Service experiences: like most things in life, they are not always the same. Some are exemplary, most range from quite good to satisfactory, others are bad – and then there are these ones. Imagine dropping your prized six-figure possession off at a service center for a few minor fixes, only to get it back with more issues than you started with, including, bizarrely, a completely wiped odometer. That’s what one unlucky Tesla Cybertruck owner had to endure, as detailed in a head-scratching thread.

More: Tesla’s Recall Service Left This Cybertruck With A Burn Mark And Panel Gap

In the words of the owner, “My CyberBeast went in for a spa day and came back a newborn, with a lazy eye and a missing limb.” That’s the almost unbelievable title to a new thread over at CybertruckOwners. In it, one member describes one of the strangest service experiences we’ve heard about in a while. Not only did Tesla’s service not address all of the issues this Cybertruck had, they gave it back to the customer after wiping the odometer. This wasn’t a rollback. This was more of a ‘never was.’

Notably, this is a Cyberbeast we’re talking about. The most expensive version at over $100,000, and one would like to hope, most carefully crafted cars Tesla makes. The owner dropped it off for a handful of minor things. He wanted a new light bar installed, he asked Tesla to nudge a few panel gaps so that they’d line up better, and the service team needed to address an on-again-off-again ABS alert.

Service Day Turns Into a Nightmare

According to his post, Tesla promised to have it all done by Thursday of that week. When that fell through, the service team moved his pickup day to Friday, and sure enough, by 5:30 p.m., it was ready… or so he thought. When he arrived, a few things weren’t quite right. The truck didn’t remember his phone, trim was hanging down under the glove box, and the odometer read zero.

As he puts it, “My 26 k-mile CyberBeast is now a CyberBaby. Shot a video while the “count” rolled from 0 → 1 as I left the lot. App and service menu agree — factory-fresh, just ignore the 5 months of road-trip Dorito dust.” To make this even clearer, it wasn’t a glitch. Based on whatever happened while the truck was in service, every source of information about his mileage agreed.

Video Cybertruckownersclub

Just to hammer the point home, the owner even included a video showing the odometer moving from 0 to 1 mile as he drove away. However, that wasn’t even the worst of it. The light bar installation? Well, let’s just say it looked like it had been done by someone who didn’t quite understand what the word symmetry means. There was a half-inch gap on one side and none on the other. And (because, why not?) there was a loose bolt in the tailgate and a trim panel that wasn’t even properly attached.

Also: Some Cybertrucks Getting Bricked After Tesla’s Latest Software Updates

At this point, he’s still trying to figure out what the proper solution is. Many on the forum believe Tesla missed a step, or several, near the end of service. Regardless, it’s not a good look for a company already working hard to improve its public image. 

Credit: CheddaTruck

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When he leaves the office at the end of the week, James Hutchinson, captain of the Milwaukee Police Department’s Homicide Unit, can’t wait for Monday so he can get back to work solving murders.

“I could have retired six months ago,” he said. “But I know that the work we do really makes an impact on people’s lives.”

That work doesn’t always go as planned. Last year Milwaukee homicide detectives cleared 78% of the 132 murder cases they investigated — the highest rate in years. From 2020 to 2023, when murder rates soared during the pandemic, clearance rates fluctuated between 50% and 59%, leaving many families without closure.

For those awaiting justice, Hutchinson said he wants them to know that his team of 33 investigators remains committed to solving their case.

“From the first two weeks to a month, or months or years down the line, we’re equally as committed to solving a murder as we were today.”

That work begins as soon as a homicide is reported, he said.

Homicide investigations in Milwaukee

Typically, said Hutchinson, uniformed officers are the first to arrive on the scene. They work to establish an incident command area, set parameters using police tape, control crowds and prevent any disruption of evidence.

Patrol officers are also the first to seek out witnesses and spot cameras.

Detectives are not far behind. As soon as a homicide is reported, Hutchinson said, a team of detectives and supervisors will immediately head to the scene and start their investigation.

Once they arrive, they assemble the information that’s already been collected, gather more clues, find additional witnesses and hopefully identify suspects. Investigations take place in homes, city streets and hospitals or even at the medical examiner’s office.

Critical, Hutchinson said, is the early stages of that investigation.

“Those first moments, those first hours, those first minutes are very important. Evidence starts to disappear. People go to different places. It could be as simple as video evidence being recorded over. We focus and attack an investigation very fast, very intensively,” he said.

When homicides happen in bunches, as was often the case during the pandemic, resources are pulled from other units to help.

The team approach

Hutchinson said MPD investigates homicides differently from any other large city in America, using a team approach rather than dedicating detectives to specific cases. Homicide investigators working that shift will begin the investigation and then debrief the next shift before handing off the case.

“They brief the incoming shift on what occurred, what was accomplished and what still needs to be done,” Hutchinson said. “That cycle continues until we run out of things we need to do right now.”

Utilizing this method allows for a continuous investigation, but it also creates some problems, acknowledges Hutchinson.

“Because there is this team concept, you have a potential for having not as much accountability per person,” he said. 

He said his division works to alleviate that problem by relying on sergeants and others, including himself, to oversee investigations and follow-ups.

Communication challenges

Another issue with not dedicating specific investigators to specific cases is communication.

“We love to get information, but we are not good at checking back in with the family and letting them know we haven’t forgotten,” he said. “We acknowledge that we have room for improvement.”

Not receiving regular updates from homicide investigators is a common complaint among family members of victims, especially those whose cases remain unsolved.

Brenda Hines, whose son Donovan was murdered in 2017, tracked down officers in person when they wouldn’t respond to her calls. 

“It’s a bad process,” she said. 

She founded the Donovan Hines Foundation in honor of her son and to help other families by providing grief support, mental health and other resources to residents. 

Hines said she believes police can still solve her son’s murder if anything should come up.

“They just don’t have enough evidence yet,” she said.

Janice Gorden, who created Victims of Milwaukee Violence to help families access funeral support and other services, said she believes police are doing what they can to solve homicides and work with families.

But families, she said, will not be satisfied until they have answers. Often it gets to the point where they become focused on investigating the case themselves.

“They have way more information than sometimes the detectives do,” Gorden said. “They drive themselves crazy trying to find answers to who killed their loved one.”

Both Hines and Gorden have worked with mothers to arrange meetings with police and the district attorney’s office to get information about homicide cases.

Hutchinson said two new victim support positions were created recently to help improve communication with families.

Notifying the family

Hutchinson worked his way up the ranks of MPD, first as a patrol officer, then gang squad, detective, robbery and vice squad, and as a homicide detective from 2008 to 2020.

Before becoming captain, he has often taken on the grim task of letting a family member know a loved one was killed.

“Making a death notification is one of the hardest parts of this job. It’s incredibly heartbreaking,” he said. “The range of reactions, you can’t even anticipate. There are completely stoic people that accept what you’re telling them, to some incredibly violent reactions.”

A much better feeling, he said, is when they are able to notify a family that an arrest has been made. But even that’s a struggle.

From investigation to charges

Although police might make an arrest in a homicide case, that doesn’t mean that charges will be filed.

Police, Hutchinson said, only need probable cause to make an arrest. The burden of proof at the district attorney’s office, which files homicide charges, is higher.

“The DA’s office has to be able to prove it beyond a reasonable doubt,” he said. “Many times we will make an arrest for probable cause, but we can’t get to that level.”

What often happens, Hutchinson said, is that officers will bring a case to the DA’s office or discuss what evidence they have and then talk about whether more is needed to file charges.

While that does bring some frustration, admits Hutchinson, it’s better than arresting the wrong person.

“My worst nightmare I would have in the world is to have the wrong person held accountable for a crime,” he said.

Milwaukee County District Attorney Kent Lovern acknowledges that the work to hold someone accountable for murder can be burdensome on families seeking justice.

“Obviously, there is a significant gap between the evidence needed to make an arrest versus the evidence needed to successfully prosecute a case,” Lovern said.

The reason for caution and continued dialogue with officers in hopes of building a strong case is because there’s no room for error.

“We really have one opportunity with a particular suspect to bring forward charges and we want to get it right. Not only for the person charged, but the victim’s family and the integrity of the system,” he said.

‘We never forget about the victims’

Depending on the time of year and other circumstances, homicide investigation units can get extremely busy, Hutchinson said. Even when pulling resources from other units, it can still impact the amount of time investigators have for each case.

On the flip side, he said, sometimes they’ve hit the point where they don’t have anything left to do at the moment. But, he said, he wants families to know that victims are more than just a name to them.

“They are someone’s family member or friend, and the day they died is probably the worst day of many people’s lives,” he said.

Whether it’s been days, months or years, he wants family members to know his unit remains committed to solving their murder.

“Everyone can be assured that we never forget about the victims,” he said. “There is no replacement for their loved one, but it feels great to be able to notify the family that we have made an arrest.”

How you can help

Anyone with information on homicides is asked to contact Milwaukee police at 414-935-7360, or to remain anonymous, contact Crime Stoppers at 414- 224-TIPS.

What happens when someone is murdered in Milwaukee? An inside look at homicide investigations is a post from Wisconsin Watch, a non-profit investigative news site covering Wisconsin since 2009. Please consider making a contribution to support our journalism.

