Becky Frankiewicz and Jonas Prising. Photo provided.

Milwaukee-based ManpowerGroup is preparing for a leadership transition, with a new CEO set to take over at the start of 2027.

The global staffing and workforce solutions company announced Thursday that its board of directors elected Becky Frankiewicz as its next chief executive officer, effective Jan. 1.

Frankiewicz, currently the company’s president and chief strategy officer, will succeed Jonas Prising, who has led ManpowerGroup since 2014. Prising will become executive chair of the company’s board of directors.

Frankiewicz will be just the fifth CEO in ManpowerGroup’s nearly 80-year history. She will also join the company’s board of directors.

The transition follows a long-term succession planning process, according to the company.

Frankiewicz joined ManpowerGroup in July 2017 as president of its North American operations. She subsequently served as chief commercial officer and was promoted to president and chief strategy officer in June 2025.

In her current position, she has led the company’s commercial strategy, including efforts to integrate artificial intelligence and emerging AI technologies across its operations. The company operates through three primary brands: Manpower, Experis and Talent Solutions.

Before joining ManpowerGroup, Frankiewicz led Quaker Foods North America, a subsidiary of PepsiCo. Earlier in her career, she worked for Procter & Gamble, Deloitte and Andersen Consulting. She has also served on the board of directors of Energizer Holdings since January 2020.

“As we enter our next chapter, we have a significant opportunity to accelerate our strategy, expand our AI capabilities, and deliver greater value through our ‘Human First, Digital Always’ approach,” said Frankiewicz in a statement announcing her appointment.

Prising, who has spent 12 years as CEO, endorsed his successor.

“Becky and I have worked closely together on ManpowerGroup’s ongoing transformation, and I’ve seen firsthand the exceptional leadership, strategic perspective and deep commitment she brings to the Company,” said Prising. “I have every confidence in Becky as she leads ManpowerGroup into its next chapter.”

Julie Howard, lead director of ManpowerGroup’s board, credited Prising with expanding the company’s workforce management capabilities and making its operations more digital and diversified.

“Following an extensive succession planning process, we are very pleased to endorse Becky as the next CEO for ManpowerGroup,” said Howard.

The leadership announcement came alongside the company’s third-quarter earnings report, which showed improving revenue and profitability.

ManpowerGroup reported $4.84 billion in third-quarter revenue, an increase of 4.4% from the same period in 2025. Net earnings nearly doubled to $34.1 million, compared with $18 million a year earlier. Earnings per diluted share increased from 38 cents to 71 cents.

The company attributed the revenue growth to stronger performance by its Manpower staffing brand, particularly in the United States, while its Experis technology staffing business returned to growth in the U.S. market. Northern Europe also experienced improved results.

For the first nine months of 2026, ManpowerGroup reported $14.2 billion in revenue, up 7% from the prior year. Net earnings totaled $90.1 million, compared with a $43.5 million loss during the same period in 2025.

“Our performance to date reinforces our confidence that 2026 is an inflection point for the business,” said Prising in the earnings release. The company said its ongoing restructuring and transformation efforts remain on track to generate $200 million in cost savings by 2028.

ManpowerGroup operates in more than 70 countries and territories, providing staffing, recruitment and workforce management services to employers while connecting workers with job opportunities.

Flock camera in Carver Park. Photo by Graham Kilmer.

Now that Flock Safety cameras in Milwaukee County Parks have been covered up, the Milwaukee County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO) is planning to acquire traditional surveillance cameras to replace them.

County Executive David Crowley signed legislation Monday that codifies a ban on Flock Safety cameras on county parkland, citing the need to balance privacy and public safety. The MCSO opposed removing the Flock cameras and is looking to replace them with county-controlled surveillance cameras.

Flock’s automated license plate reader (ALPR) cameras can passively scan and store license plate numbers in a database searchable by law enforcement personnel. The cameras and the database belong to Flock and law enforcement agencies pay for access. The company faces mounting public backlash over incidents of improper use and transparency regarding how the company uses and shares data. Political and law enforcement leaders have ended agreements with Flock, citing an inability to trust the company.

Three Milwaukee Police Department officers have been investigated for using the system to stalk people, two have been charged and one has already pleaded guilty. Similar episodes have occurred across the country.

MCSO opted out of sharing data collected on its licensed cameras with law enforcement outside of Milwaukee.

No sheriff’s office personnel have been investigated or charged with improperly using the system, according to the MCSO. In 2022, the MCSO deployed Flock cameras to 11 county parks where data showed higher rates of violent crime. The camera technology is also credited with helping the agency solve violent crimes in and around county parks, the MCSO says.

On Tuesday, District Attorney Kent Lovern told the budget committee, “My belief is that the community is asking all the right questions right now about the use of license plate reader technology… But the use of that technology, frankly, has been essential in the solving of the cases we’re talking about, the non-fatal shootings and the homicides.”

The sheriff’s office plans to purchase cameras from Johnson Controls (JCI), which are already in use on county buildings like the historic courthouse at 901 N. 9th St. The move aligns with legislative language adopted by the Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors authorizing the MCSO to replace the cameras.

During a budget meeting before the board’s Committee on Finance Monday, the MCSO said it is requesting about $150,000 to install up to 15 JCI surveillance cameras in county parks. The budget figure is equivalent to the cost of the Flock contract. In his proposed budget, Crowley did not include funding to renew the Flock contract, which expires in December.

The smaller number of JCI cameras won’t cover the same area as the 35 Flock cameras recently covered: 26 ALPR cameras and nine Condor cameras, which do not have plate-reading technology but can be controlled by MCSO personnel to track people or objects.

“It’s not going to make it completely whole,” Chief Deputy Brian Barkow said. “But it will allow us to put it in… the more vulnerable areas where we continue to see acts of violence.”

Supervisors on the Finance Committee expressed support for funding JCI cameras. Sup. Steve Taylor, the committee chair, suggested the board should consider adding funding for more cameras. Halving the number of cameras in parks “doesn’t sit well with me,” he said. 

Sheriff Denita Ball said the agency was trying to be mindful of the county’s budget challenges — Crowley’s administration had to close an estimated budget gap of about $50 million — when it requested only enough funds to replace the Flock contract.

Sup. Shawn Rolland said he was looking into whether the county could issue bonds to cover the cost of new cameras, sparing the county’s property tax levy.

“Like if we’re gonna not have Flock cameras, I think we should resolve to have cameras because that’s what we said; at least many of us said we were gonna do so,” he said.

Tom Tiffany and Donald Trump.

How loyal has Tom Tiffany been to President Donald Trump? In 2025, according to Congressional Quarterly, Tiffany supported Trump’s position on 99% of the votes taken.

Some Democrats have derided Tiffany as a “puppet” of Trump, but that underplays the strength and philosophical consistency of Tiffany. According to a rating system widely used by political scientists, Tiffany is the most conservative of the state’s eight U.S. House members, and one of the most right-wing members of the House from Wisconsin in modern history.

It’s because they agree on so many issues that Tiffany has been so loyal to Trump. And on those rare occasions where they have disagreed, it’s because Tiffany’s view was even more conservative. His opposition to Trump’s Gold Card program and providing more visas for Chinese students showed Tiffany was even more opposed to immigration than Trump. And while Trump has opposed abortion, with some exceptions, Tiffany backed a national abortion ban that American Journal News said could “make getting an abortion legally tantamount to committing murder,” eliminate access to safe abortion nationwide, and threaten fertility treatments like IVF. The ban provided no exceptions for rape, incest or life of the mother.

Meanwhile the number of issues where they have agreed is remarkable. Tiffany voted to overturn President Biden’s victory in Pennsylvania and Arizona in the 2020 election. Tiffany was the only Wisconsin Republican to sign the Texas brief that sued to overturn the election results in four swing states, including Wisconsin.

In the years since then, he continued to push the issue, supporting FBI investigations in Wisconsin that turned up nothing. He also supported the $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization” fund Trump sought to create that could have rewarded the Jan. 6 rioters who tried to overthrow the U.S. government. “I would want to take a look at, what was the harm that was done to those victims?” Tiffany said. “If it’s significant enough, perhaps they should receive compensation.”

By far the most important Trump policy Tiffany supported was the so-called “Big Beautiful Bill,” which cuts taxes by $4.5 trillion over the next decade, primarily with $2.3 trillion going to the richest 10% of Americans by income. To pay for this, the legislation cut more than $1 trillion from health programs – the largest rollback of federal support for health care in American history. These cuts will result in an estimated 10 million people losing their health insurance coverage.

The legislation also slashes at least $120 billion from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, reducing food assistance for low-income families. The entire package is a dramatic illustration of the priorities of both Trump and Tiffany.

Tiffany voted seven times to protect Trump’s tariffs even as Wisconsin companies and consumers paid approximately $3.5 billion in tariffs between March and December 2025. He continued to support them even while admitting their negative impact. “There have been some people that have been hurt by the tariffs, there’s no doubt about it,” he said.

He voted five times against ending the Iran War, including twice after declaring it was time to wrap up the war, even as it became clear the result was skyrocketing gas prices. Tiffany also backed Trump in voting against a bill to provide aid to Ukraine and sanction Russia.

In September, he supported Trump’s $1 trillion-plus pitch to send $5,000 checks to every American adult if Republicans retain control of the U.S. House and Senate in the midterm elections. No president in history had ever tried to pay off voters for supporting his candidacy.

Tiffany, since his days as a state legislator, has had a nasty edge to his politics, as a story by Wisconsin Public Radio and a Wisconsin Examiner column by Bill Lueders revealed. Trump’s style, his frequent actions to intimidate and terrorize opponents, may appeal to Tiffany. Certainly the congressman has never offered any criticism of this.

“He has always been at my side,” Trump declared in his statement endorsing Tiffany’s campaign for governor. He “has my Complete and Total Endorsement.” Tiffany responded with equal warmth and repeated praise, declaring “I’m especially honored to earn President Trump’s endorsement.”

Indeed, Tiffany hopes to ape Trump’s style as governor, declaring at a forum in July that “we’re going to set out an aggressive agenda from day one, and we are going to put out a whole series of executive orders, not unlike what President Trump has done.”

Tiffany has been so loyal to Trump that a recent Politico story on Republicans breaking away from Trump (“he is kryptonite”) led with the Wisconsin congressman, who has suddenly begun to differ with the president.

“Tiffany responded to Trump renaming Lake Ontario “Lake America” by declaring “the Great Lakes are the Great Lakes,” brushing aside the edict,” the story noted. He “criticized the easing of tariffs on beef imports, and deflected questions on the president’s proposed mail-in ballot reforms that the Supreme Court blocked earlier this week. And after years of questioning whether the 2020 election was rigged against the president, including supporting an FBI probe into Wisconsin’s votes in May, he’s now taken to sidestepping the issue.”

Why the change? Trump’s approval rating has sunk so low nationally and in Wisconsin that it’s become political suicide for Republicans, even in some red states, to run a pro-Trump campaign. The latest Marquette poll shows 60% of registered voters in Wisconsin disapprove of the President, including 81% of independents.

So Tiffany has no choice but to distance himself from Trump. But the real Tom Tiffany, the guy who served as legislator for nine years and as congressman for six years, is a politician who loves Trump’s policies and political style. That’s the kind of governor he will be if he’s elected.

Tom Tiffany throws a signed football into the crowd gathered in Stein’s Aircraft Services in Waukesha for the get-out-the-vote rally hosted by Hunter Nation, a national nonprofit for hunters, anglers and outdoor enthusiasts. (Photo by Baylor Spears/Wisconsin Examiner)

Former Green Bay Packers quarterback Brett Favre spent the majority of his time on stage in Waukesha on Tuesday night talking about his time playing football. But when the conversation turned to the election, Favre was blunt about what he would say to hunters, Christians, veterans, farmers, factory workers, truck drivers and school teachers who aren’t planning to vote.

“You can’t sit it out. You can’t sit it out,” Favre, a Mississippi native, said. “You can’t bitch if you don’t vote.”

Republican U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany, who is running against Democratic Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley, came on the stage with Favre, who signed a couple of footballs and handed them to Tiffany. The congressman threw them into the crowd gathered in Stein’s Aircraft Services in Waukesha for the get-out-the-vote rally hosted by Hunter Nation, a national nonprofit for hunters, anglers and outdoor enthusiasts.

The event also featured a presentation on delisting the grey wolf, an auction of a Ted Nugent guitar signed by Favre — claimed by the only person who bid at the starting bid of $5,000 — and a performance by Mark Mackay, a country musician. After talking about the importance of being on the “good side of this battle,” he introduced a song called “I Am Love,” saying that’s what musicians should be talking about instead of politics.

Tiffany told the Examiner there was no “greater icon in Wisconsin” than Favre and he was glad he could be there to speak on voting and hunting issues. He expressed no concern when asked how his campaign’s accountability and anti-fraud agenda matches up with Favre’s entanglement in a fraud scandal in Mississippi. Favre has repaid the state of Mississippi over $1 million for speeches he was paid for but didn’t deliver, and he is still a defendant in a civil case filed by the Mississippi Department of Human Services to recoup millions of dollars in misspent federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families welfare funds, some of which he allegedly used to build a volleyball stadium.

“He’s appeared before Congress and talked about how requirements need to be tightened up for these various programs,” Tiffany said. “I’m going to do that as governor. I mean accountability is a big part of our agenda to make sure that all agencies are audited and make sure that no one is stealing from the taxpayers.”

Tiffany hit on a number of his campaign priorities, including rooting out fraud and auditing state government, during the rally. One of the biggest cheers he received was for saying he’d sign a bill to open a hunting season on sandhill cranes.

“Yeah, baby!” one man yelled out in response.

A number of people in the crowd wore Favre jerseys. (Photo by Baylor Spears/Wisconsin Examiner)

Waukesha County, one of the historically Republican-leaning “WOW counties,” has trended a little less red in recent elections, including in the 2026 April state Supreme Court race.

Rep. Adam Neylon (R-Pewaukee), who is running for reelection to the Assembly and, simultaneously, for Waukesha County executive, said Tiffany has been putting in the work in the county to ensure people turn out and vote for Republicans there.

“He is everywhere. You would think he’s running for a local office in Waukesha County,” Neylon said. “He’s run a very aggressive campaign where he has really committed to the ground game. He’s also really strong at retail politics. He shows up, he listens and he speaks the language of Wisconsin.”

Attorney general candidate Eric Toney told the Examiner that Republicans “can’t take any area for granted.”

“Waukesha County, certainly has been crucial over the years with Republican voters or conservative voters in this area, and we just need people all across the state coming out to vote, and not just talking to folks that might live in their own city or county.”

Rep. Jim Piwowarczyk (R-Hubertus), who is seeking reelection to his Assembly district that represents parts of Washington County, said he thinks the election will come down to turnout. Recent Marquette Law School polling has shown Crowley up slightly ahead of Tiffany.

“We, as Republicans, if Tom Tiffany’s down three points, we actually consider that to be a good thing for our side. We think our candidates usually pull a little bit or actually end up doing a little bit better. I think it’s neck and neck right now. It’s very close. I think it’s going to come out to turnout,” Piwowarczyk said. “I’ve seen the polling myself and it’s very close.”

Piwowarczyk said the rally and other events are helping people get excited. He said he has been knocking doors in his district and has also been up to the other areas of the state, including the Green Bay area, a purple region that contains multiple competitive state legislative races.

“We have a lot of people excited to get out there. I think that they have been very frustrated by Tony Evers and the ever-increasing taxes, and they’re excited for Tiffany,” Piwowarczyk said.

U.S. Reps. Bryan Steil and Scott Fitzgerald also attended the event and warned that Democrats want to pursue a radical agenda most voters don’t agree with.

“When we see how radicalized the Democratic party has become, where they are going after all aspects of our culture from putting boys in girls sports to higher taxes… Their attacks on core aspects of our culture are real and substantive, and they will want to come after our hunting rights.”

Steil told the crowd not to underestimate turnout in Milwaukee and Madison, the state’s largest cities. His own seat, long considered safe, is a target for Democrats this year and Democrat Mitchell Berman is giving him a competitive race.

“Run on the assumption that the Democrats are going to vote in full strength here in the liberal core cities in Wisconsin,” Steil said. “Every single person in the state of Wisconsin, who has a world view like those of us in this room, who stays home in three weeks from today, is effectively voting for a Democrat, and we need to get that message out to our friends, our family, our neighbors, our co-workers, folks at church.”

A number of people in the crowd wore Favre jerseys, and his presence was part of what brought out Michael Harrell, a 74-year-old New Berlin resident. He told the Examiner with a smile that he attended the rally because he “wanted to see Brett Favre.”

“I don’t know Tom Tiffany’s voting record or any of that stuff, but I vote Republican regardless,” Harrell said. He said he’s voted for the party since former President Richard Nixon was elected.

“We’ve got God in our platform. We got common sense, and even though there are the RINOs, we got a lot of good people out there,” Harrell said. “We love America like the president does.”

President Donald Trump isn’t running this year, but in recent weeks, he has been on the campaign trail telling people to pretend he is on the ballot.

Neylon said Trump’s absence from the ballot has been a concern for some, but he’s seen enthusiasm growing for the midterms.

“Republicans are going to turn out,” Neylon said. “Republicans are over performing in Wisconsin compared nationally, and I think part of that is because we have really good candidates, and I think Wisconsin is going to be another example of why candidates really matter.”

Tiffany shakes hands with attendees at the October rally. (Photo by Baylor Spears/Wisconsin Examiner)

Trump has been a motivator for Republicans to get out to vote in recent elections but he has also fallen in popularity in Wisconsin. Tiffany has recently distanced himself from the second-term president, despite reliably voting for the president’s agenda in Congress and receiving Trump’s strong endorsement. This week he would not say in an interview with WMTJ whether he approves of the job Trump is doing.

“The president is doing what he believes is best for the United States of America,” Tiffany said.

Neylon said Tiffany has been able to insulate himself from Trump’s unpopularity by keeping on message and talking about lowering taxes, reducing regulations and protecting Act 10, the law passed under Gov. Scott Walker that restricted collective bargaining for public employees.

“He’s been really consistent and focused on a message that’s different than some of the national messages you hear from federal candidates, so I don’t think people are necessarily tying them together,” Neylon said. “When you look at how each person is spending their time, there’s differences, and people see that.”

The Wisconsin state Senate and Assembly are also up for grabs this year. The Republican Assembly members said the quality of the candidates running in competitive seats will be the thing that helps Republicans hold their majorities.

Neylon said people shouldn’t judge Wisconsin races by “national headwinds.”

“I’m more concerned that we lose majorities at the federal level than I am at the state level,” Neylon said.

Harrell said he thought Trump could help Tiffany get over the finish line. He said he thinks Trump has been doing a good job and that he isn’t too worried about high gas prices, which recently reached record highs.

“He’s gonna pull something here, I think, on the gas and this stuff. We’re gonna maybe see that before the election,” Harrell said. He added that he thinks Democratic candidate David Crowley has “flubbed up” Milwaukee and doesn’t want him to lead the state.

“There’s so many crazy people nowadays, you just, you don’t know. You don’t know what’s gonna happen,” Harrell said. “I mean you hope God intervenes and has already got it planned out, but all we can do is hope — hope, and pray.”

Republican Tom Tiffany seeks to boost turnout in Waukesha with an assist from Brett Favre was originally published by Wisconsin Examiner.

Planned site for Lady Jean’s Bar & Grill, 1374 W. Wright St. Photo from Google Maps.

At the corner of W. Wright Street and N. 14th Street in the Lindsay Heights neighborhood, a building built nearly 120 years ago may soon become home to a new bar and restaurant.

April Juett has submitted a liquor license application to open Lady Jean’s Bar & Grill in the building, addressed as 1374 W. Wright St.

In addition to serving alcoholic drinks and food, the application signals Juett plans for bands, pool tables, DJs, karaoke, poetry readings, amusement machines and hookah service to provide entertainment in the space. For food items, she listed pizza and “polishes,” an apparent reference to Polish sausages.

Juett listed “adding a kitchen to the bar” as planned construction for the space.

According to city assessment records, Juett purchased the property for $60,000 in 2025 from Kew Properties LLC, which lists Eze Nwatuobi as its registered agent. The property is assessed at $101,600 and has two residential units.

Juett expects 40% of sales will come from alcohol, 50% from food service, 5% from entertainment and 5% from cigarettes, vapes and/or tobacco products.

A proposed opening date was not included on the application, but it lists the expected hours of operation as Sunday through Thursday from 10 a.m. to 12:30 a.m. and Friday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 a.m.

Juett did not respond to a request for comment.

Nearby businesses include Tastee Twist and WC’s Rhythm and Blues. The building is located across the street from Ezekiel Gillespie Park.

The application is pending before the Milwaukee Common Council.

MCTS bus on W. Wisconsin Avenue. Photo taken Thursday, June 4, 2026 by Graham Kilmer.

The Milwaukee County Transit System (MCTS) is reporting a significant increase in fare compliance after revealing last year that as many as one in three riders were not paying a fare.

Despite a large drop in total ridership, the number of paid passengers per hour has risen in 2026, MCTS President and CEO Steve Fuentes told the Milwaukee County Board’s Committee on Finance Monday.

The average number of paid passengers per hour is up 3%. The system was reporting a 20% decline in overall ridership in July. Fare evasion is down an estimated 25%, Fuentes said.

Fuentes said the improvement is driven by the fare compliance strategies the system implemented over the past year. In 2025, amidst a surprise budget crisis, MCTS revealed that an estimated one in three passengers were not paying a fare. It was estimated fare evasion cost the system as much as $9 million in recent years.

The county board pushed MCTS to address the problem. Sup. Shawn Rolland authored an amendment to the 2026 budget funding an expansion the system’s Public Safety Officer program.

The system started with public information campaign encouraging fare payment, posting signs and displaying messages on the destination sign along the front of buses. It also used passenger fare collection data to target deployment of the unarmed public safety officers to routes with high fare evasion. Then, in February, it repealed a fare policy that bus operators suspected contributed to the growing evasion problem.

In 2022, MCTS made it a policy not to ask passengers for fares. Fare disputes were the primary cause of conflict between bus operators and passengers. MCTS wanted to cut down on these incidents.

In the background of the expensive struggle to collect fares from every passenger is the system’s growing annual budget gaps. In 2026, MCTS made significant reductions to service to absorb a $9.3 million budget cut.

MCTS officials were planning to implement a 25% service reduction in 2027. The goal was stabilizing the system budget for three years, giving officials time to finish a redesign of the entire bus network and lobby the state for more mass transit operating aid.

State transit aid has been largely frozen for more than a decade. If it had kept pace with inflation since 2011, MCTS would have $34 million more in 2027. More than enough to close the projected $15.7 million budget gap.

Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley‘s recommended budget includes a $12.1 million withdrawal from the county’s debt service reserve, a fund set aside to pay back the county’s debt obligations, to maintain transit service through the end of 2027.

“The not-so-good news is that 2028 is about 14 months away, and in 2028, the comptroller predicts about an $18 to $20 million deficit for MCTS,” Fuentes said.

Milwaukee County Zoo. Photo by Jeramey Jannene.

I don’t know about you, but these postseason Milwaukee Brewers games are really making us feel proud to be Milwaukeeans. And while we hope they keep up their winning pace, there are also plenty of events around the city this weekend that will make you feel proud to be a Milwaukeean.

Boo at the Zoo will allow families to trick-or-treat at the homes of their favorite animals, and Gallery Night MKE will invite guests to discover and experience art all throughout the city. Watch as Native American singers, dancers and drummers compete at the Hunting Moon Powwow, and enjoy polka and plenty of beer at MobCraft Beer’s Mobtoberfest.

October 15-25: “The Addams Family”

Catch everyone’s favorite spooky family on stage for Bombshell Theatre’s production of “The Addams Family.” The musical tells the story of how Wednesday Addams, daughter of Gomez and Morticia, has fallen in love with a normal boy at school. When she admits this to her father, he attempts to keep it a secret from his wife. Tensions rise when the family decides to host a dinner for the new boyfriend and his parents. For showtimes and to purchase tickets, visit the Bombshell Theatre website.

October 16-17, 23-24: Boo at the Zoo

The Milwaukee County Zoo is giving families a chance to trick-or-treat at the homes of monkeys, tortoises, bears and more as part of Boo at the Zoo. New to this year, Boo at the Zoo is offering a daytime experience on Saturdays. Show up in costume and traverse the zoo’s trick-or-treat trail and enjoy live music, pumpkin animal enrichment, light shows and more. Boo at the Zoo will run from 4:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Fridays and 9:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Saturdays. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit the Milwaukee County Zoo’s website.

October 16-17: Gallery Night MKE

Milwaukee’s original gallery hop night returns for a fall edition, giving guests the chance to discover new galleries and purchase art from local creatives. Participating businesses throughout the Historic Third Ward, East Town, Walker’s Point and Downtown areas will host free-to-attend gallery shows and art sales. For an interactive list of participating businesses, visit the Gallery Night MKE website.

October 16-18: Hunting Moon Pow Wow 

The Baird Center will be filled with singing, drumming and dancing as part of Hunting Moon Pow Wow, a three-day celebration of Native American culture. Watch as the best Native American singers, dancers and drummers from all over the country compete for cash prizes, and immerse yourself in the magic of the powwow experience. Guests can also shop a variety of vendors. Hunting Moon Pow Wow is free to attend.

October 17: Mobtoberfest

MobCraft Beer’s spin on Oktoberfest, dubbed Mobtoberfest, will bring lederhosen, live polka music and plenty of beer to the brewpub. The festival will feature fun competitions like beer chugging, stein holding and sausage sculpting, and guests can enjoy bratwursts and soft pretzels as well as MobCraft’s full food menu. Mobtoberfest is free to attend and will run from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.

October 18-19: Milwaukee Paracon

Milwaukee is no stranger to ghost stories, so it makes sense that Milwaukee Paracon would make a return. Head over to Kochanski’s to learn about Wisconsin’s wildest and creepiest ghost stories, UFO sightings, cryptids and more. Researchers, artists and authors will be on site talking about their work, and guests can shop a variety of paranormal-themed vendors. On Sunday, be sure to swing by the Witches Faire, which will feature workshops, tarot readings, vendors and more. Milwaukee Paracon is free to attend and will run from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. For more information, visit the Milwaukee Paracon website.

