Bob Davis: During the manufacturing downturn that began in the late 1990s, Auburn University in Auburn, Ala., provided a steady source of employment, improved the nimbleness of the local workforce and helped attract new businesses to replace those that fled when times got tough. In 2014, General Electric Co. chose its new plant in Auburn … Continue reading There’s an Antidote to America’s Long Economic Malaise: College Towns →

Patrick Thornton: We must start asking all Americans to be their better selves. We must all understand that America is a melting pot and that none of us has a more authentic American experience. If we pin this election on coastal elites, we are excusing white working-class and rural Americans for voting for a man … Continue reading Civics: Flyover Country Rhetoric →

Steven Walters: The UW-Madison political science professor, an Ozaukee County native, was stunned by what northern Wisconsin residents told her in diners, coffee shops, back rooms and barns between 2007 and 2012. “I did not expect to hear it, but many of the people I listened to in rural areas exhibited a multifaceted resentment toward … Continue reading K-12 Tax & Spending Climate: Rural Wisconsin is red and angry →