Files. (Pixabay License).

The two most common complaints I hear from people seeking public records are “Why is it taking so long?” and “Why does it cost so much?” Unfortunately, it’s often difficult to mount a successful legal challenge to delays or fees because of the way the state’s laws are worded.

Wisconsin’s Open Records Law imposes no deadline on producing records. All it says is they must be produced “as soon as practicable and without delay.” What does that actually mean? While the state Department of Justice recommends that simple requests receive a response within 10 business days, the DOJ itself doesn’t heed its own advice, often taking months — even years — to fulfill requests.

Courts haven’t given much guidance. They’ve essentially said it’s a reasonableness test that takes into account the size and complexity of the request, the resources of the government agency, and whether they are making a good faith effort to comply. But how long is too long?

Ideally, we’d have a deadline in our law, as some other states do. This may require prioritizing resources properly, which should already be happening. Fulfilling record requests, the law says, is “an essential function of a representative government and an integral part of the routine duties” of public officials.” And yet I’ve seen agencies with budgets in the hundreds of millions of dollars who have one person doing this work.

The other common problem with the records law is it allows custodians to charge fees for complying with records requests. Here, I am especially concerned about “location” fees. The government can charge for the “actual, necessary and direct cost” of finding records, typically at the hourly rate of the lowest-paid employee capable of searching. But sometimes this is still a considerable amount, and some custodians even want to charge for employees’ benefits.

This amounts to, essentially, the government getting paid twice for the same work. Our taxes already pay the salary or wage of the employee searching for records. The requester pays them again.

Permitting location fees also incentivizes government agencies to be sloppy in their recordkeeping. The more disorganized their records are, the longer it will take them to find records, so the more money they can collect from requesters. Those high costs also discourage requesters from following through with requests.

For example, I’ve run into police departments that still store their personnel records in paper boxes, so if somebody wants, say, disciplinary records, the department can quote an often prohibitively high price to search each box for disciplinary files. Even if records are stored electronically, they can be hard to retrieve if they are not sensibly organized.

How can we fix these twin problems? If I were in charge (and I’m not), I’d put a strict deadline in the law and eliminate location fees altogether. But realistically, we are unlikely to see either reform.

Perhaps a more practical solution would be to tie the two problems together. Change the law so that custodians can charge location costs only if the records are produced within a strict deadline — perhaps 10 business days.

That compromise would incentivize better, more organized record keeping. Government agencies would now want to keep their records — especially those people frequently request — arranged in ways easy to search and easy to find. It would also incentivize them to devote enough resources to fulfill record requests promptly.

The result? Requesters will get records faster and cheaper, and government agencies might also see a net increase in revenue, as more requesters opt to pay for prompt service rather than walk away.

Pairing these two issues is an idea worth pursuing.

Your Right to Know is a monthly column distributed by the Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council (wisfoic.org), a group dedicated to open government. Tom Kamenick, a council member, is the president and founder of the Wisconsin Transparency Project.

Landmark Credit Union Live. Photo by Jeramey Jannene.

All workers at Milwaukee’s newest downtown music venue now have union representation.

More than 200 workers at Landmark Credit Union Live won union recognition Wednesday from Live Nation, the entertainment corporation that owns the venue, and its local subsidiary, Madison-based FPC Live. The $70 million venue was developed by Live Nation and FPC Live at 1051 N. Vel R. Phillips Ave. on the former Bradley Center site. It opened in February 2026.

The venue workers organized with the Milwaukee Area Service and Hospitality Workers Organization (MASH), which already represents 81 employees working for Levy Restaurants in the venue’s hospitality operation.

More than 80% of workers in sales, box office, cleaning, operations, runner, security and admissions jobs earned union recognition through a neutral card count in lieu of a National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) union election. MASH previously negotiated a neutrality and card check agreement with Live Nation and FPC Live. MASH used the same agreement to organize workers at Fiserv Forum.

“It’s critical to have a union in an economy where it’s become nearly impossible to make ends meet,” said Skylar Majerus, a venue operations worker and union activist. “The way for workers like us to secure livable wages, rights on the job and dignity in our workplaces is by coming together in a union so we have the power together to win them in a contract.”

Alongside MASH-represented workers at the new venue, stagehands and technical staff are represented by the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE). Following Wednesday’s card count, all non-management staff at the venue are represented by a union.

“When service and hospitality workers have a free and fair process to organize, they overwhelmingly choose to form and join unions,” said Peter Rickman, MASH president and business manager.

MASH now represents approximately 1,200 service and hospitality workers in the Milwaukee area. The union is currently working through difficult negotiations with the private equity-backed owner of Anodyne Coffee, which is reportedly trying to force wage cuts on the local coffee chain’s staff after they organized last year. The union also tried to represent workers at The Trade Hotel, who faced a blistering union-busting campaign from the hotel owner NCG Hospitality.

“As the cost of living crisis continues unabated and working people confront decades of wages falling behind because of a lack of bargaining power, the service and hospitality working class needs unions more than ever – and overwhelmingly support building strong, active unions in their workplaces,” Rickman said. “Landmark Live workers confirmed with their overwhelming, supermajority support for forming a union and joining MASH that the service and hospitality working class wants unions and is ready to organize to get a voice and seat at the table they need and the contract they deserve.”

M. Johnson (CC-BY)

Watertown High School band students have spent months preparing for their May 18 spring concert. But a piece of music will likely be struck from their set list over its history.

The Watertown Wind Symphony will learn on May 12 during a special school board meeting if they will be allowed to perform “A Mother of A Revolution.”

The piece was composed in 2019 by Omar Thomas for contemporary wind ensembles and does not have lyrics. But Thomas dedicated the work to transgender activist Marsha Johnson, a key figure in the 1969 Stonewall uprising against police raids in New York.

This week, the board’s Educational Services Committee signaled they were in favor of pulling the piece.

The full school board will meet six days before the students’ spring concert, despite band director Reid LaDew following the district’s “controversial issues policy.”

That policy, created in September 2025, requires teachers to “provide effective notice to parents in advance of controversial issues being instructed in the classroom.”

In October, LaDew sent a note home to parents letting them know the class would begin studying and preparing  “A Mother of A Revolution.”

“The purpose behind studying Mother of a Revolution is not to provoke controversy, but to deepen students’ understanding of how music reflects the diverse experiences of humanity,” LaDew wrote. “Engaging with this piece helps foster empathy, cultural awareness, and respect for the stories and struggles that shape our shared history.”

LaDew said he also chose the piece because it is musically complex and would challenge students who have been in band for many years.

When the letter was sent to parents, three families initially opted out of performing the piece. But eventually, only one student decided not to perform “A Mother of A Revolution.”

When questioned by the Educational Services Committee this week, LaDew repeated what he told parents — that his job as a teacher is to connect the music to the students’ other subjects.

“That’s why we find that students that participate in music score higher on their standardized tests,” LaDew said. “Because they are using all of that information they’ve learned from all of their other studies in one spot at one time.”

Committee member Christina DeGrave said the subject should be taught in history class.

“When it comes to music, it should be uplifting and celebratory,” DeGrave said.

Board Vice President Sam Ouweneel said even though LaDew followed policy, the piece should be pulled.

“Having a controversial issues policy does not preclude certain material from being inappropriate for a public school,” Ouweneel said. “My concern with this piece, in particular, is that it’s described specifically as a celebration of Marsha Johnson, who was a cross dressing prostitute who threw a brick at a police officer.”

DeWayne Roberson was the Watertown School District’s band director until 2015. He worked with LaRue and said the people questioning his choice to have students play “A Mother of A Revolution” don’t have enough information.

Roberson has served as an adjudicator of state and national music festivals for 40 years. He says the piece is routinely on festival lists, including the Wisconsin School Music Association Festival.

“I would have loved to have a chance to conduct it,” Roberson said. “I believe in a lot of cases, the people who are most concerned about this are concerned out of ignorance and they’re using the rhetoric of today’s politics to make their decisions.”

Watertown parent David Byrne’s three sons graduated from the high school and all went through the band program with LaDew.

His last son graduated last year.

Byrne said he is “appalled” by the the school board’s actions, saying they are creating controversy instead of focusing on education.

“It’s a huge distraction from some critical issues going on in the school in our school district,” Byrne said. “They have created all of this unnecessary work for teachers with this controversial issues policy but at the heart of it it’s just trying to prevent and penalize anything linked to the LGBTQ community.”

LaDew questioned board members about why they were pulling the song now, so close to the spring concert.

The committee said they were unaware of it until now when parents and community members brought it to their attention.

LaDew told the board they need to tell his students that the music they had rehearsed for a year would not be performed.

“We will discuss further how that is communicated to students,” Ouweneel said.

Wisconsin school board considers pulling piece from spring band concert due to LGBTQ+ history ties was originally published by Wisconsin Public Radio.

Milwaukee County Courthouse. Gretchen Brown/WPR

A Milwaukee woman is facing felony charges for allegedly defrauding Wisconsin Medicaid of over $2 million.

Debbie Long, 44, owned Pinnacle Home Health Care, LLC, a company that offered “personal care services” to members of Medicaid, according to a criminal complaint filed Tuesday. The felony charges are focused on Long’s operations from 2017 to 2022.

“The State alleges that she defrauded Wisconsin Medicaid of almost $2.2 million by billing for personal care services which did not take place,” the complaint said.

The complaint said she also, “fraudulently obtained a $219,072 loan from the Paycheck Protection Program by inflating the size of Pinnacle’s workforce and payroll expenses.”

“Lastly, the State alleges that Long used the proceeds from her unlawful activities to purchase a restaurant, a car, and a car wash,” the complaint said. “As for the purchase of the car and car wash, Long helped funnel her ill-gotten gains through several shell companies in a series of transactions designed to conceal the origin of the funds.”

Prosecutors allege she used a variety of methods to defraud the state’s Medicaid system, including billing for personal care services that could not have happened.

“In total, Pinnacle was paid more than $1.57 million in connection with claims for personal care services that were either impossible or improbable,” the complaint said.

She also allegedly billed for services that were never rendered, billed for services in higher amounts and billed for travel expenses that were “never incurred.”

Prosecutors also allege she defrauded the Paycheck Protection Program, a federal program that was created during the COVID-19 pandemic. The complaint said Long submitted a fraudulent application to that program in May of 2020.

In her application, Long said Pinnacle Home Health Care, LLC, had 120 employees and a monthly payroll that averaged nearly $90,000 a month, according to the complaint. However, that information was, “directly contradicted by the information Pinnacle provided to the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development (DWD) for the same timeframe,” the complaint said.

Long allegedly used the funds from the PPP loan and from her Medicaid reimbursements to buy Kitt’s Frozen Custard, a Milwaukee business.

“Long also helped direct money, obtained from her scheme to defraud Wisconsin Medicaid, from Pinnacle through three shell companies and her own bank accounts to fund the purchase of a Mercedes Benz AMG S63 and an Octopus Car Wash,” the complaint said. “Long, along with her husband, moved the money around through numerous transactions designed to conceal the origin, ownership, and control of the proceeds.”

Long was charged with one count of fraud against a financial institution, one count of theft by fraud, one count of wire fraud against a financial institution, one count of money laundering and another count of money laundering as party to a crime. All of those charges are felonies.

She will make her initial appearance in court on July 16, according to online records.

Milwaukee woman charged for allegedly defrauding state’s Medicaid system of over $2M was originally published by Wisconsin Public Radio.

Milwaukee City Hall. Photo by Urban Milwaukee staff.

Tick, tick, tick.

Cities and states across the country are racing to spend as much as possible from their 2021 American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) allocations by the end of 2026. Any unspent funds must be returned to the federal treasury.

The COVID-19-era grant program was a lifeline for the city of Milwaukee and communities across the country. In Milwaukee, approximately two-thirds of the city’s $394.2 million grant went to fill budget holes created by the pandemic and the city’s drastically declining financial position before the 2024 arrival of a city sales tax.

The Common Council now finds itself fighting over the final table scraps, $617,214 in total.

“What we can all agree on is we have way too many applications and challenges,” said Alderwoman Marina Dimitrijevic after the Finance & Personnel Committee spent more than an hour weighing different options Wednesday.

Faced with multiple proposals being turned down, the committee decided to punt. A special meeting, said Dimitrijevic, will be called before the May 12 Common Council meeting.

The city’s options are limited. Any new allocations had to be finalized by the end of 2024, which triggered a City Hall political battle. Now, any reallocations can shift funding only between previously funded programs.

Mario Higgins, director of grant administration, said the administration is recommending the reallocation after reviewing the capacity of each prior awardee to expend their remaining funding. Another reallocation is expected in August or September, “just to make sure we can spend as much of the funds as we can.” The resolution does not indicate exactly which area the funding is coming from.

Mayor Cavalier Johnson‘s administration has its own recommendation, which includes reallocating $397,214 to the Legal Aid Society’s Eviction Free MKE program, $100,000 to Milwaukee Habitat for Humanity and $120,000 to the Environmental Collaboration Office (ECO), specifically its energy-efficiency upgrades program.

The committee never debated that proposal, with council members Milele A. Coggs and Mark Chambers, Jr. pointing to a prior resolution that asserted the council’s desire to control any remaining ARPA funds.

Dimitrijevic put forth a proposal to allocate $300,000 to The Bridge Project, an unconditional cash grant program for low-income, new mothers, and $317,214 to the Eviction Free MKE program.

“We had over 1,000 applications for the program’s initial 112 slots,” said Zilber Family Foundation President Lianna Bishop. Zilber was the primary funder, with the city adding $350,000 in 2024. It is now preparing a new 200-mother cohort with $3.3 million in seed funding for 150 mothers.

Colleen Foley, executive director of the Legal Aid Society, also made a presentation on the success of the right-to-counsel Eviction Free program. It has served more than 31,000 people, said Foley, and Legal Aid has extended what was supposed to be a three-year pilot into year five by being “smart” with resources. Eviction filings have dropped by 13% in the period, and the share of individuals appearing with an attorney has increased from 3% in 2021 to 17% in 2025.

“We are hustling to obtain additional funding,” she said.

But neither allocation received the committee’s endorsement.

Instead, Ald. Peter Burgelis introduced a “Frankenstein or omnibus” proposal with Ald. Sharlen P. Moore to divide the funding among several more programs.

Eviction Free MKE ($150,000) and The Bridge Project ($67,214) would still be funded, but Employ Milwaukee‘s Earn & Learn program would receive $150,000, the city’s Earn & Learn summer youth intern program would receive $55,000 to add up to 17 slots to its existing 65, ECO would receive the mayor’s $120,000 proposed allocation to fund up to 12 more homes, and the Down Payment Assistance program would receive $75,000 to cover about 10 more homeowners.

Moore said she wanted to bring more “immediate attention to things that are plaguing the city” and create more opportunities for youth.

But Ald. Scott Spiker said the allocations were spreading the remaining funding too thin. “I do think this slices up things too finely and diminishes our impact,” he said. With Dimitrijevic’s amendment, he voted against The Bridge Project, but for the Eviction Free MKE allocation.

No vote was ever taken on the “Frankenstein” proposal. City Clerk Jim Owczarski, the parliamentarian, was called forward to explain all the different possible permutations, with Spiker stating that whatever the committee did, the council would end up sorting it out on the floor.

But before the committee could vote on its recommendation, Coggs, explicitly noting she was the swing vote, recommended holding it for further negotiation.

“If we go ahead and vote, it’s going to get real messy,” she said. The alderwoman suggested the two sides work out their differences. “I think you all are closer than not.” She said that any compromise should include young people.

And with that, the committee voted not to take any action. Burgelis was the lone objection.

Milwaukee Pride President Wes Shaver. Photo taken June 1st, 2021 by Jeramey Jannene.

In early April, Milwaukee Pridefest announced the lineup of entertainers for its annual festival in June. The response from many on Facebook was a Milwaukee-style Bronx cheer:

“That’s it. A bunch of drag queens and unknowns?” complained one respondent.

“Who are any one of these people?” asked another. “Chicago has open free festivals with people way more famous,” wrote another.

“I remember when Pridefest used to have great headliners, noted another post. “Wanda Sykes, Cyndi Lauper, the B52s, Blondie. Been very disappointing for the last 5+ years.”

There were “so many people complaining,” as one post noted, that Wes Shaver, Pridefest’s leader, felt the need to address the issue. In a dramatic post titled “A Message from Milwaukee Pride’s President & CEO,” Shaver said this:

“I want to take a moment to speak to our community. I’ve read the comments on our posts. Pridefest has always been about lifting one another up. We should never diminish the work, talent, or visibility of our fellow LGBTQ+ artists… At a time when there are real and ongoing efforts to challenge and diminish our community, we need to stand together, not tear each other down.”

Shaver is highly regarded by much of the media. He was a member of the BizTimes 2020 inaugural class of Notable LGBTQ Executives, was picked as a top young leader in the Business Journal’s 40 Under 40 Class of 2022 and as one of the town’s 47 Most Influential Movers and Shakers by Milwaukee Magazine in 2025. The Shepherd Express was the latest to extol his leadership.

But several leaders in Wisconsin’s LGBTQ+ community told Urban Milwaukee that Shaver is viewed suspiciously. “He has a reputation as someone shady” who runs Milwaukee Pride with little input from the community, said one of these leaders. They questioned how the group’s money was being spent.

A 2021 story by the Madison-based publication Our Lives Wisconsin aired complaints about Shaver’s leadership, quoting George Schneider, owner of the now-closed gay bar This Is It, complaining about Milwaukee Pride’s lack of transparency: “Most nonprofits at least publish an annual report,” he noted.

“Questions begin to be raised by some in the community about Milwaukee Pride Inc’s stability and leadership, while the organization hides its records from public view,” noted the Wisconsin LGBTQ History Project.

There were complaints in the Our Lives story that the Milwaukee Pride website had been “coming soon” for a year. That was nearly five years ago, and the site still says “Fabulous New Website Coming Soon.”

The site is badly out of date, listing no tax returns for the nonprofit organization since 2020. There is also a more recent website called Pridefest Milwaukee, which presents information about the upcoming festival. Between the two websites there is no phone number to call, no office address, no list of board members, no annual audit and no current tax form listed.

“Typically, a nonprofit has three officers serving the role of President, Secretary, and Treasurer,” as the Foundation Group, which advises nonprofits, explains. Milwaukee Pride has no treasurer and lists only a president, Shaver, on its annual federal tax form.

The tax forms show the group has had tremendous growth in its budget, up by 54%, from $969,179 in 2019 to $1.5 million in 2024. Yet it lists no salaries and shows Shaver earning nothing. Pridefest has always been a volunteer organization.

“How can the budget have risen so much and the entertainment lineup be so mediocre,” asked a former Pridefest board member. “We used to have three major acts a year.”

A story by Dave Tianen marveled at the quality of acts at Pridefest, with performers like Kathy Griffin, Chaka Khan and Joan Jett performing in years past.

Urban Milwaukee called Shaver at the phone number listed on the 990 and asked what has driven the increase in Pridefest’s budget.

“It’s no secret the cost of entertainment has gone up exponentially,” he said.

The tax forms show the festival’s cost of entertainment rose by 76%, from $290,449 in 2019 to $521,775 in 2024. One top Wisconsin concert promoter estimated the average cost of booking acts rose by 20% to 50% over this period, while another estimated it at 40% to 50%. But that’s for mostly big-name acts, the kind that can command bigger fees.

Shaver also noted the cost of business insurance is up by at least 50%, but that’s a small expense: the tax forms show that has increased by about $15,000.

The cost of occupancy has risen from about $200,000 to $422,000 over that five-year period, the tax forms show, which would be the rent charged for use of the Summerfest grounds by Milwaukee World Festival. So they’ve more than doubled the rent?

“I’d have to check with our accounting firm, which tracks the cost,” Shaver replied.

Shaver also said Pridefest has an office “on Wisconsin Avenue” but no such address appears on the tax form or could be found online.

The tax forms also show a cost for “commissions,” which rose from zero in 2019 to just under $120,000 in 2024.

“That’s related to the grounds rental and our contract with Milwaukee World Festival. I can’t disclose the details,” Shaver said.

Another cost that jumped was “stipends,” which rose from zero to nearly $90,000. Shaver said the festival now pays stipends to members of the festival’s production team, but the tax form offers no detail on who is paid or how much they get.

While Pridefest gets some money from corporate sponsorships, the vast majority of its revenue comes from tickets, which this year cost $41.40 for a three-day pass and $18-$30 for single-day tickets.

I noted the online complaints about the quality of the entertainment, including comments about the cost, and Shaver bristled.

“These are world-class performers,” Shaver insisted.

“Can you name some in the lineup who are world class?” I asked.

“Are you kidding me? This conversation’s over,” Shaver said. “Best of luck.”

And he hung up.

When asked to review the Pridefest lineup the two Wisconsin concert promoters both had the same take. As one flatly put it, “I wouldn’t characterize anyone in that lineup as world class or nationally known.”

Psilocybin cubensis mushroom. Photo by Kristie Gianopulos. (CC BY 2.0).

A Wisconsin-based medical research lab is one of just three organizations nationwide the federal government has tapped to move forward on research into psychedelic medications.

After an April executive order from the White House intended to fast-track that research, the Madison-area nonprofit Usona Institute received a voucher from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services for its research into treating major depression with psilocybin — the psychoactive component found in magic mushrooms.

Those vouchers are designed to speed up the federal review process by the Food and Drug Administration, with a goal of getting such treatments to market faster. The voucher reduces the review time from a typical six to 10 months down to one or two months.

“I can’t think of anything that has been so stigmatized and yet seems to be so impactful,” said Paul Hutson, who directs the University of Wisconsin-Madison Transdisciplinary Center for Research in Psychoactive Substances, which studies how psilocybin can be used to treat anxiety, depression, substance use and post-traumatic stress disorder.

“There are things that are similarly impactful, such as vaccines that have saved millions of lives. But … I can’t think of anything quite so stigmatized that is now given this validation,” he added.

Hutson says the April 18 order could result in drugs from Usona and elsewhere being approved by the end of this year.

But that speed that doesn’t necessarily mean patients will start receiving those medications right away.

“There are a lot of questions that we don’t yet know the answers to, in terms of what the FDA is going to impose in the use of these drugs, and then how do we adapt to that” in finding distribution and facilitating the treatments, he said.

The actual distribution of such drugs, which are still classified as Schedule I, will need to be figured out, he said. By federal designation, Schedule I drugs have no accepted medical use.

Other questions, Hutson said, will include which pharmacies would be permitted to carry the drugs; how doctors will determine which patients will be given the treatments; and how insurance will cover these kinds of drugs.

And there will need to be a process for treatment, which in Hutson’s labs includes multiple people monitoring a patient’s usage over the course of six to eight hours, plus check-ins and counseling afterward. That will mean professionals will need to be trained to deliver these therapies — and Hutson said there are unanswered questions about the capacity of mental health providers to meet that new need.

In a statement following the signing of the executive order, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. lauded the possible mental health benefits of psychedelic treatments, especially for military veterans.

Kennedy has long been a champion of such treatments, particularly as an alternative to traditional pharmaceutical interventions.

But Hutson said that, for the dozen or so years that this has been his field, the federal government has been supportive of this research in general.

“I think that this does indicate an endorsement, if you will, of this as an exciting new field in mental health care,” he said.

The Usona Institute has been recognized as a leading research institute into the mental health benefits of psychoactive drugs. And they’ve partnered with the UW-Madison to conduct some of their research. The university, too, has been a leader in researching how — and why — psilocybin appears to be effective in treating depression. Wisconsin scientists have also conducted dozens of clinical trials about using the drug.

Researchers at UW-Madison have also seen promising results using psychedelics to treat substance use disorders.

In a statement, a Usona spokesperson said the organization is “deeply grateful” for the recognition.

Compass Pathways, based in the U.K, also received a voucher for the use of psilocybin for treatment-resistant depression, and Transcend Therapeutics, based in New York, received one to study methylone as a treatment for PTSD.

The executive order also makes other changes, including allowing for the study of how ibogaine — a hallucinogen harvested from a plant found in Central Africa — could be used to treat alcohol-use disorder.

Wisconsin lab tapped to research psychedelic drug as mental health treatment was originally published by Wisconsin Public Radio.

