction with Make My Move due to a grant from
the state of Wisconsin. >> So how bad is that
population decline? >> I would say we're we're
pretty stagnant right now. So in fond du Lac County,
it has been about a 1% population growth. We don't
have a lot of natural birth, but we do have net
in-migration. And so we do an okay job of attracting
people from different counties in Wisconsin and
from out of the state. However, we're we're facing
two really big years. 2030 is when a lot of the baby
boomers will retire. And in 2040 is when our population
is really expected to start to decline quite a bit. And
in preparation for that, we wanted to make sure that we
were starting to attract people before 2030 into
2040. >> How many new residents
and workers are you hoping to lure to your city.
>> With the grant program? So that was from the state
legislature, put $5 million into a new grant through
the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation and
Envision Applied. We received $346,000 from.
WEDC envisions. Board of directors is putting about
100,000 towards it. And with that money, we are
partnering with Make My Move. They are a national
platform that helps relocate individuals that
are looking for a new place to call home, and our goal
is 32 families. >> So for both programs,
individuals or employers have to fill out
applications. What is interest looking like right
now? >> For our Make My Move
platform? It is pretty crazy. We actually just got
our new statistics yesterday and 1700 people
from around the country have expressed interest.
900 of them have applied to move to fond du Lac County.
And then from those it's trickled down a little bit.
We have six accepted movers already. We launched this
May 14th, so about a month and a half, two months
almost in. We have six people already moving. One
person already purchased a home in fond du Lac County.
So it's it's incredible. It's really incredible. And
what what Make My Move does and why they have been a
great partner. We've been working with them for about
6 to 9 months. On creating all of the storytelling of
why would somebody want to live in fond du Lac County?
So they sell the community first and then people apply.
So we are resonating with an incredible number of
people from around the country who want to come
and live here. >> So if you were trying,
as you are, to entice someone to move to fond du
Lac, what are its selling points?
>> It's not a lot different than what I think you would
probably hear from other communities that come on,
we have a a little bit slower pace of life. We are
a little bit smaller. We do have affordable homes. We
do have a wonderful mix of private and public schools.
We have three institutions of higher learning in our
county and a plethora of careers. So there you will
have no problem trying to find your right career here.
It's really. Do you like outdoor recreation? Do you
still like to talk to your neighbors and find a place
that you call community, where non-profits are
looking for volunteers? That's the kind of
community that still exists in fond du Lac County.
>> So briefly here, this obviously really works.
This incentive program that you've set up are other
cities across the state looking at something
similar? >> Yeah. So we were one of
17 communities that actually received this
grant from WEDC. So our neighbors to the east,
Sheboygan and two of our neighbors to the north,
Oshkosh and the city of Appleton both received
similar grants. Now their programs look a little bit
different than ours, but all of us had to follow the
same basic guidelines when we received the grant.
>> All right. Well, Sadie Howell, thanks very much
for joining us. >> Thank you.
>> For more on this and other issues facing
Wisconsin, visit our website at PBS Wisconsin
Education 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.