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Medical copays reduce health care access in MS prisons; Israel planted explosives in pagers sold to Hezbollah according to official sources; Serving looks with books: Libraries fight 'fast fashion' by lending clothes; Menhaden decline threatens Virginia's ecosystem, fisheries.

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JD Vance calls for toning down political rhetoric, while calls for his resignation grow because of his own comments. The Secret Service again faces intense criticism, and a right to IVF is again voted down in the US Senate.

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A USDA report shows a widening gap in rural versus urban health, a North Carolina county remains divided over a LGBTQ library display, and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz' policies are spotlighted after his elevation to the Democratic presidential ticket.

Wisconsin Environmentalist: We're Going Downhill

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Wednesday, December 30, 2015   

MADISON, Wis. - Looking back at 2015, the executive director of the Wisconsin League of Conservation Voters, Kerry Schumann, says it was a bad year for the state's environment. In her view, the Legislature has allowed too many special-interest groups to shape Wisconsin's laws and environmental institutions.

She points to legislation that weakened groundwater protections in the state, and to a move which cut hundreds of scientists from the ranks of the state Department of Natural Resources. She says the state is moving in the wrong direction.

"There have been so many attacks on the environment this year that I would say we're worse off, and we've been going downhill, frankly, for the last five years," she says. "And at some point we need to stop this downhill slide or it's going to really start to impact people directly where they live."

Schumann says there were some victories in 2015, pointing in particular to legislation that preserved Wisconsin's stewardship program, which she calls critically important for the state's future.

Looking ahead to 2016, Schumann says legislation introduced just a few days ago will be up for consideration in the first legislative session of the coming year. She calls the legislation a "grab bag for special interests."

"It's actually two bills that go after both local communities' ability to protect their citizens from pollution, and water quality," says Schumann. "It's an all-out attack on water quality. Those bills were introduced at the last minute; they'll be moving forward in January."

One of the bills deals with shoreline zoning, among other things, and the other would make changes to the way wetlands are regulated and how the state deals with agricultural and construction runoff pollution. The Republican sponsors of the bills say they are needed updates, but Schumann says the legislation would benefit special interests to the detriment of Wisconsin citizens who prize clean water.



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