A kiosk displays the most recent edition of the tabloid for the Cap Times newspaper outside the building that houses the newsrooms of both the Cap Times and the Wisconsin State Journal. (Photo by Ruth Conniff/Wisconsin Examiner)

Nearly 50 years after a strike that ended union representation at the Madison Capital Times, the newspaper’s eight newsroom employees announced last week they have joined a union and are seeking a contract.

Ashley Rodriguez, a features writer and spokesperson for the union drive, said in an interview that the staffers have asked Publisher and President Paul Fanlund, Editor Mark Treinen and other newsroom managers to voluntarily recognize The NewsGuild-CWA as their union.

“We were received very professionally and cordially,” Rodriguez said.

Asked Tuesday about his response to the union petition, Fanlund said in an email message, “No comment at this time. Will let you know when we have something to say.”

Rodriguez said the union organizing campaign wasn’t in reaction to any particular developments at the newspaper.

“This isn’t about one thing, this isn’t about one person. This is about exercising our rights and knowing that we’re stronger together,” she said.

Since its conversion in 2008 from a daily evening paper to a digital outlet with a weekly free tabloid edition, the Capital Times now has formally adopted its longstanding nickname, the Cap Times.

Rodriguez said the union effort was in keeping with the news organization’s heritage as a champion of progressive values in Madison since the Capital Times was founded in 1917 by William T. Evjue, a former managing editor and business manager for the Wisconsin State Journal.

“He was angered by the State Journal’s editorials attacking Robert M. ‘Fighting Bob’ LaFollette, who he considered a hero,” states a history the Capital Times posted that was archived in 2007.

“The history of the Cap Times is to be a progressive voice — the voice of Madison, representing the voices of people who aren’t heard,” said Rodriguez. On its editorial pages, the paper has been a strong supporter of labor unions.

“I think this has been like a desire to embody how we see our role as reporters within our own system,” she said. “If we’re going to embody the mission of William Evjue, championing people’s rights and being the voice of the community, that has to exist internally as well.”

Rodriguez joined the staff in January 2025, but she said reporters had been interested in joining a union for years before she arrived, and helped produce the energy that led her and her colleagues to formally organize in the last year. Staff support for the union has been unanimous, she said.

“For us just the biggest thing is that local journalism is so vital to a healthy democracy and strong communities and the reporters that deliver that news just want to live in their communities and feel like their work is being valued as well,” Rodriguez said.

Since the 1940s, the Capital Times and the Wisconsin State Journal have shared business operations, forming a partnership, Madison Newspapers Inc., which owned the presses and conducted other business operations for both papers.

In 1977, MNI installed new printing technology, laying off typesetting employees and cutting wages of the remaining printing staff. The printing unions struck, joined by the newsroom unions of both newspapers.

The striking employees put out an independent paper, first weekly and later daily, the Madison Press Connection, which lasted until 1980, and the strike was settled in 1982 with a $1.5 million payment to the strikers. The unions were all decertified.

Editorially, the Capital Times “had always supported the labor movement,” said Phil Haslanger, one of the reporters who joined the strike. Up to that point, when the Newspaper Guild represented newsroom employees, “there had always been spirited negotiations between the Guild and, at that time, William Evjue, but they found a way to make it work.”

That made the dispute especially controversial. “Here you had a paper that was progressive, liberal, involved in this very complicated labor situation,” Haslanger said.

Haslanger was one of five employees who went back to the paper as part of the settlement agreement. Under the editor, Elliott Maraniss, “There was a real effort on the part of the Cap Times at the end of the strike to gracefully reintegrate those of us who had been in the strike,” he said.

In 2008, the Capital Times went from being a daily evening paper to a primarily online outlet, first with two free weekly tabloid editions, later reduced to one.

The union campaign also echoes the success of campaigns that have led to unions at several digital news organizations, including Wisconsin Watch and ProPublica.

Both the Cap Times and the State Journal work out of the same building on Madison’s Southwest Side. Rodriguez said the unionizing effort involves only the staff of the Cap Times, owned by the Evjue Foundation, and not the employees of the State Journal, which is part of Lee Enterprises.

“We hope that management voluntarily recognizes us,” she said. “We think that recognizing the union would be in line with carrying out the values of the Cap Times.”

Organizers say Cap Times union campaign aligns with news outlet’s progressive heritage was originally published by Wisconsin Examiner.

1300-1316 W. Historic Mitchell St. Photo by Jeramey Jannene.

America’s second-largest bank is planning its first branch on Milwaukee’s South Side.

Bank of America is planning to open a bank at 1300 W. Historic Mitchell St., replacing a Dollar Tree at the location.

A new filing with the Historic Preservation Commission shows the bank’s plans for an 8,100-square-foot branch.

It would be the Charlotte-based bank’s third branch in Milwaukee, following a branch under construction at 7630 W. Good Hope Rd. and a planned branch at 5040 W. Fond du Lac Ave.

Three suburban branches are also planned in Greendale, Oak Creek, and Whitefish Bay.

The company first announced an expansion into Wisconsin, via Milwaukee and Madison, in 2023. Its nearest branches to Milwaukee are currently in northern Illinois.

Bank of America refers to its branches as “financial centers,” which include accessible office and meeting spaces as well as customer-facing technology.

Dollar Tree has been located in the building since 2014. It was previously occupied by Game Crazy and Hollywood Video. According to a historic photo, it once housed a bowling alley.

The 30,000-square-foot property includes a substantial parking lot to the west of the building. Bank of America would lease the entire 8,100-square-foot building, but building plans show the rear would be left unfinished.

A drive-thru ATM is planned for the parking lot.

The structure, referred to as the Mitchell Street Building Company Building — yes, that’s the exact name — was built in 1923 to the designs of Herbst & Kuenzli. It once extended farther west, but the building was partially demolished in 1997.

Historic Preservation Commission approval is required for any exterior changes because the building is located within the Mitchell Street Historic District.

The property has been owned by a Chicago investment firm since 2022.

Bank of America is working with Colliers Engineering & Design, an arm of Colliers International, on the Mitchell Street bank’s design.

North Shore Bank operates its own branch across the street in a multi-tenant building.

Trimborn Farm. Photo courtesy of the Milwaukee County Historical Society.

The Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors will vote on a lease of the historic Trimborn Farm to a private operator in May.

Milwaukee County Parks, which owns the farm in Greenfield, hopes the deal will reactivate the farm and lead to the restoration of the neglected historic buildings.

Milwaukee County Parks is recommending the board approve a contract with Virginia Emmons McNaught, doing business in Wisconsin as Two Weathervanes LLC. Emmons McNaught is originally from Greenfield, and in 2023 she won the contract for the redevelopment and reuse of the Stelzer Barn and Dairy House in the Root River Parkway. She lives in the Miami-area and runs an education nonprofit in Miami Shores, Florida, called Educate Tomorrow and a college-preparatory public boarding school in Miami called The SEED School of Miami.

The 19th-century farm includes nine buildings sitting on approximately 7.3 acres of land at 8801 W. Grange Ave. Throughout its history, the property has been used for a variety of purposes, including lime production and dairy farming. The Milwaukee Parks Commission saved the property from encroaching suburban development in the early 1980s. The Park People of Milwaukee County restored the buildings in 2004, and the Milwaukee County Historical Society has run the farm as a historic park for the past two decades.

The county has a massive backlog of deferred maintenance, including a list of projects in the parks system estimated at approximately $500 million. The county has estimated the farm needs more than $1 million in maintenance, but only spends $15,000 on the farm annually. The proposed deal between Parks and Emmons McNaught requires her business to take on responsibility for renovations and repairs at the farm.

Parks plans to enter into a five-year lease with Emmons McNaught for $1 annually. In exchange, she will pay the county approximately 7.5% of net revenue and put another 7.5% of net revenue into reserves for maintenance, as well as assume responsibility for maintenance and historic renovations. All renovations must be performed “in a manner consistent with its designation on the National Register of Historic Places,” according to the lease agreement. The lease agreement sets a goal for a maintenance fund at $50,000.

Emmons McNaught’s proposal was selected, in part, for her plans to reactivate the farm and maintain public access year-round. She is planning large annual events, a cafe, venue rentals and educational programming while leasing space to artists and makers to sell their wares. In her bid, she estimated her programming and business plans could generate about $333,000 in revenue annually.

The farm is part of District 11, represented by Sup. Kathleen Vincent, who has shown support for the project. Vincent held a well-attended public meeting in February to discuss the project with constituents.

Not everyone who attended the meeting was happy with Emmons McNaught’s plans. Ron Raasch, a historic restorationist who lived on the farm with his family in the 1990s, criticized the plan to lease the farm to a private, commercial entity and called for ownership to be transferred to a nonprofit friends group. He took issue with the commercial activities, like a cafe and vendor stalls, saying they would disrupt the historic environment.

The county board’s Committee on Finance will vote on the contract later this month.

Jonathan Taylor appears in a mugshot. Courtesy of the Wisconsin Department of Corrections

Police are searching for a man who’s on the run from the Kenosha Correctional Center.

Jonathan Taylor, 31, escaped from the prison just before 3:30 p.m. Tuesday, according to a news release from the Wisconsin Department of Corrections.

He has a history of criminal convictions, including battery, burglary and disorderly conduct, according to online court records. DOC records show he was transferred to Kenosha Correctional in February after spending time in other Wisconsin prisons.

Officials say anyone with information about Taylor’s whereabouts should contact law enforcement.

Taylor is white with brown hair and blue eyes. He is 5 feet, 9 inches tall and weighs 201 pounds, according to the DOC.

Police search for man who escaped from Kenosha Correctional Center was originally published by Wisconsin Public Radio.

Preparing to raise a replica of the moon in Catalano Square in 2019. Photo by Jeramey Jannene.

The Museum of the Moon is returning to the Historic Third Ward, this time as the centerpiece of a new three-day festival celebrating the neighborhood’s 50th anniversary.

The Historic Third Ward Association and Joy Engine announced Tuesday that they will launch the Third Ward Moon Festival from Aug. 7-9, transforming the area around Catalano Square into an open-air arts and cultural experience centered on the massive illuminated moon installation by British artist Luke Jerram.

The 23-foot sculpture, which uses high-resolution NASA imagery and a synchronized soundscape to recreate the appearance of the moon, previously drew large crowds when it appeared in Catalano Square in 2019 during the “Under One Moon” festival organized by Black Box Fund, the arts organization now known as Joy Engine.

“This marks a full-circle moment for the neighborhood,” the association said in announcing the festival, noting Milwaukee is expected to be the installation’s only Midwest stop on its current international tour, which also includes appearances in the United Kingdom, Spain and Abu Dhabi.

“The Third Ward Moon Festival is about creating a sense of wonder, bringing people together under a shared experience that feels both intimate and expansive in the heart of the neighborhood,” said Historic Third Ward Association executive director Jim Plaisted in a statement.

Festival programming will extend well beyond the moon sculpture. Organizers said Catalano Square, Menomonee Street and Broadway will host live music, dance performances, fashion programming, wellness activities and family-friendly events throughout the weekend. Friday’s schedule will emphasize celebration, Saturday will focus on the neighborhood’s cultural roots and Sunday will center on wellness and community activities.

The event comes as Catalano Square itself prepares for a significant redesign. Third Ward leaders and their partners are currently advancing plans to reconfigure the heavily used park, including removing the existing fountain and terraced seating area to create a more flexible public gathering space while preserving much of the park’s tree canopy.

The moon installation has become one of Milwaukee’s more recognizable temporary public art pieces in recent years. During its 2019 appearance, the sculpture hung above the fountain as part of a festival commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing and was accompanied by live music, poetry readings and an appearance by retired NASA astronaut Wendy Lawrence.

Since the initial Third Ward moon landing, Joy Engine has produced a series of large-scale immersive art events across Milwaukee, including the ArtBlaze beach festivals in 2024 and 2025, giant illuminated sea creature installations at Bradford and South Shore beaches, and the installation of oversized bird sculptures at Lakeshore State Park in 2021. Two of the five-foot-tall birds remain perched near the Milwaukee Public Market along N. Water Street. The organization also produced the Nitelight projection festival on Historic Mitchell Street. The organization has funded several other artistic endeavors. Philanthropist Deb Kern and MOD GEN CEO Doug McDonald created Joy Engine.

Additional details on performers and programming for the Third Ward Moon Festival are expected to be announced in the coming weeks.

Gov. Tony Evers visits UW-Eau Claire on March 10, 2025. Rich Kremer/WPR

Gov. Tony Evers is suing the Legislature’s powerful Joint Finance Committee once again, arguing a 2018 law requiring its approval before the state Department of Justice can resolve civil suits is unconstitutional.

The move comes less than a year after the Wisconsin Supreme Court unanimously struck down other aspects of the committee’s approval process.

The challenge, filed on April 7 in Dane County Circuit Court, focuses on legislation passed by Republican lawmakers during a lame-duck special session just before Evers and Attorney General Josh Kaul, both Democrats, took office.

The suit claims the GOP-controlled Legislature gave the finance committee veto power over how the DOJ resolves potential litigation against federal agency rules in cases where state lawmakers aren’t involved. It alleges the lame-duck law also prevents the DOJ from drafting settlement agreements providing injunctive relief without JFC approval in cases where individuals sue the state.

The lawsuit comes on the heels of a unanimous Wisconsin Supreme Court ruling in June 2025 where justices concluded the attorney general, not the Legislature, should have the authority to resolve lawsuits related to “core executive powers.”

Writing for the majority in that case, conservative Justice Brian Hagedorn said there is “no constitutional justification for requiring JFC sign-off on settlement agreements within these categories of cases.”

With that win behind them, Evers and Kaul argue the two other JFC approval requirements in the lame-duck handcuffing the DOJ are still intact and still unconstitutional.

“Legislative veto power over how the Department resolves such actions, just as with the types of cases at issue in Kaul, violates the Wisconsin Constitution’s separation of powers,” the lawsuit claims.

The legal battles over the line between Evers’ executive powers and lawmakers’ legislative authority have raged since 2018, eventually heading to the Wisconsin Supreme Court. While the 2025 Supreme Court decision was unanimous, earlier rulings between the governor and legislature have often been split along the court’s ideological fault lines.

In 2020, the court’s former conservative majority sided with Republicans when it found that “in at least some cases” the Legislature can give itself the power to approve or reject civil cases prosecuted by the DOJ.

In July 2023, after liberals took control, the court issued a 6-1 ruling that found that GOP lawmakers overstepped their constitutional authority by using the Joint Finance Committee to block conservation land purchases. Then, in July 2025, the court’s liberal majority ruled in Evers’ favor again arguing that a different GOP-led committee went too far when it blocked a state agency rule banning conversion therapy for LGBTQ+ youth.

Evers suing GOP-controlled Joint Finance Committee once again was originally published by Wisconsin Public Radio.

Kingdom Faith Fellowship Church residences. Rendering by Engberg Anderson.

A church near Milwaukee’s northwestern edge is planning to add substantial housing to its rural campus.

Kingdom Faith Fellowship Church, 11919 W. Bradley Rd., is seeking a zoning change to add up to 181 units of senior housing on its campus.

In the first phase, Scott Crawford Inc. would develop a series of two- and three-story townhome buildings with 101 total apartments for people 55 and older. Twenty percent of the units would be set aside at below-market rates for qualifying households.

“Phases two and three would be an additional buildout of the church … and a 60- to 80-unit memory care center,” said Marques Morgan, vice president with Scott Crawford, to the City Plan Commission on April 27.

The memory care center would be developed first. The third phase would include expanding the church to include additional space for a vacation Bible school and child care center.

“We are targeting a quarter three construction start,” said Morgan of the first phase, meaning sometime after June.

He told the Zoning, Neighborhoods & Development Committee that restricting the affordable units to 20% of the development would prevent an “overconcentration of any one particular income group.”

Other federally recognized affordable housing developments, including Cudahy Farms and a proposal from Post Real Estate Group, have resulted in opposition from area Alderwoman Larresa Taylor, but Taylor is supporting Kingdom Faith’s proposal.

“I am really excited about what they are bringing to the table,” she told the City Plan Commission. Her district, she said, has 13 senior housing communities, but none offer memory care services.

“I think one of the most important aspects of what we are doing is addressing a need for memory care,” said Kingdom Faith founder and pastor Robert C. Randolph to the zoning committee.

“There is a lot of demand for senior housing, so this is really quite lovely,” said Stephanie Bloomingdale, plan commission chair.

The proposal, known as the Kingdom Heights Residences, includes a mix of one-, two- and three-bedroom units.

Engberg Anderson is serving as the project architect. Taylor, said Morgan, had counseled the development team last year to include units with direct entries instead of a large apartment building, based on feedback from area residents.

The 15.2-acre property would be rezoned from single-family housing to the city’s RM3 multifamily designation. The specific plans are not subject to detailed design oversight as long as they conform to the city’s formula-based restrictions.

Morgan said the proposal would retain the “nature feel” currently present at the site. Randolph said a walking trail, with public access, would remain.

“It is a beautiful natural site. You are taking down a lot of mature trees, so I understand the trade here,” said commissioner Allyson Nemec, an architect.

According to city assessment records, the church was constructed in 1981 and includes 19,284 square feet of finished space. Kingdom Faith was previously located at 4200 N. Holton St. It began leasing the Bradley Road property in 2024 and purchased it outright in March 2025 for $2 million from New Life Community Church.

Kingsway Learning Center, a child care provider led by Randolph, also operates at the site. It has a five-star score from the state’s YoungStar rating system.

Former area Alderwoman Chantia Lewis, who was removed from office in 2022 following a plea agreement for felony misconduct in office, serves as the church’s associate pastor and chief ministry coordinator.

The church is located east of a WoodSpring Suites Hotel that was recently completed, but a large height difference and wooded bluff currently block sight lines between the two properties. The Park Place business park and Interstate 41 are located to the south.

Both the plan commission and zoning committee unanimously endorsed the zoning change. The full council will vote next week.

Scott Crawford and Kingdom Faith first presented highly conceptual plans for the development to the Granville-Havenwoods Advisory Committee last August.

Randolph explained the church’s relocation timeline to the zoning committee, which drew a humorous remark from Ald. Russell W. Stamper II, who said he had previously worshipped with Kingdom Faith but wasn’t aware it had moved. “I haven’t been in two years? Dang. Say a prayer for me,” said Stamper.

Renderings

Site Photos

Arbor Ridge condos at 7976-7992 N. 107th St. Photo by Jeramey Jannene.

A California developer isn’t asking for much. But the Milwaukee Common Council still seems opposed to helping the firm.

The Post Real Estate Group is seeking city approval to access $86.5 million in tax-exempt bonds to convert two northwest side apartment complexes into federally recognized affordable housing.

City approval is a prerequisite for the state-affiliated Public Finance Authority to issue the lower-cost bonds, which pose no formal risk to the city. But area Alderwoman Larresa Taylor doesn’t want that endorsement to be given.

Post, with partner Bedford Affordable Housing Foundation, would purchase the 236-unit St. James Place, 10000 W. Fountain Ave., and the 138-unit Arbor Ridge, 7900 N. 107th St., apartment complexes. It would convert all of the units to income-restricted apartments, with rents targeted at 30% of a household’s income.

Taylor doesn’t want to see the “luxury” housing disappear, especially as more market-rate housing is proposed for her district and opposed by nearby residents.

“Having these two luxury apartments, when we’re struggling for luxury apartments, we certainly don’t want to lose the two that we have based on a developer that is not local to the area coming in and taking what we do have and turning it into affordable units,” said Taylor.

She said the buildings were in good repair and had high occupancy rates.

“They’re not suffering in any way. They’re full units,” said Taylor to the Zoning, Neighborhoods & Development Committee on Tuesday. “They’re very well managed. So we don’t want to see any changes happen to something that is working well.”

But Roy Jones, bond counsel for Post, disputed that the units were “luxury” housing. Appearing virtually from South Carolina, he said Post was prepared to invest $2.25 million in renovations as part of the proposal.

Depending on the unit, apartments would be rented to individuals making up to 40% or 80% of the area’s median income. It was not explicitly mentioned, but such structures often involve federal low-income housing tax credits, which provide equity in exchange for reducing rents for at least 15 years. Fannie Mae, said Jones, would provide credit enhancement and monitor the project for compliance.

The lower-cost bonds, he said, would reduce borrowing costs, allowing more to be invested in putting the properties “into a position where residents have the kinds of units that we would all be proud to live in.”

Troy Thomas of Post Real Estate Group said the firm has been active since 2005. Jones said it has executed similar deals across the country.

“How does that help the city?” asked Ald. Russell W. Stamper II.

“It doesn’t,” said Ald. Robert Bauman, the committee chair. He said he was inclined to support Taylor’s request for denial, especially since Jones and Thomas only appeared virtually from out of state. “This may all be fine, but you have to come talk to people.”

Deputy City Attorney Mary Schanning said the council was under no obligation to approve the measure. It also does not need to provide a reason for denial.

“They’ve been doing it for 20 years; they know the process,” said Stamper. “Move denial.”

The committee unanimously endorsed the move, sending it to the full council for a final vote.

A quirk in the process also requires a public hearing regarding the project’s financing. Known as a TEFRA hearing, the meeting has been scheduled for City Clerk Jim Owczarski‘s office on May 11 at 1 p.m.

The council last endorsed using Public Finance Authority bonds for a renovation of the Germania Building. It has previously approved bonds for the Milwaukee Marriott Downtown hotel, HOPE Christian Schools’ school building development, St. John Evangelical Lutheran School expansion, a Global Power Components expansion and the renovation of the Prairie Haven property at 8949 N. 97th St.

The Prairie Haven project occurred nearly a decade before Taylor’s election to the council.

Taylor has previously shown sensitivity to new affordable housing in her district, but the council overrode her objection to the development of the Cudahy Farms complex. She has supported other affordable housing efforts, including a new proposal for a site at 11919 W. Bradley Rd. earlier in Tuesday’s meeting.

Arbor Ridge was constructed in 1999. It also includes condominiums, which are not part of the deal.

St. James Place was constructed in 1990.

The two complexes, located just south of W. Bradley Road, border one another on the east side of N. 107th Street.

Existing residents, according to Post’s presentation, would not be displaced.

Both properties are currently owned by affiliates of Washington-based Weidner Investment Services. The company owns a number of apartment complexes in the Milwaukee area.

The Newberry Consort. Photo from Early Music Now.

What did early America sound like? Early Music Now’s season-closing program featuring the Newberry Consort offers a richly researched answer in Revolution! — the program at this Saturday’s concert at Saint Joseph’s Chapel. The answer may be an unexpected one. Artistic director Liza Malamut, speaking ahead of the performances, cuts straight to the heart of it: “There was no national music. There was no one style, no composer that everybody living in North America during this time period would have identified as the national music of America.”

What existed instead was a continent of cultural pockets — communities whose music owed far more to their own ancestral traditions, sacred practices, and local circumstances than to any shared American identity. Revolution! takes that plurality seriously, presenting a program organized not as a single national story but as a collection of distinct musical worlds, each with its own instruments, languages and purposes.

The program spans the founding era through the eve of the Civil War, drawing on sacred music, military song, parlor entertainment, political satire, and community hymnody — each tradition reflecting the specific world that produced it. The broadside ballads brought from England, the shape-note hymns of rural New England, the trombone choirs of Moravian settlements, the Choctaw hymnal, and the African American spiritual all lived side by side in early America without merging into a single sound.

Audiences accustomed to early music programs rooted in the European classical tradition may find some of the repertoire unfamiliar in style. But Malamut cautions against drawing sharp lines between folk and classical: “That melting of classical and folk music was something more common than we realized, both in Europe and early America.”

William Billings’s Lamentation over Boston — a wrenching paraphrase of “By the Rivers of Babylon” written during the Revolution — sounds almost like an English madrigal, yet it is also closely tied to the shape-note singing tradition most listeners would call folk. The salon set features Francis Hopkinson, a signer of the Declaration of Independence who composed in the fashionable European style, alongside Benjamin Carr’s Rondo in E-flat — chamber music that would not have been out of place in Vienna. The second-half virtuosity set includes a polonaise for keyed bugle and a flashy violin solo, “The Cuckoo,” whose subject was popularized by Vivaldi in the Four Seasons. “Early America’s tradition with art music was less developed,” Malamut notes, “so you had a lot more overlap and evolution of the music during this time period.”

