Portage County Legal News

Portage County Legal News.

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The Conversation: The surprising recovery of once-rare birds

(THE CONVERSATION) When I started bird-watching as a teenager, a few years after the first Earth Day in 1970, several species that once thrived in my region were nowhere to be found.
Some, like the passenger pigeon, were extinct. Others had retreated to more remote, wild areas of North America. In many cases, humans had destroye ... (full story)

Bail reforms across the US have shown that releasing people pretrial doesn't harm public safety

(THE CONVERSATION) President Donald Trump recently signed two executive orders targeting "cashless bail," the policies that permit the release of people arrested for crimes pending trial without requiring them to pay money.
One executive order directs arrestees in Washington, D.C. to be "held in Federal custody to ... (full story)

Boosting timber harvesting in national forests while cutting public oversight won't solve America's wildfire problem

(THE CONVERSATION) The western United States is facing another destructive wildfire season, with more acres burned in Colorado alone in 2025 than in the past four years combined. If global warming continues on its current trajectory, the amount of forest area burned each year could double or even triple by midcentury.
In other w ... (full story)

Colorado has one of the nation's highest suicide rates − an ER doctor explains how to bring it down

(THE CONVERSATION) Colorado has one of the highest suicide rates in the nation, at 20.9 per 100,000 in 2023. Of the state's 940 gun deaths that year, nearly 72% were by suicide.
Nationally, firearms are the leading cause of death for American youth ages 1 to 17. More than 1 in 4 youth firearm deaths nationwide are due to suicide ... (full story)

Jury trials, a critical part of democracy, are disappearing

(THE CONVERSATION) The right to trial by jury in criminal and civil cases is enshrined in the U.S. Constitution. It's also a critically important way in which citizens can participate in democracy.
The French thinker Alexis de Tocqueville observed early American juries at work. He noted in "Democracy in America" in 183 ... (full story)