Lake Effect Spotlight

The Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Fund will likely come to an end this June. Earlier this year, the state senate failed to reauthorize funding for the program. The stewardship fund has helped protect 750-thousand acres of land statewide by investing roughly one-point-three billion dollars to protect Wisconsin’s natural landscape.   The stewardship fund has been working with government and nonprofits...

If you go to a natural history museum almost anywhere in the world, you can expect to see dioramas displaying how animals live in the wild. Dioramas have become integral to museums, transporting visitors to unfamiliar landscapes through art and science. But did you know that it started right here in Milwaukee?   The Milwaukee-style diorama revolutionized how museums curated their exhibits, and the...

A new documentary looks at what students with different faith backgrounds can learn from each other. The film focuses on an ambitious teacher and his students in a World Religions class at Prospect High School in Mount Prospect, Illinois.   It’s showing at the Milwaukee Film Fest and ahead of that WUWM’s Maayan Silver speaks with filmmaker Allison Walsh and producer Lily Qi about the project, and...

We all know about Smokey Bear — the iconic mascot for wildfire prevention. But do you know about Torchy Timberloss? He’s Wisconsin’s very own fire mascot who recently came out of retirement. Torchy is a devilish looking flame that dates back to the 1950s.   The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources says Torchy’s image has evolved over the years. Nowadays, he’s focused on spreading the message...

John Gurda is perhaps best known as the chief historian of the City of Milwaukee. His documentary series and book The Making of Milwaukee have become vital resources in understanding the city’s history.   But Gurda’s impact on Milwaukee has been broad and varied. In fact, his work can be seen in neighborhoods throughout the city, on lampposts and in homes. John Gurda joins Lake Effect’s Joy Powers...

Later this week WUWM will begin a series about an out of state landlord that’s being sued by the Milwaukee City Attorney’s Office.   Lake Effect’s Sam Woods and Jimmy Gutierrez will explore how some of David Tomblin’s tenants have joined together to fight for their housing rights, and how the city is backing those residents trying to loosen Tomblin’s grip on the 260 properties he owns. Here’s Sam...

Conservationists are celebrating the return of sturgeon to the Milwaukee River – 20 miles upstream from Lake Michigan.  It’s the first time one of the giant fish was documented in Ozaukee County in more than a century. Sturgeon disappeared from the river because of things like overfishing and degraded habitat. The discovery of the sturgeon so far from Lake Michigan signals a milestone in a sturgeo...

WUWM has been addressing barriers to homeownership in Milwaukee and the possible solutions in our series, Keys to Homeownership. One local program is working to make housing more attainable – and affordable - for early educators. For teachers or childcare providers, the salary can range from thirty-five thousand dollars a year up to about 70 thousand.   Now, I don’t have to go into statistics for...

Wisconsin’s spring election was yesterday. Voters elected liberal-backed candidate Chris Taylor to the state supreme court. She won by a wide margin over conservative-backed Maria Lazar. And there were local races in many parts of the state. To give us a rundown on some of the results, Lake Effect's Joy Powers chats with WUWM editor Emily Files, who leads our voter guide project.

The Women’s Fund of Greater Milwaukee recently released the Women's Well-Being Index. This data-driven report provides both a state-wide outlook and one of Greater Milwaukee on how women are faring across areas such as safety, health, economic security, education and more.  The study was made in collaboration with the Center for Community and Nonprofit Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madiso...

Tomorrow's election comes after the elections in 2023 and 2025 altered the ideological makeup of the State Supreme Court. Liberal-leaning justices now hold the majority.  The ideological makeup will not be influenced by this election, but that doesn’t mean the race won’t have a long-term impact. WUWM’s Maayan Silver is joined by Barry Burden, politics professor at UW-Madison, to find out what’s at...

If you’re buying protein-rich foods or supplements, there’s a good chance that protein came from a Wisconsin cheesemaker.   Whey is a liquid byproduct of the cheesemaking process and is rich in protein. It is usually processed into the form of powder to be added to smoothies, bars, or other food advertising high protein content. Wisconsin farmers produce about one-third of the nation’s whey, and d...

