August 2025

In the ever-evolving landscape of American politics, where headlines often dwell on controversy rather than accomplishment, it becomes even more important to highlight the efforts of leaders who genuinely strive to serve their constituents and strengthen their communities. Congressman Derrick Van Orden is one such individual whose dedication, vision, and tangible work merit recognition and appreciation.

A recent report from the Institute for Family Studies found that divorce rates, although still high, are steadily falling in the United States. Over the last 55 years the risk of and rate of divorce has dropped. In addition, the number of couples having children outside of marriage has leveled off, and the number of children with married parents is rising. These trends show an encouraging trajectory for marriage and families in the coming years.

My latest monthly interview with Pam Jahnke of the Mid-West Farm Report is now available.

For our August edition, we continued our previous discussion on the 2025-27 state budget and went more in-depth about the appropriations that impact our agriculture industry and rural communities. We also talked about how federal changes could affect our state.

I recently toured a TDS construction site outside of Fennimore. The Lancaster-based crew was laying fiber to connect hundreds of homes in the area to reliable, high-speed internet.

This project is part of TDS’s efforts in Grant County to connect Southwestern Wisconsin to reliable broadband. They are using federal Enhanced Alternative Connect America Cost Model (E-ACAM) money and will eventually connect or upgrade 1,200 homes to reliable 100/20 megabits per second (Mbsp) service.

DPI numbers show public schools could do much better

Critics of school choice often lean on a talking point that goes like this: Wisconsin can’t afford two systems of schools, so we should have only one.