Tents in the Street Angels warming room in 2021. (Photo by Isiah Holmes/Wisconsin Examiner)

In Milwaukee, during a spate of freezing winter weather earlier this month, cold-challenged frontline organizations are providing crucial services to hundreds of residents, many of whom are unhoused. Night to night, week to week, the level of need some advocates and outreach groups have witnessed is staggering. 

Eric Collins-Dyke, deputy administrator for Milwaukee County Housing Services, said that since early December, the housing division’s outreach teams have encountered between 75 and 100 people on a regular basis. Last Monday, a day center was opened inside the Marcia P. Coggs Health and Human Services Center, which serves over 100 people daily. While Collins-Dyke said he was happy to see the center serving so many people, he also saw it as a sign of how many people are in need. The most recent data showed that the county’s warming rooms “had seen 800 unique individuals” since opening in late November, he said. 

Pastor James West, executive director of Repairers of the Breach in Milwaukee, also said that the group’s resource center sees up to 140 people each  day. “Nothing less than 100,” West told Wisconsin Examiner. Repairers of the Breach provides food, private showers, employment assistance, free health care, telephones, and other services every day except Sunday. Since late November, West’s staff have been on “double duty,” he said. Dozens of people are showing up at night, in addition to those who arrive during the day. Recently, when temperatures across the state dropped below freezing, Repairers of the Breach was open for a 44-hour stint – including on Sunday – due to the cold. Over those days, West saw many people including the elderly,  wielding canes or walkers, and struggling with mental illness come in. 

While Milwaukee’s unhoused population is made up of a diverse group of people from many backgrounds, a growing number are elderly. “I think of the 800 unique individuals, 248 were over 60 [years old] off the top of my head,” said Collins-Dyke. “That’s an increase that we’ve seen. So unfortunately we’re seeing individuals who are older experiencing unsheltered homelessness.” It’s something that the county is “trying to wrap our arms around,” Collins-Dyke explained, with plans for a new grant focusing on elderly unhoused people in the works. 

From Nov. 27 to Dec. 13, the Milwaukee County Medical Examiner’s Office documented five deaths due to hypothermia. All of the individuals – four male and one female – ranged from 56 to 82 years old. Three of them were logged as “homeless” and were found in the cities of Milwaukee and Oak Creek. 

According to Medical Examiner records the oldest victim, 82-year-old Michael Kies, was found dead in November after Meals on Wheels, which provides meals to 2.2 million seniors nationwide, and Kies’ loved ones asked police to conduct a welfare check. Kies was found in his bedroom. 

In early December, the Oak Creek Fire Department reported the death of Jehovah Holy Spirit Jesus, 60, who was found seated in a chair behind trash dumpsters outside the business Eder Flag. Jesus “appeared dressed for the weather and was not visible from the roadway,” medical examiner records state. Surveillance footage reportedly captured Jesus walking in a nearby field on Nov. 28. By the time staff returned to work on Dec. 2, Jesus – believed to be unhoused and struggling with mental illness – was found cold and unresponsive behind the business. 

Three more elderly residents died from Dec. 11-13, including two unhoused Milwaukeeans who died on the same day. One of them, 64-year-old Carolyn Lovett, was taken to the Aurora Sinai Medical Center by firefighters for hypothermic cardiac arrest. She’d been found unresponsive in a roadway, medical examiner records state. Although friends of Lovett arrived at the hospital later, including a cousin who said that they lived together, records list her as homeless. 

That same day, firefighters also found 60-year-old Richard Montgomery in a vacant, fire-damaged house on Milwaukee’s North Side. Montgomery’s family had contacted city departments for a welfare check on Montgomery. One of his neighbors – who believed Montgomery struggled with schizophrenia – had also requested a welfare check. The house was owned by Montgomery’s parents, who’d been deceased for many years, reports state. Although multiple fires had left the home uninhabitable, Montgomery continued living there, according to records. 

In the third and fourth weeks of January, arctic cold whipped Wisconsin with 30-35 below zero wind chills. Residents in southern Wisconsin were warned that just 15 minutes of bare skin exposure to the cold could cause frostbite. By the end of January, three more people (ranging from 40-69 years old) had possibly succumbed to the cold. WISN reported that on Jan. 12, a 64-year-old man was found under a bridge. The next day, a 69-year-old man was found in a vehicle that was being used as shelter. Two days later on Jan. 15, a 40-year-old man was found on a heating mechanism near railroad tracks.

The recent deaths spanned from the south of Milwaukee to the north. Although Repairers of the Breach is based in Milwaukee’s King Park neighborhood, the group sees people from as far away as Waukesha and Germantown. 

King Park has become a focal point for housing issues in Milwaukee over the years. In 2021, people expressed concerns about a growing tent community made up of dozens of people in the park. Although county officials have worked to find housing and services for those living in King Park, the area has never been entirely free of unhoused people looking for space and privacy. 

Last summer, King Park’s unhoused population again began to rise as the Republican National Convention approached. During the convention, out-of-state police officers from Columbus Ohio killed Sam Sharpe, a man who’d been living in the park. Sharpe was known to housing outreach groups like Street Angels, who said after his death that they serve up to 300 unhoused residents a night. Whereas some find quiet spots off to themselves, others group together in encampments, or stick together in nomadic caravans of half-working vehicles. 

While county and advocate groups work to get unhoused people supplies and shelter, many living on the street also display a unique kind of resilience. Collins-Dyke told Wisconsin Examiner that “seeing sort of the resilience and the ingenuity of a lot of the people that we serve on the street is pretty incredible, to be able to survive.” 

Nevertheless, county teams always encourage even the hardest of folks to come with them and come to a warming site. Collins-Dyke also noted that the county is working with landlords to get people housed more quickly. The county’s housing navigation and outreach teams, Collins-Dyke explained, are currently working to assess people visiting warming sites to get them into housing. 

In December 2024, Milwaukee County received federal funding for housing support and other services for elderly residents, and those transitioning out of the Community Reintegration Center (formerly known as the House of Corrections). “Housing is a matter of public health, and housing security is a critical social determinant of health,” County Executive Crowley said at a press conference announcing the funds.  

“Our shared vision for Milwaukee County includes expanding equitable access to safe, quality and affordable housing and supportive services for those in need,” Crowley added. “By supporting our aging population and investing in reentry housing services for those seeking a second chance, we are working to improve outcomes for some of our most vulnerable residents and build a stronger Milwaukee County for all.”

“Housing is a key social determinant of health. We want to ensure that older adults and people reentering their communities from the CRC have access to safe and affordable housing,” said Shakita LaGrant-McClain, Executive Director of the Department of Health and Human Services. “Through these efforts, we are working to empower vulnerable residents to lead full lives.”

Orders by the Trump administration, however, have thrown the grant and other funds into uncertain territory. A two page memo from the Office of Management and Budget announced the sudden freeze of federal program funds to state and local governments. Wisconsin joined other states and the District of Columbia in filing a lawsuit to stop funding from being cut off to local and state governments, and af ederal judge ruled Tuesday that the Trump administration must wait at least a week before pausing funds. On Wednesday, the administration rescinded the memo.  

Before the memo was rescinded a Milwaukee County spokesperson said in an email statement to Wisconsin Examiner that County Executive David Crowley “remains concerned” about the memo “and the potential impacts to not only County projects and services, but the overall health and safety of Milwaukee County residents, families, and children who rely on federally-funded programs and services.”

Numerous Milwaukee County departments rely on federal funding including human services and transportation services. “We will continue engaging with local, state, and federal leaders on this evolving matter,” said the spokesperson. 

Pastor West also stressed collaboration between the county government and community groups. Beyond receiving government funds, West wonders “why not outsource it to us…Let us service the people in the way that we know how to service that’s been successful.” That would allow different community organizations working on the frontlines of the housing issue to learn from each other, he said. “I will say in the last five years, there’s been more of that,” said West of  support from the city and county. “And it’s working.” 

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Kent Lovern being sworn in as Milwaukee County's 32nd District Attorney (Isiah Holmes/Wisconsin Examiner)

At Milwaukee’s War Memorial Center along Lake Michigan, dozens gathered in a spacious room Thursday evening to welcome  Kent Lovern, who succeeded John Chisholm as Milwaukee County’s 32nd district attorney. Throughout the evening, speakers praised Lovern as compassionate to people, wherever they find themselves in the criminal justice system. 

