Column: Is anyone actually reading government’s required legal notices?

By Nancy S. Lind

Hidden in the back pages between mattress ads and used car ads, thousands of taxpayer dollars disappear into a black hole of government communication that may reach absolutely no one.

When Stevens Point needs to announce a budget meeting or Plover schedules a public hearing, Wisconsin law mandates that they publish legal notices in newspapers. The catch? Nobody—not the municipal clerks, not the newspapers, not the state—tracks whether a single resident reads them.

An investigation into Portage County’s legal notice system exposes a costly communication gap that leaves taxpayers funding a system with zero accountability and potentially zero impact on democratic participation.

The Price of Tradition

Stevens Point’s legal notice costs have more than doubled since 2017, jumping from 33 cents per column inch to about 82 cents per line. The city now designates The Stevens Point Gazette (formerly known as The Portage County Gazette), owned by Multi Media Channels, as its official newspaper, while Plover, according to Village Clerk Tammy Wojtalewicz, publishes in Gannett’s Stevens Point Journal—a patchwork system that reflects Wisconsin’s complex municipal hierarchy. 

“It would be nice if we’d get more than one bid on things, but state statute is also restrictive on who qualifies as an official newspaper,” said Stevens Point Council President Marc Christianson.

The qualification requirements are stringent. Eligible newspapers must operate for at least one year, have a paid subscription base totaling at least 50 percent plus one of their total circulation, and meet other specific Wisconsin Department of Administration standards, including font size and formatting specifications. Because apparently, the government has strong opinions about typography.

The Readership Reality Check

National research paints a bleak picture of legal notice effectiveness. The U.S. Supreme Court recognized this challenge in 1950 in Mullane v. Central Hanover Bank & Trust Co., noting that “chance alone brings to the attention of even a local resident an advertisement in small type inserted in the back pages of a newspaper.”

That was 74 years ago—before smartphones, social media, and the dramatic decline in newspaper readership.

Local resident Taylor Madson’s reaction reflects generational shifts: “I have never even held a newspaper in my hand or even looked at one online.”

The disconnect is evident at city meetings. Stevens Point’s 2025 budget hearings received proper legal notice publication, yet public comment periods drew minimal participation despite significant tax levy discussions. Road construction projects proceed with limited citizen input, and municipal ordinance changes regularly surprise residents when enforcement begins.

The Democratic Paradox

The most troubling aspect? No data exists to measure success. Portage County has no readership studies, no demographic analysis, and no comparison of print versus online notice effectiveness. Local governments operate in an information vacuum, spending thousands annually on notices that may reach no one.

When Sedgwick County, Kansas, moved notices from a major daily ($133,000 annually) to a smaller weekly ($56,000), costs dropped dramatically—but so did potential readership, from “almost nobody” to “definitely nobody.”

Mayor Mike Wiza expressed frustration with consistently rising costs but found little recourse within current legal frameworks mandated by state statute.

The Path Forward

Wisconsin took modest steps toward modernization through a 2016-2017 Legislative Council study committee, allowing municipalities to publish summaries instead of full text for repeat notices. However, the committee retained print publication requirements, stating that “future technological advancements and changes in how people access information may necessitate broader changes to the law.”

Classic legislative can-kicking at its finest.

What Citizens Can Do

Residents can monitor legal notices through newspaper websites and the Wisconsin Public Notices website. More importantly, they can attend county board meetings and advocate for enhanced notification systems that actually reach people in 2025.

The gaps identified in this investigation represent a statewide challenge requiring immediate attention from policymakers, researchers, and engaged citizens. The time has come to move beyond assumptions and gather facts about how the government reaches citizens in the 21st century.

Spoiler alert: it’s probably not through newspaper classified sections tucked between “barely used mattresses” and “used cars for sale in your area.”