One of the program’s most distinctive sections draws on the music of the Moravians, a German Protestant sect that established missions across North America and brought with them the tradition of trombone choirs — four-part ensembles used not only for worship but to call communities to weddings, funerals, and feasts.

The Moravian mission story is also one of cultural encounter. When Moravian missionaries worked among Native communities, the resulting music reflected both appropriation and genuine integration. The Mohican hymn on the program, Māamāanaakhumuweenāanā, was contributed by musicologist Sarah Eyerly. It represents a Mohican voice shaped by, but not reducible to, Moravian influence.

The Choctaw set, arranged by violinist and Native American music scholar Brandi Berry Benson, comes from a separate tradition entirely. The Choctaw hymnal — one of the most distinctive American Indian hymn traditions of the nineteenth century — contains both European hymns translated into Choctaw and hymns composed by Choctaws themselves.

The ensemble performs on period instruments spanning the entire era covered by the program. The square piano — played by fortepianist Sylvia Berry — is an original 1795 John Broadwood & Son instrument built during George Washington’s second term. Its sound is softer and more intimate than later pianos, with a silvery, “gossamer” quality suited to the salon repertoire it accompanies.

Other period instruments include keyed bugles and a cornopean — a forerunner of the modern cornet; a classical period flute and military fife; a rope-tension snare drum of the kind used by Revolutionary-era military units; and the four German classical trombones that anchor the Moravian sections. Malamut and her colleagues have chosen instruments that “cover the greatest number of repertoires while also being the most flexible” — a practical necessity when the program ranges from a 1782 Sephardi synagogue hymn to an 1844 march honoring Haitian independence.

See the Newberry Consort website for more details on the 15 singers and instrumentalists in this concert.

The program closes with “When Shall America,” a new work for period instruments and voices by bass-baritone and composer Jonathan Woody — the first commissioned composition in the Newberry Consort’s history. Drawing on the poetry of Phillis Wheatley and Lemuel Haynes, Woody weaves together shape-note singing, 17th-century German polyphony, fife and drum, and Haydn-inspired piano music into a meditation on the American experiment’s unfulfilled promises.

A program born of the challenge to celebrate the United States’ 250th anniversary rises to the occasion by celebrating the nation’s diversity.

The Newberry Consort will perform at Saint Joseph Chapel, 1515 S. Layton Blvd. at 5 pm on Saturday, May 9. A pre-talk will begin at 4 pm. Purchase tickets at 414-225-3113, online, or at the door.

After attending the concert, you may wish to recommend a streaming of the premiere event, first performed this week in Chicago, available in June.

Aisle at Sentry Foods, 9210 W. Lisbon Ave. Photo taken Feb. 9, 2026 by Sophie Bolich.

After taking over Sentry Foods at 9210 W. Lisbon Ave. in late 2024, Navjoot Sandhar watched a wave of store closures ripple across Milwaukee — and worried his business could be next.

Nearly 17 months later, the store remains open but continues to face obstacles. Sandhar is now hoping a $25,000 grant and a new artificial intelligence-driven point-of-sale system will help sustain the business as a community asset.

Though experienced in gas station and liquor store ownership, Sandhar faced a learning curve in managing the business’s size and inventory — particularly its fresh, perishable foods. Despite those challenges, Sandhar, who leads the business with his parents and brother, said the first few months were trending positive.

“We were very optimistic and had all these ideas and visions to update the store and bring it up to our own standards,” he said.

Then the Lisbon Avenue reconstruction project arrived at the business’s doorstep, cutting into customer traffic. “We were aware construction was going to be happening, and the plan they had in place made sense, but what actually transpired was completely different,” he said.

Sandhar said the two main entrances to his parking lot were closed for months, making it difficult for vehicles to access the store. He further suspects many potential customers rerouted to avoid slowdowns on Lisbon Avenue, further reducing business.

The 1956 building is also costly to maintain, requiring frequent repairs and equipment updates. Earlier this year, a $25,000 grant from the city of Milwaukee helped fund a new refrigeration system, though additional issues continue to surface. “I’m in a store that’s been bandaged up, and all the bandages are unraveling,” he said.

In recent months, Sandhar said the fear of imminent closure became a “constant feeling.” He said he reached out to area Alderman Lamont Westmoreland and the construction leaders with concerns, but “felt like nothing was happening in a timely manner.”

Westmoreland released a statement in March criticizing “preventable failures in planning, coordination, communication, and execution” tied to the project.

“It’s been a long year and a half of us running this,” Sandhar said. “We still have hopes that things will turn around, but we’ve invested more than $700,000 of our own money. We’re at the point where we have no more savings.”

Sandhar is now looking to a technology company for potential relief. San Francisco-based Vori uses AI to help grocers track pricing, inventory and sales patterns. The system was installed in late April and is now in onboarding as Sandhar works to address minor inconsistencies and ensure all information is accurate.

Once fully implemented, Sandhar said the tool will allow him to “check everything in real time and eliminate a little bit of that human error … to make sure that I’m selling stuff at the right price and that I’m not losing money.” He also hopes it will help ensure shelves remain stocked with staple items.

Sentry previously used Retail Data Systems for point-of-sale and inventory tracking. Kobbe Abu, a representative with Vori, said the new system takes the extra step of analyzing that data to identify pricing errors, stock issues and sales trends.

“Vori is a POS system designed for independent grocers to give them the technology they need to not only survive, but to potentially compete with the big companies in the industry,” Abu said in a statement. “If you’ve ever worked in the grocery industry, you know every penny counts, and unseen losses like that can mean the difference between a thriving market and one that has to close down.”

Abu said the system can also assist in marketing and public relations.

Vori is active across 55 cities, according to a May 5 report from Fortune, which noted the tool is not intended to replace employees but to streamline administrative work. The tool is tied to Sentry’s rewards program but does not surveil customers in stores, Sandhar added.

Capitol Galst Food Market also uses the system.

Along with potential savings, Sandhar said the new system sends a good message to customers. “When they see us keep doing things to improve the store, it gives them confidence that we’re not planning on going anywhere — which we’re not.”

srt.rick414 Instagram screenshot (left) and MPD arrest photo (right). Images from MPD.

The “Pink Panther” film series focuses on an inept detective. Ironically, the titular panther was also a key clue that allowed the Milwaukee Police Department (MPD) to find and arrest one of the alleged ringleaders of a recent coordinated night of street takeovers.

Milwaukee police say they cracked the case of who the key organizer of the April 25-26 takeovers was by finding media the alleged ringleader largely created himself — across Instagram, YouTube and a series of viral videos.

Ricky Alcantara-Hernandez, 22, now faces three felony counts of first-degree recklessly endangering safety and one felony count of possessing a machine gun, according to a criminal complaint filed May 2. A second set of charges — four machine gun possession charges and one intent to distribute THC in excess of 10,000 grams (more than 20 pounds) — was filed the same day with a September 2024 offense date. Each of the reckless endangerment charges comes with up to 12 years in prison. Each of the machine gun charges includes up to six years in prison.

MPD officials discussed the incidents with the Common Council’s Public Safety & Health Committee last week but stopped short of naming Alcantara-Hernandez, instead referring to him by his Instagram handle, “srt.rick414,” and as the “primary organizer.”

Investigators tied Alcantara-Hernandez to the late-night April 25-26 takeovers through his distinctive vehicle and his prolific social media presence. Videos from multiple intersections showed a white Dodge Charger wrapped with a “Pink Panther” graphic and labeled “SRT.RICK414” drifting close to crowds of onlookers. The same vehicle — with matching vanity plates — is registered to a company listing Alcantara-Hernandez as an executive.

Police say his Instagram account featured both the car and years of takeover footage — including clips from the charged night — and even included a post the next day asking followers to send him “good videos” of his driving.

Authorities allege Alcantara-Hernandez was among a small core group — roughly five or six drivers — who moved across the city, drawing crowds that sometimes reached into the hundreds. The complaint details takeovers on the far Northwest Side, in Bay View and beyond, with participants quickly relocating from intersection to intersection to evade police.

Takeovers, which have surged since 2023, involve pedestrians forming a ring around an intersection while drivers perform tight circles, burnouts and drifting maneuvers — often within inches of spectators. The late April events included fireworks, bonfires and reported gunfire, underscoring what police describe as an increasingly volatile scene.

In one video cited by investigators, a passenger in Alcantara-Hernandez’s car appears to hold what looks like an AR-style firearm or a video camera out the window while the vehicle drifts through a crowd.

The case expanded beyond reckless driving when police executed a search warrant at the suspect’s South Milwaukee apartment April 29. Officers recovered nine cellphones, camera equipment, key-programming tools often used in car thefts and multiple firearms — including fully automatic weapons. Prosecutors say Alcantara-Hernandez’s fingerprints were found on at least one of the machine guns recovered, though the gun was found in his brother’s room.

Alcantara-Hernandez was arrested shortly after leaving the residence, allegedly with two phones, Meta smart glasses seen in takeover videos and a loaded handgun.

The smart glasses can be used to record videos. Other camera equipment was recovered from Alcantara-Hernandez’s residence.

Social media clout-chasing is an integral part of the street takeovers. At least one participant in the weekend takeovers can be seen displaying a plaque sent by YouTube to account holders who accumulate more than 100,000 followers. Srt.rick414 also posted vanity photos on Instagram with “50K” balloons above his car to celebrate accumulating 50,000 followers.

The latest charges follow what MPD officials previously described as a coordinated series of takeovers that generated roughly 10% of all calls for service during a four-hour stretch. Speaking to the Public Safety & Health Committee, officials said the arrest is likely the first step in a broader enforcement push against street takeovers.

“We have robust plans to make mass arrests of these individuals,” Inspector Sheronda Grant told council members, signaling a shift toward more aggressive tactics in the coming weeks.

Police Chief Jeffrey Norman said in a statement the department is committed to pursuing participants even after events disperse. “If you participate, plan or spectate these events for enjoyment, you are endangering the safety of others,” he said.

The Common Council adopted an ordinance last year that makes it a fineable offense to spectate at a street takeover — a tool officials hope will help deter crowds that fuel the events.

Alcantara-Hernandez is currently free on $40,000 bail, $25,000 for the April offenses and $15,000 for the 2024 alleged offenses. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for May 11.

The issue has not been limited exclusively to the city of Milwaukee. In addition to MPD’s arrests, the Milwaukee County District Attorney’s Office filed charges against Illinois resident Allen Mendoza, 20, who was stopped and arrested Sunday morning after leading Glendale police on a high-speed chase. Mendoza said he was at a takeover event only as a spectator.

Waupun Correctional Institution is seen Oct. 27, 2023, in Waupun, Wis. (Angela Major / WPR)

Editor’s note: Wisconsin Watch asked the candidates whether they would allow commutations for murder convictions. After publication, David Crowley’s campaign responded that he would not allow commutations in such cases.

The top Democratic candidates for governor plan to continue allowing commutations and pardons if they are elected in November — though two are splitting with the current governor on whether to offer commutations in murder cases — while the front-runner for the Republican nomination plans to curtail clemency.

The contrast is sure to feature in the gubernatorial election, as Democrats rally around a national mood that has turned against President Donald Trump, while Republicans try to capitalize on lingering distaste for the Democratic brand.

Their statements, in response to questions from Wisconsin Watch, come after Gov. Tony Evers signed executive orders in early April to reestablish the state’s commutations process, with just nine months remaining in his last term as governor.

Evers’ executive orders specifically create a commutations advisory board to consider applications from incarcerated individuals seeking to reduce their prison sentence and establish a commutations procedure for people sentenced to life in prison as juveniles. The commutations advisory board is expected to hold its first meeting in June.

Republican U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany’s gubernatorial campaign said in a statement he would rescind Evers’ executive orders on commutations, particularly because they don’t exempt individuals convicted of murder. Under Evers’ executive order only those previously convicted of sexual assault, physical abuse or sexual exploitation of a child, trafficking of a child, incest or soliciting a child for prostitution are ineligible for commutations.

“(Tiffany) is making a commitment as governor that he will not release violent criminals early and will ensure victims and their families receive the full measure of justice,” Tiffany’s campaign said. Tiffany’s campaign did not respond to an additional question about whether the congressman would consider commuting the sentences of incarcerated individuals who were convicted of nonviolent offenses.

Wisconsin Congressman Tom Tiffany addresses the audience in his speech during the Republican Party of Wisconsin state convention on May 17, 2025, at the Central Wisconsin Convention & Expo Center in Rothschild, Wis. “Isn’t it great inflation is going down here in the United States of America and jobs are going up?” Tiffany said as he held up an egg carton and the audience applauded. (Joe Timmerman / Wisconsin Watch)

The difference between Tiffany and the top Democrats suggests that criminal justice reform and executive clemency, the powers the governor has to lessen or nullify a sentence, are topics that will get attention from the candidates ahead of the general election in November. Debate on the campaign trail will happen as Wisconsin’s prisons continue to be over capacity. The population of the state’s adult prisons as of April 17 was 23,548 people, which is nearly 32% above what the facilities were designed to hold.

Evers is not running for reelection, which leaves the commutation process created by his executive orders subject to the views of the state’s next governor. That person could rescind, suspend or revise an executive order from the predecessor, according to the nonpartisan Legislative Reference Bureau.

Wisconsin’s governors have taken different approaches to using the office’s executive clemency powers. The last governor to commute a prison sentence was former Republican Gov. Tommy Thompson.

Former Democratic Gov. Jim Doyle approved 326 pardons as governor but no commutations. Former Republican Gov. Scott Walker, who issued no pardons or commutations in office, previously said he saw “no value” in visiting the state’s prisons.

Evers reinstated the pardons process after taking office in 2019 and has since issued 2,000 pardons, according to his office. In early 2025, he released a prison restructuring plan with a “domino series” of projects that include closing the Green Bay Correctional Institution, converting the Lincoln Hills juvenile prison into an adult facility and transitioning the Waupun Correctional Institution into a vocational village with job training for inmates.

Evers’ plan caught pushback from Republicans, who said they were not included in the process and objected to any reductions to the capacity of the prison system. There have been no updates since the state building commission voted in October to release $15 million to fund a design report for projects in the governor’s proposal.

Diego Rodriguez, the coalition coordinator for Justice Forward Wisconsin, which advocates for a more equitable criminal justice system, emphasized that “broad, blanket statements” about incarcerated individuals don’t reflect a person’s remorse or growth over time.

“Democrats and Republicans have historically used clemency to make sure that we honor when people grow, we honor changes in development and changes in people,” Rodriguez said. “That is something that I think our nation is rooted in, this idea that people can grow and develop, and that redemption is a real thing.”

What Democratic candidates said

The seven top Democratic gubernatorial candidates who responded to questions from Wisconsin Watch said each of their approaches to executive clemency would attempt to take into account the growth of inmates and the needs of victims, although specifics differed between each candidate.

Former Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes would work with an independent commission to guide decisions on pardons and commutations, campaign spokesperson Cole Wozniak said. Also, unlike Evers, he would exclude those convicted of murder. He was the only Democratic candidate to make that distinction without being asked specifically about that issue. Wisconsin Watch asked the other candidates about that particular issue Friday afternoon and didn’t receive any responses before this story published Monday morning.

“Lt. Gov. Barnes will work to keep Wisconsinites safe — ensuring the justice system rehabilitates those who’ve served their time and pose no threat, while requiring individuals convicted of murder, sexual assault, or other violent crimes stay behind bars and serve their sentences,” Wozniak said.

Asked why Barnes differs from Evers on commutations for murder convictions, Wozniak said “for those already convicted, he believes the existing appeals process offers sufficient relief.”

Joel Brennan, the former Department of Administration secretary, said Evers “did the right thing” in restoring commutations.

“The ability to pardon and commute sentences is one of the most consequential tools a governor has,” Brennan said in a statement. “I’d take that seriously, listen to the people closest to these cases, review them on the merits, and act where it makes sense.”

Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley said he would work with the Legislature to “institutionalize” Evers’ commutations process. After this story published, Crowley’s campaign responded to the follow-up question about murder commutations, saying he “would not allow commutations of murderers.”

“I believe clemency is an important tool to correct past wrongs, especially in cases where sentences were excessive, laws have changed, or individuals have demonstrated real rehabilitation,” Crowley said in a statement. “At the same time, it must be handled with care, consistency, and respect for victims and communities.”

Rep. Francesca Hong, D-Madison, third from left, speaks to the audience during a Democratic gubernatorial candidate forum Jan. 21, 2026, at The Cooperage in Milwaukee. The candidates are, from left, Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez; Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley; Hong; Sen. Kelda Roys, D-Madison; former Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. CEO Missy Hughes; former Department of Administration Secretary Joel Brennan; and former Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes. (Joe Timmerman / Wisconsin Watch)

Madison state Rep. Francesca Hong said she supports Evers’ decision to restore commutations and would work with stakeholders to build a “fair and safe” process.

“My approach to executive clemency actions would be to build a senior advisory council and pardon board with diverse representation of lived experiences and leadership in the carceral reform sector,” Hong said in a statement.

Missy Hughes, the former CEO of the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp., said in a statement she is supportive of Evers’ executive orders to restore commutations. In response to a follow-up question, her campaign spokesperson said she would offer pardons only to “nonviolent offenders who have paid their debt to society and only after a thorough and transparent review process.” He added that she “would take her commutation power seriously and use it only to ensure proper justice is delivered,” but didn’t specifically diverge from Evers on commuting murder sentences.

“I believe it is an important tool to have at the governor’s disposal to ensure we have fairness in our criminal justice system,” Hughes said. “As governor I would keep this executive order in place so that we have a mechanism for those who have paid their debt to society, and pose no threat to the public, can have their freedoms restored through an open and transparent process.”

Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez said in a statement that Evers has established a “thoughtful approach” to commutations. She criticized the Republican Legislature for not taking “a serious approach to criminal justice and corrections reform.”

“As governor, I would continue the restored commutations process and carefully review it with input from stakeholders, including victims’ advocates, law enforcement, corrections professionals, and criminal justice reform organizations,” Rodriguez said. “We need to be guided by preventing crime, reducing recidivism, and keeping our communities safe.”

Madison state Sen. Kelda Roys said in a statement that “public safety and justice” will be the focus of her criminal justice policy.

“As an attorney, I know that our judicial system is imperfect, and clemency can be an important safeguard so long as the process is fair, thorough, and transparent,” she said.

Correction: Missy Hughes’ campaign spokesperson responded before publication that she would only pardon nonviolent offenders. A previous version said the spokesperson didn’t respond. Wisconsin Watch regrets this error.

This article first appeared on Wisconsin Watch and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

A fisherman casts a line near the Echo Lake Dam on Thursday, Sept. 1, 2022, in Burlington, Wis. Angela Major/WPR

This year’s Wisconsin Conservation Congress spring hearings found a majority of respondents in nearly every county supported increasing hunting, fishing and trapping license fees by at least 25 percent.

Twelve hundred people attended in-person hearings hosted by the organization, an elected body that advises the Natural Resources Board and the Department of Natural Resources on policy on behalf of citizens. Others voted online. In all, almost 7,000 people weighed in on more than forty conservation-related questions.

Every spring, Wisconsinites have the opportunity to make their voices heard on issues related to our state’s natural resources. This year, respondents made it clear that they are willing to pay more in fees to sustain DNR programs.

Voters also supported fee increases for trout and turkey stamps, which haven’t changed in more than 20 years. They didn’t support proposals to charge an access fee for public lands and state natural areas and registration fees for canoes, kayaks and paddleboards.

Later this month the Wisconsin Conservation Congress will hold their annual convention to examine the results of the vote and decide which they’ll move forward for consideration by the DNR and its board.

Outdoors reporter Patrick Durkin has been following the spring hearings for decades. He joined WPR’s “Wisconsin Today” to break down some takeaways from this year’s vote.

The following interview has been edited for length and clarity.

RF: Why are these fees such a big issue right now?

PD: This has been an issue going back 20 years — since the last time Wisconsin raised the fees. The increases used to be fairly common, every few years. Now it’s gone two decades without a fee increase, and previous attempts have brought up basically the same issues that we’re seeing: steady declines in our funding for our natural resources. It’s on the spring hearings once again, but this requires acts from the legislature, and so far they have not wanted to boost the fees.

RF: What factors are driving outdoorspeople to approve of higher fees?

PD: The first thing hunters and anglers typically complain about are the fees that we pay for these annual licenses. But when push comes to shove, when they see programs starting to get cut, and they see access not being kept up, they notice that.

The first year of a fee increase, you hear a lot of complaining, and then eventually the complaining dies off. They get used to the idea that the fees are at a certain price now, and they started doing their own calculations and realizing that, of all the things you can take into the field or take into the boat or on the streams, the license fee is always the cheapest.

RF: This questionnaire had the lowest participation since about 2019. Why is that?

PD: I track the attendance of this — I keep a chart going back to 1972 and you always see these fluctuations. The thing I’ll always point out to the people is that even though this year’s attendance was low, if you ever go to the Capitol to attend hearings, most bills that get hearings don’t draw those kinds of numbers overall. So to me, this is still an accessible way that people have to communicate their thoughts and their wishes to the people who represent them.

RF: After the hearings and voting, what needs to happen for these proposals to get past the finish line?

PD: Ultimately, it’s always going to come down to people contacting their lawmakers, letting them know they support these things. And if they don’t hear much from their constituents on this, they just take it as something that’s not that important to them. I always point out to my readers that these programs don’t happen by accident. They require a staff, they require equipment — things that cost money. You won’t get them without funding.

The legislature has not wanted to increase the fees because they always seem to think that any kind of fee increase will be seen as a tax increase. And I don’t think the average hunter and fisherman goes that far with that. It’s always been a pay-as-you-go system, and we kind of accept that.

Wisconsinites support fee increases to sustain DNR programs at spring conservation hearings was originally published by Wisconsin Public Radio.

Flautas from Flautas y Chilaquiles Los Villa restaurant. Photo taken October 26, 2024, by Jeramey Jannene. All Rights Reserved.

A new vendor specializing in foot-long flautas is headed to Zócalo Food Park.

Flautas y Chilaquiles Los Villa plans to open full time at 636 S. 6th St. in the coming months, its first permanent home since closing its brick-and-mortar restaurant last spring.

Co-owner Israel Villarreal told Urban Milwaukee the truck would continue with the same menu, offering its namesake flautas — served in a cup with layers of fresh vegetables and a choice of sauce — along with customizable chilaquiles, tacos, salsa-dunked pambazos, tortas and burgers.

Drinks such as jamaica, an agua fresca made from hibiscus flowers, will also be featured.

“You can spend a pleasant day there with loved ones, and I think we can share a little bit of Mexican culture with everyone,” he said.

The married couple brings a lifelong love of food and cooking to the business, which first launched as a food trailer in early 2024. Both grew up in Mexico City immersed in local cuisine; Villarreal’s mother operated a kitchen serving Mexican food, and Campos’ father sold carnitas.

After several months of mobile operation, the couple opened a full-service restaurant at 3530 W. National Ave. in September 2024. That location closed in May 2025 and was replaced by Madison-based  Taqueria El Arriero, which has also since closed.

The business is awaiting Milwaukee Common Council approval for its license, and has not yet set an opening date. In the meantime — and after its launch at Zócalo — Los Villa will continue operating its second food truck at festivals across Milwaukee, Racine and Madison.

Los Villa joins a wave of new vendors at the food park, including Nadi Plates, Isa’s Ice Cream and Chucho’s Red Tacos. The lineup also includes SapSap, Modern Maki, Las Virellas, Anytime Arepa, Ruby’s Bagels and Elevate Coffee.

Walgreens at 2727 W. North Ave. File photo by Jeramey Jannene.

Walgreens will close another Milwaukee store and pharmacy as a result of its nationwide downsizing.

The company intends to close its store at 2727 W. North Ave. on the border of the Midtown and Metcalfe Park neighborhoods.

The store is scheduled to close by June 23.

In an October 2024 earnings call, the company revealed that 25% of its then-8,500 stores were losing money and announced a plan to close 1,200 stores by 2027.