Artificial Intelligence is quickly becoming embedded in our society – at work, school and in much of our online activity.  Researchers across the Universities of Wisconsin wanted to create a safe place to learn about AI. So they created a seven-part video series about the technology, how to use it and what kind of mistakes it can make. WUWM education reporter Katherine Kokal is joined by Emily Lai...

Over the past year, the city of Milwaukee has been wrestling with the use of facial recognition technology. This is tech that some law enforcement agencies use to assist in investigations using surveillance footage.   The Milwaukee Police Department has used the technology without clear guidelines in place and community members have pushed back. This debate has played out online, in the streets, a...

It’s no secret that in Milwaukee, out-of-state investors have been buying up housing inventory to turn into rentals. That means less housing stock for people who want to become homeowners. One non-profit is trying to counter that trend and get more Milwaukeeans owning their own homes in the city.   WUWM has been examining systemic housing problems – and solutions – for more affordable housing in o...

A New York Times investigation has uncovered sexual abuse allegations against Latino civil rights leader, Cesar Chavez. Since then, cities throughout the country have removed or are considering removing Chavez’s name from buildings, street signs, plaques and more.  In Milwaukee, a statue of Chavez at El Rey Family Market on Chavez Drive was removed. City leaders say there will be a conversation ab...

Commencement is just around the corner for thousands of college students in Milwaukee. At Marquette, some students are pushing back after the university announced that its graduation speaker this May will be Chris Duffey. He’s the head of AI products and platforms at Adobe.   To understand student reaction, WUWM education reporter Katherine Kokal spoke with Elena Metinidis, a reporter at Marquette...

In 1993, five women decided to start and run Renaissance Theaterworks after recognizing the clear inequities professionals like them faced on stage and off. One of those women was Suzan Fete.   For more than three decades, Renaissance has championed women’s stories and careers and worked towards gender parity. Co-founder Suzan Fete has led the company as artistic director through over 200 producti...

Milwaukee is fortunate to have some historic movie theaters still in operation - from the Oriental and Downer on the city’s east side, to the Avalon in Bay View. But the city was once home to many lavish movie palaces – with seats for thousands of movie goers.   For decades, these theaters lined the streets of downtown Milwaukee - but now, only a few remain. To learn more about the rise and fall o...

Samer Ghani first started photographing Milwaukee musicians and concerts in 2016. By 2019, he was a full-time photographer and had become as much of a fixture in the local music scene as the artists he was capturing.   From Brandi Carlile to Buffalo Nichols – Ghani has thousands of images that capture the magic of live music in venues of all sizes. His new photobook, “Memories of a Street Cat,” is...

WUWM is committed to covering issues our listeners say are top priorities. That includes the economy. As part of that coverage, we’re exploring how the changing economy is impacting Wisconsinites with different financial needs.  We’ve heard from a small business owner, a farmer, and someone looking for work. Now we’ll hear from someone looking for housing. Sharol Britton is 57 years old. In Novemb...

Homeownership is an important part of economic stability for people, neighborhoods and cities. But for many in Milwaukee – owning a home feels out of reach. WUWM has been exploring solutions in our series, Seeking Solutions: Keys to Homeownership.   Today, we’ll tell you about a family business on the city’s northeast side. They’ve created a model for building more affordable and sustainable homes...

College students in many degree programs are required to take foreign languages. But one listener asked WUWM education reporter Katherine Kokal whether colleges in Milwaukee offer African languages to fulfill that requirement.   In her reporting, she found that the nearest African language programs are at UW-Madison. Even though Madison offers several African languages, federal cuts are putting pr...

The CBS reality show “Survivor” is now in its 50th season. The show has changed since it first aired in 2000, but the basic premise is the same. A group of people live together on an island. They have to survive with very little food, living outdoors in shelters they make themselves.   Each week, the tribe votes out another person. People lie and manipulate, trying to make it to the end for the ch...

In this special edition of Lake Effect Spotlight, we bring you a story from Radio Milwaukee about the Black Caucus at the state Capitol. There are 11 Black members of the state legislature, and 10 are members of the Caucus.