Tim Scott was shocked when he was laid off in May as the executive director of Nearby Nature, an organization that works to reconnect Black people to nature by offering nature education classes and introducing residents to new outdoor experiences.
Instead of letting the sudden change deter him, he doubled down on his commitment to help Milwaukee residents experience the outdoors.
Scott is opening Urban Nature Connection, a community-based nonprofit dedicated to reconnecting Black and Brown communities with nature.
The organization’s mission is to promote the physical, spiritual and mental health of outdoor activities such as birding, gardening, biking, hiking and fishing.
Finding a new purpose
According to Scott’s wife, Theresa Scott, he has always been an outdoorsman.
“He has always enjoyed walking or spending time in the park or outdoors,” Theresa Scott said.
Tim Scott spent most of his career in construction work.
He’s also done some coaching and marriage counseling but said he found a new purpose when he took the role at Nearby Nature.
“This is my passion, this is my healer, I owe nature my life to tell you the truth,” Scott said.
His wife agrees.
“I think this is a great second career for him,” she said. “It’s better for his mind and his body.”
Scott said he now knows the importance of pushing nature as a healing mechanism, especially for those who don’t have access to mental health services.
“We all experience trauma in different ways,” Scott said. “But we don’t all have access to the same mental health services. Being out in nature really saved me when I was experiencing my own crisis.”
By connecting people with nature, Scott hopes to help others find their own healing.
In addition to outdoor activities, the organization will focus on indoor gardening, programming and advocacy of green space.
Over the next few months, the focus will be on getting people outside even during the colder months.
“A lot of our work will be advocacy,” he said. “So, we will center advocacy through every season.”
Scott says he plans to partner with other agencies to host wellness events, community discussions and group walks.
To keep up with Urban Nature Connection, you can follow its Facebook page here.
“What he wants to do here is truly a movement,” Theresa Scott said.
Jonathan Aguilar is a visual journalist at Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service who is supported through a partnership between CatchLight Local and Report for America.
This honor, presented as part of National Philanthropy Day, recognizes leaders whose work advances Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Accessibility (IDEA) in the philanthropic and nonprofit community.
NNS was celebrated alongside other changemakers on Nov. 20 during a special event that spotlighted individuals whose generosity, leadership and commitment are shaping a stronger, more connected southeastern Wisconsin.
In the nomination, the writers highlighted NNS’s mission-driven journalism that amplifies underrepresented voices, deepens public understanding and builds bridges across Milwaukee’s most diverse neighborhoods.
NNS has continued to model what equitable, community-centered journalism looks like in practice: reporting that listens first, collaborates deeply and informs with heart and integrity.
Smith, the executive director of NNS, is an award-winning journalist who served as the managing editor for news at USA TODAY before returning to Milwaukee.
Smith also worked as the deputy managing editor for daily news and production at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, where he oversaw the breaking news hub and production desks and was the key point person for print story selections and workflow.
In a classroom turned barbershop on the third floor at Milwaukee’s Rufus King International High School, students sit for a haircut and talk about academics, sports and the latest trends with English teachers Cameron LeFlore and Emmanuel Johnson.
They’re the latest clients of The Shop in 310, a free on-campus barbershop club for Rufus King students. LeFlore said the cuts help young men feel more confident.
“Then they don’t need a hat or hoodie,” he said. “They can just walk with their head held high.”
The idea for the shop started when LeFlore brought his clippers to the school, hoping students would want a haircut.
Johnson, who was recently hired at the school, decided to collaborate with LeFlore once he learned they both had an interest in barbering.
Checking out the new club
The Shop in 310 opens daily at 3:30 p.m. except Thursdays. Among the regulars at The Shop in 310 are Rufus King juniors Elijah Ramirez and Demontrey Cochran.
Ramirez, 17, moved from Chicago to Milwaukee three months ago and was nervous about trying out a new barber for the first time in 10 years.
“I was scared at first, but then I gained confidence and trust in Mr. LeFlore,” Ramirez said.
He was pleased with the results of his first mid-taper cut.
“It came out better than I expected,” he said.
Since then, he’s gained opportunities with photographers and notices how his cut stands out.
Cochran, 16, is a student in LeFlore’s class and was excited to support the club.
“I really wanted to see how this would turn out,” Cochran said.
Ramirez and Cochran each encourage their peers to give it a try.
“Every man can vouch that after they get a haircut, they are going to feel good and that they can conquer the world because of their haircut and confidence from it,” Cochran said.
Clippers used at The Shop in 310 sit on a desk at Rufus King High School. (Jonathan Aguilar / Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service / CatchLight Local)
Financial relief for families
The Shop in 310 initially charged $10 per cut, but after being approved by the Office of Administration at Rufus King as an official club, the trims became free.
“If your child starts off as a freshman coming here, you’d be saving thousands by the time they’re a senior,” LeFlore said.
Before joining Rufus King, Johnson offered free cuts to students at Marshall High School, where he taught previously, and felt glad to do it.
“Back then, cuts were $25 to $30. Now barbers are charging $40 and up,” he said.
Cochran typically spends $35 for a mid-taper cut at his barber. Since coming to The Shop in 310, he’s been able to save money and also values how accessible it has been for his peers.
“There’s a lot of people I know who don’t even have barbershops near them, so it takes them a long time to finally get a cut,” he said.
LeFlore and Johnson use the club’s Instagram to post haircut tutorials for students interested in learning how to cut their own hair at home.
“I try to take a holistic approach and think back to what I would’ve wanted when I was in high school,” LeFlore said.
Demontrey Cochran, 16, gets a haircut from English teacher Emmanuel Johnson at Rufus King High School. (Jonathan Aguilar / Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service / CatchLight Local)
Visiting The Shop in 310 is more than just receiving a haircut for Ramirez and Cochran. It’s a place to feel welcomed.
“At first I saw them as just English teachers,” Ramirez said. “I like their communication and ability to understand what I’m specifically asking for.”
Beyond the sounds of clippers, Cochran sees the barbershop as peaceful, chill and liberating.
“As long as everything is appropriate this is a non-judgment zone,” he said.
Practice leads to improvement
LeFlore and Johnson are self-taught barbers who learned the skills on their own before bringing clippers into the classroom.
Johnson started off cutting his youngest brother’s hair as a favor while receiving feedback from his mentor Thomas Mclern, a barber with more than 30 years’ experience.
“While cutting my brother’s hair I realized that cutting hair was one of the best ways for me to serve the community,” he said. “Cutting hair is now an art for me.”
LeFlore’s path to barbering began after watching a friend cut his own hair, inspiring him to do the same.
“I told my friend to send me all the products I needed, then I went and brought everything,” he said.
LeFlore said it used to take an hour and a half to complete a haircut, now it’s only 20 minutes.
Tapping into diverse hair types
As their skills improved by cutting five to 10 heads a week, Johnson and LeFlore became more versatile.
Having already worked with diverse hair types at Marshall High School, Johnson was able to adjust to the needs of Rufus King students.
“At Marshall, I was exposed to different hair types and hair thinness, so at Rufus King, I learned quickly and had no problem,” Johnson said. “Every now and then when I get a hair type that’s not my own, it’s still a learning experience.”
Though LeFlore was nervous about cutting different hair textures, he practiced on his dad, whose hair is straighter, and watched YouTube videos to become better.
“I took my time and it turned out OK, but it wasn’t as good as I wanted it to be,” he said. “I learned that straighter hair is easier, you just have to be more precise.”
Cochran said he has interest in cutting his own hair after graduating high school.
“I want to purchase my own barber kit eventually, and that should save me at least $100 a month,” he said.
Johnson and LeFlore want people to know that whether it’s cutting hair or something different, practice is key.
“Whatever they’re looking to pursue, they need to find like-minded people who do the same things and practice together,” Johnson said.
Jonathan Aguilar is a visual journalist at Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service who is supported through a partnership between CatchLight Local and Report for America.
Milwaukee residents still facing recovery challenges from the August flood have until Wednesday, Nov. 12, to apply for aid from the Federal Emergency Management Agency and Small Business Administration physical disaster loans.
To begin the process, you must apply online at DisasterAssistance.gov or call 800-621-3362.
Ald. DiAndre Jackson sent an email on Thursday informing residents that they need to apply for FEMA assistance separately even if damage was previously reported to 211, the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewage District or a damage assessment team in late August. Disaster Survivor Assistance teams will also be present at pop-up locations in Milwaukee’s affected communities to help survivors with the FEMA process and provide updates.
Residents can visit any location, and no appointments are required. Click here to view the Milwaukee County Disaster Survivor Assistance location calendar.
Submitting documentation to FEMA
While applying, you must provide the following:
Contact information
Social Security number
A general list of damage and losses
Annual household income
Insurance information
Bank account information for direct deposit
Your address at the time of disaster and where you’re currently residing.
Important reminders
Before applying for FEMA, you must file an insurance claim.
According to the Milwaukee County executive, FEMA will not pay for things that your insurance already covers. However, if your insurance doesn’t cover all your essential needs or is delayed, you can ask FEMA for extra help.
The City of Milwaukee Office of Emergency Management also reminds residents that FEMA provides funds for mold removal as part of disaster aid.
Through FEMA’s Clean and Sanitize program, residents can make a one-time payment of $300 for mold removal, too.
Mold will keep growing until steps are taken to eliminate the source of moisture.
Click here for more information and guides to mold remediation.
Applying for the Small Business Administration loans
Homeowners can get up to $500,000 to fix or rebuild their primary home, and renters can borrow up to $100,000 to repair or replace personal property.
This loan is not for second homes or vacation houses, but if you are a rental property owner you may qualify.
Businesses and nonprofits can apply for a physical disaster loan to borrow up to $2 million for repairs to property or real estate. The deadline to apply is also Nov. 12.
For help on the application process, you can walk in or schedule an appointment at the Business Recovery Center-Summit Place, 6737 W. Washington St., Milwaukee.
Hours are from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday and 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturdays.
Wisconsin is among a coalition of states suing the federal government over new restrictions on disaster relief grants, increasing pressure on the Trump administration from battleground states.