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The state of Wisconsin is rescinding the Social Development Commission’s status as Milwaukee County’s community action agency, a move that puts the SDC’s ability to offer critical services to the community in jeopardy.

The anti-poverty agency has held that designation for over 60 years. Without the status, SDC is not eligible for key federal block grant funding for its services.

In a letter sent Friday to the SDC board, Wisconsin Department of Children and Families Secretary Jeff Pertl wrote that as of July 3, SDC’s status as Milwaukee County’s community action agency will end and that the agency will no longer be eligible for federal Community Services Block Grant funding.

“SDC has been a beloved institution in Milwaukee, positively impacting community members through a long history of programs and services,” Pertl said in a statement. “As such, the decision to de-designate them as a community action agency was not taken lightly, but it is clear that we must turn the page to resume these vital services.”

The decision comes after representatives of Milwaukee County said earlier this month that they planned to move from SDC as its community action agency.

However, SDC board members had seen maintaining the community action status as a vital part of keeping the agency open and resuming social services.

“The most important thing is to make sure that Milwaukee County residents are served, and this missive from DCF ensures that they will not be served,” said William Sulton, SDC’s attorney.

Now, the SDC board can request a review with the federal government within 30 days or choose to voluntarily de-designate.

The decision

The department decided to terminate SDC’s designation because it believes SDC has not been operating anti-poverty services since it abruptly shut down in April 2024, despite reopening in December.

According to the letter, SDC has not completed its federally required audit, verified sustainable funding sources, addressed outstanding financial obligations or corrected other deficiencies the department identified.

Board members and current and former employees of SDC advocated for the agency to keep its community action status at a hearing last month.

SDC was created by state, county and city governments but functions outside of them.

Pertl acknowledged the commitment of former staff members who performed unpaid service in support of SDC’s work and the board’s desire to restore SDC in his letter.

“There is also an array of community members and leaders who contend SDC is unable to carry out its vital mission in light of the financial mismanagement, pending foreclosures, outstanding debts, eroded infrastructure and lack of urgency in finding resolution to these practical service delivery challenges,” Pertl wrote in the letter.

SDC provided a range of services to help low-income residents, such as tax support, career advancement, senior companionship and rent assistance.

What happens next?

Going forward, SDC has the option to request a review by the secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services within 30 days.

It could also voluntarily relinquish its community action status, which would allow the department and Milwaukee County to more quickly find an interim service provider to use SDC’s allocated funds for the year.

The letter noted that President Donald Trump’s administration proposed eliminating block grant funding to community action agencies in his fiscal year 2026 budget, making the program’s future uncertain.

The Department of Children and Families can now start conversations with other eligible entities, but cannot take over the funds intended for SDC until SDC’s de-designation is effective, according to Gina Paige, communications director for the department.

Sulton said the board will have to meet to determine SDC’s next actions, but he is concerned that the state, Milwaukee County and the city will choose to stop funding anti-poverty services.

“Really what this act amounts to is a withdrawing of their commitment to pursue anti-poverty programming,” he said.

Board members could not be reached for comment.

SDC faces more funding upheaval after state removes its Milwaukee County community action status is a post from Wisconsin Watch, a non-profit investigative news site covering Wisconsin since 2009. Please consider making a contribution to support our journalism.

A protester holds a sign in support of funding for public media during a May 1, 2025, rally at the Kansas Statehouse in Topeka as part of a 50501 national day of action. (Photo by Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector)

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump urged Congress to eliminate funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting during his first term, but was largely unsuccessful.

Now, in his second go-around, Trump is once again asking lawmakers to scrap federal spending on the private, nonprofit corporation that Congress established in the 1960s.

The Corporation for Public Broadcasting allocates funding to National Public Radio, or NPR, and the Public Broadcasting Service, or PBS, as well as more than 1,500 local radio and television stations throughout the country.

Trump’s renewed focus on public media — in his budget proposal, an executive order and an expected rescissions request — has led the organizations that benefit from the CPB to start talking more than they have in recent years about their funding and their journalism.

Katherine Maher, president and CEO of NPR, rejected the idea that ending funding for the CPB would have a significant impact on the federal ledger, since the “appropriation for public broadcasting, including NPR and PBS, represents less than 0.0001% of the federal budget.”

Maher also opposed what she viewed as the Trump administration seeking to influence journalists and news organizations.

“The President’s order is an affront to the First Amendment rights of NPR and locally owned and operated stations throughout America to produce and air programming that meets the needs of their communities,” Maher wrote in a statement. “It is also an affront to the First Amendment rights of station listeners and donors who support independent news and information.”

Paula Kerger, CEO and president at PBS, also defended the CBP as well as the news programs that receive its funding.

“There’s nothing more American than PBS, and our work is only possible because of the bipartisan support we have always received from Congress,” Kerger said. “This public-private partnership allows us to help prepare millions of children for success in school and in life and also supports enriching and inspiring programs of the highest quality.”

NPR receives about 1% of its direct funding from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, while PBS receives about 15%. Those numbers fluctuate for the local stations, which tend to get more, but not all, of their operating budgets from CPB funding.

Senate likely to balk

House Republicans, who have sought to zero out funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting in recent appropriations bills, are likely to get on board. But senators, who write broadly bipartisan bills, haven’t taken that step and appear unlikely to do so this year — possibly helping public media resist Trump’s cutback attempts, as it did during his first term.

The differences between the House and Senate will lead to heated debate for months to come about future spending on the Corporation for Public Broadcasting as well as the dozens of other programs Trump told lawmakers to stop funding in his budget request.

Wisconsin Democratic Sen. Tammy Baldwin, ranking member on the panel that funds CPB, told States Newsroom during a brief interview she hopes lawmakers “can effectively fight back against that proposed budget.”

“I find that some of my Republican colleagues, especially those from rural states, hear from their constituents that they are reliant on public broadcasting, especially radio for local information, news, etcetera,” Baldwin said. “And there’s not a lot of other radio resources out there. But I think the same can be said about the public television offerings.”

Opinions among Republicans vary, though.

Louisiana Republican Sen. John Kennedy, who sits on the spending panel, said funding for CPB “may have made sense at one time, but the American taxpayer has no business spending half a billion dollars a year subsidizing media.”

Kennedy said he doesn’t expect rural residents will lose access to local television and radio programming should Congress eliminate the funding.

“Rural communities have the same access as everybody else to cable, to streaming, to getting their news off of this thing,” Kennedy said, pointing to his cell phone. “It’s just an argument by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting to hold on to a government subsidy.”

Alaska Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski, a senior member of the Appropriations Committee, pushed back against defunding.

She wrote in an op-ed published in the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner that while she shares “the desire to reduce government spending, defunding the CPB, and particularly the essential reporting it allows locally owned radio and television stations to provide in Alaska, is not the place to start.”

Alaska’s local stations received $12 million last year from CPB, which made up between 30% and 70% of their total budget, in addition to individual donation and state funding, according to the op-ed.

“Not only would a large portion of Alaska communities lose their local programming, but warning systems for natural disasters, power outages, boil water advisories, and other alerts would be severely hampered,” Murkowski wrote. “What may seem like a frivolous expense to some has proven to be an invaluable resource that saves lives in Alaska.”

CPB has a state-by-state breakdown on its website detailing how much it provided during each of the past six years. The individual profiles show what portion of each state’s funding went to different programs, like the Next Generation Warning System, radio programming, Ready to Learn and Television Community Service Grants.

Public media among multiple Trump targets

Trump’s skinny budget request, released last week, calls on Congress to cease funding the CPB as well as dozens of other organizations, including the National Endowment for Democracy and the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, or LIHEAP.

The section on CPB says the request is “consistent with the President’s efforts to decrease the size of the Federal Government to enhance accountability, reduce waste, and reduce unnecessary governmental entities.”

Trump has also signed an executive order directing the CPB Board of Directors as well as executive departments and agencies to halt funding NPR and PBS.

The order stated that the “viewpoints NPR and PBS promote does not matter. What does matter is that neither entity presents a fair, accurate, or unbiased portrayal of current events to taxpaying citizens.”

Patricia Harrison, president and CEO of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, wrote in a statement responding to the executive order that Trump didn’t have the authority he was trying to wield.

“CPB is not a federal executive agency subject to the President’s authority,” Harrison wrote. “Congress directly authorized and funded CPB to be a private nonprofit corporation wholly independent of the federal government.

“In creating CPB, Congress expressly forbade ‘any department, agency, officer, or employee of the United States to exercise any direction, supervision, or control over educational television or radio broadcasting, or over [CPB] or any of its grantees or contractors…’ 47 U.S.C. § 398(c).”

There are also several news reports that the Trump administration will send a rescissions request to Capitol Hill, asking lawmakers to pull back funding already approved for CPB. But the Office of Management and Budget hasn’t yet taken that step.

The Corporation for Public Broadcasting received steady funding from Congress starting at its founding, before the last Trump administration asked lawmakers to phase out its appropriation.

The last Trump administration’s first budget request called on lawmakers to “conduct an orderly closeout” by providing $30 million for CPB that would have gone toward salaries, rent and other costs.

The proposal argued that “private fundraising has proven durable, negating the need for continued Federal subsidies.”