A statement provided Tuesday indicated that the North Avenue store was one of those money losers, but it included an unusually direct explanation of why.

“Protecting our customers and team members remains our top priority, and despite our actions and investments in private security, persistent safety challenges at our North Avenue store do not allow us to operate sustainably,” said the company in a statement. “We continue to operate other Walgreens stores in the city and remain focused on working with law enforcement, community partners and local officials to support safer retail environments overall.”

In the last three years, Walgreens will have closed eight of its 28 stores in Milwaukee.

North Avenue pharmacy customers are being transferred to the nearest store, 3522 W. Wisconsin Ave. Free prescription delivery will also be offered for 90 days.

The closure will contribute to a rapidly emerging food desert. Eight blocks west of the store, Pick ‘n Save closed its Metcalfe Park grocery store in July.

The 1.54-acre Walgreens property is owned by Washington-based KPM Realty. The company acquired the property in 2025 for $1.6 million. Walgreens leases the property. According to assessment records, the 13,450-square-foot building was constructed in 1994.

After being acquired by private equity firm Sycamore Partners in 2025, the company was taken private. Public financial data on the company is no longer available. Its website says it now operates 8,000 stores.

Closed Walgreens

• 2826 N. Martin Luther King Jr. Dr.
• 5201 N. 91st St.
• 2222 W. Capitol Dr.
• 6707 W. Hampton Ave.
• 2410 W. Forest Home Ave.
• 2625 W. National Ave.
• 6442 N. 76th St.
• 2727 W. North Ave.

Chicken. Photo by Chicken. Thegreenj, (CC BY-SA 3.0), via Wikimedia Commons

Backyard poultry have been linked to a multistate outbreak of salmonella, which includes at least five cases in Wisconsin.

Thirty-four cases of salmonella across 13 states have been linked to the outbreak, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Most people became sick between the end of February and the end of March, with more than a third of those infected under age 5. No deaths have been reported.

The state Department of Health and Human Services declined WPR’s request for an interview on the outbreak. But an agency spokesperson said cases have been identified in Brown, Kenosha, Marquette, Oneida and Wood counties.

The CDC reported that the majority of sick people who were interviewed reported contact with backyard chickens, ducks or other poultry. Nearly all of the people who reported owning a flock had purchased a bird since the start of the year.

Public health officials are still working to identify the source of the outbreak.

Ron Kean, poultry specialist for the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Division of Extension, said many types of salmonella don’t affect poultry, and birds that carry the bacteria can appear perfectly healthy.

“A lot of these chicks are coming from mail-order hatcheries, even if you get them at a farm store,” Kean said. “I think there’s some concern that it’s being spread that way. A hatchery in one state might be shipping chicks to a lot of different places across the country.”

It’s the second year in a row that backyard poultry have been linked to a multistate outbreak.

Last year, 559 people across 48 states, including Wisconsin, were infected with salmonella that traced back to birds coming from four hatcheries. The CDC reported the outbreak led to 125 hospitalizations and two deaths.

The true number of sick people related to this year’s outbreak is likely much higher than the number currently reported by public health officials.

Salmonella infection causes diarrhea, nausea and fever. Most people are able to recover from the bacteria at home.

Dr. Jeff Pothof, emergency medicine physician at UW Health, said even people who are treated in an emergency room may not be tested for salmonella. It usually takes a patient needing hospitalization to prompt providers to identify the specific bacteria making a person sick.

“In that situation, antimicrobials, or things like antibiotics, do have some value to that patient,” said Pothof, who is also Chief Quality Officer for UW Health. “So a lot of those cases that get diagnosed are just the tip of the iceberg of the people who got exceptionally ill from it, where we actually send off the test.”

CDC testing found that bacteria in all of the cases had predicted resistance to at least one antibiotic, with eight samples showing resistance to additional antibiotics.

Salmonella is notorious for developing resistance to common antibiotics, Pothof said, which can make it hard for providers to find an effective drug to treat infections.

Young children, people over the age of 60 and individuals who are immunocompromised have the highest risk of becoming severely ill from salmonella. Pothof said in some cases, the bacteria can also leave a person’s gastrointestinal tract and infect other organs like the brain or heart in what’s called invasive disease.

When the bacteria carrier is a fuzzy little chick, he said, it’s easy to understand how an infection can happen.

“Those little things are adorable,” he said. “They’re soft, like you just want to be near them, not realizing that they do carry a little bit of risk.”

Kean’s recommendation is the same for both children and adult poultry owners: “Don’t kiss your chickens.”

“General cleanliness and just being careful can help a lot,” he said. “Wash your hands after you’ve handled the birds; don’t eat and drink food around them.”

For anyone getting eggs or meat from a backyard flock, Kean said food safety practices, like preventing cross contamination on cutting boards and following recommended cooking temperatures, can help kill any bacteria that may be present.

Backyard poultry linked to salmonella infections in Wisconsin, across US was originally published by Wisconsin Public Radio.

School bus. (Pixabay License)

Prices at the pump have everyone feeling uneasy, but the anxiety is 738 times worse in the Chequamegon School District.

That’s how many square miles the district’s school buses cover every day.

District administrator Kyle Cronan said the district’s nine buses use three types of fuel: gasoline, diesel or propane.

Propane and diesel are stored on site. The district, located in northern Wisconsin, is about 35 miles west of Lac Du Flambeau.

A few weeks ago, Chequamegon administrators purchased diesel at $4.14 a gallon — well below the current statewide average — that will hopefully get the district through the fall, Cronan said

Propane is running about $1.99 a gallon.

“Gasoline is our volatile-priced fuel at the moment,” Cronan said. “Fuel is running $4.49 a gallon. So at 5 miles a gallon, you know, they fill up quite a bit on these long routes and transfers.”

In March, the Chequamegon buses traveled 19,382 miles.

“The good news is gasoline started fairly inexpensive, so maybe we’ll come in at budget this year,” Cronan said. “But if those fuel prices continue into next year, that will create some challenges with our fuel budget next year.”

Diesel prices up almost a dollar from last month

The average price of a gallon of diesel fuel in Wisconsin is $5.67, according to AAA, that’s up from $4.86 since last month and from $3.26 last year.

Regular gasoline is averaging $4.38 a gallon across the state, up from $3.81 last month and $2.95 last year, according to AAA.

Like Chequamegon, many school district administrators say they use a combination of gasoline, diesel or propane buses. Or, they contract out transportation services.

About eight years ago, the School District of Superior switched more than half of its school buses to propane. Doing so has protected the district from a surge in prices.

“The money we have saved with propane has absorbed the diesel increase,” said spokesperson David Coy.

The Racine Unified School District uses a combination of gasoline and diesel. District spokesperson Stacy Tapp said because the transportation budget is planned so far in advance, the unexpected increase in fuel prices is hitting the district hard, especially with more than 100 buses on the road every day.

In February, fuel cost Racine Unified $56,840. In March, that cost jumped to $96,991.

Milwaukee Public Schools and the Madison Metropolitan School District both contract with bus companies for transportation services.

Ian Folger, with the Madison district said it hasn’t gotten a bill for April, but saw a significant jump in costs from February to March, even with using about 750 fewer gallons of gas due to spring break.

Average overall fuel prices for the Madison district rose from $3.13 per gallon in February to $5.27 in March, a roughly 68 percent increase, which drove a 44 percent increase in total fuel cost, Folger said.

“That translated to an increase of several thousand dollars in March, despite lower usage,” Folger said.

Increase in gas prices could almost pay for a new teacher

Gilman School District Superintendent Wally Leipart said the increase in fuel costs could almost pay for a new classroom teacher.

Gilman, which is about 40 miles northeast of Chippewa Falls, runs five buses across 426 square miles.

The district contracts with local business owners and farmers who own the buses. They give the district a base rate for the service but increase their cost if fuel prices rise, Leipart said.

“We’re paying about $33,000 more than we contracted,” Leipart said. “That is about 70 percent of a starting teacher’s salary.”

Leipart said spending an additional $33,000 beyond the budget means fewer classroom supplies, possible changes to the summer school program and possibly cutting field trips.

“You look at all those little fine details in various budgets that, if you take a little from each area, maybe we can offset the cost,” Leipart said.

Rising fuel costs slamming already cash-strapped Wisconsin school districts was originally published by Wisconsin Public Radio.

Jerrick Cavagnaro. Provided courtesy of Cavagnaro.

Many church organists learn how to improvise. Without a printed score, they’ll play new harmony with the final verse of a hymn, or add music to fill gaps in the worship service.

Organist Jerrick Cavagnaro brings improvisation to a whole new level. Winner of the 2024 Biennial American Guild of Organists National Competition in Organ Improvisation, Cavagnaro will perform both improvised and composed organ works in a Milwaukee recital on Friday evening, May 8. The concert is hosted by the AGO-Milwaukee Chapter and All Saints’ Cathedral, the recital site.

The improvisation competition gave contestants about 30 minutes to create an eight-minute piece based on a hymn melody. Friday’s recital will present Cavagnaro with a similar challenge. During the concert, he’ll be given a tune he has never seen before. After a few minutes of contemplation, he will turn that melody into a four-movement organ symphony. Audience members will be given a copy of the melody so they can refer to it as Cavagnaro creates a new composition, a process he finds “energizing.”

Cavagnaro has spent many years developing improvisation skills. His first piano teacher sometimes assigned him just the melody of a piece, encouraging him to “tinker around” with it to develop his ability to hear and internalize pitch and harmony. He later studied improvisation as an undergraduate in organ studies at Westminster Choir College and in graduate school at Yale School of Music. He serves as the associate director of music at Trinity Church, Copley Square in Boston.

In addition to improvising an organ symphony, Cavagnaro will play a program that displays the full expressive range of the 47-rank Pepper-Graves Memorial Organ at All Saints’ Cathedral. Along with movements from organ sonatas written by Florence Price and Edward Elgar and a toccata and fugue composed by Cavagnaro, the program includes several pieces written for other instruments and transcribed (adapted) for organ. The full dynamic and tonal range of the All Saints’ organ will be on display during Cavagnaro’s performance of “Uranus, the Magician” from “The Planets,” written for orchestra by Gustav Holst. For that work, Cavagnaro said he will aim to create a sound that is both “parallel to the orchestra and idiomatic to the instrument.”

Cavagnaro expects to spend a half-day getting acquainted with the All Saints’ organ, playing each stop individually and in groups to get a grasp of the organ’s capabilities. Choosing the stops he’ll use for each piece, he said, “is almost improvisatory” because every pipe organ is one of a kind.

The recital, including Cavagnaro’s on-the-spot improvised organ symphony, takes place at 7:30 p.m. Friday, May 8, at All Saints’ Cathedral, 818 E. Juneau Ave. in downtown Milwaukee. The concert is free; donations at the door will support AGO-Milwaukee Chapter programs and the maintenance of the All Saints’ organ. Free parking is available nearby at Lincoln School Center for the Arts and Immanuel Presbyterian Church.

Milwaukee County Courthouse. Photo by Graham Kilmer.

The Milwaukee County comptroller released its latest five-year financial forecast, and the news isn’t good. While the county’s budget challenges haven’t changed much, the economic landscape for the county has, and that’s a problem.

Milwaukee County has a long-running structural deficit, with costs growing every year faster than revenue does. An expensive pension scandal more than two decades ago and stagnant state aid have left the county without the funding it needs to simply cover the inflationary cost to continue existing services.

However, since 2020, the county has received a huge infusion of federal funding through stimulus released during the COVID-19 pandemic; County Executive David Crowley‘s administration secured a 0.4% sales tax increase that provided an influx of revenue in 2024; and years of low health care costs have provided policymakers with additional funds.

“The environment that produced these favorable outcomes is now fundamentally shifting,” the comptroller reported in the latest five-year fiscal forecast for the county.

Last year, Comptroller Liz Sumner‘s office declared that “The seemingly prosperous times the county has enjoyed in recent years may be winding down.” During the budget process for 2026, Milwaukee County officials worked to close an approximately $47 million budget deficit. The county’s behavioral services and the Milwaukee County Transit System (MCTS) both absorbed significant service cuts.

Next year could be even tougher. The county is projected to face a $50.9 million budget deficit in 2027. And by 2031, the county is on track for a $168.7 million deficit.

Federal stimulus money has been completely exhausted, employee health care costs are rising, spending reductions have already begun landing on core services like behavioral health, and the MCTS faces a fiscal crisis that will require a significant infusion of new revenue or large systemwide cuts.

“The projected $50.8 million structural deficit in 2027 sets the stage for another challenging budget cycle, even following notable revenue enhancements,” the comptroller’s office reports. “Compounding these pressures, 2027 marks the year in which the County must confront the long‑anticipated transit fiscal cliff, with the transit system facing a $15.7 million funding gap as federal stimulus resources fully expire.”

Transit

Since the last report, much of the most senior leadership at MCTS and the Milwaukee County Department of Transportation (MCDOT) has turned over. The system, facing a massive budget shortfall, is working to redesign the bus network so it is financially sustainable.

By 2031, if no changes to the system were made, MCTS would face a $37 million budget gap, according to the comptroller’s report. Such a gap is equivalent to approximately 16% of the system’s total operating budget in 2026.

The county does not have many options for funding the transit system left. It can pull from the county tax levy, but statutory limits on property tax increases would force policymakers to cut funding from other county functions to fill transit’s budget gaps. The system is already repurposing most of its federal formula funding for infrastructure upgrades to cover operations costs, leaving MCTS at risk of “delayed bus purchases, a growing backlog of aging vehicles, higher maintenance costs, and potential service reliability impacts.”

One tool the county has is the vehicle registration fee (VRF), often called the wheel tax. Milwaukee County implemented a $30 wheel tax in 2017. There has been rapid growth statewide in the adoption of VRFs during the past decade of stagnant state aid. If the county raised the VRF by $10, it would generate approximately $6 million annually in additional revenue.

Once Savings, Now Rising Costs

During the pandemic, Milwaukee County’s health care costs and employee compensation were a source of budget relief for policymakers. Health claims were down, and the county had many unfilled positions, contributing to annual savings. Now both areas are a source of rising costs.

“As staffing levels normalize, the structural deficit faces renewed pressure, driven by salary and fringe benefit growth that is now outpacing assumptions built into earlier forecasts,” the comptroller’s report noted. “Favorable trends in both inflation and plan participation began reversing, with medical claims costs up 10.5% and pharmacy costs up 13.0% in 2024.” 

What Comes Next?

It’s likely policymakers will have to enact further spending cuts during the next budget cycle. But to solve the problem of the structural deficit, the county will need “structural solutions,” according to the report. Critical to any solution is advocating for more state aid.

Without some kind of structural solutions, the outlook is grim, the report noted: “The County will remain trapped in a cycle of annual expenditure reductions, reliance on one‑time measures, deferred maintenance, and diminished service capacity all of which would undermine long‑term fiscal sustainability and the well‑being of County residents.”

Mifepristone. Photo by flickr user Robin Marty. (CC BY 2.0)

A recent decision from a federal appeals court could impact Wisconsin residents looking to get the abortion pill mifepristone from providers in other states.

A Friday decision from the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals restricted the mailing of the abortion pill mifepristone. On Monday, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito temporarily halted that ruling for one week.

Currently in Wisconsin, mifepristone is available, but physicians are required to dispense the pills in person, according to Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin. State law prohibits residents from accessing abortion pills through telehealth visits.

Even so, Wisconsin residents can still get abortion pills mailed to them through “shield law providers,” according to Jenny Higgins, director of the Collaborative for Reproductive Equity at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

“The shield laws enable out-of-state clinicians to mail medication abortion pills to patients in states like Wisconsin with restrictions or bans,” Higgins said.

In the first half of 2025, around one-third of abortions in Wisconsin were done through abortion medications that were ordered through out of state “shield law providers,” according to data from the organization #WeCount.

Shield laws came about after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022.

“Shield laws, for the first time, allowed a potential legal way for people to order pills by mail,” Higgins said. “And we have evidence that hundreds of people in our state are doing that every month.”

A protester in support of abortion access raises a sign in the air Saturday, May 14, 2022, at the Wisconsin state Capitol in Madison, Wis. Angela Major/WPR

Higgins said the recent legal decisions do not impact brick-and-mortar abortion providers across Wisconsin.

“So the shield law providers are what are impacted by these most recent decisions, not medication abortion care offered at brick and mortar facilities,” Higgins said.

Mifepristone has been used by more than 7.5 million people in the U.S., according to Planned Parenthood. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration says mifepristone is safe to use “when used as indicated and directed and consistent with the Mifepristone Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy (REMS) Program.”

The medication is typically used in a regimen with misoprostol. Mifepristone can also be a tool for people experiencing a miscarriage, according to Planned Parenthood.

In response to the court of appeals decision, Tanya Atkinson, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin, said the group’s priority is “making sure patients have clear, accurate information and can continue to access care without confusion or delay.”

“For patients in Wisconsin, this decision does not change how care is currently provided,” Atkinson said. “State law already requires in-person visits, and our health centers remain open and providing care.”

Rachel Rebouché, a law professor at the University of Texas School of Law, said the parties in the Louisiana case must file their responses by Thursday.

“The (U.S.) Supreme Court will decide whether or not it should continue the pause while it considers whether or not the Fifth Circuit was right or wrong,”  Rebouché said.

Wisconsin Right to Life responded to the U.S. Supreme Court decision in a statement on Monday.

“Women deserve better than a mail-order abortion from a physician in another state who does not know them and cannot adequately assess their condition,” said Heather Weininger, executive director of Wisconsin Right to Life.

Here’s how recent legal decisions around abortion pill access could impact Wisconsinites was originally published by Wisconsin Public Radio.

Milwaukee County Parks vehicles in Popuch Park. Photo taken October 30, 2025, by Graham Kilmer.

Spiking fuel prices are beginning to take a toll on Milwaukee County government and could lead to budget cuts if the trend continues.

More than two months after President Donald Trump launched a war against Iran, leading to a spike in global oil prices, the average price at the pump in Wisconsin is now well above $4 a gallon, according to a gas price tracker by the American Automobile Association.

Large organizations like county government buy their fuel in bulk from tankers and pay a lower price. But supply shocks have driven the price of fuel up above $3 for large purchasers like the county, leaving officials to consider how to balance budgets and maintain existing service levels.

“We’re seeing significant increases in fuel, and it likely will have impacts on county services,” Joe Lamers, Milwaukee County Department of Transportation director (MCDOT), told Urban Milwaukee. “Because departments are expected to manage within their budget, and when they see increased costs in one area, they’re going to have to find savings somewhere else.”

The biggest fuel consumers, outside of the Milwaukee County Transit System (MCTS), are the county’s highway maintenance department, the Milwaukee County Sheriff’s Office, Milwaukee County Parks and Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport. MCTS, which burns through approximately 3 million gallons of diesel a year, purchases fuel through hedge contracts that guarantee a stable price for several years, Lamers said. The latest contract runs through 2028.

These departments will likely see some impact on services as a result of rising fuel prices, Lamers said. For example, the highway department performs maintenance work on state highways in the county. It is reimbursed at a fixed rate by the state. Rising fuel prices will make the work more expensive, but the funding available for it will stay the same, Lamers said. “It could impact our ability to perform work that needs to be done on the highways.”

The parks department also has a large fleet of vehicles and machinery. Most of the department’s revenue is generated during the summer, so it will be difficult to assess whether it is able to generate enough to cover spiking fuel prices until the season is over.

“Wisconsin taxpayers should not be forced to bear the burden of decisions being made in Washington,” County Executive David Crowley said in a statement. “My administration is working to reduce fuel use wherever we can without impacting service delivery, but that alone is not enough. President Trump must take this crisis seriously and address rising gas prices before working families and the governments that serve them are left holding the bill.”

If prices stabilize where they are now, the county will likely finish the year more than $800,000 over budget for fuel. But if they increase even a little bit, the county is anticipating $1 million or more in higher fuel costs.

The county has to estimate each year, based on fuel price projections, what to budget for fuel costs, said John Blonien, MCDOT fleet director. The county is paying more per gallon than budgeted already, but it is still below $4 a gallon, said John Blonien. If the current rate of growth continues, the county will likely be paying more than $4 a gallon in the short term.

The county has weathered shocks to the fuel market before. In 2022, gas prices rose because of pandemic-related inflation and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

“We weren’t seeing this kind of magnitude at all, nothing really rising even close to this level,” said Lamers, who was then the county’s budget director.

The county functions most exposed to rising fuel prices will also be difficult to transition to alternative forms of fuel in the future. Currently, MCDOT estimates that only 10% to 15% of the county’s vehicle fleet is a candidate for electrification. Replacing these vehicles with electric alternatives is currently challenged by the county’s lack of electric vehicle infrastructure, Blonien said. Expanding electrical infrastructure is expensive, and the county has a limited pool of funding each year for infrastructure projects massively outstripped by available resources. But spiking fuel prices may change the economics of those projects, making them more worthwhile, Blonien suggested.

Along with infrastructure challenges, there aren’t currently any alternatives for heavy, diesel-burning machinery used in highway maintenance work. The sheriff’s office has piloted use of an electric squad car, but found that a battery only lasted three to four hours during a shift in the winter, Blonien said. MCTS has struggled with its own electrification efforts, running into maintenance and reliability challenges with the system’s 14 Nova Bus LFSe+ battery-electric buses.

For now, MCDOT is working with county departments to reduce fuel use wherever possible with anti-idling policies and by asking departments to pool vehicles when possible, even looking at routes staff use to do their work, Lamers said. But “as costs continue to rise,” he warned, “this situation will just become more and more challenging to address.”

Chucho’s Red Tacos. Photo courtesy of Thaime Gomez.

During a month marked by tightening food truck restrictions, at least three mobile businesses made big moves, establishing new long-term locations at Zócalo Food Park.

Isa’s Ice Cream was the first to open, returning to 636 S. 6th St. for a summer residency with a freezer full of signature flavors such as mango, tamarind, coconut and elote, alongside new additions.

Isabel Aviles Vences, Reynaldo Vences and Alexander Lopez Aviles lead the business, which, despite its name, specializes in nieve de garrafa — a Mexican frozen dessert made from fresh fruit, milk or water and sugar, hand-churned in a metal container.

Italian-inspired Nadi Plates also joined the vendor lineup, rolling out a menu of personal pizzas, handmade calzones and snacks such as truffle fries. The family-owned business officially opened April 30 and features regular specials. Based on customer feedback, the menu could expand in the coming months.

The southside location is soon to be joined by Nadi Plates’ first brick-and-mortar restaurant, which is expected to launch later this year at 2238 N. Farwell Ave. with a larger menu and an in-house espresso bar, Il Grande Bambino.

Chucho’s Red Tacos rounded out the month — and bolstered the park’s Mexican offerings — with its late-April arrival. Owner Thaime Gómez and her team are now serving crowd-favorite birria tacos, quesitacos, burritos, ramen, quesadillas and more from the window of their hand-painted food truck.

The fast-growing company also operates a brick-and-mortar restaurant on S. 6th Street, along with food trucks at Ope! Brewing Co. in West Allis and American Family Field, and a booth at Fiserv Forum.

The latest additions won’t be the last. Another Mexican food vendor, Flautas y Chilaquiles Los Villa, plans to open at Zócalo in the coming weeks, owner Israel Villarreal confirmed.

Zócalo is open Tuesday through Thursday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. to 10 p.m., Friday and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. For individual food truck hours, follow the businesses on social media or view their profiles on the Zócalo website.

Beyond the food park, April brought a shower of new bar and restaurant openings across the city, with new arrivals including a fast-casual Korean spot, a Riverwest sports bar and a gaming-focused gathering place.

Soban

Downtown Milwaukee said “annyeonghaseyo” to Soban, which opened its second counter-service restaurant at 776 N. Milwaukee St. on April 3.

The fast-casual restaurant, run by Solki Lee and Hyelim Song, joins the couple’s year-old flagship in Hales Corners.

Both locations specialize in homestyle Korean food, offering generous portions of fluffy rice; proteins such as bulgogi, soy-simmered tofu and garlicky fried chicken; and sides ranging from mashed pumpkin to tangy kimchi.

Guests can choose from signature bowls or build their own, with dishes assembled to order behind the counter.

