Senior Producer Steve Walters interviewed Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation CEO Reed Hall on May 17, 2013 at the WisconsinEye studio in Madison.

On May 13, 2013, Senior Producer Steve Walters discussed the state budget and the progress the Joint Finance Committee is making with JFC co-chairs, Sen. Alberta Darling (R-River Hills) and Rep. John Nygren (R-Marinette) at the state Capitol.

On May 4, 2013, Senior Producer Steve Walters interviewed Senate Majority Leader Sen. Scott Fitzgerald (R-Juneau) during the 2013 Republican Convention in Wausau, WI.

With Republican Gov. Scott Walker's re-election bid only 18 months away, UW-Madison Political Science Professor Charles Franklin noted in a Newsmakers interview on May 3 that the governor's approve/disapprove ratings in Marquette University Law School polls have never risen above 52%. Franklin said Walker's re-election chances could hinge on who Democrats pick to run against him and how well that candidate frames criticism of the governor over job creation. Franklin also discussed the mid-term popularity of U.S. Sen Ron Johnson and school funding changes -- including expansion of charter school and voucher programs -- that Walker wants included in the next state budget.  

The four Republican members of the Assembly’s “CPA Caucus” asked the tough questions that led to the April 19 disclosure of a $1-billion surplus in the UW System. In a Newsmakers interview on May 1, those four CPAs – Reps. Howard Marklein, Dale Kooyenga, John Klenke and Chris Kapenga – talked about how they often meet to go over state government financial reports. They also agreed that the $1-billion surplus means that UW System tuition must be frozen for the next two years and the System does not need all of the additional $180 million by mid-2015 that was recommended by Gov. Scott Walker. The part-time Board of Regents who set policy for the 26-campus system “must govern,” Kooyenga added.

Gov. Scott Walker's plan to expand the voucher program, which allows children to attend private schools at state expense, to nine more cities is one of the biggest fights between Republicans who control the Legislature. The issue is also being hotly debated in those nine communities -- as a WisconsinEye Newsmakers show taped in Beloit on April 29 proved. Panelists who oppose the governor's plan were Steve McNeal, superintendent of Beloit's public schools, and Democratic Sen. Tim Cullen, whose Senate district includes Beloit and Janesville. Supporting the governor's plan to give parents and children one more educational option were Bob Cerniglia, the middle and high school principle of Rock County Christian School, and Tim Befus, administrator of Rock County Christian School. If the governor's plan becomes law, Rock County Christian expects between 20 and 30 students to transfer to it.

On April 26, 2013, Senior Producer Steve Walters interviewed Milwaukee entrepreneur and philanthropist Michael Cudahy . The interview took place at the Diederich College of Communication at Marquette University in Milwaukee.

On April 26, 2013, Senior Producer Steve Walters discussed the newly-released report on the number of African-American men incarcerated in Wisconsin prisons with one of the authors, John Pawasarat, at Marquette University's Diederich College of Communications.

On April 26, 2013, Senior Producer Steve Walters discussed Milwaukee County’s economic development plans with the newly-appointed economic development director Tieg Whaley-Smith, who replaces Brian Taffora who left the post in late December when County Board members eliminated his position and forced him to re-apply for the job.  The interview took place at Marquette University’s Diederich College of Communications in Milwaukee.

Senior Producer Steve Walters interviewed Milwaukee County Board Chair Marina Dimitrijevic and 1st District Supervisor Theo Lipscomb on April 26, 2013 in Milwaukee regarding the possible restructuring of the Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors.

On April 25, 2013, Senior Producer Steve Walters sat down in the WisconsinEye studio to discuss the debt crisis in America with Katie Belanger, a member of the Steering Committee of the Wisconsin chapter of Fix the Debt, and Scott Klug, the co-chair of the Wisconsin chapter of Fix the Debt.

On April 19, 2013, Senior Producer Steve Walters discussed the proposal of moving control of Circus World Museum to the Wisconsin Historical Society with Circus Museum Executive Director Steve Freese. The interview took place at the museum in Baraboo.

If you're age 50 or older, and thinking about opening a small business, chase that dream! A panel of experts said in a Newsmakers interview on April 18 that there are plenty of resources and mentors out there to advise you on turning a personal interest or hobby into a small business. The panelists were Eric Ness, Wisconsin District Director for the U.S. Small Business Administration; Sam Wilson, State Director, AARP Wisconsin; Barbara Boustead, owner of Mary’s Daughter LLC, and Jonathan Sandbrook, project director for the Wisconsin Women’s Business Initiative Corp.

Two UW-Madison education experts reviewed two of Gov. Scott Walker's most controversial education changes -- expanding private-school vouchers to 9 school districts over the next two years and then statewide, and creating more charter schools and a Charter School Oversight Board -- In a Newsmakers interview on April 15. School of Education Dean Julie Underwood and Julie Mead, chair of UW-Madison's Department of Educational Leadership & Policy Analysis, said Walker's changes would give more state aid to private schools but no increase in state aid for public schools. Both experts also compared Walker's changes to vouchers and charter school programs in other states.

On April 10, 2013, Senior Producer Steve Walters interviewed Major General Donald Dunbar, the adjutant general of Wisconsin. They discussed the Wisconsin National Guard's role in U.S. peace keeping efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan.