COVID-19 pandemic is closely linked to your zip code, race, and other socioeconomic factors, and council to help us become an equitable place for all individuals.

MADISON —​ Gov. Tony Evers today announced 33 appointments to the Governor’s Health Equity Council. The purpose of the council is to address the various factors that exacerbate health disparities by creating a comprehensive plan to achieve long-lasting and equitable health outcomes for all Wisconsinites. 

“Ensuring that all Wisconsinites have access to quality healthcare has been and will continue to be one of my administration’s top priorities,” said Gov. Evers. “I have no doubt that the members of this council will be effective in delivering actionable solutions to help Wisconsin become an equitable place to live for all individuals.”

In a 2016 report published by the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute, the state of Wisconsin was given an overall health disparities grade of “D.”

“We didn’t need the COVID-19 pandemic to tell us that your health is closely linked to your zip code, race, and other socioeconomic factors,” said Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS) Secretary-designee Andrea Palm. “Through this robust public-private collaboration we can target the social determinants of health that drive these health disparities and make real progress towards ensuring that every Wisconsinite has the opportunity to be as healthy as possible.”

Serving on the Health Equity Council will be:

• Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes
• DHS Secretary-designee Andrea Palm
• Michelle Robinson, Research, Evaluation, & Program Integrity Advisor, Wisconsin Department of Children and Families (DCF)
• Gina Green-Harris, Director of Center for Community Engagement and Health Partnerships, UW School of Medicine and Public Health
• Paula Tran Inzeo, Group Director, UW Population Health Institute, Mobilizing Action Toward Community Health
• Lilliann Paine, Chief of Staff, Milwaukee City Health Department
• Micaela Berry-Smith, Executive Director, Harambee Village
• Tia Murray, Owner, Co-Founder, and President, Harambee Village
• Jasmine Zapata, Assistant Professor, UW School of Medicine and Public Health
• Maria Barker, Director of Latinx Programs and Initiatives, Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin
• Janel Hines, Senior Director of Grant Programs and Strategic Initiatives, Greater Milwaukee Foundation
• Lisa Peyton-Caire, Founder and President, The Foundation for Black Women's Wellness
• Andrea Werner, Senior Vice President, Bellin Health Hospital Center
• Ellen Sexton, CEO, UnitedHealthcare Community Plan of Wisconsin
• William Parke-Sutherland, Health Policy Engagement Coordinator, Kids Forward
• Shiva Bidar-Sielaff, Vice President and Chief Diversity Officer, UW Health
• Sandra Brekke, Senior Consultant, Office of Population Health, Gundersen Health System
• Tito Izard, President and CEO, Milwaukee Health Services, Inc.
• Jerry Waukau, Tribal Health Director, Menominee Nation
• Guy (Anahkwet) Reiter, Executive Director, Menikanaehkem, Inc.
• Mary Thao, Marshfield Clinic
• Sarah Ferber, Associate Director, Ex-Incarcerated People Organizing
• Amy DeLong, Family Physician and Medical Director, Ho-Chunk Nation
• Wanda Montgomery, Community Partnerships Director, Children's Hospital of Wisconsin
• Stacy Clark, Intersectionality Among Men Program Coordinator, Diverse & Resilient
• Elizabeth Valitchka, Strategic Advisor, DCF
• Joya Headley, Public Health Student, University of Wisconsin-Madison
• Cristal Tinajero Rodríguez, Student, Milwaukee Area Technical College
• Gale Johnson, Director of Wisconsin Well Woman Program, DHS
• Isaak Mohamed, Somali Liaison & Community Health Worker, Barron County
• Diane Erickson, Clinic Administrator, Red Cliff Community Health Center
• Patricia Metropulos, President and CEO, Kathy's House
• Julie Mitchell, Commercial Medical Director, Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield of Wisconsin

The first meeting for the Governor’s Health Equity Council is scheduled for September 30.

Executive Order #17 is available here.

http://newiprogressive.com/images/stories/S5/coronavirus-voting-us-abcnews-s5.jpgPublic Hearing on-line on October 1. Input needed to help get fair maps and elections.