Eleven states and the governor of Kentucky have filed a lawsuit this week against the Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
The lawsuit takes issue with two grants: the Emergency Management Performance Grant and the Homeland Security Grant Program. FEMA placed a hold on EMPG funding until states provide their population as of Sept. 30, 2025, and the plaintiffs argue that states do not keep such up-to-date census information. The federal agency also reduced the number of years that states must complete their grant activities to be reimbursed from three years to one.
“These grants go towards efforts and equipment that help protect Wisconsinites’ safety,” Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul said in a statement. “The federal government shouldn’t be imposing new, unlawful conditions that hinder the use of these funds.”
In a statement to NOTUS, FEMA said it “implemented additional requirements on its grant programs” at the direction of DHS Secretary Kristi Noem.
“This is yet another example of a lawsuit trying to obstruct President Trump’s agenda and the will of the American people,” the statement said. “They are part of a methodical, reasonable effort to ensure that federal dollars are used effectively and in line with the Administration’s priorities and today’s homeland security threats.”
The lawsuit alleges that the administration did not properly follow legally mandated procedures to put these additional burdens of information on the state. Much of the funds are already accounted for in states’ budgets, the lawsuit said. For example, in Wisconsin, the funds go toward the state incident management team and statewide communications and warnings and maintain the state emergency operations center, the lawsuit said.
“Our emergency management and first responder teams worked around the clock in the weeks following Hurricane Helene, and these funds were critical to their work,” North Carolina Attorney General Jeff Jackson said in a statement. “We’re in hurricane season right now, and without these funds, we’ll be left with fewer resources to help people during the next storm that hits North Carolina.”
The lawsuit is led by Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel. Arizona, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Nevada, New Mexico and Oregon are also participating in the suit. Several of the Trump administration’s moves around FEMA have ended up in court. In September, another coalition of blue states successfully sued over the administration’s decision to withhold homeland security funds from blue states.
“The Trump Administration should be working with states to keep our residents safe,” Nessel said in a statement about the litigation. “Instead, the White House continues again and again to pull the rug out from under us, putting the safety of our communities in jeopardy.”
North Carolina lawmakers have expressed frustration in recent months with FEMA. Sen. Ted Budd placed a hold on all DHS nominees because of FEMA delays. Budd announced that he would lift at least one hold on the nominee for DHS general counsel, James Percival, once western North Carolina received the approved funds.
This story was produced andoriginally published by NOTUS, a publication from the nonprofit, nonpartisan Allbritton Journalism Institute. This story was produced as part of a partnership between NOTUS and The Assembly.
Food stocked on shelves within the Rooted & Rising food center in Milwaukee. (Photo by Isiah Holmes/Wisconsin Examiner)
Rooted & Rising, a food center and Hunger Task Force partner, has provided nourishment to people living in Milwaukee’s Washington Park neighborhood for over three decades. The lapse in federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, known in Wisconsin as FoodShare, that began on Saturday is increasing desperation, according to staff. Over the last week, Bill Schmitt, executive director of Rooted & Rising, told the Wisconsin Examiner, “197 households came through the food center…And that’s about a 60% increase over what we would usually see.”
On Friday, Gov. Tony Evers declared a state of emergency in Wisconsin due to the lapse in federal SNAP funding.
Bill Schmitt, executive director of Rooted & Rising in Milwaukee, helps stock shelves in the food pantry. (Photo by Isiah Holmes/Wisconsin Examiner)
By Monday afternoon people from more than 50 local households had already arrived at Rooted & Rising to pick up canned goods and locally grown produce. Schmitt said the numbers on Monday showed a sustained spike.
Rooted & Rising provides food once a month, or every 30 days, from noon to 4 p.m., in a neighborhood where, according to the food center’s website, the unemployment rate exceeds 15% and 50% of households live below the poverty line.
“We know a lot of people came out last week,” Schmitt said, referring to the over 60% spike the pantry saw just before SNAP benefits were cut off. “We’re just trying to keep pace with the demand and make sure that people still have a dignified, respectful experience here and they’re not having to wait too long.”
Rooted & Rising’s shelves are stocked with assorted canned goods, boxes hold ripe fruits and vegetables and freezers preserve perishables including meat. People sit in chairs while staff buzz past carrying boxes and help load bags into cars. First-time visitors must present an I.D. and a current piece of mail.
On Monday, elderly people and parents with small children visited the food center, gathering enough food in their carts to last three days or so. “It’s families just like yours and mine really,” said Schmitt. “It is primarily working families. And people are fitting in visits to the food center with their work schedule when they can, or someone’s coming on their behalf. And we know across the state, it’s 700,000 individuals that rely upon these benefits. And the majority of those families…They’re trying to make ends meet.”
While there was a rise in the number of families visiting the food center at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, Rooted & Rising has seen a more recent uptick over the last year. In addition to the regulars, many people are either new families or people who hadn’t visited the food center in quite some time. “Our assessment of it is like wages just aren’t keeping pace with inflation,” said Schmitt. “There’s obviously been a sustained period of inflationary pressure in the economy more broadly, and subsequently we’ve seen, I mean, even before this government shutdown, our numbers were considerably higher than the year previous.”
Rooted & Rising, a food pantry in Milwaukee. (Photo by Isiah Holmes/Wisconsin Examiner)
Prior to last year, Rooted & Rising would see between 250-350 households a month. In October, 517 households came to the food center for assistance.
“It is both the actual impact of the delayed food share benefits going out, but really it’s also like the uncertainty of it that we all know in our own lives,” Schmitt said.
So last week, we had the busiest week in the history of our food center in anticipation of these food benefits not going out.
– Bill Schmitt, executive director of Rooted & Rising.
Leah Boonnam, 33, comes from one of those new families. Monday was the third time she’d come to Rooted & Rising. She started coming to the food center back in the summer. “It’s a long story,” she said after loading groceries into her car. “I’m a widow. My husband passed a few years ago. So we don’t get FoodShare, I don’t get anything like that. We live off the survivors benefits. And so we’ve had to move a lot, like downsize.”
A friend told Boonnam to check out the food center, which has been a big help to her family. While she works various jobs, Boonnam’s husband was her family’s main provider. “My plan is to finish paying off my debt to school so I can return and finish my degree, my masters,” she told the Wisconsin Examiner. “However, when I started my program, my husband had passed. It was right at the start of COVID and everything. So, he was the one that was the major breadwinner for our family.” Boonnam said she works hard, but “nothing compares to having two incomes in a household.”
“I wish people didn’t feel so bad about having to come here,” she added. “This is a really beautiful thing that is available to us. I mean, this is such a help.”
A community garden outside of the Rooted & Rising food center. (Photo by Isiah Holmes/Wisconsin Examiner)
”A lot of the fresh organic stuff that they get here is from the food pantries, and these are local businesses that are helping to support local people,” Boonnam said.
Another visitor, a friendly 48-year-old man who only wanted to be identified by his first name, Isaac, said he’d been coming to Rooted & Rising for about six years. “It’s very important because things are getting hectic and people don’t have no other options,” he said of SNAP. If food assistance programs were to halt completely, Isaac said he worries “crime might raise, or a lot of chaos.” He hopes that after the current federal shutdown is over, states will “plan ahead and think ahead,” grow food bank networks and provide “things that can assist folks who are in crisis. … We’ll make it, just a little more tender love and care.”
Bonny Walters, an older woman who has helped out at Rooted & Rising for more than 30 years, has seen the numbers of people needing the food center “increase a lot,” she said. She hopes that even if people don’t help out at a food center, they understand that the need is real.
With the future of SNAP still up in the air and the government shutdown continuing, Schmitt said the generosity of neighbors is more important than ever. Across Milwaukee County, food drives are being held to help provide a cushion for local residents who rely on FoodShare to survive. So far, over $74,000 has been raised — enough to provide over 222,000 meals. The Brewers Community Foundation made a $10,000 donation. Local elected leaders have criticized the Trump administration for using hunger and food security as a political bargaining chip in Washington D.C.
Schmitt explained that Rooted & Rising, as part of Milwaukee County’s emergency food network, is designed to meet the emergency nutritional needs of families on a monthly basis. “We do not have the capacity, or the resources, or even the physical space or stocks to fill the gap of the loss of FoodShare,” he said.
“There’s a really visceral situation when you’re talking about people in your communities not having enough to eat and like, skipping meals, or you know, going hungry sometimes, too,” he added. “It’s crazy to think about that — in the wealthiest country in human history that this is an issue that we’re confronting right now. But, people have really been stepping up and we’re going to continue to rely upon that generosity of our community members and partners to kind of recognize that this is a unique moment, and one that requires all of us to work together and kind of meet the moment, meet the need of our fellow community members.”
Jack Daly, who was convicted and senttoprison last year after pleadingguilty to defrauding thousands of conservative political donors out of money — including a scheme claiming to draft former Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke to run for the U.S. Senate — has emerged from federal custody to quietly re-establish himself as a top Republican Party campaign fundraiser.
A NOTUS investigation found that dozens of federal-level Republican political committees — including the Republican National Committee, numerous congressional committees and campaign operations tied to President Donald Trump — have together spent nearly $18 million on digital fundraising, donor lists and other services from Daly’s latest political consulting firm, Better Mousetrap Digital, according to Virgin Islands corporatefilings and Federal Election Commission records.
Daly established Better Mousetrap Digital in September 2023, around the time he surrendered his North Carolina law license, accepted notice of disbarment and pleaded guilty to charges of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and lying to the Federal Election Commission.
Federal prosecutors alleged that Daly “targeted vulnerable victims, including a woman with Alzheimer’s and elderly veterans.” A judge in December 2023 sentenced Daly to four months in prison, a $20,000 fine and nearly $70,000 in restitution payments.
Federal Bureau of Prisons records indicate Daly exited federal custody in June 2024. He is scheduled to remain under supervised release until mid-2026 and is currently petitioning a federal court to vacate his conviction.
Daly, through his attorney, Brandon Sample, declined to answer a series of questions from NOTUS about his legal history, experiences in prison and Better Mousetrap Digital’s operations and business model. Daly likewise declined to comment about whether Better Mousetrap Digital clients are aware of his legal situation and whether he’s ever lost business because of it.
