Latest news with #UniversityofWisconsin-EauClaire
Yahoo
09-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Immigrant who ‘worked my ass off' is chosen to lead Kansas City government
Mario Vasquez is Kansas City's new city manager, overseeing a workforce of more than 4,000 and virtually every city service from the water and fire departments, the city's convention center, street maintenance and real estate development regulations and planning. Mayor Quinton Lucas announced his choice after an hour-long closed meeting on Thursday. The City Council then approved it by a vote of 11 to 2, awarding Vasquez an annual salary of $265,000. Only council members Darrell Curls and Ryana Parks Shaw voted no. 'After interviewing all qualified candidates, Mario Vasquez emerged as the clear choice to lead our city administration,' Lucas said in a prepared statement. 'His extensive experience in urban planning, economic development, and project management, combined with his 28-year dedication to Kansas City, made him the ideal candidate to guide our city forward.' Vasquez, 54, is the first Hispanic person to be named chief administrator in Kansas City's history. The city government he'll manage services roughly half a million people who live in the largest municipality in a metro area of more than 2 million. He replaces Brian Platt, whose four years as city manager were marked with both progress and controversy that led to his firing in March. Deputy City Manager Kimiko Black Gilmore has filled that role on an interim basis since Platt was suspended and was one of the three finalists for the job. Former Aviation Director and Assistant City Manager Patrick Klein was the other finalist. In his job interview, Vasquez impressed council members with his dedication to serving the community and his work ethic. 'In my role in as assistant city manager throughout I've gotten to meet a lot of different people with a lot of different skill sets, a lot of ability,' Vasquez said. He also said he believes in encouraging city staffers to set the kinds of goals he set at the beginning of his career. 'I was asked a question not long ago, 'how did you get to be the guy that people always look to for solutions?' I just said, I raised my hand, I worked my ass off, and that is what it takes,' Vasquez said. 'So I would also expect people to to do the same, you know, work hard — nothing, nobody, can take hard work away from you' During that interview, Vasquez choked up as he described seeing one of his former employees rise to fill one of his jobs. Vasquez was born in Bolivia and has spent his entire adult life and career in Kansas City. As a child, he and his family moved to Wisconsin during what he called 'a time of economic distress and turmoil' in their home country. He graduated from a suburban Madison, Wisconsin, high school in 1989. He earned a bachelor's degree in economics from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire in 1995 and a master's degree in urban and regional planning from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1996. Vasquez later also earned a master's degree in entrepreneurial real estate from the University of Missouri-Kansas City in 2014. He began his career in government as an entry level planner for Kansas City in 1997 and was promoted to project manager in 2005. Over the next 17 years he worked on a range of projects including the city's purchase and redevelopment of the Linwood Shopping Center on the city's East Side. Vasquesz was promoted to be an assistant city manager in 2022 and last August was given the additional responsibility of becoming director of city planning and development. In his public job interview with the council last week, Vasquez emphasized the need for constant evaluation of staff roles and compensation, likening it to regular health check-ups. He highlighted Kansas City's fiscal challenges, including the need to renew the city's earnings tax next year, as it accounts for a large chunk of city government's revenues. He also said it's essential to renew the sales tax that funds the Central City Economic Development tax district, which he called 'the most incredible resource we have to promote investment' in city neighborhoods that need it. Vasquez also stressed the importance of public trust, transparency and honesty in rebuilding city departments' credibility. Among his first tasks would be to address immediate issues like the city's preparedness for hosting the World Cup next year. 'With respect to the World Cup, I think we feel somewhat unprepared,' he said. 'I think we have a liability with respect to that event if we don't perform as required.' Key to that preparation will be hiring someone soon to replace the director of the Office of Emergency Management, who recently retired. And the city will need to replace the fire chief, who is also nearing retirement, he said. Vasquez also discussed the need for equitable economic development, workforce development and regional cooperation to enhance the city's growth. The City Council fired Platt in late March after a jury in a whistleblower lawsuit awarded $930,000 to the city's former communications director, Chris Hernandez. That suit alleged that Platt saw no reason not to lie to the news media about the city's accomplishments, and council members said that stain on the city's reputation was one reason for voting unanimously to let him go. Gilmore, Vasquez and Klein all promised to be honest and transparent in their dealings with the community, employees and news media. Lucas conducted a limited, national search for Platt's replacement, because whomever got the job could only be promised to serve until a new mayor is elected and City Council seated at the end of the current term on Aug. 1, 2027. Lucas said 40 people applied for the job.
