Milwaukee Independent earns 3 of its 11 Gridiron Awards for first-hand reporting of Ukraine War
The Milwaukee Independent earned eleven top distinctions on May 12 from the Milwaukee Press Club for Excellence in Wisconsin Journalism, during the 2023 Gridiron Awards at the Pfister Hotel. The journalism honors follow multiple years of double-digit recognition for...
Milwaukee-based “Friends of Be an Angel” is saving lives and offering hope in war-damaged Ukraine
Entire cities in Ukraine have been destroyed, displacing more than 14 million residents from their homes, schools, and livelihoods for the past year. Since the early days of the war, Milwaukee-based nonprofit Friends of Be an Angel has made extraordinary efforts in...
Governor Evers signs legislation to increase penalties for carjacking and reckless driving in Wisconsin
Governor Tony Evers signed a pair of bipartisan bills on May 10 that would increase penalties for carjacking and reckless driving. The bills come as part of a Republican-backed push to crack down on dangerous driving across the state but particularly in Milwaukee,...
Data released by FBI shows hate crimes across America escalated at alarming rate in 2021
The number of hate crimes in the U.S. jumped again in 2021, continuing an alarming rise, according to FBI data released March 20. The nearly 12% increase marks a reversal of a previous, incomplete report from the agency that appeared to show a drop but was missing...
The carnage continues: Even experts seek answers to why America is plagued with so many mass killings
More than five years after his son was gunned down in the deadliest mass shooting in modern United States history, Richard Berger still asks why. Why Stephen Berger was killed the day after celebrating his 44th birthday. Why the gunman rained bullets over the Las...
Weapons of War: We already have a Federal law to get military-style guns off our neighborhood streets
Steven Spainhouer’s son worked at one of the stores in the Allen, Texas shopping mall chosen by America’s most recent mass shooter. He arrived at the mall just after the neo-nazi murderer had slaughtered several people, sometimes ripping their bodies and faces into an...
Milwaukee community mourns migrant deaths in Brownsville after SUV driver hits crowd at bus stop
Milwaukee Independent was embedded with a delegation from Forward Latino for a fact-finding mission to the Mexico-United States border, that started at City of Brownsville in June 2022. Nearly a year later on May 7, at least seven people were killed and up to ten were...
A quest for significance: Why mass shooters seek a shortcut to stardom fueled by grievances
By Arie Kruglanski, Professor of Psychology, University of Maryland An acutely troubling aspect of life in contemporary America is the growing proliferation of mass shootings that claim thousands of innocent lives year after painful year and make everyone feel unsafe....
Survey finds majority of Wisconsin residents delay or decline access to medical care due to fear of cost
More than half of Wisconsin residents, including people with insurance coverage, delayed or decided to forgo health care because of the cost, according to survey results that were recently published. Some skipped a recommended medical test or treatment. Some cut pills...
Clashing abortion laws between Red and Blue States may be among next wave of national legal battles
Abortion is banned in Idaho at all stages of pregnancy, but the governor signed another law in April making it illegal to provide help within the state’s boundaries to minors seeking an abortion without parental consent. The new law is obviously aimed at...
Dear MAGA Folk: When was this magical time when America was so great that you want to return to?
I have been trying really hard to find MAGA folks who actually tell us what time in American history they want to turn the clocks back to. Knowing American history pretty well, I have a guess. But I doubt the MAGAs will see that time through an honest lens. The...
Mass killings in 2023: Replay of the near-weekly horror loop this year blamed on gun proliferation
The U.S. is setting a record pace for mass killings in 2023, replaying the horror on a loop roughly once a week so far this year. The carnage has taken 88 lives in 17 mass killings over 111 days. Each time, the killers wielded firearms. Only 2009 was marked by as many...