But when asked by NOTUS about their contracts with Daly’s Better Mousetrap Digital for fundraising and data services, several Republican political committees said they will stop, or have stopped, working with the firm.
Among them: the Republican National Committee, which has paid Better Mousetrap Digital more than $1 million since September 2023. This includes payments as recently as last month, on Sept. 17 and Sept. 30, totaling nearly $15,000 for a “list acquisition,” according to FEC records.
“Services from this vendor originated more than two years ago under a previous leadership team, and currently the RNC does not have an ongoing business relationship with them,” RNC Communications Director Zach Parkinson told NOTUS. “The RNC runs one of the largest digital fundraising operations in the conservative ecosystem, which regularly works with a wide range of outside vendors for services. All RNC activities are conducted in full compliance with the law.”
The Mullin Victory Fund — a joint fundraising committee composed of Sen. Markwayne Mullin’s Oklahoma campaign committee, the senator’s Boots Political Action Committee and the National Republican Senatorial Committee — has spent about $66,000 with Better Mousetrap Digital since September 2023, FEC records indicate.
The Mullin committee’s most recent payment to Daly’s firm came last month, on Sept. 30 — $4,969 for “list rental fees,” per FEC records.
“We were not aware of this, and will not use them moving forward,” Mullin’s campaign committee said in a statement to NOTUS when asked if it was aware of Daly’s legal history.
Meanwhile, the reelection campaign of Rep. Harriet Hageman, a Republican of Wyoming, has spent about $122,000 on “fundraising fees” with Better Mousetrap Digital since 2023, including more than 30 transactions this summer and autumn, according to FEC records through September.
When asked why it works with Daly’s company, Hageman’s campaign told NOTUS that “we have advised all vendors to cease any sub-vendor relationships with the referenced company.”
The 1776 Project PAC has paid Better Mousetrap Digital about $151,000 since September 2023, with its most recent payment coming on June 30, for “fundraising consulting agency fees” totaling about $111,000, according to the most recently available FEC records.
“The 1776 PAC has never spoken to Jack Daly,” PAC spokesperson Mitchell P. Jackson said. “He was a digital vendor that worked for a vendor, who we no longer work with. In other words, Daly was a vendor of a vendor that we no longer use.”
NOTUS attempted to contact more than three dozen other Republican political committees about their payments to Better Mousetrap Digital, which range from the low four figures to well into seven figures.
The federal-level committees of the Republican Party of Florida and West Virginia Republican Party acknowledged NOTUS’ inquiries but provided no answers to requests. The Republican state party committees in Arizona, California, Iowa, Minnesota and Texas, which also do business with Better Mousetrap Digital, did not respond to repeated messages.
Nor did several of Better Mousetrap Digital’s most lucrative federal clients, including the NRSC (more than $5.2 million in spending since September 2023), Trump National Committee JFC (nearly $3.6 million in spending) and the Trump Save America Joint Fundraising Committee (nearly $1 million).
Congressional reelection committees that have recently used Better Mousetrap Digital and that did not respond to requests for comment include those of Sens. Rick Scott of Florida, Rand Paul of Kentucky, Josh Hawley of Missouri and Bill Cassidy of Louisiana. The campaigns of Reps. Anna Paulina Luna, Cory Mills, Byron Donalds, Jimmy Patronis and Kat Cammack of Florida also did not respond, nor did those of Reps. Jeff Van Drew of New Jersey and Ronny Jackson of Texas.
Better Mousetrap Digital also does some state-level political business. In New Jersey, for example, state campaign finance records indicate Republican political committee Elect Common Sense has spent more than $155,000 with Better Mousetrap Digital, mostly on “fundraising fees.” Kitchen Table Conservatives, a New Jersey super PAC in part led by former Trump aide Kellyanne Conway that’s supporting Republican gubernatorial candidate Jack Ciattarelli ahead of next week’s election, has spent more than $7,000.
On his LinkedIn page, Daly describes himself as a “prominent and prolific digital fundraiser for more than one thousand clients (GOP candidates/committees and conservative/MAGA causes)” and a “leading digital fundraiser for President Trump & Congressional Republicans.”
Better Mousetrap Digital describes itself as the “premier digital fundraising consulting firm for Republicans. With decades of experience spanning from state house campaigns to the White House, we bring unparalleled expertise and dedication to our clients.”
On its website, the firm advertises Donald Trump for President, the National Republican Senatorial Committee and the RNC as clients, alongside the committees’ logos.
Prosecutors accused Daly and fellow attorney Nathanael Pendley of raising more than $1.6 million for a political committee, known as Draft PAC, that promised to convince Clarke, the former Milwaukee County sheriff, to run for U.S. Senate in Wisconsin ahead of the 2018 midterm election.
Clarke, who did not respond to requests for comment for this article, never ran for the Senate and maintained he never had intentions to do so, telling the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that Daly was operating a “scam PAC.” Federal prosecutors said Daly and Pendley kept fundraising anyway, in part for their personal benefit, and lied about their activities to federal officials.
In a letter to NOTUS, Sample — Daly’s attorney, who leads the Washington, D.C.-based Criminal Center LLC law firm — wrote that “a guilty plea is an admission only to the essential elements of the charged offense, and nothing more.”
While Daly “respects the freedom of the press,” Daly “will not tolerate the publication of any material that misrepresents the narrow scope of his plea, repeats as fact the government’s unproven and rejected allegations, or otherwise defames him,” Sample wrote.
Sample also emailed a copy of the transcript of Daly’s Dec. 15, 2025, sentencing hearing before U.S. District Court Judge J.P. Stadtmueller, with several passages highlighted.
Among them is a statement from Daly’s former attorney, Matthew Dean Krueger, that Daly’s crime is “a very limited offense.”
Krueger also told the court that “the government suggests that the defendants put each of these prospective donors at risk. No, it is the other way around. It’s the donor that put themselves at risk by subscribing or submitting a contribution.”
Daly is now in the midst of a monthslong court proceeding in which he is fighting to have his conviction vacated.
In a Sept. 30 request for an evidentiary hearing, Sample argues in a filing with the U.S. District Court of the Eastern District of Wisconsin that Daly received “substantively incorrect advice” from his previous attorneys and was in “profound turmoil over his plea” — and therefore unable to make a “knowing and intelligent decision during the critical window when his right to withdraw that plea was absolute.”
In his 2023 plea agreement, Daly “acknowledges, understands and agrees that he is, in fact, guilty of the offense” of which he was charged. “The defendant admits that these facts are true and correct and establish his guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.”
At Daly’s December 2023 sentencing hearing, Assistant U.S. Attorney Kevin Knight argued that “Mr. Daly has pled guilty to a year-long criminal conspiracy to lie to the FEC and to defraud donors. So the idea that somehow it’s inaccurate to suggest that there’s a multi-year course of criminal conduct, that’s literally the offense of conviction. That is beyond dispute at this point, and any suggestion to the contrary should just be flatly rejected.”
State Street in Wauwatosa flooded out. (Photo courtesy of Baiba Rozite)
U.S. Rep. Gwen Moore (D-Milwaukee) is raising an alarm after Wisconsin was denied flood mitigation funds by the Trump administration. The assistance, which was denied by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), would have helped the state prepare for situations like the record-breaking floods that swept through southeastern Wisconsin in August.
“The risks of severe flooding will only increase due to climate change, and our community needs to be prepared,” Moore said in a statement Thursday. “FEMA’s ill-conceived decision denies our state the opportunity to take proactive efforts to prevent future flooding and damage, which saves homeowners and taxpayers dollars in the long run.”
Research shows that severe storms and flooding will increase in Wisconsin due to climate change. Shortly after the August floods, which inundated parks and left over 1,800 homes damaged or destroyed, Wisconsin Policy Forum noted a “dramatic increase” in extreme rain and flooding events, resulting in higher payouts for flood insurance.
Although the Trump administration approved a first round of disaster funds to assist individual homes and small businesses, additional support to help repair public infrastructure was also denied in late October. Counties in areas represented by both Democrats and Republicans were denied additional assistance.
“State and local governments cannot do it alone,” said Moore. “I expect Gov. Evers will rightly appeal this denial, and I hope that request will get bipartisan support in our congressional delegation. As our communities continue to recover, it is clear there is a need to build our communities back stronger and more resilient. I will continue advocating for Wisconsin’s needs at the federal level and push back against these ill-advised decisions.”
As uncertainty surrounds Wisconsin’s SNAP program, also known as FoodShare, some community members are finding ways to support others in their time of need.
Wisconsin’s FoodShare program serves more than 700,000 Wisconsin residents. FoodShare is funded through the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP. SNAP benefits across the country are at risk during the government shutdown.
After the Trump administration said it planned to to freeze payments to SNAP on Nov. 1, two federal judges on Friday ruled the administration must draw from contingency funds to keep aid flowing during the shutdown.
But those rulings may be appealed and benefits may be delayed.
Here are some things you can do if you live in Milwaukee and want to support anyone who might become impacted by FoodShare delays.
What you should know
The Hunger Task Force of Milwaukee is in a position to provide resources to those impacted, according to Reno Wright, advocacy director for the nonprofit.
“We do know that November payments are going to be delayed, but that eventually they will have access to those November benefits,” he said.
People can go to HungerTaskForce.org and access the “Get Help” page, and from there they will be able to find the nearest meal site or food pantry to them and their families, Wright said.
You can also follow the Wisconsin Department of Health Services’ FoodShare update page.
What’s being done
Food drive
The city of Milwaukee, Milwaukee County, Milwaukee Public Schools and other partners launched a citywide food drive to help residents impacted by the federal shutdown and a pause of FoodShare benefits.
Collaboration to support food pantries
Feeding America of Eastern Wisconsin and Nourish MKE are collaborating with the groups to collect nonperishable food and monetary donations to support Milwaukee food pantries.
Metcalfe Park Community Bridges has been organizing around food needs and access through advocacy and opening community fridges.
To keep up with or support Metcalfe Park Community Bridges, you can follow the group’s Facebook page.
Advocacy efforts
The Hunger Task Force’s Voices Against Hunger is encouraging people to urge the U.S. Department of Agriculture, or USDA, into helping.
