The advocacy group’s new video lays out a sweeping resolution. Some of it is verifiable. Some of it isn’t. Here’s what the board — and the public , should scrutinize before Tuesday’s meeting.
On May 19, 2026, the Price County Board of Supervisors will meet for their regular session. On the agenda, if accepted, is a presentation from U.T.A.V. (United Together Against Violence), the advocacy group led by Brittany L. Volkman that has been pressing the county on domestic violence policy, broadband, and transparency since at least early 2026. See also: our guide to free camping in Wisconsin. See also: our 48-hour Price County itinerary. See also: what makes Price County communities special. See also: our guide to Price County public records.
Ahead of that meeting, Volkman released a video laying out a four-point “federally capitalized resolution” for Price County. It is ambitious, sweeping, and worth understanding in detail , because while the problems it identifies are real, several of the proposed solutions deserve serious scrutiny before anyone writes them into county policy.
We analyzed the original written proposal
We analyzed the original written proposal in depth when it was first submitted. This article focuses on the new claims in the video and what’s changed , or hasn’t , since the written document was filed.
Point 1: The Firearms Gap . Still Real, Still Urgent
Last updated: May 2026
What the video says: Mandatory firearms surrender hearings for domestic abuse injunctions are “not being strictly enforced” in Price County, and the recent fatal domestic violence incident in neighboring Taylor County demonstrates the consequences.
What we know: We reported on this gap in detail when the original proposal was submitted. Wisconsin Statute 813.1285 requires courts to hold a hearing within 48 hours of issuing a domestic abuse injunction to determine whether the respondent must surrender firearms. The Taylor County case , where a domestic violence homicide occurred despite an existing injunction , is real and well-documented.
What’s new in the video: UTAV now proposes to serve as a “501 broker” to secure federal Department of Justice and VOCA (Victims of Crime Act) grants to fund a secure domestic violence shelter and integrate crisis advocates into law enforcement response protocols.
Questions the board should ask: – What
Questions the board should ask:
– What is UTAV’s track record as a grant administrator? Have they successfully brokered DOJ or VOCA grants before?
– The VOCA funding stream has faced significant cuts in recent years. What’s the fallback if federal victim assistance funding is reduced or eliminated?
– Price County already has a domestic violence advocacy organization. How would UTAV’s proposed integration differ from or duplicate existing services?
Point 2: Broadband . The $15 Million Problem
What the video says: Price County has “$15 million locked in stalled broadband projects” and the solution is “immediate, direct-to-consumer rescue using low Earth orbit satellite technology” at $349 per unit, equipping the 35-car sheriff’s fleet and 10 emergency towers.
What we know: This is substantially accurate. In June 2024, the Price County Board approved a $15 million bond agreement with Bug Tussel Wireless for broadband and emergency communications infrastructure. By March 2026, the board was reconsidering the deal amid regulatory delays, including federal prohibitions on tree clearing and an archaeological study requirement. As of May 2026, Bug Tussel updated the board on progress, but 87 miles of fiber remains stalled.
The $12.6 million savings claim: The video claims the satellite alternative would “save taxpayers $12.6 million.” This number appears to be UTAV’s own calculation: if the county abandons the Bug Tussel fiber project and deploys LEO satellite receivers instead, the difference between the $15M bond and the satellite deployment cost. But this framing oversimplifies the economics. Fiber and satellite serve fundamentally different purposes , fiber provides symmetrical gigabit speeds with low latency; satellite has high download speeds but often limited upload capacity and higher latency. The claim that satellite provides “the high bandwidth upload capacity required for modern telehealth and the remote work economy” is particularly questionable. Starlink’s current upload speeds typically range from 5-20 Mbps, which may not meet the requirements for some telehealth and remote work applications.
Questions the board should ask: – Has
Questions the board should ask:
– Has any other rural Wisconsin county successfully replaced a fiber bond with satellite? What happened?
– What happens to the $15M bond obligation if the county walks away from Bug Tussel? Is it cancelable, or does the county still owe it?
– The video proposes USDA Community Connect grants and FCC Lifeline subsidies. These programs have specific eligibility requirements , has UTAV confirmed Price County qualifies?
