Author: Wisconsin Public Radio

When Caroline Comstock graduated four years ago with a business degree from Marquette University, she was offered a good paying job at a Milwaukee-based company, and a lower-paying internship in Chicago. She chose the internship. Comstock is one of the hundreds of millennials that leave Milwaukee every year — and the city wants to form a task force to investigate how to stop the so-called “brain drain.” A 2019 report by the Milwaukee Office of Workforce Development found the city and the state of Wisconsin are struggling to attract and retain young, educated workers. The number of 25- to...

Three state attorneys general are supporting Michigan’s stance in its case to shut down an energy firm’s pipeline running through the Straits of Mackinac, including Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul. In June, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel sued Enbridge Energy and asked a Michigan court to rule the operation of Line 5 under its 1953 easement agreement with the state violates the public trust doctrine. Under the public trust doctrine, states hold land or natural resources in trust for public benefit or use. In a recent filing, three Democratic attorneys general from Wisconsin, Minnesota, and California said Enbridge has...

The governor’s office and its allies in the state Legislature are teaming up to combat discrimination in Wisconsin, where racial disparities are stark. Governor Tony Evers signed the executive order on November 12, creating the Governor’s Advisory Council on Equity and Inclusion, a group of appointees who will advise the executive branch on ways to promote equality in Wisconsin. All state agency employees, including the governor, will have to undergo mandatory training in cultural sensitivity and systemic racism. The order also sets the stage to reform state agencies, requiring them to set equity goals and review their workplace policies....

In a rare show of solidarity, the Milwaukee Common Council and Mayor Tom Barrett are asking Governor Tony Evers for state aid to assist them in fighting reckless driving in Milwaukee. Mayor Barrett and members of the Common Council held a press conference October 26, two days after a reckless driver killed a 6-year-old girl and critically injured her 4-year-old sister and 10-year-old cousin on the city’s north side. According to Milwaukee police, a driver swerved around cars stopped at a red light and hit the children who were in the crosswalk on West Center Street. Multiple people have...

As the United States Supreme Court heard arguments in the case over President Donald Trump’s plan to end the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program on November 12, Milwaukee immigration advocates and students gathered to rally support for those living in the country without legal permission. DACA provides temporary legal status and protection to people who were brought to the U.S. illegally as children. The program protects almost 800,000 people — known as “Dreamers” — from being deported nationally. It protects nearly 8,000 people in Wisconsin. Milwaukee students and members from Milwaukee nonprofits Voces De La Frontera...