{"id":1315234,"date":"2026-03-18T06:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-03-18T11:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wisconsinwatch.org\/?p=1315234"},"modified":"2026-03-17T15:52:53","modified_gmt":"2026-03-17T20:52:53","slug":"wisconsin-public-records-open-government-law-sunshine-week","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wisconsinwatch.org\/2026\/03\/wisconsin-public-records-open-government-law-sunshine-week\/","title":{"rendered":"Let the sunshine in: How public records shape what Wisconsin knows","gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"text"}]},"content":{"rendered":"Reading Time: <\/b><\/span> 3<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>\n

While digging out from the snow, we\u2019ve also been marking Sunshine Week \u2014 an annual reminder that access to public records and meetings isn\u2019t a luxury or abstract concept. It determines whether the public knows what the government is doing with tax dollars and public trust.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s why we published a pair of stories around those themes this week. One, from Tom Kertscher<\/a>, shows how nondisclosure agreements tied to data center developments limit what communities can learn about projects in their own backyards. The other, from our partners at The Badger Project<\/a>, examines a long-standing loophole that allows Wisconsin lawmakers to delete records that would otherwise belong to the public.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the same time, we asked our team to look inward \u2014 reflecting on stories we could not have reported without the sunshine laws that quietly power our newsroom every day.

Here are a few recent examples.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Ed Werner, a resident of the Birch Terrace Manufactured Home Community, walks past a manufactured home that is for sale, June 21, 2025, in Menomonie, Wis. (Joe Timmerman \/ Wisconsin Watch)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

\u2018They are squeezing everybody in this park to death\u2019: Owners of manufactured homes get little protection as private equity moves in<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Public records \u2014 including state licensing files, inspection records and regulatory complaints \u2014 allowed Addie Costello to document Wisconsin\u2019s failure to enforce basic protections for manufactured home owners as private equity firms buy up parks to maximize profits. The story, part of our Forgotten homes<\/a> series on the promises and perils of manufactured housing as an affordable path to ownership, amplified tenant concerns. It also preceded legislation to limit rent increases, require annual state inspections and make it easier for residents to purchase communities through cooperatives.<\/p>\n\n\n

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A photo illustration shows a letter Ben Kingsley wrote to Warden Clinton Bryant about the lack of jobs for people incarcerated at Winnebago Correctional Center. Kingsley contacted Wisconsin Watch with his concerns, and reporter Natalie Yahr investigated. (Photo illustration by Joe Timmerman \/ Wisconsin Watch)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Wisconsin\u2019s work-release program promises opportunity. Prisoners say jobs are scarce.<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Wisconsin Department of Corrections provided little meaningful data to Natalie Yahr about its work-release program \u2014 a gap that became part of the story. Officials said they do not tally counts of how many people participate. To provide context, Yahr obtained public records from other states, offering points of comparison. The reporting highlights how limited transparency makes it difficult to evaluate a program that can help incarcerated people build resumes, pay court costs and prepare for release \u2014 while helping employers fill jobs.<\/p>\n\n\n

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A beaver swims across a pond in Alma Center, Wis. (Joe Timmerman \/ Wisconsin Watch) <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Pest or climate ally? DNR weighs new beaver management plan under mounting scrutiny<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This story was strengthened due to persistence. Bennet Goldstein filed records requests across all 10 Mississippi River Basin \u201cstem states,\u201d plus Oklahoma and Michigan, to understand how agencies manage beavers. He also pressed the U.S. Department of Agriculture for documents it initially withheld \u2014 records released only after our attorney signaled a willingness to challenge the denial. The reporting produced a fuller picture of how policy decisions ripple across ecosystems and communities, and it is helping shape debate over flood mitigation and climate resilience. It also found Wisconsin stands out for the number of beavers and dams removed, the millions spent and how officials justify the approach.<\/p>\n\n\n