Jeff Altenburg, chief deputy at the Milwaukee County District Attorney’s Office, called the evening the biggest day for the DA’s office in 18 years. Lovern has been at the office since 2005, rising in  the ranks from assistant district attorney to chief deputy and  now to district attorney, after serving under both of the county’s former top prosecutors. E. Michael McCann, who was district attorney from 1969 to 2007, and John Chisholm, who was elected in 2007 and now passes the reins to Lovern, were both in the crowd. 

“When you stepped into this office, you inherited a profound responsibility to uphold the rule of law, while ensuring that justice is fair, equitable and accessible to everyone,” said Milwaukee County Sheriff Denita Ball. “As you know, this is a task that no single person should shoulder alone.” Ball said that working together with law enforcement, public defenders, advocates, community leaders and other citizens is important. “Together, we are not just enforcers of the law, we are builders of trust and guardians of our community’s wellbeing,” said Ball. “By working together, we can achieve more than any one of us can accomplish alone.” 

Carmen Pitre, president and CEO of the Sojourner Family Peace Center, called Lovern a fierce advocate for providing high-quality victim services to people across the county. The Peace Center offers  services and interventions for domestic violence victims, serving nearly 10,000 people a year according to the group’s website. Lovern’s family have remained involved in the peace center, where Lovern himself has also held leadership roles. “Even on our best day, Kent believed that we could do better,” said Pitre, recalling that Lovern would sometimes say, “we have big city problems, but we’re small enough to get our arms around it through relationships.”

Darryl Morin, president and board chairman of Forward Latino. said his group often engages with residents who have been victimized by acts of hate, whether verbally or physically. “These victims are often just terrified and extremely reluctant to report the acts that have been done upon them, for fear that those who perpetrated this crime would come back and in their own words, ‘to finish what they started.’” Morin said that in other cases, there is a lack of confidence that if they did report these incidents, nothing would be done. “I’m so proud to say that that is not the case here in Milwaukee County,” said Morin, saying that Lovern meets with these families with “empathy” and “compassion.” 

Joel Brennan, president of the Greater Milwaukee Committee, said too many people confuse vengeance and retribution with justice. Brennan said Lovern “understands that the road to justice is complex, it is winding” and that “the lasting justice that we seek includes penalty and sanction, but also incorporates education, economic opportunity, access to mental health, rehabilitation and renewal, and standing up for the most vulnerable in our community.”

Adam Procell, re-entry specialist co-founder of the Milwaukee-based consulting service Paradigm Shyft, has lived those words. When he was 15 years old, Procell said that he faced a 25-year prison sentence. “I didn’t believe in myself,” said Procell. He recalled when he was paroled in 2008 he ran into Chisholm who, like Procell, was wearing a blue suit that day. They had a conversation, and through Chisholm Procell was introduced to Lovern, with whom he  built a friendship. “Nobody is beyond redemption,” said Procell, “you don’t have to be defined by your mistakes.” 

Chief Judge in Milwaukee County Carl Ashley, conducted Lovern’s swearing-in.  When he took the stage, Lovern said, pointing to Lake Michigan outside, “We live in a community of abundance.” Lovern said that Milwaukee County faces a complex web of challenges, which can only be tackled if “we become a safer, healthier, and more prosperous community.” He added that “everyone in every neighborhood in our county deserves to feel safe in their daily lives. We all need to feel a sense of security so our children can enjoy our parks and playgrounds, our children can focus better in school, and our parents can build a future for their families.” 

The community must have a strong sense of accountability to one another, including within the criminal justice system, he added. “It must be clearly understood that a threat to safety within our community will be met with the measured response,” said Lovern. “In doing so, our justice system must itself demonstrate accountability to this community by acting fairly and consistently, with measured firmness in our response. Our system must always seek to uphold the rule of law, in order to protect our commonly shared values.” 

While Lovern referenced the importance of “safety and security” throughout his remarks, he also stressed the need for economic, educational, and rehabilitative opportunities for Milwaukee’s most underserved. Milwaukee County is among the most segregated communities in the nation, where life expectancy can vary depending on what zip code you’re born into. “Many who encounter our justice system have experienced trauma in their lives, and for trauma that trauma has existed for generations within families and neighborhoods,” said Lovern. The work of peer supporters, therapists, and advocates, “literally saves lives as they help members of our community face and treat their traumatic conditions.” 

Lovern called for more resources and support for Milwaukee’s non-profit sector, which is often on the frontlines, providing mental health and substance abuse treatment. The new district attorney also called for investment in Milwaukee, to push back the county’s “unacceptable” levels of poverty. “Violent crime does not thrive in neighborhoods with high rates of housing stability, and family-sustaining jobs.” Lovern stressed that Milwaukee is an “innovative community”, and that everyone has a role to play. “My commitment to all of you is to work tirelessly to make our community safer,” said Lovern. “I will respond to the actions strongly that threaten our collective safety. I will respond with appropriate compassion to those who need help. I will work with anyone – anyone – who genuinely wants to strengthen our county so that we can create the community that we aspire to be.”

Correction: This article has been edited to correct the name of E. Michael McCann, who served as Milwaukee County District Attorney from 1969 to 2007. 

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Over 4,000 people gather for the Voces de la Frontera march for immigrant rights on May Day, 2022. This was part of a two day action. (Photo | Isiah Holmes/Wisconsin Examiner)

Some Milwaukee residents are alarmed over a plan to move an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) into their neighborhood on the Northwest Side. Local officials said an ICE and Homeland Security building in downtown Milwaukee, which currently processes detainees, may move to 11925 W. Lake Park Drive, nestled in a neighborhood near freeway exits, a church, a grocery store and a hotel. 

Ald. Larresa Taylor, who represents the 9th District, spoke at a press conference Wednesday afternoon saying she wanted to properly inform residents of the federal government’s intentions. “We never want anyone to be caught off guard,” said Taylor. She received an email from the Department of City Development on Dec. 9, she said, informing her of an application for “proposed minor modifications” to a building in the Park Place business park. 

The building is privately owned by Milwaukee Governmental LLC, which Taylor said requested the modifications to the building. The LLC is an affiliate of the Illinois-based WD Schorsch LLC, according to city assessment records, an entity that owns properties leased to federal government agencies, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported. Taylor said that although the 9th District — covering the uppermost northwest end of Milwaukee — is a growing district, this “doesn’t mean that we’re going to accept any and everything.” 

“And it certainly doesn’t mean that we’re going to allow someone to come into our district without warning, or without knowledge,” she added.

Taylor said that the proposed facility would operate “exactly as they do downtown.” Although it is called the “Chicago Field Office,” the existing ICE facility in downtown Milwaukee is the one slated to move into the District 9 neighborhood. The facility is involved in processing ICE detainees, as well as immigrants who must come there for regular check-ins. Detainees who are being held for deportation are transferred to the Dodge County Jail in Juneau, where there is an ICE detention facility.

Local residents are worried that by using a federal exemption, the ICE office plans to bypass Milwaukee’s zoning laws which would require public notice and input. During the press conference, several local officials and community leaders spoke in opposition to ICE’s plans. Others released statements to that effect. 

“Milwaukee is the site for statewide processing of any person put in detention in Wisconsin,” Christine Neumann-Ortiz, executive director of the immigrant-rights group Voces de la Frontera, wrote in a statement. “This move by ICE is an effort by the incoming Trump administration to implement their policies of mass criminalization and mass deportation of immigrant workers and their families.” 

Neumann-Ortiz said her organization had a message for ICE and the incoming Trump administration: “Our communities will not be intimidated. We are committed to working with others to see that this facility is shut down. We reject your divisive tactics to pit working-class people against each other. We will defend our dignity and rights and the dignity and rights of others whom you attack.”

According to an ICE spokesperson, there are no ICE detention facilities listed or planned for the location in question. Information on locations of ICE detention facilities can be found at https://www.ice.gov/detention-facilities.

