League of Municipalities Executive Director, Jerry Deschane, joins to talk about the more than 40 Wisconsin communities previously classified as “urban” by the U.S. Census Bureau that are now “rural” in the wake of the federal agency changing its definitions. Under the U.S. Census Bureau’s new definitions, cities with 5,000+ residents are considered ‘urban’ whereas previously, the threshold was 2,500.
The ramifications of this change are still unclear but it could have a negative impact on a harder time qualifying for federal aid or grants to pay for health care, public transportation, education and agriculture programs.
In November 2020, despite being around for 44 years, Madison’s independent, local newspaper Isthmus, was on the brink of extinction but it ultimately survived because of a decision to change it’s business model and become a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization operating under the name Isthmus Community Media, Inc. Jason Joyce, publisher of Isthmus, joins to talk about that shift, the future of a non-profit business model for independent and alternative media outlets and gives us an update on what’s going on in Madison.