Yahoo
04-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
UW-Eau Claire faculty member removed from role after election-related incident
EAU CLAIRE, Wis. (WFRV) – A University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire faculty member has been removed from their position as department chair following an incident on campus Tuesday. The faculty member, who is currently on administrative leave pending the outcome of an investigation, was the subject of a complaint filed by students involved in distributing information about the spring election. Police Sergeant in Wisconsin charged with felony misconduct after investigation into missing drugs UW-Eau Claire serves as a polling location for the city of Eau Claire. XRoads41 Music Festival adds second stage, expanding entertainment lineup The University of Wisconsin system is conducting the investigation. Interim Provost Michael Carney expressed concern over the disruption of students' peaceful efforts to share election information, reaffirming the university's commitment to supporting free speech and civil dialogue on campus. No further details were provided. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
02-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
UW-Eau Claire professor placed on leave after flipping College Republicans table
The University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire placed a faculty member on administrative leave after he allegedly flipped over a table set up by the university's College Republicans chapter in support of conservative Supreme Court candidate Brad Schimel. Tatiana Bobrowicz, who chairs the chapter, said she had just finished setting up the table outside the student center about 8:30 a.m. Tuesday, with candy, doughnuts and literature promoting Schimel and Brittany Kinser, the conservative-backed candidate for state superintendent. Bobrowicz said a man came up to the table and asked what the group was doing so close to the polling location, which is inside the student center. More: All our reporting on the Wisconsin Supreme Court race between Susan Crawford, Brad Schimel Wisconsin law does not allow electioneering — defined as any activity intended to influence voting at an election — within 100 feet of an entrance of a building where voting is taking place. Bobrowicz said she explained the chapter always tabled in that location and UW-Eau Claire had approved it. The man told her "the time for this is over," flipped the table over and walked away. She immediately called police and filed a report. She said UW-Eau Claire later notified her the man was José Felipe Alvergue, who chairs the English department. Alvergue did not immediately return a call and email seeking comment. "This takes it to a whole new level," Bobrowicz said. "Not just a professor, but a chair of a department. He's supposed to set an example for students and here he is setting an example of violence." Bobrowicz credited UW-Eau Claire for its response, saying police immediately responded and campus officials took her report seriously. The university did not immediately respond to a Journal Sentinel message seeking comment. The entire incident lasted only about 10 seconds, Bobrowicz said, but it reinforced to her the hostility conservatives face on campus. She said the student body's reactions in the aftermath were disheartening, saying she heard comments like the chapter "had it coming" and deserved it because of "how hateful" their views were. "It's scary to see how much hatred there is toward us," she said. In a statement reported by local TV stations, UW-Eau Claire Interim Provost Michael Carney said the campus is working with the University of Wisconsin System and the Office of General Counsel, which is "conducting a comprehensive investigation." "I am deeply concerned that our students' peaceful effort to share information on campus on election day was disrupted," Carney said. Republican Party of Wisconsin chairman Brian Schimming retweeted a video on X showing the aftermath of the flipped table. Schimming said Alvergue "violently overturned a College Republican table on campus today." UW-Eau Claire sits along the western border of Wisconsin and has about 8,800 undergraduates. A ward in Eau Claire that serves a number of university dorms voted about 29% for President Donald Trump in November, an increase for Republican candidates in recent elections. More: Trump gained ground in battle for Wisconsin college voters, even flipping one UW campus ward This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: UW-Eau Claire professor placed on leave after flipping GOP table
Boston Globe
01-04-2025
- Automotive
- Boston Globe
Wisconsin voters see state Supreme Court race as referendum on Trump
Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up Whichever candidate wins will tip the seven-member high court's political balance, which liberals currently control with a 4-3 majority. Advertisement But the outcome will also show how voters in one of the most evenly divided battleground states in the nation are feeling about Trump's sharp cuts to the federal workforce, his crackdown on illegal immigration, and the administration's crusade against diversity initiatives in government programs and higher education. Trump won Wisconsin by less than a percentage point last November and narrowly lost it in the 2020 election. 'The pendulum swings back and forth in US elections, and I think this election will be a good indicator of whether the pendulum is going to swing back the other way based on Trump's actions in office,' said Michael Orwig, 40, a federal worker and Schimel supporter who lives in a suburb south of Milwaukee. 'This is going to be the first litmus test.' Advertisement Musk's backing of Schimel, a former Wisconsin attorney general, has been among the most dominant and divisive issues in the race. A super political action committee funded by Musk has spent millions to boost conservative turnout and has offered $100 payments to voters who sign a petition 'in opposition to activist judges' — a tactic, which some critics say is legally questionable, that he employed in last year's presidential election to help Trump. At a town hall in Green Bay on Sunday, Musk also gave $1 million checks each to two people who had already voted in the election; the Democratic state attorney general had sued to block those payments, but the state Supreme Court declined to hear the case. His involvement has energized some conservatives but outraged liberals, in part because Musk's electric vehicle company, Tesla, is suing Wisconsin, challenging a law that bars manufacturers from selling cars directly to consumers. 