The rent-to-own industry seeks to get out from under the thumb of the Wisconsin Consumer Act. Of particular concern is the requirement that it disclose fees in terms of annual interest rate, which can run as high as 300 percent.

You don’t have to be a campaign donor or corporate executive to get an audience with Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker. But it doesn’t hurt. The third installment in a three-part series.

Last year, Gov. Scott Walker crisscrossed the nation, breaking fundraising records and netting about half his donations from out of state. But his calendars show the consequences of fame and fundraising. The first in a three-part series.

A state program helped Didion Milling win $5.6 million in stimulus funding to expand its Cambria milling and ethanol plant, which has a history of environmental violations.

Last month, as the current legislative session ground to a close, Wisconsin became the 39th state to pass a shield law for news reporters.

News and notes: New tools for monitoring environmental data in Wisconsin; the governor’s campaign contributors favor keeping him in control of DNR; DOJ hosts free seminars on government sunshine; and tax revenue was down last year.

Gov. Jim Doyle and his staff submitted receipts 70 percent of the time in 2007 and 2008 for travel expenses reviewed by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, newly released records show, and not 28 percent of the time as the newspaper reported nine weeks ago.

WATERLOO — Top Wisconsin officials acknowledged Tuesday that Wisconsin dairy farmers increasingly rely upon immigrant workers, including large numbers who may be undocumented — a result of demand for labor and the nation’s porous borders.