Democrat Fred Clark, left, and Republican Michael Alfonso, the two candidates for Wisconsin’s 7th Congressional District in 2026. Source: Clark and Alfonso campaigns

The candidates for Wisconsin’s 7th Congressional District both say this election represents a choice.

Continue MAGA policies under the young, Trump administration-linked Republican candidate, Michael Alfonso? Or chart a new path under Democrat Fred Clark, who wants cooperation and accountability in Washington?

The two candidates in the mostly rural, heavily Republican district are practically polar opposites.

Clark is a veteran state legislator and business owner. If the 67-year-old wins, he’d be its first Democratic representative in 15 years.

If Alfonso wins, the 26-year-old America First politician would be the youngest member of Congress.

Seventh district congressional candidate Michael Alfonso answers questions from reporters Saturday, May 16, 2026, during the Republican Party of Wisconsin State Convention at Kalahari Resorts & Conventions in Baraboo, Wis. Angela Major/WPR

“Here’s the big difference between me and Fred,” Alfonso said. “I believe the citizens of the 7th make better decisions with their money than the government does. Fred doesn’t think so.”

Clark told WPR he wants the government to actually work for them, as opposed to big corporations. He also believes in working with everyone, not just people he agrees with.

“What I’m offering to people is to send an adult in the room to have a Congress that actually does its job and follows the Constitution,” Clark said.

Democratic candidate Fred Clark talks with locals in Rhinelander, as he campaigns for the 7th Congressional District seat. Avery Martinez/WPR

The sprawling 7th District covers much of northern Wisconsin, stretching over 26 counties and approximately 18,000 square miles of central Wisconsin, the Northwoods and northwestern Wisconsin.

Once a Democratic stronghold, the 7th District seat was won in 2010 by Alfonso’s father-in-law, Sean Duffy, in a Republican wave election. Redistricting the following year made the district more Republican — and the Trump-era shift of rural voters to the GOP has turned it into a solidly Republican seat. Duffy, who resigned from Congress in 2020, currently serves as President Donald Trump’s transportation secretary.

U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany, R-Minocqua, succeeded Duffy. This year, he declined to seek reelection as he runs for governor.

The average age of a member of Congress is 58, and Alfonso’s youth was a target in the GOP primary for the seat. But, Alfonso said he doesn’t see his age as a drawback.“I think it’s my greatest advantage,” he said, because it gives him a fresh perspective on politics. If he wins, he said it gives different generations a seat at the table.

Alfonso said he shares the values of “everyone” in the 7th: hard work, faith and family.

And he criticized his opponent’s political record.

“Fred has a whole lot of experience,” Alfonso said. “He’s never seen a tax hike that he doesn’t like.”

Clark, however, said he just wants a working government.

He said he didn’t think voters cared much about a candidate’s age compared to their experience.

“I think voters deserve to send somebody to Congress who understands life in northern Wisconsin,” Clark said. “And has enough experience to just be able to make effective decisions.”

Alfonso highlights need to attract workers to Northwoods

As drills, welding torches and steam bounced around the plant floor of Sulzer Manufacturing, Alfonso was joking with shop leaders about the difficulty of pouring cement.

The plant — in rural Marathon County — was just one of the trade- and manufacturing-focused stops the young candidate made in visits across the district.

 Accompanied by a single aide, Alfonso passed a red folding chair that said, in large type on the back, “MAGA.”

“We have a real problem here in northern Wisconsin,” Alfonso told WPR during the visit. “We don’t have enough young people to replace these absolutely vital roles.”

Michael Alfonso, a candidate for Wisconsin’s 7th Congressional District, attends a visit from President Donald Trump at Custer Farms in Chippewa Falls, Wis. on June 5, 2026. Angela Major/WPR

That’s why his main message as he traveled the state was for young people considering college to think about other opportunities in trades.

He chatted with workers at multiple stations, consistently talking about one of his two jobs before running for Congress — construction, where he poured cement.

The stop highlights another distinction between the two candidates. While Clark has focused on public rallies and meet-and-greets speaking to anyone who shows up, Alfonso has tended to hold private tours.

The president of the manufacturing plant, Gary Sulzer, told WPR he’s running two shifts, but he’d like to run a third. That’s why he was encouraged by Alfonso’s visit to his plant and hoped it meant more industry support if he’s elected.

“I think it’s good that he has an interest in the little guys,” he said. “He is young, but he seems enthusiastic, and I think if he listens to the people, he will do the right thing.”

But questions about the political interests funding Alfonso’s campaign have surrounded his campaign, as have allegations of nepotism made by his Republican primary opponents.

Some of the Alfonso campaign’s top donors include out-of-state companies with projects requiring regulatory approval from the Department of Transportation. Duffy, Alfonso’s father-in-law, leads that department.

When WPR asked Alfonso about these donations, Alfonso said those groups want to support a candidate sharing their values.“I’m out here talking about the trades,” Alfonso said. “Boeing needs more people who can manufacture. I mean the shop we just went to is manufacturing pieces for Boeing.”

Critics have charged that Boeing helped Alfonso’s campaign by funding a reality TV-style road trip documentary made by Duffy.

During their debate, Clark asked Alfonso about those donations.

“People want to support my campaign because everywhere I go, I have good ideas,” Alfonso said. “I’m telling the people of the 7th that we need to get the federal government out of the way of business.”

Alfonso said voters in the district want to meet the person running to represent them.

“They want to shake your hand, look you in the eyes, and really get to know you,” he said.

In a GOP stronghold, ‘independent’ Democrat proposes center path with accountability

For Shelley Spooner, that felt impossible.

“I think he’s only been in Rhinelander one time, walking the Fourth of July parade,” she said of Alfonso.

Spooner attended Clark’s rally held at the Cabaret Cove, a tiny tavern tucked off Rhinelander’s main highway. She said she could not find any public events listed on Alfonso’s campaign website.

“I’m sure (Alfonso’s) got the desire, but he doesn’t come with the experience and knowledge, or the protocols of talking across the aisle,” Spooner told WPR.

Clark said he is an “independent Democrat.” He’s willing to “buck” the party, and is focused on working across the aisle. Clark pointed to his past work in the Assembly, breaking with Democrats on concealed carry gun rights. He’s talked openly about strong border security and reforms within ICE.

He said he has not taken money from the national Democratic party and has support from mostly state organizations and elected officials.

As people funneled into the banquet room, Clark greeted visitors with a firm handshake as they came into the rally.

“This has been a Republican-leaning district, no question about it,” he told WPR. “But a lot of people are re-evaluating their politics.”

He said that was due to the decisions of the Trump administration and Congress being unable to stand up to it.

Clark said he’d held at least one public event in each of the 26 counties in the district, talking to anyone who stopped by.

“I think voters right now are exhausted by the extremism in our politics,” Clark said. “And people want to see Congress actually work together and get something done.”

Through those talks, Clark believes the Trump Administration’s recent decisions give him the chance to flip the seat blue.

People in the Northwoods have been hurt directly by the Trump administration’s decisions, Clark said. Filling up a diesel truck can cost $100 after diesel prices spiked from disruptions caused by the war in Iran, and businesses are struggling with tariffs, he said.

Despite his critiques of the Trump administration, Clark told WPR he is “not running against the president.” Instead, he said he wants to bring accountability to the administration.

“There’s so many voters who are seeing the chaos coming out of Washington and the corruption, and have had enough of it,” he said.

Alfonso: MAGA for ‘hard work, faith and family’

Alfonso champions a range of socially conservative policies. He expressed support for dismantling the U.S. Department of Education, reinforcing gender norms and bathroom-use rules and accused his Democratic opponent of being a “radical.”

Alfonso has said several times he’s an America First politician — a slogan used by Trump in his 2016 campaign — who looks at every piece of legislation through that lens.

His campaign website prominently displays Trump’s endorsement alongside a who’s-who of the Trump administration. (His father-in-law’s endorsement is notably absent from the site.)

“Michael Alfonso is on a mission to restore hope for Americans, preserve the country we love and deliver the MAGA agenda,” his website states.

Outside of his run for Congress, Alfonso’s other job has been as a producer on the conspiracy-minded conservative podcast, “The Dan Bongino Show,” whose host eventually became the FBI’s deputy director before stepping down in January.

Alfonso’s campaign includes many common MAGA stances — restoring state powers, anti-abortion advocacy, Second Amendment concerns, restrictive immigration policies, defending religious freedom and affordable homeownership.

Clark: Standing up, accountability and cooperation

Clark has stressed his desire to work with everyone in his district, across political lines. He said he is willing to break with party members on issues.

“I’m somebody who’s lived and worked in rural Wisconsin most of my career, so that means I’m going to take positions that aren’t always in the mainstream for my party,” he said.

Fred Clark served in the Wisconsin Assembly from 2009 through 2015. Photo: State of Wisconsin

Over the years, Clark has been a small business owner, a forester and politician. He served from 2009 through 2015 in the state Assembly. He served from 2004 through 2008 on the Wisconsin Council on Forestry and served on the state’s Natural Resources Board.

“The Northwoods is an incredible region with a lot of assets,” Clark said. “But we can only realize the benefits that are there for us with a government that’s working for us.”

He’s created a plan that he calls the “New Northwoods,” focused government support for farmers, loggers, manufacturers and tourism business to create a strong economy and affordable homes.

“The rules of the game need to be updated right now, and only Congress is in a position to do that,” Clark said.

A MAGA loyalist and self-described independent Democrat vie for 7th Congressional seat was originally published by Wisconsin Public Radio.

Planned site for Membars Only Social, 1101 N. Martin Luther King Jr. Dr. Photo by Lauren Hafeman on Oct. 10, 2026.

Private social clubs are fixtures in many cities, offering members places to network and mingle out of the public eye. Milwaukee has relatively few, but a new addition could soon join their ranks.

According to a liquor license application filed with the city, brothers Seth and Jake Dehne are planning to open Membars Only Social at 1101 N. Martin Luther King Jr. Dr.

The application outlines a plan to convert 12,000-square-feet across two of the building’s floors into a “private social membership” bar, complete with private enclaves with cocktail tables, a mobile bar, couch seating areas and amusement machines.

The bar is planned to occupy the floors directly above 90s2K Cafe, which the brothers also co-own. Before opening 90s2k Cafe in the building, they operated Have A Nice Day Cafe, Suite and The Pub Club at the address.

“This building was home for both of us for a long time,” Seth told Urban Milwaukee in 2024.

The pair also co-own Red, White and Blue and The Lucky Clover across the street and a handful of suburban bars.

The application lists instrumental musicians and DJs as planned entertainment. The proposed hours of operation are Sunday through Thursday from 10 a.m. to 2 a.m. and Friday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2:30 a.m. The brothers expect 60% of the bar’s revenue to come from alcohol sales and 40% to come from membership fees. The application did not outline membership qualifications.

The application did not include a proposed beverage or food menu. The renderings do not depict a kitchen.

Neither brother responded to a request for comment.

The application is pending before the Milwaukee Common Council. If approved, Dec. 15 is the proposed opening date.

2841 S. Howell Ave. Photo by Jeramey Jannene.

A newly approved zoning change is intended to help Jobi and Abby Wall complete the redevelopment of a vacant, former tavern in Bay View.

“They envision reusing the structure and repurposing it as a mixed-use structure that it once was,” said Kristin Connelly, principal planner with the Department of City Development, to the City Plan Commission on Sept. 28. The zoning change would allow the first floor to be occupied by a “range of neighborhood-serving commercial uses such as a small cafe, retail shop or art studio.”

The two-story, 3,700-square-foot building, 2841 S. Howell Ave., sits across from Humboldt Park. A carriage unit is located behind the building.

“We moved to Bay View about eight years ago. Humboldt Park was a big draw for us,” said Jobi. “We love the neighborhood. And when we got the opportunity to buy this building a few years ago, we were really excited about the chance to add some value to the neighborhood and bring some local, small businesses into the mix. We’ve had a bit of a struggle getting the permitting figured out with the current zoning. It’s been more restrictive than we initially thought it would be.”

A previous owner proposed opening a cafe in the building in 2019.

The couple purchased the property in 2024 for $400,000. “We’ve had a number of conversations with potential tenants, but the building is very dilapidated currently. There is a significant amount of work that is needed before future tenants can see the vision for what they can do with it,” he said.

Abby said part of the reason the couple bought the building was that, when driving around the neighborhood with their children, they would see a number of vacant buildings and wanted to bring more life to the neighborhood.

Jobi said he has had conversations with neighbors, who support the couple’s plans to fill the vacant structure.

A rear duplex was renovated and leased out by the couple. A rear garage was previously demolished. The front building was constructed in 1910.

A grass lot on the south side of the building could be used as a patio by a future tenant. Abby said they would ideally like to see two tenants on the first floor.

Jobi is a general contractor and retired professional basketball player. Abby is a real estate agent.

The proposal was unanimously approved by the Common Council on Oct. 13. Mayor Cavalier Johnson has yet to sign the file, but the proposal was supported by his administration.

The building was constructed in 1910. In 1934, historic newspaper records show it was occupied by Walter’s, a bar and German restaurant.

Republican candidate for governor Rep. Tom Tiffany speaks Saturday, May 16, 2026, during the Republican Party of Wisconsin State Convention at Kalahari Resorts & Conventions in Baraboo, Wis. Angela Major/WPR

Republican U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany said, if elected governor, he would audit spending at the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources before considering any fee or tax increases to support fish and wildlife management.

The Ashland Daily Press reported Tiffany made the remarks to an invite-only group of anglers and conservation advocates at an Ashland town hall on Oct. 1 hosted by the Friends of Wisconsin Fisheries.

A spokesperson for Tiffany’s campaign said he will audit every state agency, including the DNR.

Tiffany previously said he would create a “Taxpayer Accountability Plan” that would include hiring more state auditors, seeking to root out fraud and waste, similar to actions by the federal government.

As Tiffany seeks audits, the state’s nonpartisan Legislative Audit Bureau has already released an audit of the DNR’s fish and wildlife account. That audit ordered by state Republican lawmakers found the agency had spent money appropriately.

“Before asking Wisconsin families, hunters, and anglers to pay more, we must ensure existing funding is being spent effectively. The previous audit focused only on the Fish and Wildlife Account, and questions remain about how much funding directly benefits sportsmen and women,” the Tiffany campaign said.

State GOP lawmakers have highlighted that the audit’s findings show 49.8 percent of $92.9 million in state funding directly benefited hunters and anglers in fiscal year 2023-2024, which was down from 57.3 percent in a 2006 audit. The DNR has said 89.3 percent of the account’s funds benefited hunters, anglers and other users.

Tom Johnson with the Douglas County Fish and Game League, who was at the Oct. 1 meeting, said another audit would be redundant.“

“The department was already reviewed by an independent entity that was chosen by our Legislature, and they found only minor issues,” Johnson said.

The audit found about $303,100, or 0.3 percent of state funding, went to activities that didn’t directly benefit hunters and anglers.

The state’s fish and wildlife account has faced a roughly $16 million shortfall in recent years. This summer, the DNR closed the Brule and Osceola fish hatcheries in northern Wisconsin amid cuts to fish stocking due to a lack of access to the account’s funds. The deficit stems from rising costs, declining license sales and license fees that have remained largely flat since 2005.

In a statement, the campaign for Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley, the Democratic candidate for governor, said he knows hunters and anglers want their fisheries well-stocked and reopened.

“Wisconsin’s outdoor heritage depends on clean water, healthy habitat and good wildlife management. That’s why he will focus on giving it the tools to deliver for hunters, anglers and everyone who enjoys the outdoors,” a campaign spokesperson said.

Todd Berg, board member of Friends of Wisconsin Fisheries, said most voters have supported fee increases during spring hearings held by the Conservation Congress.

“We are not keeping up with costs,” Berg said.

Lawmakers have approved a $15 million transfer from the state’s forestry account in each year of the 2025-27 budget to address the ongoing shortfall. When the DNR forged ahead with cuts in April, the agency said it couldn’t access around $4 million for fish and wildlife management without approval from the Legislature’s finance committee. The committee voted to approve the agency’s request for funds a month later.

Despite that, the DNR has said it continues to face financial challenges with the account.

Federal data released this year shows that boating and fishing generates around $1 billion for Wisconsin’s economy.

Overall, the DNR is requesting more than $1.2 billion for the 2027-2029 budget. The agency’s request doesn’t include a funding solution for the ongoing shortfall in the fish and wildlife account. DNR Secretary Karen Hyun has said it will work with stakeholders and the Legislature.

If elected, Tiffany’s campaign said he will work toward “a sustainable, long-term solution that protects wildlife management and Wisconsin’s hunting and fishing traditions.”

Crowley’s campaign said he would work with groups “on a long-term plan to keep the fish and wildlife account on solid ground, instead of patching it with stopgap transfers budget after budget.”

Tom Tiffany says he will audit Wisconsin DNR before weighing any fee increases was originally published by Wisconsin Public Radio.

Ribbon cutting for new Air Cargo Center at Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport. Photo by Graham Kilmer.

Construction on a massive $80 million air cargo facility at Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport is wrapping up.

The 337,000 square-foot-facility was developed by Crow Holdings, a Dallas-based commercial real estate firm, and the airport. It was built in the MKE Regional Business Park on the site of the former U.S. Air Force Reserve 440th Airlift Wing base, which closed in 2008. Construction was led by ARCO/Murray.

Milwaukee Mitchell provided the land and Crow Holdings provided the financing. The 102-acre property was previously marketed to Foxconn executives as a secondary site in 2017, before the Taiwanese corporation landed on a site in Mount Pleasant for a massive manufacturing facility that never materialized as fully planned.

“It’s an investment in Milwaukee County’s future in Wisconsin businesses, and the continued growth of MKE Airport,” Airport Brian Dranzik said at a ribbon-cutting Wednesday.

The airport is calling the new facility the Air Cargo Center. It can accommodate up to five Boeing 747-400 aircraft, which each can carry the same amount of freight as 11 semitrailer trucks. Airport officials believe it has the potential to quadruple the air cargo traffic coming in and out of Milwaukee. The airport is also constructing $10.5 million in new taxiways to accommodate the large cargo planes moving in and out of the facility.

The airport, which is owned by Milwaukee County, expects to collect $1.3 million annually in airport fees and $1 million annually through a ground lease. The airport funds its operations and infrastructure projects through fees paid by air carriers.

The Air Cargo Center will provide a new, direct connection between southeastern Wisconsin and the international shipping industry, said Jack Rabenn, managing director with Crow Holdings. It will not replace the air freight infrastructure at Chicago O’Hare International Airport, but will instead act as a “relief valve” for international shippers and supply chains, Rabenn said.

“So the state with the highest concentration of manufacturing businesses and jobs will no longer need to leak goods, revenues, and services outside of the state just to facilitate the supply chain,” he said.

Completing the facility this fall will allow Crow to bid on 2027 freight contracts. The firm plans to contract with an operator to manage the facility, which could support up to 300 jobs, Rabenn previously said.

Air Cargo Center

Construction

12►

Renderings and Pre-Development Site Photo

A Microsoft data center in Mount Pleasant, Wisconsin appears in a June 2026 photo. Photo courtesy of Microsoft

Microsoft is planning to build fewer data centers at its sprawling complex in Mount Pleasant.

In January, the Mount Pleasant Village Board approved the site plan for the company to build nine data centers as part of an expansion of its plans in the village. The company is now amending that down to seven data center buildings.

“We continue to refine the design and layout of our expansion parcels in the Village of Mount Pleasant,” a Microsoft spokesperson wrote in a statement. “The changes in no way reflect a reduction in our ambition, they have been made to ensure faster development, allowing us to access this increased capacity quicker. We will continue to evolve our design and keep the community updated prior to beginning any vertical construction.”

While there are fewer buildings in the updated plan, the total square footage of building space is greater. The updated plan has over 5.8 million-square-feet of building space, up from the just over 5.2-million-square feet in the plan approved by village officials earlier this year.

“There’s two fewer buildings than the last site plan you saw, but they are actually slightly larger in square footage,” said Samuel Schultz, the community development director for the village.

On Wednesday, the Mount Pleasant Plan Commission unanimously approved the amended site plan. The village board is expected to vote on it later this month.

As part of the updated plan, Microsoft plans to build an office and storage building, a guardhouse and two substations at the site.

Sean Ryan, a spokesperson for the village, said the 5.8 million-square-feet figure includes the data center buildings, as well as the offices and guard houses. It does not include the two utility substations, he said.

Schultz said Microsoft’s plans could continue to change. He said the square footage for the site, “will likely fluctuate, maybe up, maybe down, over time.”

The Mount Pleasant Plan Commission meets on Oct. 14, 2026. Evan Casey/WPR

The estimated taxable value per acre is also decreasing under the updated plan, down from around $10 million in the original plan, to around $7.7 million in the amended plan. Ryan said compared to earlier this year, “planners are using a more conservative estimate now for what the possible future value of the buildings would be.”

“And this is just a more careful way to approach this exercise and know that in the end, if these buildings are built, it would result in a net positive in terms of the financials for the community,” Ryan said.

“It would show that even under these more careful conservative predictions of the future taxes that these buildings would generate, the potential property tax revenue still far exceeds the cost of service,” he added.

The plan commission approved the updated site plan with more than a dozen conditions Wednesday. Village Trustee Nancy Washburn, a member of the plan commission, made a motion to add a condition for Microsoft to look to add “noise protection” to a portion of the site.

In June, Microsoft announced its first data center facility in Mount Pleasant, known as “Fairwater,” was operational. Construction on Microsoft’s second data center in the village is expected to be completed in 2028.

Microsoft was sued in July due to noise complaints from residents who live nearby. Some people who live near the development have also complained about construction noise and dust, light pollution, traffic and a changing rural landscape.

The company also plans to build a data center project on around 240 acres in Kenosha about 8 miles away from the tech giant’s campus in Racine County.

Microsoft planning to build fewer data centers at sprawling Mount Pleasant campus  was originally published by Wisconsin Public Radio.

Riverwest Co-op. Photo taken June 18, 2022 by Sophie Bolich

A low-waste store is preparing to open in the former home of the Riverwest Co-op & Cafe, bringing a similar sustainability-focused mission to the neighborhood landmark.

Process, a Stevens Point-based retailer specializing in sustainable household goods, personal care products and bulk refills, is planning a second location at 733 E. Clarke St..

The business announced the expansion in an Instagram post on Tuesday, Oct. 13.

City records indicate an occupancy permit process was initiated Wednesday, though an associated application was not immediately available from the Department of Neighborhood Services.

Process did not respond to a request for comment. An opening date has not been announced.

The business operates a general store at 836 Main St. in downtown Stevens Point, offering everything from shampoo and dish soap to reusable kitchen supplies, cosmetics, clothing, gifts and food products. Its refillery allows customers to bring their own containers to buy bulk cleaning and personal care products, reducing the need for disposable packaging.

The business was founded in 2019 by Rubina “Rue” Martini, initially operating as a small storefront at Tomorrow River Homestead, a short-term lodging business and artist residency in Nelsonville, near Stevens Point.

The concept grew out of Martini’s concern about the volume of waste generated by the lodging operation. After researching plastic-free and bulk alternatives, Martini began selling low-waste goods to guests and other community members.

Process subsequently expanded to Amherst and then downtown Stevens Point, where it operates today.

The company was previously organized as a collaboratively owned business, with Sheena Meddaugh and Lyn Cuirro joining Martini as co-owners. Its current website identifies Martini as founder and owner but does not explain when the ownership structure changed.

Process describes itself as a Native-owned and queer-owned business, emphasizing sustainability, locally sourced goods and products from Indigenous makers.

Its planned Milwaukee location would bring another refillery to the city. ECO MKE Refillery, owned by Kayla Bouma, opened in Walker’s Point earlier this year at 221 S. 2nd St. The business similarly allows customers to refill containers with soaps, cleaning products and other household essentials.

A New Chapter For Former Co-op

The proposed Process location would fill a storefront that was a neighborhood gathering place for nearly a quarter-century.

Riverwest Co-op & Cafe closed Sept. 21, 2025, after 24 years of operation. The member-owned grocery store and vegetarian cafe had struggled financially since the COVID-19 pandemic, with declining sales, staff turnover, board vacancies and mounting debts.

Despite $70,000 in crowdfunding and a $150,000 loan from the Greater Milwaukee Foundation, the co-op was unable to regain its financial footing. By mid-2025, it had already recorded an $81,000 net loss, exceeding its projected loss for the entire year.

The co-op’s board unanimously voted to close the business in August 2025.

Opened in 2001, Riverwest Co-op was known for its selection of organic groceries, locally produced foods and bulk goods. It also served as a gathering place for neighborhood residents and community organizations.

The building has attracted interest from other prospective operators since the closure.

In December 2025, Ian Klepetar and a group of friends launched Muffin Exchange Cafe in the former co-op’s cafe space. The unconventional pop-up offered muffins in exchange for commitments to complete activities such as visiting the river, helping a neighbor or giving sincere compliments.

More recently, a proposal emerged in July for Cafe Zagora to occupy the building. But that project has not advanced beyond an occupancy permit request. City records indicate the proposal would require a building permit, which has not been requested.

The property, according to city assessment records, is owned by Vince Bushell and Paula Gelbke.

Proposed townhomes at 353 E. Becher St. Rendering by Dan Beyer Architects.

Two duplexes would be demolished to make way for four townhomes under a proposal from F Street Group.

The development firm would raze the two buildings located in the transition area between the Bay View and Harbor District neighborhoods.

“The existing two structures are dilapidated, with the foundation of at least one of the buildings significantly damaged, necessitating demolition of the structures,” the firm wrote in its filing with the Board of Zoning Appeals (BOZA).

The duplexes occupy a single corner lot, addressed as 353 E. Becher St., but the new townhomes would face west toward S. Hilbert Street.

Beyond orientation, the townhomes would differ substantially from the existing homes, which were built in 1900. Each townhome would be a two-bedroom, three-story unit with a first-floor garage. There is no garage on the current property and the existing units are stacked vertically instead of lined up horizontally.

BOZA approval is necessary because the proposed development is not set far enough back from the corner and the lot is not large enough under the city’s zoning code to allow four newly constructed units.

“This development is only looking to replicate the unit density that is currently on the site,” the filing says.

Dan Beyer Architects is leading the project design.

