Wednesday, October 15, 2025
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Wednesday, October 15, 2025

Milwaukee Press Club 'Excellence in Wisconsin Journalism' 2020 & 2021 Award Winners

Gov. Tony Evers’ Appalling Statement on the Jacob Blake Shooting Anniversary

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Gov. Tony Evers released an appalling statement on Aug. 23, 2021, one year after a police officer shot Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wisconsin, in self-defense. Apparently, Evers has learned nothing from the inciting, outrageous statement he released right after the shooting first occurred, which arguably incited riots and arson fires, part of which was:

“While we do not have all of the details yet, what we know for certain is that he is not the first Black man or person to have been shot or injured or mercilessly killed at the hands of individuals in law enforcement in our state or our country.”

Evers never took responsibility for releasing the outrageous statement. Instead, he doubled down on the one-year anniversary, issuing a despicable press release that is arguably even worse because the District Attorney has now exonerated the police officer.

Let’s take his most recent statement line by line.

Evers wrote: “One year ago today, Jacob Blake’s life was forever changed.”

What Evers doesn’t mention:

The life of Police Officer Rusten Sheskey – who was mercilessly and unfairly slammed by the media, left, Evers, Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes, and others – also was forever changed. He was ultimately exonerated by the District Attorney, but not before a despicable rush to judgment. The lives of all Kenosha law enforcement officers were forever changed by the unfair and negative narratives against police fomented by Evers, Barnes, the media, and others.

The lives of Kenosha business owners were also forever changed, especially those whose livelihoods burned to the ground in arson fires that might have been prevented if Evers had gotten the National Guard to Kenosha in a more timely fashion.


Evers: “We also know the families and friends of Joseph Rosenbaum and Anthony Huber are undoubtedly grieving and mourning the loss of these young men this week.”

What Evers doesn’t mention:

Rosenbaum was a registered sex offender who was out on bond for a domestic abuse battery accusation and was caught on video acting aggressively earlier that night. Huber was a felon convicted in a strangulation case who was recently accused of domestic abuse. Rosenbaum was also caught on video using a racial slur earlier that night. “Shoot me (n word),” he says in a video.

The criminal complaint alleges that Rosenbaum was trailing teenager Kyle Rittenhouse, threw a plastic bag at him, initially tried to engage him, advanced toward him, and was trying to grab Rittenhouse’s gun when he was shot. It says that Rittenhouse, 17, was trying to evade Rosenbaum. The New York Times says a gunshot fired by an unknown person was heard right before Rittenhouse fired. Others were also chasing Rittenhouse at the time, video shows.

The criminal complaint against Rittenhouse says Huber was also trying to grab Rittenhouse’s gun and his skateboard made physical contact with Rittenhouse right before Rittenhouse shot him.

Rittenhouse is innocent until proven guilty in a court of law, and has not yet stood trial. It is outrageously inappropriate for the governor to weigh in before he has; it could arguably taint the jury pool.


Evers: “While we are grateful Jacob survived his injuries, we also know Jacob, his kids, and his family have and will face challenges they never imagined having to endure.”

What Evers doesn’t mention:

Evers doesn’t mention the role Blake played in what happened to him, including the fact he was wanted on a felony warrant involving domestic violence and a sexual assault charge. He also doesn’t mention that the police officer was found – by a Democratic DA and retired black police chief – to have acted in justified self-defense.

