Environmental issues were plentiful this year. From Waukesha water to a retooled DNR, WUWM looks at a few that will continue to vertebrate in 2017. Waukesha Water Waukesha has to replace its well water because it’s tainted with radium. The city built its solution around a daily allotment of about ten million gallons of water from Lake Michigan, and that meant winning permission from the states that border the lake, because Waukesha sits outside its basin. After years of deliberation, the

Some of the biggest education stories in Milwaukee this year dealt with decisions elected leaders made in the statehouse. 2016 marked a year of uncharted territory for both public K-12 and higher education in Milwaukee. Perhaps no group felt more on edge than supporters of Milwaukee Public Schools . Opponents spent the better half of the year protesting the Opportunity Schools and Partnership Program, or OSPP. It’s the turnaround program legislators approved, creating a new governance structure

America’s presidential race dominated the country’s political news in 2016 – including in Wisconsin. Donald Trump defied the polls and won the state. In addition, the year ushered in a second term for Republican Sen. Ron Johnson. The election activity started right away and brought plenty of surprises. The presidential candidates campaigned early and often, before Wisconsin’s April primary. One of them, on the Republican side, was Texas Sen. Ted Cruz. “If there are needs in the workforce and

Every Saturday morning, hundreds of people wait in line for the doors to open at the Riverwest Food Pantry . It’s located in the basement of St. Casimir’s Church in Milwaukee's Riverwest neighborhood. Once inside, they mingle for a few minutes, then Vincent Noth calls the group into prayer. He is the director of the operation. After the prayer, each visitor grabs a couple grocery bags and walks from room to room. In each, there is food, and the people load their bags with fresh produce and

Students and graduates of the theater program at UW-Milwaukee are helping Milwaukee police learn how to respond to people with mental illness, who are in distress. The actors present training scenarios at the police academy and instructors walk officers through how to best respond. There have been cases, including in Milwaukee, when police have shot and killed mentally ill individuals as interactions have spun out of control. Kimberly Gartrell illustrates the dangers someone with schizophrenia

There is a chaplaincy program in Milwaukee – that responds to crime scenes and fires, and even to the unrest that occurred in Sherman Park this summer. Forty people of faith are involved, including Pastor Alexis Twito, who coordinates the Salvation Army program. Today we introduce you to Twito, in Life’s Voices, our year-end series featuring people who quietly do important work in our community. She says the first call she received was to comfort the family of Laylah Peterson, shortly after the

With the end of the year comes reflection, and plans for the months ahead. And 2016 is a big year for Milwaukee Recreation supervisor Carmelo Cortes. Cortes came to Milwaukee without many plans. He was just 21 when he arrived, coming from Puerto Rico to visit a cousin. He expected to stay a few weeks. Things did not go according to plan. “A friend of mine asked me if I wanted a part-time job, and since I was going to stay for a month or so, I figured, [I’d] work and make a little bit of money,”

This week, we experienced the longest night of the year on the winter solstice. Local religious groups picked the date to hold a conversation about lifting people in Milwaukee out of darkness. Jewish groups helped organize the event, while the host was the Islamic Resource Center in Greenfield. The standing-room-only crowd called for an end to racism, hate crimes and intolerance. Shana Harvey is with the group Jewish Voice for Peace Milwaukee. She helped kick off the get-together with song.

Updated December 23, 2016: The Milwaukee School Board approved Thursday earlier start dates for all district high schools, International Baccalaureate and year-round schools for the 2017-18 academic year. It's one of several changes the district will pursue, as part of a rigorous reform agenda from Superintendent Darienne Driver. MPS leaders say the new calendar will start in mid-August and finish before the end of May. It would also allow for the addition of an optional, four-week "J-term" in

The idea has arisen again of breaking up the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. Supporters believe placing its functions in different agencies would make things run more efficiently. Gov. Walker indicated this week that he thinks the proposal has merit. Some environmentalists worry the plan would have disastrous effects. The idea is to basically divide the Department of Natural Resources into two separate agencies. The latest proposal comes from Republican state Rep. Adam Jarchow of