– The sheriff’s fleet of 35 vehicles and 10 emergency towers , is this the current count, and what is the actual radio coverage gap?
Point 3: United Pride Dairy . The Existential Threat
What the video says: The “$27.1 million United Pride Dairy CAFO” faces “existential federal litigation from the EEOC” for national origin discrimination and TN visa abuse, and simultaneously faces scrutiny for groundwater pollution from “32 million gallons of liquid manure annually” and blastomycosis risk.
What we know , and what we can verify:
The EEOC lawsuit is real. We covered this extensively when the EEOC filed suit on December 17, 2026. The complaint alleges United Pride Dairy violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act by subjecting Mexican nationals on TN visas to discriminatory working conditions, assigning them to laborer positions while American workers received better roles, and calling American workers “lazy” to justify the disparate treatment. A supervisor also allegedly sexually harassed a female Mexican employee. United Pride Dairy has called the suit “baseless.”
The $27.1 million figure: This is new. We cannot independently verify the valuation of United Pride Dairy’s operation. This number does not appear in the EEOC complaint or in public court filings we’ve reviewed. The board should ask where this figure comes from , is it assessed value, revenue, or something else?
The 200+ jobs claim: Also unverifiable
The 200+ jobs claim: Also unverifiable from public sources. The EEOC complaint references specific named plaintiffs but does not detail the total workforce size. Price County employment data from the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development shows agriculture as a significant employer, but specific headcounts for individual operations are not publicly available.
32 million gallons of manure: This is plausible for a large dairy CAFO. A 2,000-cow dairy can produce 20-30 million gallons of liquid manure annually. Whether the specific figure of 32 million gallons is accurate for United Pride Dairy would need to be verified against the farm’s Wisconsin Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (WPDES) permit, which is a public document available through the DNR.
The blastomycosis claim: This is the most scientifically tenuous assertion in the video. The video states that the dairy’s “high-volume manure management also is a vector for blastomycosis, a deadly fungal pathogen that thrives in soil saturated with animal waste.”
Blastomycosis is endemic in Wisconsin , that
Blastomycosis is endemic in Wisconsin , that part is true. The fungus Blastomyces lives in moist soil and decomposing organic matter. However, the CDC and peer-reviewed literature describe transmission as occurring through inhalation of fungal spores from disturbed soil, particularly near waterways and in wooded areas. There is no published epidemiological study linking blastomycosis outbreaks to CAFO manure application specifically. A 2023 CDC MMWR report on a blastomycosis cluster in Minnesota noted that construction activity was the likely trigger for spore aerosolization , not manure.
That said, the logical chain . CAFO operations involve earthmoving and manure spreading, earthmoving can aerosolize soil-dwelling fungi, and blastomycosis is endemic in northern Wisconsin , is not unreasonable as a hypothesis. It is not established as fact. The video presents it as a settled connection, which it is not.
The cooperative proposal: UTAV proposes using Wisconsin
The cooperative proposal: UTAV proposes using Wisconsin Chapter 185 to transition United Pride Dairy into a worker-owned cooperative, shifting from “raw fluid milk to value-added products” through regenerative agriculture. This is a creative and legally plausible structure . Wisconsin’s cooperative statute does allow agricultural cooperatives. But converting a $27M dairy operation facing federal litigation into a cooperative would involve resolving the EEOC case first, restructuring debt, and finding buyers or transition financing. The video has no details on how any of this would work in practice.
Questions the board should ask:
– Where does the $27.1 million valuation come from?
– How many workers does United Pride Dairy actually employ, and how many are on TN visas?
– Is the blastomycosis claim based on epidemiological evidence specific to this operation, or is it a general concern about CAFOs in blastomycosis-endemic regions?
– Has UTAV consulted with Wisconsin cooperative development specialists about the Chapter 185 process?
– What happens to the EEOC litigation if the operation converts to a cooperative? Does the liability transfer?
Point 4: WCMIC and Fiduciary Transparency
What the video says: UTAV’s audit “exposed the use of the WCMIC deductible escrow account to finance legal fees and settlements in civil defamation lawsuits initiated by elected officials against local citizens.” UTAV demands “immediate release of all open records regarding these settlements.”