According to the DA’s report, here are some other facts that Evers leaves out:

  • On Sunday, August 23, 2020, at approximately 5:10 pm, Laquisha Booker, the mother
    of Jacob Blake’s children, called the police reporting that Jacob Blake had taken the
    keys to her rental vehicle which he would not return to her. Laquisha Booker stated
    that she was afraid that Jacob Blake was going to take her vehicle and crash it as, she
    stated, he had done before.
  • Jacob Blake had a felony warrant for his arrest. The involved officers knew Jacob Blake had a felony warrant for his arrest and knew that the warrant involved domestic violence charges and a sexual assault charge. Officer Sheskey obtained a description of Jacob Blake and knew he would have to arrest Jacob Blake on the warrant if he encountered him.
  • When officers arrived, Laquisha Booker flagged them down and shouted statements identifying Jacob Blake as the other person involved and indicating that he was trying to take her car, stating, “My kids are in the car.”  Officer Sheskey saw Jacob Blake and saw him putting a child in the back of the vehicle in question, a gray Dodge SUV.  Officer Sheskey immediately attempted to arrest Jacob Blake based on his active warrant and was quickly assisted by Officer Arenas and Officer Meronek. Jacob Blake knew there was a warrant out for his arrest.
  • Jacob Blake did not comply with the verbal commands of officers as they attempted to arrest him. When the officers attempted to physically restrain Jacob Blake, he resisted, physically struggling with officers. Officers brought Jacob Blake to the ground, but he was able to get off the ground and to get away from the officers trying to arrest him.
  • During this struggle, Officer Sheskey and Officer Arenas both attempted to subdue Jacob Blake by deploying their tasers. Both times that Jacob Blake was struck with the tasers, he ripped out the taser wires/prongs making the tasers ineffective against him. Officer Sheskey also attempted to drive stun Jacob Blake with his taser by applying the taser to Jacob Blake’s neck/back area, but that too was ineffective.
  • As he resisted arrest, Jacob Blake was armed with a knife. By the time he was walking in front of the SUV, the knife was opened and the blade was exposed. Jacob Blake did not comply with police commands to drop the knife.
  • Jacob Blake tried to enter the driver’s door of the SUV. The SUV had been rented by Laquisha Booker in her name and Laquisha Booker had indicated to police that Jacob Blake did not have permission to drive the vehicle. There were children in the SUV who Laquisha Booker had yelled were her children.  Jacob Blake had the opened knife in his right hand and was attempting to escape from Officer Sheskey’s grasp and enter the driver’s side of the SUV.
  • Both Officer Sheskey and Officer Arenas stated that in the moment before Officer Sheskey opened fire, Jacob Blake twisted his body, moving his right hand with the knife towards Officer Sheskey.  Two citizen witnesses saw Jacob Blake’s body turn in a manner that appears consistent with what the officers described.
  • Officer Sheskey stated that he fired shots until Jacob Blake dropped the knife. (Retired Police Chief) Noble Wray explained this is consistent with law enforcement training where officers are instructed to continue shooting until they stop the threat

Evers: “Kathy and I are thinking of Jacob and his loved ones, as well as the families and friends of Joseph and Anthony today, and we ask Wisconsinites to join us in extending our prayers for peace and healing.”

What Evers doesn’t mention:

This kind of incendiary, one-sided, and outrageous statement hardly leads to “peace and healing.” It’s too bad Kathy and Tony aren’t also “thinking” of Kenosha police officers and business owners today. Are they thinking about the woman who called police in the first place?


Evers: “This past year has been difficult, and especially for the Kenosha community as they have worked to come together to repair and rebuild. Wisconsin has taken important steps to increase transparency for use of force policies and incidents, limit the use of chokeholds, and require state-managed law enforcement agencies to update their use of force policies, but this is only the beginning. We must remain resolved in addressing the systemic racism and inequities Black Wisconsinites face every day and to continuing our work toward a just, equitable, and fair state.”

What Evers doesn’t mention:

There is no evidence that race or “systemic racism” or “inequities” against black Wisconsinites played any role in the Blake shooting. Certainly, the DA and retired black police chief did not find such.

It’s also faulty logic to use a police shooting conducted in self-defense as a predicate for police reform statewide.

How about the mother of Jacob Blake’s children who had accused Blake of sexually assaulting her? Does she get a mention? Those charges were later dropped in a plea deal.