“Services such as PBS and NPR, which receive funding from the CPB, could make up the shortfall by increasing revenues from corporate sponsors, foundations, and members. In addition, alternatives to PBS and NPR programming have grown substantially since CPB was first established in 1967, greatly reducing the need for publicly funded programming options.”

Funding increased despite Trump

Congress didn’t go along with the fiscal 2018 budget request for the CPB, and it wouldn’t for the rest of Trump’s first term.

In March 2018, lawmakers approved $445 million, followed by the same amount in the next year’s bill. Congress then lifted spending to $465 million in December 2019 and then again just before Trump left office for a total funding level of $475 million.

Those allocations continued rising during the Biden administration, reaching a $535 million appropriation in March 2024, the last full-year spending law enacted before Trump returned to the Oval Office. 

House Republicans did, however, try to phase out funding for CPB during the second half of President Joe Biden’s term. The House GOP provided a two-year advanced appropriation until 2023, when Republicans announced they wanted “the Corporation for Public Broadcasting to compete with other programs in the bill for annual funding.”

Those efforts didn’t work and the final spending bill, which became law in March 2024, included funding for CPB.

Senate Democrats wrote after negotiating the bipartisan agreement that it “protects funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting to support more than 1,500 locally owned TV and radio stations nationwide—rejecting House Republicans’ proposal to zero out funding and weaken Americans’ access to local reporting.

“The bill maintains a critical investment of $60 million for digital interconnection and $535 million as a two-year advance appropriation, of which roughly 70% is provided directly to local public TV and radio stations.”

Final resolution far off

Congress is expected to begin work on its dozen annual appropriations bills sometime this summer, which collectively total about $1.8 trillion and make up about one-third of all federal spending. 

The House Appropriations Committee will likely propose phasing out CPB funding, or at least its advanced appropriation, in its bill.

The Senate Appropriations Committee tends to write more bipartisan bills, so as long as several of the panel’s members advocate for CPB in its funding measure, the program will likely receive its advanced funding in that bill.

Final agreement between the House and Senate is supposed to come before the start of the next fiscal year on Oct. 1. But that rarely happens and lawmakers often use a stopgap spending bill to push off final negotiations until mid-December.

That’s likely the earliest this year the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and those who rely on it will learn if Congress will reduce or eliminate its funding. That is, unless lawmakers fail to reach agreement on that particular funding bill.

Congress would then have to use a stopgap spending bill, which mostly keeps funding levels on autopilot, until it can enact a full-year bill. 

Sometimes your car just breaks. Other times, it breaks, sits for two months, gets stolen, wrecked, and leaves you holding the bag. This is the story of how one Hyundai Ioniq 5 owner’s unlucky repair turned into a cautionary tale about EV parts, dealership security, and what happens when everything goes wrong at once.

On March 16, nearly two months ago, Massachusetts resident Ethan Blount’s Hyundai Ioniq 5 abruptly stopped working. The culprit was the ICCU, a part already known for causing problems in the Ioniq 5 lineup. It failed, leaving Blount stranded, and he had the car towed to his local dealership.

More: Huge Study Shows EVs More Reliable Than ICE Cars With One Surprising Common Issue

At the time, he had no idea it would be the last time he’d see the vehicle in one piece. On May 2, the car was stolen from the dealership. When police eventually located it and gave chase, the situation ended with the Hyundai totaled and Blount left underwater.

A Part With a Pattern of Failure

But let’s rewind. The ICCU (Integrated Charging Control Unit) plays a central role in the Ioniq 5’s electrical system. It manages the bi-directional charging between the 12V battery and the main high-voltage battery, which is responsible for powering essential systems, external devices, and even other EVs.

When it fails, the result is a completely immobilized vehicle. Dozens of Ioniq 5 owners have reported similar failures. In Blount’s case, the delay in repair came down to a parts shortage, with replacements on back order. So his EV sat, unusable and unguarded, for almost two months.

He tells The Autopian that he knew about the ICCU and suspected it immediately when he heard a loud pop. “I got only a mile or so before power started dropping precipitously, and pulled off the main road just in time. I contacted Hyundai and they dispatched a tow truck, taking my car to the nearest dealer,” says Ethan.

A Strange Notification, Then Silence

Then, on May 1, he received a notification via his Hyundai mobile app that the car was left on and idling. Good news, he thought, since it couldn’t do that without being fixed. The next day, everything fell apart. The dealer called and confirmed that the car was fixed but, strangely, they couldn’t find it.

Ethan whipped out his phone and tracked the car. It was in Boston, nowhere near the dealership. He called the police who tried to move in and secure the car, but clearly that didn’t work. The occupants sped off in it, ultimately lost control a short time later, hit a fire hydrant, and then smashed into a church. The impact was such that the Ioniq 5 was seriously damaged. The airbags all deployed, and the front is completely smashed in.

More: Kia EV6 Owner Fed Up After Multiple 12V Battery Failures

Boston police arrested three people at the scene, but they’ve left Blount in a tough spot. “Due to the rapid depreciation of the car I’m worried about what I will be offered by my insurance company since they declared it totaled today,” he said. “I fear I could end up still owing money and not even owning a car.”

In a positive turn though, Hyundai reached out to him two days ago, promising to help. Perhaps this entire saga will end up with the happy ending Blount clearly wants.

Credit: Ethan Blount

President Donald Trump's budget request, released on May 2, 2025, proposes slashing $21 billion in unspent funds from the 2021 bipartisan infrastructure law for renewable energy, electric vehicle charging infrastructure and other efforts to cut climate-warming carbon dioxide emissions.  Shown are solar panels and wind turbines. (Photo by Marga Buschbell-Steeger/Getty Images)

President Donald Trump’s budget request for the next fiscal year proposes deep cuts to renewable energy programs and other climate spending as the administration seeks to shift U.S. energy production to encourage more fossil fuels and push the focus away from reducing climate change.

The budget proposes slashing $21 billion in unspent funds from the 2021 bipartisan infrastructure law for renewable energy, electric vehicle charging infrastructure and other efforts to cut climate-warming carbon dioxide emissions. The request also targets climate research spending and initiatives meant to promote diversity.

“President Trump is committed to eliminating funding for the globalist climate agenda while unleashing American energy production,” a White House fact sheet on climate and environment spending said. The budget “eliminates funding for the Green New Scam.”

The president’s budget request is a wish list for Congress, which controls federal spending, to consider. Even with both chambers of Congress controlled by Republicans who have shown an unusual willingness to follow Trump’s lead on a host of policies, it is best understood as a starting point for negotiations between the branches of government and a representation of the administration’s priorities.

A White House official speaking on background Friday, though, said the Trump administration is exploring ways to exert more control over the federal spending process, including by potentially refusing to spend funds appropriated by lawmakers.

The first budget request of Trump’s second term calls on Congress to cut non-defense accounts by $163 billion to $557 billion, while keeping defense funding flat at $893 billion.

‘Political talking points’

The proposal drew criticism for a focus on culture-war buzzwords, even from groups that are not always inclined to support environment and climate spending.

The request “is long on rhetoric and short on details,” Steve Ellis, president of the nonpartisan budget watchdog Taxpayers for Common Sense, said in a statement.

“This year’s version leans heavily on political talking points—taking aim at so-called ‘woke’ programs and the ‘Green New Scam,’ while proposing a massive Pentagon spending hike to pay for wasteful fantasies like the Golden Dome and diverting military resources to immigration enforcement missions.”

Renewable energy

The administration proposal would roll back funding Trump’s predecessor, Democrat Joe Biden, championed for renewable energy.

It would cancel more than $15 billion from the 2021 infrastructure law “purposed for unreliable renewable energy, removing carbon dioxide from the air, and other costly technologies that burden ratepayers and consumers,” according to the White House fact sheet.

It would also eliminate $6 billion for building electric vehicle charging infrastructure.

“EV chargers should be built just like gas stations: with private sector resources disciplined by market forces,” the fact sheet said.

And it would decrease spending on the Energy Department’s Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy program, which helps private-sector projects secure financing and conducts research on low-carbon energy sources, by $2.5 billion.

In a statement, Rep. Marcy Kaptur, the ranking Democrat on the House Appropriations subcommittee that writes the bill funding energy programs, slammed the cuts to renewable energy programs, saying they would cost consumers and hurt a growing domestic industry.

“The Trump Administration’s proposal to slash $20 Billion from the Department of Energy’s programs — particularly a devastating 74% cut to Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy — is shortsighted and dangerous,” the longtime Ohio lawmaker said. “By gutting clean energy investments, this budget threatens to raise energy prices for consumers, increase our reliance on foreign energy, and stifle American competitiveness. … We must defend the programs that power America’s future — cleaner, cheaper, and made right here at home.”

Diversity

Throughout the request, the administration targets programs out of line with Trump’s ideology on social issues, including those meant to promote diversity.

For energy and environment programs, that includes spending on environmental justice initiatives, which target pollution and climate effects in majority-minority and low-income communities, and organizations “that advance the radical climate agenda,” according to the fact sheet.

Research and grant funding for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration would be particularly hard hit by the proposal, which would terminate “a variety of climate-dominated research programs that are not aligned with Administration policy of ending ‘Green New Deal’ initiatives, saving taxpayers $1.3 billion.”