Read our earlier coverage

Diaspora Sports Bar and Lounge

Diaspora Sports Bar and Lounge timed its grand opening with a citywide celebration. The new Riverwest tavern at 735 E. Center St. opened April 14 — Milwaukee Day — hosting a ribbon-cutting to mark its debut in the former Company Brewing space.

In addition to a full bar program, live music and cigars, Diaspora is hosting a rotation of local food purveyors for pop-up services ranging from bar snacks and charcuterie to soul food and brunch.

Read our earlier coverage

41Fork Exchange @ Wantable Cafe

After nearly four months on hiatus, Wantable Cafe returned to business April 22 with a fresh menu, Vennture Brew Co. coffee drinks and a curated retail corner.

Now led by 41Fork Hospitality, the Harbor District business, 123 E. Walker St., continues as a grab-and-go spot, also offering a spacious seating area for co-working, meetings and events.

Read our previous coverage

Nakama

Sushi is the centerpiece of the newly opened Nakama, which debuted in mid-April at 1600 N. Jackson St., in the former Interval cafe space.

The restaurant, billed as “an homage to the Japanese listening bar,” offers a 14-course omakase service Thursday through Saturday before transitioning into a hand roll bar on Sundays. Vinyl records spin all week.

Read our earlier coverage

JoSa’ on the River

A new operator has reactivated the former Pier 106 Seafood Tavern, bringing a new concept — complete with a full remodel and globally inspired menu — to the riverfront restaurant space at 106 W. Wells St.

JoSa’ on the River welcomed guests for a soft opening at the beginning of the month, followed by a grand opening ceremony on April 10.

The business offers daily lunch and dinner service, with featured dishes including Wagyu burgers, lamb chops, salmon Caesar salad and sides such as garlic mashed potatoes and grilled asparagus. Weekend brunch includes classics like French toast and buttermilk pancakes, along with savory options such as crab cake Benedict and avocado toast.

From the bar, guests can expect wine, beer and craft cocktails, including nonalcoholic and THC-infused options.

Read our earlier coverage

Num Pang

Cambodian sandwich shop Num Pang debuted in mid-April as the newest addition to 3rd Street Market Hall. The counter-service restaurant pairs freshly baked baguettes with Southeast Asian flavors such as lemongrass-marinated chicken, five-spice barbecue and pickled vegetables.

Behind the business are Nikki and Brian Podgorski, a married couple who are well established in the Minneapolis food scene. Their latest venture is inspired by Nikki’s family roots in Cambodia, particularly her grandmother’s influence as a chef and rice farmer.

Read our earlier coverage

Central Standard Tavern

From bar rail to runway, Central Standard’s newest location, Central Standard Tavern, has landed at Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport.

The craft distillery, which also operates Central Standard Crafthouse & Kitchen in Downtown Milwaukee, is now serving its signature cocktails on Concourse C, alongside local beers, seltzers, ciders, wine and a limited food menu.

Read our earlier coverage

7 Brew Coffee

Fast-growing cafe chain 7 Brew Coffee opened its first Milwaukee location at 350 W. Layton Ave. on April 20, bringing a menu of customizable coffee drinks to a traffic-heavy stretch of the city’s South Side.

Read our earlier coverage

Brim Cafe & Catering

A steady stream of eager customers greeted Brim Cafe & Catering at its long-awaited opening at 622 W. Lincoln Ave.

The catering company and cafe debuted its latest location April 23, bringing coffee, pastries and counter-service lunch to the neighborhood across from the Basilica of St. Josaphat.

Read our earlier coverage

Top Shawarma

The former — and much-beloved — site of Martino’s has reopened as Top Shawarma under new leadership.

In place of hot dogs and Italian beef, the restaurant, 1215 W. Layton Ave., now highlights falafel, stuffed grape leaves and chicken or beef shawarma, while retaining its counter-service model.

Read our earlier coverage

The Familiar Place

An all-ages spot for tabletop games, themed cocktails and community activations has arrived on the East Side. After months of delays, The Familiar Place opened in late April at 2856 N. Oakland Ave.

Sheenna Kleveno and Michael Taylor lead the business, which features an on-site library of board games, along with spacious booths and tables for group sessions.

A drink menu features signature cocktails and mocktails, craft beer and soda.

Read our earlier coverage

Jalisco’s Cocina y Bar

Jalisco’s Cocina y Bar quietly opened at 2018 E. North Ave. at the end of April, marking a major step for owner Ruben Herrera as he works to carry on his family’s legacy.

Herrera has been in restaurants for more than two decades, working under his parents, who launched Jalisco Restaurant at 1035 S. César E. Chávez Dr. in the late 1980s. The family later expanded with a location at 2207 E. North Ave., though it has since closed.

The new restaurant, Herrera’s first, is located just steps from his family’s former location. It offers Mexican cuisine alongside a full bar program, with plans to host local bands, musicians and comedians.

Read our earlier coverage

Milwaukee Repertory Theater presents the World Premiere of George & Gracie: A Love Story May 1 – June 4, 2026. Pictured L to R: James Pickering, Tami Workentin, Jonathan Riker. Photo by Michael Brosilow.

Warmth and talent triumph over growing pains for George & Gracie: A Love Story, a world premiere that is unlike many of the Rep’s Stackner Cabaret offerings. These are often shaped as a song-maker showcase, but this show is built around the savvy collision of two show biz married couples.

The play — and it is more a play than a revue, with old songs subordinate to the story’s jocular appeal — is a journey through how George Burns and Gracie Allen became world famous. They emerged from 1920s vaudeville to show biz celebrity on radio, in movies and on television before Gracie retired and left George to continue solo.

His take-charge pursuit of her as a stage partner and wife, while he focused on writing their material, mastering publicity and playing straight man, is the stuff of legend, worth rehearing. It takes time for the plot format to fire up, but the talents involved make it fun — and funny.

But there is a Milwaukee-famous stage couple here, too. It consists of James Pickering as George (I have covered him at the Rep since the 1970s) and his wife, Tami Workentin, who has collaborated often with Pickering and without on Wisconsin stages.

But here Tami is also the playwright who has found an ingenious way to deepen an episodic biography of George and Gracie. There are many — maybe too many — jokes about how show biz grew in those decades, recognizing that while many in the audience may know about the two performers’ careers, other generations need hooks of knowledge into the vaudevillian times and the underlying skills that made them special. So vaudeville trickery and atmosphere we have in abundance.

The staging is busy and a bit facile under director Laura Braza, with many tech hands at work. It still needs some tightening, but transports us by mock elevator, blackouts, faces thrust through curtains and vaudeville-based magic tricks through the decades of the couple’s career and genuine affection.

And who better to demonstrate that than two of Milwaukee’s most talented actors who also happen to be married and frequent collaborators?

Pickering is smart enough to suggest George in the way he drolly tongues a cigar, shows off his exasperated looks and sings an oldie. He uses his own polished skills to skip through some quicksilver transitions, inescapably demonstrating how much stagecraft he represents.

In various costumes and moods, Workentin materializes as the many facets of Gracie, from girl to matron. The facial control is itself amazing. The self-doubting Gracie, the uncertain Gracie, the determined Gracie and then — a brilliant meld of Tami’s gifts with the timing and dizzy dialogue of the original — Gracie full blown.

A running marvel of the play is how to openly discuss the methods while demonstrating that routines written a century ago can still hit home.

The story is framed around George’s doubts about going it alone after Gracie’s death — but the real frame is Jonathan Riker as the Elevator Guy, a combination emcee, musician, magician and elevator operator. His comings and goings are vaudeville based, rely on his gifts for comedy and singing — and also center on elevator doors that transport us to many floors in the couple’s life. Riker is the gifted cog in the play’s construction. His amiability is inviting, though he is overused as the transition device.

The balance of the impact is tilted toward Gracie. The story never quite satisfies us internally on how she turned from shy, sickly Irish lass committed to another guy to fall in love with George, especially since, in real life and this show, George constantly reminds us, tongue in cheek, of his own frailties.

Tami uses Gracie’s routines to establish her own wit, relishing those moments of reverse dizzy dame logic and demolishing George and others around her. It’s a finishing school in how to use your own skill with delivery and sideways looks to become a famous persona. Her mock campaign against FDR in 1940 and her patriotic withdrawal also speak to today’s patrons.

The play also shines in reminding us of Gracie the dancer, who tapped with Eleanor Powell and Fred Astaire. A highlight of the play (with Riker taking a bit of Astaire’s role) is the whisk broom number that all used in Damsel in Distress (1937).

Workentin the playwright has knit together the sequences using a lot of props and lighting effects that only remind a viewer that the Stackner may not be the best stage for this. The play works well to expose the methods of performance — much in George and Gracie’s own words — but the actors and the effects need more space to breathe.

I hope Workentin continues to tinker with the piece. There is something appealing here, a reminder that the story and framework of the Burns and Allen act should live through the ages for other performers and in other repertory.

George & Gracie: A Love Story makes viewers wish to know more about the people and the times. It runs through June 14 at the complex now known as the Associated Theater Center. Check here for tickets.

George & Gracie: A Love Story Gallery

Dominique Paul Noth served for decades as film and drama critic, later senior editor for features at the Milwaukee Journal. You’ll find his blog here and here. For his Dom’s Snippets, an unusual family history and memoir, go to domnoth.substack.com

Minocqua Brewery owner and liberal activist Kirk Bangstad addresses reporters after filing a lawsuit in Dane County Circuit Court seeking to block former President Donald Trump from Wisconsin ballots, on Jan. 5, 2024 in Madison, Wis. Anya van Wagtendonk/WPR

Kirk Bangstad, the controversial liberal activist and owner of Minocqua Brewing Company, has joined the crowded race for governor of Wisconsin, he announced on social media over the weekend.

The livestreamed announcement came days after Bangstad was interviewed by the U.S. Secret Service and the FBI for comments he made on Facebook following an alleged assassination attempt on President Donald Trump.

Bangstad described that encounter with law enforcement to a group of supporters who gathered at his bar on Saturday, over the course of a nearly hour-long live Facebook video during which he poured a range of his politically inspired and cheekily named beers, and criticized fellow Democrats and the news media.

About 45 minutes in, he said that that experience, and the broader state of American democracy, had inspired him to run for governor.

“I don’t like elections. I love speaking, you know, I love doing this, but I hate the process,” he said. “But it changed me when … I felt like the Democratic Party abandoned me, and I felt that I was actually scared for my safety, and scared from my own federal government.”

Bangstad, who ran for state Assembly in 2020, said that he felt nobody else in the Democratic Party was strong enough to stand up to Trump.

“I’ve been called the Trump of the left in every way. Arguably, I am, I’m just a million times smarter, but I have this showmanship aspect,” he said. “What we haven’t heard so far is that five alarm fire from any of the candidates running … on the Democratic side.”

Bangstad has been an outspoken critic of Trump since 2020, when he said Trump’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic harmed his business. Since then, he has bedecked his business in anti-Trump signs, and he filed a lawsuit to kick Trump off the ballot in 2024, citing the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection.

He has repeatedly said that he will pour free beer on the day that Trump dies, and sells t-shirts advertising “Free Beer Day.”

The comments that got him in trouble last week were tied to that gimmick. He wrote that an incident in which a man with weapons charged the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, at which Trump was present, was a sign that someone “in the Resistance needs to work on their marksmanship,” or it was a hoax.

“Regardless, we stand at the ready to pour free beer the day it happens,” Bangstad wrote.

And Bangstad is a controversial figure in his community. He’s been embroiled in zoning disputes in Oneida County, and spent years in a legal battle over comments he made about the publisher of a Minocqua-based newspaper that were found to be defamatory, ultimately settling the civil case for $580,000.

These controversies are part of Bangstad’s schtick — and his fundraising appeal to supporters. Over the course of his newspaper lawsuit, for example, he raised thousands for his political action committee. He livestreamed the moment that federal agents arrived to question him, and his return home.

On Saturday, he exhorted his followers to help him collect 2,000 signatures to get into the Democratic primary, which has more than half a dozen candidates already.

“I never wanted to do this, but I feel like, at least — even if I lose — at least I’m part of the conversation that I feel like everybody needs to be hearing,” he said.

Minocqua Brewing Company owner and liberal activist Kirk Bangstad says he’s running for governor was originally published by Wisconsin Public Radio.

Mark Chambers, Jr. and JoCasta Zamarripa.

An ethics complaint filed by Ald. JoCasta Zamarripa against Ald. Mark Chambers, Jr. will not move forward, at least for now.

Ahead of an April 22 meeting of the city’s Ethics Board, Zamarripa submitted a letter withdrawing her complaint after the board chair declined to grant a second delay. The board acknowledged the withdrawal at the meeting and took no further action.

The complaint stemmed from a Feb. 11 confrontation between the two council members inside Zamarripa’s City Hall office — an incident tied to disagreements over a proposed face mask ban involving law enforcement and community members.

That dispute unfolded in the hours before the Common Council publicly introduced what would become part of its “ICE Out” policy package. Chambers and Zamarripa engaged in a heated exchange over the proposal because Chambers believed it wasn’t ready and overstepped a years-old proposal he was working on to ban face masks for community members. According to several sources at or within earshot of the shouting match, both council members raised their voices and used profanity during the confrontation. Zamarripa later said she felt “physically intimidated,” while Chambers said it was a mutual escalation. Chambers, according to several sources, threw a hat on the ground at one point and was standing during the confrontation.

Zamarripa’s ethics complaint alleged that Chambers’ conduct violated the city’s ethics code, including potential misuse of office. She had sought a full investigation.

In her withdrawal letter, Zamarripa said she requested additional time before the Ethics Board acted, citing what she described as an ongoing third-party investigation through the city’s Department of Employee Relations (DER). She said she had been told the investigation could be completed within weeks and argued the board should wait.

“It makes sense to me that the board could hold off on hearing my complaint given that there is an ongoing investigation,” she wrote.

She also expressed frustration with the timing of the Ethics Board’s scheduling, noting she was notified less than a week in advance of the April meeting and had a previously scheduled political event the same day. Zamarripa is running for secretary of state.

After the board declined to grant a second delay — having already postponed consideration of the complaint once — Zamarripa opted to withdraw.

“Given the options or lack thereof before me, this letter is to inform you that I will withdraw my complaint at this time,” she wrote. Zamarripa noted that she retains the option to resubmit it in the future.

While Zamarripa has said a DER investigation is ongoing, the department is not confirming that publicly. A DER spokesperson told Urban Milwaukee on April 13 that the department had nothing to share at this time.

Mask policy advances

The face mask ban for law enforcement officers, which was what the two council members were arguing about, has since moved forward in a revised form.

On April 22, the Common Council approved a narrower ordinance prohibiting law enforcement officers from wearing face masks while interacting with the public, with exceptions for undercover and tactical operations. The measure, led by Ald. Alex Brower, passed 13-0, with one abstention from Chambers.

“For obvious reasons, this ordinance is a sore spot for me,” Chambers said prior to the vote, referencing the earlier dispute. While expressing support for limiting federal immigration enforcement practices, he raised concerns about the ordinance’s scope and the council’s process.

He had inherited a proposal from Khalif Rainey, who left the council in 2024, to ban community members and law enforcement personnel from wearing face masks, but the proposal had yet to pass.

Chambers said individuals are walking around wearing medical or shiesty (ski) masks and “causing harm and destruction in our communities.” He said the issue was now being forgotten and the council was “jumping the gun” on pushing a policy through.

The February confrontation also triggered broader fallout within City Hall. Common Council President José G. Pérez reassigned committee roles affecting both members, and Ald. Peter Burgelis said he drafted a potential censure resolution, though it was not introduced.

The seven leading Democratic Party candidates for Wisconsin governor, at an April 8 forum on health care put on by Wisconisn Health News. From left, Joel Brennan, Missy Hughes, Mandela Barnes, Sara Rodriguez, Kelda Roys, Francesca Hong, David Crowley. (Photo by Erik Gunn/Wisconsin Examiner)

In the contest for the Democratic nomination for governor, “affordability” might be the most frequently used campaign watchword. Side-by-side with it is another word: Healthcare.

Healthcare “is one of the most broken systems in the whole of government,” says former Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes. It’s “working as it was designed to,” says state Rep. Francesca Hong — in what is decidedly not a compliment to the system.

Among voters, it is “a top issue if not the top issue,” says Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley. Former Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. CEO Missy Hughes calls healthcare one of the “foundational pieces of our economy” — but one that is under strain and not working well.

For Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez, it’s “a complicated system” in which she made a career as an  emergency room nurse, a CDC infectious disease officer and finally a health system executive — “which means that I know the levers that we can pull to try to reduce costs across the state of Wisconsin.”

Former Department of Administration Secretary Joel Brennan considers healthcare a leading Wisconsin asset, innovator and employer, but one that’s been hobbled by “the healthcare management that we are allowing to go on in this county — and it’s not helping.”

State Sen. Kelda Roys describes the healthcare system  as imbued with “the worst aspects of capitalism in that we’ve injected profits before patients at every step, but none of the benefits of capitalism — there’s no free market, there’s no real competition.”

Those remarks come from three forums in April at which the seven leading Democratic hopefuls fielded questions about their healthcare policies and priorities.

Four of them — Rodriguez, Barnes, Roys and Hong — took part in a forum hosted by HealthWatch Wisconsin that focused entirely on healthcare issues. (All seven were invited, according to HealthWatch, which is affiliated with the nonprofit public interest law firm ABC for Health).

All seven joined a Wisconsin Health News event focused entirely on healthcare as well as a Wisconsin Citizen Action online forum, where healthcare led off a discussion that covered a cross-section of other issues as well.

Many of the Democratic Party rivals’ policies and priorities overlap. They all agree that healthcare costs and access are among the most important priorities for the state.

All of them say they favor a public option for health insurance — a plan that would be available for people to purchase health coverage on the Affordable Care Act health insurance marketplace if they don’t have coverage through work and their incomes are too high to qualify them for Medicaid.

All but one of the seven propose to expand Medicaid, referred to as BadgerCare in Wisconsin, under the Affordable Care Act. Expansion would open the health insurance plan for low-income Wisconsinites with incomes above the current limit (100% of the federal poverty guideline) up to 138% of the guideline.

Roys is the exception, arguing that Medicaid expansion is no longer feasible in Wisconsin because of federal changes enacted after President Donald Trump took office.

Instead, Roys proposes a public option that would allow the public to buy into the state health insurance plan for public employees. Brennan also proposes using the public employees’ plan as a public option, but he favors Medicaid expansion as well.

The other five Democrats would tie the public option to Medicaid expansion, making it possible for people whose incomes don’t qualify them for BadgerCare to pay a monthly health insurance premium for BadgerCare coverage.

Four years after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned a national right to abortion, all seven Democrats have vowed to protect reproductive healthcare and to firmly back abortion rights in Wisconsin.

All of them speak of the importance of ensuring that mental health is treated on a par with physical health. And all of them at least nod to the need to improve healthcare access in rural Wisconsin.

At the same time, each candidate’s proposals differ, sometimes in fine details, sometimes in broad priorities, and sometimes mostly rhetorically.

Federal relations

Another point of general agreement is on the need for stronger support for public health measures. All of the Democratic candidates have criticized the Trump administration and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for undermining longstanding support for vaccination against communicable diseases.

But they take different directions in their expectations for federal-state relations in healthcare. Roys, for example, writes off federal assistance during the current administration, which is why she considers expanding Medicaid a dead issue for now. Crowley’s Medicaid expansion proposal explicitly refers to federal matching funds to cover some of the costs.

None have laid out the level of detail that will be required for turning their ideas into legislation or incorporating them into the next state budget.

In the gallery below, click on the caption of each candidate’s picture to read a summary of what that candidate has said and published about their approach to healthcare policy and links to relevant pages on the candidate’s campaign website. 

Francesca Hong: Exercise power and political will Kelda Roys: Embrace ‘Keldacare’Joel Brennan: Seek collaborationSara Rodriguez: ‘I know the levers’ Mandela Barnes: Expand MedicaidDavid Crowley: Increase accessMissy Hughes: Healthcare and the economy

Democrats running for governor agree on need for healthcare access, differ on how to get there was originally published by Wisconsin Examiner.

330 Kilbourn, where the Journal Sentinel offices are located. Photo by Jeramey Jannene.

James Wigderson is an interesting figure in Wisconsin politics, a longtime Republican who served as editor of Right Wisconsin but became so opposed to Trump and the radically changed Republican Party that he could find no way to continue at Right Wisconsin and shut the publication down.

Today Wigderson writes an often whimsical column on Substack that can be insightful and amusing. His most recent, titled “It’s a Secret Memo,” ridicules a Journal Sentinel scoop that consultants for the campaign of Republican candidate for governor Tom Tiffany had written a memo declaring that Francesca Hong was the Democratic primary candidate they most feared and was the “very probable nominee” to emerge from the Democratic primary.

“We Need To Take Francesca Hong Seriously,” warned the subject line of this alleged memo, “and suggested a strategy for how to prepare for a general election contest against a candidate who identifies as a democratic socialist,” JS reporter Jessie Opoien wrote.

Only someone stoned on weed would believe that Hong was the candidate most feared by Tiffany or that this memo was real, Wigderson wrote:

“Opoien is normally a pretty good reporter, but she doesn’t even put ‘leaked’ here in quotes. Nor does she explain how the memo was supposedly ‘leaked.’

“Did she get the memo from Edward Snowden? Was it left on the photocopier in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel newsroom? Was it on Hunter Biden’s laptop? Was it left on a barstool at Wolski’s? Did Ian’s Pizza deliver it? Did it appear in her email sent to her by a Nigerian prince along with news she’s now worth $100 million?

“Was it found in a house with a mouse? A box with a fox? A boat with a goat? A plane or a train? Here or there, or anywhere with green eggs and ham?

“Because the Tiffany campaign would just love to run against Hong, a Madison Democrat and a member of the Democratic Socialists of America, who was recently endorsed by Congresswoman Ilhan Omar. If they could get away with it, the Tiffany campaign would probably make donations to Hong’s campaign to help her win the Democratic nomination in August.”

In short, Opoien and the JS got snookered, no doubt promised exclusive access to this disinformation intended to convince Democratic voters, whose number one concern is choosing a candidate with the best chance of defeating Tiffany, that Hong was the one causing sleepless nights for Republicans. The paper was so proud of its scoop that it did two stories on this, the first suggesting Hong’s campaign was on the rise, with the secret GOP memo as a key exhibit, and the second entitled “What a leaked GOP memo says about the candidacy of Francesca Hong.”

Wigderson’s eye-rolling answer, I suspect, is one that captured the likely response of both Democratic and Republican campaign operatives.

The secret memo was just the latest example of the Tiffany team’s creation of fanciful campaign memes. Two weeks ago they released a breezy ad with Tiffany saying Democrats like to say he is “too cliché” and then acknowledging he is a Wisconsin cliche who grew up milking cows on a dairy farm and loves “the Packers, Brewers, Badgers, old fashioneds, everything Wisconsin.”

Needless to say, no Democratic candidate has called Tiffany a Wisconsin cliche. An extremist, an election denier, yes. The closest I could find was this from Democratic Party of Wisconsin spokesperson Emily Stuckey: “Tiffany is a walking, talking cliché of a D.C. politician.”

Curiously, Tiffany’s definition of a true Wisconsinite doesn’t include rooting for the Milwaukee Bucks. Too urban? The NBA team’s omission is unintentionally revealing.

But it’s an amusing and very effective ad. Democrats underestimate Tiffany at their peril.

Capitol Library in 2024. Photo by Jeramey Jannene.

The City of Milwaukee is developing a new branch library.

As part of the plan, the Capitol Library would be shuttered and a new library would be developed in a portion of a former big box store.

The library would open in a portion of the former Walmart store at 5825 W. Hope Ave. in the Midtown Center retail complex.

It marks a stark deviation from Milwaukee Public Library‘s longstanding practice of replacing stand-alone libraries with mixed-use facilities that have a library on the first floor and apartments on the upper floors.

The city initially pursued a mixed-use plan for the Capitol Library in 2018, but two different requests for proposals found no qualifying bids and the city temporarily shelved the project.

Now it’s found a hybrid version of the approach.