Evers Jacob Blake

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New Wisconsin Law Heightens Punishment For Deepfake Pornography

(The Center Square) – Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers signed a bill on Friday that will make using artificial intelligence to create pornography of a person a misdemeanor and using an AI-generated nude or sexual image of a person to intimidate, coerce or harass them a felony.

Wisconsin Act 34 was authored by Rep. Brent Jacobson, R-Mosinee, and Sen. Andre Jacque, New Franken.

The law, which goes into effect on Saturday, came after D.C. Everest Junior High student Bradyn Bohn died by suicide after he was the victim of sextortion.

“Recent events like the tragic death of DC Everest student Bradyn Bohn demonstrate how vulnerable we can be to online coercion and intimidation,” Jacobson said in a statement. “I am proud that my colleagues in the Legislature and Governor Evers could come together to proactively update our laws and keep Wisconsinites safe!”

The law is an expansion of prior crimes related to the depiction of nudity.

Jacque cited a study from Deeptrace which showed that 96% of “deep fake” material is non-consensual pornography, and “exclusively targets and harms women.”

Jacque cited another case in Milwaukee where an artificial image was created by a former police officer who then used the image to harass an ex-girlfriend.

“As the capabilities of artificial intelligence (AI) become more and more advanced, bad actors are increasingly using artificially generated sexually explicit images to harass and intimidate innocent people online,” Jacque said in a statement. “Act 34 will protect citizens against a new and disturbing form of cyber-abuse and ensure that all Wisconsinites can feel comfortable sharing regular images of themselves online without fearing that those images will be manipulated or corrupted into pornography.”

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Consumers’ Research launched a seven-figure campaign against Chubb Insurance, stating in its Woke Alert that the company promotes DEI, gender ideology, and climate extremism.

Executive director of Consumers’ Research Will Hild told The Center Square: “Instead of providing a service that individuals need to protect themselves and their families, Chubb is weaponizing its outsized influence over the insurance industry to promote radical ideologies such as DEI, green climate initiatives, and transgender ideology, all above services people need."

Consumers’ Research is “the nation's oldest consumer protection organization,” according to Hild.

Chubb Insurance is “a world leader in insurance” with “operations in 54 countries and territories,” that provide “commercial and personal property and casualty insurance, personal accident and supplemental health insurance, reinsurance and life insurance,” according to the company’s website.

When contacted twice, Chubb Insurance media relations did not respond.

Hild told The Center Square that “Chubb Insurance has a responsibility to their customers first and foremost to provide exceptional services at competitive costs, but the company has chosen to prioritize a woke agenda and force their political beliefs onto consumers.”

“Chubb proudly claims DEI is the foundation of its culture and publicly touts its discriminatory policies,” Hild said.

Indeed, Consumers’ Research’s Woke Alert outlines the ways in which Chubb’s commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion is evident, including the company’s General Counsel Joseph Wayland saying that “diversity, equity and inclusion are the foundation of our Chubb culture.”

In addition, Chubb launched a platform called “Race Matters” to “facilitate greater consciousness of racism and understanding of the Black experience,” as well as made a “Race Fluency Toolkit” to “ingrain anti-racism within Chubb’s culture,” as shown in the Woke Alert.

“As part of Chubb’s woke ‘racial justice’ activism, its Code of Conduct tells employees to ‘promote diversity, equity and inclusion’ and ‘help us maintain a culture that values’ DEI,” the Woke Alert said.

The Chubb Rule of Law Fund also “awarded $1.1 million to projects that promote equity and advance racial justice and police reforms.”

Hild told The Center Square that because of Chubb’s “blatant disregard for President Trump's policies [against illegal discrimination], Consumers’ Research sent a letter to the Departments of Justice and Treasury calling for a federal investigation into Chubb for any violations of President Trump's executive orders and anti-discrimination laws.”

In addition to a DEI agenda, Chubb supports the transgender industry, as it “funds gender ideology for children and has made contributions to The Trevor Project through the Chubb Charitable Foundation.”