The budget also proposes eliminating $100 million from a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency fund dedicated to environmental justice. That funding “enabled a witch hunt against private industry” and “gave taxpayer dollars to political cronies who exploited the program’s racial preferencing policies to advance an anti-oil and gas crusade,” according to the White House.

National Park Service targeted

The budget also proposes cutting $900 million from National Park Service operations, which the administration said would come from defunding smaller sites while “supporting many national treasures.”

The document indicates the administration would prefer to leave responsibility for smaller sites currently under NPS management to states and refocus the federal government on the major parks that attract nationwide and international tourists.

“There is an urgent need to streamline staffing and transfer certain properties to State-level management to ensure the long-term health and sustainment of the National Park system,” according to a budget spreadsheet highlighting major line items in the request.

Despite laws in recent years to boost spending for maintenance at parks, the National Park Service faces a $23.3 billion deferred maintenance backlog, according to a July 2024 report from the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service.

The proposed NPS cut represents the largest single funding change – either positive or negative – of any line item under the Department of Interior, which would receive a funding decrease of more than $5 billion, about 30%, under the proposal.

Jennifer Shutt contributed to this report.

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Low credit scores are keeping some Wisconsin residents from homeownership, renting properties and even job opportunities.

Reporter PrincessSafiya Byers sat down with Brenda Brown, a loan officer at Great Midwest Bank with over 20 years of experience, to find out what people should know about credit.

Here’s what you should know.

1. What is a credit score?

According to the Federal Trade Commission, a credit score is a number, typically from 300 to 850, that estimates how likely you are to repay a loan and make the payments on time.

Credit scoring systems calculate your credit score in different ways, but the scoring system most lenders use is the FICO score.

Brown said to think of it as a three-digit number that describes the information in your credit report.

2. Where can I see my credit score?

You can order a free credit report at www.annualcreditreport.com or get one by calling 877-322-8228.

3. What is a good credit score?

It depends on what your goal is.

Brown said she can help folks buy a home as long as their credit score is over 620. On average, a good credit score is considered to be 670 or above.

4. How do you build credit?

Brown said if you are new to credit, the first thing you want to do is be sure you have a bank account.

“So your direct deposit can go into that account,” Brown said. “You want to make sure that you’re managing the deposits that come into your account, and what bills you’re paying, so that you’re not overdrawn, because then that even shows the bank that you don’t know how to manage your money, so that can be a flaw.”

From there, she said, the best thing you can do is get a credit card and use it on purchases you can afford to pay at the time.

“You have to start somewhere,” Brown said. “If you don’t have established credit, then you might get your first credit card with maybe a $500 balance, and then start using the credit card for when you put gas in your car. But the catch is: Do not add more than you can pay before the due date.”

Be consistent and you’ll see your credit score go up.

5. What to do if you have a low credit score?

It takes time to fix a low credit score.

Brown suggests you give yourself a 12-month action plan.

Start by going through your monthly budget and cut any costs that aren’t necessary.

“Then you want to find a place that will give you a secured credit card,” she said.

A secured credit card is a special type of credit card that requires you to put money down. The money you put down becomes collateral every time you use your credit card. It allows you to build credit without needing to rely on a company to give you money.

Brown said to follow the same rules with your secured credit card as you would with a regular one.

“Use it for something small and pay it off before the bill is due,” she said.

Lastly, she said you have to address your debt.

“You have to deal with the issue,” she said. “You have to make those calls and get on payment plans and get it worked out.”

6. What if I use credit to help manage my bills?

Brown said the only thing you can do is cut back where you can.

“If you’re a single parent and you’re buying fast food often because you’re busy and tired, try investing in a crock pot to make time-effective meals,” she said. “You might learn new life skills by making minor changes to save.”

7. Filing for bankruptcy

Bankruptcy helps people who can no longer pay their debts get a fresh start by liquidating assets to pay their debts or by creating a repayment plan.

The downside is that it can impact your credit for years.

“Many people think it will only impact them for seven years, but it will actually show up for 10,” Brown said. “It’s not something I suggest if you have less than $10,000 in debt.”

If you have less than $10,000 in debt, Brown suggests calling debtors and negotiating payment plans.

“Even if all you can pay is $5 a month, it shows that you’re trying,” she said.

If you do choose to file for bankruptcy, Brown said, file for Chapter 7 bankruptcy so you have the means to manage your own money through the process.

8. Enjoy the free things in life

“It can help you save if you can find things you enjoy that are cheap or free,” Brown said. “It’s almost summertime. Take advantage of the free things happening.”

For more information

You can start teaching your children good financial habits now with the help of the smart money guide.

Learn more about how credit works here.

8 things to know about your credit is a post from Wisconsin Watch, a non-profit investigative news site covering Wisconsin since 2009. Please consider making a contribution to support our journalism.

Buying into the latest automotive trend can feel like stepping into the future, until that future leaves you stranded at the service center. Sometimes the cutting edge cuts a little too deep. That’s exactly what went down with one Lucid owner who picked up an Air Pure AWD in 2023. Less than a year later, he’s moving on to an Acura. The car itself? Solid. The ownership experience? Not so much.

More: Rivian Owner’s Quality And Service Nightmares Expose The Pain Of Being A ‘Beta Tester’

“When you buy a Lucid, you’re not just getting a stylish, fun-to-drive EV – you’re buying into an experience. And sadly, that experience has been… underwhelming.” Those are the words of a now-former Lucid driver in what he openly admits is a bit of a rant, posted online.

Lucid “Can’t Tell Its Right Hand From Its Left”

Posted to Reddit, this story details one owner’s experience with what it’s like to own a car from a young automaker. They report leasing the vehicle in 2023, and that it spent two out of twelve months in the shop. Reported issues include malfunctioning windows, a stuck frunk, buzzing speakers, trim problems, unreliable phone connectivity, and what the owner describes as a company that is “completely lost, unable to tell its right hand from its left.”

It gives the impression that different departments aren’t communicating, and some representatives don’t bother reviewing customer notes before reaching out. According to the post, one Lucid employee said a lease buyout was possible, while another insisted it wasn’t. After inquiring about the buyout, the owner was then contacted – ironically – not with answers, but with a sales pitch for another Lucid.

Good Car, Awkward Company

All companies screw up from time to time, but this owner reports that they haven’t received a single call or message to ask about why they wanted out of their lease. To this (now former) owner, Lucid is missing one big thing: “They’re not just selling a car – they’re selling a luxury experience. And right now, they’re only delivering half of that,” they say.

On the plus side, that last comment hints at the silver lining here. Lucid might still be trying to figure out the service and customer experience side of the business, but they have built a very good EV. “The car itself? Terrific. A blast to drive,” the owner said said. Interestingly, the Lucid will be replaced by an Acura ZDX. So, why did they chose this particular car?

More: Service Nightmares Leave Lucid Owner Considering Ditching $100K EV

“The ZDX feels like a refined, luxury version of [a Honda Prologue]”, they explained. “No, it’s not as thrilling as the Lucid, but I’ll take reliability, a responsive local dealer, guaranteed loaners, and half the insurance cost any day. Plus, the lease is in the mid-$300s with zero down.”

Ultimately, this seems like a pretty typical example of what can happen when you buy a car from a startup EV company. Sure, issues like these can crop up with any brand, but they tend to hit early adopters of newer automakers more often.

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The recent arrest of Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge Hannah Dugan – who is accused of obstructing a federal immigration arrest inside the Milwaukee County Courthouse – has intensified concerns over immigration enforcement and sparked questions about what rights individuals have when encountering federal agents.

Here’s what to know.

What is obstruction?

Obstruction occurs when a person prevents or makes it more difficult for officers to perform their duty – a definition that covers a broad range of actions, said Benjamin Van Severen, a Milwaukee-based criminal defense attorney and founder of Van Severen Law Office.

Obstruction can include physically interfering with an arrest, such as refusing to comply during a traffic stop.

“Let’s say you’re in a vehicle, and law enforcement does a traffic stop and then you refuse to unlock the doors – that could be obstruction,” said Van Severen.

Obstruction also includes providing false information to law enforcement.

According to the criminal complaint, Dugan obstructed U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents by escorting the individual they intended to arrest into a nonpublic area of the courthouse after requesting the agents go to the chief judge.

A related but distinct offense from obstruction is known as harboring.

Harboring generally refers to knowingly assisting someone to remain in the United States unlawfully – typically by hiding, transporting or supporting the person in order to help avoid detention.

Knowledge and intent are critical components of the charge.

“You have to be acting with the conscious purpose of aiding their intention to remain here illegally,” said Ronald Kuby, a civil rights attorney familiar with similar cases.

“If, let’s say, Ahmed says to his neighbor, ‘Look, I need $150 to get a bus ticket to go to Canada because ICE is going to arrest me,’ it’s perfectly fine to give Ahmed that 150 bucks to go to Canada,” he said. “He may not buy that bus ticket to Canada. He may buy a bus ticket to, you know, Indianapolis, but that’s not on you.”

Different types of warrants

Understanding the difference between types of warrants is crucial in understanding immigration enforcement, particularly when it comes to where these warrants permit officers to go.

An administrative warrant permits immigration officers to arrest someone in a public place, such as a sidewalk or bus station. However, it does not allow entry into a private residence without consent.