Ald. José Perez, president of Milwaukee’s Common Council, said that he is “firmly opposed” to any expansion of ICE facilities in Milwaukee. Perez, who like many other Milwaukeeans is the child of immigrants, spoke to the anxiety felt by people across Milwaukee due to President-elect Donald Trump’s promises of mass deportations that could separate families. 

“People are scared, kids are scared, this is the time to push back hard,” Perez said. He called on the Milwaukee Police Department (MPD) to follow its own standard operating procedures, which states that MPD officers “shall not detain or arrest an individual solely for a suspected violation of immigration law.” SOP-130, which governs immigration-related activities for MPD, states that “proactive immigration enforcement by local police can be detrimental to our mission and policing philosophy when doing so deters some individuals from participating in their civic obligation to assist the police.” 

The SOP instructs officers to follow its guidelines “regardless of one’s personal opinion or political ideology on the issue of immigration.” However, the SOP does not prevent MPD from cooperating with ICE when a judicial warrant has been issued for individuals suspected of terrorism or espionage, those suspected of being involved in street gangs, violent felonies, sexual offenses involving minors, or people previously deported for felonies.

In 2019, MPD was embroiled in controversy after its officers were filmed arresting José de la Cruz-Espinosa outside of his home. MPD said that the Mexican-born de la Cruz-Espinosa was wanted for a probation violation, and was detained at the Dodge County ICE detention center. After weeks of media attention and pressure from local activists, de la Cruz-Espinosa was released and returned to his family. The arrest and organizing led to the Fire and Police Commission adopting new changes to SOP-130 regarding MPD cooperation with ICE. 

Perez stressed that “we are not simply going to roll over and have residents be punished, families be separated, and children left to fend for themselves.” The common council president said that there’s a process for everything, and that “federal facilities simply popping up with no notice isn’t fair to the residents of Milwaukee.”

A coalition of Milwaukee County supervisors Juan Miguel Martine, Caroline Gomez-Tom, Justin Bielinski, Jack Eckblad, Anne O’ Connor, Shawn Rolland, Sky Capriolo, Sequanna Taylor, Willie Johnson Jr., and Priscilla Coggs-Jones, and Chairwoman Marcelia Nicholson also issued a joint statement. “This is not just a building,” they wrote, “It represents a system that thrives on fear and perpetuates the suffering of families who are the backbone of our community.” Undocumented immigrants contribute $198 million annually in state and local taxes to Wisconsin, the coalition noted, saying “our city thrives because of their presence and contributions — not in spite of them.” 

Other elected officials joined the press conference, including State Sen. Dora Drake (D-Milwaukee), State Reps. Darrin Madison (D-Milwaukee) and Russel Goodwin Sr. (D-Milwaukee), as well as Milwaukee Alderwoman JoCasta Zamarripa. Anita Johnson of the African American Round Table in Milwaukee, whose church is “just up the street” from the proposed site for the ICE office, said, “We don’t want ICE in this state, period.” 

“Find another place to put this building or another state, we have enough problems — local problems — of our own, we don’t need yours,” said Johnson. 

Goodwin said communities in Milwaukee need “thoughtful, inclusive development” that brings “opportunity and growth.” Rather than bringing jobs, housing or investment, projects like the proposed ICE office “risk creating tension and instability where we need unity and progress,” Goodwin said.  “The people who live here deserve a voice in what is built in their neighborhood,” he added, and “our community deserves development that uplifts and empowers us.”

Representatives from two of Milwaukee’s Business Improvement Districts (BID) also objected to  the ICE facility. Mary Hoehne, executive director of the Granville BID, said the business park building should be used to generate jobs, not for immigration enforcement. “We can’t allow that in our neighborhood,” Hoehne said of the ICE facility. Stephanie Harling, executive director of the Havenwoods BID, said that local communities have been forced to address complex social issues on their own. With an ICE facility, “we’re not solving any problems here, we are displacing the problem,” she said. “This pattern has to stop, and this is the final blow.”

This story has been updated with a comment from an ICE spokesperson.

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A coalition of faith-based organizations, social justice groups and citizens has launched a campaign to eliminate costs for calls to people incarcerated in Wisconsin prisons and jails. (Photo by Caspar Benson/Getty Images)

For Royalty Grace, contacting her 20-year-old incarcerated son is both precious and costly. Grace told a room full of people in Milwaukee, “Every phone call, every message, every video call, every fleeting moment of connection comes with a price, literally and emotionally.” On Wednesday morning Grace was joined by others who knew her pain. The group gathered for the launch of the new statewide Connecting Families Campaign by WISDOM, a coalition of faith-based organizations, social justice groups and citizens, to eliminate costs for calls to people incarcerated in Wisconsin prisons and jails. 

“When a loved one is incarcerated, families like mine are not just dealing with the emotional toll of separation,” said Grace. “We’re navigating a financial system that profits off of our desire to stay connected to our loved ones.” Providing calls for people incarcerated in prisons is a $1.4 billion industry nationally. In Wisconsin, families contend with a patchwork of vendors and services, depending on where their loved one is housed. The Department of Corrections (DOC) contracts with the company ICSolutions to provide state prisons with phone calls and video visits. Jails and other county-ran facilities use a variety of  different vendors and practices. 

Rep. Ryan Clancy (D-Milwaukee) began to learn about the issue shortly after getting elected to the Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors. Clancy, speaking during the WISDOM campaign launch on Wednesday, recalled touring what was then called the House of Corrections (now the Community Reintegration Center) asking people housed there what they would change about the facility. “So many people at that institution said ‘make phone calls free,’” said Clancy. “I spoke to one gentleman who…who had to pretend to his wife and children that he didn’t want to talk to them because he knew that every phone call they made to talk to him took food off their table and medicine out of the mouths of his kids. That is a horrific, terrible choice that we as a county, and as a state, and as a society are asking families to make. And it has to end.” 

In the 2024 Milwaukee County adopted budget, funding increases were made to provide free phone and video calls for people housed at the Community Reintegration Center and the Milwaukee County Jail.

Joined by Rep. Darrin Madison (D-Milwaukee), Clancy advocated for state legislation to create uniform phone service policies across Wisconsin. By adopting the same plan, Clancy feels that municipalities could “leverage that purchasing power” to make communication more affordable and more consistent for incarcerated people and their families. States including Massachusetts, Minnesota and Colorado have moved towards making prison or jail calls free. WISDOM’s Connecting Families Campaign will also raise awareness of the quality of phone service for incarcerated people. Some families have reported unreliable service on phone calls and video visits, further compounding their frustrations. 

Not being able to reach friends or family can have a severe negative effect on incarcerated people. Rep. Madison shared his own story of visiting a high school friend imprisoned in Green Bay. Life hadn’t been easy for the friend, who’d been transferred to Green Bay Correctional from a youth facility. “I remember going to visit him, and seeing scars on his arm,” said Madison. “And I asked him what those scars were from, and he told me every time they sent him to the hole he felt so isolated, that he resorted to cutting himself to be sent to Mendota [mental health facility] so that he could get the chance to get a free phone call, so that he could all us, his friends — his family — because he spent most of his childhood in our foster care system.”

Being able to reach people who care about you is a lifeline when you’re incarcerated. Additionally, the more access to the outside incarcerated people have, the better their chances of successfully reintegrating into society upon their release. Jamone Hegwood, who spent 13 and a half years of his life in prison, has seen what happens when people lose contact with the outside. “I have come across hundreds and hundreds of guys that are institutionalized,” said Hegwood during the Wednesday campaign launch, referring to people who’d become more used to prison than being free. “Normally the institutionalized guys are the guys that does not have communication with their family. So the only thing that they know is prison.”

After living in a world limited to wardens, walls and gates, “when they come into the community, they are pretty much just like being dropped on an island,” said Hegwood. People who  maintaining contact with loved ones, can better separate themselves from prison and its internal politics. Sa ‘Aire Salton, a licensed mental health provider, said many incarcerated people are traumatized by their incarceration and locked in a cycle that often returns them to prison or jail. That cycle can only be broken with communication and love.