“The U.S. Department of Agriculture has the authority and the resources to prevent an interruption in benefits by using SNAP contingency funds, transferring funds from other departments and issuing clear guidance to state agencies. The tools to make sure families do not go hungry during this holiday season are available, and what is needed now is immediate administrative action and political will,” an email blast from the group stated.
Wright said the Hunger Task Force’s Voices Against Hunger is a statewide platform where information is sent out to let people know about things that are going on at the state and federal level, including federal nutrition programs like FoodShare.
“We are all deeply concerned about the millions of families who will be impacted by the possible delays in SNAP benefits,” she said. “In times like these, community becomes crucial.”
Sisson’s tips on how you can help your neighbors:
Reach out to your local food bank to see if it is accepting donations of time, food or money. All are going to be crucial.
Share your favorite low-cost meal plans and recipes.
Share a simple list of free hot meal sites, pantry hours and community fridges in your city. Keep it updated and easy to reshare.
Stock and restock community fridges and neighborhood pantry boxes.
If you own or manage a business, create a pantry shelf or offer shift meals and grocery stipends.
Others advocates said you can:
Keep up with your neighbors and help where you can.
Offer rides to pick up food for those in need.
Volunteer at your neighborhood food pantries.
Jonathan Aguilar is a visual journalist at Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service who is supported through a partnership between CatchLight Local and Report for America.
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ICE agents arrested roughly 75 immigrants at or near its Milwaukee office between January and July of this year, mostly those without a past criminal conviction or a pending criminal charge.
The arrests of one Venezuelan couple reflect an apparent shift in ICE’s interpretation of protections for asylum seekers. Officers are now detaining even immigrants who don’t have removal cases in immigration court.
A Venezuelan couple arrested Oct. 23 during a routine check-in at U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s downtown Milwaukee office are attempting to continue their asylum cases while detained — one in ICE’s Dodge County detention facility and the other in a Kentucky facility.
The arrests reflect an apparent shift in ICE’s interpretation of protections for asylum seekers, posing new risks for those waiting for immigration officials to hear their cases.
Diego Ugarte-Arenas and Dailin Pacheco-Acosta fled Venezuela in 2021, crossing the border at Eagle Pass, Texas, by November of that year and encountering border patrol officers, according to an ICE spokesperson. Hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans have made the same journey in the last decade, of whom at least 5,000 have settled in Wisconsin.
Milwaukee immigration attorney Ben Crouse, who took on the couple’s case after they were detained, told Wisconsin Watch that border patrol officers initially provided Ugarte-Arenas and Pacheco-Acosta with notices to appear in immigration court. Critically, those notices didn’t provide a date or time for their future hearing, preventing the immigration court system from opening removal cases against them.
“There was a lag time between the Supreme Court saying they had to have times and dates on the notice to appear and DHS actually communicating with (the Department of) Justice to put things on calendars,” Crouse noted.
The couple then made their way to Wisconsin and filed for asylum, a legal protection from deportation for immigrants fleeing persecution. Their joint application cited their involvement in the political opposition to Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro as grounds for asylum, Crouse said.
Immigrants can take two paths to claim asylum in the U.S.
Ugarte-Arenas and Pacheco-Acosta filed for “affirmative” asylum, managed by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and generally open only to those without removal cases before an immigration court. Without complete notices to appear, Crouse noted, the couple’s cases had not yet reached the court, opening the door to this pathway.
Immigrants with open removal cases apply for “defensive” asylum with an immigration court judge.
At least 100 immigrants with Wisconsin addresses have entered the defensive asylum process between January 2020 and August of this year, court records show. Most came from Nicaragua, Colombia and Venezuela. Between 2019 and 2024, immigration court judges in Chicago — the court with jurisdiction over most Wisconsin cases — denied roughly 40% of asylum petitions, according to data collected by the nonprofit Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse.
Under the Biden administration, immigration authorities began correcting incomplete notices to appear, enabling them to move asylum applications from the affirmative process to the defensive process. That swap rarely landed asylum seekers in detention, Crouse said.
Ugarte-Arenas’ and Pacheco-Acosta’s arrests are part of a broader shift in ICE’s attitude toward asylum. Multiple Milwaukee-area immigration attorneys say the agency is now detaining immigrants after terminating their affirmative asylum case.
An ICE spokesperson did not respond to Wisconsin Watch’s questions about its new approach.
“ICE does not ‘randomly’ arrest illegal aliens,” the spokesperson wrote in an email. “Being in the United States illegal (sic) is a violation of federal law. All aliens who remain in the U.S. without a lawful immigration status may be subject to arrest and removal.”
Navigating the asylum process from ICE detention is logistically difficult, Crouse noted. Scheduling a brief phone call can take days, he said, and attorneys must rely on faraway sheriffs’ offices to ferry paperwork to and from their clients.
“Tiny little things take days to fix,” he added.
ICE’s shifting approach to asylum is not limited to affirmative cases.
In recent months, the agency has also begun filing motions to dismiss the immigration court cases of defensive asylum seekers, said Milwaukee immigration attorney Marc Christopher. Once the immigrants’ cases are dismissed, ICE can place them in “expedited removal” proceedings — a fast-moving process that does not require a hearing.
In some cases, Christopher said, “they dismiss a case in court and ICE is waiting right outside. Or they wait until they come to a check-in and arrest them there.”
ICE agents arrested roughly 75 immigrants at or near its Milwaukee office between January and July of this year, more than at any other Wisconsin site listed in agency arrest records during the period. Most of those arrested at the office, including Ugarte-Arenas and Pacheco-Acosta, had neither a past criminal conviction nor a pending criminal charge.
The Milwaukee office also includes a “holding room” in which an average of six people were detained at a time as of June, according to Vera Institute of Justice data.
“I just hope that we’re able to help someone get through the grief process because it is a journey,” Allen said.
Her son, Amareon Allen, was shot and killed in 2021.
Processing loss and moving forward
Gathered outside on a warm morning in late September, boot camp participants received small envelopes and carefully opened them.
Butterflies emerged.
Each butterfly moved at its own pace, some eagerly taking off while others clung to the envelopes, grass, clothing or hands of the people releasing them.
The activitysymbolizes the act of releasing lost loved ones but also overcoming challenges, according to Kimber.
When Kimber lost her son, Maurice Grimes Jr., to gun violence in 2019 and went through a divorce, she said she felt angryand like she had nothing to live for.
“I found healing in spaces where I could connect with people that experienced some of the grief that I did,” Kimber said.
Trying to stay strong
Monette Harmon, a funeral director apprentice and certified death doula with Neka’s Funeral & Cremation Services, speaks during a mock funeral held as part of the Grinding & Grieving Bootcamp. (Meredith Melland / Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service)
The boot camp combines the sharing of personal experiences with speeches and resources about mourning and financial planning.
“I’m here to turn my tragedy into triumph and to be around other people that’s going through something,” Kamid Everett said.
Everett’s 14-year-old son, Bryant Triplett, was shot and killed in December 2024 at North 21st Street and West Concordia Avenue in Milwaukee while she was already recovering from her mother’s death from lung cancer.
She said she tries to stay strong for her family, but things like the back-to-school season and trying Bryant’s favorite food, sushi, remind her of him.
“He didn’t get a chance to leave his mark on the world,” she said.
Techniques and tools for navigating grief
During the boot camp, participants used art therapy techniques to express their emotions, including coloring a mask to reflect how the outside world sees them versus how they actually felt inside.
Rochell Wallace, one of the event’s speakers, colors a jack-o’-lantern drawing as part of the art therapy activities at the Grinding & Grieving Bootcamp. (Meredith Melland / Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service)
Some of the speakers created affirmations or “I” statements to comfort and empower the audience.
Monette Harmon, a funeral director apprentice and certified death doula with Neka’s Funeral & Cremation Services, led a mock funeral in front of a casket adorned with flowers, candles and photos.
She reminded attendees they had the right to grieve, to rest and practice self-care and to not lie about their feelings.
“People can’t help you if you can’t be honest,” she said.
Daniel Harris, a gospel and rap artist, wrote a bookabout griefand askedparticipants to record audio on their phones as they repeated messages like “I am a storm survivor” after him.
“There’s going to be times when you’re going to need words of encouragement when no one is around,” he said.
Everett said Harris’ message of surviving the storms of grief resonated with her.
“His whole message was just everything to me because you got to keep going, and then people don’t know what you’ve been through because we always try to hide what we’ve been through,” Everett said.
Monette Harmon, a certified death doula, speaks to attendees about her own experiences with grief at the Grinding & Grieving Bootcamp at The Missing Peace Community Collective in Milwaukee. (Meredith Melland / Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service)
The organizations plan to continue to provide grief services and offer their own events.
Babett Reed, executive director of The Missing Peace Community Collective, said she hopes to open a rage room in the space. She thinks the community needs more events like the boot camp.
“Every month, we need to have a place where we can go and be healed and be able to talk to someone,” Reed said.
Butterfly’s Sacred Journey offers resources and events using art therapy, books and journals to support grieving children.
The Amareon Allen Foundation’s Next Chapter Resource Hub & Healing Circle meets from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. every fourth Saturday of the month at rotating locations. It also hosts Thanksgiving and Christmas givebacks for families impacted by gun violence.
The USDA has announced it will stop providing nutrition assistance on Nov. 1. Milwaukee officials and nonprofits are organizing a food drive to try to meet residents' needs. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
Local officials and community organizations are uniting to provide families with food and basic necessities during the government shutdown. City and county governments together with the Milwaukee Public School District, the Milwaukee Bucks and faith groups are organizing a food drive with Feeding America Western Wisconsin and Nourish MKE. The drive will begin immediately and continue until FoodShare benefits are restored.
On Nov. 1, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits are expected to end amidst a government shutdown in Washington D.C.. Across the nation, there are over 42 million Americans who depend on the federal food assistance program.
“The federal government shutdown needs to end,” said Mayor Cavalier Johnson. “This is not an abstract issue. It’s about whether families can afford to eat. While Washington debates, Milwaukee is stepping up. We’re coming together to keep each other fed, safe and cared for. That’s who we are as a city.”
