News from around Wisconsin at 6:58 p.m. CDT

Associated Press

Updated: Sep 26, 2012 8:03 PM

Unions demand Wis. judge let ruling stand

MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- Union attorneys have asked a Madison judge to let stand a ruling that Republican Gov. Scott Walker's collective bargaining changes are unconstitutional.

Dane County Circuit Judge Juan Colas' ruling earlier this month came as part of a lawsuit a Madison teacher union and a Milwaukee city workers union filed challenging the law.

Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen has asked Colas to stay the ruling pending an appeal. The unions' attorneys filed a brief Wednesday asking Colas to refuse.

They contend Van Hollen hasn't shown he could win an appeal or how allowing the ruling to stand would hurt the state. They als maintain Colas correctly ruled the law violates union members' free speech, association and equal protection rights.

Van Hollen has until Friday to reply.

___

Walker says Romney should be more passionate

MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- Wisconsin Republican Gov. Scott Walker continues to criticize the way Mitt Romney is running his campaign for president.

Walker on Wednesday again said he wants to see "more passion" from Romney on the campaign trail. Walker has been publically calling for Romney to make changes in how he makes his arguments on the campaign trail.

The governor's comments come in the wake of polls last week that show President Barack Obama's lead over Romney increasing in Wisconsin. Most polls show Obama with a lead in the high single digits.

Walker says Romney showed passion in connecting with people when he campaigned in Wisconsin in Janesville and Waukesha, but he hasn't seen it elsewhere. Walker says voters want someone who is a fighter.

___

Local unemployment rates drop across Wisconsin

MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- Local unemployment rates across Wisconsin are dropping.

The latest report from the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development released Wednesday shows that unemployment rates in every major city dropped between July and August.

Unemployment also went down in all but three Wisconsin counties. Rates increased only in Florence, Grant and Menominee counties.

The preliminary unemployment rates for local areas are not seasonally adjusted, subject to significant revision, and not directly comparable with the statewide figures.

Unemployment ranged from a low of 5 percent in Dane County to a high of 21.9 percent in Menominee County.

Racine had the highest unemployment rate of any city at 12.1 percent, followed by Beloit at 11.8 percent.

The statewide rate for August was 7.5 percent.

___

Rove's group spending another $1.2 million on ads

MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- Karl Rove's political action committee Crossroads GPS is pouring another $1.2 million into ads attacking Democrat Tammy Baldwin in Wisconsin's U.S. Senate race.

The group unveiled its latest attack ad on Wednesday calling Baldwin "too extreme for Wisconsin." She is running against Republican Tommy Thompson.

The spending by Rove's group comes on top of $961,000 it spent last week. It had previously spent $500,000 on anti-Baldwin ads.

Also on Wednesday, Gov. Scott Walker and former U.S. Rep. Mark Neumann sent fundraising pleas on behalf of Thompson via email.

The flurry of spending comes after polls last week showed the race a dead heat, or Baldwin ahead, and Thompson admitted his campaign was broke after the mid-August primary.

Copyright 2013 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Political Pulse

We welcome your thoughtful comments. Be the first to participate in the discussion. All comments will display your username and avatar.