What we know: We reported on the WCMIC escrow controversy in detail. The Wisconsin County Mutual Insurance Corporation (WCMIC) is the insurance pool that covers Price County. Its deductible escrow account has been used to pay for legal defense and settlements in defamation lawsuits brought by elected officials , most notably Sheriff Brian Schmidt , against private citizens who criticized them on social media.
What’s new in the video: The video goes further than our reporting did, explicitly stating that UTAV “exposed” this use of funds. In reality, the public records about WCMIC spending have been available through open records requests, and the Hastings resignation letter and our own reporting brought this to light. UTAV’s contribution was compiling it into their 148-source audit document.
Questions the board should ask: – How
Questions the board should ask:
– How much has the WCMIC deductible escrow paid in legal fees and settlements for defamation cases brought by elected officials against citizens?
– Which specific cases are involved, and what were the settlement amounts?
– Is it standard practice for county insurance to cover elected officials suing private citizens for defamation related to their public duties, or is this an unusual use of the escrow?
– What would full transparency look like here , publication of all settlement agreements, or just the totals?
The Bigger Picture: UTAV’s Role and Credibility
There is no question that UTAV has identified real problems in Price County. The broadband failure is documented. The EEOC lawsuit is real. The WCMIC escrow spending is verifiable. The domestic violence firearms gap has had deadly consequences in the region.
But the video also demonstrates a pattern of overstatement that matters, especially when you’re asking a county board to adopt policy positions based on your research:
$15 million “locked” in broadband , more
- $15 million “locked” in broadband , more accurately, $15M in bonding was approved for a project that is delayed and under reconsideration. The money isn’t “locked”; it’s encumbered in a contract that the county is now rethinking.
- “$27.1 million” dairy , no public source for this figure.
- Blastomycosis as a CAFO vector , a hypothesis, not established fact.
- “$12.6 million savings” , assumes fiber can be cleanly replaced by satellite without acknowledging the well-documented technical limitations of LEO satellite for rural telehealth and public safety.
- “Four-point federally capitalized resolution” , the video presents UTAV as a “501 broker” who will secure the grants, but there’s no evidence of UTAV having successfully administered federal grants of this scale before.
None of this means the board should dismiss UTAV’s presentation. It means the board should treat it as what it is: an advocacy document identifying real problems, with proposed solutions that range from well-supported (Point 1) to speculative (Points 2-3) to partially documented (Point 4).
The correct response from the board
The correct response from the board on Tuesday is not to adopt or reject these proposals wholesale. It’s to assign each point to the appropriate committee for investigation, request verification of the specific dollar figures and claims, and set timelines for public reporting.
Price County deserves accountability. Accountability starts with accuracy.
See also: Breaking Down the U.T.A.V. Proposal , our original analysis of the written proposal
See also: Visa Fraud, Harassment, and “Americans Are Lazy” , our deep dive on the United Pride Dairy EEOC case
See also: Who Pays? The WCMIC Escrow, Sheriff Schmidt’s Lawsuits, and Price County’s Transparency Question , our reporting on the insurance fund controversy
Frequently Asked Questions
When does the Price County Board of Supervisors meet?
The Price County Board of Supervisors meets the third Wednesday of each month at the Price County Courthouse in Phillips. Agendas are posted at co.price.wi.us. Meetings are open to the public per Wisconsin open meetings law.
How do I contact Price County government offices?
The Price County Courthouse is at 104 S. Eyder Avenue in Phillips, WI 54555. The main phone number is (715) 339-2300. Individual department contacts are available on the Price County website at co.price.wi.us.
Where can I find Price County meeting agendas and minutes?
Meeting agendas, minutes, and schedules are posted on the Price County website at co.price.wi.us/agendacenter. Agendas are typically posted at least 24 hours before meetings per Wisconsin open meetings law.
What services does the Price County Sheriff’s Office provide?
The Price County Sheriff’s Office provides law enforcement, dispatch, jail operations, and civil process services. The office is located at the Price County Courthouse in Phillips and can be reached for non-emergencies at (715) 339-3614.
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