Wisconsin DNR wants you to be a community scientist
The Wisconsin DNR is looking for Wisconsinites to become community scientists by reporting any sightings of deer and game birds to track reproductive capacities.
Aug 26, 2025•9 min
Lake Effect Spotlight
The Lake Effect Spotlight podcast features some of our favorite conversations about the people, places and organizations that shape Milwaukee.
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Episodes
Should schools ban cell phones?
This year’s class of high school seniors was born in or around 2008. That’s one year after the release of the first iPhone and four years after the launch of Facebook. While this generation of students grew up online, they’re increasingly heading into schools looking to ban cell phones. At least 19 states have banned phones outright in schools, and sixteen more states are considering it – including Wisconsin. But setting boundaries for kids on technology and social media can be tricky. Enter Dev...
Aug 25, 2025•12 min
How Wisconsin cooperates with ICE, and gets paid for it
The ACLU of Wisconsin recently released a report detailing how local law enforcement cooperates with federal immigration authorities and is paid for that cooperation. Tim Muth is a senior staff attorney for the ACLU of Wisconsin and the primary author of the report. He joins Lake Effect’s Sam Woods to share what they found.
Aug 22, 2025•25 min
Group Chat: getting a Green Card in 2025
This month’s Group Chat features two sisters born in Mexico who grew up in Milwaukee and were DACA recipients. They applied for Green Cards after marrying U-S citizens and they were just approved. They talk with each other, and their husbands, about the experience. They requested anonymity out of fear of retribution.
Aug 21, 2025•13 min
Heat as a workplace issue
It's been hot in Wisconsin this summer with nearly forty days of above average heat. That can be a serious health concern for people who work outdoors, but there aren't many protections for heat safety on the job. Kate McCoy directs the Occupational Health and Safety Surveillance program at the State Department of Health Services. She co-wrote a report last year that shows heat is a concern for workers in Wisconsin. Lake Effect’s Xcaret Nuñez is joined by McCoy to talk about the dangers of high ...
Aug 20, 2025•14 min
There’s treasure hiding in plain sight at Milwaukee’s beaches
Did you know there’s treasure hiding in plain sight at Milwaukee’s beaches? Blythe Haney (p. HAY-knee) hunts for beach glass along the freshwater shorelines of Southeast Wisconsin. She spoke with Lake Effect’s Xcaret Nuñez about beach glass and how to find it.
Aug 19, 2025•14 min
Tips for filing flood insurance claims
Flood damage estimate exceeds $23M, officials hope for FEMA funding. Here's what types of personal insurance do, and do not, cover floods.
Aug 18, 2025•11 min
Rainn Wilson on Dwight Schrute, his Bahá’í faith and Dungeons & Dragons
Rainn Wilson is coming to the Riverside Theatre this week for a celebration of Dwight Schrute, along with a screening of an " Office" episode.
Aug 15, 2025•13 min
What a flood brings: Wauwatosa family among many with flooded homes after southeast Wisconsin storms
Jessica Young and her family are one of hundreds of families still facing challenges after an unprecedented storm hit southeastern Wisconsin.
Aug 13, 2025•18 min
National Hip Hop Day: Milwaukee producer breaks down the art of sampling
"Have I heard this before?" is a question hip-hop aficionados are constantly asking themselves. Milwaukee musician Kiran Vedula explains why.
Aug 11, 2025•14 min
Why are Milwaukee craft breweries closing?
Wisconsin State Journal's "Beer Baron" columnist Chris Drosner joins Lake Effect 's Joy Powers to discuss recent brewery closures and what they could mean for the industry.
Aug 08, 2025•10 min
Economic check-in: Local business owner shares her concerns for the future
Ryan Faurie is a business owner and mother living in Greendale, Wisconsin. Along with her husband Will, she’s raising a 12-year-old daughter and looking toward the future. Ryan joins Lake Effect’s Joy Powers to talk about how the economy is impacting her right now and how she’s preparing for the future.
Aug 06, 2025•9 min
‘Spread the good news of poetry’: Wisconsin’s poet laureate on what the role means to her
Brenda Cárdenas is Wisconsin’s newest poet laureate. As the state’s ambassador for poetry, the Milwaukee native hopes to inspire creativity through workshops, projects and meeting with young people.
Aug 04, 2025•22 min
Milwaukee Public Library’s Wisconsin Concert Poster Collection is pretty punk
Milwaukee Public Library's Timothy Rush talks about the Rare Books Room's collection of almost 200 gig posters.