Judicial warrants, by contrast, are signed by a judge and can authorize arrests in both public and private spaces.

Despite the differences, both administrative and judicial warrants are lawful tools that permit arrests in immigration cases, Van Severen said.

However, there are different rights that can be asserted depending on the type of warrant.

If law enforcement presents an administrative warrant, people inside a private residence have the right to refuse entry.

“If it’s not signed by a judge, they can’t come into your home without permission,” said R. Timothy Muth, staff attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union, or ACLU, of Wisconsin. “Ask to see the warrant. Have them slip it under the door or show it to you at your window. Look at the signature line – does it say ‘magistrate judge’?”

Other rights

Regardless of citizenship status, everyone in the U.S. has certain constitutional protections, including the right to remain silent and to speak to an attorney.

However, if the arrest is for an immigration violation and not a criminal offense, the government does not have to provide a lawyer, explained Ruby De León, staff attorney at Voces de la Frontera, an immigrant advocacy organization in Milwaukee.

Documenting activities related to immigration enforcement, such as filming and noting names and badge numbers, is also legal so long as it does not interfere with law enforcement actions, said Muth.

Tangible steps

Voces and the ACLU advise against signing any documents without a lawyer.

If people are not citizens but have documentation that permits them to stay in the country – such as a green card – they are required to keep that documentation with them, Muth said.

Muth recommends carrying documentation showing continuous presence in the country for more than two years, such as a lease agreement, pay stubs or utility bill in the person’s name.

Individuals who cannot prove they’ve been physically present in the U.S. for at least two years may be subject to expedited removal – a process that allows the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE, to deport someone without a hearing before an immigration judge.

Advocates recommend ensuring documentation is current, applying for passports for U.S.-born children and pursuing citizenship or legal status if eligible, perhaps through an employer or family member.

Voces suggests completing power-of-attorney forms to prepare for potential family separation. If a person is detained or deported, these forms allow a designated individual to make medical, financial or child care decisions on the person’s behalf.

Forward Latino, a nonprofit organization that advocates for the civil rights of Latinos throughout the country, has created a tool kit regarding potential family separation.

Other resources

A city of Milwaukee municipal ID can serve as a form of identification for city residents who cannot get state identification.

Voces maintains a list of immigration, workers’ rights and family attorneys it deems trustworthy.

Voces also provides various workshops and clinics, including Know Your Rights training, citizenship classes and legal clinics. For citizenship classes, call (414) 236-0415 or email newamerican@vdlf.org. For other services or questions, call (414) 643-1620.

Organizations like Catholic Charities Refugee and Immigration Services, International Institute of Wisconsin and UMOS offer free or low-cost legal assistance regarding immigration and citizenship.

Immigrant Legal Resource Center provides a downloadable card listing people’s rights and protections.

What are your rights when encountering federal agents? is a post from Wisconsin Watch, a non-profit investigative news site covering Wisconsin since 2009. Please consider making a contribution to support our journalism.

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It appears that Milwaukee County is ready to work with the state to find a new community action agency to replace the Social Development Commission, the embattled agency that has provided anti-poverty services for more than 60 years.

In an email to NNS, a spokesperson from the press office of Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley stated: “Given the urgent need for supportive services in Milwaukee County, and in light of SDC’s ongoing challenges, we stand ready to work with the Wisconsin Department of Children and Families and other local partners to identify another eligible entity or entities who can receive (Community Services Block Grant) funds and provide needed services to county residents.”

The Social Development Commission, also known as the SDC, is eligible to receive these federal block grant funds administered by the state through its status as a community action agency, which the state is considering rescinding.

The email from the county was sent in response to a question about whether the Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors and the Milwaukee Common Council are required by state law to approve any decision to rescind SDC’s designation as a community action agency.

The background

The Wisconsin Department of Children and Families, or DCF, is scheduled to make a final decision on SDC’s community action status in the coming months.

DCF held a public hearing on April 4 to discuss SDC’s designation and future. At the meeting, some SDC board members and current and former employees testified about the crucial need to maintain the agency.

The department’s leadership said SDC has not created a realistic financial plan to restart services and perform its community action duties under the law, and it continues to have financial, programmatic, operational and service delivery concerns.

SDC reopened in a limited capacity in December after abruptly shutting down in April 2024, when problems included failing to pay employees and contractors on time and using grant dollars for one program to cover costs for another.

The agency has since missed state deadlines to pay employees their owed wages and also still owes some contractors for completed work.

 In addition, SDC’s property corporation, SD Properties Inc., is facing a foreclosure lawsuit and owes nearly $3 million in mortgage payments on its North Avenue buildings, according to court records.

Who’s responsible?

Jorge Franco, interim CEO of SDC and chair of its board, said Wisconsin law requires both the Common Council and County Board of Supervisors to approve a decision to de-designate SDC as a community action agency before the state can take that action. 

Franco is referring to Wisconsin Statute 49.265, which states the following: “The approval of a community action agency may be rescinded but only if there is good cause and if the decision to rescind is made by both the legislative body of the county, city, village or town that granted the approval and the secretary.”

According to the organization’s former website, SDC became a community action agency in 1964, shortly after the Economic Opportunity Act created the Community Action Program.

Because SDC was established through a collaboration that involved the city, county and other organizations, there is a lack of clarity over which legislative body actually granted SDC’s approval as a community action agency.

It’s also unclear which legislative body must weigh in on the commission’s potential de-designation based on state statute.

According to a spokesperson from the Milwaukee County Executive’s Office, a review of records found that the county board and the city of Milwaukee enacted an ordinance establishing SDC as a commission, but not specifically as a community action agency. 

“We have not found any records indicating that the County Board ever took any action relative to SDC’s status as a CAA,” an email from the Milwaukee County Executive Press Office said.

Because the county board did not approve SDC’s status as a community action agency, it does not have the authority to rescind that status, the Milwaukee County Executive Press Office’s email said. 

Jeff Fleming, a spokesperson for Mayor Cavalier Johnson, said the city’s responsibility in the potential de-designation of SDC as a community action agency has been a topic of discussion.

“The first impression from the city side is that it was the county that ‘granted the approval,’” Fleming said in an email, referring to SDC’s status as a community action agency. 

NNS also reached out to Milwaukee City Attorney Evan Goyke for comment on the issue, but he hasn’t responded. 

The Department of Children and Families was also questioned about which legislative body granted SDC approval to be a community action agency. 

“This is the first time the Department of Children and Families has sought to de-designate a community action agency,” said Gina Paige, communications director for DCF.  “As such, we are working closely with the federal Office of Community Services and Milwaukee County to determine what the process would need to be should we move forward with de-designating SDC.”

According to Franco, the state operates under a federal mandate to provide the types of anti-poverty services that SDC had provided for decades.

He said without SDC, those services could be delayed by several years.

“The bottom line point is that infrastructure is there. It must be activated immediately,” Franco said. 

Money, Franco said, is needed to help the agency climb out of debt and, more importantly, relaunch vital services to low-income residents in the county.

“SDC intends to pay every dollar it owes. First things first. Get anti-poverty services ready to go through SDC, which is ready to go today and that should not be delayed any further,” Franco said.

Some elected officials weigh in. Most stay silent.

State Sen. LaTonya Johnson said that she’d like to see SDC rebound from its troubles.

“SDC has been in the community for many years providing pivotal services for the community and this community can’t afford to lose those services,” she said.

Still, she said, given the significant mismanagement of funds at SDC, she understands that the Department of Children and Families will make a decision it feels is in the best interests of residents.

“Whatever decision they make, I’ll have to back it just like other elected officials will because we have to believe that they’re making the choice that’s best for taxpayers,” she said. “I’m hoping that the state will have a way to make sure that services will be provided, whether it’s SDC or not.”

Ald. Sharlen Moore also hopes to see SDC survive.

“They provide a critical need to our community, and so what I would hope is that they would find the necessary help or support that they need in order to get back on track,” Moore said. “It’s such a huge void.”

Like Johnson, she also acknowledges the challenges of providing funding to an organization with an uncertain future.

“It’s hard giving someone money without knowing how they are going to move forward,” she said.

Rep. Gwen Moore said it is important to center the people who have been majorly affected, like residents who lost services and former employees who are still owed pay.

“The serious concerns raised by the state must be addressed, and I hope the result of this process moves us closer to resuming these vital services to my constituents,” she said.

NNS reached out to more than 20 elected officials from the city, county and state government for comment on SDC’s future, including Common Council President Jose Perez and Milwaukee County Board Chairwoman Marcella Nicholson. Only three elected officials chose to speak.

What’s next?  

Despite the current challenges, Franco said that he is confident SDC will bounce back and that the history of the organization is proof of its effectiveness in fighting poverty.

“SDC has a legacy of generations of people who’ve been helped by SDC, and they still live in the community,” he said. “Whatever its issues were in recent times, the long-standing legacy and the number of people who have been helped must not be forgotten.”

Milwaukee County appears ready to find replacement for Social Development Commission is a post from Wisconsin Watch, a non-profit investigative news site covering Wisconsin since 2009. Please consider making a contribution to support our journalism.

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Adults who plan to fly within the U.S. or visit a military base or federal buildings on or after Wednesday, May 7, will need a Real ID or other Transit Security Administration-approved documentation.

