The Recombobulation Area

Joel Brennan is one of now six candidates running to be the Democratic nominee for governor. He was the secretary of the Department of Administration for much of Tony Evers’ first term as governor, and before that, was the president and CEO of Discovery World for more than a decade in Milwaukee.

It was around that time that I met Brennan, when I was a reporter at the Milwaukee Business Journal, and wrote a few stories about developments happening at Discovery World, and talked to him for an interview. I find him to be a compelling individual and an intriguing candidate. Far from the flashiest or most well-known, Brennan could prove to be a dark horse in the race, as his record of experience lends itself well to the ability to take on role of governor.

In this conversation, we talked about what he’s learned over the past few months while running for governor (his first time running for elected office since losing a State Senate race in 2003), what he would want to do if elected, how he’d approach working with the state legislature, and much more.

This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.therecombobulationarea.news/subscribe

The Democratic Party of Wisconsin held its annual convention over the weekend in Madison. And as you might expect, the Democratic primary in the race for governor was the big topic at this year’s event, with candidates hosting hospitality suites and delivering speeches and jockeying for position to be The Nominee.

Kate Duffy of Motherhood for Good, Pat Kreitlow of UpNorth News and Dr. Kristin Lyerly were all there in Madison on Saturday and Sunday, and shared stories and insights from being in the building for speeches and being there for the festivities of the convention weekend. Dan Shafer also chimed on with his takes on the state of the race, which you can find more of here.

This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.therecombobulationarea.news/subscribe

The future of the Stadium Freeway is something we’ve covered a whole lot here at The Recombobulation Area.

Almost exactly five years ago, I wrote a piece as part of our multi-part “Expanding the Divide” series on why we should tear down the Stadium Freeway and convert it to a boulevard, opening up opportunities for housing and development and better connection between neighborhoods.

Here’s that column, to refresh your memory:

About a year later, change did begin to actually happen. Mayor Cavalier Johnson, County Executive David Crowley and Craig Thompson, then the secretary of the Wisconsin Department of Transportation, stood together at Washington Park to announce they would be initiating a study to reexamine the future of the Stadium Freeway.

I wrote about this at the time, too.

But that was May 2022, and since, a 1.5 to 2-year study turned into a nearly four-year study, and as Jeramey Jannene at Urban Milwaukee reported in mid-May, the determination of what’s next is that … another study is needed.

You can read his piece about this here.

Or, you can listen to our conversation in the podcast and video here. While there appears to be broad support for converting this old, hulking freeway spur into a boulevard, any concrete action on the project still seems years and years away.

Along with discussing this project, we also talked about Jeramey’s recent reporting on a number of topics, including:

* Wisconsin Center District CEO Marty Brooks (who was discussed at length in a recent podcast episode with Gary Witt of the Pabst Theater Group) now cleaning out his office as the board has considered removing him from his position

* After Congressman Bryan Steil got in some hot water over celebrating funding for lead pipes that he voted against, as part of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, we talked about what is actually happening in the city of Milwaukee when it comes to lead pipe replacement. Milwaukee’s lead pipe replacement has become more efficient and less costly, and they’ve been able to replace more lead pipes because of it, but the program is still at risk. Read more here.

* 2026 has been dubbed the “Year of Housing” in Milwaukee by Mayor Cavalier Johnson, and we talked about a recently proposed project to use funding from downtown projects to fund housing and infrastructure west of I-43 in the King Park neighborhood. Read more about that here.

Urban Milwaukee is a terrific publication and you should really be subscribing. Do that here.

This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.therecombobulationarea.news/subscribe

In light of the Callais decision, the Wisconsin Fair Maps Coalition is firing up its demand for an Independent Redistricting Commission (IRC) that empowers citizens — not political parties.

For the past year, they have been building public support for a draft proposal that aims to be transformative in how Wisconsin draws its maps. On Thursday, June 4, they are holding coordinated statewide rallies in Madison, Milwaukee, Appleton, Menomonie, Janesville, Green County (Monroe), Wausau and more. Find out more about the “Our Maps, Our Say” rallies here.

Listen to this episode featuring Organizing Director iuscely Flores and Coalition Volunteer & Relational Organizer Nicole Gabriel, where they talk about the work they’ve been doing to build a “Wisconsin model” for redistricting, how the gerrymandering arms race is impacting this debate, and what’s in store for the June 4 rallies.

This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.therecombobulationarea.news/subscribe

Angela Lang and I always have a lot to talk about when we get together, so for these podcast episodes, we each bring three headlines or topics to discuss.

