Court ruling opening Wisconsin brings concern, Trump praise

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A court ruling tossing Wisconsin's stay-at-home order threw communities into chaos Thursday as local leaders were forced to decide whether to issue their own restrictions or allow bars and restaurants to reopen amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The conservative majority of the Wisconsin Supreme Court late Wednesday afternoon ruled that the “safer at home” order from Democratic Gov. Tony Evers was invalid and threw it out effective immediately. The order forces Evers to work with the GOP-controlled Legislature on a new plan, a process that could take weeks.

The court ruling drew praise from President Donald Trump on Thursday, who referenced a victory earlier in the week by a Republican congressional candidate in a special election.

“The Great State of Wisconsin, home to Tom Tiffany’s big Congressional Victory on Tuesday, was just given another win,” Trump tweeted. “Its Democrat Governor was forced by the courts to let the State Open. The people want to get on with their lives. The place is bustling!”

Some businesses didn’t waste a moment. Nick’s Bar in Platteville, in far southwest Wisconsin, posted a 30-second video late Wednesday that showed the bar teeming with people drinking, talking and bobbing their heads to music.

But more liberal parts of the state were clamping down. In Dane County, home to the capital of Madison, officials quickly imposed a mandate incorporating most of the statewide order. City health officials in Milwaukee said a stay-at-home order they enacted in late March remains in effect.

As the debate on how to manage the coronavirus has grown more partisan, Republicans in other states have made similar moves. In Kansas on Wednesday, top GOP lawmakers resisted Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly’s request to extend a disaster declaration to mid-June, with Senate...