Food drive donations will be accepted locations across the city including:
Milwaukee City Hall (200 E. Wells St)
Milwaukee County Courthouse (901 N. 9th St)
Zeidler Municipal Building (841 N. Broadway)
Marcia P. Coggs Health & Human Services Center (1230 W. Cherry St)
Hillview (1615 S. 22nd Street)
Fiserv Forum (1111 Vel R. Phillips Avenue)
All Milwaukee public schools
All Milwaukee library branches
The Mason Temple Church (6058 N. 35th St)
“Food insecurity affects physical health, mental health and stability to entire households,” said Shakita LaGrant-McClain, director of the Milwaukee County Department of Health and Human Services. “I encourage everyone to consider donating to your local food pantry. This is a time where the community really needs to come together.”
Democrats have insisted that any resolution to continue funding the federal government must include renewing Affordable Care Act health insurance subsidies which are set to expire soon, causing health costs to skyrocket across the country, including for 310,000 Wisconsinites, many of whom will see their insurance payments rise by between 45 and 800%. Milwaukee and surrounding counties are also still reeling from the denial of FEMA disaster assistance to help repair damage left behind by the historic floods in August.
“Milwaukee County is strong and resilient, but the health and wellbeing of our residents and families should never be casualties of political fights in Washington,” said Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley. “Until this federal shutdown ends, we will do what we always do: look out for our neighbors and step up to help in times of need. I’m grateful to all our community partners to encourage every resident who is able to join us in caring for our community.”
As October comes to an end, the threat of missing FoodShare and WIC benefits looms for people across Wisconsin and across the nation.
In an Oct. 10 letter, Sasha Gersten-Paal, director of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program’s development division, said: “SNAP has funding available for benefits and operations through the month of October. However, if the current lapse in appropriations continues, there will be insufficient funds to pay full November SNAP benefits for approximately 42 million individuals across the nation.”
Nearly 700,000 Wisconsinites receive food and nutrition assistance through FoodShare.
Here are some things you can do if you live in Milwaukee and may be impacted by a lack of food resources in November.
Food resources
If you or someone you know needs emergency food, call 2-1-1, or visit the IMPACT 211 website here.
Hunger Task Forces’ Mobile Market : Operating as a grocery store on wheels, the Mobile Market provides healthy and affordable food options to families. The Mobile Market offers 25% off all items beyond Piggly Wiggly’s prices.
Community-powered fridges: In September, Tricklebee Café, One MKE and Metcalfe Park Community Bridges opened a community-powered fridge. Several more are planned to open.
Jonathan Aguilar is a visual journalist at Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service who is supported through a partnership between CatchLight Local and Report for America.
Angel Perez, 65, has been fishing the waters of Milwaukee for more than 25 years. Everyday during his breaks from work at the Harley-Davidson Museum, he comes down to his fishing spot underneath the Sixth Street Viaduct and casts away. One day, Perez caught seven bluegills in the Menomonee River. Perez says that everyone needs to have something to help them relax, and for him, it’s fishing.
Perez said he was introduced to fishing early in his life by several mentors while growing up in the Wrigleyville neighborhood in Chicago. Now, Perez hopes to be a mentor for kids in Milwaukee, and that’s why in 2026 he plans on starting a camp called Urban Fishing with Angel.
Perez walks to a fishing spot on the north side of the Harley-Davidson Museum.
Perez baits his hook before fishing the Menomonee River, where he hopes to catch trout, bass, bluegill and even salmon as they make their run.
Perez wears polarized sunglasses to help him see fish better in the Menomonee River.
Perez shows the bait and hook setup that he primarily uses while urban fishing.
A bluegill is pulled out of the Menomonee River by Perez.
Perez reflects on his love for fishing as he casts out.
“It kept me out of trouble, and I was always a sports guy. But fishing, something about it for me. I love it.”
Angel Perez
Perez poses for a portrait at his fishing spot on the north side of the Harley-Davidson Museum.
Perez inspects a bluegill that he caught in the Menomonee River in Milwaukee on Oct. 6. Perez has been urban fishing in Milwaukee for more than 25 years and says he has noticed that the fish in the river are looking much healthier than in the past.Perez shows a photograph of a fish he caught on the Menomonee River. Perez has caught large trout, bass and carp all within city limits.
Perez inspects a bluegill that he caught in the Menomonee River. Perez has noticed that the colors on the fish look more vibrant and no longer are covered in warts like they used to be in the past.
Perez removes a hook from the mouth of a bluegill. Perez usually catches and releases the fish that he reels in.
Perez catches a bluegill from the Menomonee River. Perez hopes to launch his urban fishing youth camp in 2026. His goal is to meet with students, provide rods and teach youth of Milwaukee how to fish in the hopes that they can feel more connected to nature.
Jonathan Aguilar is a visual journalist at Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service who is supported through a partnership between CatchLight Local and Report for America.
A Bucky Badger who marched in the No Kings protest in Madison said he didn't mind missing the football game for such and important event. | Photo by Baylor Spears/Wisconsin Examiner
Tens of thousands of Wisconsinites participated in No Kings marches and rallies Saturday, with turnout exceeding the June No Kings rallies in Madison, Milwaukee, Green Bay and even in smaller towns including Hayward.
An estimated 20,000 marchers descend on the Capitol in Madison
No Kings march in Madison on Oct. 18, 2025 | Photo by Baylor Spears/Wisconsin Examiner
Protesters, many wearing inflatable animal costumes and carrying signs, gathered in McPike Park in downtown Madison and marched one mile up East Washington Avenue to the Capitol, shutting down intersections and blocking the major thoroughfare for blocks, following the Forward Marching Band.
Marchers chanted “Show me what democracy looks like! This is what democracy looks like!” and “We are unstoppable! A better world is possible!”
The march started a little before the UW-Madison football team was scheduled to kick off against Ohio State. A Bucky the Badger who came to the march said he wasn’t upset about missing the game for the protest. “The People’s Bucky believes in democracy… Without democracy, there would be no games,” he said.
Candy Neumeier | Photo by Baylor Spears/Wisconsin Examiner
Candy Neumeier, a former teacher who drove down from outside of Oshkosh for the rally, said she was attending to “stand up for our rights,” which are “being trampled on by this wannabe dictator and his crew.” She wore a trash bag with Jeffrey Epstein’s face and President Donald Trump’s hand drawn on it. “I really believe that we need to release the Epstein files.”
From a stage set up on the Capitol steps, Ali Muldrow, a Madison school board member and activist who emceed the rally, said there are about 20,000 people at the protest in Wisconsin’s capital city.
Dane County Circuit Court Judge Everett Mitchell told the crowd,“Yes, judges are out here, too. I might get in trouble on Monday, but I’m here right now.”
Judge Everett Mitchell | Photo by Baylor Spears/Wisconsin Examiner
“You’re living in the redefinition of our democracy right now. Our legal systems are being retooled, reconfigured, and realigned to incentivize ultimate power… The war for civil rights is being waged all over again,” Mitchell added.
Ben Wikler, former Democratic Party of Wisconsin chair, tied the protests and pushback against Trump to the crucial state level elections that will take place in Wisconsin in 2026, including the spring state Supreme Court election, the race for an open gubernatorial seat and races that will determine control of the state Senate and Assembly in the fall.
Ben Wikler | Photo by Baylor Spears/Wisconsin Examiner
“The only way to break democracy in America is to break it in the states,” Wikler said. “If Trump wants to be king, he’s going to need people in offices like the governorship who certified elections in the state of Wisconsin and offices, like our state Supreme Court, who will be in his back pocket. Wisconsin, are we going to be in Trump’s back pocket next year?”
The crowd shouted, “No!”
“Are we gonna be on the streets instead and talk to people who maybe never voted before, but are ready to vote now because they understand what is at stake?” Wikler asked to the sound of cheers. “Are we gonna get out of the boat, and are we gonna win elections and are we going to defend democracy?”
“Let’s fight! No kings! Forward!” Wikler shouted.
— Baylor Spears
Milwaukee tops 18,000
More than 18,000 protesters filled downtown Milwaukee as part of the No Kings day events taking place across Wisconsin and the country Saturday to protest the administration of President Donald Trump.
Milwaukee No Kings march | Photo by Henry Redman/Wisconsin Examiner
A large number of people at the protest said they were motivated to come Saturday as a direct response to what they see as heavy handed actions by Immigration and Customs Enforcement. In recent weeks, ICE has increased its presence in Wisconsin, conducting raids of migrant workers in communities including Madison and Manitowoc.
Milwaukee residents gather ahead of the No Kings march. Many said they were motivated by the recent immigration crackdown in the city | Photo by Henry Redman/Wisconsin Examiner
The protest attendance topped the 16,000 that attended the No Kings protest in the city in June — despite sister events taking place in the Milwaukee County suburbs of Cudahy, Greenfield and Shorewood, and additional events in nearby Waukesha County.
The crowd gathered at Cathedral Square Park, just blocks from city hall, before marching on a 1.8 mile course through downtown.
Mirroring protesters that have gained attention for wearing inflatable costumes during confrontations with federal agents in cities such as Chicago and Portland, Ore., attendees in Milwaukee were dressed as dinosaurs, aliens and unicorns.
At the park, Jim Baran, a Brown Deer resident, sported a banana costume and flew an upside down U.S. flag — a maritime code for distress. Baran said he wanted to attend the protest to show he’s “not going to stand for shenanigans” from the Trump administration.
“He’s selling America, he doesn’t care about Americans,” Baran said.
Photo by Henry Redman/Wisconsin Examiner
Stephanie Jacks, a New Berlin resident, said she came to the Milwaukee protest so residents of the city know people in the surrounding communities support it.
“There’s no due process,” she said. “There’s no checks and balances.”
A Milwaukee resident who only gave their name as J. and said they were a first generation Mexican-American, was dressed in an inflatable alien costume in an effort to make Trump claims of violent protesters seem silly and “take the wind out of their sails.”
“This alien is anti-ICE,” they said.
Kelly, a Milwaukee resident who declined to give a last name, said she’s a former deputy sheriff who is “appalled” by the actions of ICE agents. “I can’t believe what they’re doing,” she said. “The level of incompetence, no training, no supervision, no rules. It’s just insane.”
