Lake Effect Spotlight

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. WUWM’s environmental reporter Susan Bence has the story. 

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 pressure on what they can do.  

Katherine is joined by Adeola Agoke, director of Madison’s African Languages Program, and Luis Madureira, chair of the university’s African Cultural Studies department.  

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 chance to win a million dollars. Its host, Jeff Probst, has also been with the show since the beginning. 

Last Wednesday, Milwaukee Survivor fans got together for a watch party at the Falcon Bowl, where they had the chance to meet some of the show’s contestants, including one who returned for Season 50. His name is Benjamin Wade, but he goes by the nickname “Coach.”  WUWM’s Emily Files stopped by to hear from fans and Coach himself about why they think Survivor is still going strong after 25 years. 

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. 

While news about ICE’s actions in the twin cities has slowed recently, operations continue. Those operations have also spilled over the state’s border into western Wisconsin. Over the past few months – agents have been detaining people and in some cases, children. To date, this is the most widespread ICE operation in Wisconsin. 

Last month, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reporter Sophie Carson spent time around the area talking with community members about ICE’s presence and how the community is responding. She joins WUWM’s Jimmy Gutierrez to share what she found along the Wisconsin-Minnesota border. 

Wisconsin is experiencing a surge in sauna culture — new businesses are popping up in parks, on shorelines and in backyards. But heat bathing has been a part of the Upper Midwest culture for over a century — and it’s largely thanks to the Finnish immigrants who settled along Lake Superior.  

Bridget Fogarty is a reporter with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and she recently visited a few saunas to learn more about this tradition. She joins Lake Effect’s Xcaret Nuñez to share why more people are sweating through Wisconsin winters together.

Life as an immigrant is commonly clouded by fear and uncertainty. The federal crackdown on immigration this past year has only increased those feelings for immigrants living in our area. 

Freelance writer Barbara Miner wanted to share the lived experiences of some Milwaukee immigrants, who make up about twelve percent of the city’s population. Her article in this month’s Milwaukee Magazine shares the stories of DACA recipients, to undocumented parents, asylum seekers and more. Miner joins Lake Effect's Audrey Nowakowski to talk about the piece, and begins by explaining some of the challenges she encountered covering the topic. 

Wisconsin voters will be choosing a new justice for the Wisconsin State Supreme Court this year. The April 7th election comes after elections in 2023 and 2025 altered the ideological makeup of the court, giving liberal-leaning justices 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 on how big cases are decided in Wisconsin. WUWM’s Maayan Silver is joined by Barry Burden, politics professor and director of the Elections Research Center at UW-Madison, to find out what’s at stake in this election. 

The United States is at war with Iran. Oil prices have surged as the war enters its second week. Iran has named the hard-line Mojtaba Khamenei to succeed his late father as supreme leader. It signals defiance from Iran’s leadership amid heavy US and Israeli bombardment. 

WUWM’s Maayan Silver talked with Iranian students at UW-Milwaukee about how their families are affected and why they support international intervention. 

The country’s largest collection of contemporary craft art can be found right here in Wisconsin – at the Racine Art Museum. The museum has thousands of pieces from ceramics and fibers to metals and jewelry. And every spring the RAM hosts a Peeps exhibition. Yes – Peeps – the brightly colored bird and bunny marshmallow treats you see in stores in the spring. 

The museum’s Peeps exhibition opens next month. For this month’s Wandering Wisconsin we’ll learn all about what you can see there. Lake Effect’s Becky Mortensen is joined by Tyler Potter from RAM and Amanda Weibel from Travel Wisconsin.