Frank Penigar Jr. told the group gathered for the WISDOM launch  that he was incarcerated for 26 years, during which time he met his biological mother. Penigar said that during the time he got to know her, while he was incarcerated, “we had 18 years where she was able to nurture me that she wasn’t able to do from her womb. And so, that’s how we learned about one another.” Gradually, Penigar found out about the family he’d never known, waiting for him when he got out. Penigar said that communication with loved ones is very important when you’re incarcerated. “And if it can be free, like we going to be pushing for it…it’s a real thing.”

“It’s real,” he added. “I went through it.” 

This story has been updated with new information regarding Milwaukee County budget funding to provide free phone and video calls at the Milwaukee County Jail and Community Reintegration Center. 

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Wisconsin State Capitol on a snowy day. (Baylor Spears | Wisconsin Examiner)

Depending on your perspective, some of the most anticipated or dreaded parts of Wisconsin’s climate are winter snows and cold. This year, a blanket of snow around the holidays had all but melted away by the new year. In the future, holiday seasons accompanied by white, glittering snowfall will be less and less common. 

That’s according to a report by Climate Central, a recipient of funding by the Bezos Earth Fund and the Schmidt Family Foundation which describes itself as a policy-neutral, independent group of scientists and communicators.  The report found that over the last decade Wisconsin has seen more winter days above freezing. Those warmer temperatures have ripple effects on snowfall, winter recreation and ecosystems. Climate Central researched the effects of climate change in Wisconsin using meteorological data from 2014-2023, with a focus on the winter months from December to February. The analysis found that during those months over the last decade, nearly 40% of Wisconsin’s 72 counties added a week’s worth of above-freezing winter days. 

Wisconsin was one of 50 states and 123 countries and territories included in the report. Data for  901 cities covered observed average temperatures from 2014-2023, as well as estimates of what temperatures would have  been without human-induced climate change due to fossil fuels and greenhouse gas emissions. The report found “locations across the globe where cold winter days are disappearing in a warming world, compared to a world without climate change.” 

For individual Wisconsin counties, that meant significant increases in the average number of days above freezing. The report found that Milwaukee County, for example, added an average of 13 days above freezing, the most of any county. Ozaukee and Kenosha counties added 12 days, while Door, Racine, and Manitowoc added 11 days. The counties of Kewaunee, Waukesha, Sheboygan, and Washington all added an average of 10 more winter days above freezing over the last decade. 

The numbers across other Wisconsin counties showed a similarly dramatic shift.  In Wood County between 2014-23, according to the report, there was an average of 10 days above freezing during the winter months, with five days added by climate change. In Marinette County, there was an average of 10 days above freezing, with five attributed to climate change. In Brown County, there were 12 days above freezing, with six of them added by climate change, according to the report. 

But in a state known for its harsh winter weather, is milder weather really all that bad? “I like to call these strangely warm winter days delight-mares,” Kristina Dahl, vice president of science at Climate Central, told  Wisconsin Examiner in an email. “Having a relatively warm winter day can be a delightful break from the coldest, darkest season of the year. But if you take a half step back and think about why that day is so warm – or what it might mean for your local economy or ecosystems – you’re confronted with the reality that human-caused climate change is altering so many aspects of our daily lives.”

Addressing the effects of climate change has been a growing concern statewide. Some regions experience greater shoreline erosion, crops grown by agricultural communities struggle because of  volatile winters, unpredictable springs and dry summers. 

Noticeable swings in weather patterns have increasingly made headlines in Wisconsin. In 2021, there was  severe summer flooding in parts of Milwaukee, and strong winds downed hundreds of trees. In mid-December of the same year, temperatures in Milwaukee and Madison reached the low 60s. States across the Midwest experienced a rash of tornadoes which killed dozens of people. In January 2022, the previous year’s record-setting warm weather was replaced by arctic cold. During that summer, lives were lost in Milwaukee due to extreme heat and flooding. Extreme heat was a concern again in 2023, when a wildfire in Waushara County burned over 800 acres.  

The warmer winter weather has also started to change traditional recreation in Wisconsin. Last winter, some snowboarding and skiing spots closed due to lack of snow. The same thing happened during the winter of 2022. The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) has long highlighted the effects of climate change on activities like ice fishing, snowmobiling, snowshoeing, boating, hunting and other outdoor activities which Wisconsin is known for. Fishing alone represents a $2 billion industry in Wisconsin.

“Warming winter days, like those we document in this report, have repercussions throughout our society,” said Dahl. “When days are above freezing, any precipitation will come in the form of rain rather than snow, and snow on the ground begins to melt. That means that winter sports and recreation – an important facet of staying active in the winter months and an important source of revenue for our economy – are threatened. It also means that traditions and cultures can be impacted, for example, through the loss of access to traditional Indigenous hunting grounds. And because many crops, including apples, require a certain amount of chilling time in the winter in order to produce fruit come spring or summer, warming winter days can translate to reduced crop productivity.” 

As cold and inconvenient as snow can be, its disappearance changes many things which have come to define Wisconsin. 

This report has been updated with a link to the Climate Central webpage for its report.

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A marker for a segment of Enbridge Line 6 in northern Wisconsin. A leak in the line in Jefferson County is now under investigation by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. (Photo | Frank Zufall)

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is investigating a major leak from a pipeline managed by the Canadian oil giant Enbridge. Last weekend environmental groups sounded the alarm after learning that Enbridge’s Line 6 pipeline had spilled the equivalent of 1,650 barrels — more than  69,000 gallons — of crude oil  in the town of Oakland in Jefferson County. 

The DNR issued a statement saying that a report of a two-gallon spill was sent to the state agency on Nov. 11. Notifications were sent by Enbridge to the DNR, the National Response Center (NRC), and the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA). The DNR then visited the site on Nov. 11 and 12, with additional follow-up on Dec. 6, according to the agency. On Nov. 14, the spill quantity was updated to 126 gallons (or 2-3 barrels). On Dec. 13, Enbridge again revised the spill estimation to 1,650 barrels (or 69,300 gallons) of crude oil. 

“Under Wisconsin law, entities that cause environmental contamination are responsible for reporting and remediating the contamination,” the DNR states. “Enbridge is providing weekly updates to the DNR regarding the investigation and cleanup process. As investigation and cleanup is an iterative process, the DNR continues to evaluate appropriate next steps, including any potential enforcement actions such as a corrective action order.”

Using the GPS coordinates from the accident report and Google Maps, Wisconsin Examiner found that the spill occurred near a roadway running through a grassy, wooded area. The spill occurred near a waterway that flows into Lake Ripley, close to  a grouping of nature preserves and campgrounds. The accident report noted that the pipeline’s leak detection systems did not notify anyone of the leak. 

The Line 6 leak occurred during the same week that environmental and tribal groups filed new legal challenges against Enbridge’s proposed Line 5 pipeline reroute. Opponents of Line 5 are concerned  that the pipeline, which currently runs through the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa’s reservation, will still present environmental hazards even if it is  rerouted around tribal lands. The Bad River Band argues that the pipeline poses a risk to the health of the Bad River, which the tribe relies on for food, medicine, and important cultural practices. Environmental groups echo those concerns, and feel state and federal agencies have failed to adequately evaluate the environmental risks posed by  Enbridge Line 5. 

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A sign protesting Enbridge Line 5 in Michigan. (Laina G. Stebbins | Michigan Advance)

“The land does not belong to us, it is borrowed by us from our children’s children” said Robert Blanchard, chairman of the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa. “We harvest our wild rice from the waters, we hunt from the land, fish from the lake, streams, and rivers to feed our families and gather the medicines to heal our relatives.” 

The Bad River Band cites this relationship with the land in its fight against the Enbridge Line 5 pipeline, which has operated in trespass on the Bad River Band’s reservation for years. Now, the Band and its allies are challenging the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) decision to grant permits that the Canadian oil company Enbridge will need to construct a re-route of the pipeline. The new route no longer trespasses on the reservation, it will still run through the Bad River watershed. The tribe and a coalition of state environmental groups say a spill in that area could be devastating.

Last Thursday, Midwest Environmental Advocates, 350 Wisconsin, the Sierra Club of Wisconsin and the League of Women Voters of Wisconsin filed a petition for a contested case hearing with the DNR, challenging DNR permitting for Line 5. Shortly after filing the challenge, Midwest Environmental Advocates received a report of a 69,000-gallon oil spill in Jefferson County.