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The Milwaukee County District Attorney Office\u2019s system for tracking law enforcement officers deemed to have credibility issues is inconsistent and incomplete and relies, in part, on police agencies to report integrity violations, an investigation by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, TMJ4 News and Wisconsin Watch found. (Andrew Mulhearn for Wisconsin Watch)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Duty to Disclose: Milwaukee County\u2019s flawed Brady list<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our collaboration with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and TMJ4 News relies on records many jurisdictions resist releasing<\/a>, if they store them at all: \u201cBrady lists\u201d of officers with credibility issues who might need to testify in court. After pressure from news organizations, the Milwaukee County District Attorney\u2019s Office released its list in late 2024, enabling a series of stories examining who is included \u2014 and who is not.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That reporting has revealed significant gaps, which TMJ4 and the Journal Sentinel are continuing to explore. Officers accused of falsifying reports, contradicting body camera footage or costing taxpayers millions in misconduct lawsuits are absent from the list, raising questions about how prosecutors define credibility. The disclosures have fueled public debate, prompted additions and removals from the list and spurred deeper scrutiny of best practices \u2014 and whether Milwaukee County meets them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Wisconsin Watch<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0is a nonprofit, nonpartisan newsroom. Subscribe to our\u00a0newsletters<\/a>\u00a0for original stories and our Friday news roundup. <\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false,"gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"html"}]},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This Sunshine Week, we\u2019re reflecting on how open government laws shape what the public knows \u2014 and what\u2019s at stake when access is limited or denied.<\/p>\n","protected":false,"gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"html"}]},"author":579,"featured_media":1315233,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"single-feature.php","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"gigafact_has_fact_brief":false,"gigafact_remote_fact_brief_post_id":0,"gigafact_remote_sync_timestamp":"","gigafact_remote_sync_status":"","gigafact_remote_sync_response":"","gigafact_has_been_published":false,"newspack_ads_suppress_ads":false,"newspack_popups_has_disabled_popups":false,"newspack_sponsor_sponsorship_scope":"","newspack_sponsor_native_byline_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_native_category_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_style":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_placement":"inherit","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"apple_news_api_created_at":"2026-03-18T14:04:26Z","apple_news_api_id":"ae371e4f-cc3b-4801-9c82-a6d9209824e7","apple_news_api_modified_at":"2026-03-18T14:04:26Z","apple_news_api_revision":"AAAAAAAAAAD\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/w==","apple_news_api_share_url":"https:\/\/apple.news\/ArjceT8w7SAGcgqbZIJgk5w","apple_news_cover_media_provider":"image","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_cover_video_id":0,"apple_news_cover_video_url":"","apple_news_cover_embedwebvideo_url":"","apple_news_is_hidden":"","apple_news_is_paid":"","apple_news_is_preview":"","apple_news_is_sponsored":"","apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":[],"apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_newspack_byline_active":false,"_newspack_byline":"","newspack_content_restriction_is_exempt":false,"newspack_featured_image_position":"beside","newspack_post_subtitle":"This Sunshine Week, we\u2019re reflecting on how open government laws shape what the public knows \u2014 and what\u2019s at stake when access is limited or denied.","newspack_article_summary_title":"Overview:","newspack_article_summary":"","newspack_hide_updated_date":false,"newspack_show_updated_date":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false},"categories":[89,6],"tags":[3656,1074,378,3617],"partner":[],"newspack_spnsrs_tax":[],"type-of-work":[],"coauthors":[3682],"class_list":["post-1315234","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-government","category-news-about-wcij","tag-news","tag-open-government","tag-public-records","tag-wisconsin-watch","entry"],"fact_brief":null,"apple_news_notices":[],"parsely":{"version":"1.1.0","canonical_url":"https:\/\/wisconsinwatch.org\/2026\/03\/wisconsin-public-records-open-government-law-sunshine-week\/","smart_links":{"inbound":0,"outbound":0},"traffic_boost_suggestions_count":0,"meta":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","headline":"Let the sunshine in: How public records shape what Wisconsin knows","url":"http:\/\/wisconsinwatch.org\/2026\/03\/wisconsin-public-records-open-government-law-sunshine-week\/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"http:\/\/wisconsinwatch.org\/2026\/03\/wisconsin-public-records-open-government-law-sunshine-week\/"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wisconsinwatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/asse20260217-State-of-the-State-Timmerman-039-scaled.jpg?fit=140%2C93&quality=100&ssl=1","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wisconsinwatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/asse20260217-State-of-the-State-Timmerman-039-scaled.jpg?fit=2560%2C1707&quality=100&ssl=1"},"articleSection":"Government","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Jim Malewitz \/ Wisconsin Watch"}],"creator":["Jim Malewitz \/ Wisconsin Watch"],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Wisconsin Watch","logo":"https:\/\/wisconsinwatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/ww-logo-footer-1.png"},"keywords":["news","open government","public records","wisconsin watch"],"dateCreated":"2026-03-18T11:00:00Z","datePublished":"2026-03-18T11:00:00Z","dateModified":"2026-03-18T11:00:00Z"},"rendered":"