Trump has refused to release his. Records show Trump paid just $750 in federal income tax in both 2016 and 2017 and nothing in 10 of the 15 previous years.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden and his running mate Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) released their 2019 federal and state tax returns on Tuesday, hours before the former vice president meets face-to-face with President Trump in the first debate of the 2020 presidential race.

Read the developing report here

Derrick Van Orden, the GOP Candidate for Wisconsin’s 3rd Congressional District seat, bragged about sexually harassing two junior female officers in book according to Milwaukee Journal Sentinel article.

WISCONSIN -- This afternoon, it was reported by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that Derrick Van Orden, the GOP Candidate for Wisconsin’s 3rd Congressional District, bragged about sexually harassing two junior female officers during his military service. This revelation comes as an excerpt from his book, "Book of Man: A Navy SEAL's Guide to the Lost Art of Manhood.”

In response, Democratic Party of Wisconsin spokesperson Courtney Beyer released the following statement:

“Derrick Van Orden’s actions and his response to this criticism are deeply disturbing. That he chose to brag about sexually harassing women demonstrates his inability to represent Wisconsinites in Congress with integrity. This behavior is absolutely unacceptable and disqualifying of anybody running for public office.”

KEY POINTS BELOW:

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: In book on 'the Lost Art of Manhood,' congressional candidate tells of exposing man's genitals to female officers

• A retired Navy SEAL challenging a longtime Democratic congressman in western Wisconsin bragged in a 2015 book about revealing a male lieutenant's enlarged scrotum to unsuspecting female officers.

• Derrick Van Orden, a Republican from Hager City running for a seat in the third congressional district, wrote about the incident in "Book of Man: A Navy SEAL's Guide to the Lost Art of Manhood."

• Van Orden says he was providing medical instruction to two officers whom he refers to as "cute girls" in his book.

• In the book, Van Orden writes about a five-day reconnaissance training mission during which he and other SEALS had to dig holes and burrow out to create "rabbit holes" among bushes and poison oak, which caused breathing problems and swelling — including on testicles.

• After the training mission was over, he and the lieutenant traveled to Balboa Naval Hospital in San Diego to get treatment, he wrote. The lieutenant was given a towel to put between his legs.

• "Here's this lieutenant sitting behind a little curtain, spread eagle, (scrotum) huge as a cantaloupe, and his eyes swollen nearly shut," Van Orden wrote. "That's when I spotted two ensigns, who happened to be young girls in their early twenties."

• "'Excuse me,' I said to the two cute girls, approaching them. 'Could I ask you something'" "'Sure,' one of them answered."

• "After walking them over to the outside of the lieutenant's location, I whipped the curtain back. 'Have you ever seen anything like this?' I asked. They gasped in horror as they saw the LT in all of his glory. I'm sure they never wanted to have anything to do with a man ever again."

• Van Orden did not describe the women as medical officers in the book.

• Kind called the episode sexual harassment.

• His sexual harassment detailed in his book is not something to brag about, it's something to be condemned," Kind said in a statement. "It's outrageous and wrong. These aren't the values I was raised with here in Wisconsin and it's not how my wife and I raised our two sons to treat others. This is not the behavior of someone who should be representing Wisconsin in Congress."

• Ellen Haring, a retired Army colonel, West Point graduate, and professor at Georgetown University who specializes in research focused on women and gender in the military, said if the female ensigns were not medical staff the behavior would have constituted sexual harassment.

• Haring said referring to the officers, who were his superiors, as "cute girls" is problematic.

• "That’s ridiculously demeaning," Haring said. "He’s an enlisted Navy SEAL, who is he to call medical staff, women officers, 'cute girls'? That's a problem for me."

• [Van Orden] also wrote he won't entertain a discussion of how this book "can be construed as misogynistic," noting he was raised by a single mother.