This time, my headlines were:

* WPR: Failed surplus deal would have sent Wisconsin budget into the red, analysis finds

* NPR: Transportation Secretary Duffy filmed a reality show, funded by firms he regulates

* Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Schlitz beer production ends after 175 years

And for Angela, they were:

* Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Tom Tiffany says Jan. 6 defendants ‘possibly’ are owed restitution

* Fox 6: Watertown band members play LGBTQ+ history song banned by board

* Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: This report says Milwaukee is the top US city for creatives. Here’s why

This episode is sponsored by the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign and the Wisconsin Fair Maps Coalition, which is hosting “Our Maps, Our Say” rallies in cities across the state on Thursday, June 4.

Find out more about the events and register to attend here.

This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.therecombobulationarea.news/subscribe

Emily Mills recently won a Milwaukee Press Club GOLD award for their column, “How AI is harming Wisconsin’s path to renewable energy.” So, they joined the podcast to talk about that prescient piece, how the politics of AI and data centers has taken off as a major issue over the past year, and how this is an issue that does not cut along traditional political lines.

We talked about that piece, along with Emily’s latest column, on “habitual drama king” Kirk Bangstad, and his run for governor.

This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.therecombobulationarea.news/subscribe

Thanks so much to everyone who came out for our LIVE PODCAST event at Anodyne Coffee’s Walker’s Point Roastery in Milwaukee! It might not have been April 14, but we still showed up for the 4-1-4! Turns out you can celebrate Milwaukee Day on May 7, after all.

Our guests for the podcast included Angela Lang and Kristin Brey, and we were also joined by Milwaukee Day founder Andy Silverman and 414 Day Executive Director Mocha Harris, as well as Carmen Murguia, sales director at the Milwaukee Courier, another publication that, like The Recombobulation Area, has recently come under the umbrella of Civic Media.

It will always be of the utmost importance to us at The Recombobulation Area to build community, and that community would not be possible without the city we call home: Milwaukee.

Topics discussed include: How much we love Milwaukee, the final year of the Milwaukee Public Museum, the driving in the city (and construction on I-94), Milwaukee Record’s “Mandatory Milwaukee” feature, the origins of Milwaukee Day, the latest on the holiday, what’s happening at the Milwaukee Courier, and much more.

Video credits:

* Video Editor, Tony Zimmerman

* Audio Recording Engineer, Chris Kasper

* Video Producer/Audio Editor, Aaron Zommers

* Additional Editing, Jennie Brand

This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.therecombobulationarea.news/subscribe

The Recombobulation Area is a 19-time 21-TIME! Milwaukee Press Club award-winning opinion column and online publication founded by longtime Milwaukee journalist Dan Shafer. The Recombobulation Area is now part of Civic Media.

Thanks so much to everyone who came out for our LIVE PODCAST event at Anodyne Coffee’s Walker’s Point Roastery in Milwaukee! It might not have been April 14, but we still showed up for the 4-1-4!

Our guests for the podcast included Angela Lang and Kristin Brey, and we were also joined by Milwaukee Day founder Andy Silverman and 414 Day Executive Director Mocha Harris, as well as Carmen Murguia, sales director at the Milwaukee Courier, another publication that, like The Recombobulation Area, has recently come under the umbrella of Civic Media.

It will always be of the utmost importance to us at The Recombobulation Area to build community, and that community would not be possible without the city we call home: Milwaukee.

Thanks again, y’all!

Production and engineering for this episode by Chris Kasper and Aaron Sommers.

The Recombobulation Area is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support our work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Dan Shafer is a journalist from Milwaukee who writes and publishes The Recombobulation Area. In 2024, he and the publication joined Civic Media, where he is currently a Contributing Editor. He’s written for The New York Times, The Daily Beast, Heartland Signal, Belt Magazine, WisPolitics, and Milwaukee Record. He previously worked at Seattle Magazine, Seattle Business Magazine, the Milwaukee Business Journal, Milwaukee Magazine, and BizTimes Milwaukee. He’s won 24 Milwaukee Press Club Excellence in Journalism Awards. He’s on Twitter at @DanRShafer.

Subscribe to The Recombobulation newsletter here and follow us on Facebook and Instagram at @ therecombobulationarea.

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Follow Dan Shafer on Twitter at @DanRShafer, at BlueSky at @danshafer.bsky.social, and on Threads at @danshafer.

This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.therecombobulationarea.news/subscribe

The Recombobulation Area is a 19-time 21-TIME! Milwaukee Press Club award-winning opinion column and online publication founded by longtime Milwaukee journalist Dan Shafer. The Recombobulation Area is now part of Civic Media.

The Wisconsin Department of Transportation recently held a pair of Public Involvement Meetings about the future of the Lake Interchange in Milwaukee, otherwise known as 794.