The northernmost new home would include a smaller garage in favor of a den off the garage. It also would include a den on the second floor.

Each of the units would include a living room, kitchen and balcony on the second floor, with bedrooms on the third floor.

An affiliate of F Street, according to city assessment records, paid $350,000 for the property in December 2025. F Street acquired the property from Mark R. Paschal, the former owner of the since-shuttered Bay Street Pub. The bar, now known as Calogero’s, is located immediately south of the homes.

F Street purchased the property through F Street BTC$, LLC, the same limited liability company used to purchase a series of Lower East Side properties that were subsequently designated as historic over firm CEO Scott Lurie‘s objections. The name appears to be a reference to the abbreviation for bitcoin, the leading cryptocurrency.

A different F Street affiliate owns the neighboring former horse stable at 339-347 E. Stewart St., which Noble Catering & Events is redeveloping into an event venue.

The company, which recently announced it was stepping in to complete the redevelopment of the Humphrey Scottish Rite Masonic Center Downtown, did not respond to a request for comment.

Renderings and Photo

Site of Urban Cat Coalition’s new home, 2812 W. Clybourn St. Photo by Jeramey Jannene.

Every spring, hundreds of kittens are born in Milwaukee’s alleys, backyards, bushes and abandoned buildings. They grow up in stray colonies or find their footing independently, but one thing is certain: like all animals, they are driven to reproduce.

In 2016, the Urban Cat Coalition was founded by three Milwaukee cat rescuers to address the city’s community cat population. The coalition aims to “create a no-kill community by humanely reducing the community cat population in the Milwaukee area.”

Ten years later, Urban Cat Coalition is getting its first home. Located at 2812 W. Clybourn St., the coalition promises its new location will be the “hub of cat welfare in Milwaukee.”

To celebrate, the coalition is hosting a free, cat-themed grand opening block party at its new headquarters on Oct. 17 from 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. There will be face painting, a photo booth, trivia, food trucks, adoptable kittens and more. All are welcome, though the event is especially kid-friendly. The street will be blocked off so children can safely cross the street and play at the Clybourn Cove playground.

Urban Cat Coalition reduces the city’s stray cat population through a trap-neuter-return (TNR) approach. After a stray or a colony is identified by the coalition or a community member, the felines are ethically trapped and taken to a vet to be spayed or neutered and vaccinated. After recovering, they are released back into the community. Through this mindful sterilization, the number of new births decreases and fewer cats end up in the city’s overrun shelters.

In 2020, the coalition took in 735 cats and kittens, of which 502 were strays captured through TNR. It released 211 back to a community colony and facilitated the adoption of 440.

Ruthie Weatherly has volunteered for Urban Cat Coalition for six years. She explained that since its launch, the coalition’s operations have been fragmented across different spaces. Seeing a need for a single home, Weatherly purchased the property on West Clybourn Street and is leasing it to the coalition “for a very, very, very discounted rate.”

“I’m lucky enough to be able to,” Weatherly said. “It was a need that they had and it was something I could provide.”

Now, the coalition’s vetting, vaccines, medical care, fostering and supply pickup are streamlined into one space. Working with Sarah Otto, the coalition’s executive director, Weatherly redesigned the space “from top to bottom.”

The entrance will be a landing pad for community gatherings and educational meet-ups.

“We have so many folks asking for help and we want to focus on empowering them to do some of the work themselves,” Weatherly said. “Under one roof, we connect more with the community and help people understand what they can do to help curb the community cat population.”

Weatherly said she volunteers because “the animal welfare system is so closely tied to the human welfare system.”

Learn more about adoption, fostering, trapping and volunteering on Urban Cat Coalition’s website.

Riverwest Elementary School, 2765 N. Fratney St. File photo by Dave Reid.

Milwaukee Public Schools has made history of a sort, but not without complaints.

“About 55 teachers are being moved from lower enrollment schools and classrooms. After these changes, we expect to have zero current classroom teacher vacancies,” Kevin O’Connor, MPS media relations manager, told Urban Milwaukee on Tuesday. That announcement was confirmed by the school administration when the school board’s Committee on Finance and Operations met that evening, although they increased that to 56 teachers being reassigned.

For several years, Milwaukee Public Schools has been operating with approximately 100 teacher vacancies. That meant many classrooms were staffed with teachers with emergency licenses or a string of substitute teachers. Milwaukee Superintendent Brenda Cassellius vowed to end this, promising every classroom this year would have a certified teacher. With this in mind, the district announced it was hiring more teachers. Meanwhile the district has also consolidated operations, meaning schools that did not meet their projected enrollment would face teacher cuts and reshuffling of students into other classrooms.

But some of the cuts or consolidations came to highly prized specialty schools such as Ronald Reagan, which is listed as losing a teacher because “Adjustment made due to overstaffing.”

Most controversial was the cut to French Immersion School, with the cut to popular teacher Alexandre Sablonniere. Several media outlets stated that these teachers “could lose their jobs.” But there would be no job loss; Sablonniere and all other teachers were being reassigned to other positions, including classrooms that last year lacked an assigned full-time teacher. Teachers would be redistributed to schools where the administration felt there was the greatest need, although the administration never stated at the committee what exact metric would be used to determine those needs.

French Immersion parents, students, and teachers rallied and went to the board committee meeting on Tuesday to give their support to the teacher being cut from their school.

But this issue was not on the agenda for the meeting, and legally the finance committee could only take up items listed for that meeting. Committee chair Darryl Jackson made the following statement: “We understand that a number of people want to speak on the excessing of an individual teacher. That topic has not been noticed for discussion on tonight’s agenda. You can still send those messages to the board. “

But the French Immersion representatives had figured out they could speak to the general idea of reducing staff if they tied it to item 2 on the agenda which included reassignments. A half-dozen adults and a few children from the school spoke about the impact on the education of children in general but always referenced their school.

Most used the word “stability” as being a factor in good education and how reshuffling of students to other classrooms impacts that stability. No speaker directly made reference to the 100 classrooms in MPS that have gone year after year with a string of reshuffled substitute teachers, never giving those classrooms any stability. French Immersion has never faced that kind of instability.

The first speaker was Rev. Melesa McEwan Skoglund who has a child at the school and acknowledged their school’s position. “We know that we come from a privileged place, and we want to advocate for the other schools as well.”

Another speaker from the school followed the same theme. “I do acknowledge that we do not reflect the average MPS families in race or economic standing, but I do find it is important to my vast privilege to speak up on these topics and to be here today to remind you all that we are not your adversary ; we are your partners.”

Milwaukee Teachers’ Education Association president Ingrid Walker-Henry questioned the process of how the school administration was dealing with the people. “They’re here to protect their school. Something every student and family have a right to do. They attempted to get a meeting and were denied… They have a right to speak.”

One community member blamed the process of centralizing the budget and staffing instead of allowing each school community to decide their needs based upon money budgeted for their school. That accounted for much of this uprooting of teachers, he stated.

But Chief Human Resource Officer Dominick Maniscalco said, “This year is the least amount of staff we have excessed historically.”

Cassellius countered that she wants a baseline standard of care where every school was assured to have its basic needs met, including art, music, Phy Ed, and other support services. Giving each the same amount of money per student doesn’t take into account each school’s needs, such as the percentage of low income and special education students.

Cassellius has identified 19 schools she is targeting with the greatest need. “We will be able to deploy teachers to our high-need schools,” said Maniscalco.

But he raised one unmet need. The district is still looking for some 200 individuals to fill paraprofessional positions. So while the district has a qualified teacher in every classroom, many of the classes lack the support a paraprofessional can provide.

Future site of Buttah and Biscuit, 184 S. 2nd St. Photo by Jeramey Jannene on Sept. 2, 2026.

Biscuits don’t just go with gravy.

Fans of Buttah and Biscuit know it to be true. Owner Kathryn Jackson and her team serve up flaky cheddar and chive, lemon blueberry, strawberry, cranberry orange, black pepper Parmesan and cinnamon roll small-batch biscuits with no gravy needed. Their focus on perfecting the Southern-style treat has made Buttah and Biscuit a fan favorite on Milwaukee’s farmers market circuit.

But now, fans won’t have to wait for a weekend trip to the farmers market to get Jackson’s fresh-made biscuits. She’s secured the keys to a retail space in Walker’s Point and plans to open at the end of 2026.

“We’re excited to be a part of that neighborhood,” Jackson said. “All of our regulars at the market have been sharing their enthusiasm about visiting the space. It’s been really well received.”

Located at 184 S. 2nd St., Jackson plans to run the storefront like a doughnut shop. Customers can build their own four-pack, six-pack and 12-pack boxes from a variety of biscuit options or simply get one to go.

“At Buttah and Biscuit, every batch is personal,” reads the biscuit shop’s website. “You won’t find conveyor belts here — just small-batch baking, early mornings, and a whole lot of joy.”

Until now, Buttah and Biscuit has been operating out of a commercial kitchen space at 207 E. Buffalo St. and transporting its fare to its market tent. Though pickup at the East Buffalo kitchen was offered, the new retail location will allow staff to transfer hot, buttery biscuits straight from the oven to the display case.

Jackson said they plan to integrate the bright, welcoming yellow of their market tent and staff shirts into the new space.

A Milwaukee native, Jackson fell in love with home baking during the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2021, she enrolled in the pastry program at Milwaukee Area Technical College to earn a technical baking diploma. Her focus on biscuits is inspired by her time as a student at Tuskegee University in Alabama and nearly 10 years living in the American South. In 2024, her passion for baking and Southern comforts converged when she founded Buttah and Biscuit.

Sometimes, classic biscuits do need gravy. Jackson hopes to launch weekend-only specials, including the classic combo, which was popular when served at this season’s farmers markets.

Until Jackson opens her doors in Walker’s Point, Buttah and Biscuit can be found at the South Shore Farmers Market on Saturdays through October. Ordering and catering information is available on the shop’s website.

The 2nd St. space was previously occupied by Full of Bean’s Cafe, which closed in July. It is located in the historic Prime Leather Finishes Co. Building, built in 1858 and renovated in 2016.

An absentee ballot. Photo by Jeramey Jannene.

Wisconsin election officials say a loss of trust in the U.S. Postal service is likely behind a roughly 30 percent decline in the number of absentee ballots received three weeks ahead of the November election.

As of Tuesday, the Wisconsin Elections Commission reported clerks have gotten around 128,000 absentee ballots. Three weeks out from the 2022 election, clerks reported getting nearly 184,000 ballots by mail.

During a Tuesday press conference in Madison, Wisconsin Elections Commission Administrator Meagan Wolfe was joined by Dane County Clerk Scott McDonell and acting Madison Clerk Kaitlyn Bernarde. McDonell was asked why he thinks the number of people voting by mail is down.

“The main reason is there’s a lack of confidence in the Postal Service processing those ballots and getting them to the clerks, and we saw that in August and in April, where we were seeing far more ballots arrive afterwards,” McDonell said.

What wasn’t discussed during the press conference was President Donald Trump’s repeated attempts to have his administration decide who gets to vote by mail and who doesn’t.

On March 31, Trump issued an executive order directing the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to create lists of people deemed eligible to vote. Trump also directed the U.S. Postal Service to create a new rule barring absentee ballots from being processed and delivered if a voter’s name isn’t on the lists. After states sued to stop the postal service rule, Trump asked the U.S. Supreme Court to intervene. Justices rejected his request Sept. 15.

Bernarde said the number of absentee ballots the Madison clerk’s office has received as of Tuesday is down from around 31,700 in 2022 to around 9,000 this year. That’s a roughly 70 percent drop.

“We are prepared for an increase of in-person absentee voters for this election, due to the decrease in by-mail absentee ballots,” said Bernarde. “In November of 2022, we had 23,000 in-person absentee voters, and so we expect that to be higher this election, and we are preparing for that by extending our in-person absentee voting hours and increasing our staffing.”

In-person absentee voting kicks off Tuesday, Oct. 20.

McDonell said the decrease in voting by mail is a national trend, and his office is getting more calls about in-person absentee voting. He and Wolfe urged voters to get their absentee ballots in the mail by Tuesday to ensure they arrive at their local clerk’s office before 8 p.m. on Nov. 3.

Wisconsin judge: Clerks can’t reject ballots arriving late because of staff errors

Earlier on Tuesday, Dane County Judge Everett Mitchell ruled absentee ballots cannot be rejected by clerks if staff errors caused them to show up late to the proper polling places.

The decision stems from a lawsuit over 23 ballots in Madison that went uncounted during the April Wisconsin Supreme Court election. The liberal firm Law Forward argued the voters did nothing wrong and the Wisconsin Elections Commission wrongly ordered that their ballots not be counted.

Mitchell said the commission’s argument that the ballots were rejected to serve the state’s interests of having an orderly and final election with time to resolve challenges are important.

“But none of them is served by discarding ballots that were sealed in the clerk’s custody before the election, delivered within thirty-one minutes of the polls closing, counted on Election Night, and included in both the municipal and county canvasses,” said Mitchell.

Absentee ballots mailed to Wisconsin clerks down roughly 30 percent compared to 2022 was originally published by Wisconsin Public Radio.

Kate Zolandz, a behavioral health therapist who was fired from Rogers Behavioral Health after actively supporting a union organizing drive, speaks at a rally in June in support of the union. Rogers has been charged with violating federal labor laws in a National Labor Relations Board complaint. (Facebook livestream screenshot)

Rogers Behavioral Health violated federal labor laws when it fired six employees amid a contentious union organizing campaign in Wisconsin, according to a National Labor Relations Board official in a new complaint against the healthcare provider.

Rogers officials also violated labor laws when they accused the employees of criminal conduct and threatened them with criminal charges, civil charges, litigation and professional misconduct complaints, the NLRB complaint charges.

Those actions took place starting two months before employees at Rogers’ clinic in West Allis voted to be represented by the National Union of Healthcare Workers, and continued on the day the vote was held and in the weeks that followed, according to the complaint.

Rogers executives fired the employees because they “supported and assisted the Union and engaged in concerted activities, and to discourage employees from engaging in these activities,” the complaint states.

The complaint, issued Oct. 8 by Minneapolis-based NLRB regional director Jennifer Hadsall, set a hearing on the allegations to start Dec. 14 before a labor relations board administrative law judge in Milwaukee.

In a statement issued Tuesday afternoon on behalf of Rogers by a staff communications, marketing and public relations specialist, the organization declined to comment on the allegations or “pending proceedings” because the case is “an active legal matter.”

The statement asserted that Rogers respects “all employees’ rights under the National Labor Relations Act” and conducted “all employment and labor practices” according to “applicable law and longstanding policies.”

Rogers Behavioral Health, based in Oconomowoc, operates a network of mental health hospitals, residential treatment clinics and outpatient clinics in 10 states.

Employees at three clinics in California and one in Pennsylvania organized with the National Union of Healthcare Workers starting a few years ago.

Spurred by policy changes that employees said led to increased client caseloads and reduced one-on-one care for clients, therapists and other behavioral health professionals at clinics in Madison and West Allis began organizing with the NUHW in 2025.

After a contentious organizing campaign that was met with strong opposition by Rogers management, on April 22 West Allis employees voted 53-4 and Madison employees voted 26-4 in favor of the union.

Rogers has declined to recognize the union at either clinic and has mounted an appeal to overturn the West Allis vote.

First firings after union drive goes public

Rogers fired three West Allis employees who were union supporters in February, shortly after they went public with a petition for union recognition.

According to the NLRB complaint, a Rogers manager directed the fired employees “not to discuss their terminations.”

At the same time, Rogers’ President and CEO, Cindy Meyer, directed employees in writing “to keep their terms and conditions of employment confidential,” the complaint states.

With those instructions as well as some broad Rogers policies directing employees to keep information confidential, Rogers officials were “interfering with, restraining, and coercing employees in the exercise of the rights” guaranteed under the National Labor Relations Act, the complaint states. The confidentiality policies, quoted in the complaint, are not limited to information about individual patients.

The union filed charges with the NLRB on behalf of the three employees fired in February. The charges enabled them to vote in the West Allis union representation election on April 22.

When they showed up at the clinic to vote, a fourth employee escorted them to the polling area where they cast their ballots, which were set aside as challenged under standard NLRB procedures. The employee then escorted them out of the clinic.

According to the complaint, Rogers suspended that employee the day of the vote and fired her five days later because she “assisted employees participating in the NLRB-conducted election” — and because she “supported and assisted the Union and engaged in concerted activities, and to discourage employees from engaging in these activities.”

That violated federal labor law by “discriminating against employees for their participation in a Board-conducted election,” the complaint states.

Matt Artz, a spokesperson for the NUHW, said Rogers tried to challenge her application for unemployment insurance but that the challenge was rejected.

Two other employees were also suspended on the day of the vote and fired five days later, the complaint charges — also because they supported the union and to discourage other employees.

Complaint charges attorney’s letter ‘coerced employees’

In the six firings, Rogers was “discriminating in regard to the hire or tenure or terms or conditions of employment of its employees, thereby discouraging membership in a labor organization” — also a labor law violation, according to the complaint.

The NLRB complaint also charges that an attorney representing Rogers wrote a memo to employees that “coerced employees” exercising their rights under federal labor law “by repeatedly characterizing protected employee activity as criminal activity, in violation of civil laws, and as professional misconduct; and threatened employees with criminal charges, civil charges, litigation, and misconduct complaints with their respective professional organizations for having engaged in protected activity.”

A Rogers vice president, Steven Hertig, sent a complaint against one of the fired employees, Kate Zolandz, to the state Department of Safety and Professional Services, which oversees professional licensing

The NLRB complaint doesn’t mention the license challenge, but the NUHW said in a press release Tuesday that in the filing with DSPS, the Rogers executive claimed that when Zolandz donned a cape during her lunch break on the day of the vote, “a patient became dysregulated.”

After reviewing the complaint, however, DSPS officials wrote back to an attorney representing Zolandz that the information in the licensing challenge “does not indicate a violation” of relevant state administrative codes or laws.

“We took a stand to improve care for our patients, and Rogers executives tried to ruin our careers,” said Zolandz in a NUHW press release Tuesday. “Rogers acted like it could do anything to us it wanted, so it’s great to see that the federal government is holding Rogers accountable to the law.”

Rogers Behavioral Health charged with labor law violations for firing workers in union drive was originally published by Wisconsin Examiner.

Milwaukee County Board submitted photo

Wisconsin is halfway to its goal of planting 100 million trees by 2030. 

The state recently announced it had planted its 50 millionth tree as part of the effort.

Gov. Tony Evers signed the executive order for the trillion tree pledge in 2021 as part of a global effort. Wisconsin’s goal focused on conserving 125,000 acres of forestland and planting 75 million trees by 2030. Three years later, Evers bumped the goal up to 100 million planted trees by 2030.

“The state of Wisconsin recognizes that healthy forests are one of the best nature-based solutions to climate change,” said Trillion Trees Program Coordinator Bobbie Webster.

Trees can play many different roles in the environment. Webster said they protect soil, cool cities, and remove carbon dioxide from the air. Trees also reduce the impacts of climate change events such as drought and heavy rain — both of which have become more common in Wisconsin.

Northern Wisconsin is currently experiencing the largest exceptional drought in state history. And last August a record amount of rainfall fell in Milwaukee County in one day, causing heavy flooding.

Elton Rogers, DNR urban forestry coordinator for southeast Wisconsin, said he wants to ensure the trees are planted in conditions where they will thrive, especially in difficult climate conditions.

“The numbers are great, but from my perspective, my role is to make sure that not only are the trees going in the ground, but they’re being planted correctly to survive for ideally the next 100 plus years,” Rogers said.

The pledge wouldn’t be successful without partnerships, said Webster. She said the DNR’s partners help with the logistics of getting trees into the ground as well as educating the public on how to take care of them.

“Our partners are extremely important as far as getting these trees in the ground,” she said. “Those partners range from private forest landowners to just ordinary community members who maybe don’t even own any land and are just planting in their yards.”

Of the 100 million trees, 1 million are planned to be planted in urban areas. Eighty percent of the United States population lives in urban areas.

“Eighty percent of the population is interacting with the urban forest every single day,” Rogers said. “So things like taking (carbon) matter out of the air, reducing things like asthma, reducing cardiovascular diseases. All of these things are tied to having a resilient urban canopy.”

Havenwoods State Forest is a 10 minute drive outside Milwaukee. It’s the only urban state forest in Wisconsin, and the land has an extensive history of being used for other purposes, including a prisoner of war camp during WWII.

More trees have been planted here as a part of the pledge. DNR Urban Forest Analyst Dan Buckler said it is important for people in urban areas to have access to green spaces.

“It’s just absolutely magnificent, surrounded by the most densely populated and densely developed part of the entire state,” Buckler said. “Yet we have maybe 240 acres of beauty, of peace that’s brought to people. This is such a beautiful place and a powerful symbol of the kind of healing that that land can go through.”

Webster said anyone can be part of the trillion tree pledge, landowners or not. She said people can support local or state programs that fund tree planting and education. Additionally, orders for seedlings are now available online on the DNR’s website.

“Within DNR and our mission and vision, we’re very committed to carrying out this pledge,” she said. “Anyone who’s interested, there’s a there’s a place for you to engage and help in the pledge.”

DNR says Wisconsin has planted its 50 millionth tree as part of the trillion tree pledge  was originally published by Wisconsin Public Radio.

Congressman Tom Tiffany at Clifford’s Supper Club. Photo by Jeramey Jannene.

The small plane carrying Republican gubernatorial candidate Tom Tiffany crashed into Lake Wausau in September after its pilot waited too long to switch fuel tanks and failed to activate the electric fuel pump, according to a preliminary federal investigation.

The National Transportation Safety Board released its initial findings Tuesday, Oct. 13, one month after the Sept. 12 crash that left Tiffany and pilot Leonard Boltz, 73, with minor injuries.

The report indicates the Beechcraft Bonanza ran out of usable fuel from the tank the pilot had selected, despite having substantial fuel remaining in three other tanks.

An examination of the aircraft after it was recovered from the lake found the left main fuel tank empty. The right main tank and both auxiliary tanks were full.

According to the report, Boltz acknowledged in a conversation with his aviation mechanic that his actions caused the engine to lose power.

“In a post-accident interview with an FAA inspector, the pilot’s aviation mechanic stated that he and the pilot discussed the accident, during which the pilot said the loss of engine power was due to his delay in switching fuel tanks and not turning on the electric fuel boost pump,” the report says.

The findings provide the first detailed explanation of what went wrong aboard the aircraft as Tiffany returned from the La Crosse County Republican Party‘s Lincoln Day Dinner.

The flight departed La Crosse Regional Airport at approximately 8:15 p.m. and was approaching Wausau Downtown Airport shortly before 9 p.m. when the engine lost power.

According to investigators, Boltz was preparing to land when he extended the aircraft’s landing gear and noticed a higher-than-normal engine exhaust gas temperature.

The temperature reading reminded him to switch fuel tanks.

Boltz selected the right main tank and pushed the engine’s throttle and fuel mixture controls fully forward, but the engine did not respond. He told investigators he did not activate the aircraft’s electric fuel boost pump while attempting to restore power.

With the aircraft losing altitude, Boltz maneuvered toward the airport runway before preparing for an emergency landing in Lake Wausau, which borders the airport.

The aircraft struck the water at about 8:49 p.m., sustaining substantial damage to its fuselage, left wing, left aileron and engine mount.

Three Tanks Still Had Fuel

The report also details the aircraft’s fuel use earlier that day.

Boltz had departed Langlade County Airport in Antigo with 70 gallons of fuel, including 25 gallons in each of the two main tanks and 10 gallons in each auxiliary tank.

He first flew to La Crosse, where he picked up Tiffany for the return trip. The plane was not refueled before departing La Crosse.

Boltz told investigators he had used the left main tank for both flights, except for brief periods when he selected the auxiliary tanks during cruising flight.

By the time the plane crashed, the left tank was empty.

Investigators found the fuel selector positioned to the right main tank, consistent with Boltz’s account of switching tanks shortly before the crash. The electric fuel boost pump was switched off, and the engine controls were positioned nearly fully forward.

All four fuel tank caps were secured.

The plane was recovered from Lake Wausau and placed in a hangar for examination.

The report also notes that the aircraft was not equipped with shoulder harnesses, although they were not required.

The report’s findings are preliminary. Investigators have not yet issued a final determination of the accident’s probable cause.

Tiffany Praised Pilot After Crash

Despite the apparent pilot error, Tiffany praised Boltz’s handling of the emergency landing during a Sept. 13 news conference. Boltz did not appear at the news conference.

Tiffany said Boltz warned him “we are going down” about 10 seconds before the aircraft struck the lake.

The two initially climbed onto the aircraft as it began to sink, then swam about 150 feet to shallower water.

They waited for emergency responders to arrive by boat and were transported to Aspirus Wausau Hospital.

Tiffany sustained a cut above his right eye that required 12 stitches. Boltz also sustained minor injuries.

Tiffany, who had flown with Boltz previously, credited the pilot’s skills and calm demeanor with helping them survive the ordeal.

“We are just really fortunate that God was looking after us,” said Tiffany at the time.

The congressman, who represents Wisconsin’s 7th Congressional District, faces Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley, the Democratic nominee, in the Nov. 3 gubernatorial election.

The Transportation Safety Board’s investigation remains ongoing.

Democratic congressional candidate Rebecca Cooke and former U.S. Sen. Jon Tester (D-Montana) appear at an agricultural policy roundtable event at the Eau Claire-area farm Cooke grew up on. (Photo by Henry Redman/Wisconsin Examiner)

At a roundtable on her family’s Eau Claire area farm last week with former Montana Sen. Jon Tester, Democrat Rebecca Cooke argued that if she’s elected to represent Wisconsin’s 3rd Congressional District, she’ll take on the issues that have been plaguing rural America for decades and work to undo the Trump administration policies that are making those problems worse.

But Democrats all over the country, including in Wisconsin and the 3rd CD have had trouble winning rural support in the past.

“We need people who are willing to stand up and speak. I come from an area that in the 1960s was solid blue, and now it’s solid red,” Tester said at the roundtable. That political shift happened, he said, “because Democrats don’t show up.” Nowadays, he added, “Republicans take it for granted” that rural areas are mainly red. “So the opportunity here to help flip this situation around,” Tester said, “so we’ve got people in Washington D.C. that are working for us, everybody — not just rural America, but everybody — but making sure that rural America is at the table is really, really important.”