• "I love my mother dearly and respect her as a human being," he wrote. "She is, in fact, one of the better fathers a guy could have."

http://newiprogressive.com/images/stories/S5/depression-suicidebygun-s5.jpg"We need to build on Obamacare to ensure universal health coverage," says Navy veteran and 5th CD candidate Palzewicz.

Silent Procession Ceremony at the State Firefighters Memorial Park in Wisconsin Rapids honors firefighters who have made the ultimate sacrifice.

MADISON —​ Gov. Tony Evers ordered the flags of the United States and the state of Wisconsin to be flown at half-staff on Sat., Sep. 26, 2020, in honor of the Silent Procession Ceremony honoring firefighters who have made the ultimate sacrifice while serving their communities as members of the fire services at the Wisconsin State Firefighters Memorial Park in Wisconsin Rapids. 

“Our firefighters go to work every day putting their health and safety on the line in order to protect their friends, neighbors, and communities,” said Gov. Evers. “On behalf of the state of Wisconsin, we are grateful for their selfless service to our state and honor their sacrifice.”

In addition to lowering the flags on Sat., Sep. 26, 2020, the Executive Order also lowers the flags on Sat., Oct. 10, 2020, in honor of Wisconsin Firefighters Memorial Day, as required by statute, during Fire Prevention Week Oct. 4 through Oct. 10, 2020.

Executive Order #91 is available here.

We are seeing an alarming increase in positive cases of COVID-19, especially among 18 to 24 year olds in our campus communities.

The broadband expansion grants will encourage the deployment of broadband in unserved and underserved areas of the state.

MADISON​ —​ Gov. Tony Evers announced Wednesday that more than $5 million of funding from the federal CARES Act will be awarded for the expansion of high-speed, broadband internet.  Funding will be awarded by the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin (PSC) to applicants from the 2020 broadband expansion grants that did not receive funding and are able to connect customers by December 30, 2020, and satisfy the requirements of the federal CARES Act.

The PSC houses the state Broadband Office, which administers the state’s Broadband Expansion Grant Program that provides grant funding to organizations, internet service providers, and local governments to expand in areas of the state that are underserved and unserved.

“This pandemic further illustrates the need for additional funding to expand broadband. These dollars, along with our investments from the budget that I signed last year, will ensure that we are maximizing our expansion efforts to get folks connected,” said Gov. Evers.

“I want to thank the governor for this funding and his continued commitment to getting our state connected with broadband internet,” said PSC Chairperson, Rebecca Cameron Valcq. “I commit that we at the PSC will get this funding out quickly so projects can start construction as soon as possible.”

The CARES funding comes as the PSC is also accepting applications for a second round of $24 million in grants that was appropriated in the 2019-2021 state biennial budget. That application period closes December 1, and is expected to be awarded in spring of 2021.

The 2019-2021 biennial budget, which was signed by the Governor Evers last year, provided $48 million over the biennium for broadband expansion grants. For the 2020 round of funding, $24 million was made available. The PSC received 143 applications requesting $50.3 million for large and small projects. In March of this year, the PSC awarded 72 grants to extend high-speed internet access to as many as 3,182 businesses and 46,537 homes, including 39,778 locations that are currently unserved.

The broadband expansion grants aim to encourage the deployment of broadband in unserved and underserved areas of the state. Since 2014, 210 grants have been awarded, and have connected or are in the process of connecting over 7,000 businesses and 117,000 homes to high-speed broadband internet service.

The CARES Act funding is expected to be awarded to projects at an open meeting of the PSC in October. A list of project applicants will be made available on the PSC website in advance of that meeting.

http://newiprogressive.com/images/stories/S5/wisc-dairy-farm-s5.jpgMore than 2,000 dairy farms have closed, and farmers got virtually nothing for what the trade war has cost them. Manufacturers have also felt the burden of Trump’s trade war.

http://newiprogressive.com/images/stories/S5/covid-19-uw-madison-s5.jpgArrival of fall, opening of schools and campuses, people heading to bars and gatherings spark unprecedented, near-exponential growth of the COVID-19 pandemic. "We need to continue wearing masks and practicing physical distancing," says Governor.