This stretch of interstate highway between the Marquette Interchange and the Hoan Bridge has been a topic of debate for several years, since it was identified that it would need to be replaced, with a price tag well into the hundreds of millions of dollars. In the years since, many have argued that this stretch of highway would be better off being significantly reconfigured, or perhaps even torn down entirely.

The meetings that have been held over the past week are part of the the third round of public involvement meetings that have been held on this project, with the first being in August 2023, another in November 2025, and now yet another here in the Spring of 2026.

You can see the latest materials released as part of the public meeting here. BizTimes also has a good breakdown of the various proposals here.

Rethink 794, which has advocated for removal of the freeway, had its own reaction to the latest here.

You can also watch this episode on our YouTube channel here:

And here’s what we had to say about the project in 2023:

The Recombobulation Area is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Dan Shafer is a journalist from Milwaukee who writes and publishes The Recombobulation Area. In 2024, he and the publication joined Civic Media, where he is currently a Contributing Editor. He’s written for The New York Times, The Daily Beast, Heartland Signal, Belt Magazine, WisPolitics, and Milwaukee Record. He previously worked at Seattle Magazine, Seattle Business Magazine, the Milwaukee Business Journal, Milwaukee Magazine, and BizTimes Milwaukee. He’s won 24 Milwaukee Press Club Excellence in Journalism Awards. He’s on Twitter at @DanRShafer.

Subscribe to The Recombobulation newsletter here and follow us on Facebook and Instagram at @ therecombobulationarea.

Already subscribe? Get a gift subscription for a friend.

Part of a group who might want to subscribe together? Get a group subscription for 30% off!

Follow Dan Shafer on Twitter at @DanRShafer, at BlueSky at @danshafer.bsky.social, and on Threads at @danshafer.

This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.therecombobulationarea.news/subscribe

The Recombobulation Area is a 19-time 21-TIME! Milwaukee Press Club award-winning opinion column and online publication founded by longtime Milwaukee journalist Dan Shafer. The Recombobulation Area is now part of Civic Media.

Our guest for this episode is Angela Lang, the co-executive director of Black Leaders Organizing for Communities and an award-winning contributor here at The Recombobulation Area.

Whenever Angela and I get a chance to catch up, there’s always a lot for us to talk about, so for these episodes, we use a format we call “three headlines.” We’ve done this a couple times before, but if this is your first time hearing one of these episodes, we each bring three headlines or topics to discuss, they can be about anything happening in the news, but at least one of them has to be a Milwaukee story. We don’t show these to each other in advance, so you get some genuine reactions here.

Topics for this episode include:

* Recent flooding in Milwaukee and the questions that arise about the city’s infrastructure

* The recent candidate announcements for those running for Wisconsin Supreme Court in 2027, including Pedro Colón and Lyndsey Brunette (and Angela’s recent column)

* Detained Islamic Society president Salah Sarsour, and Congresswoman Gwen Moore’s recent trip to visit him at the Clay County Jail in Indiana — and free speech issues in the second Trump administration

* Milwaukee County’s tremendous success battling opioid overdoses, where the number of deaths have been cut in half since 2022.

* The city of Milwaukee’s recent decision to limit operating hours for food trucks downtown past 10 p.m.

* Milwaukee Alderman Peter Burgelis running for Congress in the 1st Congressional District — a district he does not live in, and the political fortunes of Republican incumbent Bryan Steil

Watch at the video above, or on our YouTube Channel here:

Angela and I will be part of The Recombobulation Area’s LIVE podcast event next week at Anodyne Coffee in Walker’s Point on Thursday, May 7. The great Kristin Brey will also be joining the event. Find all of the details here:

The Recombobulation Area is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Dan Shafer is a journalist from Milwaukee who writes and publishes The Recombobulation Area. In 2024, he and the publication joined Civic Media, where he is currently a Contributing Editor. He’s written for The New York Times, The Daily Beast, Heartland Signal, Belt Magazine, WisPolitics, and Milwaukee Record. He previously worked at Seattle Magazine, Seattle Business Magazine, the Milwaukee Business Journal, Milwaukee Magazine, and BizTimes Milwaukee. He’s won 24 Milwaukee Press Club Excellence in Journalism Awards. He’s on Twitter at @DanRShafer.

Subscribe to The Recombobulation newsletter here and follow us on Facebook and Instagram at @ therecombobulationarea.

Already subscribe? Get a gift subscription for a friend.

Part of a group who might want to subscribe together? Get a group subscription for 30% off!

Follow Dan Shafer on Twitter at @DanRShafer, at BlueSky at @danshafer.bsky.social, and on Threads at @danshafer.

This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.therecombobulationarea.news/subscribe