A budget request would nearly double incarceration costs in Wisconsin’s juvenile justice system. Many say the funds would be better used to prevent crime.
Author Archives: Mario Koran / Wisconsin Watch
Mario Koran joined Wisconsin Watch in July 2021. He was a New York Times local investigations fellow and was a 2021 Knight Wallace fellow at the University of Michigan. Previously, he was a west coast correspondent for the Guardian US and covered education for Voice of San Diego, where he was named 2016 reporter of the year by the San Diego Society of Professional Journalists. His work has appeared in The New York Times, The Appeal and the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, and he was a Wisconsin Watch intern in 2013. He holds a BA in Spanish literature and MA in journalism from UW-Madison.
Posted inGovernment
Tension in Kenosha: Election observers start watching each other
An odd standoff brewed Tuesday afternoon at a polling place in Kenosha’s Lincoln Park neighborhood: Two groups of election observers began scrutinizing each other.
Posted inGovernment, Justice & Safety
‘Use your voice’: Ex-incarcerated Milwaukee man cherishes regained voting rights
To Ray Mendoza, the right to vote is too precious to squander. That’s how the Milwaukee man feels after surrendering that right for the roughly 20 years he spent in a federal penitentiary and on probation.
Posted inJustice & Safety
Wisconsin prisons restrict books and mail to keep drugs out, but some staff still bring drugs in
Critics say the Wisconsin Department of Corrections is limiting prisoner access to information while wider entry points for drugs remain open.
Posted inJustice & Safety
Short on fixes for prison problems, Wisconsin weighs independent oversight
Wisconsin prisoner rights advocates are calling for the creation of an independent ombudsman to investigate concerns inside prisons and to study solutions.
Posted inEducation
Wisconsin students with disabilities often denied public school choices
Wisconsin lets public schools reject applications of students with disabilities who seek transfers across district lines — a form of exclusion courts have upheld.
Posted inEducation
Tired of turmoil, Kiel residents rebuke far-right school officials
Seven months after a transgender bullying investigation spurred bomb threats, moderates regain control of the school board in Kiel, Wisconsin.
Posted inEducation, Government, Justice & Safety
In Kiel, Wisconsin, attack on ‘critical race theory’ ignores bullying of Black student
Parents urged Kiel High School to respond to racial bullying their teen faced at school. Backlash forced him to transfer — and upended life for others in town.
Posted inImperiled Shores
15 years later, Wisconsin university’s massive Lake Michigan seawall frustrates downstream neighbors
Erosion concerns and seawall feuds span the Great Lakes and the globe. Concordia University Wisconsin’s fortification has left neighbors bitter.
Posted inEducation, Government, Justice & Safety
Bomb threats, canceled events, empty schools: How a bullying probe paralyzed a Wisconsin town’s democracy
The Kiel school district’s closure of a Title IX investigation under pressure sends a ‘chilling message’ expert says. But some residents tell LGBTQ youth: ‘you are not alone.’
Posted inEconomy, Government
‘We’ve got to get gaming out of our blood’: Pandemic shock pushes Wisconsin tribes to diversify economy
Wisconsin tribes contemplate future beyond gaming after pandemic shows risk of overreliance on casinos.
Posted inEconomy, Government
Behind the story: How we reported on challenges and opportunities for Wisconsin’s tribal economies
Partnerships and deep listening were key in attempt to build trust among Ho-Chunk Nation citizens.