Here’s what you need to know to get a Real ID in Wisconsin before enforcement begins.

What is a Real ID?

A Real ID is a state-issued driver’s license or identification card that meets security standards of the federal REAL ID Act, which Congress enacted in 2005.

Wisconsin-issued Real IDs are marked with a star in the upper right corner. You can check if your Wisconsin ID is a Real ID here.

Over 64% of Wisconsin residents now have a federally compliant driver’s license or ID card, according to the Wisconsin Department of Transportation Division of Motor Vehicles.

Can I still use another ID?

Starting May 7, a Real ID-compliant driver’s license or identification card, or another TSA-acceptable form of identification, will be required for domestic air travel or visiting U.S. military bases or federal buildings.

The Wisconsin DMV offers both Real IDs and non-compliant IDs.

You do not have to apply for a Real ID if you have no plans to fly or visit a federal building, or if you have another accepted form of identification, like a valid U.S. passport.

You can continue to use your current driver’s license or ID for other identification purposes until its expiration date.

How to get a Real ID

You can apply to get a Real ID online or through a local branch of the Wisconsin DMV.

Using the DMV’s interactive driver licensing guide, you can start an application online, print out a checklist of required documents and schedule an appointment.

Appointments are not required, but the DMV is seeing an increase in visitors as the Real ID enforcement deadline approaches, a department spokesperson said.

What documents do I need to bring?

When you apply, you must provide additional documentation in the form of an original document or certified copy (not a photocopy, fax or scan) from each of the following categories, according to the Department of Transportation.

Some documents can apply to multiple categories, but others may only meet the requirements of one category.

The document categories include:

• Proof of name and date of birth.
• Proof of legal presence in the U.S.
• Proof of identity.
• Proof of name change (only if your name is different from what’s on your birth certificate).
• Proof of address (two forms)
• Provide your Social Security Number.

How to get a copy of your birth certificate or name change documents?

If you were born in Wisconsin, you or an immediate family member can request a copy of your birth certificate online through the Department of Health Services..

This process also requires forms of identification. The cost of the certificate is $20, plus $3 per additional copy.

If you are a U.S. citizen born outside Wisconsin and need a birth certificate, check this guidance.

The simplest way to provide proof of a name change is to bring a valid, unexpired U.S. passport in your current name when you apply for a Real ID. If you don’t have that, you will need to provide documents to support each name change from birth to the current date.

How will the TSA enforce the deadline?

Travelers planning to fly within the U.S. without compliant identification could face delays, additional screening and possibly not be allowed into an airport security checkpoint, according to the Transportation Security Administration.

TSA accepts some other forms of identification.

Minors are not required to have a Real ID, but it is required of adults accompanying them to travel. 

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.

Here’s how to get a Real ID in Wisconsin as new requirements start May 7 is a post from Wisconsin Watch, a non-profit investigative news site covering Wisconsin since 2009. Please consider making a contribution to support our journalism.

The electric-versus-combustion debate isn’t just about performance or emissions anymore—it’s also about dependability. And according to Europe’s largest roadside assistance organization, the German Automobile Club (ADAC), electric cars might be quietly winning that fight.

More: The Most Reliable And Longest Lasting Used Cars

Its workers, sometimes known as “Yellow Angels” thanks to their bright uniforms, responded to more than 3.6 million breakdowns over the last year making this study. They recorded the details of each call, and that mountain of data shows that electric vehicles are breaking down less often than internal combustion cars.

EVs Show Fewer Breakdowns

For the first time in 2024, the ADAC said it had enough data to make a confident call on EV reliability, and that call favors electric. With another year of data behind them, the case has only grown stronger. While it responded to more EV calls for service than ever before, those accounted for just 43,678 out of the 3.6 million total or just 1.2%.

The organization pointed out in its recent study that the rise is likely due to the increased popularity of electric vehicles. In addition, the results should be more accurate since some of the EVs on the road are a year older now.

Crucially, 2024 marked the first year ADAC felt it had enough data to confidently say EVs were more reliable. With another year of records, that finding looks even stronger. “For cars first registered between 2020 and 2022, electric vehicles experienced 4.2 breakdowns per 1,000 vehicles,” German outlet Handelsblatt reports. For combustion cars in the same age range, that figure was 10.4.

Common Weak Spot For ICE and EVs

Interestingly, the most common issue for both types of propulsion was the same: the 12-volt batteries. They were the issue in 50 percent of the breakdowns for EVs and 45 percent of the breakdowns for combustion cars. In almost every single category over the last few years, combustion cars have seen more or equal issues when compared to EVs, including the electrical system, engine management, and lighting.

The one area where EVs seem to have more problems is when it comes to tires. Specifically, 1.3 calls for service out of 1000 were due to an EV with tire issues, while combustion cars saw just 0.9 in the same population. It’s worth pointing out that newer EVs do not seem to suffer from the same problem.

Of course, EVs are also devoid of potential ICE issues regardless of age. They don’t have oil to replace, nor the complex propulsion system that an internal combustion engine is, and as a result, they have fewer pieces that can break.

The ADAC acknowledges the challenges with comparing EVs and ICE cars at this point. The data is limited since all-electric vehicles just haven’t been around all that long, thus we can’t know just yet how reliable they’ll all be after they’re 10+ years old. Still, this is a good indication that EVs are improving and could indeed be a more practical mode of transportation, even when we ignore their effect on sustainability. For more detailed information.

Photos ADAC

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Throughout his life, Robert Miranda has served many roles.

Some know him as a motorcyclist. Having been vice president of the Latin American Motorcycle Association’s Milwaukee chapter, Miranda has crossed the country several times on his Harley-Davidson motorcycle.

Others know him as a leader and innovator in the community. Aside from working as executive director of Esperanza Unida, a nonprofit labor organization that served Milwaukee’s South Side for decades, Miranda has also been recognized by the United Migrant Opportunity Services, or UMOS, with a Community Service Award and as Hispanic Man of the Year.

Many more see him as a leader – Miranda served as the first Latino student body president at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, helping establish programs such as U-PASS, in which students can access free transportation on Milwaukee city buses.

But even with a lifetime of accolades and achievements, Miranda prides himself most on fighting for his community, having dedicated himself to causes such as Milwaukee’s decades-old lead contamination problem.

His passion for these issues, Miranda said, stems from a belief that change can happen and that it is worth fighting for.

“We’re all in this together, and we all share the same ground,” Miranda said. “All we can do is to improve things so that we can improve our quality of life.”

‘The importance of community’

Miranda credits his instinct for activism to his upbringing. Growing up in Chicago and attending a Catholic school, Miranda said, cemented many of his views.

“Social issues and social justice were ingrained in me,” he said. “This helped me build an understanding of the importance of community.”

Manny Perez, who formerly served as secretary of the state Department of Workforce Development, has worked with Miranda numerous times over the years.

He described Miranda as dedicated, honorable and forward-thinking.

“Robert, as an individual, has been a true leader,” Perez said. “His primary interest and priority has always been the improvement of conditions for the community at large.”

Serving in the Marines taught him many of his ideals, Miranda said. What he did there “was about protecting the community.”

The Marines provided a cause and a fighting energy, Miranda said. Now he seeks to “fight to improve what is going on in the community.”

Since then, his advocacy has largely featured issues that impact the people and community around him, extending to advocacy for incarcerated people, education and the environment.

“For me, if things in the community improve, my quality of life improves too,” Miranda said. “Safer streets, better schools, clean water – all of this is a part of the quality of life that I can see and that I can enjoy.”

A focus on lead

For nearly a decade, Miranda served as a Marine at Camp Lejeune, a military base in North Carolina. Camp Lejeune, later designated a Superfund site by the Environmental Protection Agency, was found to have dangerous water contamination, exposing an estimated 1 million Marines and their families to chemicals causing cancer and other health conditions.

“From 1980 to 1987, I was on that base drinking that water,” Miranda said. “A lot of people were getting cancer. A lot of people were going home.”

Drinking the contaminated water caused him health problems that live on to this day, he said. But knowing what happened at Camp Lejeune also brought him an awareness of issues with pollution in other parts of his life.

After hearing about lead poisoning issues in cities like Washington, D.C., Miranda started researching and looking into the problem closely.

“It really piqued my interest because of what I was going through,” Miranda said. “I started looking into it and I started seeing a lot of correlations between my experiences.”

Over a decade after Miranda started researching the lead issue, he remains a staunch advocate for clean water and clean-living environments.

Miranda’s work has put him at the front lines, leading efforts with the Freshwater for Life Action Coalition and the Get the Lead Out Coalition.

He has been an outspoken critic of Milwaukee’s abundant lead hazards, having called for lead-free drinking water and living environments years before citywide efforts to address the lead problem.

“He anticipated conditions before his time,” Perez said. “He sees many things before other people.”

Fighting for a clean environment means more to Miranda than himself or his own past.

“It’s about community,” Miranda said. “This is about our babies, our children – the future of this city.”

Future generations

Among the most important aspects of a community are its future generations, Miranda said. Ending lead poisoning is such a focus for him because of how much it could help children and young people.

Miranda cites research studies about lead’s negative effects, especially on the harm that it can bring as a neurotoxin. Eliminating lead, he said, could help improve children’s education and eventually lower violence levels.