According to an accident report shared with Wisconsin Examiner, the spill originated from Enbridge’s Line 6 pipeline. Some 1,650 barrels of crude oil are estimated to have leaked from the pipeline, with 42 gallons to a barrel. When plugged into Google Maps, GPS data in the accident report point to a roadway running through a grassy, wooded area. The map shows that the spill occurred near a waterway that flows into Lake Ripley, not far from a group of nature preserves and campgrounds. Although the pipeline segment had a leak detection system, the accident report states that this didn’t alert anyone to the leak, which was first noticed on Nov. 11 by an Enbridge technician.

Line 6 is one of four pipeliness that run from Superior, Wisconsin, to Illinois. It carries crude oil from Superior to Lockport, Illinois.

Tony Wilkin Gibart, executive director of Midwest Environmental Advocates, said in a statement that the Line 6 spill highlights the dangers of Line 5. “Consider that in the very same week that DNR issued permits for Line 5 based on its conclusion that the risk for a spill would be ‘low,’ DNR was investigating a significant oil leak on another Enbridge pipeline in Wisconsin,” said Gibart. “DNR’s reasoning for approving Line 5 defies common sense.”

In November, the DNR decided to issue wetland and waterway permits to Enbridge as a step towards moving the pipeline off the Bad River reservation. The DNR highlighted that the wetland permits would include over 200 conditions which Enbridge would need to honor, and which would keep the company in compliance with Wisconsin’s wetland and waterway standards. Both the DNR and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers would need to approve the permits before construction of the reroute could begin. 

“Many of our people will feel the effects if we lose these resources,” said Blanchard. “In my view, the DNR failed our children when it gave Enbridge the permits to build this reroute. They failed to consider the company’s multiple disasters in Minnesota and in Michigan, which are still being cleaned up. They failed to consider our tribe, our water quality, and the natural resources of the entire Bad River watershed. As a tribal chairman and an elder, it’s my responsibility to protect the generations still to come. That’s why we are fighting this reroute in court.”

The Band is represented by EarthJustice in a lawsuit filed against the DNR which, like the petition filed last week by the environmental groups, accuses the state agency of producing an inadequate final Environmental Impact Statement on the reroute which violates the Wisconsin Environmental Protection Act. 

Blanchard highlighted his tribe’s reliance on wild rice fields growing along the Bad River and Lake Superior, as well as natural medicines, wild game, and the land itself which are crucial to the Bad River Band’s cultural practices and way of life. Every year the tribe holds an annual wild rice harvest, and Bad River Band members hunt and gather from the land all year. 

“If something was to happen during that time, or when that pipeline is in place, you know, it’s really going to affect a lot of things that we do here, and the way that we do things here on the reservation as far as our way of life,” Blanchard warned. 

Currently the Line 5 pipeline crosses the Bad River inside the boundaries of the reservation. If the reroute goes through,  Enbridge would construct 41 miles of new pipeline to cross the river outside of reservation land. The reroute would still place the natural resources the tribe relies on in danger if an oil spill or leak were to occur. 

Stefanie Tsosie, senior staff attorney at Earthjustice, also warned that constructing new pipeline damages natural formations and resources which are often irreplaceable. “Once construction starts they can’t undo the damage,” Tsosie said in a statement. “Enbridge has a terrible track record for pipeline construction and operation. And this place — this watershed and this territory — is not another place they can just plow through.” 

Opponents to the pipeline point to a history of ecological disasters due to spillage from Enbridge pipelines. In 2010, millions of gallons of crude oil contaminated the Kalamazoo River, creating a crisis which took years to address. Over the past 50 years, Enbridge’s Line 5 pipeline has spilled over 1 million gallons in dozens of different incidents. 

Today, an area known as the “meander” is also creating concern for the Bad River Band. “The river is changing course, and it does that throughout the way it runs,” said Blanchard. At the meander where the pipeline crosses,  he added, “If we have high water events, flooding, harsh winter with a lot of ice build up, and all that breaks loose in the spring, then we get this high water that very well could take that pipeline out, and cause a spill.”

The tribe is monitoring the situation regularly, but this does little to ease their anxieties. The meander is “quite difficult to get to,” said Blanchard, and it’s also just one area of concern along the pipeline’s route. “A few years back, we had an exposed pipeline coming down one of the sidehills up there,” said Blanchard. “There was quite a ways where the pipeline was exposed and just kind of hanging in mid-air, which could have been disastrous if it wasn’t found and something done about it.”

If Line 5 were rerouted, it would still go through other wetlands and habitats outside the reservation. “These are some of the most treasured areas in Wisconsin,” said Brett Korte, an attorney with Clean Wisconsin. “When we think of the beauty of our state, our precious freshwater resources, the places we must protect, these areas are at the top of the list.” 

In a statement, Korte added, “This push from Canadian oil giant Enbridge is getting national attention because what it’s proposing to do here in Wisconsin is dangerous.”

This report was updated with additional information about Line 6.

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Kerrie Hirte, the mother of Cilivea Thyrion, looks over autopsy reports sent by the medical examiner. (Photo | Isiah Holmes)

On a recent chilly November evening, Kerrie Hirte confronted a piece of mail she’d both anticipated and dreaded. Sitting at her kitchen table, beneath a picture of her late daughter Cilivea Thyrion, 20, Hirte examined the contents of an orange envelope from the Milwaukee County Medical Examiner’s Office. Inside were unredacted autopsy reports, with details that raised new questions about her daughter’s death in the Milwaukee County Jail nearly two years ago. 

Hirte invited the Wisconsin Examiner to her Green Bay home to accompany her when she first viewed the unredacted autopsy reports. They show that correctional officers were aware that Thyrion, who died after eating pieces of an adult diaper while on suicide watch, had a previous history of eating the very item she was given the day she died. In autopsy protocol records, the medical examiner also noted evidence of blunt force injuries to Thyrion, including injuries to her head, lower extremities, liver, and ribs. 

The reports described the scene of Thyrion’s death on Dec. 16, 2022. By then, Thyrion had been in the jail just two days short of 10 months. Thyrion was arrested by the Wauwatosa Police Department in February, after getting in a fight at her residence and charged with felony suffocation/strangulation and misdemeanor battery. Thyrion died before she was sentenced for the charges. 

According to the records later mailed to Hirte, medical examiner investigators found Thyrion “lying on a bare metal slate” with her arm “resting on a green mattress pad on the floor.” The green mattress was one of the only items in the cell besides a toilet, sink, a paperback book and intercom. Thyrion had been housed in the jail’s Special Needs Unit, where she’d been on suicide watch since Dec. 11. “It is unknown at this time what [led] to her needing this type of cell and supervision,” the medical examiner’s investigation report states.

On the morning of Dec. 16, Thyrion pushed the assistance button inside her cell to call guards for help. When correctional officers arrived, they saw Thyrion gesturing towards her neck. After gathering other correctional staff, they called 911 as it was apparent that the 20-year-old was suffocating. The medical examiner’s report states that correctional officers performed a Heimlich maneuver to help Thyrion clear whatever she was choking on. The report states that correctional officers called 911 three times, but Thyrion was unconscious by the time medics arrived. 

An investigation by the Waukesha County Sheriff’s Department found that Thyrion had ingested an adult diaper, which correctional officers gave her while she was on suicide watch. Although why the diaper was provided is redacted in Waukesha’s reports, interviews with correctional officers strongly imply that it was to help Thyrion deal with her menstrual cycle. In a letter stating that no charges would be filed for Thyrion’s death, the Milwaukee County District Attorney’s Office wrote that the guards tried unsuccessfully to find underwear made specifically to limit self-harm risks, but could only find an adult diaper. The district attorney’s letter states that “they wanted to meet a basic need for Ms. Thyrion and did not consider that the diaper could be used in a way to self-harm.”

What correctional officers knew about Thryion’s self-harm risks is woven in and out of the redactions in the Waukesha sheriff’s investigation. One interview of a correctional officer noted that the guard “was aware of Thyrion’s history and had conversations with her about [redacted]”, and that the guard was “very sad about the situation because nobody thought that Thryion would hurt herself by [redacted] and they were just trying to make her ‘feel like a woman.’” 

