Green Bay Reporter

Senate Bill 51, co-authored by State Sen. Rob Cowles (R-Green Bay) and passed earlier this year, has led to the operation of a new newspaper in the Village of Wrightsville that is free for residents to access.

Cowles tweeted Oct. 12, sharing a link to an article by the Wrightstown Area Spirit headlined “Wrightstown Spirit becomes official newspaper of Village of Wrightstown."

“2021 Act 32, which I authored with @RepKitchens, is already having a local impact on government transparency! The Village of Wrightstown will have a 27-times increase in the number of households receiving notices to their doorstep thanks to these changes,” Cowles wrote in his tweet.

According to the Wisconsin State Legislature, Senate Bill 51 revises the requirements of which newspapers can publish legal notices and receive compensation for their publication. 

The new bill allows for an expansion in the number of papers eligible to publish legal notices, expanding these to an online audience. According to the Wrightstown Spirit, this is designed to adapt to changes in the print media market and to give residents a greater sense of transparency as they follow their local government. 

With this, the new Wrightstown Area Spirit will be allowed to publish government notices and will be received by over 1,000 households free of charge, the article states. The last newspaper on record circulated in the village, The Brillion News, had been available only by paid subscription to just 39 households.