Democratic U.S. Rep. Ron Kind represented Wisconsin’s 3rd CD for decades. After his retirement, state Sen. Brad Pfaff (D-Onalaska), the former state agriculture secretary, ran and lost to Derrick Van Orden in 2022. Cooke subsequently lost narrowly when she challenged Van Orden in 2024.

“Derrick Van Orden has put rural America squarely last,” Cooke said after the event on her family’s farm. “He’s voted time and again for the war in Iran six times that has increased diesel prices, increased fertilizer prices … Farmers here in the 3rd Congressional District are reeling from the impact of reciprocal tariffs on our soybeans and our cranberries, are struggling because of the increased input costs from diesel and fertilizer prices with this war in Iran. And Congress’s failure to expand the ACA tax credit premium for three more years has really hurt a lot of farmers, too. They have seen their premiums go up from $400 to $1,800 a month. Derrick Van Orden has not delivered a successful farm bill out of this Congress. I don’t think that he’s really done very much at all to support our family farms or people in agriculture across this district.”

This year, with the national environment fueling Democratic hopes for victories up and down the ticket in states across the country as President Donald Trump’s approval ratings hit record lows, and diesel prices and tariffs on Canadian fertilizer hurt western Wisconsin farmers, Democrats are confident about their chances. The 3rd CD is at the top of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee’s list of 2026 targets. Both parties and a lineup of outside PACs have already spent nearly $30 million on the district with ads that have become increasingly negative.

Van Orden, a former U.S. Navy SEAL, has often brought a combative personality, a penchant for social media trolling and an eagerness to support Trump to his role. A member of the House agriculture committee, he’s touted his work on the farm bill and legislative efforts to change visa programs for immigrant dairy workers. A spokesperson for Van Orden did not respond to a request for comment.

At the Oct. 9 roundtable and during a Wisconsin Farmers Union town hall in Gays Mills the same day, area farmers said Van Orden has done little to help them or mischaracterized their problems while supporting large factory farms over the smaller family operations that define western Wisconsin’s cultural identity even as they struggle to make ends meet.

The group of farmers at the roundtable complained that it has gotten harder for them to get healthcare coverage and that the Trump administration’s cuts to food programs such as SNAP hurt farmers. They also said that Trump’s crackdown on immigration, which spilled over into western Wisconsin during Operation Metro Surge in the nearby Twin Cities, has hurt the labor they depend on. They also worried that a food system oriented toward giving the biggest players a leg up will hasten the destruction of their way of life.

“We can identify the problems, like we know what the issues are, right?” Cooke told the group. “And we need to have people that are solutions-oriented going into Congress. There is a lot of finger-pointing to be had because these are bad things that are happening, but we also need to think about how do we move forward.”

If elected, Cooke will be a first-year Democrat during a Republican presidency but she said she hopes to get assigned to the agriculture committee and that one of her first priorities would be establishing a “right to repair” — which would allow farmers to work on their own machinery rather than paying high prices for repairs at dealerships. She also said she wants to push for a farm bill that “caters to small, mid-size ag,” provide a pathway to citizenship for the district’s immigrant laborers, create a health insurance public option and to expand Medicare to cover vision and dental.

A Rebecca Cooke campaign sign sits in a front yard in Gay Mills. (Photo by Henry Redman/Wisconsin Examiner)

In the August primary election, Cooke defeated former Eau Claire City Council president Emily Berge by about 20 points in a contentious race that left some local party activists and voters embittered. Cooke has had to work to try to win those voters back.

Anthony Chergosky, a political science professor at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, told the Wisconsin Examiner that a contentious general election with reams of negative ads can often help a candidate bring their team back together after a bruising primary.

“I think coming out of divisive primaries, parties often confront the challenge of uniting their supporters for the general election,” he said. “There are different ways to go about doing that, but one of the most tried and true methods is a negative campaign against the opposition, because that can really motivate a party’s supporters.”

At the roundtable on her family farm, a roster of invited guests expressed enthusiastic support for Cooke.

“We can get this woman elected. That’s what we can do by getting one neighbor that never voted before, getting one neighbor who don’t think it’s worth it. It is,” Phil Swanhorst, chair of the Eau Claire County Democratic Party, said. “Each and every one of us can make a difference if we work a little bit harder to get her elected than we did two years ago. We got to get this type of woman in Congress to turn this shit around. We got to do it.”

When Van Orden was first elected in 2022, he beat Pfaff by 3.7 points — a result that many Democrats in the state blamed on the disappearance of national money and support in the final weeks of the race. Critics of the national Democratic party’s decision to pull out of the race pointed to the fact that Democratic Gov. Tony Evers won the district in his reelection campaign that year.

Two years ago, Cooke outperformed Vice President Kamala Harris in the district, losing by only 2.7 points compared to Harris’ 7.4 point loss to Trump. This year national Democrats believe that the time is right for Cooke to get the job done.

Chergosky said that the Cooke campaign doesn’t need to win a landslide among rural voters. Instead, Cooke’s path could involve picking off just enough rural Wisconsinites who vote for her or don’t vote at all — in addition to turning out the Democratic voters in the district’s urban centers of Eau Claire and La Crosse.

“If Cooke can move the rural margins back in her favor even a little bit, then that would go a long way towards helping her win the district,” Chergosky said. “I guess the good news is that it can’t really get any worse for [Democrats] in many rural communities. And so, if they can turn the tide even a little bit, it could go a long way towards helping them win this district, and others like it.”

At the Farmers Union event in Gays Mills, Cooke was joined on the dais by three Democrats running for legislative seats and Alexander Kent, an independent running for the 3rd CD. None of the Republicans running in the area showed up — a fact that Cooke was quick to note.

During his four years in office, Van Orden has developed a local reputation for avoiding his constituents. His debate appearance with Cooke next week, on Oct. 20, will be his first since his 2020 campaign against Kind. He has neglected to hold open town halls with constituents and residents of the district often complain of being blown off by their congressional representative.

“These are frustrating times for our agricultural communities,” Cooke said. “I’m running against somebody and an administration that has done little to help farmers … I’m here today and showing up because, unlike someone that doesn’t show up, I believe it’s important to have these conversations in our community.”

Cooke tries to pick off rural votes in second effort to flip Wisconsin’s 3rd Congressional District was originally published by Wisconsin Examiner.

Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley speaks after becoming the Democratic nominee for governor. Photo by Jeramey Jannene.

Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley wants the state of Wisconsin to take action and legislate guardrails on the use and application of artificial intelligence (AI) and harmful features of social media platforms.

Crowley announced an 11-point plan at a campaign event in Milwaukee at the Centers for Independence, 2020 W. Wells St., to regulate the practices of social media companies and their increasing use of AI across their platforms.

The plan offers ideas for addressing fraud, the use of AI chatbots, addictive social media design, digital exploitation of children and surveillance techniques used in digital advertising. The proposal outlines a plan for Wisconsin to address some of these issues in the absence of comprehensive legislation at the federal level.

“Washington D.C. has not stepped up,” Crowley said. “But I want to be very clear. We also need Washington to be a willing partner. We have to make sure that we hold these billionaire tech companies accountable in making sure our families are safe and secure whenever they’re on social media or utilizing the internet.”

Ross Winklbauer Sr., president of the Wisconsin Alliance for Retired Americans, backed Crowley’s tech regulation platform. His organization has heard from seniors how new technology, including AI, is making online scams more sophisticated.

“This isn’t the pickpocket on the street that we all remember. These are malicious actors on the internet utilizing AI to trick older people into thinking they’re talking to a loved one,” Winklebauer said. 

Danielle Scampini Linn, a member of the progressive organization Motherhood for Good, also spoke in support of Crowley’s plan. Social media and artificial intelligence are rapidly changing and posing new challenges for parents, she said.

“For too long, politicians have failed to protect our kids online,” she said. “Technology and AI can be tools, but if we don’t teach our kids how to use them correctly and safely, we’re setting them up to fail.”

Crowley framed his policy proposals as a way to place the burden of making social media and AI safer on the tech companies, not on users. Asked how he would enforce his tech regulation plan, Crowley said, “We pass the law … At the end of the day, they need to be responding to us. We have to make sure that we are protecting our communities as state and local elected officials.”

On AI, Crowley is proposing age requirements and new disclosures for AI chatbots. His proposal would ban addictive design features like infinite scroll and autoplay video. He wants families to have greater power to sue social media companies and to ban surveillance advertising that grabs a user’s personal data. He is also calling for greater penalties for AI-generated child sexual exploitation and sextortion, and funding for state initiatives to address fraud perpetrated online and using AI tools.

In a statement, Crowley’s opponent Tiffany said he would support “common-sense guardrails that protect children and seniors, safeguard personal privacy, and prevent sensitive data from falling into the hands of foreign adversaries, including Communist China … age-verification requirements for app providers, strengthen parental-consent protections, and give parents greater control over their children’s online activity.”

Route map of the proposed Kenosha-Racine-Milwaukee (KRM) commuter rail line. Image from New Starts grant application.

Plans to restore passenger rail service between Milwaukee, Racine and Kenosha are advancing, but the project’s next major step depends on the availability of federal funding.

The Milwaukee Area-Racine-Kenosha (MARK) rail project has progressed from a concept to a more developed service proposal, with planners now coordinating with the railroads that would host the service and Chicago-area commuter rail operator Metra.

“Over the past year, the study project team has made tremendous progress in turning this from an idea into a full vision,” said Clayton Johanson, a consultant with DB E.C.O. North America, during an Oct. 7 presentation to the Milwaukee Common Council’s Public Transportation, Utilities and Waterways Board.

The proposal would establish passenger rail service along a 33-mile corridor between the Milwaukee Intermodal Station and Kenosha, with stops in southern Milwaukee County and Racine. Diesel-powered trains would operate at speeds of up to 79 mph.

The project would provide a new rail connection for Racine, which Johanson noted is one of the largest Midwestern cities without direct access to the Interstate Highway System.

But it would also connect communities with existing development opportunities along the rail corridor.

“We believe MARK rail will help stimulate new labor markets, grow business, improve access to jobs, and help spur redevelopment and growth near stations on the MARK rail corridor,” said Johanson.

The project has already secured a memorandum of understanding with Metra, and talks are underway with Union Pacific and Canadian Pacific Kansas City, the two freight railroads that own the tracks the trains would use for MARK service.

The Metra agreement, approved in December 2025, establishes a framework for further planning and coordination, but does not commit the Illinois commuter rail agency to operating the new service.

No operator has been selected, though Alderman Robert Bauman, who chairs the board, suggested the ultimate outcome appears fairly clear.

“The obvious assumption here is that Metra will be the operator,” said Bauman.

Metra currently operates service from Chicago to Kenosha, making it possible that MARK could ultimately function as an extension of the existing Chicago-area commuter rail network rather than require passengers to transfer trains in Kenosha.

Waiting for Federal Funding

The project’s next major milestone would be admission into the Federal Railroad Administration’s Corridor Identification and Development Program, commonly called Corridor ID.

“Really the goal is to get MARK rail into a federal funding program,” said Johanson.

The federal program provides a multistep pathway for developing passenger rail routes, beginning with planning and service development and potentially leading to federal construction funding.

Wisconsin secured five Corridor ID planning grants in 2023 for other passenger rail projects, including proposed service to Madison, Green Bay and Eau Claire.

But the federal government has not opened another application opportunity as quickly as MARK’s planners anticipated.

“We are continuing to find other pathways, even if the primary pathway is not available,” said Johanson.

The project team has intentionally structured several of its planning documents to align with the requirements of a future Corridor ID study, potentially limiting duplicated work if federal funding becomes available.

Eric Lynde, executive director of the Southeastern Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission (SEWRPC), said the project is not at a standstill while it awaits the next federal funding opportunity.

The City of Racine received $5 million in federal funding secured with the support of U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin to restart planning for the corridor. Money remains available from that allocation to support the ongoing work.

A preliminary capital cost estimate is still being developed. An earlier KRM proposal some 15 years ago was estimated to cost $233 million, but the latest effort involves a different service design, organizational structure and approach to funding.

Johanson said comparisons with cost estimates for other Wisconsin passenger rail proposals are complicated by the different stages of planning. The MARK estimates rely on conservative assumptions, while more advanced projects have benefited from a more detailed examination of infrastructure conditions.

Complementing the Hiawatha

The MARK proposal is advancing alongside a separate effort by Amtrak and the Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT) to extend the existing Hiawatha service west from Milwaukee to Madison.

The Hiawatha West project is considerably further along in development, with an estimated capital cost of $215 million to $275 million as of June.

Lynde said MARK is not yet at a stage where its sponsors could make a comparable request for state funding in the upcoming biennial budget.

But Johanson emphasized that the two projects are not competing for the same passengers.

“We don’t see MARK as a competitor to the Hiawatha; it’s actually a complement to the Hiawatha where there is this ability to connect a lot of these lakeshore communities on the Illinois side and the Wisconsin side,” he said.

Johanson said an integrated service with Metra would strengthen those connections.

Board member Aaron Moriak described the two services as serving different markets, with the Hiawatha functioning as an express service between major cities and MARK serving as a local service connecting smaller communities along the Lake Michigan shoreline.

The current MARK planning effort is targeting service as frequent as every 30 minutes between Milwaukee and Kenosha, with opportunities to serve Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport and other destinations.

A Second Attempt

MARK is the successor to the Kenosha-Racine-Milwaukee (KRM) commuter rail proposal, which was studied extensively in the 1990s and 2000s before collapsing amid political opposition in 2011.

In 2009, the Democratic-controlled Wisconsin Legislature created a regional transit authority that could levy a rental car tax to fund the service. The following year, project sponsors sought federal engineering support for the proposed $233 million rail line.

But Republicans took control of the Legislature and eliminated the regional transit authority in 2011. Then-Rep. Robin Vos, now the Assembly speaker, was among the leading opponents.

The new MARK effort has a different project sponsor, the Milwaukee Area-Racine-Kenosha Passenger Rail Commission, which was established in 2025 by the three cities. Unlike the previous regional transit authority, the new commission does not have an independent taxing mechanism.

The project is also pursuing a different service design and federal funding strategy.

The corridor is included in SEWRPC’s Vision 2050 regional transportation plan and the state’s long-range rail plan.

But substantial work remains before trains could begin running, including securing agreements with the host railroads, identifying an operator, completing environmental reviews, developing the final service plan and securing construction and operating funding.

UPDATE: Johanson’s name has been corrected.

Prime Social Restaurant & Bar, 7225 N. 76th St. Photo from Google Maps.

On Tuesday, the Milwaukee Common Council voted to suspend the liquor license of Prime Social Restaurant & Bar for 10 days.

The decision was based on several police reports related to the business.

On Dec. 7, 2025, more than 10 squads were dispatched to break up a brawl of approximately 30 people in front of the bar’s exit. Officer Paul Schmidt described “throwing fists, pulling, pushing and grabbing” as the brawl swelled to more than 50 people. A gun was fired, hitting a middle-aged man in the right front side. An individual was taken into custody for firing the shot, while the injured victim received medical attention.

Twenty days later, Officer Yousef Hamdan witnessed a vehicle strike two of the bar’s security guards. The security guards were reportedly attempting to convince the driver not to operate the vehicle while intoxicated. After arresting the driver, officers discovered she was under the legal drinking age.

On Feb. 23, 2026, a gunshot victim reported being shot at Prime Social while receiving care for the wound at a local hospital.

On Feb. 27, 2026, premixed and unlabeled bottles of alcohol were found on site, which is not permissible under liquor license regulations. Additionally, 388 bottles of liquor were confiscated because bar staff were unable to provide proof of purchase through the correct distributor.

At a Licenses Committee meeting on Sept. 29, Prime Social’s owner and license holder, Odean Taylor, and his attorney, Emil Ovbiagele, were present.

Ovbiagele testified that the individual who fired the shot on Dec. 7 was a security guard who was being jumped and assaulted. He said, “The district attorneys cleared the event as a lawful use of force in self-defense.”

As for the incident in which the security guard was struck by a vehicle, Ovbiagele said the “business was likely the victim.” He did not comment on the finding that the patron operating the vehicle while intoxicated was underage.

Ovbiagele said the shooting victim who identified Prime Social as the location where they were wounded did not visit the establishment that day and he didn’t know why the bar was mentioned.

He also said the bar premixed margaritas and Long Island iced tea for a large event, but has advised his client to refrain from doing so in the future. He said he has helped the bar sort out “record-keeping” and Taylor has since provided proof of liquor purchase from the correct distributor.

Prime Social is located in the 9th Aldermanic District and represented by Alderwoman Larresa Taylor. At the Licenses Committee Taylor said, “This business owner stays in touch with me and makes attempts to rectify the situations that occur,” but noted the business must be more diligent in turning away underage drinkers.

“I know that in this age of AI it’s more difficult to detect fake IDs, but having an underage intoxicated person leave an establishment that risks a pedestrian is not a good situation,” Taylor said, noting that she urges these issues to be addressed so Prime Social “can continue to be an asset, not a detriment” to the district.

Taylor and Ovibiagele were not present at the Milwaukee Common Council meeting on Tuesday.

Prime Social’s 10-day suspension begins Oct. 13 and ends Oct. 22.

The bar is located in the Buchel Park neighborhood at 7225 N. 76th St., near Uihlein Soccer Park and the Good Hope Branch of the Milwaukee Public Library.

100,000 Parts Site Redevelopment Concept. Rendering by Striegel Agacki Studio.

Almost two years after it was sold, redevelopment plans have emerged for the former “100,000 Parts” store on Bay View’s main street.

OC Development, with architect Joel Agacki of Striegel Agacki Studio, submitted plans to the Department of Neighborhood Services for a 41-unit apartment building at the site at 2371-2379 S. Kinnickinnic Ave.

The new development would rise four stories, replacing the current two-story store building. A rendering depicts commercial space on the first floor.

Power Equipment Co., best known for its sign proclaiming “100,000 Parts,” closed in 2021 following the passing of owner Dan Wiken. The 92-year-old was a daily presence in the store and legendary for his encyclopedic knowledge of appliance repair. The store was in business for more than 70 years, almost all of which was under Wiken’s tenure.

The site was marketed as a “prime redevelopment opportunity” and included three adjoining properties, totaling 18,000 square feet. Three buildings are included on the site and would be demolished for the new development, including the buildings at 2363 S. Kinnickinnic Ave. and 2365-2369 S. Kinnickinnic Ave.

A limited liability company registered to investor Tim Olson paid $900,000 for the properties in 2024.

Another Wiken property, located across the rear alley at 436-438 E. Smith St., was sold to a different investor and now houses a salon.

Olson, who owns several properties in Bay View, recently completed redevelopment of the former Niemann/Suminski funeral home, at 2480-2486 S. Kinnickinnic Ave., into 14 apartments. OC, led by Adrian Cerda, served as the general contractor on that project. Agacki led the design.

OC, with Striegel Agacki, is also working on the redevelopment of the former Llewellyn Library, 907 E. Russell Ave., into apartments. The latest plans, released at a public meeting two weeks ago, call for 25 apartments created by adding a four-story addition to the existing structure.

Olson, with Striegel Agacki and OC, is working to redevelop the former American Estate stores at 2133 S. Kinnickinnic Ave. into apartments.

Olson did not respond to a request for comment. Agacki confirmed that OC is the lead developer.

A preliminary review request is not an application for a building permit and is often used to identify possible zoning or building code issues with a proposal before submitting for a zoning change, variance or construction permit. A zoning change would require a series of public hearings while a variance would require a hearing before the Board of Zoning Appeals.

100,000 Parts Property Photos

Milwaukee County Jail. Photo by Jeramey Jannene.

The Milwaukee County Sheriff’s Office will halt instant messaging on digital tablets issued to inmates at the Milwaukee County Jail.

Sheriff Denita Ball‘s decision to halt tablet instant messaging in the jail, which she oversees, follows Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley‘s decision to halt the service in the Community Reintegration Center (CRC), a county-run prison that falls under his authority.

During the past year, inmates at the jail have been criminally charged for using the tablets to intimidate or harass victims and witnesses. The issue became important to the race for governor in September after U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany‘s campaign seized on it to attack Crowley.

The tablets are provided through the county’s correctional telecommunications contract with ICsolutions. In the jail, they are provided to each of the roughly 20,000 people who pass through the facility each year, according to the sheriff’s office. Inmates do not have unlimited access to tablets, which are not connected to the internet and operate on a closed network managed by ICsolutions. The tablets provide access to the law library, educational materials and entertainment. To read a message from someone in a jail, a recipient would first need to accept the message and create an account.

Crowley met with Sheriff Ball Monday and discussed the tablet issue. In a statement Tuesday, Ball’s office said the pause at the jail was intended to create a consistent approach between the two correctional facilities. The jail struggles at times with overcrowding and understaffing and sometimes people in county custody are shuffled back and forth between the CRC and the jail.

“Victims and witnesses must be able to take part in the justice system without fear,” Ball said in a statement. “These tablets were put in place to help occupants stay connected to family, legal resources and support systems that can influence a reduction in recidivism. When even a small number of people misuse that access to threaten others and further break the law, we have a responsibility to act. Pausing messaging gives us the time to review our controls and reduce misuse and abuse of this technology.”

As with the new policy at the CRC, people in custody at the jail will still be able to use the tablets for other purposes. The sheriff’s office has also created a form, posted on its website, for residents to fill out if they have received unwanted contact from someone in custody at the jail.

During a press conference Tuesday, Crowley was asked about Ball’s decision.

“I welcome the temporary suspension because, again, we have to make sure that we put safeguards in place to make sure that this doesn’t happen again. I have zero tolerance for any level of witness intimidation or a victim being harassed,” Crowley said.

Crowley has not offered any specifics on what drove the decision, other than to say at a press conference Monday that, “We found out that the safeguards that were in place weren’t necessarily working the way that they should.”

Ascension Columbia St. Mary’s Hospital. File photo by Jeramey Jannene.

What the heck is wrong with Wisconsin? Why are its health care costs so high?

Wisconsin, notes a new report by Third Way, “has the highest prices in the Midwest and the fourth-highest prices nationally…. Wisconsin hospitals charge insurers 26% more than Illinois hospitals for the same types of inpatient care. As a result, Wisconsin families pay about $1,000 more annually than families in neighboring Illinois.”

“Even Advocate Health, which operates in both states, charges 23% more for the same services in Wisconsin than in Illinois,” the report notes.

Wisconsin also has the highest hospital prices among other neighboring states. “RAND reports that Wisconsin’s commercial hospital prices are 321% of Medicare rates, compared with 254% nationally. Wisconsin’s rate is 21 percentage points higher than Indiana’s, 83 points higher than Minnesota’s, and 132 points higher than Michigan’s,” the report found.

And there is no evidence this results in better quality care for Wisconsin patients. The report cites a study by the Leapfrog Group, which evaluates hospital safety and quality. It found that Wisconsin ranked 30th in the nation, well behind Michigan (which ranked 19th) and Illinois (21st) in the safety and quality of care.

Why is Wisconsin so much more expensive than other states?  Third Way, which calls itself “a national think tank and advocacy organization that champions moderate policy and political ideas,” cites two reasons why Wisconsin is such an outlier.

First, the state has a higher concentration of big hospital chains and thus less competition. In Wisconsin, the Advocate Aurora system operates 18 hospitals, Ascension Health operates 16, Froedtert & the Medical College of Wisconsin operates 10, the Mayo Clinic operates seven and SSM Health operates seven hospitals.

“Wisconsin’s hospital market is 24% more concentrated than Illinois’s, with large systems controlling a bigger share of the market,” the report notes. “Many of Wisconsin’s largest health plans are also owned by hospital systems, allowing the same organizations to control both insurance coverage and the hospitals and physicians in their networks. That gives integrated systems additional leverage when competition is weak.”

“Hospitals can also leverage their market power during contract negotiations with health insurers to drive up prices,” the report continues. “They can demand higher prices not only from hospitals that dominate a particular area but also from other hospitals and physician practices they own elsewhere in the state. For example, a hospital system can insist on an all-or-nothing contract covering all its facilities and clinicians.”

The second reason for Wisconsin’s high costs: a lack of reform. “Several Heartland states are directly taking on high hospital prices. Wisconsin, by contrast, has struggled even to enact stronger disclosure rules,” the report notes.

“Indiana once looked like Wisconsin, with some of the nation’s highest hospital prices.” But then employers and state legislators pushed for a law that required hospitals to disclose prices using Medicare as the benchmark, and prices began to fall at some but not all hospitals. Indiana then “required nonprofit hospital systems to offer employers direct contracts at no more than 260% of Medicare in 2025,” and has also banned anticompetitive hospital contracting practices, the report notes.

Minnesota, Illinois and Michigan have also passed reforms that include tight scrutiny of health care mergers and hospital expansions; a law requiring disclosure of facility fees, upfront patient prices and hospital 340B revenue; regulating facility fees; and limiting charges and debt collection for uninsured patients.

Wisconsin, compared to this, has been very passive, the report notes: “bipartisan legislation to strengthen transparency failed last session.”

The potential national savings from some of the reforms pushed by some of Midwestern states could be immense. “The Council of Economic Advisers estimates that prohibiting anticompetitive hospital contracts could generate $45 billion in annual savings nationwide,” the report notes.  “The Urban Institute estimates that capping hospital prices at 250% of Medicare could generate $46 billion in annual nationwide savings.”

In short, there is a lot Wisconsin could do to change its current status as the fourth most expensive state for hospital care. As of January we will have a new governor and new legislature. Health care reform should be a priority for business and union leaders and state policy makers.

Food Trucks on W. Burnham St. Photo taken on Aug. 9, 2023 by Sophie Bolich.

Jennifer Antunez-Martinez appeared before the Milwaukee Common Council on Tuesday to appeal for a reduced suspension of her food truck’s licenses.

Antunez-Martinez owns El Pastorcito Mixe, which operates in a reserved spot in the Burnham Food Truck Zone in the Muskego Way neighborhood.

On Sept. 29, the Licenses Committee recommended the Milwaukee Common Council suspend the food truck’s license for 20 days, citing in part a prior violation in which the truck operated during a 10-day license suspension in 2025.