The Woke Alert said that “the Trevor Project operated “a private chat room which allowed adults to prey on vulnerable children and for supplying materials intended to advance trans ideology among kids.”

Chubb also boasts of its Human Rights Campaign score, and the company’s CEO Evan Greenberg said that “stopping men from using women’s bathrooms is a ‘threat to democracy,’” as stated in the Woke Alert.

As far as climate extremism goes, the Woke Alert states that “Chubb has pushed a radical climate agenda, equating the impact of climate change with that of global terrorism.”

Chubb has also “refused to reliably insure American energy companies, stating on its website that it will no longer underwrite new coal-fired plants and phase out coverage for existing coal plants that generate more than 30% of their revenue from coal,” the Woke Alert said.

Hild told The Center Square that consumers can “make their voices heard” about Chubb’s work efforts “by reaching out to Chubb and demanding the company focus on their consumers and not a political agenda.”

“Consumers' Research will continue to put companies on blast that are prioritizing a woke agenda over its consumers,” Hild said.

“If any consumers have first-hand experiences dealing with woke policies being pushed at Chubb, they can reach out to us at ConsumersResearch.org and visit our Report Woke page to share any information with us,” Hild said.

In addition to its Woke Alert, Consumers’ Research launched a national television ad, a website, and mobile billboards as a part of its seven-figure campaign, according to information obtained by The Center Square.

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(The Center Square) – Wisconsin Sen. Eric Wimberger, R-Oconto, sees an E-Verify bill that he has co-authored as a step toward requiring E-Verify for all employers in the state, like 10 other states require.

For now, however, Assembly Bill 281 would require state government employees and state contractors with contracts more than $50,000 to use E-Verify for employees.

“This is a commonsense measure that promotes transparency and accountability in public contracting and state employment,” said Rep. Jim Piwowarczyk, R-Hubertus.

Hubertus told the Assembly Committee on Commerce that, had Iowa used this requirement, it would have avoided the situation where Des Moines Public School Superintendent Ian Andre Roberts was arrested after it was found that he had weapons charges and was in the country illegally.

“This bill would make sure this does not happen here in Wisconsin,” Piwowarczyk said.

Wimberger said that he knows and has experienced how difficult it can be to find employees.

“The fact that we struggle to find labor does not justify doing something that is destructive to our society,” Wimberger said.

He compared it to before the Civil War when cotton farmers said that they wouldn’t have anyone to pick cotton if they could not have slaves.

“The answer is that we’re going to figure it out,” Wimberger said. “… Advance as a society and not be luddites.”

Christine Neumann-Ortiz of Voces de la Frontera registered against the bill, saying it would make some undocumented workers go the extra steps of buying a Social Security number from someone else in order to work and then it would raise the charges that could be brought against the worker if they are found to have used false information.

“We need to make sure that, here in Wisconsin, people are made to feel welcome and their contributions are welcomed,” Neumann-Ortiz said.”… In the absence of immigration reform, it is what people are coerced to do.”

David Ortiz Whittingham, of Worker Justice Wisconsin, said that the requirement will lead more contractors to heavily use subcontractors who do not have the E-Verify requirement to do the actual contracted work and shield “brazenly illegal practices.”

“The prime contractor on the project will only employ a small fraction of the workers on the project,” he explained.

Wimberger said that the use of illegal immigrant labor undercuts the value of an hour of labor for those in the country illegally, citing Cesar Chavez.

He called the employment of workers in the country illegally “corrosive.”

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Iowa's largest school district is holding an emergency meeting Saturday night after its superintendent was arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement-Des Moines agents.

ICE arrested Des Moines Public School Superintendent Ian Andre Roberts on Friday. A citizen of Guyana, Roberts has a criminal record and has been living in the U.S. illegally with no work authorization, ICE says. A federal immigration judge also ordered his removal from the country last year.