Yet, the medical examiner’s scene report states that “according to Correctional Officers (CO) and jail staff, [Cilivea] had a history of trying to swallow inedible objections (sic) including plastic forks and diapers. She was seen trying to swallow unspecified objects today around 1030 hours and it is believed that she was unsuccessful at actually swallowing anything.” After reading that section of the report Hirte wondered why her daughter would be given a diaper if jail staff were aware of the risk. “They make it sound like they just gave her diapers all the time,” Hirte told Wisconsin Examiner. 

After reading a portion of the reports stating that Thyrion had no next of kin, but that detectives were aware that she’d called an unknown female, Hirte began to weep. While Thyrion was incarcerated, Hirte recalled talking to jail health care staff “several times about Cilivea.” She told Wisconsin Examiner that her daughter had signed “a release of information so that I could find out what was happening to her in there. And when you’re reading that [the medical examiner reports] it makes it sound like they had no idea who she was talking to. When they know darn well it was me.”

According to the medical examiner report, jail staff “stated they were not aware of any triggers, upcoming court proceedings, or recent events that would make Cilivea want [to] harm herself today or for any of the past self harm attempts.” 

Hirte wonders if jail staff knew that Thyrion had swallowed plastic forks and diapers before, and if so,  “why would you give her anything then?”

In late 2023, among Thyrion’s belongings released to Hirte by the jail was a handwritten note from Thyrion requesting to see a nurse. “I think I need a med adjustment,” Thyrion wrote. Electronic messages Thyrion sent jail staff throughout her incarceration also show that she regularly communicated her needs, without many results. The messages were obtained by Wisconsin Examiner through open records requests. 

In late March 2022, Thyrion messaged jail staff asking to be moved to another part of the facility because activity going on in her pod was “mentally upsetting.” The following month in April, Thyrion wrote complaints about jail staff mocking her with “fat jokes” and being rude. In June, Thyrion was denied access to the gym, and made multiple requests for a Bible and hygiene products. 

Redactions in the messages obscure crucial details about Thryion’s needs. Anything related to Thyrion’s mental health history, including the word “suicide” is redacted in most reports. “I have not been [getting] my [redacted] and I don’t know why. I really need it. I have been getting really bad [redacted],” she wrote on June 29, 2022. In August, she reported being verbally threatened by a correctional officer, and asked why she wasn’t getting her mail. When she asked to speak with friendlier and familiar jail staffer, Thyrion was denied. “I promise to be better,” Thyrion wrote in the electronic messages. “I Just need to talk to her please she’s a good friend she’s great to talk to please she was in cell four please I’m sorry.” 

On Dec. 2, 2022, court records show that Thyrion’s sentencing had been scheduled for January 2023. In her last message sent on Dec. 12 to jail staff, just four days before her death on Dec. 16, Thyrion reported that jail staff had used her cell’s intercom system to call her fat, pathetic, and that “no one in my family should have raised an inmate” and that “it all started because I threw up my food and she said that maybe if I stopped eating everything I would not be throwing up.”

 

RECORD REQUEST FORMS_Redacted

Records from the Milwaukee County Jail showing correspondences between Cilivea Thyrion and jail staff during her time at the jail, obtained through open records requests.

 

Thyrion’s messages to jail staff about harassment and neglect, her note asking for “a med adjustment,” the medical examiner’s note that correctional staff knew about her history of ingesting objects like diapers (seemingly at odds with the district attorney’s letter mentioning that jail staff didn’t consider the diaper to be a self-harm risk), and their subsequent decision to furnish an ordinary diaper rather than one designed to prevent self-harm, raise serious questions about the lack of accountability in her case. Hirte feels what happened to her daughter was intentional, “because they gave her something and then walked away.” 

With many crucial details about Thyrion’s medical history at the jail hidden behind black inked redactions, these various pieces form a picture of what her life inside the jail was like. Normally, the Milwaukee County Medical Examiner’s Office does not release autopsy protocols. As Thyrion’s mother, however, Hirte was sent an unredacted copy which was also reviewed by Wisconsin Examiner. The report notes “blunt force injury” including an abrasion to Thyrion’s head, fractures to four ribs, and contusions or abrasions to her abdomen, liver, left hand, and “lower extremities and the bottom of the right foot.” Instead of food, plastic fragments were found in Thyrion’s stomach, and “a crumpled piece of cloth fabric” in her large intestine. 

“To me,” Hirte told Wisconsin Examiner,  “it’s like, should she have been in the hospital if she had that towel in her large intestines?” A few days after viewing the autopsy reports, Hirte traveled from Green Bay to Milwaukee, to speak before a Milwaukee County committee reviewing an audit of the Milwaukee County Jail. The audit revealed “systemic issues ranging from dangerous suicide watch practices and a mental health challenge to critical staffing shortages and occupant overcrowding.” 

Auditors noticed “unsafe restraining of occupants” on suicide watch, including being handcuffed to benches for hours at a time. Although the jail places an average of 36 people in suicide watch on a weekly basis, mental health assessments were inconsistent. While auditors were visiting the jail, staff realized that someone on suicide watch had not been logged on a white board. “This discrepancy highlights a critical breakdown in communication and procedure,” the auditors wrote. There was also a backlog of 51 people awaiting competency evaluations. Despite there being a high number of pre-trial jail occupants taking psychotropic drugs, suggesting “a significant mental health burden within the jail” according to the audit, medications are distributed in bulk stock, meaning they’re not individually prescribed or even properly labeled with instructions on how to take the drugs. 

The auditors also found a lack of supervision and clear duties for correctional staff in the jail’s restrictive housing units, and found that the jail’s suicide prevention policies — while complying with Department of Corrections (DOC) regulations — lacked “specificity and clarity.” The auditors warned that “this vagueness hinders consistent and effective implementation of critical procedures, particularly those related to suicide watch.” Throughout the audior’s visit, the auditors recommended that the Milwaukee County Sheriffs Office and its contracted jail health care provider Wellpath emphasis suicide prevention training and address staffing shortages, lack of supervison, and the various nonfunctioning light fixtures, graffiti, and damaged windows which create an unfavorable atmosphere within the jail.

Thyrion’s death came as part of a string of six deaths within the jail over a 14-month period. During the audit committee hearing on Dec. 2, Milwaukee County Sheriff Denita Ball said that after each death, the office does a review to see what could be done better. As a result, Ball said before a committee of county supervisors, there hasn’t been a suicide at the jail since January 2023. “We’re putting things in place that is helping,” said Ball. “One death is one too many.” 

After the sheriff spoke, the floor was opened up for public comment. “From what I see from this audit shows all my concerns,” said Hirte. “It shows more. There’s stuff I didn’t even know that I now know. And I hope it opens everybody’s eyes as to why I came back here to fight for my 20-year-old daughter. The only daughter I have died, who died in the Milwaukee County Jail, they say while she was on suicide watch. This basically says how unequipped they were to handle her.” 

In November, days before the jail audit report was sent to Milwaukee County Audit Committee officials, the jail’s contracted health care provider Wellpath filed for bankruptcy.  The Milwaukee County Medical Examiner’s Office declined to comment, and the Milwaukee County Sheriff’s Office also did not respond to multiple requests for comment for this story. 

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Students gather outside the meeting Thursday of the University of Wisconsin Board of Regents. (Photo | CodePink)

On Thursday protesters disrupted a meeting of the University of Wisconsin Board of Regents, holding signs and chanting slogans including “disclose, divest, we will not stop, we will not rest,” and “Free, free Palestine!” Numerous groups participated in the demonstration including CODEPINK, UW-Milwaukee Popular University for Palestine, Wisconsin for Palestine, Wisconsin Young Democratic Socialists of America (YDSA), Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) UW-Madison, Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO) Wisconsin, and Students for a Democratic Society (SDS)-UWM. 

Protesters gathered both inside and outside the room where the Board held its meeting. With chanting and speeches the protesters interrupted the meeting with one demonstrator at one point saying that protesters “will not be allowing” the Board to conduct business during the meeting, followed by loud chants from the group as officers flowed into the room to begin arrests. Activists say that 19 people were arrested during the demonstration. 