Antunez-Martinez addressed the council before its vote and said she was worried about her five employees, “who would go a month without work, which impacts them and their families,” if the recommended 20-day suspension was approved.

Following her testimony, the Milwaukee Common Council voted 13-0, with two alderpeople absent, to issue the 20-day suspension.

Grounds for Suspension

In 2025, the Milwaukee Police Department found El Pastorcito Mixe operating while under a 10-day license suspension issued to the truck that year. The MPD did not issue a citation but told the staff they were operating on a suspended license and to close down.

On Sept. 29, during a Licenses Committee meeting where the truck’s licenses were up for renewal, the police report from 2025 was read. Licenses Committee Chair JoCasta Zamarripa, who also represents the aldermanic district where the truck is located, said she witnessed the truck back in operation the day after MPD’s warning visit.

Antunez-Martinez testified that she believed the 2025 suspension period went into effect “immediately after” the Licenses Committee recommended it, claiming she proceeded to close down for 10 days. She said she did not understand the suspension period was scheduled to begin at a later date, and later realized she closed down for the wrong 10-day period.

“I misunderstood completely everything,” Antunez-Martinez told the committee, noting that she later watched meeting footage to better understand the process.

Licenses Committee Chair JoCasta Zamarripa said she doesn’t believe the truck shut down for 10 days immediately after the recommendation was made, citing witness testimony. If the truck did remain open during that time, it would mean it operated during the 10 days Antunez-Martinez said she believed it was suspended and during the actual suspension period.

“I was quite upset because you have the privilege of a reserved spot on Burnham that so many food truck operators would be grateful to have,” said Ald. Zamarripa. “I need to ask you to make sure that you adhere to your suspensions because you didn’t do that last year.”

The committee’s 20-day suspension recommendation follows a disciplinary approach that imposes increasingly strict penalties for repeat violations.

Antunez-Martinez repeated her testimony to the Milwaukee Common Council on Tuesday, adding, “I’m not here to object to a suspension, but I think there is a possibility of it being lowered.”

“It’s not so much about me,” she said. “It’s about my staff. They are really worried they are off for 20 days.”

Per the council’s final vote, El Pastorcito Mixe’s suspension begins Oct. 14 and ends Nov. 2.

Students of the Milwaukee French Immersion School participate in a protest against staffing cuts at the Milwaukee French Immersion School on Monday, Oct. 12 in Milwaukee. (Photo by Jonathan Aguilar / Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service / CatchLight Local)

Editor’s note: The story has been updated with new comments.

On the sidewalks, on the lawn and on the front steps, parents, staff and students at Milwaukee French Immersion School protested plans to cut staff and consolidate classes Monday at MPS Central Office.

One of the teachers who could lose their job at the school is Alexandre Sablonniere, who was born and raised in France and moved to Milwaukee eight years ago. He said he found his place at the school.

After working as a paraprofessional at Milwaukee French Immersion School for several years, he’s been a third grade teacher there for the last four years.

Alexandre Sablonniere stands with students as they protest to save his job at the Milwaukee French Immersion School. (Photo by Jonathan Aguilar / Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service / CatchLight Local)

“Every day I’m teaching about the difference between my country,” Sablonniere said. “My class is actually writing through [a] class in France back and forth.”

Milwaukee French Immersion School, a K4 to fifth grade school, is one of several Milwaukee Public Schools that must make staff adjustments to ensure class sizes are large enough to be sustainable, but small enough where students have a healthy learning environment.

MPS Superintendent Brenda Cassellius told Milwaukee French Immersion School parents in an email that the school will reduce one K4 teaching position and merge that class with the other two for an average of 20 students per class, according to parents.

The K4 classrooms also have a paraprofessional for even more individual attention, with a ratio of about one adult for every 10 students, said Kevin O’Connor, MPS media relations manager.

The third K4 teacher will move up to third grade to take Sablonniere’s place.

O’Connor said about 55 teachers are being moved from lower enrollment schools and classrooms, which the district hopes will help eliminate current teacher vacancies.

Jonathan Knudson, director of communications for the Milwaukee Teachers’ Education Association, said the MPS spring budget process, which included staff cuts, created stress and uncertainty across the district.

“Students, families, and workers have voiced concerns that reducing staffing will jeopardize French Immersion’s ability to serve students well,” he said. “[Milwaukee Teachers Education Association] proudly stands with the French Immersion community in calling for the retention of this teaching position. Our students deserve the staffing and support required to ensure the long-term success of this valued program.”

Students make posters to participate in a protest against staffing cuts. (Photo by Jonathan Aguilar / Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service / CatchLight Local)

Parents, staff and students of the Milwaukee French Immersion School participate in a protest against staffing cuts at the Milwaukee French Immersion School. (Photo by Jonathan Aguilar / Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service / CatchLight Local)

More adjustments, parents say

Emily Jalabert has been with Milwaukee French Immersion School since her now-fourth grader started kindergarten. Her three children, all of whom currently attend the school, are French citizens.

“This is the first year that budget cuts have so directly impacted students,” said Jalabert, who organized the protest with other parents.

Emily Jalabert walks with her son during a protest against staffing cuts at the Milwaukee French Immersion School. (Photo by Jonathan Aguilar / Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service / CatchLight Local)

She said she understands that the budget needs to be balanced based on numbers, but said the district told the school to hire two teachers in the spring and is now backtracking.

“My kids have pretty much now come around the corner and settled,” Jalabert said. “It’s going to be … big feelings, adjustments and like starting the school year over again.”

Parents, staff and students participate in a protest against staffing cuts. (Photo by Jonathan Aguilar / Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service / CatchLight Local)

Students of the Milwaukee French Immersion School participate in a protest against staffing cuts. (Photo by Jonathan Aguilar / Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service / CatchLight Local)

District enrollment runs short, positions to be consolidated

In recent history, O’Connor said the district used a school’s enrollment from the prior year as the projection for the next year’s enrollment. He said this caused challenges, especially when a school had growing or declining enrollment.

This year, MPS budgeted for 60,277 students enrolled districtwide by the third Friday of the school year, down from 63,943 last school year.

Schools are not paid for their projected enrollment, but rather how many students are enrolled and attend a school by that third Friday of the school year, often referred to as the “third Friday count.”

Preliminary numbers from the third Friday of the 2026-27 school year show enrollment fell nearly 1,800 shorter than anticipated – to 58,333 students, said Cassellius during a Board of School Directors meeting in September.

MPS Superintendent Brenda Cassellius. (Photo by Jonathan Aguilar / Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service / CatchLight Local)

As a result, Cassellius said at a Committee on Finance and Operations meeting in September, the district would likely have to look at staffing in schools where enrollment was significantly lower than anticipated.

Excessing, or transferring teachers from one school or grade to another, takes place every year after the district reviews enrollment numbers, O’Connor said.

At Milwaukee French Immersion School, O’Connor said the issue wasn’t the school’s third Friday count, which fell 12 students short of the school’s projected enrollment of 396 students. Rather, the cut is occurring due to low class sizes in K4 classrooms, he said.

K4 class sizes to increase

MPS K4 class size guidelines call for 20 students for one teacher and a paraprofessional.

Milwaukee French Immersion School currently has three K4 classes with an average enrollment of 14 per class, which is “unfortunately, not financially sustainable,” a district statement from O’Connor said.

Parents, staff and students of the Milwaukee French Immersion School participate in a protest against staffing cuts. (Photo by Jonathan Aguilar / Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service / CatchLight Local)

A child holds a sign supporting the Milwaukee French Immersion School during a protest. (Photo by Jonathan Aguilar / Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service / CatchLight Local)

Parents, staff and students of the Milwaukee French Immersion School participate in a protest against staffing cuts. (Photo by Jonathan Aguilar / Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service / CatchLight Local)

Last year, Jalabert said her son’s class had 26 students, which created a chaotic environment for the young children. She said multiple families left as a result. At Milwaukee French Immersion School, families can’t enroll students after first grade, Jalabert said.

“If we lose families in the early years, we lose families forever,” she said.

Jalabert decided to stick it out because all three of her children are French citizens, and she knew that first grade classrooms functioned far better and kids get the resources they need.

“The bigger class sizes work better in first grade, but they just don’t in these young ages,” Jalabert said. “Especially when they’re being instructed in a different language for eight hours a day that they’ve never heard before.”

Students make posters to participate in a protest against staffing cuts. (Photo by Jonathan Aguilar / Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service / CatchLight Local)

Alex Klaus is the education solutions reporter for the Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service and a corps member of Report for America, a national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on under-covered issues and communities. Report for America plays no role in editorial decisions in the NNS newsroom.

Jonathan Aguilar is a visual journalist at Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service who is supported through a partnership between CatchLight Local and Report for America.

This article first appeared on Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Milwaukee Public Schools Administration Building. Photo by Jeramey Jannene.

Send ’em the bill.

That’s the opinion of at least two Common Council members regarding Milwaukee Public Schools‘ use of city-provided legal services.

State statute requires the city attorney to provide the legal services, with limited exceptions, but appears to leave open the question of who should pay.

The ambiguity, and the potential indirect transfer of city funds to MPS, prompted Ald. Peter Burgelis to insert a footnote into the 2026 city budget instructing City Attorney Evan Goyke to track how much time is spent serving the school district.

The initial numbers are now in.

From March 1 through Sept. 30, Goyke reported his office spent 2,084 hours on MPS work. Using the average hourly cost of an assistant city attorney, including benefits, of $85, the city spent $177,100.

But Goyke believes that over a full year, the total would be around 3,000 hours, boosting the cost to $255,000.

“I would say in a year, the hours are going to add up to about three [full-time employees],” said Goyke during an Oct. 2 budget hearing with the Finance & Personnel Committee.

MPS requests for legal help, said Goyke, primarily involve assistant city attorney work, but also involve lower-paid paralegals and higher-paid deputy city attorneys.

“Sounds like that is an opportunity to pay for an additional [assistant city attorney],” said Burgelis of billing the district. Much of Goyke’s hearing centered on the city attorney lobbying the council to restore an attorney position Mayor Cavalier Johnson is proposing to cut.

“Your office is required to serve MPS as general counsel, but it doesn’t say you must do it for free,” said Burgelis.

“It also doesn’t say that they have to pay,” said Goyke. “It’s not legally impossible, but because of that state statute we likely have no enforcement mechanism.”

Alderwoman Milele A. Coggs thinks the city should send a bill and see what happens.

“The bill I don’t receive is likely the bill I would never pay,” she said. “I think it’s important to still do the billing. I just think that’s an important step.”

Alderwoman Larresa Taylor endorsed Coggs’ idea.

“They should see the numbers because then they would see what the city is giving up,” she said.

“We can try that if the council wants to,” said Goyke.

Goyke said MPS has increased its capacity, adding two internal positions. But it still lags behind the Madison Metropolitan School District, which he said has three to four in-house attorneys for only a third of the employees MPS has.

Neither the City of Madison nor any other governmental entity is required to provide legal services to a school district. The city-MPS relationship is defined under a section of law that applies only to “first-class cities,” a carve-out in state law to make provisions apply only to Milwaukee.

MPS recently hired Robert Sanders to serve as its chief legal officer. Sanders previously worked as an assistant city attorney in the City Attorney’s Office on labor matters, including supporting MPS.

The district told Urban Milwaukee it is supporting the time tracking effort. It did not answer whether it would pay the city.

“We are working with the City Attorney’s office on methods for tracking time, which will be useful as we continue to work on strategies to help us meet legal needs and use resources most efficiently,” said a spokesperson in a statement.

Most of the district’s legal work includes labor and employment cases, as well as injury cases and lawsuits against the district.

“School law is unique and complex,” said Goyke. “It is very different than what we do on a daily basis for the city.”

The city and school district are intertwined in ways beyond legal advice. The city technically owns all of the district’s land, while the district owns the buildings. Other blurred lines exist, including non-certified MPS support staff being included in the city’s legacy pension system. The ties, said Goyke, date back to when the Common Council was the school board.

The legal services provision, he believes, was added in the 1970s. “There may have been wisdom at the time,” he said.

Whatever it was, no one seems to remember.

Candidates for state treasurer Republican John S. Leiber, left, and Democrat Yee Leng Xiong. Photos courtesy of the candidates

While the office of state treasurer has lost much of its power, one of the few tasks left is “improving fiscal responsibility” in Wisconsin.

The candidates running for the office this November have differing views on what that looks like in practice and what they hope to accomplish if elected.

Incumbent John Leiber, a Republican, said he has focused on keeping the office small over the last four years, adding that it’s the smallest state treasurer’s office in the country.

“I’m not attempting to try to take on new duties or responsibilities,” Leiber said. “I want to focus on what the actual duties are now, rather than trying to delve into issues the state treasurer’s office has nothing to do with.”

Before taking office in 2023, Leiber worked as a tax adviser for the state Department of Revenue and a private attorney in real estate and wills. In 2018, he ran for state Assembly in District 62, but lost the Republican primary.

Democrat Yee Leng Xiong believes the office should act as an “independent fiscal watchdog,” ensuring there is no “waste and fraud” in state spending and showing taxpayers how their dollars are being spent.

“Being able to make sure that we’re looking at new revenues, making sure that what we’re doing is working, and also ensuring that we’re holding the state of Wisconsin accountable and money is not being (wasted) or going to places where it shouldn’t be,” Xiong said.

In the 2024 election, Xiong challenged Republican state Rep. Patrick Snyder in the 85th Assembly District. The son of Hmong refugees, Xiong led the Hmong American Center in Wausau for eight years and currently serves on the Marathon County Board and the D.C. Everest Area School Board. If Xiong wins, he would be the first Hmong American in the nation to be elected to statewide office.

The state treasurer is one of three Wisconsin elected officials who manage the state’s Common School Fund and other trust funds for education. The Common School Fund supports libraries in public K-12 schools and distributed $73.5 million last year.

Xiong said schools districts, along with public libraries and local governments, are being asked to “do more with less income.” He would like to see the treasurer’s office lead the charge on exploring ways to generate new revenue and rethink the way the state is spending existing dollars.

“Many (schools) are going back to referendums. We’re seeing our local municipalities and governments struggling to pave roads or buy essential equipments,” Xiong said. “The state treasurer, as all of government should be doing, should be working to make sure that the cost of living is lowered.”

But Leiber said the state needs to start investing in the Common School Fund now, rather than wait for the perfect situation. He pointed to the large legal settlements Wisconsin has recently received from drug manufacturers and companies like Meta as a potential source of new funds. He said “rather than spend it, I’d rather invest it.”

Leiber pointed out that the office has been marked by turnover for two decades, with voters electing a new state treasurer every four years since 2006. He said the treasurer’s work would benefit from more consistency.

“It’s hard to build connections with legislators and other officials when they think you’re not going to be there that long,” Leiber said.

But Xiong argued that the state treasurer should be doing everything they can to lower costs and improve the quality of life for residents.

“We’re doing a disservice to the state of Wisconsin by doing the bare minimum,” he said.

The Wisconsin Legislature removed most of the job duties of the state treasurer under both Republican and Democratic governors. In 2018, voters roundly rejected a push for a constitutional amendment that would have eliminated the office.

State treasurer candidates call for responsible state spending — but differ on what that means was originally published by Wisconsin Public Radio.

Candidates for the 6th Congressional District, Republican incumbent Rep. Glenn Grothman, left, and Democrat Brad Smith. Photos courtesy of the candidates’ campaigns

Democrat Brad Smith of Mequon, a National Guard veteran and political newcomer, is trying to unseat Republican U.S. Rep. Glenn Grothman of Glenbeulah, who has represented Wisconsin’s 6th Congressional District for more than a decade.

The east-central Wisconsin district contains much of Winnebago County, along with Sheboygan, Fond du Lac, Ozaukee, Green Lake, Manitowoc, Columbia, Marquette and Waushara counties.

Though its boundaries have changed over the years, a Democrat hasn’t represented the district since the 1960s. Grothman, 71, has been elected to Congress six times, winning his last race with 61 percent of the vote. He won his first race for the seat in 2014 after serving more than two decades in the Wisconsin Legislature.

Smith said he believes it’s time for a new voice to represent the district, arguing Grothman has grown out of touch with his constituents. But Grothman said his experience makes him a more effective lawmaker and he has unfinished work in Washington.

“Like any job, the longer you’re here, the more you learn and the more you are capable of getting things done,” Grothman told WPR. “I don’t view myself as being worse in my twelfth year than my eighth year. I view myself as being better because I’m more experienced.”

Smith grew up in Neenah and enlisted in the Wisconsin National Guard after high school, eventually serving 14 months overseas during the second Iraq War. After his service, Smith went back to school and went to work in the software industry before launching his own consulting firm.

He said he spent much of his life feeling like “politics were rather gross and boring.” But he said he felt like he needed to run for office because it felt like future generations may not be able to access the opportunities that he had.

Smith also said he’s “frustrated” that many serving in Congress, including his opponent, treat it as a “long-term career path” instead of an opportunity to serve.

“I am very, very frustrated with Glenn in particular, but I think this is a bigger picture challenge too,” he said. “I’d like to see more reforms that make it more of a civic service and a tour of duty — almost like when I deployed — rather than, ‘Hey, I’m getting into a lifetime career and I need to be in here until they roll me out on a cart.’”

Grothman acknowledged criticism of members of Congress who serve too long. But he said he feels like he’s still dedicated to the job, and there’s more work he wants to get done.

Grothman said “welfare reform” is his biggest priority, saying he believes the current system disincentivizes marriage and working.

“We all know people who can only work so many hours because it’ll dig into their benefits, and our situation discourages marriage,” he said. “It, I think, bears a lot of the responsibility for the breakdown from the family.”

The Trump factor in this year’s race

Grothman said he believes President Donald Trump has generally done a good job during his second term, particularly on immigration policy and efforts to eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion programs in government.

But Grothman said his biggest gripe with Trump is his communication style, saying he wished Trump’s rhetoric was a bit more “presidential.”

“He says things that are inappropriate for a president to say, and that’s why his popularity isn’t where it should be — whether he’s talking about Canada being the 51st state or saying Lake Ontario should be Lake America, or whatever,” Grothman said. “It drives down his popularity. I don’t think it’s so much things he’s done.”

Smith said he wants to go to Congress to help provide a check on the Trump administration. He said the administration has been trying to govern through executive orders to override or avoid Congress.

Smith pointed to the war in Iran as an example of the president avoiding congressional oversight.

“As a person who served in one of our prior ‘forever wars,’ I have a damn strong opinion and lived viewpoint from this on the impacts on the people, the service members (and) the places where war is being waged,” he said. “I just see this undermining of all of the checks and balances.”

Congress has not specifically authorized the war with Iran, which began in late February. Several war powers resolutions directing Trump to withdraw U.S. forces have been floated, but none have made it to the president’s desk.

While he wants to provide a check on the president, Smith also acknowledged that he will have to win over some Republican voters if he hopes to flip the district.

“I don’t care about the politics of it,” he said. “We have to do right for our place that we call home. This is a very mixed district, so my job will be to figure out how to represent everyone here.”

Independent and third party candidates also on the ballot

Grothman and Smith also face independent candidate Mike Thurow, Wisconsin Green Party candidate Matthew Arndt and independent candidate Elizabeth Fitzgibbon.

Fitzgibbon is running on a platform pushing for more government accountability, which includes “calling for a full Constitutional Audit.”

“I am not running to manage a system that was built to ignore you,” she said on her campaign website. “I am running to audit the foundation and return the power of this country to the people.”

Thurow, who serves as a union fire captain, told WPR he’s running because he doesn’t feel the two parties are working for the people.

“I won’t answer to a party boss or a corporate PAC, only to the people here,” he said. “I want to bring down costs, make markets fair again, and push the reforms both parties are scared of.”

Arndt told WPR he’s running “because working people, family farmers, and small businesses are being squeezed while concentrated corporate power grows stronger.”

Arndt was arrested last week following a road rage incident that included profanity and anti-Israel remarks, according to WTMJ-TV. In a statement to the station, he apologized for losing his composure. Formal charges had not been filed as of Monday afternoon.

Republican US Rep. Glenn Grothman faces Democrat Brad Smith in race for Wisconsin’s 6th Congressional District was originally published by Wisconsin Public Radio.

A Microsoft data center in Mount Pleasant, Wisconsin appears in a June 2026 photo. Photo courtesy of Microsoft

The Milwaukee Common Council on Tuesday unanimously approved a one-year moratorium on new data center development, giving city officials time to establish permanent zoning regulations for the rapidly evolving industry.

The moratorium generally prohibits the construction of new data centers or expansion of existing facilities while the city develops regulations addressing their potential impacts on noise, energy consumption, water use and air quality.

But the city isn’t entirely closing the door on new projects. Developers could still pursue site-specific detailed planned development zoning changes, a process that would require public hearings and approvals from the City Plan Commission and Common Council.

The moratorium will expire after one year or upon adoption of permanent regulations, whichever comes first. State law also provides a mechanism for a six month extension.

Ald. Marina Dimitrijevic, the lead sponsor, said the council has been working on the issue for months as the technology and economy are advancing at “lightning speed.”

“We are committed to finding the right regulatory rules,” she said.

Dimitrijevic praised her colleagues, Mayor Cavalier Johnson, and the council’s Legislative Reference Bureau for their work on the proposal. She singled out bureau staff member David Gelting, who she said “made himself an expert on the issue” through hours of research.

The council has been grappling with how to regulate a type of development that can range from relatively small facilities resembling conventional office buildings to sprawling, energy-intensive campuses designed to support artificial intelligence applications.

Ald. Alex Brower, a cosponsor, said it is rare for the council to vote on something “so impactful.”

He praised Dimitrijevic’s leadership and thanked the Party for Socialism and Liberation, Milwaukee Democratic Socialists of America, and other organizations for participating in the debate.

Brower said the council was sending “a message to the tech barons.”

“The revolt against AI is happening,” he declared.

The legislation follows months of discussion, including a contentious City Plan Commission hearing where supporters called for safeguards against potential environmental and neighborhood impacts. Opponents, including the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce and Building Advantage, argued that a moratorium could discourage investment, job creation and tax revenue.

Council President José G. Pérez previously urged city planners to consider the potential positive fiscal impacts of data centers alongside their environmental and infrastructure costs.

The Department of City Development is now tasked with developing a permanent regulatory framework.

The push for new regulations emerged just before controversy erupted over a proposal to redevelop the vacant Midtown Center Walmart, 5825 W. Hope Ave., with a mixed-use development that included a 19,000-square-foot data center. After sustained public opposition, the computing component was dropped.

That project was smaller than the 20,000-square-foot threshold contemplated in an earlier regulatory proposal, but the moratorium applies to facilities of any size.

Milwaukee has yet to see a proposal for a data center in its downtown or central business district, though such projects are advancing in Chicago.

One Chicago developer is proposing to convert several floors of a historic Loop office building into a data center, complete with rooftop backup generators. Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson has also called for a moratorium as his city develops additional regulations.

Meanwhile, massive data center campuses are being developed in southeastern Wisconsin, including projects by Microsoft and Vantage Data Centers on the rural fringes of the Milwaukee metropolitan area.

Milwaukee Planning Manager Tanya Fonseca previously said she does not expect hyperscale facilities of that magnitude to be built in Milwaukee because of the city’s limited available land.

But smaller urban facilities could still be proposed, as Chicago and the Midtown proposal have shown.

Several smaller data centers, which don’t have the heavy energy use associated with AI-focused computing, already operate in the city.

The measure passed on a 13-0 vote, with council members Robert Bauman and JoCasta Zamarripa excused from the meeting. Mayor Johnson is supportive of the moratorium, as previously indicated by DCD representatives and confirmed Tuesday by a spokesperson.

The city last used a zoning moratorium in 2023 on vape and electronic cigarette stores.

Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul, right speaks while standing next to Fond du Lac County District Attorney Eric Toney on Tuesday, June 6, 2023, at the Risser Justice Center in Madison, Wis. Angela Major/WPR

Candidates in the race for Wisconsin Attorney General sparred on a myriad of topics during a debate Sunday, including whether adequate resources are being devoted to addressing crime.

Incumbent Democratic Attorney General Josh Kaul is defending his record as he seeks a third term. He is facing Republican challenger and Fond du Lac County District Attorney Eric Toney.

The two sounded off on crime, the state’s crime lab and the Trump administration’s lawsuit seeking the state’s voter data on WISN 12’s “UpFront” debate, which partnered with WisPolitics.

As the two debated over their records on crime and red flag laws, Toney highlighted comments made earlier this year by Red Cliff Tribal Chairwoman Nicole Boyd.

“We have seen earlier this year at the State of the Tribes (address) — Nicole Boyd delivered that in Madison and said the attorney general eliminated drug investigators in Wisconsin, that was causing unnecessary death,” Toney said.

Boyd delivered the annual State of the Tribes address in February. However, she didn’t accuse the attorney general of eliminating drug investigators in Wisconsin. Instead, she alleged the number of narcotics agents investigating crimes out of the Wisconsin Department of Justice’s Eau Claire field office had dwindled from four agents in 2013 to zero last year.

“As a result, we know this has caused incredible delays in investigations, resulting in many unnecessary deaths,” Boyd said during the address.

WPR reached out to the Red Cliff tribe and Boyd, who did not immediately return a request for comment.

When asked to respond to those claims, Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul told WPR that the DOJ’s Division of Criminal Investigation has worked to hold drug traffickers accountable by investigating crimes statewide, including in northern Wisconsin.

As evidence of progress, Kaul pointed to an over 40 percent reduction in opioid overdose deaths in Wisconsin between 2023 to 2024.

“There have been cases where an agent who resides and works out of an office, say in northern Wisconsin, may retire, and may be replaced by an agent who lives somewhere else or works out of a different office,” Kaul told WPR. “That’s changed over time, but what has not changed is that our Division of Criminal Investigation investigates cases statewide and responds statewide.”

A DOJ spokesperson said investigators in Eau Claire, Wausau and Appleton field offices serve the northern part of the state, adding other agents are called to assist when needed.

A summary of provisions within the 2025-2027 budget shows DOJ has roughly 750 full-time equivalent positions, which is a loss of about 10 positions since 2024-25.

The DOJ was authorized to have a total of 100 full-time equivalent special agent in charge and special agent positions assigned to its offices statewide as of July 1, including 9 agents at its Eau Claire field office. That’s according to the Legislative Fiscal Bureau.