— Henry Redman
Green Bay rebuffs ICE
On Green Bay protestors’ march downtown, one of their chants was “No KKK, no fascist USA, no ICE.”
Green Bay No Kings marchers protested ICE and deportations | Photo by Andrew Kennard/Wisconsin Examiner
By the Brown County Courthouse in downtown Green Bay, protestors sang advice for interacting with law enforcement, including “Ask if you’re free to go, ask for a lawyer, protect yourself and neighbors and record, record, record.”
A speaker called for the crowd to go to their sheriffs about sheriffs’ partnerships with ICE, report possible ICE activity to the advocacy group Voces de la Frontera “so we can protect the immigrants who are amongst us,” tell legislators to pass a bill allowing drivers’ licenses for immigrants without legal status and support families they know who have been separated.
Other speeches included concerns related to public education, trans rights, Israel and Palestine and free speech.
Rick Crosson marches in Green Bay | Photo by Andrew Kennard/Wisconsin Examiner
Rick Crosson, candidate for northeast Wisconsin’s 8th Congressional District, came to the protest. He told the Examiner that “for us, it’s about getting back what the Constitution had intended. And that is, have the people run the show. No kings, no dictators, no autocrats.”
Green Bay’s Neville Public Museum is looking for donations that reflect people’s experiences with “No Kings.” In a Facebook post, the museum provided a list of items it is specifically looking for, which includes protest or counter-protest signs, photographs, journal entries and digital recordings.
“It is our responsibility to collect the stories of today to help create understanding in the future,” the museum explained in a statement.
— Andrew Kennard
Hayward sees record crowd
No Kings protesters gather in Hayward | Photo by Frank Zufall/Wisconsin Examiner
A protest in Hayward, Wisconsin, hometown of Sean Duffy, Secretary of Transportation topped 1,200 participants, the largest protest ever in the small northern Wisconsin city with a population of about 2,500.
Joan Ackerman (left) | Photo by Frank Zufall/Wisconsin Examiner
Joan Ackerman of Hayward said the protesters are not “un-American,” as some Republican politicians have claimed, but just want to exercise their freedom of speech about things happening in the country that concern them.
Kay, a woman from Barnes, Wisconsin, who carried a sign that said “fight truth decay,” said she came to the protest in Hayward “because of the current political environment.” She added, “We have become so divisive because of misleading and alternative facts. We need objective news that is non-partisan.”
Natalie of Hayward, who carried a sign that said, “Health care is a right,” said she was at the protest because she doesn’t like the direction the country is headed. “We need to make it safe for our kids,” she said.
Steve, another Hayward resident who is an Air Force veteran of the Vietnam War, explained that he feels the country is moving away from the core principles of democracy he fought to defend.
Gary Quaderer, Sr., a Vietnam Army vet and spiritual leader of the Lac Courte Oreilles Tribe said this is the first protest he has ever participated in. “I thought it was very important,” he said. “I don’t like where the country is headed. … I just wanted to come out with all these other good people here just to protest what was going on.”
Paul DeMain, editor of the national News from Indian Country newspaper based in Hayward said the gathering was historic, the largest protest Hayward had ever seen.
Protesters in Hayward | Photo by Frank Zufall/Wisconsin Examiner
— Frank Zufall
‘Love of country’ in Janesville
In a downtown park in Janesville, Wisconsin, organizers estimated 1,000 or more people turned out on a warm, sunny Saturday morning.
In addition to packing the sidewalks at the intersection of Court and Main streets at the corner of Courthouse Park, rally goers milled through the park space. Many sat in the well surrounding the stage, where a handful of speakers made brief remarks.
U.S. Rep. Mark Pocan (D-Black Earth) addresses the Janesville No Kings rally. (Photo by Erik Gunn/Wisconsin Examiner)
“There are 93 rallies in Wisconsin,” said U.S. Rep. Mark Pocan (D-Black Earth). Pocan recalled the words of the Republican U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson a few days ago.
“They’re trying to falsely call this a Hate America rally,” Pocan said. “People who are here today are the ones who love their country. This rally is really showing that love of country over everything else.”
Another speaker was state Sen. Mark Spreitzer (D-Beloit), whose district includes Janesville.
“We are here to peacefully demonstrate — as the First Amendment gives us the right to do — and to call on our government to do better, to respect our rights, to respect the Constitution, and to do right by the American people,” Spreitzer told the crowd.
“We’re also here to say that we are a welcoming community, that immigrants make our community stronger, that LGBT people make our community stronger, that people of color make our community stronger, that people with disabilities make our community stronger.,” Spreitzer said. “We are here to stand up for everybody’s right to coexist as part of our community and to get ahead in life.”
Spreitzer acknowledged that for opponents of the president, Saturday’s rally was but one step in a much longer struggle.
In Janesville, a rally visitor wearing an inflated Uncle Sam costume bears the sign “Help Me” on the back. (Photo by Erik Gunn/Wisconsin Examiner)
“This is not going to be the last time we’re going to have to keep getting together and doing this,” he said. “I know it is going to be a long fight, but we’re going to win that fight. We’re going to take our country back.”
Virtually every speaker made a point of emphasizing the peaceful intentions and means of participants in the protest.
State Rep. Ann Roe (D-Janesville), offered her mother’s advice for people who may be confronted by supporters of the president.
“You know what my mom used to say? Kill them with kindness,” Roe said. “Nothing makes them madder.”
In a brief interview, Roe said that as she wandered through the crowd, she encountered a variety of people she has known from various aspects of her life, all taking part.
“I have seen neighbors here. I have seen people I’ve worked with and we’ve never discussed politics,” Roe said.
“It sounds corny, but that’s what gives me hope. We’re back to the old ways — one-on-one conversations. By remaining kind and open as a long-term strategy, That’s what keeps us from devolving into chaos.”
— Erik Gunn
In Kenosha, resistance through building community
Across the state in the city of Kenosha, a crowd of about 2,500 people filled the sidewalks on both sides of Sheridan Road, Downtown Kenosha’s primary north-south thoroughfare, along a four-block stretch.
Signs, the vast majority of them home-made, filled the air. So did the steady honking of passing cars as drivers sounded their horns in support of the demonstrators throughout the three-hour gathering. The sign-waving crowd cheered back in response.
Organizers had envisioned a dance party theme for their afternoon No Kings protest. A Michael Jackson impersonator lip-synched to recordings of Jackson’s biggest hits while effortlessly mimicking Jackson’s trademark dance steps on the concrete walkway of Civic Center Park.
Sheila Rawn, one of the lead organizers for Hands Off Kenosha, which sponsored the Kenosha No Kings rally. (Photo by Erik Gunn/Wisconsin Examiner)
“We couldn’t drag people away from their chanting and cheering,” said Sheila Rawn, one of the principal organizers for Hands Off Kenosha, which put together the local version of the No Kings demonstration.
“We chose to not even try to have speakers because people don’t want to come and hear speeches,” she added. “They want to stand on the street.”
Rawn and a co-organizer, Jennifer Weinstein, were both dressed in lion costumes. People were invited to “dress as your favorite king or queen that would do better than the wannabe king that we have in the White House,” Rawn explained. “Yeah, so, no kings — but if we did have a king, you know, like a lion king would make a better king. King Kong would make a better king. A monarch butterfly would make a better king.”
It’s part of the group’s philosophy of “tactical frivolity,” Weinstein said.
“For the record, We were planning costumes before all the Portland stuff,” Rawn said, referring to the national attention that a Portland protester in a frog suit got recently.
Jennifer Weinstein wears a shirt for Hands Off Kenosha, the group that organized the Kenosha No Kings Rally. Weinstein is one of the group’s organizers. (Photo by Erik Gunn/Wisconsin Examiner)
Hands Off Kenosha launched in the spring, an outgrowth of the April 5 Hands Off rally. Having gone to Chicago and Milwaukee for large protest events during Trump’s first administration, “it was important to me to be like, ‘No, we’re doing it here,’” Rawn said. “Kenosha is the fourth largest city in Wisconsin. We are big enough to have our own protests.”
Memories of the unrest Kenosha experienced in 2020, when self-styled militia members clashed with protesters and teenager Kyle Rittenhouse shot three men, two of them fatally, an act for which he was later acquitted, have lingered, she acknowledged.
“I have definitely had conversations with lots of people who have said they’re nervous about coming because the community is still grappling with what happened in 2020,” Rawn said. “And so there are some people who are afraid that violence could happen, but we’ve got over a six-month track record of being peaceful and playful and joyful. And we have been really intentional.”
On a table at one end of the park, bags and bags of personal hygiene products overflowed — a collection that the organizers made part of the event. They had a school supply drive at an August protest and have conducted food drives as well.
“It’s important to us to include mutual aid,” Rawn said. “Building community is its own form of resistance.”
Thousands of protesters across the state joined the second wave of nationwide “No Kings” protests on Saturday.
The protests were held in cities and rural communities in all parts of Wisconsin. Protesters said they hoped to bring attention to what they call an authoritarian power grab by President Donald Trump.
In Milwaukee, crowds at Cathedral Square Park chanted and marched. Many held signs making fun of the president; some wore costumes — a frog suit, an inflatable Cookie Monster — joining a trend that began during protests of immigration raids in Portland, Oregon. There were many American flags, upright and upside down, along with flags of other nations.
Chad Bowman, a member of the Stockbridge-Munsee Community or Mohican Nation, donned a ceremonial ribbon shirt and part of his dancing regalia. Bowman says he is proud to be an American.
“I’m Native, and I believe in this country,” Bowman said. “I believe in democracy, and Trump and his cronies are ruining it.”
Protesters march in opposition to President Trump on Oct. 18, 2025, at Cathedral Square Park in Milwaukee. (Angela Major / WPR)
A Milwaukee protester wearing an inflatable unicorn costume and swinging an American flag said she dressed that way “because it’s ridiculous to suggest that we’re criminals, or illegal or terrorists.” She said her name was Mary but declined to give her full name, fearing retaliation for her participation in the protests. She said she has family members who are federal employees who are not working due to the ongoing federal government shutdown.