In doing this work, Miranda also hopes to lift up others in the community and encourage them to use their own voices.

His advice to the next generation?

“Watch out for yourself, but also watch out for your community.”

Miranda acknowledges that this isn’t always an easy task.

“If you want to make real change, get ready to be challenged,” he said. “You have to stand strong on your own merits and realize that it’s not about you, but it’s about lives in our community and improving things for families, neighborhoods and schools. These are the things that make our city stronger.”

Milwaukee’s Robert Miranda on a life of activism, community and doing what’s right is a post from Wisconsin Watch, a non-profit investigative news site covering Wisconsin since 2009. Please consider making a contribution to support our journalism.

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As both a survivor and advocate on the issue, Natalie Hayden knows how guns can turn a domestic violence situation from dangerous to deadly.

“Having that weapon just really elevates things and makes it more lethal for both parties involved,” said Hayden, co-founder of ExPOSED Inc., a nonprofit that works to empower youths and foster healthy relationships.

They’re the type of tragedies, ones that involve guns in the hands of domestic abusers, that lawmakers hope to help prevent in the future. The plan is to reintroduce legislation this year to keep individuals convicted of domestic violence offenses from possessing firearms in Wisconsin.

State Sen. Kelda Roys, D-Madison, who co-authored similar legislation that failed to pass last year, said the goal is to align Wisconsin law with a federal law that keeps guns out of the hands of convicted domestic offenders.

If passed this go-round, the legislation would change the state’s disorderly conduct statute to separate violent conduct from other types of disorderly conduct.

 It also would alter the statute defining domestic abuse so that court records indicate the exact nature of the relationship between those involved. Together, they would close the loophole that allows domestic violence offenders in Wisconsin from possessing guns.

Impact of firearms on domestic violence situations

Jenna Gormal, public policy director for End Domestic Abuse Wisconsin, said that women are five times more likely to be killed when an abuser has access to a gun and that domestic violence assaults involving a gun are 12 times more likely to result in death.

Firearms were used in 66 of 85 domestic violence homicides in Wisconsin in 2023, Gormal said.

The highest number, 28, occurred in Milwaukee County, according to the End Domestic Abuse Wisconsin Homicide Report 2023.

Domestic-violence-related charges are often present before a domestic violence homicide occurs, Gormal said.

“That tells us that people that are convicted of domestic violence offenses are more likely to commit homicide,” she said.

Hayden said guns create a high-risk situation for everyone involved in a domestic violence situation. Sometimes, she said, victims will purchase their own firearm to protect themselves from an abuser who also has one.

Guns also create a situation that is harder for a victim to escape from, she said.

“There is a weapon involved and I don’t feel safe, but maybe I have to stick around for the safety of my kids,” Hayden said.

Having a firearm present also can result in an abuser making a fatal decision once his partner decides to leave, she said.

“People can resort to extreme violence once they feel like they’ve lost that control,” Hayden said.

Some support for change

Gov. Tony Evers said keeping firearms from domestic abusers was a priority of his administration during his State of the State address in January. The city of Milwaukee passed a resolution in late 2023 in support of a change in state law that prevents domestic abusers from possessing guns.

Gormal said that legislation preventing domestic abusers from possessing firearms is a common sense, not a partisan, issue.

Roys said it’s an issue that everyone should care about but blames the gun lobby and Republican leaders for prioritizing politics over the safety of victims.

“The public overwhelmingly wants gun safety laws much broader than we have right now,” she said. “My hope is that they will finally start to prioritize women and kids who are being victimized.”

NNS reached out to Rep. Bob Donovan, a former Milwaukee alderman who now represents Greenfield in the state Assembly, and Rep. Jessie Rodriguez, both Republicans, for comment on the legislation. Neither responded.

Corey Graff, executive director of Wisconsin Gun Owners Inc., a gun rights organization, said the type of legislation Roys and others are pushing for would only impact law-abiding gun owners.

“Someone who is interested in committing an assault and potential murder against the victim is not going to follow any firearms laws,” Graff said. “Across the board, this is a homogenous attack on liberty and doesn’t address the crime of domestic violence.”

Graff said the legislation would also create a false sense of security for victims.

“They might assume that their attacker will follow the law, but that’s a false premise,” he said.

Tips for survivors

All situations are different, Hayden said, and women ultimately must decide for themselves what is best for them and their family. But there are some strategic things they can do to help them be safer, she said.

“Let people know of your whereabouts. Bring people into the fold that you trust,” Hayden said.

Sometimes, she said, victims are not ready or even able to leave because of certain circumstances, but they can start thinking of a plan while they wait.

“You can look for a shelter, and if something happens, you can file the necessary paperwork,” she said. “It’s always good to document what happens if you get to the other side and it gets to the courts.”

Overall, she said, the system needs to improve if we are going to protect people from being victimized by domestic violence.

“We need the nets to be there to catch us when we are ready. We need to bring awareness to our young people so that they can be safe, and we need to keep guns from people who could use them to bring harm,” Hayden said.

Latest push begins to prevent domestic abusers in Wisconsin from possessing firearms is a post from Wisconsin Watch, a non-profit investigative news site covering Wisconsin since 2009. Please consider making a contribution to support our journalism.

One of the benefits of owning an electric vehicles is reduced maintenance compared to ICE-powered cars. That’s the theory, at least. In practice, one owner has found his Kia EV6 to be less of a technological marvel and more of a recurring electrical problem. His 2024 model has chewed through multiple 12-volt batteries in just a year, prompting him to file a lemon law claim.

While the EV6 has been broadly praised as being an excellent EV, it’s not without fault. Over the years, there are have been several reports of battery failures. We’re not talking about the expensive high-voltage battery pack that powers the motors, but rather the 12-volt battery. According to one Facebook group user, he has gone through three of four of these batteries and says he’s initiated a lemon law claim.

Read: First Look At 2025 Kia EV6 GT With Ioniq 5 N Power And Simulated Gearbox

Most Kia EV6s delivered in the United States come standard with traditional lead-acid 12-volt batteries, rather than AGM (Absorbed Glass Mat) batteries, which are generally considered to be far more superior. AGM batteries use a fiberglass mat to hold the electrolyte, offering better cycling performance and longer lifespan.

The most recent battery installed in this particular EV6 appears to have been one of the lower-grade OEM lead-acid units, and it clearly failed well ahead of schedule.

A photo he shared on the EV6 owner’s Facebook page shows acid leaking from the failed battery and corroding the tray beneath it. According to the owner, his EV6 Wind RWD has only about 4,500 miles on the odometer after one year of ownership and yet it’s already gone through multiple 12-volt batteries.

More: Rivian Owner’s DIY Taillight Repair Saves Thousands And Teaches Us A Lesson

The general consensus among other EV6 owners appears to be that the original 12-volt batteries from Kia aren’t up to par, and it’s better to just install an AGM and move on. What’s puzzling is that the dealership handling this particular case hasn’t done so, especially since, according to users on the Kia EV Forums, the Korean carmaker began equipping EV6s with AGM batteries from the factory as of late 2024.

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The Social Development Commission’s property corporation faces a foreclosure lawsuit for owing nearly $3 million in mortgage payments on its North Avenue buildings in Milwaukee, according to court records.

SD Properties Inc. is the tax-exempt corporation that owns the buildings of the Social Development Commission, or SDC.

Forward Community Investments Inc., a community development financial institution with Madison and Milwaukee offices, filed a complaint March 27 against SD Properties and SDC with the Milwaukee County Circuit Court.

SD Properties owes Forward Community Investments approximately $2.3 million in principal and interest for a 2020 construction mortgage and about $679,000 for a 2023 mortgage, for a total of just under $2.98 million, according to the complaint.

“FCI would be thrilled to see the critical services provided by CR-SDC return to the community,” said Ryan Zerwer, president & CEO of Forward Community Investments, in a statement. “However, the past 12 months, communication from SD Properties, Inc. has failed to provide sufficient information on actionable plans to fully resume operations and start meeting their financial obligations.”

SDC has been in turmoil since last April after it abruptly stopped operations and laid off staff. The agency reopened in December and is now preparing for a public hearing on its community action agency status.

William Sulton, SDC’s attorney, confirmed that SD Properties is in default on its mortgage payments.

“SDC has been in discussions with FCI about what kind of remedies they intend to pursue, so I guess it’s not a complete surprise,” Sulton said.

“I think the impact of the foreclosure case is it puts the North Avenue building at risk, and if there is no North Avenue building, then that is the majority of programs that SDC had in ’23.”

SDC also is listed on the lawsuit as a defendant as a guarantor for SD Properties.

Background and timeline

Forward Community Investments has been a lender to SD Properties since 2015 through its Community Development Loan Fund, which provides “financing to nonprofit organizations and community organizations for mission-focused projects that will work to reduce racial and socioeconomic disparities across the state of Wisconsin,” according to the complaint.

SD Properties entered into a construction mortgage on Jan. 22, 2020, of approximately $1.98 million plus interest, and then modified the agreement on July 22, 2020, to increase the total amount to $2.36 million.

In March 2023, SD Properties entered into a separate agreement in which it would owe about $665,000 and interest for a mortgage of five property parcels, which include the main office at 1730 North Ave., a warehouse at 1810 North Ave. and parking lots, according to court documents.