'I'm disgusted by the idea that Elon Musk is trying to do something to our state, trying to buy us,' said Anwen Mullen, 47, who lives in River Falls in western Wisconsin. Mullen, who backs Crawford, said she feared that a victory by Schimel could lead Wisconsin to ban abortion and limit rights for transgender people. Tatiana Bobrowicz, a student at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, who heads the local College Republicans chapter, said she was untroubled by Musk's role in the race and noted that Wisconsin elections have often drawn involvement from out-of-state donors on both sides. Bobrowicz, who is studying biomedical engineering, said she hoped that elevating Schimel to the state Supreme Court would lead to an abortion ban in Wisconsin and create a more permissive environment for Trump's agenda. Advertisement 'We have momentum right now with all these things happening within the national executive branch,' said Bobrowicz, 21. 'So I think this is a great time for our state to become aligned with them.' Supporters of Crawford said they hoped the election results would do the opposite. Linda Vognar, 74, a veterinary acupuncturist who lives in the Chippewa Valley region in western Wisconsin, said she had been aghast by the blitz of executive orders and policies the Trump administration has rolled out in recent weeks. Electing Crawford, she said, would serve as a bulwark against what she sees as an erosion of democratic norms, including the integrity of future elections. Emily Rose, 19, an environmental engineering student at the University of Wisconsin-River Falls, said she intended to vote for Crawford to counteract what she sees as the Trump administration's reckless embrace of the fossil fuel industry. Tom Wilson, 79, a retired housing energy consultant in Eau Claire, said a Crawford victory would buck up those, like him, who worry that the Trump administration is undermining 'the whole constitutional structure of our government.' Several supporters of Schimel said a major issue shaping their choice was the future of legislative districts, where boundaries have been shifted over the years in ways that have given one party or the other a clear political advantage. The fairness of congressional maps has been a flashpoint for the Wisconsin Supreme Court for years, and the issue became contentious once more after a hard-fought election in 2023 put liberals in a 4-3 majority. Advertisement In late 2023, the court ordered the state to draw up new legislative districts, ruling that some established while Republicans ran the state were unconstitutional because they were not contiguous. Those districts, Democrats have long asserted, gave Republicans, who control both chambers in the Capitol, an unfair advantage in a relatively divided state. That, said Orwig, was the main reason he intended to vote for Schimel despite concerns he said he has about Trump's approach to downsizing the federal workforce and what Orwig views as waning US support for Ukraine. This article originally appeared in .
Yahoo
17-03-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Drone footage reveals unexpected changes in major river after dam failure: 'It looks like we're on the moon or something'
After the Rapidan Dam failed last summer and the Blue Earth River carved a new course through Minnesota Valley, researchers are using drones to survey the area and monitor changes that affect the entire waterway and landscape downstream, MPR News reported. The project is being led by Phil Larson, earth sciences director at Minnesota State University Mankato, and Zach Hilgendorf from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, who will monitor the area until the summer of next year. They're looking at how the flooding river has cut new channels and cliffs through the area, what's happening to all the sediment being washed away, and the stretches of exposed soil left behind. "It looks like we're on the moon or something," said Larson, per MPR News. The Rapidan Dam was an old but still sturdy structure. It underwent "avulsive failure," meaning the water didn't go through it; it went around. During a flood, when water levels were high, the river dug a new channel through the softer earth beside the dam and released the built-up pressure behind the barrier. "The river just evolved and went over here and said, 'We don't want to, I don't want to deal with the dam,'" Larson said, per MPR News. "'I'm going to cut down over here through this landscape, because it's weaker, softer materials.' So, the river now has been locked into this new course here, and we have this dam just sitting here doing nothing." That sort of thing is getting more common for two reasons. First of all, America's infrastructure is aging, dams included. The older it all gets without being repaired or replaced, the more likely it is to fail. Meanwhile, heat-trapping air pollution is making the world hotter, which makes the weather less stable overall. Cycles of drought and flooding, plus heavy storms, are all part of the package. And when those storms and floods hit, they can change the landscape. In the Blue Earth River's case, that means six Olympic swimming pools' worth of sediment is being pushed downriver. As a result, the river is shallower — between 1.5 and 4 feet when the water is low — and will eventually flow into the Minnesota River and then the Mississippi. The chemical composition, which includes a lot of phosphorus, could damage the environment. The news isn't all bad. Dam removal creates opportunities for fish that were previously blocked from traveling upstream and now may be able to return again. That could be great for struggling fish populations. Do you think fracking should be illegal in America? Yes — everywhere Yes — in most areas In some areas No Click your choice to see results and speak your mind. Join our free newsletter for weekly updates on the latest innovations improving our lives and shaping our future, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.
