TUE AM News: Appleton Dem holds briefing on pesticides causing harm to pollinators; Federal appeals court pauses stricter air standards in southeastern Wisconsin

September 9, 2025

— Widely used agricultural pesticides nicknamed “neonics” are posing a threat to pollinators and the crops they support, experts said during a briefing at the State Capitol.

Rep. Lee Snodgrass, D-Appleton, yesterday hosted the information session with members of environmental advocacy group Clean Wisconsin and specialists from UW-Madison. She circulated a package of legislation earlier this year aimed at addressing neonicotinoid impacts, including a bill to allow local municipalities to ban certain pesticides that are harmful to pollinators.

Neonicotinoids are synthetic chemicals that were initially marketed as a safer alternative for farmers to use against insects, with low levels of toxicity for mammals. Because they dissolve in water easily but don’t bind to soil as much, the chemicals can easily move from farm fields into the surrounding environment.

Shawn Conley, a professor of agronomy and the state soybean and small grain expert at UW-Madison, estimates up to 99% of all U.S. corn and 60-70% of soybeans are treated with neonicitinoids, covering about 153 million acres in the country. They’re also used in some specialty crops, though that represents a much smaller impact.

“So that’s part of the challenge we have, is the broad and widescale use of these insecticides,” he said yesterday.

These chemicals are very effective at treating target pests such as corn rootworm, seedcorn maggot and wireworm, he explained, and “really took off” in the early 2000s as they were safer than what was previously available. But research has found neonicitinoids — or neonics for short — can have damaging effects on the ecosystems that are necessary for sustaining crop production.

Because of the chemicals’ high level of water solubility, rain can wash them off of farm fields and into the environment, exposing fish, birds and critical pollinators such as bees. When bees are exposed to low, non-lethal doses of neonics in the environment, crucial behaviors including foraging, navigation, thermoregulation, colony growth and more are all harmed.

“All the things that sort of make bees successful overall are impacted,” said AJ Jeninga, an emerging contaminants expert with the UW-Madison Division of Extension. “And these disruptions can lead to lower pollinator success, and that could impact the success of our crops, our flowers, our ecosystems in general.”

She noted one third of the global food supply depends on pollinators. That includes Wisconsin crops such as cranberries, apples, green beans, cherries and cucumbers, she said. An earlier cosponsorship memo from Snodgrass and other lawmakers noted pollinators account for more than $55 million in crop production.

Conley added as neonics have grown in use, farmers are seeing increased slug damage to their crops, as the chemicals impact ground beetles and other “beneficial” insects that help control the slug population.

Meanwhile, ongoing reviews of neonics are shedding more light on their downstream impacts. Russ Groves, a UW-Madison professor of entomology, noted the U.S. EPA routinely reevaluates registrations for pesticides every 15 years, and neonics have been up for reregistration since 2015. Most of these chemicals “have still not passed” the Endangered Species Act review, he explained, referencing three types of neonics under review.

“What it’s listing are the percentage of likely adverse effects to different species or habitats, and in almost all cases, those estimates are either at or above 70%,” he said. “So the initial biological evaluations in this review process have identified that yes, there are significant sets of species and locations, habitats, where impacts will occur.”

In a segment focused on potential human health impacts, Clean Wisconsin UW Population Health Fellow Kayla Rinderknecht noted early warning signs arose around 2010 based on animal research. These studies linked neonics with possible harm to brain growth, motor activity, memory and behavior, as well as weaker immune systems, more stillbirths and other factors.

She also referenced research on potential nervous system effects in children, showing that spraying neonics can cause headaches, dizziness, tiredness and irritation. Another study indicated that exposure before birth or during childhood can lower cognitive ability, she said.

Still, Rinderknecht said human health effects of neonics are currently very understudied.

“More research is necessary to fully understand their health impacts and to be able to set safe exposure limits,” she said.

Watch the video.

— The U.S. 7th Circuit Court of Appeals has granted a stay to the Department of Natural Resources, pausing stricter air quality standards for areas in southeastern Wisconsin.

EPA last year reclassified its designation of areas in Milwaukee, Kenosha and Sheboygan counties from “moderate” to “serious” nonattainment areas under the agency’s 2015 ozone national air quality standards. Nonattainment areas don’t meet national air quality standards, meaning they face stricter regulations.

The stay puts the reclassifications for those areas on hold pending appeal. DNR declined to comment on the development.

In its motion seeking the stay, DNR called the reclassifications “fatally flawed” and argued the increased regulations required would “irreparably harm Wisconsin and its residents.”

DNR also noted EPA issued its 2015 rule without providing notice or opportunity for comment, and said EPA failed to account for high ozone concentrations along Wisconsin’s lakeshore due to wind patterns bringing out-of-state ozone to the area.

