Lake Effect Spotlight

Massive data centers are coming to Wisconsin to help power the global boom in artificial intelligence. The data centers will add demand for electricity and water. And this comes after years of declining usage of both in Wisconsin.  So how might that impact Wisconsin’s electricity and water infrastructure? To find out, WUWM’s Maayan Silver is joined by Tyler Byrnes. He’s senior research associate f...

Lance Armstrong. Elizabeth Holmes. Jay Gatsby. Typically, we shun liars in all forms whether they are politicians, financiers or fictional characters. We tell our kids to never lie, and expect our friends to be truthful, even when it hurts.  But the Burlington Liars Club is different. Here, lies are celebrated and platformed in an annual contest for who can tell the best lie.  Truthfully, Tea Krul...

Data centers are the factories that run the internet. We rely on them every day, for things like sending emails, watching videos and uploading photos. Now, even larger data centers, to help power artificial intelligence, are being proposed and built in Wisconsin. Data centers require millions of gallons of water to operate. Some can consume as much energy as a town.  Port Washington residents want...

91% of students in Milwaukee Public Schools cannot read at grade level. But a new literacy plan by the school district promises to change how students learn to read. The plan comes in response to new state legislation, called Act 20, that requires districts to use science-based reading instruction.   WUWM education reporter Katherine Kokal is looking into literacy in her series called Turning the...

WUWM has committed to covering issues our listeners say are top priorities, including the economy. As part of that coverage, we’re exploring how the economy is impacting Wisconsinites with different financial needs and concerns.  Tom Oberhaus is the co-operator of Cozy Nook Farm in Waukesha County. Cozy Nook is primarily a dairy farm, supplying milk to Prairie Farms mainly for their cheese product...

2025 was a whirlwind for Milwaukee Public Schools. It hired a new superintendent and dealt with flooding right before the start of the school year. But the biggest story was the school district’s multimillion dollar cleanup of toxic lead paint in its classrooms and common spaces.   The project began after a student tested positive for elevated lead levels and the contamination was traced back to t...

2025 was a big year in politics. For many Wisconsinites the year brought uncertainty and cuts in services, despite paying more for most necessities. That includes major increases in property taxes and bus fares, alongside cuts to bus services.   Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley joins Lake Effect's Joy Powers to talk about what the past year has been like for the county, and his hopes for t...

UW-Milwaukee’s Atmospheric Science degree program has come to an end. That program prepared students for careers in weather and climate forecasting and research. UWM says the program ended this year due to low enrollment and faculty retirements.  Its closure comes on the heels of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration facing federal cuts to its research and staff. As Lake Effect’s Xca...

The average price of a home in Milwaukee County rose about 8-percent since last year . Even with a stable job, buying a home feels out of reach for many. But why is housing so expensive and what can be done about it? WUWM’s series Seeking Solutions: Keys to Homeownership digs into systemic housing problems in Milwaukee and sheds light on solutions.  One emerging solution is the Milwaukee Community...

This year, WUWM explored Milwaukee and Wisconsin’s immigration history through a series called Making Wisconsin. The idea was to help better understand who our neighbors are and how immigration has shaped our city, state and country. One part of the series explored the concept of sanctuary.  Throughout history there have been waves of sanctuary movements stemming from religious organizations, acti...

Milwaukee hosted the Republican National Convention last year. City officials touted a potential economic windfall. Visit Milwaukee released a report claiming the event carried a 321-million-dollar economic impact.  But this number doesn’t include normal business that was crowded out by the RNC. Instead, it's a tally of what was spent by visitors and the cost of putting on the event.  Lake Effect’...

The Milwaukee Art Museum has a new leader at the helm. Kim Sajet was previously the director of the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery, where she worked to increase the representation of women and people of color in the collection. In May, President Trump claimed to have fired Sajet from the Smithsonian in part because of her work to diversify the collection.   Although the Smithsonian made i...

WUWM is examining systemic housing problems – and solutions – for more affordable housing. Milwaukee is trying to change its zoning code to encourage more affordable housing in the city. A piece of the plan to allow more new duplexes across the city has been stripped out. But a new change will allow for accessory dwelling units, or extra units above a garage or on the back half of a lot. So, will...