According to a CODEPINK press release, the demonstration stemmed from questions student activists sent the Board of Regents about the University of Wisconsin’s response after students joined a wave of encampment protests on college campuses. Students pitched tents on the grounds of college campuses nationwide last spring calling for institutions to sever their ties with the government of Israel. With U.S. support, Israel launched retaliatory strikes into the Gaza Strip following the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas, which killed around 1,200 Israeli civilians and resulted in hundreds being taken hostage. Since then the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have killed over 44,000 Palestinians, with a United Nations Special Committee recently finding the IDF’s warfare tactics are “consistent with genocide”. Both Hamas and Israel have been accused of war crimes in the ongoing conflict. 

University of Wisconsin students involved in protests against the war in Gaza say they continue to face hands-on law enforcement responses. Arrests during demonstrations and threats of academic punishment targeting student activists are increasing tensions with school administration, activists say, after negotiations in May quelled the college encampment protests. 

UW students have demanded that the university divest from Israel, and disclose all of the investments made in the country to date. At UW-Madison, campus police and Dane County Sheriffs broke up the encampments last spring, arresting 34 people in May. Injuries were reported both among people in and around the encampments, and among law enforcement. No arrests were ever made at the UW-Milwaukee encampments, though police monitored the protests closely.  

By May, administrators at both UW-Madison and UW-Milwaukee reached separate agreements with students to end the encampment protests. In September, CODEPINK said in its press release, the Board of Regents met with student activists, who had questions about the university’s handling of the encampment protests. Activists say that the Board deferred responsibility for the protest responses to university administration, prompting the demonstration on Thursday morning. 

The Board of Regents did not respond to a request for comment on the protests Thursday. Relaying a statement to Wisconsin Examiner on behalf of the protest group, a spokesperson for CODEPINK’s branch in Madison said that the Board’s use of police against student activists “reflects a troubling disregard for dialogue or transparency.” The spokesperson added that “instead of engaging in a one-minute statement from peaceful protesters, they chose to shut off the recording and summon a heavy police presence. This response escalated to harassment by university police and arbitrary arrests of individuals who were peacefully exercising their right to participate in a public meeting.”

CODEPINK questioned why the Board won’t engage with student activists, and said that the Board is responsible for “a significant portion of the UW-Madison endowment money” and should explain how it can use that money to support Israel when the Board’s own guidelines prohibit it from knowingly providing gifts, grants, etc, to “any company, corporation or subsidiary, or affiliate” that practices or condones discrimination against particular groups. 

“The police’s use of force against peaceful protestors underscores a disturbing trend of prioritizing secrecy over public trust,” reads CODEPINK’s emailed statement to Wisconsin Examiner. “Transparency and accountability should not be met with violence, especially in spaces meant to serve the public and promote education.”

Such sentiments aren’t exclusive to UW-Madison. In late October, UW-Milwaukee student members of SDS-UWM held a press conference claiming to have faced continued intimidation by campus police. UW-Milwaukee student Robby Knapp recounted being awoken to someone banging on his door one June night at 2:30 a.m. Initially, he thought that the police car parked outside was from the Milwaukee Police Department (MPD), but the officers were actually from UW-Milwaukee. They’d driven over 20 minutes from campus to Knapp’s home in Milwaukee’s Washington Heights neighborhood. Addressing him by name, they asked about an alleged vandalism incident near campus. Knapp said he didn’t know anything about it, stepped outside, and was immediately arrested. 

Knapp told Wisconsin Examiner that the officers took him back “the long way,” taking side streets instead of the freeway. When they got to the campus, “they photographed me, booked me, the whole nine yards with that,” Knapp said in the October press conference. “They gave me a letter saying the DA [District Attorney] might give you a call, which I haven’t gotten a call from the DA since that night.” Knapp was never taken to the county jail, but was released after an hour, he recalled. 

After Knapp was taken in, officers visited the homes of SDS members Audari Tamayo and Kayla Patterson. “They went to my house at least twice,” said Tamayo. “And we found this out through the police report that they went to my house twice, but I didn’t open the door. They needed to get to the third floor, they needed to get through three different hallways.” Tamayo said that after the officers failed to get into the apartment, “they started calling me repeatedly saying that I had to come down for an interview or else.” 

A spokesperson for UW-Milwaukee was unable to comment on any aspect Knapp’s arrest due to federal laws protecting student records. The spokesperson also said that UW-Milwaukee cannot comment on the ongoing investigation related to the alleged vandalism incident, nor comment on what exactly the vandalism was. “SDS recognition as a UWM student organization is suspended due to student organization misconduct, and only officially recognized student organizations are permitted to use UWM’s name in their organization’s name,” spokeswoman Angelica Duria said. 

A Milwaukee PD spokesperson told Wisconsin Examiner that the department is, “aware that Students for a Democratic Society UWM have engaged in protest activity in Milwaukee. We monitored the tent city situation at UWM to ensure there was no impact to emergency services in the City of Milwaukee. We do not have requests from UWM to conduct any investigations related to the group. We do share when we are aware of a planned protest for the sake of public safety.”

SDS says that its members have also faced academic sanctions, directly related to their protests. Besides Knapp, whom SDS says is facing academic sanctions due to protest activity, Patricia Fish is also facing sanctions due to an occupation protest in February. Additionally, both Patterson and Tamayo were unable to enroll in time for the fall 2024 semester after holds were placed on their student accounts. 

The stress has  affected Knapp’s academic performance. “Since then I’ve been behind … I have to kind of  go to school, and go to class every day understanding that  any work, any midterms, any quizzes, any papers, any exams, any credit, as soon as that suspension becomes effective, then all of that is out the window,” said Knapp. “I have about four courses left until I graduate. I was going to take two this semester, and two that semester. So not only is my education up in the air, but my ability to graduate is now up in the air … It’s the energy, it’s the money, it’s the time, it’s the effort that I’ve put into getting this close to graduating and just this semester in general after having to deal with them holding me back to be able to take these classes in the first place.”

Duria said that “no student is subject to the misconduct process based on considerations other than their own behavior.” Duria said that the Dean of Students Office assesses “reports it receives to determine whether there are potential nonacademic misconduct violations.” Duria went on to say in a statement to Wisconsin Examiner that “UWM has communicated protest guidelines and behavior expectations in several previous emails sent to faculty, staff and students. UWM has also updated its free speech website to make behavior expectations and expressive activity policies easily visible. Protests and expressive activity must abide by state law and university policy and UWM will take appropriate action to enforce the law, and its policies and codes of conduct.”

Patterson feels negotiations between students and the administration were mainly “to save face,” and to also learn more about student activist groups in preparation for more crackdowns. She told Wisconsin Examiner, “It’s very heavy monitoring. They’re going both at the organizational level, and the individual level, in order to crack down.” 

This article has been edited to correct the last name of Robby Knapp, not “Napp”. 

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The Milwaukee Police Administration Building downtown. (Photo | Isiah Holmes)

Back in July, a lot happened while the Republican National Convention (RNC) was going on in downtown Milwaukee. Donald Trump accepted his party’s presidential nomination. Local residents protested the RNC. Out-of-state police killed an unhoused man in King Park, and the convention brought so much traffic to the gay and bisexual dating app Grindr that it crashed. Those events and more were probably followed by the Milwaukee Police Department (MPD) using a new tool to scan, scrape and search online activity. 

In April, the MPD announced that it was seeking an open source intelligence tool ahead of the RNC. Basically, anything which can be openly seen and accessed online counts as open source intelligence. Using the tool, the MPD planned to augment its online monitoring capabilities. What would have taken hours just a few years ago could be reduced to minutes. By the end of May, MPD had settled on an Artificial Intelligence (AI) powered software called Babel Street. The contract for Babel Street, which was not to exceed $43,673.50, was awarded on May 23.

A Request for Proposal (RFP) document, compiled by the Pewaukee-based technology brokerage company Abaxent, provides details on Babel Street. The document was obtained by Wisconsin Examiner through open records requests. Utilized by the U.S. Armed Forces, intelligence agencies and the federal government, Babel Street “empowers users to extend their search to the farthest corners of the globe, netting data beyond the traditional scope of [publicly available information] in a safe and secure environment,” the RFP document states. “It opens the door to enriched and standardized [publicly available information] data from over 220 countries.”

