Lake Effect Spotlight

10 years ago this month, a Milwaukee police officer shot and killed Sylville Smith in the Sherman Park neighborhood. Protestors filled the nearby streets for days after the shooting. The officer was later acquitted on murder charges.

The Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service's "The uprising in Sherman Park: 10 years later" project examines how Sherman Park has changed in the decade since. In a series of over a dozen stories, the project chronicles how a decade of investments, police-community relations, and new businesses have changed Sherman Park, and what aspects of 2016 remain.

Lake Effect's Sam Woods spoke with two of the reporters working on the project - criminal justice reporter Devin Blake, who's story examines what the economic and public safety data say about how the neighborhood has changed since 2016, and housing and basic needs reporter PrincessSafiya Byers who wrote about the legacy of the Sherman Phoenix.

Head Start provides free and low-cost early childcare for more than 12,000 kids across Wisconsin. That includes many immigrant families and families dealing with the impacts of poverty.  

But new changes to the program proposed by the Trump administration may remove class size limits and require all instruction to be in English.  

To learn more about the proposals, WUWM education reporter Katherine Kokal speaks with Jennie Mauer, the executive director of Wisconsin’s Head Start Association. 

In Milwaukee, there’s a program that blends federal money, city agencies, and private donors to provide free meals for kids during the summer. Across the country, feeding kids during the summer often falls to nonprofits or school districts when school lunches aren’t an option. 

WUWM education reporter Katherine Kokal speaks with Brandis Stockman and Justin Chu of the National League of Cities. Their conversation about summer meal programs is part of our series, Seeking Solutions: Food Access in Milwaukee. 

They share how cities have approached hunger and why they believe it should be everyone’s responsibility. 

When you think about archaeology, your mind probably went to a scene of an excavation site. Probably in a dry landscape, with hammers and dust and someone looking like Sam Neil in Jurassic Park.  

While archeologists do uncover the ways people lived in the past below the surface through the places and artifacts they left behind — this is also done way below the surface, underwater.   

Underwater archaeology, or the study of submerged landscapes, is a relatively new field. In fact, UW-Milwaukee is just one of two underwater archaeology programs in the U.S. It’s led by associate professor Dr. Ashley Lemke, who’s previous work includes researching prehistoric hunter-gatherer sites in the depths of Lake Huron. Now, she is helping students explore similar submerged sites in Lake Michigan for the first time. 

To learn more, Lemke joins me now and begins by sharing how she first discovered the world of underwater archaeology.

There was a big upset in the Democratic gubernatorial primary when Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley defeated State Representative Francesca Hong. Hong, a democratic socialist, went into election day with a big lead in the polls. But Crowley ended up taking the race by about three-thousand votes. Crowley will face Republican nominee Tom Tiffany in the general election in November. Crowley had left the race in July due to low support but reentered about a week later when Lieutenant Governor Sara Rodriguez dropped out. 

The race looked extremely close Tuesday evening as results rolled in...demonstrating a high level of voter engagement, and a big divide in what Democratic voters are looking for. WUWM’s Ann-Elise Henzl chats with UW-Madison politics professor Barry Burden about what's ahead in the general election. 

Last month, the seventh circuit court of appeals issued a decision on the ongoing battle over the Line 5 pipeline in northern Wisconsin. 

The Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa has been fighting to get a portion of the pipeline off tribal lands for over a decade. The court confirmed that Enbridge, which operates the pipeline, has been trespassing on those lands. Enbridge is in the process of rerouting the line outside of tribal lands, but the court wasn’t clear about the next steps for removal. 

Stefanie Tsosie is a senior attorney with EarthJustice and represents the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa. She talks with WUWM Environmental Reporter Susan Bence about the latest on Line 5. 

Homer Blow has held many titles throughout his 35-year career in Milwaukee radio. On-air personality, talk show host, program director & music director. He even has his own online radio station. His career and his work in the community recently garnered him recognition by the Common Council. 

Blow spoke with WUWM’s Race & Ethnicity Reporter Teran Powell about what the recognition means to him. Of course, he began the conversation with his signature radio introduction. 

In some circles, music festivals happen on the coasts, the desert, or in big cities. Think Coachella, Burning Man and Lollapalooza.  

But there’s another big music event – with world renowned artists -- in Wisconsin. And it’s not Summerfest. It’s 250 miles away in a small city in northwest Wisconsin. WUWM’s Eddie Morales and Maayan Silver went to Eaux Claires Fest in July, and put together this snapshot of the event. 

President Trump continues to tout a lie that he won the 2020 election, despite evidence that confirms that Joe Biden won. While Trump continues to focus on what happened in 2020 – these claims about election integrity matter in a midterm election year when voters are counting on the voting system to be safe and secure.  

Edgar Lin is with Protect Democracy, a non-partisan, anti-authoritarian group that uses litigation, advocacy and research to protect elections. He says one thing that’s different about Trump’s election lies in 2026 is that they are backed by the federal government. Lin joins WUWM’s Maayan Silver to break down the claims coming from the president and the facts about our election system this midterm election year. 

July has been dry and hot, which aren’t ideal conditions for farmers or their cows. This, combined with uncertainty about a future Farm Bill and a 'break-even year' for dairy farmers, 2026 has provided many challenges for America's Dairyland.

Tom Oberhaus is the co-operator of Cozy Nook Farm in Waukesha County. Cozy Nook is primarily a dairy farm, and it supplements its business with seasonal pumpkin and Christmas tree sales. Lake Effect’s Sam Woods last talked with Oberhaus at the beginning of the planting season and he checks back in with him now to see how the summer is going.

This conversation is part of WUWM's commitment 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. Previous check-ins have explored the impact of high fuel prices and a 'break-even' economic forecast for dairy, federal aid to farmers and the economics of seasonal pumpkin and Christmas tree sales for a dairy farm.