Lake Effect Spotlight

Whether it's the anxiety of bases loaded and two outs or the euphoria of seeing a grand slam — it turns out rooting for the Brewers… or any sports team… can be good for your mental health.  

Shilagh Mirgain is a health and sports psychologist at UW Health. She joins me to talk about the psychology of being a sports fan. 

We interview Democratic candidate for governor David Crowley. Republican candidate Tom Tiffany did not agree to a recorded interview. We detail his positions and list the questions we would've asked him.

For a special drop this Friday, enjoy one of the episodes from season three of Swing State of the Union, WUWM's election podcast. This episode covers immigration, and who on your ballot has power over this issue.

Olbrich Botanical Gardens in Madison has 16 acres of gardens to explore as well as a domed conservatory full of tropical and exotic plants.  

By day, it’s a lovely place to stroll and enjoy the many plant varieties. But by night, it’s transformed into an art exhibit and light show called GLEAM. It's a unique opportunity to see the gardens illuminated by vibrant colors at night and enjoy several interactive displays that play with the natural beauty of the gardens. 

To learn more and help you plan a trip to see GLEAM, Lake Effect’s Becky...

There’s a network of players involved in delivering food to communities in need. During the COVID-19 pandemic a federally funded program called the Local Food Purchase Assistance Program strengthened this network.The program enabled states and tribes to purchase locally produced food, improving regional food systems. It supported farmers and brought fresh food to underserved communities. But the program ended in 2025.  

Now, the Wisconsin Food Hub is collaborating throughout the region in its place. Their goal is to create a reliable model to safeguard against funding cuts. WUWM’s Eddie Morales has the story as part of ou...

2 Chainz is a grammy-winning Hip-Hop artist, known for hits such as I’m Different, Feds Watching, and It’s A Vibe. He’s a businessman, a family man, and most recently, he added author to his list of accomplishments. 

2 Chainz’ autobiography, “The Voice in My Head is God,” was released earlier this year. It details the spiritual journey behind his success. The rapper had some help with the book from UWM English professor Derrick Harriell, who co-authored it. Harriell joins WUWM’s Race & Ethnicity Reporter Teran Powell to share what it was like working on the book with 2 Chainz.

It’s the start of the spookiest month of the year, and that’s especially true for educator and content creator Geo Rutherford. The UWM grad and Sauk City based artist celebrates every October with her TikTok series “Spooky Lake Month.” In it, she explores the world’s most eerie and unusual bodies of water - including some right here in Wisconsin.  

Rutherford’s work was featured in this month’s Milwaukee Magazine. She joins Lake Effect’s Joy Powers to talk about the series and what makes water so spooky. 

Up to one billion birds die from building collisions every year in the U.S. In downtown Milwaukee alone — hundreds of birds die from flying into glass buildings each year.  But one local program is working to change that.  

Wisconsin Night Guardians for Songbirds, also known as WINGS, has volunteers document bird collisions downtown during spring and fall migration. They bring injured birds they find to the Wisconsin Humane Society’s Wildlife Rehab Center. All of the data WINGS volunteers gather is used to better understand the scale of collisions and help building managers reduce them.  

Amand...

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...

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 Po...

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...

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 La...

“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 M...

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...

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 everyo...

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...

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 h...

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...

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...

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...

Air quality in Milwaukee reached historically hazardous levels last week. And while it’s gotten better, there are still reasons to be cautious. Wildfires in Canada continue to burn across Ontario. Some health experts are advising people to stay vigilant, with the potential for more smoke spreading over the Midwest. 

Dr. Ben Weston is Milwaukee County’s Chief Health Policy Advisor. He joins WUWM’s Eddie Morales to talk about the effects of short- and long-term exposure to wildfire smoke. 

Thousands of airplane enthusiasts are in Oshkosh this week for the annual AirVenture celebration. The festival is put on by the Experimental Aircraft Association, based right here in Wisconsin. It’s the largest festival of its kind, with people flying in from all corners of the world to attend.  

That includes Jessica Cox, a pilot from Arizona who’s in Oshkosh sharing her journey to becoming the world’s first licensed pilot without arms. She’ll also be showing off her Impossible Airplane - the first plane designed to be operated by feet. Cox joins Lake Effect’s Joy Power...

It’s July 1952 in Oconto, Wisconsin. You wake up, stretch, pour some coffee, all while strange sounds filter in from outside. Some witnesses describe sounds like a combination of rubbing on a balloon, and distant rifle fire.

Only it isn’t distant rifles making these sounds - it’s 175 million …. frogs. 

Tea Krulos is a contributing writer for Milwaukee Magazine, who wrote about the Great Oconto Frog Invasion for this month’s issue. He sat down with Lake Effect’s Sam Woods to discuss the phenomenon, and how little of it is remembered today. 

To mark the beginning of summer, WUWM’s Maayan Silver is looking into the origins of the beloved and unmistakable song “Summertime.”  

She’s joined by Jason McKinney, an opera singer, educator and music director with Milwaukee roots. 

Beyond Our Senses is a new nature documentary that gives you a bird’s-eye view of the world of Bank Swallows. The 30-minute film follows thousands of Bank Swallows as they migrate to Lake Michigan’s bluffs in the spring. It explores how the small birds navigate the breeding season with their unique vision and flight abilities.  

David Busse is the director behind the film and a Milwaukee native. He joins Lake Effect’s Xcaret Nuñez for June's Chirp Chat to talk about Bank Swallows and the making of the film. 

Nicholas Hune-Brown is an editor at a nonprofit online magazine called The Local. It covers health and social issues in Toronto, Canada. Nick has shared how, as an editor, he loves to give new writers a platform. But everything changed when he received a suspicious pitch from a writer named Victoria Goldiee.  

 As Nick took a closer look, it turns out the writer wasn’t who she seemed. Nick joins Lake Effect's Xcaret Nuñez to share his investigation into an AI freelancer — and what it reveals about the future of journalism. 

From our 'AI in the workplace' episode on Tuesday: we look at how artificial intelligence is impacting education. WUWM education reporter Katherine Kokal takes us on a trip to Ronald Reagan High School on the city’s far south side.  

For the past 13 years, Giannis Antetokounmpo has been synonymous with the Bucks and the city of Milwaukee. Sadly, last week, he was traded. But even though the Giannis era has come to an end, his impact on the city won’t be forgotten. 

WUWM’s Jimmy Gutierrez shares this essay about the global superstar who put Milwaukee back on the map. 

We look at the tenure of Milwaukee’s last Socialist mayor, Frank Zeidler, and his aggressive campaign to expand the size of the city. We also explore what socialism looks like in Milwaukee today.

Milwaukee Mayor Daniel Hoan became the longest-serving socialist mayor in U.S. history, and redefined life in the city by creating parks, publicly-funded housing and the first modern sewage treatment facility. But it was a tumultuous time for the socialists, who faced local and global pressure over their ideology. 

Milwaukee is known for its deep ties to Socialism. It was the first city to elect a Socialist mayor and was the first place to elect a Socialist to Congress. But their rise to power was rocky and their status as a third party often made progress an uphill battle.  

We’re exploring the accomplishments of the Milwaukee's three Socialist mayors, where we see their legacy today, and how the party has evolved. 

In this episode, we look into what happened after the monumental election of 1910, which propelled the city’s first Socialist mayor into office...

The legacy of the Milwaukee Socialists looms large in the city. But the rise of the Social Democratic Party was anything but inevitable. It was a struggle against monied interests, powerful political parties, and a fight for the rights of those whose labor had made others rich.