Not only can Babel Street search online content in over 200 languages, it also employs “sentiment scoring” in over 50 languages. A Babel Street glossary of terms webpage states that sentiment analysis involves determining “if a given text is expressing a positive, negative sentiment or no particular sentiment (neutral).” The RFP document also claims that Babel Street’s use of AI “accelerates investigations and uncovers connections.”  

An MPD spokesperson echoed that point, saying in an emailed statement to Wisconsin Examiner that the software has “increased the speed of investigations.” The spokesperson said that Babel Street is used by MPD’s Fusion Division. Social media investigations are a staple for Milwaukee’s Fusion Center, composed of both MPD’s Fusion Division and the Southeastern Threat Analysis Center (STAC). Originally created for homeland security, the Fusion Center serves a variety of roles today — whether that’s operating the city’s Shotspotter gunshot surveillance system, monitoring a camera network spanning Milwaukee County, conducting ballistic tests, accessing phones seized by officers, or processing information from cell towers. 

Within the Fusion Center, analysts assigned to the Virtual Investigations Unit monitor social media, investigating not only people but entire social ecosystems. Babel Street “pinpoints key online influencers, allowing investigators to explore networks from a powerful starting point,” the RFP document states. “Rapidly exposing and unlocking their web of relationships delivers crucial information in a matter of minutes.” All of that data then gets plugged into sophisticated visualizations such as maps, algorithmic scores, or graphs. “Visualized mapping unearths influencers who have the greatest impacts on organizations, senior leaders, and world events,” the document explains. “Advanced algorithms score and prioritize critical online entities to measure this influence, bringing to the forefront obscure identities that make up their network.” 

Babel Street can track the growth of online influence emanating from a person or group of interest to police. Investigators can also set real-time updates alerting them to new developments online, as well as “persistent” monitoring. “A persistent Document Search on an identified threat actor continuously monitors filtered topics the actor is publicly engaging in,” according to the RFP document. “By establishing a persistent collection via user-built filters/queries, users can not only increase their data access and insight, but they can also automate the rate aspects of analysis.”

 

Contract B20203, Purchase Order PUR20203 (RNC Open Source Tool – Abaxent response)_Redacted

Records from the City of Milwaukee Purchasing Division, obtained through open records requests.

 

Babel Street draws on a wealth of online information to gather intelligence for police. An aspect of the software known as “Synthesis” allows MPD “to understand the profile of key influencers based on attributes, such as person/organization, location, occupation, interests, areas of influence, and communication style, which are automatically tagged for millions of accounts using an AI model, while still giving the City the option of manual tagging.” Babel Street also allows MPD to pair keyword searches with geo-fencing, thus alerting the department to posts within a specific geographic area. MPD’s new open source intelligence tool also enables data to be extracted from the dark web — parts of the internet which are not indexed in search engines and require specialized internet browsers to locate.

The ability of law enforcement to map online connections between people worried privacy advocates leading up to the RNC. In early April, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Wisconsin and Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) warned that using an open source intelligence tool, MPD could more effectively track and profile people who were exercising their constitutional rights. David Maass, director for investigations at the EFF, told Wisconsin Examiner that open source intelligence tools “are designed to produce ‘results’ even if there’s no evidence of a nefarious plot.” 

Many police reform activists in Milwaukee also remember the protests of 2020, when police departments heavily relied on social media to surveil protesters. All of that information, however, takes time to collect and sift, especially when a department may only have so many analysts on hand. “No longer are analysts manually checking multiple data sources to identify changes,” according to  the RFP document, “as Babel Street Insights persistently and automatically collects, ingests, and alerts users when new information is available, dramatically increasing the efficiency and effectiveness of each analyst.” 

All of that information, however, also needs to be vetted to ensure that it’s accurate. “Intelligence often requires vetting in order to determine whether it is reliable or not,” MPD’s spokesperson wrote in an email statement. “Additional investigation would be required with all intelligence.”

MPD said that it does not track Babel Street’s involvement in investigations, either during the RNC or after. There is also no standard operating procedure governing the software’s use by MPD, a spokesperson told Wisconsin Examiner. “This software is utilized to investigate crimes or to assist with mitigating threats to pre-planned large-scale events,” wrote the spokesperson in a statement. No decisions have been made yet about renewing the MPD’s one-year contract for Babel Street. 

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A billboard promoting Enbridge Inc. (Susan Demas | Michigan Advance)

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) has decided that it will issue an individual wetland and waterway permit to the Canadian oil and gas company Enbridge, as the company seeks to relocate its Line 5 pipeline. Permits will also be issued to the company for stormwater site construction and pollution discharge elimination systems. The state agency’s decision is the latest development in the contested operation of Line 5 in Wisconsin. 

A DNR press release states that the wetland permit authorizes specific construction-related activities that may impact waterways and wetlands. The permit contains “more than 200 conditions to ensure compliance with state’s wetlands and waterways standards,” according to the DNR. The construction permits for stormwater sites also involve “specific plans for erosion control and water quality protection.”

Both the DNR and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers must approve the permits before the project can proceed. Enbridge may need to also obtain other permits involving  groundwater, burning and incidental takes of species listed as threatened or endangered. Enbridge will also need to apply for a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers permit to discharge dredge or fill material to waterways, which is required under the Clean Water Act. The DNR has issued a water quality certification “that serves as a determination that the project as proposed will meet State of Wisconsin water quality standards.” The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will also have to consider Wisconsin’s water quality certification as part of the permitting process. 

The announcement earned praise from the Wisconsin Building Trades Council, a union with  a membership of over 40,000. Emily Pritzkow, the union’s executive director, issued a statement saying the decision “reflects an intentional and balanced approach to addressing the state’s energy infrastructure needs while ensuring responsible environmental stewardship.” Calling the relocation of Line 5 “a win for Wisconsin workers, Wisconsin families, and the Wisconsin economy,” Pritzkow said the reroute “ensures operation with the highest safety standards by incorporating cutting-edge technology and construction practices.” Pritzkow added, “together, we can advance Wisconsin’s infrastructure needs while protecting the natural resources that make our state exceptional.”

Plans to reroute  Line 5 have been debated for years. In 2019, when the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa filed a federal lawsuit to remove the pipeline from the tribe’s reservation, a judge determined that the company had trespassed on the Bad River Band’s land, and ordered the pipeline to be removed within three years. Although the decision was a victory for the Bad River Band, the tribe argues that Line 5’s rerouted path still crosses the Bad River watershed, and thus still poses a threat to the tribe’s natural resources. 

In late August, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers received over 150,000 public comments opposing the continued operation of Line 5. Nearly a month later, the DNR released a final environmental impact statement on the reroute plan, which itself was a step necessary for Enbridge to receive the permits it needed to relocate the pipeline. 

Opponents to the decades-old crude oil pipeline were displeased by the DNR’s decision to issue permits to Enbridge. “I’m angry that the DNR has signed off on a half-baked plan that spells disaster for our homeland and our way of life,” said Bad River Band chairman Robert Blanchard in a statement. “We will continue sounding the alarm to prevent yet another Enbridge pipeline from endangering our watershed.”

Stefanie Tsosie, who is helping represent the Bad River Band as senior attorney at Earthjustice, said in a statement that the DNR “chose to serve Enbridge’s interests at the cost of the Bad River Band’s treaty rights and the state’s future clean water supply.” Tsosie added, “it’s sad that they are willing to gamble the region’s irreplaceable wetlands, the wild rice beds, and even Lake Superior to secure Enbridge’s cash flow.” 

Clean Wisconsin is considering legal challenges against the permit issuances. “Wisconsin law makes it clear that projects causing harm to our waters must meet a high bar to move forward,” said Clean Wisconsin attorney Evan Feinauer. “Given the enormous impacts that construction of this pipeline would cause, we are skeptical that the proposed project meets these legal standards.” Opponents of the pipeline also point out  that constructing the reroute would involve clearing trees, digging trenches, filling wetlands, and other activities which could disturb vulnerable ecosystems in northern Wisconsin. 

“We will evaluate what actions are needed to protect our state,” said Feinauer. 

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