Field offices in Wausau, Milwaukee and Appleton each had seven agents while the Madison field office had 12. Another 58 agents were located within other units of the Division of Criminal Investigation.

The Legislative Fiscal Bureau said it was unable to immediately provide specifics on the specialization of those agents or the history of allocated positions.

AG debate highlights criticism from tribal leader on number of drug investigators was originally published by Wisconsin Public Radio.

(Left to right) Guy Smith, Sup. Shawn Rolland and Mayor Dennis McBride at ribbon cutting for Underwood Creek trail. Photo by Graham Kilmer.

It used to be just a road. Now it’s a multiuse trail.

On Friday, Milwaukee County Parks cut the ribbon on a new section of the Oak Leaf Trail in Wauwatosa. The department converted about three-quarters of a mile of the Underwood Creek Parkway to a multiuse trail and rebuilt the rest of the degraded roadway where it loops around the northern end of the county grounds.

Between roughly N. Swan Boulevard and the UW-Extension Firefly Ridge Garden, the parkway is now a trail. The parkway is no longer a throughway for motor vehicles, which will greatly reduce vehicle traffic for pedestrians and cyclists traveling through, though you can still drive into the park. The project was Parks’ second major road-to-trail conversion after finishing a 0.8-mile conversion of the Menomonee River Parkway in 2025.

“This project is a great example of improving infrastructure while expanding recreational opportunities and protecting our natural resources,” Milwaukee County Parks Director Guy Smith said.

The department has a policy of trying to reduce pavement wherever possible throughout the parks system. Roadway and parking lot maintenance is a drag on the department’s limited resources. Long term, Parks wants to convert more roadways to trails, which are cheaper to maintain. Reducing paved surfaces also reduces stormwater runoff and the urban heat island effect.

The converted Underwood Creek Parkway adds more dedicated trail to the Root River line of the Oak Leaf Trail network. The parkway was closed for several years during the reconstruction of I-41, and the state provided the county a $287,000 grant to mitigate the effects of the project. The grant was applied to the approximately $3.8 million design and construction of the trail and parkway.

Sup. Shawn Rolland, whose supervisory district includes the parkway, said constituents have reached out to him about fixing the parkway more than any other issue in the district. The roadway was a “pot-hole-filled problem,” he said, adding that the new trail and roadway “will improve park infrastructure, restore access to popular destinations, and support environmental sustainability.”

Wauwatosa Mayor Dennis McBride called the new trail “sort of a miracle.” He explained that the state has not provided Milwaukee County with the funding it needs to provide adequate services and amenities for residents.

“So to provide this sort of amenity with all the demands that the county has, and the low level of funding that it gets back from Madison for what we send up there, it’s almost a miracle that this sort of thing happens,” he said.

U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany speaks to the press after being endorsed by the party for governor Saturday, May 16, 2026, during the Republican Party of Wisconsin State Convention at Kalahari Resorts & Conventions in Baraboo, Wis. Angela Major/WPR

As he runs for governor, Republican U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany has introduced himself to voters as a get-along kind of conservative, but his lengthy record in the state Legislature and Congress tells a different story.

Tiffany, a Republican from Minocqua, has often invited political fights. He came into state government during an era when Republicans fundamentally reshaped Wisconsin, and he was sworn into Congress at a time when its agenda has been set by President Donald Trump.

Shortly after being sworn into the U.S. House, he voted to reverse Trump’s loss in two swing states during the 2020 election. After the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, he supported new national limits on abortion. And last year, an analysis of congressional roll call votes found he voted with Trump 99 percent of the time.

This followed nearly a decade of experience in the state Legislature, where he was first elected as part of the 2010 Republicans wave. As a freshman state representative, he was a reliable vote for Gov. Scott Walker’s agenda, including Walker’s landmark collective bargaining law that drew tens of thousands of protesters to the state Capitol. When Walker called for a bill to clear the way for a massive iron mine in northern Wisconsin, Tiffany was its lead sponsor.

Longtime GOP strategist Mark Graul says the work Tiffany and other Republicans did in Wisconsin laid the foundation for the budget surplus the state enjoys today.

“He’s willing to be bold, he’s willing to be aggressive, he’s willing to do things that get our state back on the right track,” said Graul, who describes Tiffany as “tough as nails.”

But former Democratic state Sen. Jon Erpenbach, a Democrat from Middleton who served with Tiffany, remembers it differently.

“He’s not an aw-shucks, you betcha kind of guy,” Erpenbach claimed. “He’s going to do whatever it takes to steamroll Democrats, basically, into oblivion.”

Tiffany sponsored bill to allow for a massive iron mine

While the nation was climbing out of the Great Recession, job creation was Republicans’ rallying cry. In his 2012 State of the State Address, Walker called on lawmakers to clear the way for a company called Gogebic Taconite to open a proposed iron mine in northern Wisconsin that could create thousands of jobs.

“We’ve all debated this for months,” Walker told the joint session of the Legislature. “Now it is time for us to move forward on a project that’s not only about jobs but also about the history of our Badger State.”

This was roughly a year after Walker had introduced his bill that curbed union rights, not to mention a long list of other GOP priorities. On all the big bills, from requiring a photo ID to vote, to allowing the concealed carry of firearms, to drawing legislative maps that enshrined GOP power, Tiffany was a reliable supporter.

When it came to mining, Tiffany took a more active role. Then a member of the state Assembly, he was the lead author of the Gogebic Taconite bill. It passed the Assembly but failed in the Wisconsin Senate when one Republican lawmaker joined all Democrats to vote against it.

The proposal faced sharp backlash from tribal nations and environmental groups warning about pollution from mining waste destroying the Bad River watershed that flows into Lake Superior. Once completed, they said, it could be a thousand feet deep, three-quarters of a mile wide and eventually 22 miles long — the type of hole in the ground that would be visible from outer space.

Later that year, Tiffany won an open seat for the state Senate, which grew Republicans’ majority in the chamber. He reintroduced his mining bill and blocked a bipartisan alternative.

When Tiffany’s bill made it to the Senate floor in February 2013, he said the mine was too important to hold out for bipartisan consensus, and people who needed the jobs wouldn’t care how the vote shook out.

“Five or 10 years from now, when those people at that mine site are cashing their paychecks, do you think they’re going to be asking, ‘Gosh, I wonder if that was passed on a bipartisan basis?’” Tiffany asked his fellow senators. “No, they are going to be happy to have those jobs.”

Despite the regulatory rewrite, the jobs never came. Gogebic Taconite withdrew its application to mine in 2015. Walker and Tiffany blamed the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency under former President Barack Obama.

Tiffany’s repeal of sulfide mining moratorium turned personal

With the iron mining bill now law, Tiffany set his sights on bringing sulfide mining for minerals like copper and gold back to Wisconsin. It was a heavy lift because Tiffany would have to repeal a bipartisan sulfide mining moratorium law signed 20 years earlier by former Republican Gov. Tommy Thompson.

Tiffany’s 2017 bill, eliminated a “prove it first” provision requiring companies give examples of mines that hadn’t polluted over a 20 year span. It also mandated faster permitting, changed groundwater regulations and lifted wetland rules related to impacts from mining.

As mining committee chairman, Tiffany scheduled a public hearing at a high school in Ladysmith, just down the road from the retired Flambeau copper mine. Attendees walked past a Toyota Prius that Tiffany’s staff had parked by the school’s front doors, with a sign listing all the copper and other minerals in its components.

The Legislature’s Committee on Sporting Heritage, Mining and Forestry listened to public testimony Thursday on a bill to repeal the state’s 20 year-old mining moratorium law. Rich Kremer/WPR

During hours of testimony, Tiffany got into a debate with Al Gedicks, the late University of Wisconsin-La Crosse Professor who was a longtime anti-mining activist. When it was Gedicks’ turn to testify, Tiffany turned the discussion to Gedicks himself.

“You were charged with attempted arson in your past,” Tiffany said. Gedicks appeared stunned as many in the crowd booed or groaned.

Tiffany was referring to Gedicks’ arrest in 1970 during anti-Vietnam protests at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Gedicks has claimed he was arrested in the vicinity of an attempted arson attack but that he was not involved.

Gedicks accused Tiffany of reaching “unfathomable depths of deviousness” to defend a mining bill with no scientific credibility.

“Are you referring to the depths of being convicted of possession of a fire bomb to bomb an army ROTC?” responded Tiffany, before moving on.

The Flambeau mine is the only copper-gold mine to operate in Wisconsin under modern-day mining laws prior to the moratorium that was repealed last fall. The site was reclaimed in the late 1990s. Rich Kremer/WPR

Erpenbach was there that night and said it was “about as low rent as I’ve ever seen from a legislator.”

“It’s a typical Tom Tiffany move,” said Erpenbach. “If you don’t think you necessarily have an audience on your side on the issue, or even the facts on your side on an issue, you go out and you absolutely slaughter the messenger.”

Tiffany’s bill to repeal the mining moratorium passed despite five of his fellow Republicans voting against it. No mines have since opened, but Canadian mining company GreenLight Metals is conducting exploratory drilling for copper-bearing sulfides containing gold and silver in Taylor County.

Tiffany pushed to overturn 2020 presidential election

After nearly a decade in the Wisconsin Legislature, Tiffany won a special election for Wisconsin’s open 7th Congressional District seat in 2020, following the resignation of former Republican U.S. Rep. Sean Duffy.

He took office roughly six months before the 2020 presidential election, an event that would leave its mark on U.S. history and test the resilience of Congress.

Trump had been making false claims about widespread fraud leading up to that year’s elections, and after the election was over, he did not acknowledge that he’d lost to former President Joe Biden.

Tiffany was in the president’s corner. A day after the election, Tiffany issued a press release “in response to the media’s projected outcome of the 2020 Presidential election.”

“Let’s halt the premature rush to declare a winner in the presidential race to ensure that every legal vote is counted and that every legitimate legal challenge is heard and addressed by our independent judiciary,” he said.

Tiffany took things further than other GOP members of Wisconsin’s congressional delegation that year. He signed onto a legal brief in a lawsuit filed by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton asking the U.S. Supreme Court to throw out election results in Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Georgia, and let the states’ legislatures decide the winner. The U.S. Supreme Court rejected the suit.

A day before Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol in the Jan. 6 riot, Tiffany announced he would object to Wisconsin’s results. His press release accused clerks in Dane and Milwaukee counties of taking “active steps to undermine and circumvent” election laws amid the COVID-19 pandemic, which he claimed “disenfranchised the great majority of Wisconsin voters who followed the law.” He also chided the Wisconsin Supreme Court for dismissing the Trump campaign’s attempt to throw out hundreds of thousands of absentee ballots from those counties.

“And while I take no pleasure in casting this vote, this is the last option that remains to protect the rights of millions of Wisconsin voters who cast legal ballots,” said Tiffany.

Tiffany never got the chance to formally object to Wisconsin’s results, but he was among the lawmakers who voted to overturn election results in Pennsylvania and Arizona. The votes came hours after the Capitol was taken over by Trump supporters on Jan. 6, 2021.

Tiffany has said he doesn’t regret voting against certifying the 2020 results. This year he acknowledged that Biden won the election but still claims there were improprieties and said he welcomes the FBI investigating Milwaukee County’s six-year-old results.

After Roe was overturned, Tiffany pushed for national limits on abortion

After the U.S. Supreme Court’s conservative majority struck down federal Roe v. Wade abortion protections in 2022, Tiffany backed a national law that would replace it.

He cosponsored legislation in 2023 banning abortions after six weeks with no exceptions for rape or incest. Only three of the six Republican members of Wisconsin’s congressional delegation signed on to the bill.

Abortion was a go-to issue for Democrats in the past two elections, as candidates like Gov. Tony Evers campaigned on a promise to protect abortion rights. And on the day he announced his own candidacy for governor, Tiffany sought to get ahead of the issue.

U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany speaks before Vice President JD Vance’s remarks Thursday Feb. 26, 2026, at Pointe Precision in Plover, Wis. Angela Major/WPR

During an interview on WISN-AM, he said the six-week abortion ban that he had cosponsored was not his position as a candidate for governor. Instead, he pointed to the state’s current 20-week abortion ban, which he voted for as a member of the Legislature.

“I do support that law, and I will uphold it as governor of the state of Wisconsin,” Tiffany said.

As a state legislator, Tiffany also backed a 24-hour waiting period before getting an abortion, mandatory in-person counseling with a physician and mandatory ultrasounds.

Tiffany has stood by Trump in his second term

Since Trump’s second term as president began in 2025, Tiffany has defended the president at nearly every turn.

He’s voted several times against Democratic bills aimed at blocking Trump’s tariffs against allied nations. After Trump threatened a 35 percent tariff on Canadian imports last year, Tiffany complained about Canadian wildfire smoke in a social media post and said the president should demand “more responsible forest management as part of any future trade deal with Canada.

Trump’s decision to launch military strikes against Iran in February has been another major factor in rising prices for American consumers. While Tiffany has said it’s time to “wrap up” the war, he’s previously voted against five bills directing Trump to do so.

Rep. Tom Tiffany, who is running for Wisconsin governor, speaks before President Donald Trump arrives at a roundtable event Friday, June 5, 2026, in Chippewa Falls, Wis. Angela Major/WPR

University of Wisconsin-La Crosse political science professor Anthony Chergosky told WPR Tiffany’s legislative history shows he’s “been a key figure in two different but related iterations” of the Republican Party.

“The first being the Walker era rise of conservatism in Wisconsin, and the second being the rise of Trumpism,” Chergosky said. “Those brands of Republican party politics have not always coexisted precisely, but Congressman Tiffany has found his place in both of those iterations of the Republican Party.”

The Walker and Trump iterations of the party were at odds in the 2022 race for governor, when former Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch, Walker’s favored candidate, lost a hard-fought Republican primary against construction executive Tim Michels, the Trump-endorsed candidate.

Tiffany’s close alliance with Walker and Trump helped him avoid that kind of primary in 2026. That freed him up to spend most of his time attacking the record of his Democratic opponent, Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley, while introducing himself to voters on his own terms.

Listen to the WPR report

Tom Tiffany’s conservative record dates back years in state and federal politics was originally published by Wisconsin Public Radio.

8415 W. Burleigh St. Photo taken May 6, 2026 by Sophie Bolich.

After an initial sale of a commercial building at 8415 W. Burleigh St. fell through between MJT Pickle Properties and Stephen Meenk in May, a new deal between the parties has been signed, sealed and delivered.

According to state real estate transfer records posted Monday, Oct. 5, Meenk bought the former Brew City Pickles property for $405,000.

Now, nearly six months after first speaking with Urban Milwaukee, Meenk’s plan to transform the building into a new pizzeria, Meenk Bros Pizza Co., is back on track.

The pizzeria plans to offer the Cooper Park neighborhood scratch-made New York-style pies, baked in rack ovens using cold-fermented dough and high-quality tomatoes, cheeses and meats.

Cold-fermented dough takes longer to rise than standard room-temperature and same-day dough, which allows it to develop more flavor and makes it easier to digest, said Meenk, who has spent decades perfecting the craft.

With the sale finalized, Meenk said he is working on “lots of painting,” ordering signage, installing an awning and window decals, and working out point-of-sale processing for online ordering.

“It’s a mix of all the emotions,” said Meenk, who declined to comment on the fallout of the initial sale. “It’s exciting. It’s nerve-wracking. I’m on top of everything that I need to do and I’m working really hard.”

Meenk said he is working on obtaining a liquor license to offer beer, wine and seltzers alongside his pizza.

“Everything is in motion right now and things are going well,” Meenk said.

The pizzeria plans to offer online ordering and sit-in dining.

Pending city approval, Meenk hopes to open in the coming months.

Aerial view of bypass and remediation site captured Sept. 13 in Iron County, Wisconsin. Photo Courtesy of Enbridge

Enbridge said an early morning fire destroyed a drill rig and support equipment on a $1 billion project to reroute its Line 5 oil and gas pipeline in northern Wisconsin.

In a statement, Enbridge spokesperson Juli Kellner called the fire that damaged a horizontal directional drill rig and related equipment an act of vandalism. She said there was also graffiti found at the site. No details were provided on where the fire took place, but Kellner said no injuries were reported.

Iron County Sheriff Paul Samardich confirmed the blaze occurred in Ashland County. The Ashland County Sheriff’s Office did not immediately respond to requests for additional details on the fire.

The incident follows two other fires targeting Enbridge that occurred last month, including a blaze in Ashland County that destroyed a drill rig on the Line 5 reroute.

“This is the second major vandalism involving construction equipment on the project,” Kellner said. “These incidents put the local community, landowners, first responders and our workers at risk and result in environmental impacts.”

The FBI and federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, or ATF, are investigating the cause of the two previous fires that occurred in the Town of Gingles and the city of Superior. Representatives of the FBI and ATF did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Kellner said Enbridge supports people’s rights to express their views “legally and peacefully.”

“Acts that damage property and put people or the environment at risk are neither legal nor peaceful,” Kellner said. “We take these incidents very seriously and will cooperate fully with authorities as they investigate and seek to hold those responsible accountable.”

Enbridge’s Line 5 pipeline carries up to 23 million gallons of oil and natural gas liquids daily from Superior to Sarnia, Ontario, serving 10 refineries and propane facilities in the Great Lakes region.

The fires come after an Aug. 25 gas leak on Line 5 in the town of Saxon released more than 1.3 million gallons of natural gas liquids into the atmosphere. Preliminary findings suggest a subcontractor’s truck was in neutral when it rolled into an open construction trench, striking the pipeline. No one was injured in the incident, and response to the spill is still ongoing.

Following the leak, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources asked Enbridge to halt work on a temporary bypass around the site of the leak, saying the company lacked necessary approvals.

On Sept. 28, Enbridge also reported a release of groundwater at a site where crews were directly installing pipe underneath the Marengo River. Initially reported as an aquifer breach, the DNR has since said it’s still investigating the source of the release and determining any negative effects to groundwater.

Enbridge says another fire destroys drill rig on Line 5 project in northern Wisconsin was originally published by Wisconsin Public Radio.

Donald Trump speaks at Discovery World. Photo Taken Oct. 1, 2024 by Graham Kilmer.

R.J. Johnson has been involved in politics for 27 years and has been a key figure in Republican politics. He served as Midwest regional political director for the Republican National Committee, executive director of the Wisconsin Republican Party, political director of the Republican Party of Florida and general consultant for three successful Scott Walker campaigns for governor. He also helped run the presidential campaign of Steve Forbes and several U.S. Senate and congressional campaigns.

And he is now a fervent opponent of Donald Trump, whose Substack columns have called for principled opposition to the president. His latest column condemns the pre-dawn raid on the home of Congresswoman Ilhan Omar. As he writes:

“Omar was eight years old when her family fled Somalia’s civil war. She spent four years in a refugee camp in Kenya before arriving in the United States at about 12.

“At 17, she became an American citizen through her father’s naturalization.

“Seventeen.

“Now, more than a quarter-century later, federal agents have searched her home as part of an investigation reportedly involving immigration paperwork completed by her late father when she was a child.

“What evidence did investigators expect to find inside Omar’s home that could not be obtained from the government’s own immigration records? Why not seek additional documents through her attorney or a subpoena?…

“President Trump has made no secret of his hostility toward Ilhan Omar. He has publicly accused her of criminal conduct, suggested she belongs in jail, and called for her to be sent back to Somalia….

“Vice President JD Vance publicly announced that her immigration history would be investigated. Other senior administration officials discussed the possibility of deporting her…

“But suspicion is not proof. Repeating an accusation for ten years doesn’t make it true. And the government’s power to investigate is not a license to intimidate.”

Two factors suggest this raid may be about intimidation. The Department of Justice violated a long-followed policy of not doing any activity that might help or hurt a candidate within 60 days of an election. And the raid on Omar was first reported by Fox News, suggesting the Trump administration may have shared the story with a network likely to cover it in a way the reinforces that goal.

This is not the first time Johnson has condemned Trump and his administration for their attacks on “his political opponents — the people who vote differently, think differently, or dare to stand against him.” A year ago, he wrote a column on LinkedIn condemning defense secretary Pete Hegseth for telling America’s generals “that their hands should no longer be tied — that they should ‘hunt and kill’ the ‘enemies of our country,’ free from the ‘stupid rules of engagement’ that have long restrained them.”

“The administration has already dispatched troops to American cities — Portland, Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., and Memphis — often over the objections of local leaders. These deployments test the very legal walls separating domestic policing from military power,” Johnson wrote.

“There’s something deeper happening too — the deliberate stirring of fear. When leaders label dissent as disloyalty, when they call protest an invasion, they invite citizens to see one another not as neighbors but as threats. Fear is the oldest and most efficient tool of tyranny. It numbs judgment. It silences conscience. It makes cruelty seem like common sense.”

Johnson compared the raid on Omar to the pre-dawn raid on his own home about a decade ago by state enforcement officers as part of the John Doe probe of alleged illegal funding activities by the campaign of Gov. Walker. He concedes that the parallel may not be exact but argues the principle is the same:

“The Fourth Amendment does not distinguish between Republicans and Democrats. The presumption of innocence does not depend on whether someone shares our political beliefs. And the government does not acquire greater moral authority simply because its target is unpopular.”

Not many Democrats in Wisconsin will agree with Johnson’s comparison to the John Doe probe. But his goal is to convince Republicans that the Trump administration’s targeting of people the president doesn’t like is an abuse of government power. And few Republicans seem willing to publicly condemn it.

U.S. House members of both parties once jealously guarded their power, whatever the party affiliation of the president. A federal raid on a U.S. congresswoman with no proof presented of wrongdoing would have once outraged leaders of both parties. But so far, not one Republican has joined House Democratic leaders, who condemned the action as “deeply disturbing” and a “rogue abuse of power” just weeks ahead of November’s midterm elections.

And where are the Republicans in Wisconsin taking a principled stand against Trump? There have been a few: former state Sen. Dale Schultz, former Congressman Reid Ribble, PR operative Craig Peterson and conservative writers Charlie Sykes and James Wigderson come to mind. No doubt there are Wisconsin Republican officials who have privately expressed misgivings but have never gone on record.

Now that Trump’s disapproval rating has hit 60% in Wisconsin, some Republicans are trying to distance themselves from him, but that’s about political survival, not standing up for principles.

Which is what makes Johnson’s stand, and his columns on Substack, so impressive and important. He knows what fear there is of Trump and the power the president cruelly uses, and dares to condemn it.

“This moment calls for courage — the kind that lives in people who take oaths seriously,” he has written. “Congress must find its backbone again. The courts must remember their independence. And our military must be respected for what it has always been — a force meant to protect us from threats abroad, not to be turned inward against the people it serves.

“We still have time to remember who we are. But not much.”

Republican Jay Schroeder, Democrat JoCasta Zamarripa and Wisconsin Green Party candidate Pete Karas will face off in Nov. 3, 2026 election for secretary of state. Photos courtesy of Schroeder, Zamarripa and Karas campaigns

The office of secretary of state doesn’t have much power in Wisconsin, and the candidates running for the job are at odds on whether it should stay that way.

The incumbent, Democrat Sarah Godlewski, is leaving office to run for lieutenant governor. She was appointed to replace Democrat Doug La Follette, who held the job for 44 years.

On Nov. 3, voters will decide between Republican businessman Jay Schroeder, Democratic Milwaukee Alder JoCasta Zamarripa and former Racine Alder Pete Karas from the Wisconsin Green Party.

The role of the secretary of state has eroded over time, with many of the office’s former responsibilities shifting to other agencies.

In more than 30 states, the secretary of state is the chief election official, meaning they have the jurisdiction to oversee elections. That’s not the case in Wisconsin, where elections are overseen by the Wisconsin Elections Commission, a group of bipartisan appointees.

Schroeder said Wisconsin should follow the lead of other states.

“We’ve had problems, and I don’t want to live in the past,” Schroeder said. “My goal in running for secretary of state is to increase trust, but we can’t have these examples because then increasingly people don’t trust their elections.”

Schroeder cited problems with Green Bay casting duplicate ballots and Milwaukee County having a human error in counting their ballots during the Aug. 11 primary.

“I go with what works,” he said of having the secretary of state run elections. “The overwhelming majority (of states) have it, and it’s for a reason. It builds trust in the elections.”

Zamarripa said she believes in the current system and the Wisconsin Elections Commission, which is run by a board of three Republican and three Democratic appointees. She said election officials need more support from Madison, and that she will advocate for them.

“We have a Wisconsin Election Commission,” she said. “Things are running smoothly, and I don’t intend to ask for that to be put under the umbrella of the secretary of state.”

She said she would have conversations with legislators about restoring former responsibilities to the office, but wants to prioritize the current job duties. The main roles of the secretary of state include authenticating foreign documents and sitting as a chair on the Board of Commissioners of Public Lands, which oversees a $1.4 billion school trust fund.

The Wisconsin Green Party’s Pete Karas said he thinks it’s unrealistic for the secretary of state to be in charge of elections, though he also thinks the Wisconsin Elections Commission is flawed.

“We (should) have retired judges and possibly college professors and a few other people on a on a committee that does everything from redistricting to eliminate gerrymandering to just running the operations of elections,” Karas said.

Karas said he doesn’t buy into the spoiler effect that comes with voting third party, and said voters should vote for their values.

“There’s no room for partisanship in record-keeping,” Karas said. “The Republicans and Democrats failed us, and it’s time to make a statement. And this is a very safe race to make a statement.”

Zamarripa said she hopes for a Democratic trifecta, where the party runs both houses of the state Legislature and the governor’s office. She also wants the party to win the office of secretary of state because she says Republicans want to undermine elections.

“It is really critical that this office remain in Democratic hands,” Zamarripa said. “I certainly want to right now work to make sure that Wisconsinites know that Democrats are the candidates to vote for up and down the ballot.”

Wisconsin secretary of state campaign focuses on office’s duties — or lack thereof was originally published by Wisconsin Public Radio.

623 W. Vliet St. Photo by Jeramey Jannene.

A growing law firm will make the jump from the middle of Downtown to its outer fringe.

MWH Law Group is relocating its headquarters from the sixth floor of the CityCenter at 735 office tower, 735 N. Water St., to a one-story building at 623 W. Vliet St.

