Keep Christmas spirit alive all year long

Gross K-12 school property taxes in Wisconsin are rising 7.8% on December bills, the largest increase in more than three decades. As a result of these and tax levies imposed by other units of local government, total tax levies are expected to see their biggest jump since at least 2018. Property tax levies for all Wisconsin K-12 school districts combined are expected to rise by about $476.1 mill...

One of the first actions of the Trump administration was the elimination of USAID, the soft-diplomacy arm of the government that delivered medicine, food assistance, and health expertise to countries where the need was greatest. In 2024, USAID’s budget accounted for just 0.3% of federal spending. The Lancet estimates that defunding and dismantling the agency will lead to at least 14 million prev...

Every year it seems to take a little more effort to get into the spirit of the season. Most years, I get there eventually. I don’t like to think about the years I don’t. To put it simply, the difference between being in the holiday spirit and not, is if you sing along (out loud or quietly in your head) with the Christmas songs playing in stores and on the radio. If you haven’t caught t...