Gorman & Co. is developing Midtown Commons, a two-phase, 200-unit affordable housing complex, on the former Walmart’s parking lot. The City Plan Commission endorsed the housing plan at its April meeting, with city staff suggesting an undisclosed plan was coming for the big-box store.

Library board minutes reveal that the mystery redevelopment includes a new branch.

The new library would fill a portion of the 160,000-square-foot former big-box store. How big would that portion be? The new libraries developed as part of the mixed-use model have been about 17,000 square feet in size.

The Walmart store closed in 2016. The 15.24-acre property was acquired by Affordable Family Storage in 2022. But the city, with support from area Alderman Mark Chambers Jr., rejected a proposal to use the building as a self-storage facility with additional ancillary uses.

The city, meanwhile, has taken steps to develop a new library.

The 2026 budget included $200,000 in property tax levy support for a new branch. The city’s five-year capital plan calls for $4 million in new borrowing in 2027 to cover the cost of the new branch.

At its April 28 meeting, the MPL Board of Trustees voted to approve hiring architecture firm Engberg Anderson to design the new library.

The existing library, 3969 N. 74th St., is 1.3 miles west of the proposed new facility. It was constructed in 1964 and is the last of its generation of libraries. All of the remaining stand-alone libraries are several decades newer (Bay View, Washington Park) or have received substantial renovations (Tippecanoe). The city has replaced the older libraries to achieve staffing efficiencies, generate new tax revenue from new housing and avoid maintenance costs associated with the aging buildings. The new Martin Luther King Library branch was the latest to open.

Multiple Common Council and City Plan Commission approvals are expected to be required for the new Walmart redevelopment, including a capital appropriation and zoning review.

MPL and Chambers did not respond to a request for comment.

A second city tenant was originally envisioned

The proposal originally included a new home for the Milwaukee Election Commission (MEC), with sources expressing a desire to find a permanent home for the Midtown early voting site, the city’s most popular, and a possible permanent home for the absentee ballot processing operation, which has been relocated several times since 2020.

Mayor Cavalier Johnson also hinted at the potential synergies of co-locating a library and MEC during a September 2025 budget preview interview.

But those plans did not come to pass, according to MPL meeting minutes. The library, according to the minutes, is now seeking a different co-tenant.

The MEC was able to find a new home for the early voting site at Midtown Center.

After a lease disagreement with Laureate Capital, which acquired much of the shopping center in 2023, led the city to relocate the facility in 2024, the early voting site returned to Midtown Center for the April 2026 spring election in a new space leased from Laureate.

Capitol Library

Former Walmart

Dan Bice

With the election for governor, attorney general, the state’s congressional delegation and members of the Legislature only six months away, Wisconsin needs the aggressive journalism of Dan Bice more than ever.

It won’t have it, though. The funeral for Bice, the aggressive, take-no-prisoners journalist for the Milwaukee Sentinel and then the merged Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, was last weekend.

Bice died of esophageal cancer on his 62nd birthday. Way too soon.

Disclosure: I was the Sentinel’s Capitol bureau chief when Dan joined us to cover then-Gov. Tommy Thompson and the legislative and judicial branches of state government. It was a joy to work with him until Sentinel editors in Milwaukee saw how good he was and transferred him to the main newsroom there.

Dan was an excellent Capitol reporter who developed hundreds of contacts and got even better when paired with former partner Cary Spivak on an investigative column that Bice later continued on his own with his “No Quarter” column.

How good was Dan? Prominent conservative George Mitchell, a frequent critic of Sentinel and Journal-Sentinel coverage, once wrote this in a column for Urban Milwaukee: No one in Wisconsin journalism “occupies center stage more than the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel’s Dan Bice. It’s really not even a close call.”

The Journal Sentinel’s story on his death noted a few of Dan’s journalistic achievements, including reporting with Spivak that ended the political career of former Mayor John Norquist.

In recent years, the Journal Sentinel noted, Bice covered the record-breaking Supreme Court race between Janet Protasiewicz and Brad Schimel, the arrest and resulting court case of former Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Hannah Dugan and “the campaign of [Republican] gubernatorial hopeful Bill Berrien, who ended his political run after Bice reported on his online activity.”

Dan fearlessly reported on both Democrats and Republicans.

But that was the public Dan Bice. The family’s obituary adds some biographical details I never knew.

“He attended Bryan College in Tennessee, majoring in English, History, and Ancient Greek… He began his reporting career at the St Petersburg Times before returning to West Virginia, where he covered state politics. He matriculated to the University of Chicago and, upon completion of a master’s in social science, accepted a job in the Milwaukee Sentinel’s Madison Bureau.

“Thus began his three-decade reign of terror speaking truth to power in Wisconsin state politics.”

“I used to kid him that he was ‘equal opportunity,’ in the sense that he’d go after Republicans and Democrats,” former Republican Gov. Scott Walker told the Journal Sentinel.

“There were times when I liked what he wrote, and there were other times that I didn’t like it at all,” Walker said. “It probably was a good sign he was pursuing the role of the journalist, which was without regard to politics or other bias.”

Democratic Gov. Tony Evers, a survivor of esophageal cancer, said: “I’ll remember him for how he lived, approached his work, and how he fought until the end — unflappable, relentless, and indefatigable.”

In their obituary, Dan’s family discussed another side of him: “He was also heavily involved in St. Matthew’s Lutheran Church, teaching adult education courses on a variety of topics from Biblical literature to archaeology.”

Two personal memories.

I remember the answer Dan often gave to some official who wanted to know why he had asked a specific, pointed question. He didn’t pontificate on his right to that information under the Open Records Law, or the First Amendment’s guarantee of freedom of the press. Instead, Dan would display that sly raised-in-West-Virginia smile and say, “I’m a naturally curious guy.”

Second, when Dan’s first child, Zachary, was born, Dan was still working in the Sentinel’s Capitol bureau. But he insisted that raising Zachary would not diminish his intellectual pursuits. “I’m still going to read a book a week.”

A former Capitol reporter called Dan “the last of another age, where your work – not your social media profile – was your brand. Nobody knew what Dan ate for lunch or what concerts he’d been to.”

“Dan could be zealous in pursuing a story but exceptionally careful in bringing it forward,” the former Capitol reporter recalled. “I bet there were lots of [examples] where he didn’t do a story because the facts weren’t there.”

Dan, sorry that a granddaughter’s college graduation kept me from your funeral. I’ll ask folks who attended how you were remembered. Why? I guess you could say I’m a naturally curious guy.

Steven Walters started covering the Capitol in 1988. Contact him at stevenscotwalters@gmail.com

The Wisconsin Assembly convenes during a floor session Jan. 14, 2025, at the State Capitol in Madison, Wis. (Joe Timmerman / Wisconsin Watch)

In a late-night press conference during the final days of the Assembly session in February, eight Republican lawmakers in some of the chamber’s most closely contested districts made a dramatic announcement.

They told reporters they had persuaded longtime Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, to allow essential votes on bills to extend postpartum Medicaid coverage for new Wisconsin mothers and to require insurance companies to cover additional screenings for women at increased risk of breast cancer. Vos had opposed the bills, which stalled in the Assembly for months.

Two months after the bills passed the Assembly, the Jobs First Coalition, a political advocacy organization that has backed Republican candidates, released ads lauding the efforts of some of those GOP lawmakers to get the two women’s health bills signed into law. Michelle Litjens Vos, the speaker’s wife and a former state lawmaker, works on fundraising and event planning for the Jobs First Coalition, according to recent tax documents.

The group specifically shared video ads focused on Greenfield state Rep. Bob Donovan, De Pere state Rep. Benjamin Franklin, Dodgeville state Rep. Todd Novak and Weston state Rep. Patrick Snyder. The ads featured clips of their remarks from the February press conference. Those four lawmakers won their districts in 2024 by 1 to 6 percentage points and hold seats the campaign arm of the Assembly Democrats is targeting this fall.

Google’s Ad Transparency Center shows the ads began running April 16 and that the Jobs First Coalition has spent less than $5,000 to run the videos as of May 1.

“Todd never stops fighting for Wisconsin women, standing up to his own party’s leadership to pass the bill expanding postpartum coverage,” a voiceover says on an ad supporting Novak, which encourages viewers to call his office and thank him for “delivering a win for women’s health care.” The ad flashes a headline from the conservative news outlet Wisconsin Right Now calling the eight a “courageous band of Republican legislators.”

Eight Assembly Republicans, many representing closely contested districts, announced earlier this year their support for bills expanding postpartum Medicaid coverage and breast cancer screenings that Assembly Speaker Robin Vos had previously blocked. They are, from left, Reps. Dean Kaufert, Benjamin Franklin, Jessie Rodriguez, Patrick Snyder, Todd Novak, Bob Donovan, Shannon Zimmerman and Clint Moses. (WisconsinEye)

An ad centered on Donovan focuses on his support of the breast cancer screening bill and shows photos of him and his wife. At the February press conference, Donovan explained his wife was diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer.

“Detecting cancer early saves lives, that’s why Rep. Bob Donovan never stopped fighting to expand cancer screening for women,” a voiceover says. “And Bob delivered, ensuring women get the additional screening they need.”

The ads, which have been shared as candidates are circulating nomination papers to get on the November ballot, point to an Assembly Republican strategy cognizant of a national mood that has turned on President Donald Trump and the Republican establishment. The bills also highlight a political issue that appeals to female voters, a voting group that Republicans have often struggled with at the national level.

“It makes sense that these candidates would want to differentiate themselves from the Republican Party more broadly, from Trump, from Vos, from really anyone in leadership who might be a drag on their campaigns,” said Barry Burden, director of the Elections Research Center and political science professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. “If they can establish a kind of independent identity as a common sense legislator who’s doing things to help real people in real places, that might be enough to carry the day.”

After new legislative maps were signed into law in 2024, Assembly Democrats flipped 10 seats previously held by Republicans during an election year when Trump won the state. Two years later, the Marquette University Law School Poll shows Trump’s job approval among registered voters at 42% and at least eight Assembly Republicans as of May 1 have announced they won’t seek reelection. That includes Rep. Dean Kaufert, R-Neenah, who won his seat in 2024 by less than 400 votes.

While there are challenges for Republicans in 2026, getting the two women’s health bills across the finish line could help candidates in some of these close Assembly districts and fend off potential attacks from Democrats, said Snyder, who authored the postpartum Medicaid extension bill.

“I’m worried that so many people think that we are somehow like Trump and the federal government and they just lump us in with all of that. I think a bill like this, to me, would help,” Snyder said in an interview with Wisconsin Watch. “It could actually show, hey, Republicans do care. They do care about health. They do care about the health of women and children.”

In a statement provided to Wisconsin Watch, Assembly Minority Leader Greta Neubauer, D-Racine, said the bills extending postpartum Medicaid and covering breast cancer screenings were only passed after Democrats “effectively stopped legislative business” in the final days of the Assembly session in February. Lawmakers proposed amendments related to the women’s health legislation on every bill before the Assembly in an effort to force a vote from Republicans.

“These ads are incredibly disingenuous and frankly insulting to the women of Wisconsin, who know better than to trust Republican legislators on women’s health issues,” Neubauer said.

Rep. Patrick Snyder, R-Weston, addresses the audience in his opening remarks during the Republican Party of Wisconsin state convention on May 17, 2025, at the Central Wisconsin Convention & Expo Center in Rothschild, Wis. (Joe Timmerman / Wisconsin Watch)

Rep. Benjamin Franklin, R-De Pere, listens as the Wisconsin Assembly convenes during a floor session Jan. 14, 2025, at the State Capitol in Madison, Wis. (Joe Timmerman / Wisconsin Watch)

Rep. Todd Novak, R-Dodgeville, listens to Gov. Tony Evers’ 2025 state budget address Feb. 18, 2025, at the Wisconsin State Capitol in Madison, Wis. (Joe Timmerman / Wisconsin Watch)

Rep. Bob Donovan, R-Greenfield, talks to the media Jan. 24, 2024, at the State Capitol in Madison, Wis. (Andy Manis for Wisconsin Watch)

The Jobs First Coalition did not respond to phone calls or emails from Wisconsin Watch with questions about the ads for Donovan, Franklin, Novak and Snyder and if they’ve released any for the other lawmakers who supported the postpartum Medicaid and breast cancer screening bills. In addition to Kaufert, Reps. Jessie Rodriguez, Clint Moses and Shannon Zimmerman were among the eight who advocated for Vos to allow a vote on the bills.

Wisconsin Watch viewed video ads for each of the four candidates on Google’s Ad Transparency Center, but the video about Franklin was later removed. The page where the video was located indicates it was shown in the Green Bay area, which Franklin represents.

Both Snyder and Novak told Wisconsin Watch they heard about the group’s ads supporting them, but had not seen the videos. Novak said he has heard a wave of stories from constituents about their experiences with breast cancer and postpartum health issues after the bills were passed.

“I think that this is a real personal issue to a lot of people, so that’s, I think, what gives me faith in what we did, and I’m glad we finally got it done,” Novak said. “I still would have rather had it done when it was first introduced, but sometimes in that building, it takes a while to move things.”

This article first appeared on Wisconsin Watch and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Tom Schultz. (Public Domain)

U.S. Forest Service Chief Tom Schultz provided details to lawmakers Thursday on employees affected by the closure of its regional office in Milwaukee, as well as President Donald Trump’s budget that cuts 75 percent of the agency’s funding.

Schultz fielded questions from members of a Senate appropriations subcommittee. Last month, the Forest Service announced it would close 57 research facilities in 31 states and close nine regional offices, including in Milwaukee. The agency is proposing to shift operations to Madison as one of six nationwide hubs.

Wisconsin Democratic U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin, who sits on the committee, noted she had written to Schultz about the Milwaukee office closure as Senate Democrats have demanded answers on the reorganization.

Schultz told Baldwin the Milwaukee regional office currently has 43 employees with an annual rent of about $833,000.

“We are proposing to move this to Madison, where we have the existing Forest Products Lab. We think it’s a better location,” Schultz said. “There’s been discussions over the last 10 years to relocate from Milwaukee to Madison because of the dwindling number of employees there, as well as the cost for that facility.”

Union leaders representing Forest Service employees previously told WPR that workers may have to be relocated. They said the office was hit hard by retirements and buyouts last year. The number of Forest Service employees in Wisconsin dropped from 645 to 539 as the Trump administration slashed the federal workforce last year. Nationwide, the agency lost 16 percent of its staff.

Baldwin also questioned the closure’s effects on the Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission, or GLIFWC. The commission represents 11 tribes, including in Wisconsin. The Forest Service and tribes have a memorandum of understanding for collaborating on national forest management, including 1.5 million acres of the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest.

Schultz said the agency would continue to uphold its tribal commitments, but Baldwin seemed skeptical.

“I’d like to get a lot more detail from you on how that restructure is working and how the level of consultation and co-management will continue,” Baldwin said.

Trump seeks deep cuts amid efforts to unify wildland firefighting

Under Trump’s budget proposal, the agency would receive $2.1 billion, down from its current $8.6 billion in funding. The reductions come as the White House is seeking to shift some operations to a federal Wildland Fire Service at the Department of the Interior.

As a result, Forest Service operations would see a roughly 44 percent cut, and funding would drop by nearly 24 percent for the national forest system. The president’s budget would also eliminate all of the agency’s nearly $309 million for research and development, which would affect 1,215 positions.

“The proposed appropriations would drastically reduce staffing to a point that it could undermine basic trust and treaty obligations to GLIFWC member tribes and close coordination— which is vital,” said Jenny Van Sickle, GLIFWC outreach specialist.

Schultz told lawmakers the agency is facing a $3 billion maintenance backlog and can’t afford its current facilities.

“The intent of the reorganization is to maintain the research. It’s to maintain the researchers, but it’s for us to take a hard look at the buildings that we have all across the country,” Schultz said.

As part of restructuring, the agency planned to close research facilities in Wisconsin Rapids and Prairie du Chien. A former Forest Service leader questioned whether those were U.S. Department of Agriculture facilities included by mistake. A research station in Rhinelander, the Forest Products Lab in Madison and Chequamegon-Nicolet district offices will remain open.

Beyond research, Trump’s budget would revive a proposal made last year to eliminate state, private and tribal forestry funding — a loss of $311 million. The money includes grants that provide assistance for states and volunteers to fight wildfires.

“These rural volunteer and career firefighters are already stretched pretty thin, and this budget asks them to continue to risk their lives fighting fires on federal land with no resources to back them up,” Baldwin said.

Schultz said it would fall to the state to provide those funds. Last year, Gov. Tony Evers wrote a letter opposing cuts to Forest Service programs that the state relies on to support its $41.4 billion forest products industry, saying the state receives more than $2 million annually.

The DNR did not immediately provide details on potential effects of reductions, but the agency said last month that cuts to research along with state and tribal grants could harm the state’s work on sustainable forest management.

Forest Service Chief fields questions on Milwaukee office closure, deep budget cuts was originally published by Wisconsin Public Radio.

Manufacturing. (Pixabay license).

Wisconsin lost thousands of manufacturing jobs in 2025, driven in part by an aging workforce and hesitancy to expand hiring in an uncertain economy.

Between January 2025 and January 2026, the state’s manufacturing workforce shrank by about 9,500 jobs, falling from 461,100 workers to 451,600, according to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics compiled by the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. The manufacturing workforce nationally declined by about 91,000 jobs over the same period.

Industry leaders say the job losses were driven more by worker retirements than widespread layoffs, though shifting tariffs and broader economic uncertainty have made some manufacturers more reluctant to hire.

Steve Deller, professor emeritus in the Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, told WPR’s “Wisconsin Today” that the state is still heavily dependent on manufacturing, an industry that “tends to be more sensitive to downward trends in the economy.”

“Some of the leading economic indicators out there that do a really good job of forecasting what’s going to happen to the economy, zero-in on what’s happening to manufacturing,” he said. “And for the Upper Midwest, some of those indicators are kind of looking down, so these employment numbers are not completely surprising.”

The state’s manufacturing workforce generally follows national trends. Both contracted sharply during the 2008 Great Recession and gained ground during the 2010s, according to federal data.

The manufacturing workforce shrank again during the COVID-19 pandemic, before growing steadily until late 2022 in Wisconsin. From April 2020 to October 2022, Wisconsin’s manufacturing workforce grew from 438,900 workers to 484,300, but it has declined steadily since, federal data shows.

Preliminary numbers for March show the state’s manufacturing workforce rebounded slightly, up from 451,800 workers in February to 453,600 workers in March.

Scott Paul, president of the Alliance for American Manufacturing, described the industry as a bit of a “leaky boat” that’s been “slowly losing something.” While he said the economy is not in a recession, he called the wider economic environment “very unstable.”

Throughout 2025, he said manufacturers navigated a host of on-again, off-again tariffs. The Trump administration has framed tariffs as being aimed at bolstering domestic manufacturing.

While Paul said tariffs can benefit manufacturers, he said the rollout over the last year has been far too chaotic.

“I believe that tariffs strategically placed over the long run can have a positive impact if there is certainty to the policy, if they’re applied in a strategic way and if you have other tailwinds behind you as well,” he said. “But really, none of those features have been present over the last 16 or 17 months.”

On top of tariffs, Deller said manufacturers now also face higher oil prices related to the war in Iran, which he said could threaten to further destabilize the economy.

“If you look at the U.S. economy overall, and you look at periods that we’ve gone into economic downturns, a lot of times, that’s predicated by shocks to the energy market,” he said. “This goes back to post-World War II. Whenever we see a real shock to the energy market, that’s a real warning flag.”

Alex Peters, automation engineering manager for Green Bay furniture manufacturer KI, programs a computer on one of the company’s machines. Joe Schulz/WPR

In an unpredictable economic environment, companies have been slow to both hire and lay off workers, said Buckley Brinkman, former chief executive officer of the Wisconsin Center for Manufacturing and Productivity.

“It’s really like trying to run your company with one foot on the gas and one foot on the brake,” he said. “People have opportunities and they want to grow their companies, but the uncertainty in the market and the inability to really have a clear, predictable path forward is making it difficult to hit the accelerator and let off on the brake.”

Both Brinkman and Paul said they believed demographics have played a larger role in the industry’s workforce decline than mass layoffs. The U.S. population is aging and Wisconsin’s is aging even faster.

As older workers leave the workforce, companies may not be replacing them right away. Instead, they are opting to get more work out of their remaining workers, to increase automation, to look for additional efficiencies or some combination of all three, Paul said.

“There still is, paradoxically, this need to bring new workers on and have some skill development through technical schools or community colleges,” Paul said. “Because there is going to be this big demographically-caused exit from manufacturing that’s going to continue and only accelerate.”

Wisconsin lost thousands of manufacturing jobs in 2025 was originally published by Wisconsin Public Radio.

Sharon Brown, a volunteer poll worker, center, helps Iyana Simpson, 21, right, prepare to vote for her first time during Election Day on Nov. 5, 2024, at the Clinton & Bernice Rose Senior Center in Milwaukee. (Joe Timmerman / Wisconsin Watch)

Wisconsin will likely face limited immediate impact at both the legislative and congressional level from the U.S. Supreme Court ruling that narrowed how the Voting Rights Act can be used to challenge political maps. But it may make it easier for people to challenge school board and city council maps in court.

The ruling in Louisiana v. Callais raises the bar for voting rights challenges by requiring stronger evidence that race, rather than political considerations, drove how districts were drawn, and making it easier for states to defend maps on nonracial grounds.

Dan Lennington, the managing vice president and deputy counsel at the conservative Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty, said the boundaries that could be most easily struck down as a result of the Wednesday ruling are those that were drawn explicitly for racial reasons. Some examples, he said, are the boundaries for Milwaukee city council districts and certain school districts.

Race is a common factor in drawing Milwaukee city council districts, though campaigns to add additional majority-minority districts haven’t always succeeded.

For example, departing Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett in December 2021 vetoed a proposed city council map because it didn’t include a third Latino-majority district, only for Mayor Cavalier Johnson to sign that same map several weeks later.

Lennington also pointed to state laws that use race as a factor to determine school district boundaries. One of those laws explicitly mentions “racial composition of the pupils” as a factor for drawing boundaries — a law that he said is now implicated by the Callais decision.

“If a plaintiff comes to us and says that they live in a district that’s been racially gerrymandered, we would take a very close look at that case,” he said.

Less likely impact on legislative and congressional level

There likely won’t be much impact in Wisconsin at the congressional district level because there’s just one majority-minority district in the state, UW-Madison political science professor Barry Burden said ahead of the ruling. The 4th Congressional District, represented by Rep. Gwen Moore, D-Milwaukee, comprises much of Milwaukee and the surrounding suburbs in Milwaukee County.

Even if Section 2 of the VRA did not apply, he said, the district would likely stay much the same given the general principle of keeping communities intact.

A decision like the one handed down, he said, “would open the door if line drawers wanted to break up that county or city in some way, but I think it would probably be challenged on other grounds.”

Challenges to Wisconsin’s congressional maps have often had more to do with partisan than racial line-drawing. Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Gov. Tony Evers, a Democrat, said he wasn’t surprised by the federal decision but reiterated his call for new congressional maps, which he said unfairly gave Republicans a 6-2 seat advantage in a swing state.

But two recent court decisions in Wisconsin rejected challenges to the state’s congressional maps on the basis that they constitute an unconstitutional “anti-competitive” gerrymander. Those rulings focused not on race, but on whether courts can take up claims based on partisan advantage.

Doug Poland, co-founder of the liberal law firm Law Forward, said this ruling could empower lawmakers to pursue partisan goals while making racial challenges harder to prove.

But because of Wisconsin’s demographics — a largely white state, with the most significant minority populations concentrated around the Milwaukee area — the state has run into Section 2 challenges far less often than southern states, he said.

“As a practical matter, this decision doesn’t have a big impact on Wisconsin at the moment,” he said. “That could change.”

There’s more at play among state legislative districts, Burden said. The state has nine majority-minority legislative districts, where a single minority group makes up over half of the population: seven in the Assembly and two in the Senate. Two other districts — one in each chamber — are minority influence districts, where combined minority populations make up a majority.

