Wisconsin couple sues Walgreens and Optum Rx, saying son died after $500 price rise for asthma meds

LA CROSSE, Wis. — A Wisconsin couple is suing Walgreens and a pharmacy benefits management company, alleging that their son died because he couldn’t afford a sudden $500 spike in his asthma medication. Shanon and William Schmidtknecht, of Poynette, filed their lawsuit in federal court in Milwaukee on Jan. 21, a year to the day […]

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Dramatic drop in monarch butterfly count nears record 30-year low

MADISON, Wis. — The number of monarch butterflies spending the winter in the western United States has dropped to its second-lowest mark in nearly three decades as pesticides, diminishing habitat and climate change take their toll on the beloved pollinator. Here’s what to know: Monarch butterflies, known for their distinctive orange-and-black wings, are found across […]

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Woman’s lawsuits say sci-fi author Neil Gaiman repeatedly sexually assaulted her

MADISON, Wis. — A woman from New Zealand has filed three civil lawsuits against best-selling British author Neil Gaiman and his wife, accusing Gaiman of repeatedly sexually assaulting her while she was working as the couple’s babysitter and nanny. Scarlett Pavlovich filed the lawsuits in federal court in Wisconsin, Massachusetts and New York on Monday. […]

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Wisconsin agency issues first round of permits for Enbridge Line 5 reroute around reservation

MADISON, Wis. — The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources has issued the first round of permits allowing Enbridge to reroute an aging pipeline around a tribal reservation. DNR officials announced Thursday they have issued the first construction permits for the Line 5 reroute around the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa’s reservation. The energy […]

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Wisconsin’s high court to hear oral arguments on whether an 1849 abortion ban remains valid

MADISON, Wis. — The Wisconsin Supreme Court will hear oral arguments Monday on whether a law that legislators adopted more than a decade before the Civil War bans abortion and can still be enforced. Abortion rights advocates stand an excellent chance of prevailing, given that liberal justices control the court and one of them remarked […]

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Push to map Great Lakes bottom gains momentum amid promises effort will help fishing and shipping

MADISON, Wis. — Jennifer Boehme grew up scouting beaches around her home in St. Petersburg, Florida, for whatever she could find. Rocks, sand dollars, coquina mollusks — anything the ocean gave up. Now, 40 years later, Boehme wants to launch another treasure hunt. As executive director of the Great Lakes Observing System, she’s leading a […]

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