“They can’t stand not being able to do what they are … passionate about doing for the American people,” she said.
In Madison, thousands marched from McPike Park on their way to the state Capitol. Many carried American flags as a marching band played.
Joe Myatt of Janesville holds a sign reading, “Whensoever the general government assumes undelegated powers, its acts are unauthoritative, void and of no force,” from Thomas Jefferson’s 1798 Kentucky Resolutions. (Sarah Lehr / WPR)
Joe Myatt of Janesville carried a sign bearing a quote from Thomas Jefferson. He said he’s concerned about the “shift towards authoritarianism” in the U.S. and around the world.
“Basically, Trump’s trying to consolidate as much force into the office of the presidency and he’s violating the Constitution by doing it,” Myatt said.
Parto Shahidi of Madison said she showed up at the protest to support freedom and democracy. Shahidi said those rights are the reason she came to the U.S. from Iran 30 years ago.
“I became a U.S. citizen just for that,” she said. “And if I want to lose it, I will go back home — there is no freedom there.”
A protester chants and holds a sign before an anti-Trump march, Oct. 18, 2025, at Cathedral Square Park in Milwaukee. (Angela Major / WPR)
A protester makes a sign during an anti-Trump protest, Oct. 18, 2025, at Cathedral Square Park in Milwaukee. (Angela Major / WPR)
And as in Milwaukee, many protesters posed for photos in inflatable get-ups. That included multiple people dressed as frogs, and Leo Thull of McFarland, who wore a hot dog suit.
“Seeing America slowly descend into fascism is terrifying,” he said. “But with fascists like these, I feel like the greatest power we have is to be more ridiculous than they are. That’s why I’m dressed up as a hot dog today.”
Leo Thull of McFarland dons a hot dog suit at Madison’s protest to “be more ridiculous than they are,” he says. (Sarah Lehr / WPR)
Donna Miazga of Waunakee carried a sign that said “They blame immigrants so you won’t blame billionaires.”
She said she’s been disturbed to by “Gestapo”-like images of arrests by masked Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents who “take people without due process.”
“I feel like it’s just about splitting us in two and fostering hate toward people who are even the slightest bit different,” Miazga said of the Trump’s approach to immigration.
As in the case of earlier protests, communities throughout the state hosted demonstrations and marches. National organizers boasted that more than 2,700 events are planned nationwide, including in Wisconsin from Superior to Kenosha.
Protesters gather in opposition to President Donald Trump during a No Kings Protest on Saturday, Oct. 18, 2025, at Cathedral Square Park in Milwaukee. (Angela Major / WPR)
In Appleton, hundreds lined the streets of downtown. Organizers said nearly 1,000 people attended in the Door County community of Juddville. In the Wausau area, as many as 1,000 protesters lined Rib Mountain Drive. Protesters demonstrated in Janesville, Spooner, Waupaca and Rhinelander, among dozens of other locations.
In Rice Lake, which has a population of about 9,000, more than 700 people attended a rally, said organizer Mark Sherman — including some in frog, unicorn, shark and fairy costumes.
“We had a fun, peaceful, beautiful rally on a beautiful day,” said Sherman, 76, of Rice Lake.
He noted that he and a fellow Rice Lake organizer are both veterans, and said they were moved to get involved because of the oath they took to defend the U.S. Constitution.
Protesters gather in opposition to President Donald Trump during a No Kings Protest on Saturday, Oct. 18, 2025, at Cathedral Square Park in Milwaukee. (Angela Major / WPR)
Protesters gather before an anti-Trump march, Oct. 18, 2025, at Cathedral Square Park in Milwaukee. (Angela Major / WPR)
Organizers of the rallies include labor unions, local Democratic Party chapters and aligned advocacy groups. The national organizers say the goal of the protests is to build a nonviolent movement to “remind the world America has no kings and the power belongs to the people.”
Republican leaders including House Speaker Mike Johnson have called the events “hate America rallies.” On social media, Republican U.S. Rep. Derrick Van Orden called the event “Election Denier Fest 2025.”
People gather during a No Kings protest in opposition to President Trump on Oct. 18, 2025, at Cathedral Square Park in Milwaukee. (Angela Major / WPR)
Protesters gather in opposition to President Donald Trump during a No Kings protest on Oct. 18, 2025, at Cathedral Square Park in Milwaukee. (Angela Major / WPR)
Editor’s note: WPR’s Rob Mentzer contributed to this story.
For over 30 years, Ruby Johnson-Harden and her husband fostered Milwaukee youths in need of temporary homes.
Though fostering is time-consuming and sometimes challenging, Johnson-Harden said she understood the need for children to have a safe place to go and for their parents to get the support they need.
“It is definitely hard to give children back even when you know the intention is to give them back,” she said. “But you think about it, and there is always another kid that needs somewhere to go.”
Though the number of children being removed from their homes is decreasing, the foster care system in Milwaukee, and in Wisconsin in general, is under growing strain.
Advocates say the problem isn’t strictly a shortage of foster homes, but a mismatch between the needs of many children entering care and the level of support, training and resources that foster families have to provide what’s needed.
Few feel equipped enough or are willing to take on teens and children coping with trauma, behavioral health challenges or emotional dysregulation, according to foster care advocates.
Shortage of proper placements
“In Milwaukee, we have enough foster homes and other placement providers for children. Everybody is placed,” said Jill Collins, ongoing services section manager for the Division of Milwaukee Child Protective Services. “But we don’t necessarily always have the right match for children.”
She said that because youths with mental health or behavioral needs are harder to place, some children are placed in group homes or residential care facilities where professionals are better equipped to meet their needs.
According to the Wisconsin Department of Children and Families’ data dashboard, 7,000 children are placed in out-of-home care annually. That includes kinship care, foster care and other residential facilities.
According to the dashboard, the older a child is when entering the system, the less likely it is for the child to be placed in a home.
In 2024, there was an average of 515 children aged 12 years or older in out-of-home care. Of these older children, 275 (53%) were placed in a family-like setting, 146 (28%) were placed in congregate care, and 94 (18%) were in other care.
Ninety percent of children aged 12 and under were placed in family-like care.
“I had few teens,” Johnson-Harden said. “Usually they’ve already been through so much that they are kind of set in their ways. It’s harder for them to open up.”
Ruby Johnson-Harden has been fostering for three decades. (Jonathan Aguilar / Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service / CatchLight Local)
DeShanda Williams-Clark, chief program officer at Pathfinders, works with many young people who are already a part of the child welfare system.
“They’ll come in if they don’t feel safe in their placements,” Williams-Clark said.
She said the young people Pathfinders serves can have a number of nuanced concerns that can fall through the cracks. Some are experiencing homelessness or are survivors of trafficking and exploitation, she said.
“(The youths) have given feedback and say, well, I don’t feel safe being at my group home because my group home is publicly listed,” she said. “Or we’ve had children say, ‘I know this family is receiving a check for me because they’re reporting that I have worse behaviors or that I need medication.’ ”
What’s being done
The Wisconsin Department of Children and Families is working to reduce the number of children in out-of-home care through its Putting Families First initiative.
The initiative focuses on keeping families together by supporting them in-home with resources and services. In situations where families can’t stay together, the initiative emphasizes relying on people already in the child’s or children’s network before resorting to foster care.
As a result of this approach, there has been a decline in the number of children who are removed from their homes and taken into foster care, said Emily Erickson, director of the Bureau of Permanence and Out-of-Home Care at the agency.
“We have been focusing on solutions that are community-based, that can support parents in healing and growing while they continue to parent their children in their homes safely,” Erickson said.
She said the program utilizes a mix of formal and informal support networks to help provide safety but allows children to stay in their homes because research shows a lasting negative impact once relationships are severed.
Additionally, DCF funds the Projects for Assistance in Transition from Homelessness program for youths who have aged out of foster care.
According to Williams-Clark, the program not only helps young people who have aged out of the child welfare system find housing, but it also supports them through the entire process.
The program gives young people a choice regarding independent living, she said.
“Then we give them wraparound care and support by making sure they have access to socially integrate into the communities that they want to live in, helping them to set goals for education and their academics, getting them connected to income and employment programs, and then just really working on those life skills,” Williams-Clark said.
How you can help
Advocates suggest several ways you can help.
One way is to consider fostering.
“The need is great. Especially for teens and siblings,” said Jane Halpin, a recruitment consultant with Community Care Resources, a private foster care agency.
She said it can become difficult because it’s time-consuming, but you won’t be alone. Community Care Resources offers around-the-clock support to those who foster through the agency.
Williams-Clark said people need more education around fostering to help destigmatize the work of the child welfare system.
Wisconsin Department of Children and Families officials suggested being a support system for family and friends who may be in need and considering specialized training to become a foster parent who can care for older youths or children with higher needs.
They also encourage local organizations, churches and individuals to support foster families and children, not just through financial means but also by offering practical help and emotional support. They also encourage the use of community resources to support families before involving the child welfare system, to minimize trauma.
Johnson-Harden said the rewards of fostering are immense.
“Fostering kids, to me, is about the joy of showing up for children in your community,” she said. “It’s about supporting a family and doing your best to lessen any trauma they’ve already experienced.”
Jonathan Aguilar is a visual journalist at Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service who is supported through a partnership between CatchLight Local and Report for America.
The roof of the Hotel Verdant in Downtown Racine is topped with a green roof planted with sedum and covered with solar panels. (Wisconsin Examiner photo)
The news that $130 million in already-committed clean-energy funding for Wisconsin is on the chopping block is not abstract politics. It pulls real tools out of Wisconsin homes, schools, farms, and shop floors — right as our state is building momentum. The result is simple: higher bills, fewer choices, and lost jobs.
In a purple state like ours, climate action has succeeded because it’s kitchen-table common sense. It lowers costs, creates good local jobs, and protects the air and water families depend on. Our playbook is pragmatic — align smart policy with market innovation, center justice, and let businesses, workers, tribes and frontline communities lead together. Clawing back funds mid-stream breaks that compact and injects uncertainty just when we need reliability and speed.
