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'News you can use', Q&As, and other content tailored for the digital age:

Journal Sentinel •

Wisconsin voters change the state's constitution on cash bail. Here's what the decision means.

Wisconsin voters change the state's constitution on cash bail. Here's what the decision means.

Wisconsin voters decided Tuesday to amend the state's constitution and expand the criteria for setting cash bail — the final step in the process after two consecutive legislative sessions approved the amendment.

The amendment was divided into two questions, both dealing with what can happen to a defendant in the time between when they’re charged with a crime and when they’re convicted — the first dea
UWM Post •

UWM Tuition and Fees to Increase This Year. What Students Need to Know

Base tuition at UW-Milwaukee will increase next year by $364 for in-state undergraduate students.

The move, which was approved by the Board of Regents at the end of March, has been long sought by university leaders operating under tight budgets. The issue is particularly acute at UWM where 88% of the university’s operating budget comes from tuition dollars as the university faces a “daunting dilemma” financially, the Wisconsin Policy Forum said in 2021.

Regents also approved increases to other
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel •

New MPS Foundation director discusses her journey, her goals, and the role public schools play beyond education

New MPS Foundation director discusses her journey, her goals, and the role public schools play beyond education

Local education leader and Milwaukee Public School alum Tiffany Tardy has been chosen as the new executive director of the Milwaukee Public Schools Foundation, hoping to expand on existing programs, strengthen the district’s relationship with its alumni and ensure that students are getting their basic needs met at school.

The MPS Foundation, established in 1998, is a non-profit organ
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel •

April welfare referendum: What's on the ballot, what is existing policy, and what would it actually do?

Voters statewide will see a non-binding advisory referendum on the April 4 ballot asking if welfare recipients should be required to look for employment to receive benefits.

The Republicans backing the referendum say the question is necessary to address worker shortages across the state, but Democrats call it a political stunt to influence turnout in the critical Supreme Court race on the sa
Media Milwaukee •

"I think being out of retail makes you realize how terrible the pay and conditions are."

Reide Pearson, 20, studies film at Columbia College Chicago, but the pandemic forced her to move back home to a suburb of St. Louis and pick up a job at a retailer. Now she’s back in Chicago and has reflected on work during the pandemic, as well as work in general.

Q Hunter Turpin: While you were back home because of COVID, did you have a job?

A Reide Pearson: I didn’t work at the beginning of the pandemic because I was unsure of what it was all gonna look like and how long it was gonna last.

Online news & features

Real estate beat coverage, online features:

BizTimes - Milwaukee Business News •

Exclusive look at completed units, views at new Third Ward apartment tower

The new luxury apartment tower under construction in Milwaukee’s Historic Third Ward is nearing completion. Construction crews are enclosing the building’s 31st floor this week, leasing agents have started tours of the building’s 333 apartment units and brokers are eyeing the first tenants for the building’s 10,000 square feet of retail space. Leasing opened up
BizTimes - Milwaukee Business News •

Third Ward apartment tower's rents, on a per square foot basis, will be the highest in Milwaukee

Residents at 333 Water, the 31-story apartment building under construction in Milwaukee’s Historic Third Ward, will pay rents ranging between $2,175 and $9,425 per month. That’s according to figures made public Friday morning from Houston-based Hines, the international developer working on the project at 333 N. Water St., located along the Milwaukee River at St.
BizTimes - Milwaukee Business News •

Enerpac to move HQ from Menomonee Falls to downtown Milwaukee

Enerpac Tool Group, a global manufacturer currently based in Menomonee Falls, is planning to move its corporate headquarters to downtown Milwaukee. The company will occupy about 50,000 square feet of office space in the ASQ Center, located at 600-648 N. Plankinton Ave. in Milwaukee’s Westown neighborhood, according to multiple commercial real estate industry sources. Enerpac
BizTimes - Milwaukee Business News •

GOP lawmakers unveil $700 million American Family Field funding proposal

Republican lawmakers unveiled a new plan Monday that would use $600 million in state and local funds to renovate American Family Field and keep the Milwaukee Brewers in Wisconsin through 2050.

