Lake Effect Spotlight

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 water and creating its own municipal water system – which is no small task. WUWM’s Susan Bence met Lee Donahue from the Campbell town board to learn how they reached this solution. 

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 with Jessica Syburg – collecting diapers, wipes, and period products to distribute out of her own garage. 

Today, the Milwaukee Diaper Mission has grown to become a reliable source for families in need. To date, they’ve distributed 3-point-6 million diapers and 1-point-5 million period products. Meagan Johnson joins Lake Effect's Audrey Nowakowski to share more about their growth these last five years – and how they want to continue to expand.

The first land transfer between a Catholic organization and a Native American tribe took place in Wisconsin in October. The La Crosse-based Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration transferred land that housed their Marywood Spirituality Center to the Lac du Flambeau Tribe.  

The transfer grew from conversations about the sisters’ role in Native American boarding schools. Those schools were used to forcibly assimilate Indigenous children in the 19th and 20th centuries.  

A group called Land Justice Futures helped facilitate the transfer of the property from the sisters to the tribe. Brittany Koteles, is the co-founder and director of Land Justice Futures. She joins WUWM’s Maria Peralta-Arellano to learn about what led to the transfer. 

When you sell a home, the profit you make is taxed. It’s called the capital gains tax. You can exclude a portion of that profit from taxes – up to $250,000 for a single person or $500,000 for a married couple. Some housing experts and politicians think changing the capital gains tax on home sales could motivate more homeowners to sell, and open up homes amid a national housing shortage. 

WUWM’s series, Seeking Solutions: Keys to Homeownership, examines barriers to home buying and possible solutions. WUWM’s Race & Ethnicity Reporter Teran Powell speaks with UW-Madison professor of Urban Planning, Kurt Paulsen, to learn more about the capital gains tax and how reforming it could affect housing in Wisconsin. 

Status Pending is a new podcast from WUWM about the pathways that immigrants take to live and work in the U.S.  

In this week’s episode, WUWM’s Jimmy Gutierrez explores the refugee resettlement program – which has changed dramatically this year under President Trump. 

With the holidays around the corner, many Wisconsinites are purchasing a Christmas tree. But fewer trees are being grown. Statewide, Christmas tree harvests have dipped 60% in the last 20 years. This rate of decline in Wisconsin is about double the national average. 

Possible reasons include the popularity of artificial trees, a dip in production after the Great Recession, and weather-related setbacks. Steven Potter is a freelance reporter for Milwaukee Magazine. In this month’s issue, he wrote about how Wisconsin’s Christmas tree suppliers are adjusting. He spoke with Lake Effect’s Sam Woods. 

This holiday season, many of us are looking for things to do with the family -- including trying out new restaurants. And if you’re looking for a great new place to try, Lori Fredrich has you covered.  

Fredrich is the dining editor for On Milwaukee, and she regularly joins us to talk about new Milwaukee-area restaurants and reminisce about old favorites that have recently closed. She joins Lake Effect’s Joy Powers to share more. 

It’s difficult for many people to buy a home in Milwaukee, even if they have a stable job. WUWM is examining the systemic problems that contribute to this challenge – and some potential solutions – in our series called “Seeking Solutions: Keys to Homeownership.” 

Today, we look at how redlining has created barriers to homeownership for people of color. Redlining was a discriminatory practice that labeled homes in Black and brown communities as too risky for loans. WUWM’s Eddie Morales spoke with Dr. Kirk Harris. Harris is a UW-Milwaukee professor and director of the Center for Equity Practice and Planning Justice.

On Wednesday morning, Milwaukee County Circuit Court judge Hannah Dugan will have her last hearing before her case potentially goes to trial. Dugan is accused of helping a defendant in her courtroom to evade immigration enforcement officers. The case against Dugan has become a flashpoint in President Donald Trump’s sweeping immigration crackdown. 

Federal prosecutors have said they’re offering Dugan plea deals. Lawyers for Dugan say their client is innocent and will be going to trial next month. To find out more about what could happen next, WUWM’s Maayan Silver spoke with Wisconsin criminal defense attorney Tony Cotton – who is not involved in the case. 

Despite community pushback, the Milwaukee Police Department has been considering expanding its use of facial recognition technology. Milwaukee’s Equal Rights Commission and the majority of the Milwaukee Common Council have come out in opposition to the use of facial recognition - citing concerns over misidentification, particularly of people of color.  

Others, like Emilio De Torre from the Milwaukee Turners, have voiced concerns over how data collected from facial recognition technology could we weaponized against the community - especially as the Trump Administration continues its crusade against undocumented people.  

De Torre is also a member of WUWM’s Advisory Board. He recently wrote an Op-Ed for the Shepherd Express, arguing that facial recognition data is bound to end up in the hands of federal authorities and he joins me now to talk about this issue. Emilio, thanks so much for being here.