Democrats in Wisconsin have generally steered clear of breaking up minority districts to avoid violating the VRA, Burden said, but packing minority voters in one district sometimes costs them adjacent districts where they might have been competitive if the minority population was more evenly distributed. For that reason, there’s a history of Republicans supporting majority-minority districts in the state.

The issue has been a factor in recent redistricting fights. In March 2022, the Wisconsin Supreme Court initially selected Evers’ legislative maps, which created an additional majority-Black Assembly district.

But while Evers argued this addition was necessary to comply with the Voting Rights Act, it drew criticism from both sides of the aisle. A Black Democratic legislator criticized the move as diluting Black voices, while Republicans appealed the maps to the U.S. Supreme Court, which sided with the GOP and ordered the Wisconsin Supreme Court to select a different map.

If any of the districts are found to be out of compliance with the U.S. Constitution under the ruling via some additional challenge, Burden said, Wisconsin may draw new districts sooner than later.

“I don’t know who that advantages,” he said. “It probably depends who’s drawing the lines.”

Lennington also pointed out President Donald Trump’s success with Black and Latino voters relative to past GOP candidates, adding that splitting majority-minority legislative districts wouldn’t necessarily give either party an advantage here.

What he did predict, though, is that splitting such districts “might polarize us even more” if they were replaced with districts drawn on partisan as opposed to racial lines.

“It just might make the red more red and the blue more blue,” he said.

Alexander Shur is a reporter for Votebeat based in Wisconsin. Contact Shur at ashur@votebeat.org.

Votebeat is a nonprofit news organization reporting on voting access and election administration across the U.S. Sign up for Votebeat Wisconsin’s free newsletter here.

This article first appeared on Wisconsin Watch and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Interstate 43 freeway along the west side of downtown Milwaukee. Photo by Jeramey Jannene.

Every day at The Overhead Wire we sort through over 1,500 news items about cities and share the best ones with our email list. Each week, we take some of the most popular stories and share them with Urban Milwaukee readers. They are national (or international) links, sometimes entertaining and sometimes absurd, but hopefully useful.

More states passing VMT mitigation measures: A new report from Brookings looks at four states that have taken measures to reduce vehicle miles traveled (VMT) in order to reduce the myriad impacts of driving. The authors believe this year’s elections where new governors and local officials will come into office could be a turning point for transportation policies such as these and the number of states passing VMT mitigation measures could expand beyond the initial group. (Riley Sandhop, Ben Swedberg, Adie Tomer | Brookings)

Why does inflation feel worse than reported?: To many low and middle income people, inflation feels far worse than the data show. Aris Benakli and Sophie Bandarkar believe that’s in part because inflation is measured in a way that leaves out the consumers that are likely to be impacted the most by cost increases while circularly impacting their rising costs. Specifically, lower income households feel the impact because the “basket of goods” used to set the measure is more impacted by the spending of wealthy people. (Aris Benakli and Sophie Bandarkar | Slate)

Weekend transit service impacting weekday ridership: Mark Brown argues that bad weekend transit schedules are reducing ridership during the week as more people will drive when they don’t have access to destinations seven days a week. Transit systems often make the choice to reduce headways because there’s lower ridership on weekends, but that also could lead people to stop taking transit all together or possibly even buy another car, diminishing potential ridership even more. (Mark Brown | Car Free America)

How cities lost the economic development plot: More big businesses are dominating urban economies as the medium and small business that create new jobs have been edged out. But even as less businesses are created, cities are continuing to focus on economic development strategies that benefit a limited number of big businesses through tax breaks and economic incentives. A better solution would be investing again in the ecosystem of small and medium size businesses that contribute to longer term regional gains. (Daniel Wortel London and Lisa Chamberlain | Common Edge)

Isolation by roads tied to schizophrenia: New research from Brown and Columbia Universities found that isolation due to road infrastructure and traffic patterns increased the likelihood of mental health diagnosis such as schizophrenia. Using zip code level data the researchers were able to tie hospital visits for mental health and community isolation measured through a Community Severance Index that measures lack of pedestrian infrastructure and road barriers. (Corrie Pikul | Brown University)

Quote of the Week

Any time anyone has a collision with a deer or moose and an insurance claim is filed, a data point is collected, but nobody files an insurance claim when they hit a frog.

–Greg LeClair, a municipal planning biologist for the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, in Grist discussing the importance of Maine Big Night which seeks to save amphibians from getting run over by cars during their annual migration.

This week on the Talking Headways podcast, we’re joined by Tom Flood, Grant Ennis, and Brent Toderian to discuss their new communications project, The Urban Truth Collective.  We discuss pushing back on falsehoods and conspiracies through positive messaging around cities.

A OnePillKills billboard is on display next to I-94 near the intersection of South Fourth and West Becher streets in Milwaukee. (Photo by Jonathan Aguilar / Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service / CatchLight Local)

Isaac Solis knows all too well how taking a pill bought off the street can lead to tragedy.

His son Isaac Solis Jr., known as “Bubba,” died in 2019 after taking what he thought was the prescription drug Percocet.

Instead, it was a counterfeit pill laced with fentanyl, a synthetic opioid that can kill in trace amounts

Isaac Solis’ son Bubba died in 2019 after taking a fake Percocet laced with fentanyl. (Photo provided by Isaac Solis)

Since then, he’s been on a mission to help prevent others from losing loved ones through his “One Pill Kills” awareness campaign.

His message is being amplified in time for Fentanyl Awareness Day, observed nationally on April 29, through three billboards that feature his son. The billboards direct residents to the 1pillkills.org website and social media pages, and include the message: Together We Will Save Lives.

“It’s about spreading awareness obviously that even one pill can kill you, one line can kill you,” Solis said. “If one family sees it and reaches out to their loved one and one life is saved, that’s our goal.”

Two of the billboards can be seen off of Interstate 94 near West Becher and South Fourth streets, and the other is a north/south display on South 27th Street and West Morgan Avenue. The billboard near West Becher will be up for eight weeks and the one on West Morgan for four.

Solis’s campaign has utilized several billboards over the years to increase community awareness on fentanyl.

The message on the first billboard, he said, was very aggressive.

“Our grief was a bit more raw at that time,” Solis said.

Another billboard featured photos of individuals who lost their lives to fentanyl.

“Eight families put their angels up there,” he said.

Drop in overdose deaths

Fentanyl has fueled the opioid epidemic nationally and a rise in overdose deaths.

The drug had devastating impacts on Milwaukee County, which experienced multiple years of record high drug overdose deaths in the 2010s and 2020s. Those totals peaked at 674 in 2022 and 667 in 2023, according to data from the Milwaukee County Overdose Dashboard. Most of the deaths were caused by fentanyl alone or in combination with other substances.

Since then, the number of fatal overdoses has fallen. Last year 387 died, with 236 of those cases involving fentanyl.

County Executive David Crowley credits increased funding for opioid prevention and collaboration for the decrease.

“Thanks to the investment of opioid settlement dollars, increased access to free harm reduction supplies, and efforts to eliminate the stigma surrounding substance use disorder, fewer people are dying of overdose, which means more opportunities for treatment, recovery and a path forward,” Crowley said in a statement.

Fentanyl still a major problem

A OnePillKills billboard is on display next to I-94 near the intersection of South 4th and West Becher streets. (Photo by Jonathan Aguilar / Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service / CatchLight Local)

While Solis said the drop in fatal overdoses is great, it’s also concerning.

“The troublesome part is we don’t know what amount of people are addicted to fentanyl and using it daily,” he said. “There’s a lot of work to do.The closer we get to zero deaths, the better.”

He said fentanyl products continue to evolve and get more potent, and that it can be in powder or liquid form, and even in vapes.

“It can be hidden in something but you can have no idea what,” Solis said. “There’s always a threat of it being in any type of drug.”

Working together

Like Crowley, Solis credits collaboration for the progress made in addressing the opioid epidemic. He partners regularly with Team HAVOC, a grassroots South Side group.

Rafael Mercado, founder of Team HAVOC, said Solis’ story and “One Pill Kills” message is having an impact.

“He does a lot to bring awareness by way of billboards, social media and pop-ups,” Mercado said. “He has lost a son to this, so he knows firsthand the pain and suffering a family goes through and the ripple effect of addiction on a family.”

Solis also partners with Samad’s House, a Milwaukee-based sober living home and behavioral health clinic dedicated to supporting women. He said he’s working with Tahira Malik, founder and chief operating officer  of Samad’s House, to help organize a Walk for Lives event on July 11. Walk for Lives is a nationwide movement to raise awareness about those who died from fentanyl.

Solis said he wishes he could do even more but knows that ending the fentanyl crisis won’t happen quickly.

“The problem didn’t happen overnight,” he said. “It’s not gonna be any one group, not any one solution. Together we will save lives.”

Isaac “Bubba” Solis Jr., who died in 2019, had a passion for working on cars. Photo provided by family/NNS.

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.

Torzala Brewing Co. anniversary flyer. Image courtesy of Torzala Brewing Co.

An Olympic cycle, a college education, a presidential term — and Torzala Brewing Co.‘s tenure. The Harbor District brewery will mark its quadrennial anniversary later this month with a family-friendly street party featuring live music, vendors and Doh’p pizza.

The outdoor event will take place from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. at Harbor View Plaza, 600 E. Greenfield Ave. — just over a mile north of Torzala’s taproom at Lincoln Warehouse, where it operates alongside fellow alcohol producers including Component Brewing Company, New Barons Brewing Cooperative and Twisted Path Distillery.

Attendees can also expect art vendors, desserts and live performances from Happy Shotski Polka Combo and Leah Jee.

Opened in 2021 under Trish Torzala, Jeff Torzala, Jake Palubicki, Renee Martinez and Brian Michalak, the nanobrewery is known for its thoughtful flagship beers — many inspired by or created in homage to historical events.

That includes Brew 42, a nod to former Wisconsin Badger and Green Bay Packers player Gary Ellerson, and Jones Island, a perennial favorite at the brewery’s self-proclaimed “world’s smallest beer festival,” held at Kaszube’s Park on its namesake Jones Island.

Torzala’s taproom is open Wednesdays from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m., Fridays from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m., Saturdays from 3 p.m. to 10 p.m. and Sundays from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m.

Good City Became Wayfinder, Now Becoming Event Space

Just over a year after opening in the former Good City Brewing space at 2108 N. Farwell Ave., Wayfinder will host its final restaurant service this weekend as the business transitions to an events-focused model.

A co-located tiki bar, The Rooftop, will remain public-facing.

Owners Mike and Joan Doble announced the shift in an online post Wednesday, expressing gratitude for customers’ “support, kind words and repeat visits” during Wayfinder‘s tenure.

“Over the past year, we’ve been incredibly proud to serve you—creating dishes we love and building a team that means the world to us,” the couple shared in a statement. “We’ve built a strong events business over the years, and we believe this space is a perfect fit for what’s next.”

Read the full article

Food Truck Operators Rally at City Hall

More than a dozen food truck operators and their supporters gathered at Milwaukee City Hall Thursday morning to put the brakes on new late-night restrictions they said would “devastate” business.

Attendees carried signs with messages such as “food trucks cause no harm” and “save the food trucks,” opposing a new ordinance slashing hours for mobile restaurants in sections of downtown and Burnham Park.

Starting May 9, trucks on Water Street and surrounding blocks will have to close by 10 p.m., down from the previous 1 a.m. cutoff. On a stretch of Burnham Street, operators must close by 11 p.m.

The change, supported by the Milwaukee Police Department, Milwaukee Downtown, Business Improvement District No. 21, and the Milwaukee School of Engineering, is intended to address late-night loitering and violence in the downtown entertainment district, according to city officials. But operators took issue with both the restrictions and how they were introduced.

Read the full article

Dinner Series Highlights Immigrant Chefs

Amilinda, typically closed on Tuesdays, hosted 16 diners for a family-style meal this week. Couples caught up and strangers formed friendships over heaping platters of noodles, salad and chicken quarters topped with crisp, raw onions and cilantro — Burmese dishes prepared by Chef Abdul and his wife, Zinath.

For safety and privacy reasons, they requested that their full names not be used.

The couple, parents of five children who came to the United States from Myanmar in 2015, have become regulars at Tables Across Borders, an annual dinner series that spotlights refugee and immigrant chefs. The program gives participants free rein of a restaurant kitchen and a platform to share food, stories and culture from their home countries.

Now in its seventh year, Tables Across Borders will take place in four installments: two in Amilinda’s homey downtown dining room, 315 E. Wisconsin Ave., and two at Tricklebee Cafe, 4424 W. North Ave.

Read the full article

Milwaukee Takes First Step Toward Fencing Off Bar District

Read the full article

Centro Cafe is Permanently Closed

Centro Cafe, a longstanding Riverwest destination for housemade pasta and craft cocktails, is permanently closed.

The restaurant’s voicemail greeting confirms its shutdown, stating, “Pat and Peg are saddened to say that they have permanently closed Centro Cafe. Thank you for 17 years of magic.”

A handwritten note posted at the restaurant’s  entrance offers the same message

Owners Peg Karpfinger and Pat Moore opened the business at 808 E. Center St. in 2009, filling the quaint brick building with cozy dining nooks, twinkling lights and terrazzo floors.

Read the full article

Acai Cafe Plans Expansion to Marquette Campus

Oakberry, a cafe chain specializing in açaí-based bowls and smoothies, plans to grow its Milwaukee footprint with a new location at 1528 W. Wells St.

The shop has filed a series of permits for the Marquette University-owned building, where it would fill a ground-level storefront next door to Jimmy John’s. Student apartments occupy the building’s upper floors.

Founded in 2016 with a flagship location in Brazil, Oakberry has since gained momentum as a global brand with more than 900 stores across 42 countries.

The chain’s first Wisconsin storefront opened in Bay View in May 2025 under Tyler Schmitz, who will also lead the upcoming location.

Read the full article

Saffron Unveils Annual Menu Refresh

Bouncy pop music and the buzz of conversation filled the low-lit dining room at Saffron on Monday evening as servers ferried platters of prawns, dumplings and bao from table to table.

It was a typical dinner service at the modern Indian restaurant at 223 N. Water St. with one key difference: Saffron had swapped its regular menu for a list of nearly two dozen new dishes.

The preview event offered a first taste of the restaurant’s annual menu refresh, which debuted Tuesday with a mix of returning favorites and new additions.

Seasonal darlings such as morels and soft-shell crab appear on the revamped menu, with mushrooms suspended in a rich cardamom sauce alongside sweet potato dumplings and soft-shell crab deep-fried in seasoned chickpea batter.

Read the full article

Downtown Food Truck Operators Balk at New Curfew

Read the full article

Bay View’s Chettinadu House Is a Winner

Sadly, Milwaukee will lose the Walker’s Point restaurant Ruta’s Fresh Indian Fare at the end of April, but nearby in Bay View, we have Chettinadu House, an Indian restaurant that recently opened on South Kinnickinnic Avenue. While Ruta’s was small and intimate, Chettinadu House occupies a much larger space in the former Sabor Tropical that closed in 2025. However, a note to the owners of Chettinadu House: It is time to change the prominent signage on the restaurant that still reads Sabor.

We learned from our server that the owners closed a restaurant in Madison called Thalaivas Indian Cuisine and brought the same menu to Milwaukee — literally, the same cuisine and same physical menu that has the old name on the front of it. Our server said the name means “boss.”

It’s a lengthy one. I counted 16 pages with soup, appetizers, noodles, non-veg curries, thali, vegetable curries, biryani, South Indian, parotta, Chinese, dosa, tandoori, bread, drinks, desserts and a kids section.

It’s hard to know where to start when presented with such an immense menu. My companion and I stayed close to the familiar and ordered butter chicken masala from the non-vegetarian curries and vegetarian korma, another curry. We followed our server’s recommendation and ordered medium heat, a wise suggestion, as both dishes left a happy glow — enough heat, but not too much.

Read the full article

Brim Cafe & Catering Opens on Lincoln Avenue

Though it sits in the shadow of Basilica of St. Josaphat, Brim Cafe & Catering brings its own shine to the block.

Natural light floods into the freshly renovated storefront through a wall of windows, illuminating a spacious seating area, countertop bakery case and digital menu boards at the cafe, which began its soft opening Thursday at 622 W. Lincoln Ave.

The new location is the latest for the 12-year-old company, which also operates at Honey Creek Corporate Center, 330 Eats and the Rivercenter Building at Schlitz Park.

Similar to its existing locations, Brim’s Lincoln Village menu offers a blend of Mediterranean-inspired and American food, with options including chicken shawarma with pomegranate glaze and garlicky toum; a brisket burger topped with caramelized onions, beef bacon and a fried egg; and a Sicilian muffaletta with imported pistachio mortadella, soppressata, salami, arugula and tomato on a sesame roll.

Read the full article

Bay View High School, MPS Unveil Student-Run Food Truck

Cheers rose from a crowd gathered at Bay View High School Thursday afternoon as students pulled down a black sheet to reveal a new student-led food truck.

The mobile restaurant, 414 ATE, will be managed by students under the direction of culinary arts teacher Ann Marie Sims. It is set to hit the streets later this year, aiming to provide summer employment for students while also helping them build career-ready skills in culinary arts, entrepreneurship, accounting and technology.

“This is what happens when an educator, some kids that don’t say no, an administration that stands up to support us and some wonderful minds come together,” Sims said. “We end up here with a food truck.”

The industry-grade truck was parked on the football field for its reveal and ribbon-cutting ceremony, which opened with performances from the school’s drumline, step team and cheerleading squad. Dozens of students who collaborated to create — and will soon manage — the business were also in attendance.

Read the full article

The sun shines on Bascom Hill on Friday, Oct. 22, 2021, at UW-Madison in Madison, Wis. Angela Major/WPR

The University of Wisconsin-Madison says it contributed billions in statewide economic impact last fiscal year.

That’s according to a new analysis that was released by the university and completed by the consulting firm Tripp Umbach.

The report’s total includes $13.2 billion in estimated impact from UW-Madison, the flagship campus of the Universities of Wisconsin.

The report also encompasses $13.3 billion in impact from affiliated organizations including the UW Health system and UW research institutions.

And the tally includes $12.4 billion from hundreds of what the report refers to as “spinoff companies.” Those “startup companies (are) rooted in UW–Madison research,” the report says.

Included in that list of companies was Exact Sciences, the Madison-based health care diagnostics company. Exact Sciences generated roughly $3.25 billion in annual revenue and employed nearly 6,900 people in 2025, according to the report.

Kathleen Gallagher is executive director of the 5 Lakes Institute, a Milwaukee-based nonprofit that’s focused on regional economic development.

She acknowledged that “UW-Madison is incredibly important to the state, and is by far the biggest research university in Wisconsin.”

But she took issue with some of the report’s methodology in calculating the university’s total economic impact.

“It’s a stretch to even suggest that Exact Sciences is a spinoff company (of UW-Madison),” Gallagher said of one of the report’s sections. “That was a publicly traded company in Boston that Kevin Conroy and Maneesh Arora moved to Madison.”

In a statement, a UW-Madison spokesperson said that when Conroy, the Exact Sciences CEO, relocated the company to Madison from Massachusetts, that decision was “deeply connected to Madison’s life sciences ecosystem.”

“Conroy has cited UW–Madison’s top-ranked biochemistry program and the ability to recruit Ph.D.-level scientists as the primary reasons for the relocation,” UW-Madison spokesperson Rodee Schneider said in a statement.

Schneider also pointed to an article in which Conroy said research from a UW-Madison professor played a role in developing Cologuard, a test from Exact Sciences that’s used to detect colorectal cancer.

In calculating economic impact, the consultants looked at the university’s spending on operations as well as spending by students, faculty and staff and by visitors to the university. They also considered how much UW-Madison and its affiliates generated in local and state tax revenue. Additionally, the total impact includes full and-part time jobs at UW-Madison, along with “indirect” jobs, including people who work for a supply chain connected to the university.

The report’s release comes as the Trump administration is cutting federal research funding to universities and other institutions. It follows years of debate about how much funding state lawmakers should allocate to the state’s public university system.

In fiscal year 2025, UW-Madison got $609.4 million in revenue from the state.

“This net-positive return demonstrates that UW–Madison not only pays for its public investment but also significantly amplifies it, strengthening Wisconsin’s long-term economic resilience,” the report says.

Craig Thompson, UW-Madison’s vice chancellor of university relations, says the report shows that there’s a “great return on that investment” of tax dollars into UW-Madison.

“The economic impact that we had studied here really is substantial no matter where you live in the state,” he said.

The report was paid for by the Wisconsin Foundation & Alumni Association, a nonprofit that fundraises on behalf of UW-Madison.

Foundation spokesperson Tod Pritchard said the group was “pleased to support this work with private funds,” but declined to say how much the report cost.

Editor’s note: Wisconsin Public Radio is a service of the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the Wisconsin Educational Communications Board.

UW-Madison says it generated billions for state’s economy last year was originally published by Wisconsin Public Radio.

1. Centro Cafe is Permanently Closed

Riverwest restaurant is no more, but adjacent bar will continue.

Apr 28th, 2026 by Sophie Bolich

2. Murphy’s Law: Jessica McBride Dumps on Dan Bice

Don’t speak ill of the dead? Not exactly.

Apr 27th, 2026 by Bruce Murphy

3. MMSD Operator Causing Larger Sewage Overflow, More Pollution, Coalition Charges

Veolia is alleged to be putting off maintenance and running the system under capacity, raising risk of overflows.

Apr 30th, 2026 by Graham Kilmer

4. MKE County: Crowley Chief Tells Mental Health Board to Get in Line or Resign

Crowley administration shuts down questions about BHS director Mike Lappen’s resignation.

Apr 25th, 2026 by Graham Kilmer

5. Dining: Bay View’s Chettinadu House Is a Winner

Tasty Indian food and an impressive if endless menu.

Apr 26th, 2026 by Cari Taylor-Carlson

6. Police Department Claims To Be Planning Mass Arrests at Street Takeovers

MPD makes jokes, and possibly an example, out of ringleader it arrested.

May 1st, 2026 by Jeramey Jannene

7. Murphy’s Law: The Inside Story of Democratic Race for Governor

Was a white centrist male candidate seen as the solution?

Apr 30th, 2026 by Bruce Murphy

8. Transportation: See Design Concepts for 30th Street Corridor Trail

New trail could connect north side neighborhoods to larger network of trails in Milwaukee County.

Apr 30th, 2026 by Graham Kilmer

9. See Costs, New Details For 794 Replacement Options

Boulevard option could produce $16 million in annual property tax revenue.

May 1st, 2026 by Jeramey Jannene

10. Madison Told To Reject 23 Ballots, Mequon Voters Win A Recount

State elections panel launches investigations and braces for lawsuits ahead of May 15 certification deadline.

May 1st, 2026 by Alexander Shur

Press Releases

Most popular press releases in the past week.

1. Democratic Gubernatorial Frontrunner Francesca Hong to Headline Rally in Milwaukee’s Riverwest Neighborhood

 

Apr 29th, 2026 by Francesca Hong

2. Watch: Baldwin Slams Trump Admin Plan to Dismantle the Dept. of Education, Undermine Students and Local Schools

Baldwin pushed Sec. McMahon on Trump’s budget that cuts $6 billion from K-12 public schools, $105 million from Wisconsin schools

Apr 28th, 2026 by U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin

3. Peter Burgelis Announces Congressional Campaign on Upfront

Peter Burgelis has launched his campaign for Congress in Wisconsin’s 1st District, focused on lowering costs and accountability in Wisconsin.

Apr 26th, 2026 by Ald. Peter Burgelis

4. MacGillis Law Group Wins $5.5 Million Verdict Against Menard, Inc. — Largest Reported Forklift Verdict Against Menards in Wisconsin

 

Apr 24th, 2026 by MacGillis Law Group, LLC

5. Southeast Wisconsin Deserves Better: Out-of-District Milwaukee Politician Peter Burgelis Launches Long-Shot Bid Against Congressman Bryan Steil

 

Apr 26th, 2026 by Republican Party of Wisconsin

6. Milwaukee Police Seek Suspects in Fatal Shooting of 18-Year-Old on W. Fond du Lac Ave.

 

Apr 29th, 2026 by Milwaukee Police Department

7. Whitnall Beer Garden Opens April 29th With Celebratory Free Beer and Root Beer

 

Apr 27th, 2026 by Milwaukee County Parks

8. Upcoming 54-Hour Closure of Southbound Collector-Distributor Lanes in the Mitchell Interchange

 

Apr 29th, 2026 by Wisconsin Department of Transportation

9. Congresswoman Gwen Moore Statement Following Visit to See Salah Sarsour

 

Apr 25th, 2026 by U.S. Rep. Gwen Moore

10. Tiffany Calls on Hong to Explain Donation to Bangstad Campaign

 

Apr 27th, 2026 by Tom Tiffany

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.