What’s at stake here and now
Across Wisconsin, 82 clean-energy projects are moving forward: EV-charging corridors that support tourism and commerce from Superior to Kenosha; solar on schools and farms that cuts operating costs and keeps dollars local; grid upgrades that reduce outages for households and manufacturers. Clean energy already supports more than 71,000 Wisconsin jobs, with manufacturers, contractors and building trades poised to add tens of thousands more if the rules stay steady.
This is not coastal hype — it’s Menomonee Valley and the Fox Valley. Companies like Ingeteam in Milwaukee build components that power wind and EV projects nationwide. Give our manufacturers clear, predictable rules and Wisconsin will keep making core parts of the transition -— batteries, solar panels, wind components, EV chargers, and smart-grid equipment -— right here at home.
Schools and local governments are also using direct-pay to put solar on rooftops, electrify buses, and cut fuel and maintenance. Green Homeowners United and similar groups are helping thousands of households -— including many lower-income homeowners of color — tap rebates that reduce bills and carbon at the same time. These are the practical tools that stretch tight budgets and improve health outcomes in neighborhoods that have carried the burden the longest.
The real cost of policy whiplash
Rolling back incentives is a hidden tax on working families — up to $400 more a year on energy without the savings tools people are using now. With AI and data centers accelerating demand, the cheapest, fastest reliability gains come from efficiency, storage, and renewables. Cut those tools and we invite more price volatility and more outage risk — exactly what Wisconsin manufacturers, hospitals and farms can’t afford.
The “Big, Broken Bill” passed in Washington goes further, weakening EPA pollution standards and letting big polluters sidestep responsibility. That doesn’t eliminate costs; it shifts them to families in the form of asthma, missed school days and medical bills. It’s not fiscal conservatism to socialize pollution costs while privatizing short-term profits.
And for farmers, whose energy and conservation projects were finally penciling out with IRA tools, canceling support mid-contract leaves family farms holding the bag after planning in good faith. That’s not how you build durable rural economies.
Momentum that continues even if funds are cut
Here’s the other half of the story: Wisconsin’s transition won’t stop because some programs are attacked. Market forces, including the declining cost of renewables and storage, efficiency that pays for itself and corporate and municipal sustainability commitments, continue to drive projects. Public-private partnerships, rural co-ops, tribal governments, school districts and village halls are working together to reduce risk, share data, and scale what works. That coalition will keep moving.
But let’s be clear: Clawbacks and moving goalposts slow us down and raise costs. They strand planning, freeze hiring and deter investment — especially in manufacturing corridors that depend on multi-year production schedules. If Congress wants to improve programs, fine. Just don’t pull the rug out mid-project.
Purple-state practicality: Results over rhetoric
Wisconsin’s approach is neither red nor blue; it’s results-based:
Lower bills and stronger reliability through weatherization, heat pumps, rooftop and community solar and batteries that keep homes and Main Street businesses running during heat waves and deep freezes.
Good local jobs in design, construction, electrical, HVAC, machining and advanced manufacturing.
Cleaner air from electrified school buses and efficient buildings, health benefits that show up in fewer sick days and lower costs.
Fairness by ensuring benefits land first where burdens have been heaviest.
We’ve also learned to say no when it matters and yes to better options. When a $2 billion methane gas plant was proposed, business and civic leaders asked basic questions: Is this the least-cost, least-risk path for ratepayers? Would it lock us into volatile fuel prices just as renewables, storage, demand response and efficiency are scaling? Pushing for a cleaner, more affordable portfolio wasn’t ideology. It was risk management.
A constructive path forward
Keep the tools that help Wisconsin build here, hire here, and save here. Don’t rip away commitments families, schools, farms and manufacturers are already using.
Provide certainty so manufacturers can invest in people and equipment. Certainty is economic development.
Target affordability and reliability: Expand programs that lower bills, reduce outages, and prioritize investments in communities that have waited the longest for cleaner air and safer housing.
Let locals lead: Support direct-pay and streamlined approvals for schools, municipalities, tribes and rural co-ops to deploy projects faster and cheaper.
Wisconsin has the talent, the supply chains — more than 350 in-state clean-energy companies — and the tradition of stewardship to lead the clean-energy economy. If we stay focused on trust, collaboration and measurable results, Wisconsin’s green momentum will outpace politics.
Don’t make Wisconsinites pay more to get less. Let’s build it here, power it here and prosper here.
John Imes is co-founder and executive director of the Wisconsin Environmental Initiative and village president of Shorewood Hills. He will speak Oct. 22 on the American Sustainable Business Network national panel “Purple State, Green Momentum” — how Wisconsin’s pragmatic climate playbook lowers bills, creates good local jobs, and protects our air and water.
The river flowing through Wauwatosa's Hart Park overflowing with flood water. (Photo by Isiah Holmes/Wisconsin Examiner)
Over $80 million in federal relief funds have gone to Milwaukee County residents and businesses impacted by the historic flooding in August. Local officials are urging residents to tap into the funds, with just one month left to apply for federal aid. Thousands of Milwaukee County residents were affected by the floods, which blanketed streets and parks in flood water and debris after a record-breaking thousand-year storm.
“Federal assistance is a crucial resource to help our residents repair their homes, recover from flood damage, and take a major step toward normalcy,” Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley said in a statement. “But to unlock this funding you must apply. I know the process can feel overwhelming, representatives from our federal partners are available throughout Milwaukee County at Disaster Recovery Centers and Disaster Survivor Assistance locations to help you every step of the way. With only one month left to apply, I strongly urge everyone affected by the flood to start the application today. Don’t wait until the last minute.”
Photos of flooded streets in Milwaukee during the August 2025 storm. (Photo courtesy of Anne Tuchelski)
The deadline to apply for federal aid is Nov. 12, with residents able to apply at DisasterAssistance.gov, or by phone at 800-621-3362. Residents are also encouraged to visit one of the disaster recovery centers at the West Allis Senior Center (7001 W National Ave), or the Milwaukee recovery center at McNair Elementary School (4950 N. 24th St). A recovery center that had been located at the Wauwatosa City Hall closed Friday Oct. 10, after assisting more than 500 residents with Federal Emergency Management Agency applications over its two and a half weeks of operation, according to a press release.
In the month since federal assistance became available, FEMA has distributed nearly $92 million to flood survivors statewide. Of that, just over $82 million has gone to 15,666 Milwaukee County residents. Additionally, the U.S. Small Business Administration has approved $10.2 million in disaster loans to Milwaukee County homeowners, renters and business owners.
FEMA has also continued providing flood relief through the government shutdown. A spokesperson from the office of U.S. Rep. Gwen Moore (D-Milwaukee) told the Wisconsin Examiner at the onset of the shutdown that FEMA will continue conducting essential duties, including payments to disaster survivors, debris removal, emergency protective measures and salaries for the disaster workforce.
A Milwaukee County Circuit Court judge has ruled that the Social Development Commission’s property corporation defaulted on mortgage payments for its North Avenue buildings and faces foreclosure in the coming months.
This judgment, which was issued Monday, Oct. 6, is the latest development for the Social Development Commission as the anti-poverty agency attempts to reconcile its budget and secure funding amid lawsuits, board tensions and government reviews.
The properties will now enter a redemption period for three months before the court can take further action, including selling the properties at auction.
“I can tell you that (SDC) is working tirelessly to be able to secure and redeem the properties,”said Evan P. Schmit,an attorney with Kerkman & Dunn representing SDC and SD Properties.
Millions owed
Forward Community Investments, a community development financial institution, filed a foreclosure lawsuit in March against SD Properties Inc., the tax-exempt corporation that owns SDC’s buildings. The lawsuit claimed SD Properties defaulted on mortgage payments in 2024 and lists SDC as a guarantor.
On Monday, Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge J.D. Watts granted a summary judgment for Forward Community Investments, which included a judgment of foreclosure against SD Properties and SDC and declared that Forward Community Investments is entitled to a money judgment.
This judgment allows the foreclosure process to advance, according to Ryan Zerwer, the president and CEO of Forward Community Investments.
The total judgment amount owed by SD Properties was just over $3.1 million, as of June 16, according to court records.
The lender’s complaint outlines that this includes $2.42 million in principal, interest and other costs for a construction mortgage SD Properties entered into in 2020 and $687,000 for an additional mortgage started in 2023.
Additional accrued interest and other costs may be added to the tally before the properties are redeemed or sold.
SDC moves out
The warehouse located at 1810 W. North Ave. is one of the Social Development Commission’s buildings facing a judgment of foreclosure. (Jonathan Aguilar / Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service / CatchLight Local)
SDC voluntarily vacated the 1730 W. North Ave. office and removed personal property, said Laura Callan, an attorney with Stafford Rosenbaum LLP, which is representing Forward Community Investments. William Sulton, SDC’s attorney, confirmed the agency moved out of both the office and the warehouse building at 1810 W.North Ave.
SD Properties still owns a property on Teutonia Avenue that is not included in the lawsuit.
Watts said that both parties have been cooperative.
“This is, of course, a major event in the community, so I’m aware of the importance of this case,” Watts said.
What’s next?
Wisconsin foreclosure laws require a redemption period, which will be for three months in this case.
During this period, SD Properties has the chance to redeem themortgaged premises by paying the total amount of the judgment and other attorney fees, costs and interest.
“The board is gonna have to decide whether they want to try and redeem the building or not,” Sulton said.
SDC is awaiting responses from the federal government on its status as a community action agency and Wisconsin departments on their audits. This is preventing the board from making decisions on the agency’s future direction and services, Sulton said.
If the properties are not redeemed after three months, the Milwaukee County Sheriff’s Office will arrange a public auction or sale.
Schmit said a hearing to confirm the sale will be held after the redemption period, which would be the final opportunity for SD Properties to maintain the buildings.
“We will wait for the procedure for the confirmation of the sheriff’s sale, just to be clear,” Watts said.
Meredith Melland is the neighborhoods reporter for the Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service and a corps member of Report for America, a national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on under-covered issues and communities. Report for America plays no role in editorial decisions in the NNS newsroom.
Jonathan Aguilar is a visual journalist at Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service who is supported through a partnership between CatchLight Local and Report for America.
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