Speaking at a ballpark press conference, Assembly Speaker Robin Vos said the deal is “good for taxpayers, good for the state and is good for the team,” as without it the Brewers could relocate as early as 2030, when the team’s lease for the stadium expires.

“Today’s proposal from Republicans in the legis
BizTimes - Milwaukee Business News •

Veolia plans to move west side office to downtown Milwaukee

Hunter covers commercial and residential real estate for BizTimes. He previously wrote for the Waukesha Freeman and Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. A recent graduate of UW-Milwaukee, with a degree in journalism and urban studies, he was news editor of the UWM Post. He has received awards from the Milwaukee Press Club and Wisconsin Newspaper Association. Hunter likes cooking, gardening and 2000s girly pop.
Media Milwaukee •

Milwaukee Co-Housing Development Moves Ahead

Milwaukee’s first co-housing development could be coming to the Riverwest neighborhood. Developers say they hope to address the city’s legacy of racial and economic segregation and incorporate environmental and economic sustainability throughout the project.

The $18 million, 39-unit development, River Trail Commons, took a step forward in February with the purchase of the project site for $1.4 million, developer documents show.

The site, located at 2730 Humbolt Blvd. and the two adjacent lots,
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel •

Young voters can help Democrats. Will enough of them cast ballots in Wisconsin Supreme Court race?

The Gordon Dining Center voting ward on the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus usually draws about 50 voters in spring primary elections.

But this February, 515 voters cast their ballots there, according to turnout data from the city of Madison clerk's office. Other campus-area voting wards reported similarly high voting rates. A dorm along Lake Mendota reported 39% turnout.

Those are the nu
UWM Post •

UW System President Asks for 5% Tuition Increase Next Year

Tuition for in-state UW-Milwaukee undergrads could increase by about $480 next year as the UW System pursues its first tuition increase in over a decade, UW System President Jay Rothman said Thursday.

Speaking at an informational hearing for the Assembly Committee on Colleges and Universities, Rothman said he plans on asking the Board of Regents to approve a system-wide tuition increase of about 5% at the Regents’ next meeting.

The increase, which would be implemented for the 2023-24 school ye
Media Milwaukee •

Soaring Mental Health, Academic Needs Overwhelm UWM Students and Staff

After graduating high school at the beginning of the pandemic, UW-Milwaukee student Theresa Jackson faced obstacle after obstacle in college. First her grandma died, then she struggled financially, then her other grandma died. She felt guilty, depressed and anxious.

“I felt like I was drowning, and I couldn’t come back up or like someone had tied an anchor to my feet and it was just constantly weighing me down,” said Jackson, whose name has been changed to protect her privacy.

As a result, she
Media Milwaukee •

Canvassers Take Passion to the Streets, Urging Black Residents to Vote

Along Walnut Street in Milwaukee’s Walnut Hill neighborhood, some homes are decorated with trick-or-treat signs and pumpkins, some have wire grates over the windows, and one has bullet holes in the siding.

At each one, canvassers with Power to the Polls, a Milwaukee-based get-out-the-vote organization left a flyer that said “Black Voters Matter” across the top.

Canvassers were going door to door in this neighborhood in mid-October urging residents to vote in the November general election. Many
Media Milwaukee •

The UWM Student Union is Getting a Facelift

UW-Milwaukee announced a $40.7 million renovation of the student union to improve navigation, aesthetics and infrastructure at a kickoff event Nov. 30.

This comes after students rejected a union renovation project in 2017, but union officials warned of failing mechanical systems that threaten to shut the building down.

“I’m very serious when I say we are at risk of something happening that would cause us to not be able to open our doors,” said Rick Thomas, the director of the student union.

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