Lake Effect Spotlight

America’s Black Holocaust Museum & the Wisconsin Black Historical Society have partnered on a new exhibit that opens tomorrow. It’s called: An American Inheritance: The Story of Racist Memorabilia in Wisconsin and the U.S. 

The exhibit highlights some difficult images and artifacts in the hopes that people of all backgrounds gain a better understanding of the legacy of racist imagery. 

Jamila Benson is the program director at the Wisconsin Black Historical Society and Brad Pruitt is the executive director of America’s Black Holocaust Museum. They join WUWM’s Race & Ethnicity Reporter Teran Powell to talk about some of the things in the exhibit. 

Milwaukee Film’s 3rd Annual Dialogues Documentary Festival opens today. Now through Sunday, September 27, more than 30 documentaries are showing at the Downer Theatre and Oriental Theatre. 

The festival seeks to open conversations among the community. One of the films showing at the festival is called Heavy Is The Crown. It follows Milwaukee activist, Vaun Mayes, and his work spreading positivity and bringing resources to the community. All while addressing inequities, violence, and strained police-community relations. Mayes joins WUWM Race & Ethnicity Reporter Teran Powell to talk about the film.

Whether spoken or written, we've been drawn to poetry and its power to connect us, inspire, and reflect on the human condition.

As Bob Reitman’s album "12th House" showcases his spoken word poetry, we wanted to connect three different generations of poets to learn more about what the practice means to them – and to share their work.

This poets roundtable is led by lifelong Millwaukeean, musician and poet Bryon Cherry. He's the author of three chapbooks, including ‘death moan.’ Joining Cherry is Jodie Jasim, an Iraqi-American poet, visual artist, advocate and the current Milwaukee Youth Poet Laureate. Lastly, there’s Bob Reitman. While he’s best known for his long career in radio, Reitman has been practicing poetry for most of his life.

Have you been chased by a wasp lately? Or maybe you decided to eat indoors in case wasps, bees and yellow jackets want you to share that picnic you’re trying to enjoy? Perhaps you’ve had to deal with a nest near or even in your home. 

These insects seem to be everywhere lately – and they’re often stinging those of us who encounter them. So, what’s behind all that activity and when might it come to an end? To find out, Lake Effect’s Audrey Nowakowski speaks with P.J. Leish from UW-Madison's Department of Entomology.  

More than a million people visit Stonehenge in England each year. It’s a popular tourist destination, but what if I told you there’s something similar right here in Wisconsin? 

While it’s not prehistoric like Stonehenge, Kinstone is a sculpture park that also features massive stones arranged in different circles and patterns. 

Kinstone is in the far western part of the state. To help you plan a trip there to see it, Lake Effect’s Becky Mortensen is joined by its founder Kristine Beck and Amanda Weibel from Travel Wisconsin. 

Invasive carp has been found near Lake Michigan. It’s been 24 years since Asian Carp were found in the upper Illinois River. Ever since, scientists and environmental groups have been pushing for a way to stop the invasive fish from reaching Lake Michigan. 

A year ago, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers started construction on a project called Brandon Road Interbasin Project that would put barriers in place to protect the lake. But the Trump administration abruptly stopped that project in July without explanation. Then the juvenile carp were found in the Illinois River – 80 miles from Lake Michigan – the closest they’ve ever been detected. But just last week, the Army Corps of Engineers announced that work on the barriers would resume. 

Joel Brammeier heads the Alliance for the Great Lakes. He joins WUWM Environmental Reporter Susan Bence for an update.

With the measles outbreak in Wisconsin now surpassing one hundred cases, state public health officials are urging people to get vaccinated.  

Dr. Freddy Caldera is a gastroenterologist and a professor of medicine at the UW School of Medicine and Public Health. He’s written about the importance of community immunity and how immunocompromised people with inflammatory bowel disease, organ transplants and other conditions navigate concerns about their risk during outbreaks.   

Caldera joins me now to talk about the measles outbreak and what his research has found when it comes to immunocompromised people. Dr. Caldera, welcome to Lake Effect, thank you for taking the time to speak with me today. 

“Eat your vegetables,” remains some of the best health advice out there. But it can be especially tough for vulnerable populations or those in food deserts.   

A program in Milwaukee is helping people get more veggies by gathering up extra produce from farmers markets so it doesn’t go to waste. Volunteers are then invited to chop it up, cook it and deliver it to those in need of a nutritious meal. As part of our series Seeking Solutions: Food Access in Milwaukee, WUWM’s Maayan Silver brings us the story. 

Milwaukee Film currently has a 70-millimeter series, featuring five films on actual film. While there are many ways to see movies nowadays, it is a unique experience to go to a theater to see both current and archival movies in this format.  

To share more, here's Lake Effect's Audrey Nowakowski

The ARTservancy is a year-long artist residency that promotes the visionary work of both artists and conservationists. 

The program is a partnership between Gallery 224 in Port Washington and nature preserves throughout Southeast Wisconsin. The way it works is twelve artists choose a preserve to spend time in throughout the year and create artwork that represents what they discover. Each residency project is then exhibited at the gallery the following year.  

Rebecca Jabs is one of the artists-in-residence and is exploring the Forest Beach Migratory Preserve for her project. She’s also a science illustrator based in Manitowoc. 

Jabs joins Lake Effect’s Xcaret Nuñez for this month’s Chirp Chat to learn about the history of Forest Beach and why bird migration inspires her residency project.