Aug 01, 2025•12 min
Exploring Fondy Farmers Market, the oldest farmers market in Milwaukee
The Fondy Farmers Market is the oldest farmers market in the city of Milwaukee. For more than a century, it’s brought produce and other goods fresh from the makers who create them. We explore the market alongside Venice Williams, the executive director of the Fondy Food Center.
Jul 31, 2025•10 min
How did the Lumberjack World Championships end up in northern Wisconsin?
Athletes came to Hayward, Wisconsin this July from 16 states and seven countries, to chop, saw, throw axes, log roll, sprint across floating logs and speed climb poles.
Jul 28, 2025•15 min
Vacant lots are a blank canvas: Finding opportunity in Milwaukee
Antoine Carter speaks about gardening, public art, philanthropy and his plan to build apartment buildings on vacant lots near Milwaukee’s Moody Park.
Jul 25, 2025•19 min
Willow Newell is the first Black Miss Wisconsin. Up next: Miss America
Twenty-two-year-old Racine native, Willow Newell, is the first Black woman to be named Miss Wisconsin. In September, she'll compete for Miss America in Florida.
Jul 23, 2025•19 min
$11M deficit, authorized worker strike and leadership vacuum: What’s going on at MCTS?
Milwaukee’s County Transit System recently announced a surprise $11 million budget deficit projected for the year. Last week, the drivers union authorized a strike. So what exactly is going on with the county's bus system?
Jul 21, 2025•13 min
Monarch butterfly population rebounds, but it’s still one of the lowest numbers on record
Habitat loss, climate change and the use of pesticides are to blame for the population decline of monarchs, says Karen Oberhauser, the co-founder and co-director of the Monarch Larva Monitoring Project.
Jul 18, 2025•16 min
RNC economic impact estimated at $321M, but lost regular business not included
A report claims that the 2024 Republican National Convention generated a $321 million economic impact for the Milwaukee-area economy. But this report does not account for losses of regular business.
Jul 16, 2025•11 min
Capitol Notes: How does the Wisconsin budget protect healthcare funding?
As the federal government sliced health care coverage over the next decade, Wisconsin, too, passed its budget. How will it impact people with Medicaid coverage, SNAP benefits or child care needs?
Jul 14, 2025•14 min
A Milwaukee immigration lawyer speaks on changes he's seen since last year
Milwaukee immigration lawyer Davorin Odrcic joins Lake Effect’s Joy Powers to discuss changing immigration laws over the past year.
Jul 11, 2025•11 min
Having a field day with Wisconsin's ham radio enthusiasts
WUWM's Joy Powers speaks to ham radio enthusiasts at a National Association for Amateur Radio field day to learn more about the subculture surrounding this unique hobby.
Jul 09, 2025•9 min
'Choosing Love' explores lessons about relationships, inclusion & more from LGBTQ+ Christians
“Choosing Love” co-authors Dawne Moon & Theresa Tobin explore how people can identify as both conservative Christians and a part of the LGBTQ+ community, and the lessons they can teach about relationships, inclusion and justice.
Jul 07, 2025•21 min
'Group Chat': 'I want to live, too'
This month’s "Group Chat" is a conversation between high school best friends who are off to college. The only problem is they’re afraid of what might happen to their parents, who don’t have legal status in the U.S.
Jul 03, 2025•13 min
Get your music on at 'Summer of Soul': a downtown Milwaukee concert series
Headliners include BILAL, Digable Planets, Madison McFerrin and Septeto Charambó. The series is every other Wednesday starting July 2 to August 27 at the Marcus Center's Peck Pavilion.
Jul 02, 2025•14 min
Exploring the history of Bay View's Humboldt Park
Author and Bay View Historian Ron Winkler joins WUWM’s Audrey Nowakowski to explore the history of Humboldt Park, ahead of its 2025 designation as a Bay View Historical Society site.
Jun 30, 2025•14 min
Where are the victims of the Bay View Massacre buried?
The Bay View Massacre was a pivotal moment in Wisconsin's labor and political history, but not much is known about the victims. In this "Bubbler Talk" we explore who they were and where they're buried.
Jun 27, 2025•11 min
Buc-ee's in Wisconsin: Big promises, competition and lawsuits
The Texas-based convenience store chain Buc-ee's is slated to make its Badger State debut in 2027. But what does this mean for Wisconsin travelers and residents of Oak Creek?
Jun 25, 2025•27 min
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