“We are excited about this next chapter and the opportunity to move into a newly remodeled, standalone building that better accommodates our continued growth,” said Warren Buliox, an equity partner at the firm, in a statement to Urban Milwaukee. “The new headquarters is located in Milwaukee’s Haymarket neighborhood, near the Deer District and Fiserv Forum. This location allows us to remain close to Downtown while providing the benefits of a standalone building, convenient on-site parking, and easier access for our employees and clients. We are also excited to be part of an area that continues to experience significant investment and development.”

The firm is taking over the entire 7,200-square-foot building, located just north of the intersection of N. 6th Street and W. McKinley Avenue, near Interstate 43.

“As one of the Midwest’s largest minority-owned law firms, with offices in Milwaukee, West Des Moines, Madison, Chicago, Indianapolis and New York, this move reflects our continued growth and commitment to Milwaukee while allowing us to continue delivering high-quality legal services to clients across the country,” said Buliox.

MWH was founded in 2016 by Emery Harlan and Kerrie Murphy. Its website lists 23 attorneys.

The firm has served as outside counsel for the City of Milwaukee on a number of cases in recent years. Associate Ayanna Ellzey was also recently appointed to the board of the Housing Authority of the City of Milwaukee.

MWH’s listed practice areas on its website are business, finance and real estate, employment, general litigation, technology and local counsel.

The property is owned by an affiliate of The Druml Company and was most recently occupied by Layer One Media, which has since relocated to Waukesha. According to city assessment records, the building was constructed in 1964. Druml owns several neighboring buildings, including one occupied by Employ Milwaukee and another by Vivent Health.

A commercial alteration permit estimates that a $100,000 buildout occurred to prepare the space for MWH.

A covered Flock camera in Carver Park. Photo taken by Graham Kilmer.

Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley signed a resolution Monday banning Flock surveillance cameras from Milwaukee County Parks.

The county executive formally signed the change to the county’s local ordinances in Carver Park, within view of a Flock camera that was recently covered with a black plastic bag. The Milwaukee County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO) opposed the ordinance change, arguing crime could increase in county parks if Flock is removed.

“Residents and lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are asking whether the convenience of this technology is worth the cost to our privacy, and who is accountable for how it is actually being used,” Crowley said at the signing ceremony. “We should not have to wait for a data breach or a scandal for us to get those answers. Here in Wisconsin and across the nation, Flock executives have shown a pattern of misleading the public about their business practices, their safety record, and their commitment to privacy, and their efforts to protect vulnerable populations.”

In response to public pushback, elected officials and law enforcement leaders have begun to scrutinize the surveillance cameras and systems sold by the company Flock Safety. In particular, they are examining cameras with automated license plate reader (ALPR) technology, which passively scans all license plates that pass in front of the camera and stores them in a database that law enforcement can search. The database is maintained by Flock Safety and it also stores the make and model of vehicles as well as aftermarket alterations.

Opponents say the cameras pose civil liberties concerns, as an individual’s movements could be reconstructed using data captured by Flock’s nationwide surveillance system. Three Milwaukee Police Department officers have been investigated for misusing Flock searches. One officer, Josue Ayala, recently pleaded guilty to misconduct in public office for using the Flock system to track his ex-girlfriend. There has not been a similar incident reported by the MCSO. Crowley said that wasn’t “a good enough reason to keep this technology in place.”

There are currently 42 Flock cameras located in 11 county parks. The sheriff’s office operates most of them, with 25 Flock ALPR cameras and six Flock Condor cameras, which do not have ALPR capabilities but can be controlled by MCSO personnel to track people or objects. There are also six other Flock cameras on county roads and equipment operated by municipal police departments.

Sup. Justin Bielinski authored the county ordinance change, which directs Milwaukee County Parks to remove all Flock Safety cameras from county parkland, including both traditional video surveillance cameras and ALPR cameras. It was passed unanimously by the Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors.

The resolution does not ban surveillance cameras in general, nor ALPR technology. It leaves room for a surveillance camera system controlled by the county. Bielinski has repeatedly called for a policy of requiring a judicial warrant to access data passively captured by an ALPR system. The supervisor likened ALPR cameras for law enforcement to performance-enhancing drugs for athletes; while law enforcement might like to use them, they are “an unacceptable risk,” Bielinski said.

“Public safety, when people think of that term, they often think of police, and that that is an important part of it,” Bielinski said. “But when we’re talking about parks, also a big element of public safety is lighting. It’s the physical presence of people. It’s programming. And I think we need to make sure that we’re looking at a holistic approach to public safety in whatever we do at Milwaukee County and at every level of government.”

In September, Crowley called for a policy framework limiting how long the county’s Flock data is stored and who has access to it. Sheriff Denita Ball announced the agency would no longer maintain Flock data for 30 days, shortening the retention period to seven days. She also said MCSO had opted out of the Flock program that shares data captured by MCSO cameras with other local, state or federal law enforcement authorities.

“I appreciate the Milwaukee County Sheriff’s Office for working in good faith to strengthen accountability in this policy framework, and I also know they have described a positive relationship with Flock’s leadership, but even the strongest policy framework is only as trustworthy as the company behind the technology, and a good partnership with the vendor does not safeguard our residents’ data,” Crowley said.

The ordinance is focused on cameras located in parks because the county board has control over county parkland; it cannot remove cameras elsewhere in the county controlled by local municipalities or the state.

“These are parks where kids play, families gather, neighbors come to enjoy little peace, to find respite when life gets hard, to find joy when things are tough,” Milwaukee County Board Chairwoman Marcelia Nicholson-Bovell said. “Government has a responsibility to protect people from harm, but that doesn’t give us a blank check to monitor their movements, especially in communities that have experienced more than their fair share of surveillance and overpolicing.”

The City of Milwaukee tow lot. Photo by Urban Milwaukee staff.

Milwaukee’s crackdown on habitual parking violators is generating results in both compliance and cash.

The policy, instituted Jan. 1, applies to drivers with five or more unpaid citations.

Last November, the Department of Public Works (DPW) mailed warning letters to 28,874 habitual violators, giving recipients 60 days to pay or enter into a payment plan before becoming eligible for immediate towing when their vehicles are spotted. Those whose vehicles are towed under the policy must either pay their citations or request a court date to contest them to regain possession of their vehicle.

“Prior to this, if you had five or more citations, you would get towed; you weren’t required to pay your citations, and we saw that very few people paid citations,” said Peter Knox, DPW parking services manager, to the Public Safety & Health Committee on Oct. 1.

And while Knox maintains the city’s goal is compliance with parking regulations, the policy is now producing a fiscal benefit.

“We are seeing a very strong trend in citations paid,” said Knox.

Through Sept. 28, paid citations tied to habitual violators jumped 33% to 11,966 compared to the same period in 2025. DPW collected $735,000 from those cited, up $304,000 (70%) from the same period last year.

“We are seeing the exact same trend in payment plans,” said Knox.

Before being towed, habitual violators are mailed a notice and can elect to voluntarily enter into a payment plan for as little as $20 per month.

The number of habitual violator payment plans climbed from 891 to 1,094 (23%). The value of those payment plans climbed from $413,000 to $505,000, a $92,000 (22%) increase.

But the city doesn’t immediately collect the payment plan balance. It collects it incrementally as individuals progress through their payment plans.

“There is revenue we know we captured; there is revenue we might potentially capture through this ordinance,” said Knox.

At a minimum, the city has $300,000 in revenue it didn’t have last year.

There is also an even larger pool of revenue that the city could ultimately collect.

A total of 1,850 habitual violators, with 33,173 citations totaling $1.8 million, elected to contest their tickets in municipal court. On a case-by-case basis, the court could reduce an outstanding balance or grant community service instead. It could also invalidate the tickets.

“Do we have any idea how much has been paid toward those tickets?” asked Ald. Scott Spiker, who advocated for the policy in 2025 after learning of his son being a habitual violator and unaware of the consequences.

Knox said he didn’t have a breakdown of how much has been paid through court judgments because of a lag in receiving data from the courts.

But he said the percentage of individuals choosing to pay their tickets off versus contesting them in court has held stable at nearly an even split. That applies to the nearly 4,000 people who have been towed under the policy.

“It wasn’t intended as a revenue generator, but it might have that effect,” said Spiker of the policy.

More parking permits sold

Whether it’s correlation or causation, DPW is now selling more night parking permits, which are required to park on city streets between 2 a.m. and 6 a.m.

Sales in each category, which range from daily to annual permits, are up.

Sales of annual and trimester permits, the two most common types, are up 17% year over year, while daily permit sales have nearly doubled.

“I think it does help show that people are realizing ‘if I’m going to park on the street I’m going to make sure I’m following the rules,'” said Knox.

“You’re not saying this increase is due to the habitual parking violator ordinance, but it might be?” asked Spiker.

“I think it is,” said Knox.

But Spiker cautioned that Mayor Cavalier Johnson‘s budget proposal to double overnight parking costs, with an annual permit going from $55 to $110, could cause residents to again “play the ticket lottery.” The alderman didn’t mention that the mayor is also proposing to increase citation costs by $10, which could reduce the desire to risk it.

There could be another reason for a surge in permit purchases. DPW, as part of the 2025 budget, planned to issue more citations as a result of fully staffing the parking checker ranks.

But either way, Knox is pleased with the habitual violator ordinance’s impact.

“Overall, I view it as a success,” said Knox. He said the city isn’t targeting the habitual offenders, but finding them through its regular enforcement. “I do anticipate over time behaviors will change.”

“It looks like we’re moving in the right direction,” said Ald. Sharlen P. Moore.

Knox said there are currently 22,000 vehicles classified as habitual violators. That’s down from the 28,874 people who were mailed a letter when the new ordinance went into effect. Both lists include vehicles that might never be driven into Milwaukee again and therefore are nearly impossible for the city to collect on.

And don’t tell your friends who won’t pay their tickets, but Knox revealed the city also operates with an extra grace period. Knox said while the ordinance calls for towing after 60 days, DPW’s internal systems actually grant 70 days. “We would rather citizens [pay] than physically tow them,” he said. “The intent of this ordinance is to get to compliance.”

Site of Ferney’s Pizza, 832 E. Clarke St. Photo from Google Maps.

Ferney’s Pizza in Riverwest began as a way for owner Brian Cripps to support his growing family. He launched the business in the back of Clarke Foods on the corner of E. Clarke and N. Bremen streets in May, hoping to serve 20 pizzas per day.

To his surprise, Ferney’s was an instant success.

Since day one, Ferney’s has seen daily lines out the door. Cripps said some customers are willing to wait an hour for a slice. His original goal of selling 20 pies per day was quickly achieved — as of October, he is up to making 200 slices per hour. Ferney’s Instagram account has gained nearly 5,000 followers since launching and sees more than 200,000 viewers per month.

“I’ve worked in restaurants for 25 years, and I’ve never worked anywhere that, from the day you open the doors, you can’t get a breath,” Cripps said in an interview with Urban Milwaukee.

Cripps has been operating the business under Clarke Foods’ licenses, but he recently submitted license applications of his own. He hopes this gets him a step closer to his ultimate goal of opening a brick-and-mortar storefront.

“We’re pizza people now,” Cripps said. “[The Clarke Foods location] is a good test of the concept. We’re going to keep pushing forward and are looking for our own storefront in the neighborhood.”

Cripps’ culinary experience comes from years of working in fine dining around the country. He helped open Atelier Crenn, a three-star Michelin restaurant in San Francisco, and has worked for several “big-name chefs” such as Ludo Lefebvre. He worked at Tre Rivali in the Third Ward as executive chef after moving to Milwaukee in 2021, and in 2023 appeared on Food Network’s “Beat Bobby Flay” series.

“My whole life, I’ve tried so hard to be a great chef and work in the best restaurants, but it always felt like I was clawing at something,” Cripps said. “This time, I decided I was going to do things my way. I’m going to make pizza the way I want to in a way that makes sense for the neighborhood.”

Classic cheese and pepperoni are offered alongside specialty slices on Ferney’s menu. Standouts include the “Brew Crew,” which features bratwurst, giardiniera, red onion, mozzarella and pecorino over red sauce, and the “Bremen & Clarke,” which showcases a nut-free pesto with burrata over a spicy vodka sauce.

In addition to the menu’s mainstays, Cripps develops a new specialty slice each week. As the season changed to autumn, Cripps said people can expect fall-themed pies to hit the menu.

Though Cripps uses Mondays as his “inspiration day” to develop Ferney’s weekly special, he said people in the community also offer him fresh ideas. A loyal customer who recently returned from a trip to Tunisia gifted Cripps a “30-pound bag of spices” that included “harissa, za’atar, saffron and coriander,” he notes, and asked him to develop a special.

“It’s so cool what people do for us there,” Cripps said. “We have really immersed ourselves in the community; I talk to every single person who comes in. That’s not something I am accustomed to working in big restaurants.”

Ferney’s Pizza is open Sunday from noon to 2 p.m. (but opens at 11 a.m. if there is a noon Packers game), Thursday from 4 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. and Friday through Saturday from noon to 2 p.m. On Sundays, Ferney’s offers a six-slice special for $40. The pizzeria closes once the day’s slices are sold out.

Burger King rendering for 175 W. Layton Ave. Submitted to the Department of Neighborhood Services by Excel Engineering.

A Burger King restaurant that closed earlier this year on Milwaukee’s South Side could be replaced with a larger one.

Cave Enterprises, through Excel Engineering, applied Friday to the Department of Neighborhood Services for a preliminary review of a permit to build a new restaurant at 175 W. Layton Ave. The proposal calls for demolition of the existing building.

The existing 2,362-square-foot restaurant was built in 2006, according to assessment records. An affiliate of Cave Enterprises acquired the property in 2022, after previously acquiring the restaurant. If replaced, the building would have lasted about two decades — perhaps an appropriately rapid turnover for a fast food operation.

The proposed restaurant would be 3,266 square feet and sit farther back from Layton Avenue. Plans show eliminating one of the two existing curb cuts on Layton Avenue and adding two parking lot exits onto the alley west of the property. The drive-through lane would have two ordering stations, and a landscaping plan labels a 1,156-square-foot outdoor area as a “play area.”

Cave Enterprises closed the Layton Avenue restaurant and another Burger King at 5812 W. Lisbon Ave. earlier this year. The closures came as the franchisee faced a Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development order to pay $273,437 in wages to more than 600 teenage employees over alleged child labor violations.

Cave Enterprises did not respond to a request for comment by the time of publication.

The company reports operating 201 Burger King restaurants across eight Midwestern states.

There is no indication that the Lisbon Avenue restaurant will reopen as a Burger King. An entity registered to former franchisee Valerie Daniels-Carter sold the property in May to Ahmad Properties for $650,000.

But there is action on another Cave property: The company applied in late September to replace the large, freestanding sign at its Burger King at 4040 N. Green Bay Ave., near W. Capitol Drive and Interstate 43. Like the branding at its proposed new location, the company would install a nearly 12-foot-tall, retro-inspired bun logo that reflects its return to its pre-2000 logo.

Cave operates six locations within the city and several more in the surrounding suburbs.

Burger King at 175 W. Layton Ave. Photo by Jeramey Jannene.

Oak Creek Power Plant. File photo taken November 13, 2021 by Dave Reid.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is proposing to shift authority to regulate coal ash landfills in Wisconsin from the federal government to state environmental regulators.

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources sought approval in February of its program to oversee disposal of coal combustion residuals, or coal ash, from the state’s electric utilities. Wisconsin has six coal ash landfills that are owned by Dairyland Power Cooperative, Alliant Energy, Wisconsin Public Service and We Energies.

Coal ash is what’s left behind from burning coal at power plants to produce electricity. Metals or pollutants within that waste, including arsenic, lead, and mercury, can contaminate groundwater without proper storage.

Anne Vogel, EPA’s regional administrator for its Chicago-based office, said the agency wants to eliminate duplicate regulation.

“It’s really about having to go to two different regulators and eliminating that barrier makes things more efficient, more cost effective for the management of these landfills in a protective way,” Vogel told WPR.

The state’s regulations must be at least as stringent as federal requirements, but they could be even more protective.

Wisconsin moved to streamline regulations under an update to rules for coal ash landfills in 2022, said Kate Strom Hiorns, director of DNR’s Waste Materials Management Program. Those changes incorporated 2015 regulations imposed by the Obama administration that addressed landfill design, groundwater monitoring and closure requirements.

“By submitting this and getting this program approval, it’s that recognition that our regulations are as protective as the federal regulations, and that the sites that are being regulated can be regulated for the most part solely under state regulators and inspections,” Strom Hiorns said.

Wisconsin utilities support a shift to one set of regulations for their coal ash landfills.

“Utilities in Wisconsin have been regulated by the state for many years; transferring this particular permitting authority from the federal to state government is a positive step for Wisconsin,” said Dairyland spokesperson Katie Thomson.

However, Cheryl Nenn with the environmental group Milwaukee Riverkeeper said she’s in favor of dual regulation.

“Given the changes in politics at the state level and the federal level, there’s some benefit to having that dual oversight,” Nenn said, highlighting the state’s adoption of federal regulations.

The Obama and Biden administrations strengthened coal ash regulations, including a 2024 rule that required oversight of inactive landfills. Under the Trump administration, the EPA has proposed rolling back and revising those requirements.

“They’d essentially remove or exempt a lot of these coal ash dump sites from regulation entirely, even though many of them are already showing evidence of groundwater contamination,” Nenn said.

Nenn said there has been groundwater contamination at the closed, unlined Cedar Sauk Ash Landfill in Ozaukee County that received coal ash from We Energies’ Port Washington power plant from 1969 to 1977.

The DNR has ordered the utility to address contamination and conduct sampling for boron and sulfate, which found levels of boron exceeded groundwater standards. We Energies has said the utility has seen “declining trends” for both in monitoring wells, and sampling indicates no effects to nearby private wells.

Strom Hiorns said the state requires utilities to conduct groundwater sampling and has long monitored groundwater at closed coal ash landfills, which wouldn’t change under the federal proposal.

She said other landfills owned by We Energies and Alliant Energy have also exceeded preventive action limits or enforcement standards for groundwater. Those detections are tied to older parts of those sites or naturally occurring substances, such as boron or molybdenum.

Brendan Conway, a spokesperson for WPS and We Energies, said their landfills owned are actively monitored for groundwater impacts and managed in line with state and federal requirements. An Alliant spokesperson said it’s committed to full compliance.

Under the EPA’s proposal, Wisconsin would assume authority only for coal ash landfills. The EPA would continue to oversee coal ash ponds. The EPA is currently accepting public comments on its proposal to shift regulation to Wisconsin’s program. A virtual public hearing will be held Nov. 9.

EPA proposes shifting oversight of coal ash landfills in Wisconsin to state regulators was originally published by Wisconsin Public Radio.

David Crowley and Tom Tiffany.

When it comes to electing governors, Wisconsin Democrats have had a Fox River Valley problem.

That could play a major role in whether Democrat David Crowley or Republican Tom Tiffany wins the Nov. 3 election for governor. Voters in the Fox River Valley — broadly defined as including Brown, Calumet, Fond du Lac, Manitowoc, Outagamie, Sheboygan and Winnebago counties — have cast more than 16% of statewide votes in the last five gubernatorial elections.

The region was once considered something of a swing district. But election records document how poorly Democratic candidates for governor have done in those Fox River Valley counties in the past 20 years.

– A Democratic candidate for governor, then-Attorney General Jim Doyle in 2006, was the last Democrat to win any of those seven counties. That year, Doyle won 51% of the votes in Outagamie and Winnebago counties. He won a second term as governor in 2006.

– In the seven counties, Republican candidates for governor won by margins that averaged 56% over the past five elections. Their winning margins in the region ranged from 60% in 2014, when incumbent Republican Gov. Scott Walker beat Democratic candidate Mary Burke, to 51% in 2006, when Republican candidate Mark Green got 51% of the vote against Doyle.

– In Brown County, the largest of the seven counties, Republican candidates for governor won by margins that ranged from 51% in 2006 to 59% in 2014. The five-election average margin for Republicans in Brown County was almost 54%.

Supporters of Tiffany, who has represented northwest Wisconsin in the U.S. House since 2020, are also encouraged by the latest sign that their string of Fox River Valley victories may continue on Nov. 3. A Marquette University Law School poll, conducted Sept. 16-23, gave Tiffany a 57% to 39% lead with likely voters over Crowley in the Green Bay/Appleton media market.

Republicans are also encouraged by an 11% drop in the Marquette poll — from 55% in August to 44% in September — among independents, who often decide statewide elections, who say they support Crowley.

But, in the two areas where overwhelming Democratic margins elected Democratic Gov. Tony Evers in 2018 and 2022, Crowley had significant leads in the Marquette survey. The Democrat had a 74% to 25% lead among likely City of Milwaukee voters and a 66% to 30% lead among Madison-area likely voters.

Tiffany had a narrow, margin-of-error lead — 50% to 46% — with likely voters in Milwaukee’s suburbs and 49% to 41% lead in the rest of the state.

Fox River Valley vote totals in the last two elections for president also show why President Donald Trump has repeatedly urged Republicans at rallies nationally to “pretend that I’m on the ballot” on Nov. 3. In the 2020 and 2024 elections, Trump did not lose in any of those Fox River Valley counties. His victory margins ranged from 64% in Fond du Lac County in 2024 to 51% in Winnebago County in 2020.

An exchange last week showed how important Fox River Valley voters are to Republicans.

Weeks before the election, Trump said he will release $17.9 million in disaster aid to help Appleton and Menasha — two Fox River Valley communities — recover from storm damage.

In his social media post, Trump said he spoke to Tiffany, who has his “Complete and Total Endorsement to be the next Governor,” about releasing the aid.

Tiffany, whose northwest Wisconsin U.S. House district is far from the Fox River Valley, thanked Trump for releasing the funds.

But Evers, who is campaigning for Crowley, said in his own social media post that his office had heard nothing in response to his August request for federal aid. Trump and Tiffany “are continuing to play politics with emergency aid that’s meant to help communities recover in the wake of disasters,” Evers said.

Democrats hope Crowley’s campaign is helped on Nov. 3 by voters rejecting Republicans led by Trump, whose approval rating was 38% and disapproval rating 60% in Marquette’s September poll of likely voters.

Fox River Valley Democrats also hope their voters turn out on Nov. 3 to reject the policies of Republicans who have controlled the Legislature since 2011.

On their website, for example, the Democratic Party of Outagamie County profiles their party’s candidates ranging from governor to state Assembly and adds, “The Republicans on Outagamie County’s ballot have records and campaign positions that would hit two things close to home: your rights and your pocketbook.”

Steven Walters started covering the Capitol in 1988. Contact him at stevenscotwalters@gmail.com.

Planned site for New Halo Cafe, 564 W. Rogers St. Photo taken April 11, 2025, by Jeramey Jannene.

When emerging developer Crystal Lemmer purchased a corner parcel at 1978 S. 6th St. last year, she added two buildings to her growing portfolio. Her plan was to renovate the parcel’s residential property and use the income to establish a community café in the neighboring commercial building.

Now, that plan has sprung into action.

According to a city occupancy application, Lemmer plans to open New Halo Cafe, addressed as 564 W. Rogers St., a space that formerly housed a bodega but, as Common Council President José G. Pérez put it, “has been blighted for a while.” It’s located in the Historic Mitchell Street neighborhood, which includes the area between W. Greenfield Avenue and W. Becher Street and S. 5th and S. 16th streets.

The application lists pastries, doughnuts and bread to be served alongside coffee, espresso drinks, teas and “other specialty beverages” on the café’s menu.

The proposed hours are 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily.

Renovations to the building’s interior, from the seating area to the bathroom to the prep space, are proposed. Three employees are expected to operate the space.

Lemmer did not respond to outreach for comment in time for publication.

“The cafe will provide a welcoming environment for individuals, families, students and professionals to gather, work and connect,” reads the application.

The cafe’s licenses are pending before the Milwaukee Common Council.

Wisconsin gubernatorial candidate Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley speaks during a press conference Thursday, Oct. 1, 2026, at Milwaukee Public Market in Milwaukee, Wis. Angela Major/WPR

There’s a photo making the rounds on social media these days of Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley, smiling broadly, and cutting a cake.

It wasn’t for any personal milestone, like a wedding or birthday. It was the day in the summer of 2023 that the Milwaukee County board approved a sales tax increase — just weeks after the city of Milwaukee did the same thing.

This was a hard-fought win for the county executive. It came after painstaking negotiations with Republicans who run the state Legislature, who had to grant permission for the sales tax hikes. Crowley, along with Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson, lobbied for years over what they described as a critical bulwark against a looming fiscal crisis.

“After 20 years of stagnation, we are making progress on meeting the needs of communities all across Milwaukee County,” Crowley said at an April 2023 press conference, where he was joined by top GOP leaders. “I think that we can all agree that we cannot continue to keep kicking this can down the road.”

Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, Milwaukee Mayor Cavlier Johnson, Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley and other government leaders speak at a press conference on a plan that would boost state funding for local governments on April 27, 2023. Evan Casey/WPR

Three years later, as he campaigns for governor, Crowley doesn’t exactly run on the phrase “sales tax.” But he proudly touts the deal as an example of the kind of bipartisan governing that he’d bring to Madison if elected. Wisconsin Act 12 — the official name for the law that allowed for the sales tax hike and boosted state funding to local governments across the state — is listed as a  key accomplishment on his campaign website.

Crowley’s pragmatic approach has defined his time in office. First as a state representative for the Milwaukee district where he grew up, and then as Milwaukee County’s youngest, and first Black executive, Crowley has positioned himself as the kind of leader who will do what’s best for his community.

But many of those choices aren’t the kinds of things a person with aspirations of higher office would necessarily want on their record — like raising taxes, even if it had buy-in from both parties. Or focusing on covering basic services, even if it prevented massive cuts and prevented government bankruptcy.

Wisconsin gubernatorial candidate Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley shakes hands as he enters a press conference Thursday, Oct. 1, 2026, at Milwaukee Public Market in Milwaukee, Wis. Angela Major/WPR

And with all the opportunities that come with running the state’s largest county — and the executive experience that Crowley argues makes him a natural fit for the governor’s office — he has also, by definition, assumed much of the baggage that voters statewide associate with Milwaukee.

In that way, his biggest accomplishments may be a double-edged sword come November.

John Johnson, a research fellow at the Marquette Law School’s Lubar Center, has followed Crowley’s record in Milwaukee closely, including the long journey towards passing the sales tax increases.

