Wisconsin's Top Stories for 2014
Monday, December 22nd, 2014 -- 8:51 AM
(AP) -Wisconsin's top story in 2014 was a historic one, as the state joined the ranks of those that allow gay marriage. But plenty of other headlines are worth remembering from the year that was including...SAME SEX MARRIAGE
A federal judge in Madison uncorked same-sex marriage in June when she struck down the state's ban. Gay couples across the state rushed to wed over several days before opponents stopped it temporarily. Four months later, the U.S. Supreme Court re-started it when it rejected appeals from gay marriage opponents in five states including Wisconsin, and hundreds of couples rushed to courthouse to exercise their right to marry.
WISCONSIN GOVERNOR
Gov. Scott Walker, after surviving a recall two years earlier, won his second term in November by easily beating former Trek executive Mary Burke. Walker soon confirmed what had long been speculated, that he would explore a run for president. Meanwhile, Republicans grew their majorities in both the Senate and Assembly.
DOE INVESTIGATION
Walker continued to be dogged by an investigation into whether his campaign during the 2012 recall illegally coordinated with conservative groups. A federal judge in Milwaukee halted the probe in May after a conservative group filed a lawsuit alleging the investigation violated its free speech rights. That ruling was subsequently overturned by an appeals court, but the probe remains on hold after the judge overseeing it quashed subpoenas investigators wanted to issue. This year also saw the release of more than 100,000 pages of emails and other documents collected during a now-closed investigation into activities in Walker's county executive office.
WISCONSIN UNIONS
The fight over Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker's signature policy achievement, a law effectively ending collective bargaining for most public employees, ended in July with the state Supreme Court declaring it constitutional. Passage of the law in 2011 put Wisconsin at the center of a nationwide battle over union rights and fueled Walker's rise to national prominence.
VOTER ID
The U.S. Supreme Court blocked Wisconsin's voter photo identification law from going into effect less than a month before the Nov. 4 election.
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