Small cities in Wisconsin want to hang onto their metropolitan status in the face of a proposal that would downgrade some to "micropolitan" areas.

Wausau, Oshkosh and Janesville are among the Wisconsin cities that have submitted objections to a proposed reclassification by the federal Office of Management and Budget that would bump the minimum population for a metropolitan statistical area from 50,000 to 100,000 people. Sheboygan and Fond du Lac would also be affected, along with 139 U.S. cities outside of Wisconsin — from Fairbanks, Alaska and Bend, Oregon to Wheeling, West Virginia and Dubuque, Iowa....