“A lot of people wondered, would they be able to make it happen at all. He did make it happen. He’s rightfully proud of it.” said Johnson. “And it’s also, I think, a little bit tough politically when your greatest accomplishment is raising taxes.”

That’s part of what Crowley’s Republican opponent — U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany — may be counting on. And it’s likely the reason Tiffany’s campaign is making ads out of the photo of Crowley cutting that cake.

Time to celebrate with Chairwoman Marcelia Nicholson and the Milwaukee County board for their hard work and passing the Sales Tax vote. The future looks bright for our County. https://t.co/B6c5xYtj3I

— County Executive David Crowley (@DavidCrowleyWI) July 27, 2023

‘Luckiest politician in Wisconsin’

Crowley’s ascension to Democratic nominee for governor was unusual, to say the least. After dropping out of the primary election over the summer, he reentered a week later to pose a moderate challenge to Madison Rep. Francesca Hong, the democratic socialist who had surged in early polling. When he returned to the race, it was with the endorsement of outgoing Gov. Tony Evers.

Even so, it was an enormously unlikely endeavor — one that ended after midnight on primary day, when Crowley squeaked out a margin of victory of less than a percentage point.

But it wasn’t Crowley’s first time coming from behind to clinch a win. When he ran for Milwaukee County executive, he was a little-known, second term Milwaukee state legislator, according to Mordecai Lee, a professor emeritus of political science at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, who himself once served in the state Legislature.

“I think his leap from the state Assembly to being Milwaukee County exec was something of being the luckiest politician in Wisconsin,” said Lee.

When Crowley’s campaign for county executive began in 2019, the outgoing executive, Chris Abele, was initially supporting another candidate to replace him. When that person failed to get enough signatures to get on the ballot, Abele pivoted to endorsing Crowley, pouring hundreds of thousands of dollars into the race. Crowley eked out a win against state Sen. Chris Larson, an outspoken progressive.

Either of them would have inherited a multimillion-dollar budget shortfall and the reverberations of a 2001 pension scandal that left the county’s finances in shambles. Part of Crowley’s pitch for the office was that he’d secure that sales tax increase to bring in much needed revenue.

“Receiving these dollars is not about expanding Milwaukee County government. This is about actually meeting our basic needs,” he told WisconsinEye during his campaign in 2020. He said those needs included the county’s transportation network, meals for seniors and a courthouse where the public could feel safe.

Johnson, the Marquette researcher, said he agrees with Crowley’s assessment — that a sales tax was a solid way to cover required county costs — but that a good governing move wasn’t necessarily a political triumph.

“The pitch always was, ‘We’re going to raise taxes so that we don’t have to cut as much as we would have to cut otherwise,’” Johnson said. “But it’s not inspiring, necessarily, unless you’re somebody who cares a lot about the fiscal health of local government.”

The negotiation process was arduous, and involved bridging a divide among Republican lawmakers, some of whom were loath to approve any kind of tax increase. Ultimately, the city of Milwaukee was permitted to bump their sales tax by 2 percent, and the county by 0.4 percent.

Attached to Milwaukee

Crowley also has a story of personal triumph that he frequently refers to when describing his political ascent.  Raised in the troubled 53206 zip code of Milwaukee, a segregated neighborhood with high rates of poverty and incarceration, Crowley’s childhood included evictions and watching family members struggle with drug addiction.

As a state legislator from 2017 to 2020, many of the bills that Crowley championed reflected issues that affected his community. He called for a grant program to provide lawyers for low-income tenants facing eviction and an income tax credit for eliminating lead hazards. He led an effort to set up speed cameras in Milwaukee, where reckless driving has been a scourge.

Some of his bills also dealt with criminal justice and racial profiling. He was part of a bipartisan effort to limit the use of constraints on pregnant people in jail or prison, and he led efforts to limit solitary confinement for people with severe mental illness. Crowley also pushed to require investigations into jail deaths. He called for body cameras on law enforcement, an annual review of use-of-force incidents by law enforcement, and for the state to collect data about the race, gender and zip code of drivers stopped in traffic stops.

In this 2017 photo, state Rep. David Crowley and state Sen. LaTonya Johnson, both Democrats from Milwaukee, are seen in a life-sized mock solitary cell that was set up at the Wisconsin State Capitol. Coburn Dukehart/Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism

As a Democrat in the minority party throughout his time in Madison, almost none of Crowley’s bills went anywhere. But, as he did with the shared revenue deal, Crowley occasionally broke away from his party. He was the only Democrat to support a bill to increase penalties on people who solicit sex workers and was one of just two Democrats to cosponsor a bill to expand the definition of child pornography. Neither bill ultimately became law.

But Crowley’s hometown allegiance isn’t necessarily politically expedient. In state politics, Milwaukee is often treated as separate from the rest of Wisconsin, and its urban problems a world of its own. Lee says it was like that when he served in the 1970s.

“Anybody who wasn’t from Milwaukee viewed Milwaukee as a different state, an odd place, a terrible place, a place that just was a bottomless pit of need, a bottomless pit of every problem in the world: public education, crime, whatever it might be,” he said.

Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley speaks about the Milwaukee County Center for Youth at a press conference Thursday, March 5, 2026, in Milwaukee, Wis. Angela Major/WPR

Crowley wouldn’t be the first Milwaukee county executive to become governor. In 2010, Scott Walker made that jump. But Lee argues that Walker, who lived in the Milwaukee suburb of Wauwatosa, made a different kind of pitch for the office.

“The way that Scott Walker wiggled through it was by being a white guy from the suburbs and being a fiscal conservative to the point where (it was like), ‘OK, we won’t consider this guy to be a Milwaukee guy,’” Lee said.

Walker distanced himself from the urban woes of Wisconsin’s largest city, and even attacked it in his first campaigns for governor against then-Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett.

That’s not the Crowley approach. The issues that he focused on in the Legislature have also been his focus as county executive, representing 19 Milwaukee County cities, towns and suburbs. He’s put money toward eviction prevention programs, for example, and toward building affordable housing in suburban communities.

According to Lee, the question is whether Crowley can successfully argue his record demonstrates compromise and long-term thinking, or whether he’ll be too closely connected to urban challenges for many voters’ comfort.

Then again, Lee added, at a time when Wisconsinites statewide are struggling with the climbing costs of gas and groceries, maybe challenges once seen as just Milwaukee problems strike a little closer to home.

“All of a sudden, average Joe and Jane Wisconsinites in outstate Wisconsin care about exactly those issues: childcare, food stamps, affordability, cost of living, Medicaid,” Lee said. “So it could well be that he’s been able to transcend that perception, the negative perception of being from Milwaukee.”

Listen to the WPR report

David Crowley’s pragmatic record a double-edged sword in Wisconsin governor’s race was originally published by Wisconsin Public Radio.

Mediterranean Cuisine. Photo by Cari Taylor-Carlson.

If you are Downtown and looking for some tasty Mediterranean food, look no further than the corner of N. Water Street and E. Mason Street. Here you will find Turkish-inspired cuisine that is fresh, light and evocative of the restaurant’s name, Mediterranean Cuisine.

The first thing my companions and I noticed when we entered this long, narrow corner restaurant was gentle background music that set the tone for our relaxed lunch. It’s counter service only, but our meals — the chicken shawarma wrap combo plate and the adana kebob wrap combo plate — were delivered to our table by the counter person.

For the chicken wrap, the chef wrapped chopped grilled meat in lavash, a thin, unleavened Turkish bread. Also in the wrap were shredded lettuce, chopped tomato, sliced red onion and a dash of tzatziki. The combination of spices, including some fruity sumac, gave the chicken mix an unexpected flavor similar to chili.

The adana kebob wrap had a filling of ground beef that was flavored with mint and grilled on a skewer. It resembled kofte, meat wrapped around a skewer, commonly found on the menu in Mediterranean restaurants. Like the chicken wrap, there was a salad made up of lettuce, tomato and onion mixed inside the lavash bread along with the meat. Both wraps called for extra tzatziki sauce, which our server was happy to provide.

The meat was so delicious that my companion and I both wanted more meat and less bread. Another friend and I came back for more, this time for the beef kabob plate and the iskender plate. The iskender, a Turkish entrée, was thinly sliced meat served on pita and covered with hot tomato-red pepper sauce. For the record, this “hot” meant warm, not spicy. I immediately noticed how buttery the dish tasted and learned from our server that the red sauce was made with “a lot of butter” and the pita was generously smeared with more butter before the meat was added. It was rich and delicious.

For the beef kabob plate, two skewers of marinated and grilled ribeye were served with pita and a lovely salad of lettuce, tomato and red onion. The steak had good flavor, but she found it was quite chewy.

Also on the menu are hummus, baba ghonush, stuffed grape leaves, falafel, tabbouleh and Greek fries. You can order a side of grilled pita, feta cheese, rice or a yogurt dip.

To whet your sweet tooth, there are two kinds of baklava — pistachio and walnut — plus chocolate cheesecake and Italian tiramisu. You will not find alcohol on the menu, but you can order, as my companion did, strawberry lemonade. We noticed many meals leaving the restaurant in bags, suggesting Mediterranean Cuisine is a popular place for downtown workers to pick up a healthful Turkish-inspired Mediterranean lunch. We were all pleased with our meals, so the next time I’m in the neighborhood, I will stop by.

On the Menu

Photo Gallery

The Rundown

• Location: 753 N. Water St.
• Phone: 920-306-3799
• Hours: 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Mon-Sun
• Website: https://mediterraneancuisinemke.com/

Center for Forensic Science and Protective Medicine, 9400 W. Doyne Ave. Photo by Graham Kilmer.

State and county officials cut the ribbon Friday on a new $245 million forensic science facility on the Milwaukee Regional Medical Center campus.

The new Center for Forensic Science and Protective Medicine, 9400 W. Doyne Ave., houses the county’s Office of the Medical Examiner and Office of Emergency Management, the state Department of Justice’s Milwaukee Crime Lab, and Versiti‘s Organ Procurement Organization and Tissue Bank.

Gov. Tony Evers called the new facility a “watershed moment” for the state, saying it would “increase efficiency, expand opportunity for partnerships and enhance the education of our future forensic science professionals.”

The byword at the ribbon-cutting was collaboration, which state and county officials believe will be facilitated by the new building. Situating the building next to the Medical College of Wisconsin will also expand training opportunities for the college’s forensic pathology fellows, the Medical Examiner’s Office and the state crime lab.

“This is a beautiful building, but it’s also much more than just a building,” said County Executive David Crowley. “It’s a crucial step towards streamlining operations, improving collaboration, strengthening our region’s ability to respond to public safety challenges.”

The building was a joint development funded by both the county and the state. The State Building Commission provided about $115 million in funding and a $24 million grant through the Badger Bounceback program. The county contributed $130 million toward the project.

Construction on the four-story, 217,150-square-foot facility began in 2023. The building is an improvement on the aging facilities that state and county employees are leaving behind. Since 1989, the Medical Examiner’s Office has worked out of a squat, largely windowless building at 933 W. Highland Ave. The state’s Milwaukee Crime Lab has similarly operated out of a former grocery store building since the 1980s.

“We have dramatically modernized the work that is going to be done by our state crime labs by moving to this new facility, and there’s a powerful message in that this state is committed to remaining on the cutting edge of forensic sciences,” said Attorney General Josh Kaul. 

For the Medical Examiner’s Office, the new building comes with purpose-built space that allows it to more efficiently conduct the roughly 2,000 autopsies it performs each year.

“The creation of this state-of-the-art medical examiner’s office will enhance the quality and efficiency of death investigations in Milwaukee County,” said District Attorney Kent Lovern. “And from a public safety standpoint, these are the most important investigations undertaken.”

The building also includes new purpose-built facilities for the county’s Office of Emergency Management, including an Emergency Operations Center that can act as a central hub for emergency and public safety personnel to coordinate during major events. There is also a new 911 dispatch center for the personnel who handle 911 and EMS calls.

“They stay on the line with people in crisis, offering a lifeline to safety and calm and supportive presence,” Crowley said. “They deserve a workplace that reflects our commitment to the work that they do each and every single day, and I’m proud that we can finally provide it.”

Photo Gallery

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A simple cycle natural gas power plant is seen in Minnesota. Photo courtesy of Invenergy

We Energies plans to build a new natural gas power plant in Wisconsin’s Fox Valley, the latest in a string of new natural gas plant proposals to draw criticism from environmental groups.

The utility filed an engineering plan with state regulators last week for a 750-megawatt natural gas power plant, dubbed the Fox North Energy Center. It would be built at the existing gas-fired Fox Energy Center site in the village of Wrightstown.

The engineering plan did not include an estimated project cost, and a spokesperson for the utility declined to provide a construction cost estimate. Environmental groups say it’s the seventh new gas plant proposal in roughly two years in Wisconsin as utilities rush to meet spiking energy demand from data centers.

“It’s astounding how much We Energies is investing in gas,” said Ciaran Gallagher, energy and air manager at the nonprofit Clean Wisconsin. “This is a 750 megawatt combined cycle power plant, which means it is designed to run continuously, unlike the plants that We Energies got approved in in southeast Wisconsin a couple years ago.”

In a statement, We Energies spokesperson Brendan Conway said the Fox North Energy Center will help meet the state’s growing energy needs while improving grid reliability across the region.

“The engineering plan marks the first step in the review process,” Conway said. “Additional information about the project will be provided through regulatory filings in the coming months.”

The proposal comes as a draft report from state utility regulators found electricity demand in Wisconsin is expected to rise by 40 percent by 2032, driven by three large data center developments. The same report projected coal would fall to around 3 percent of Wisconsin’s energy generation, while natural gas would rise to about 50 percent by 2032.

Utilities and energy developers across the state are proposing new electricity generation in response to rising demand.

WEC Energy Group, the parent company of We Energies and Wisconsin Public Service, has received approval from regulators to develop seven solar farms, five battery storage projects, two wind projects, two natural gas power plants, a natural gas storage facility and a 33-mile natural gas pipeline project, according to a presentation to investors last month.

We Energies also plans to spend more than $2 billion to acquire a pair of natural gas projects that Chicago-based energy developer Invenergy has proposed in Kenosha and Walworth counties, able to generate a combined roughly 1,500 megawatts.

Invenergy also wants to build a pair of gas plants in Calumet County that would be able to generate a combined 1,900 megawatts. A spokesperson for We Energies declined to say whether the company planned to purchase those plants, but one was included in a spreadsheet it filed as part of its ongoing rate case.

We Energies hasn’t said whether the proposed gas plant in Wrightstown would serve a data center.

But Gallagher with Clean Wisconsin said the surge in gas proposals in recent years is responding to the massive energy needs of data centers, either directly or indirectly.

“There might be a solar plant or or a storage facility that they had previously thought would serve everyday Wisconsinites, and instead is now going to serve a data center,” she said. “Then they have to build a gas plant to serve the rest of us instead. We don’t know exactly who this is going to serve, but clearly this rush to build gas plants is fueled by this data center craze.”

While the construction costs for the new plant remain a question mark, Gallagher said gas power plants can carry costs for customers long after they’re built due to fluctuations in fuel costs.

She said one advantage of renewable energy projects, like wind turbines or solar farms, is that utilities don’t need to pay the wind to blow or the sun to shine.

“With coal and gas, there is a fuel cost that is mostly passed through directly to ratepayers, so there’s volatileness to that,” she said. “Gas price shifts up or down. That’s not something that the utility is going to feel in their bank account. That’s something that Wisconsinites will feel when we pay our electricity bills.”

Utilities have maintained that gas-fired power plants are necessary to keep the lights on at times when the sun isn’t shining and the wind isn’t blowing.

The surge in gas-fired power plant proposals isn’t exclusive to Wisconsin.

Natural gas plant proposals nationally have almost tripled since early 2023 and increased by 44 percent in just the last eight months, according to a new report from the Environment America Research & Policy Center and Frontier Group.

Gallagher said these proposals come as Wisconsinites are just beginning to see the effects of climate change from Canadian wildfire smoke to increasing bouts of severe weather.

She said burning more fossil fuels will only make matters worse.

“These last three years have shown that climate change is here, and it’s affecting the Great Lake states as well, not just the coasts,” Gallagher said. “Our utilities are continuing to invest in electricity generation that will just make that worse.”

We Energies plans new 750MW natural gas plant in Fox Valley was originally published by Wisconsin Public Radio.

1. Murphy’s Law: Journal Sentinel Has Lost 87% of Its Readers

How is this possible? New annual report tells the tale.

Oct 6th, 2026 by Bruce Murphy

2. New Developer Will Salvage Long-Delayed Masonic Center Project

It’s been vacant for nine years. ‘This building has sat unfinished long enough.’

Oct 6th, 2026 by Jeramey Jannene

3. Historic Walker’s Point Building Sold To Tavern Owner

151-year-old building personifies Milwaukee’s Cream City brick era and architectural heritage.

Oct 5th, 2026 by Jeramey Jannene

4. The Transformation of Cass Street Playground

The first improvements came in 1998. New city plan is even more ambitious.

Oct 6th, 2026 by Michael Horne

5. Future Of 119-Year-Old Maynard Steel Hangs On Last-Minute Rescue Bid

Receiver files layoff notice but says talks continue with buyers who could retain most workers.

Oct 6th, 2026 by Jeramey Jannene

6. Final Approach Lands a New Owner

Aviation-themed restaurant is purchased by a longtime industry veteran.

Oct 7th, 2026 by Lauren Hafeman

7. Globally-Inspired Halal Restaurant Quietly Closed

Punjabi restaurant north of the airport is dark, locked and no longer taking orders.

Oct 6th, 2026 by Lauren Hafeman

8. Milwaukee Unveils Plan For New Plaza By City Hall

New plaza would replace little-used segment of Market Street.

Oct 8th, 2026 by Jeramey Jannene

9. Bar Exam: The Vig Is a Really Big Show

A restaurant and bar ‘with a soul.’ And very nice happy hour prices.

Oct 6th, 2026 by Michael Horne

10. Murphy’s Law: Tiffany Pushes Tax Break That Mostly Helps Wealthy

The truth about the Manufacturing and Agriculture Tax Credit.

Oct 8th, 2026 by Bruce Murphy

Press Releases

Most popular press releases in the past week.

1. Pocan, Schakowsky Lead 71 Members Calling for Continued Allowance of Prescription Drug Imports

 

Oct 1st, 2026 by U.S. Rep. Mark Pocan

2. I-94 East-West Hits Major Milestone With Upcoming Traffic Shift

 

Oct 7th, 2026 by Wisconsin Department of Transportation

3. MCTS Forward Initiative, Expanded Amtrak Service and Regional Rail Service on Agenda for Public Transportation, Utilities, and Waterways Review Board

 

Oct 7th, 2026 by Ald. Bob Bauman

4. Packers Announce Roster Moves

 

Oct 8th, 2026 by Green Bay Packers

5. Brewers Announce Details for National League Championship Series Ticket Sales

2026 NLCS On Sale to Wisconsin Residents on Monday, October 5; On Sale to the General Public on Tuesday, October 6

Oct 2nd, 2026 by Milwaukee Brewers

6. Tiffany Campaign Releases New Ad Highlighting David Crowley’s “Accomplice” Agenda for Illegal Immigrants

 

Oct 5th, 2026 by Tom Tiffany

7. No Show Alfonso: Congressional Nominee Skips Out on First Joint Appearance With His Opponent, Fred Clark

Broke Commitment to Appear at Ashland Forum Focusing on Rural Healthcare

Oct 5th, 2026 by Fred Clark

8. David Crowley Announces Plan to Protect Reproductive Freedom in Wisconsin’s Constitution

Crowley’s plan would put a constitutional amendment before Wisconsin voters that explicitly protects reproductive freedom

Oct 6th, 2026 by David Crowley

9. MKE Airport Celebrates 100 Years of Flight!

Milwaukee’s hometown Airport marks a century of connecting travelers to the world

Oct 5th, 2026 by Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport

10. Milwaukee County Parks Unveils Updated Trails Network Plan to Guide Future Trail Connections

 

Oct 2nd, 2026 by Milwaukee County Parks

The Couture and US Bank Center. Photo by Jeramey Jannene.

Think you know what happened in Milwaukee last week? Take Urban Milwaukee’s weekly news quiz.

The quiz is available in our bulletins section for Urban Milwaukee members.

Bird of Hope for Peace by artist Eva Petrič. Photo by Lauren Hafeman on Oct. 8, 2026.

Four large plexiglass panels stand tall in the rotunda of Milwaukee City Hall. Between the panels’ glass, hundreds of colorful lace roses are arranged to evoke a bird in flight.

The art piece, titled Bird of Hope for Peace, was unveiled Thursday through a partnership between the Milwaukee Slovenian Arts Council, the Department of City Development, the International Institute of Wisconsin and artist Eva Petrič.

Petrič, an internationally recognized Slovenian contemporary artist, assembled Bird of Hope for Peace using “Roses of Hope,” recycled handmade lace woven in a delicate spiraling pattern by lacemakers from 11 countries across the globe.

The piece aims to convey a universal message of human interconnectedness, compassion, tragedy, resilience, war and peace.

“On one hand, lace is thin, but on the other it’s durable. It has always fascinated me because of its double-bind effect; it needs two points for connection. It’s a nice analogy because as humans, we need other reference points, other humans. What’s the point of existing by yourself without another human to foster dialogue with?” Petrič said in a conversation with Urban Milwaukee.

Bird of Hope for Peace took shape when Petrič gathered the individual “Roses of Hope” and arranged them on the grounds of a former Nazi concentration camp on the Slovenian-Austrian border. Staring down at the lace, she saw a kind of bird-like image appear, and, there, her work assembling and displaying them as a unified piece began.

“This is something that began in a place marked by human suffering and became a symbol of hope. It began as individual contributions and became a shared expression of humanity,” Lafayette Crump, commissioner of the Department of City Development, said at the unveiling event. “Art reminds us of our shared humanity, even when history, geography or circumstance might divide us. Those are ideas that have particular resonance in Milwaukee.”

“It’s fitting to display this beautiful work right here in City Hall, a place where we make decisions about how to live together,” Crump continued.

Bird of Hope for Peace was previously shown in Idrija, Slovenia; Vienna, Austria; and the Narthex Gallery in Manhattan. It will stay in City Hall until Oct. 14, then will be shown at the International Institute of Wisconsin’s Holiday Folk Fair at the Wisconsin State Fair Park from Nov. 20 to Nov. 22.

Of her visit to Milwaukee, Petrič said she has been observing and learning from the community, “which is important because the message of the work is about human presence, human connection.”

Jeffrey Martinka, president of the Milwaukee Slovenian Arts Council, thanked council member Rob Frank for introducing the idea of bringing Petrič’s work to Milwaukee.

According to World Population Review, Wisconsin has the third-highest number of people with Slovene ancestry in the U.S. in 2024, at 8,508 people. According to Neilsberg, Milwaukee ranks fifth among 52 metro areas in the United States with the highest Slovenian population, at 3,554 residents.

Petrič concluded her speech at the unveiling with a spoken verse that bounced off the quiet walls of the rotunda:

“From up above, it all looks so quiet, so beautiful, so still. Until…we come back down to earth and we breathe. What do we see? God. Devils. Harm. Killing Fields. Love. War. Light. Chaos. Revolt. Blood. Men. Few friends. Do we also see hope?”

Photos: 

Joseph Haydn, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Ludwig van Beethoven. (Public Domain).

The Philomusica Quartet opens its season at Wisconsin Lutheran College with a program celebrating the evolution of the string quartet in the Classical era, billed by violinist Sascha Mandl as “a masterclass in musical dialogue, emotional depth, and structural genius.”

Joseph Haydn, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Ludwig van Beethoven, giants of composition in Vienna between 1750 and 1825, defined the critical Classical era of Western music. They did not standardize a format for the string quartet and other genres; instead, they challenged each other and continually expanded what chamber music could be.

Haydn, the father of the string quartet, shows his mature work in the String Quartet in C major, Op. 76, No. 3, “Emperor” (1796). He builds the central poco adagio movement on variations of a hymn he wrote that was adopted as the Austrian and then the German anthem. The familiar music is not lost in the variations, which create what critic Alan George calls a “backcloth of counterpoint and harmony.”

Mozart’s last quartets, including the String Quartet No. 21 in D major, K. 575, “Prussian” (1789), reflect a fully developed sense of the quartet as conversation. The dialogue among the players recalls Mozart’s command of opera, with melodic exchanges among the instruments.

Dedicating the quartet to King Friedrich Wilhelm II of Prussia, an amateur cellist, Mozart created an unusual role for the cello, assigning it a key part in the development, often at a higher-than-usual register to match exchanges with the first violin.

At a turning point in his extraordinary contribution to the string quartet genre, Beethoven’s 10th quartet, the String Quartet in E-flat major, Op. 74, “Harp” (1809), retains the sophistication of his middle-period quartets while being more approachable for the casual listener than his groundbreaking last six works.

In the opening music, a pizzicato accompaniment sounds like a harp. A presto movement is driven by a short-short-long rhythm reminiscent of his famous Fifth Symphony motif. The constant energy of this quartet’s movement reduces the expectation that the final movement will speed to a dramatic conclusion. Beethoven chooses a genial set of variations, ending brightly but with a light touch.

Matthew Michelic joins violinists Mandl and Jeanyi Kim as the violist for the season while Nathan Hackett is on leave. Michelic concluded 37 years of teaching at the Lawrence University Conservatory of Music and has extensive experience with chamber performance and as principal violist for several Wisconsin regional orchestras.

Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra cellist Madeleine Kabat will be guest cellist for this concert. She is an active contributor to the chamber music scene in Milwaukee.

The promotional material concludes that the concert is “an essential bucket-list performance for both seasoned chamber music lovers and newcomers alike.” Among the best of these composers’ contributions, the choices are also eminently approachable for the occasional listener.

The concert on Monday, Oct. 12, begins at 7:30 p.m. in Schwan Concert Hall, 8815 W. Wisconsin Ave., on the Wisconsin Lutheran College campus. Visit the box office online or call (414) 443-8802 for tickets.

The Philomusica Quartet appears next on Feb. 1, 2027, featuring a late work by Beethoven, the Grosse Fugue, contrasted with later quartets by Anton Arensky and Dmitri Shostakovich.