Wisconsin VA secretary retires as questions about vets’ home persist

There are some unanswered questions about the latest change in the Evers administration.

The governor last Thursday announced that Wisconsin Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary Mary Kolar will retire on January 2.

Kolar was among the first to join Tony Evers as governor, and leaves at a time when there are lingering questions about the Department of Veterans Affairs.

“The Veterans Home at Union Grove has been under investigations during the past few years because of the awful conditions that have been brought to light by residents and their families,” the Institute for Reforming Government said in its end of the year report on the challenges facing Gov. Evers in the new year. “Based on reporting, residents have had to endure poor medical care, dehydration, and unexplained injuries. Earlier this year, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported that the Home had 62 operating violations in the last five years.”

Union Grove was given six citations by federal inspectors back in November for violations at the home. Many of the violations were repeat violations.

Neither Gov. Evers nor Secretary Kolar addressed the problems at Union Grove in her resignation announcement.

“Since 2019, the Department of Veterans Affairs has strengthened partnerships, grown outreach, improved benefits and services, and laid a better foundation for the future of Wisconsin veterans and their families. It has been the honor of a lifetime to lead this department, staffed entirely by people dedicated to making life better for those who have served. My appreciation goes to them and to Gov. Evers for his ongoing support and leadership,” Kolar said in a statement.

“Mary has been with us since Day One and has always been a fierce advocate for Wisconsin’s more than 300,000 veterans,” the governor said in the same statement. “As a veteran herself, we have valued Mary’s insights and expertise to bolster supports and services to our nation’s heroes and their families, especially in her work as co-chair of our Blue Ribbon Commission on Veteran Opportunity. I wish Mary and her family well and want to share my sincere thanks for her decades of service to our state and country.”

Gov. Evers begins his second term with the oath of office Tuesday. There is no word who will replace Kolar at the DVA.