Scott Manley, executive vice president of government relations for Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce, said the order “will provide badly-needed relief to employers who face crushing and job-killing ozone regulations because of pollution they did not create.”

“Data from both the DNR and EPA indicate that the vast majority of ozone pollution in Eastern Wisconsin is caused by emissions originating from outside our state borders. It’s unfair to punish Wisconsin businesses for pollution they didn’t create, and today’s order is the first step toward righting this wrong,” Manley said.

The Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce is also applauding the order.

“This is a critical and welcome step toward protecting the economic vitality of southeastern Wisconsin,” MMAC President Dale Kooyenga said in a statement. “The EPA’s reclassification was based on flawed assumptions and ignored the overwhelming evidence that most of the ozone pollution in our region originates from out-of-state sources. The court’s stay allows us to pursue a more rational, science-based approach.”

Meanwhile, Clean Wisconsin General Counsel Katie Nekola said the reclassification indicates residents in those areas are at a higher risk of respiratory and cardiovascular diseases, and the state should implement all possible policies to reduce ozone pollution.

“Clean Wisconsin’s federal ozone case a few years ago forced EPA to reclassify southeastern WI counties as nonattainment, and DNR opposed that then, even though air monitors proved it,” Nekola said. “DNR will say that much of the ozone is coming from other states but that doesn’t absolve Wisconsin industries from doing their part to reduce their own pollution which contributes to the problem.”

See the release and an earlier story on this topic.

— The state has submitted its final proposal under the Broadband Equity Access and Deployment program for federal approval, Gov. Tony Evers announced.

The preliminary final proposal for BEAD, approved by the state Public Service Commission requires approval by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration before any awards can be finalized and broadband infrastructure construction can start.

Among other elements, the proposal details preliminary awards that are aimed at expanding high-speed internet to more than 174,000 homes and businesses in Wisconsin.

The guv’s office says infrastructure is expected to start next year, and environmental review and final project engineering will begin upon NTIA approval of the plan.

“With NTIA approval of our state’s BEAD proposal, we will be able to expand broadband access to thousands of locations across the state, helping ensure Wisconsin’s kids, families, communities, schools, and businesses get connected,” Evers said in a statement.

See the release.

— A new report from the International Association of Fairs and Expositions finds Wisconsin fairs have an economic return of $29 for each dollar of state funding provided.

The group yesterday issued its Fairs Economic Impact National Report Summary, which breaks down findings by region. In the Upper Midwest, which includes Wisconsin, Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota, these states had 156 total fairs in 2024 with an economic impact of about $18.2 million per fair.

Attendance at these Upper Midwest fairs hit 9.5 million last year, including 1.8 million out-of-town visitors and 243,600 overnight visitors. The group calculates these fairs led to 143,300 hotel room nights being booked.

The report estimates regional spending at fairs and fairgrounds to be $585.3 million for the year, part of a $1.3 billion total direct spending calculation that also includes operational spending and spending outside of fairs and fairgrounds.

Total economic impact in the Upper Midwest hit $2.8 billion last year, per the report, with about $1 billion in wages and 21,800 ongoing jobs sustained by fair operations.

State sales tax revenues from fairs was $74.6 million for the year, while related state hotel tax revenues was about $33,000.

“For more than 250 years, fairs have been a vital part of their communities. This study shows that they are an economic driver in communities of all sizes across the nation,” David Grindle, president and CEO of the IAFE, said in a statement on the findings.

See more from the report.

— Washington and Ozaukee counties are launching a new initiative to review select cases of suicide and fatal overdose, in hopes of addressing the factors behind these deaths.

The joint Washington Ozaukee Public Health Department yesterday announced the bi-county Fatality Review Team, which will work with each county’s Sheriff’s Office, Medical Examiner’s Office and Human Services Department on the effort.

Members of the team will meet to review certain cases of overdose death and suicide among county residents aged 19 years and older. Goals include identifying and addressing gaps in services, identifying underlying causes and trends, developing prevention strategies focused on mental health and substance abuse, and recommending policy or program changes locally and at the state level.

Washington and Ozaukee counties had 96 suicides and 129 fatal overdoses between 2021 and 2024, the announcement notes, calling loneliness and isolation “profound threats” to wellbeing for residents.

Washington County Sheriff Martin Shulteis notes every death from suicide or overdose “leaves a lasting impact” on families, friends and first responders.

“Our community has experienced too many of these tragedies,” he said in a statement. “The data represents real people — our neighbors, our loved ones. We must do everything we can to prevent further loss.”

See more in the release.

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