Wisconsin has about 400 miles of Lake Michigan shoreline. But a dispute in Shorewood has ignited a debate about who has access to that shoreline. The public can get to the water at Atwater Beach in Shorewood. But residents with homes to the north and south of that beach own everything down to the water’s edge. A Shorewood resident challenged that policy in municipal court earlier this month, and a...

This holiday season, you might be looking for an idea of what to give the readers in your life. Well, here at Lake Effect we have our own annual “books to gift” conversation to help you answer that.   We have two of Boswell Book Company’s book buyers in studio: Jason Kennedy who has book recommendations for adults, and Jen Steele who specializes in children’s books – to share some of the titles th...

Wisconsin’s school safety tip line received nearly seven-thousand tips last school year – mostly from students. Bullying was the most commonly reported issue to the Speak Up, Speak Out tip line, also referred to by its acronym SUSO. But threats of school violence or concerns about self harm are also reported to this line, such as the deadly shooting at Abundant Life Christian School in Madison one...

Playing games is a year-round hobby for some, but buying and exploring new games is also a great holiday tradition. And games are an everyday endeavor for freelance game designer and editor James Lowder. Every year he joins us to share his Games to Gift list - which includes everything from two-player games, RPGs, and tabletop games.  So whether you’re just curious about getting into gaming or loo...

Today, the federal criminal trial starts for Judge Hannah Dugan. Dugan is a Milwaukee County Circuit Court judge who’s accused of helping an undocumented immigrant slip out of her courtroom to try and evade ICE agents. To find out more about Dugan’s jury trial – and what it says about politics today - WUWM reporter Maayan Silver joins Lake Effect's Joy Powers in studio.

During the holiday season, picking out a live Christmas tree is a tradition for many families. But according to a survey from the American Christmas Tree Association, more than 80% of households will opt for a fake tree.  So, which is better for the environment – cutting a new tree every year or reusing a fake one? Lake Effect's Audrey Nowakowski is joined by Stefan Schnitzer, a professor of ecolo...

IMPACT 211 is a free, confidential hotline that people can call for help with basic needs in southeastern Wisconsin. In addition to helping with food and housing support, the calls to 211 provide a snapshot of the region’s social safety net.  John Hyatt leads the organization, and Bob Waite handles data collection. The two say that the word of the year for 2025 is “uncertainty” - as calls for basi...

The Packers took first place in the NFC North this past weekend with a game-ending interception that shut out the Chicago Bears.   The two teams will face off again on December 20th. The Bears – Packers rivalry has been going on for more than 100 years. And it’s a strong presence here in southeast Wisconsin where it’s not uncommon to see a Bears jersey in the sea of green at the local bar on Sunda...

Over the last month, local food pantries say they’ve seen an increase in need not seen since the height of the Covid-19 pandemic. One group of women have stepped in to try to meet the needs of the community. They created a mutual aid organization, MKE Grocery Buddy, to connect people experiencing food insecurity with people who can help.  WUWM’s Jimmy Gutierrez brings us the story and the current...

Last summer, a woman working as a teacher's aide at a public school in Milwaukee was forced to self deport to her native country of El Salvador. Yessenia Ruano and her husband Miguel Guerra chose uncertain safety over the constant fear of detainment, after a decade-old deportation order for Yessenia rose to the surface. Immigration officials did not honor her pending application for a visa reserve...

One Wisconsin community has found a solution to the presence of PFAS in their drinking water. The Town of Campbell near La Crosse is building its own water system. In 2020, DNR testing found the presence of PFAS in the wells of Campbell residents. Since then, around 16-hundred households have been drinking bottled water provided by the DNR.  Now, the town is tapping into a new, clean source of wat...

Back in 2020 Meagan Johnson learned about the pressing need that many families have for diapers. In Milwaukee – and nationwide - one in two families face diaper needs due to cost and systemic barriers.   Johnson wanted to help make cloth and disposable diapers more accessible in Milwaukee, and she discovered that there was no local diaper bank. So, she started the Milwaukee Diaper Mission along wi...