Roberts, “a criminal illegal alien from Guyana,” was arrested “in possession of a loaded handgun, $3,000 in cash and a fixed blade hunting knife,” ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations officers in Des Moines said.

He was working as the DMPS superintendent “despite being an illegal alien with a final order of removal and no work authorization,” ICE said.

When ICE ERO-Des Moines officers approached him, he sped away in his taxpayer-funded DMPS vehicle to evade arrest. Officers later found the vehicle abandoned near a wooded area. Iowa State Patrol assisted with locating and arresting him. He remains in ICE custody.

Roberts first entered the U.S. in 1999 on a student visa. Not soon after, he was arrested on weapons charges on Feb. 5, 2020, in violation of his visa terms. A federal immigration judge issued a final order of removal in May of last year.

The ATF is investigating how Roberts acquired the handgun. “It is a violation of federal law for those in the U.S. without legal status to possess a firearm and ammunition,” ICE said.

“This suspect was arrested in possession of a loaded weapon in a vehicle provided by Des Moines Public Schools after fleeing federal law enforcement,” ICE ERO St. Paul Field Office Director Sam Olson said. “This should be a wake-up call for our communities to the great work that our officers are doing every day to remove public safety threats.

“How this illegal alien was hired without work authorization, a final order of removal, and a prior weapons charge is beyond comprehension and should alarm the parents of that school district.”

Des Moines Public Schools is the largest school district in Iowa, serving more than 30,000 students and employing 5,000 people. Its superintendent receives a salary of $270,000, a taxpayer-funded car and cell phone allowance, contributions to a tax-sheltered annuity and retirement plan, and district health, life and long-term disability insurance.

DMPS has an affirmative action plan, which appears to emphasize hiring based on race. Its 2021 Affirmative Action plan prioritizes “diversity, inclusion, and equity” as “fundamental and essential” to the district’s success.

The plan’s stated goal is to increase hiring the number of teachers of color by specific grades and percentages. This includes increasing hiring teachers of color in kindergarten and first grade by 8%; and in second through fifth grades by 5%. It also prioritizes increased test scores of Black male third grade reading students “from 35% to 72% by June 2023, as measured by FAST” and “Black male students earning a ‘B’ or higher in Algebra 1 by the end of 9th grade will increase from 17% to 35% by August 2023.”

It also prioritizes recruiting teachers who completed a “Blue Contract,” program through Drake University’s Master of Science in Education degree in Culturally Responsive Leadership and Instruction. Courses include “culturally responsive teaching” and “equity in Mathematics.” New teachers hired through the BLUE contract receive a higher starting salary than non-BLUE contract teachers, according to the plan.

DMPS said in a statement that its board retained Texas-based JG Consulting to conduct a search for its superintendent.

In a now deleted post, the consulting firm said Roberts previously served as the superintendent of Milcreek Township School District in Pennsylvania and “previously held leadership positions in various schools across the country, including Washington, D.C., Baltimore, and Saint Louis.” It also cites DMPS Board Chair Teree Caldwell-Johnson praising his selection, citing his “educational experience, academic excellence, and his passion for innovation and inspiration” and “ability to create equitable experiences for students.” He assumed his DMPS role on July 1, 2023.

DMPS also included Roberts in its "Top 100 Influencers" this year.

On Friday night, the DMPS board said Baker-Eubanks conducted a third-party comprehensive background check on Roberts and that DMPS is “required to verify employment eligibility for all employees. In this case, Dr. Roberts completed the I-9 employment eligibility verification form and submitted the required documentation.”

The board also said he “was licensed by the Iowa Board of Educational Examiners in July 2023” and it “did not have any knowledge” of his immigration status or final removal order.

In response to ICE stating a loaded gun was found in a district vehicle, it said, “DMPS policy states weapons are prohibited on school grounds or at a school sponsored or school related activity.”

The board is holding an emergency meeting Saturday evening “to take action regarding Dr. Roberts’ administrative leave status.” It also appointed an interim superintendent.