Urban Milwaukee

You’re reading a weekly rundown of all of our short-format ‘bulletins.’ The members-only content allows us to provide additional news and analysis on topics we haven’t written full articles about.

Committee Moves to Suspend Lush Social Lounge [Reporting Update]

Lush Social Lounge, 5938 N. 76th St., is facing a 20-day suspension after the Licenses Committee raised concerns tied to a police report and other issues at the business.

During an April 28 renewal hearing, area Alderman Mark Chambers Jr. said he’s had “extensive conversations” with licensee Givionte Mull regarding loitering, management and police activity.

Chambers said he finds the business “unacceptable currently,” but added he’s “optimistic” Mull will make improvements. “He knows what he needs to do and he knows what we spoke about,” the alderman said.

Mull has already made several operational changes, including increasing garbage collection and adding a larger trash receptacle to prevent overflow and rodents. He also co-hosted a community meeting with Chambers in late April.

After hearing testimony from Chambers, Mull and two neighbors, Alderwoman Andrea Pratt moved to renew the license with a 20-day suspension and deny Mull’s request to extend hours from 10 p.m. to midnight. There were no objections.

The Milwaukee Common Council will take a final vote on the matter May 12.

– Sophie Bolich, May 1 5:11 pm

More: Read our past coverage

The Waxwing Will Reopen on East Side [Short Take]

The Waxwing will return to a brick-and-mortar space.

Owner Steph Davies announced that the handmade home goods store will open a new storefront at 2201 N. Farwell Ave.

Davies opened the business in Shorewood in 2012 and relocated to a larger space at 1800 E. North Ave. in 2015. But the store closed amid the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020 and never reopened. Davies relocated to a studio in the arts-focused The Factory, 1223 S. 23rd St., building and sold mostly virtually.

But now she’s bringing the store back to the East Side.

The new Waxwing space was most recently occupied by James May Gallery.

– Jeramey Jannene, May 1 3:16 pm

Third Ward Beer Garden Opens Friday [Short Take]

Beer is back at Catalano Square.

The Third Ward Beer Garden will kick off its 2026 season May 1 at 3 p.m., serving local craft and imported beer, along with wine, canned cocktails and nonalcoholic beverages.

Opening day will include a 5 p.m. keg tapping followed by free beer while supplies last. Local singer-songwriter Ben Harold is scheduled to perform from 5 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

Throughout the season, the beer garden will host regular programming including weekly music bingo, acoustic musicians and DJs. A full schedule is available online.

A portion of proceeds will benefit the Historic Third Ward Association and BID #2, supporting ongoing maintenance, programming and improvements at Catalano Square and in the surrounding neighborhood.

The beer garden will be open Wednesday and Thursday from 3 to 8 p.m., Friday from 3 to 9 p.m., Saturday from noon to 9 p.m. and Sunday from noon to 5 p.m. Live music is scheduled from 5 to 8:30 p.m. Thursday and Friday and from 3 to 6:30 p.m. Saturday.

– Sophie Bolich, May 1 10:49 am

Another Bridge Closure Announced [Short Take]

Clybourn Street Bridge. Photo by Jeramey Jannene.

Milwaukee is among the national leaders in the number of movable bridges in its inventory. And that, unfortunately, means more frequent bridge repairs.

Starting May 4, the Clybourn Street Bridge over the Milwaukee River will close for “10-12 weeks,” according to an announcement from the Department of Public Works.

Work is being to done “replace a cable that supports the movable operations of the bridge.”

Detours around the one-way, westbound bridge can be accomplished via the St. Paul Avenue and Michigan Street bridges.

– Jeramey Jannene, May 1 10:09 am

Southside Wendy’s Quietly Closes [Short Take]

580 W. Layton Ave. Photo by Jeramey Jannene.

Where’s the beef? Not on Layton Avenue.

The Wendy’s restaurant at 580 W. Layton Ave. closed its doors at the end of January.

The restaurant was owned and operated by Bridgeman Foods.

The closure occurred at the same time as a Burger King restaurant down the street.

The 0.65-acre Wendy’s property is owned by the Angie Eun Jo Revocable Living Trust, which is registered in California.

The store was built in 2005.

Bridgeman, long led by former Milwaukee Bucks forward Junior Bridgeman, has closed multiple Milwaukee restaurants in recent years. The company shuttered its N. 27th Street in 2024.

– Jeramey Jannene, April 30 8:55 am

Scooter Operator Quietly Exits Milwaukee [Reporting Update]

Lime has long dominated Milwaukee’s dockless scooter market.

But at the moment, it has no competition.

Spin was approved alongside Lime to operate in the city when the scooter program was made permanent in 2024. But the company isn’t returning in 2026.

Its contract expires on May 16, according to statements by Michael Amsden and Zac Roder to the Public Works Committee Wednesday. Amsden leads the city’s multi-modal planning team. Roder is a senior transportation planner.

The city would be able to solicit a new operator when the contract expires.

Spin is owned by Ford. The company did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

As of October 2024, Lime represented 90% of all scooters in Milwaukee.

– Jeramey Jannene, April 29 1:07 pm

More: See our coverage of the 2025 record-breaking scooter season

Hundred Acre Launches Herb-Infused Sauces [Reporting Update]

A new line of basil-based sauces from Hundred Acre is rolling out across the state.

Green goddess dressing and basil lemon vinaigrette, made with the company’s hydroponic basil, will be available at local retailers, including Metro Market, Outpost Natural Foods, Go Grocer MKE and Pick ‘n Save.

Several additional flavors are set to debut later this month, at which point Hundred Acre plans to launch an online store with shipping service.

For now, customers can view Hundred Acre’s online store locator for a list of Wisconsin outlets.

– Sophie Bolich, April 28 9:56 am

More: Read our past coverage

The Argo Seeks Investors Through Fund Milwaukee [Short Take]

The Argo, the new concert venue located in the former Fox Bay Theater, is seeking to raise up to $400,000 through Fund Milwaukee.

The venue opened last December at 334 E. Silver Spring Dr. in Whitefish Bay.

According to a Fund Milwaukee meeting announcement, the offering initially included 300 Class A units, structured to provide investors with a 30% long-term profit share, and has since been largely subscribed with approximately 40 units remaining. Each unit is priced at $10,000, with a minimum investment of one unit. Investors are entitled to a 10% cumulative, non-compounding preferred return on unreturned capital. Once that preferred return is satisfied, all remaining available cash is directed toward returning investors’ initial capital. After full capital repayment, the structure shifts to a permanent profit split in which investors receive 30% and managers retain 70%. The investment is targeting a 14% annualized return under its base-case projections.

The Argo pitches itself as three venues under one roof – the 700-person venue, a lounge and a ballroom that seats 130.

A pitch meeting is scheduled to take place May 20 at the venue. More details are available on the event signup form (password FUNDMKE). A full pitch deck is posted online.

– Jeramey Jannene, April 28 9:27 am

DPW Details Its Pothole Strategy, Will It Help? [Short Take]

Pothole on E. Manitoba Street. Photo by Jeramey Jannene.

It doesn’t take long to know Milwaukee’s streets are in rough shape. Residents are reporting a surge in potholes. How is the Department of Public Works responding?

Street services manager Tom Wangerin detailed the city’s strategy in a Friday evening email to council members.

DPW-Street Maintenance has experienced an elevated volume of Service Requests this year, which was further elevated in the aftermath of last week’s weather events. Every district has been affected, and our staff continues to receive new reports daily. To ensure requests are triaged to the most urgent need, Street Maintenance is leveraging our request platform to identify request concentrations across principal arterial streets and focusing on the most significant hazards as observed by inspection or as otherwise reported

Requests on these higher-speed, higher-volume corridors are currently being prioritized above lower-volume local streets because defects on these roads create disproportionately greater risk to all modes of traffic. As a result, response times on other street classifications will expectedly increase. The requests in these segments remain in our service queue and will be scheduled once the priority hazards are addressed and capacity allows. They are not being removed or permanently deprioritized.

Our staff has been (and will continue) working extended weekday shifts to address this citywide issue. With our plant now producing hot mix on Saturdays, tomorrow will mark the start of our regularly scheduled eight-hour Saturday operations.

To further address the elevated and widespread backlog, we have coordinated with Operations leadership and other Infrastructure work units to assemble a significant pool of support staff for overtime activities. This expanded effort will continue regularly for the foreseeable future.

Constituents should continue to report potholes through the standard channels to ensure we have the necessary information to address either arterial hazards now or to perform residential maintenance thereafter. We appreciate Council’s partnership as we work through this elevated backlog in an effort to work back to our normal operation.

Potholes can be reported by calling 414-286-2489, submitting an online service request or (easiest way) using the MKE Mobile Action app.

A press conference is scheduled for Tuesday for the Milwaukee Brewers and DPW to unveil their pothole-filling partnership.

– Jeramey Jannene, April 25 6:32 am

Ascension Columbia St. Mary’s Hospital. Photo by Jeramey Jannene.

The issue of the day is affordability. Both parties seem to agree on that, while younger generations of Americans complain that things taken for granted by older generations are unaffordable to them. It is surprising, therefore, that Republican members of Congress seem intent on making health care unaffordable to more people.

Between 2020 and 2025, average premiums on the Affordable Care Act marketplace grew at the rate of 2% per year. This rate of growth was much lower than the 4.5% growth of employer premiums or 6.3% in national health expenditures. It was also much less than the rate of inflation. Why was the rate of growth so low?

Part of the explanation seems to be the structure of the marketplace. Government subsidies to plans on the marketplace are set to the second-lowest-cost plan. Plans costing significantly more than this amount are likely to get very low market share. Thus, there is a major incentive to drive down the price of each plan’s premium.

In addition, enrollment has grown in recent years, broadening the risk pool.

But in 2026, the story dramatically changed. Rather than an annual increase averaging 2%, the average premium price jumped to more than 20%. The next graph shows the distribution of proposed 2026 rate changes among 312 ACA marketplace insurers across the nation. This is based on analysis by KFF (formerly the Kaiser Family Foundation).

Distribution of proposed 2026 rate changes among 312 ACA Marketplace insurers

The next chart shows the magnitude of the jump in premium cost. Annual growth rates for 2020-25 are shown in green and those for 2025-26 are shown in yellow. Average U.S. cost increases grew from 2.0% to 21.7%; average Wisconsin cost increases grew from 0.4% to 24.1%, and for Milwaukee they jumped from 1.4% to a whopping 40.3%. (These numbers were calculated by the Urban Institute under a grant from the Commonwealth Fund.)

Average annual percentage increase in premium

The next graph shows the monthly premium in 2020, 2025, and 2026 for the U.S., Wisconsin, and Milwaukee.

Monthly second lowest premium for US, Wisconsin, and Milwaukee

That’s an average annual increase of $1,308 nationally, $1,404 for Wisconsin and $2,208 for Milwaukee. What accounts for those extraordinary increases in premium growth between 2025 and 2026? The Republican Congress took two major actions affecting health care in 2025: the passage of H.R. 1, the so-called “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” and the refusal to extend the enhanced tax credits.

Both actions (or nonactions in the case of enhanced tax credits) increased the uncertainty experienced by insurance companies in 2025 when they tried to price out their plans for 2026. Clearly there would be lower enrollment as more individuals would decide that health insurance had become unaffordable, resulting in an increase in the number of Americans without health insurance. But while the direction of the effect is clear, its magnitude is uncertain.

Another likely outcome was a worsening of the risk pool. Faced with increased prices, the healthiest individuals were the most likely to forgo insurance.

In addition, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act increased the paperwork faced by participants in these programs, resulting in some number of people being thrown off these programs for failure to submit the needed documentation.

What is the story that the data show? Over the 2020-25 period, premiums were actually declining in real terms. This was true for the nation, with a nominal growth rate of 2% per year, well less than the inflation rate. It was even more true of Wisconsin and Milwaukee, with growth rates of 0.4% and 1.4% respectively. To remain competitive, insurers had to reduce their premiums.

In 2025, when setting premiums for 2026, insurers faced an uncertain cost environment. Both the Big Beautiful Act and the end of the enhanced tax credits were certain to result in a loss of enrollees. This loss would be greatest among the healthiest people, worsening the risk pool.

Faced with this uncertainty, it is not surprising that the average premium jumped in 2026 or that four of the seven firms offering plans in Milwaukee decided to leave this market.

Milwaukee Public Schools Administration Building. Photo by Jeramey Jannene.

On April 28, Assistant City Attorney Robert Sanders made it clear that the Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS) are in a precarious position. For this coming school year, the district faces a $46 million deficit. This was verified by three outside audits and analyses of the district’s finances. In addition, Matt Chason of the Office of Accountability and Efficiency previously presented to the board a forecast that an $420 million deficit will develop over the next five years if left unaddressed.

The MPS administration proposed a wage bump in two phases: an increase of 1.5% in July and 1.13% in January. Sanders stated that the board could vote to implement this increase based on a mediator’s decision that the district had reached an impasse with the Milwaukee Teachers’ Education Association.

The vote was 7-1 in favor at Tuesday’s board meeting, with Mimi Reza opposed and Katherine Vannoy recusing herself. This was against the wishes of the MTEA, which asked for the entire cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) of 2.63% in July. The MTEA is contesting this implementation, calling it a violation of prohibited practices with the Wisconsin Employment Relations Commission.

Several days before the vote was taken, school board president Missy Zombor outlined for Urban Milwaukee the dilemma the school board faced. “If someone could present an alternative that is viable for the budget and viable for the district and didn’t hurt students,” she said, “we would seriously consider it. But no one is presenting a solution.”

In an open letter on April 6 to the board and the Office of Accountability and Efficiency, the MTEA challenged Superintendent Brenda Cassellius on her plans to implement the two-step COLA and to cut the number of assistant principals, paraprofessionals and centrally assigned teacher specialists, sending most back into schools as classroom teachers. Cassellius stated classroom teachers would not be cut.

The MTEA called Cassellius a “liar,” pointing to reports that some music, art and physical education teachers were being cut at some schools. But Zombor stated that the district would maintain the same number of specialists in these areas even though there would be fewer students in the district next year. In some cases, individual schools simply lost a critical mass of students, or the school community made staffing choices.

Zombor suggested that some of the teacher cuts being announced now are based on projected enrollment at schools for next school year rather than waiting for the actual enrollment numbers in fall, when schools must cut teachers a month after the school year starts, which has caused classroom disruptions. The district is actually hiring 89 additional teachers and 63 paraprofessionals in an effort to lower class sizes.

On April 24, Cassellius sent a memo to principals that paraprofessionals who were cut to 30 hours per week could now be employed for 40 hours if they choose. Additional funds were now available to hire instructional facilitator teachers. Other funds were being sought.

School board members are sensitive to the positions being cut in favor of classroom teachers. These centrally assigned teachers are not “fat,” but placed in important positions. If given the choice, the board would like to keep them there. School board member Christopher Fons wrote an Op Ed published in Urban Milwaukee stating that very point.

Rather than cut positions, the MTEA argued that MPS should eliminate outside contracts, but the district contends that $46 million in unnecessary contracts was never identified by the union.

Said Zombor: “As we build the budget for the next, and this something I always said at MTEA, you put the classroom at the center of the budget. And then you build the budget around that. Using that framework, we have to protect classrooms, we have to invest in our literacy plan, and we also must restore the fiscal health of the district.”

Zombor’s reference to her previous role with the MTEA is important as she was the union’s communications director. She, along with board members who are former MPS teachers, has deep ties to the MTEA: former teachers Erika Siemsen and Fons voted for the two-step COLA pay raise. Vannoy, who is now a teacher in Greenfield, previously taught in MPS, which is presumably why she recused herself on the vote.

Marva Herndon, a longtime board member, has been consistently endorsed by the MTEA and voted yes. James Ferguson and Megan O’Halloran were previously endorsed by the MTEA and voted for the administration’s recommendation. Two members who were not endorsed by the MTEA split: Darryl Jackson voted for the plan and Reza was the lone vote against the plan.

Thus, all previously endorsed MTEA candidates, except for recused Vannoy, voted in support of the two-step pay raises proposed by Cassellius against the wishes of the union.

The MTEA contends that the effort to move staff members into the classroom and hire an additional 89 teachers is unrealistic given the present teacher shortage. Pay raises, it argued, are needed to keep teachers in MPS.

“I think the solution that she [Cassellius] has provided is incredibly generous,” Zombor said. “It honors workers, it protects students — all the things we said we wanted when we ran for school board. We want lower class sizes. Since when are lower class sizes a fantasy?”

The MPS administration and school board seem to see the MTEA as choosing a confrontation. The union sees a district running over its rights and not listening.

The MTEA did not respond to a request for an interview.

In comments to Urban Milwaukee, Bob Peterson, who has sat on both sides of the table, first as president of the MTEA and later as the president of the MPS school board, suggested more teamwork is needed: “The two parties, the union, and the administration and the school board, need to sit down and work for an overall plan.”

Author Terry Falk was on the MTEA executive board for 12 years and later served as a school board member for 12 years.

Minocqua Brewery owner and liberal activist Kirk Bangstad addresses reporters after filing a lawsuit in Dane County Circuit Court seeking to block former President Donald Trump from Wisconsin ballots in 2024. Anya van Wagtendonk/WPR

Agents with the U.S. Secret Service and FBI interviewed liberal Wisconsin activist Kirk Bangstad Thursday, for a Facebook post suggesting either someone “in the Resistance needs to work on their marksmanship” or the latest assassination attempt of President Donald Trump was “faked.”

The post from Bangstad that drew federal investigators’ interest came Saturday night, just after prosecutors allege would-be assassin Cole Tomas Allen attempted to storm the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner to kill the president.

Bangstad, who has previously vowed to serve free beer at his Minocqua Brewing Company locations whenever Trump dies, posted on Facebook that “we almost got #freebeerday.”

“Either a brother or sister in the Resistance needs to work on their marksmanship or he faked another assassination to get a positive news cycle,” said Bangstad. “We’ll never know. Regardless, we stand at the ready to pour free beer the day it happens.”

Conservatives were outraged and called for federal authorities to investigate, which they did. On Thursday, Bangstad shared a livestream video of him standing inside his brewery in Minocqua as two agents dressed in black suits arrived.

They asked Bangstad if he or anyone he knows “wants to or has made threats to kill, kidnap or inflict bodily harm on the president or vice president.”

“No, I do not,” said Bangstad.

His attorney can be heard telling agents that the “resistance fighters” Bangstad referred to in his post are people on the political left who are opposed to the actions of Trump’s administration.

The video shows agents taking notes and leaving shortly after. Bangstad turned to the camera and said the agents “are probably not bad guys” and “probably hate their job as much as we hate the federal government.”

“And by the way, all you MAGA guys that linked the Secret Service and the FBI, it appears that they don’t give a crap about your links, but the fact that you overwhelmed them with links probably forced them to actually come here and question me, which maybe that’s what you wanted,” said Bangstad. “So you got what you wanted.”

At the end of his video, Bangstad said the First Amendment’s free speech protection “still rules, and we’re never going to stop talking.”

When reached by WPR, he declined to comment.

A joint statement from the U.S. Secret Service and FBI confirmed their agents visited Bangstad for a voluntary interview as part of an investigation into the post.

“This is an ongoing matter, and we do not have further comment,” the statement said.

Bangstad’s post got one of his supporters who commented on it in hot water. This week, Aspirus Health announced it parted ways with an employee over a social media comment that didn’t align with its values. The firing came after Aspirus Senior Vice President Brian Kellar commented on Bangstad’s post and included a picture of him wearing a shirt with the acronym FDT, which stands for “F— Donald Trump.”

In Kaukauna, a public school teacher was placed on administrative leave for a post on the social media site X that stated he is “not impressed with recent presidential assassins,” according to Fox 11 News. The district held a closed session school board meeting on Thursday to discuss the teacher’s future with the district. No action was taken.

Federal agents interview Kirk Bangstad over post on attempted Trump assassination was originally published by Wisconsin Public Radio.

Canine Granger is the newest electronic storage device-sniffing canine for the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force Photo courtesy Wisconsin Department of Justice

The Wisconsin Department of Justice’s Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force has a new tool to investigate cases of child exploitation.

It has four legs, yellow fur and a super sniffer.

Earlier this month, the DOJ’s Division of Criminal Investigation announced a donation from the anti-human trafficking nonprofit group Light Their Way that paid for a two-and-a-half-year-old labrador retriever named Grainger.

Grainger is trained as an electronic storage device-sniffing (ESD) canine, adept at detecting flash drives, SD cards and other technology used to record or store illicit digital materials.

Special agent in charge Tami Lepianka supervises the canine unit, and she told WPR’s “Wisconsin Today” that the dogs find devices that human searches can miss.

“The dogs can also be utilized to search for hidden cameras,” Lepianka said. “So if you have a report of say, a school has a hidden camera somewhere, and they want to verify that they located all of those devices to make the families in their community feel secure again about that facility, we can run these dogs through to verify that all of those hidden cameras have been located.”

Grainger joins canine Moose as the only two ESD dogs in the state DOJ. Lepianka said Wisconsin has only eight other canines trained for these devices in other law enforcement agencies.

Moose’s handler, special agent Alex Bol, told “Wisconsin Today” that they get called to cases all over the state, with plenty of demand for their services.

“Basically what these dogs smell is a substance called TPPO, and that is a substance that’s sprayed onto any device that can store any type of files,” Bol said. “When I started with the DOJ, I got introduced to this stuff as well. This is still kind of a new program that’s (picking up) more and more speed throughout the country.”

The substance is used to keep electronic devices from overheating. So even if the device is damaged, powered off or buried, Grainger and Moose can smell it.

Wisconsin Department of Justice canine Moose (left) trains with special agent Alex Bol. Photo courtesy Wisconsin Department of Justice

That skill is valuable in more than just child exploitation cases. The state has deployed these ESD canines to find missing persons who might have an electronic device with them.

The dogs are also used to comfort children who are present during investigations. Moose picks up on when a child is upset and will sit next to them or put his head on their lap.

“I was a little worried when we were told that I was going to get a year-and-a-half-old lab,” Bol said. “I mean, we’ve all seen the labs that are bouncing off the walls, and Moose is just not that. He’s an exceptionally kind dog.”

Bol admitted that Moose is still refining his child-comforting skills, but he gets daily training on scent detection.

The canines are food-reward dogs, meaning they only eat after they put their nose to work. So on days where Moose doesn’t have a search warrant to execute, Bol has to set up multiple training sessions to feed him his meals.

“I sometimes joke that Moose is way smarter than I am when it comes to this kind of stuff,” Bol said. “Just being able to stand back and let him do his work allows him to really excel in that area. It’s captivating to watch.”

Wisconsin DOJ using specialized canines to help investigate internet crimes against children was originally published by Wisconsin Public Radio.

Riverwest. Photo by Urban Milwaukee staff.

National outlets parachute in when there’s a crisis. Regional chains cover the broad strokes. But the day-to-day story of Milwaukee? That’s local work.

We live here. We attend the meetings. We walk the neighborhoods we cover. We care about what happens on your block, not just what trends nationally.

Milwaukee deserves reporting that reflects its complexity — the triumphs and the frustrations, the growth and the growing pains. That requires journalists who know the difference between the Walker Square and Walker’s Point, who understand how TIF financing works in practice and who recognize why a liquor license suspension can matter deeply to a neighborhood.

When you become a member, you’re investing in reporting that starts and ends here. You’re saying that Milwaukee’s civic life is worth sustained attention.

Local journalism strengthens local identity. It gives residents shared information. It builds accountability. And it ensures decisions aren’t made in the dark.

Milwaukee’s story should be told by people rooted in Milwaukee.

Membership keeps it that way.

Join Today