SD Properties defaulted on a “significant loan” in April 2024, according to Zerwer.

SD Properties also defaulted because it did not pay the entire amount of debt and interest owed for 2020 mortgage by the end date, or maturity date, of Dec. 22, 2024, according to the complaint.

Forbearance action stalled

Before the legal filing, Forward Community Investments presented SD Properties in the fall with a forbearance agreement, in which it would refrain from immediately collecting the obligations due from SD Properties, and revised it several times. 

However, Zerwer said revisions on the agreement reached an impasse in March.

SDC board members discussed a “time-sensitive” resolution related to SD Properties at an emergency meeting on March 24 and decided to postpone taking action.

“We’ve been doing many strategic moves to prevent the foreclosure of this building and possibly a deficiency judgment against our Teutonia (location),” said Vincent Bobot, an SDC commissioner and chair of the SD Properties board, at the meeting.

“If there’s not a foreclosure, it means it’s still going to be drawn out and still take quite some time, but nevertheless, we want that time,” he said.

Board members planned to return to the item at a later meeting so they could discuss it directly with Sulton, who was not at the meeting.

The forbearance agreement would allow SD Properties to keep the North Avenue main office and the 18th Street warehouse, Sulton said, but SDC’s main issue now is having no funding.

“Even if we win the lawsuit, without any funding, we’ll just end up with another lawsuit down the road,” Sulton said.

Legal proceedings

SD Properties has retained attorneys from Kerkman & Dunn to represent it in the foreclosure case, Sulton said.

SDC and SD Properties have 20 days to respond to the summons and complaint before the case proceeds in court.

“We feel we have been patient and extended every opportunity to the leadership of SD Properties, Inc. to work in partnership with us to resolve the loan default,” Zerwer said. “In fact, we call upon SD Properties, Inc. to once again work with us on a forbearance plan.”

Public hearing Friday on SDC

The Wisconsin Department of Children and Families is hosting a public hearing on SDC’s designation as a community action agency from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Friday, April 4.

The hearing will be held in the Milwaukee State Office Building, 819 N. 6th St., in Conference Rooms 40 and 45 on the first floor.

Milwaukee Social Development Commission buildings face foreclosure risk is a post from Wisconsin Watch, a non-profit investigative news site covering Wisconsin since 2009. Please consider making a contribution to support our journalism.

When East Noble School District’s transportation operation needed to make security updates, the district found itself in urgent need to move to Transfinder’s cloud-based Routefinder PLUS platform.

The move to PLUS was a game-changer for the Kendallville, Ind. District that serves some 4,000 students. Josh Buhro, the Kendallville, Ind district’s transportation director, set out to not only restore the district’s transportation operation but also significantly enhance its efficiency.

He accomplished both by implementing Transfinder’s Routefinder PLUS routing solution.

“We jumped in full steam ahead,” Buhro said.

A History of Transportation Technology at East Noble

Buhro has been in transportation for nearly a decade. When he first joined East Noble, the district was using (another company), a routing software he described as clunky and not user-friendly. Looking for an upgrade, East Noble had switched to Transfinder’s Routefinder Pro solution five years ago, which had been recommended by neighboring districts.

Then in 2024, the district moved to the award-winning Routefinder PLUS.

“There are districts around us who had moved to PLUS and had nothing but good things to say,” Buhro recalled. “They were implementing is and moving forward and I was maybe a little stubborn.”

He added, it was more of an “if it’s not broke, don’t fix it kind of thing. But looking back, I was scared of stuff. I shouldn’t have been scared. Ultimately, I think we’re in a better place now.”

During the move to Routefinder PLUS, Buhro and his team, including a newly hired transportation secretary who attended Transfinder University Livestream. This training proved invaluable, allowing them to quickly adapt to the new platform. The secretary, with no prior experience with Transfinder’s solutions, found PLUS to be highly intuitive, taking to it “like a fish to water,” Buhro said. “They said, ‘Josh, don’t be scared of it!’”

The Advantages of PLUS

One of the biggest surprises for Buhro and his team was how seamlessly PLUS integrated with other Transfinder tools the district uses, such as Tripfinder, the district’s field trip management solution, and Viewfinder, a solution that provides an overview of the district’s operation and student rider data.

“We love Tripfinder,” he said. “It allows us to manage our buses, our resources and our drivers. We’ve got some custom reports set up. Quite frankly, I don’t know how we would manage our extracurricular activity trips without the use of Tripfinder. It cuts out so much of that cumbersome sort of communication piece that used to have to take place by phone or email,” Buhro said.

He noted that one morning he had 36 extracurricular and field trips requests that he was able to quickly assign.

“It does it all for us, other than drive the bus,” Buhro said, “and that’s the part that’s easy for us to manage.”

Regarding the PLUS platform, Buhro described it as more user-friendly, efficient and responsive. He highlighted:

• Ease of Use: Editing routes is easy. PLUS allows for simple, drag-and-drop modifications. “You just right-click and edit,” Buhro noted, highlighting how much more intuitive the system is.
• Streamlined Communication: Tripfinder revolutionized how East Noble manages field trips, athletics and extracurricular activities. Requests are processed digitally, eliminating the cumbersome back-and-forth that used to take place via phone and email.
• Transfinder Community: The online Transfinder Community portal provides a wealth of resources, including video tutorials and guides, which allows Buhro and his team to troubleshoot issues independently. “Anytime we’ve got a question, that’s the first place we go and there are usually videos in the library or trainings that have been done. Rarely, if ever, do we actually reach out to support.”
• Enhanced Support: When direct support is needed, Transfinder’s response times were “obscenely fast,” often returning calls within minutes.

Buhro said the Transfinder team understands the need for speedy response times.

“Even three days before school started they need it was critical for us to have things up and running,” he said. ‘They put in the time to help us make things happen. We’re very grateful for all that support and input.”

A New Era for East Noble’s Transportation

In a district serving multiple schools, including a high school, middle school and five elementary schools, an efficient transportation system is crucial. The ability to quickly assign drivers, manage routes, and coordinate field trips is no small feat.

Thanks to Transfinder’s PLUS platform, East Noble has improved its transportation operation. What began as an urgent need has ultimately led to a stronger, more resilient system that better serves students, staff and the community.

“There are so many pieces of it that are just intuitive,” Buhro said.

As Buhro reflected on the transition, he expressed gratitude for the support and partnership from Transfinder. “We were very fortunate with the trainer we were assigned. They let us work at our own pace and answered every question we had.”

With a solid foundation in place and considering new tools in the future, East Noble School District is well-positioned for what’s around the bend.

Future Plans with Transfinder

With the great results from the move to PLUS, East Noble is now exploring additional Transfinder tools, such as the driver app Wayfinder, which offers turn-by-turn navigation and attendance, and the parent app Stopfinder, which provides information on bus location and two-way communication between parents and the transportation department. These tools could further assist the transportation operation in dealing with issues such as substitute drivers and last-minute route changes.

“Based on the success with that [PLUS] implementation, that’s what’s been the impetus for us to investigate Wayfinder and Stopfinder solutions for turn-by-turn directions and fleet tracking,” Buhro said.

Buhro emphasized the importance of ensuring these tools integrate smoothly with their existing processes.

“I need to make sure it’ll do everything we’re doing now—and do it better,” he said.

Buhro said he knows the Transfinder team will be there to help along the way.

“You guys did a beautiful job of easing concerns and getting us rolling with the new stuff,” he said.

To learn more about Routefinder PLUS or Transfinder’s suite of solutions, visit Transfinder.com, email getplus@transfinder.com or call 800-373-3609.

The views expressed are those of the content sponsor and do not reflect those of School Transportation News.

The post Support ‘Obscenely Fast’ as Indiana District Enhances Transportation with Transfinder Technology appeared first on School Transportation News.

How many times have we seen Rivian owners grumble about spending a small – or sometimes large -fortune on seemingly minor repairs after a fender bender or mishap? Dominic Wilkerson uses his Rivian R1T like the off-road-ready truck that it is. As such, he’s had a mishap or two on the trails.

In one recent incident, he accidentally damaged his rear tail light and tailgate. Rather than take it to Rivian for an expensive repair, he decided to tackle the job himself. The result? The total cost came in under $1,000, and the truck looks almost as good as new.

More: Can You Believe This Rivian R1T Damage Repair Cost $21,000?

As Wilkerson points out, many Rivian owners (rightly) live in constant fear that any kind of damage, no matter how minor, will result in a total loss. And, honestly, those folks aren’t totally out of their minds. Rear-end damage to a Rivian can be both expensive and complicated to fix, as we’ve seen time and time again. But Wilkerson wasn’t about to roll over and accept that fate. He took matters into his own hands.

The Repair Process: Not As Hard As It Sounds

First, he needed a tail light, which he sourced from Rivian’s Seattle service center for $700. In the video below, he demonstrates exactly what it takes to replace the part. In short, it’s a simple procedure that most gearheads and shadetree mechanics can accomplish. The really tricky part of the entire process was fixing the dents he’d put in his tailgate.

As it turns out, though, he’s familiar with paintless dent repair. No, he didn’t tackle the job himself, but rather he sourced a high-quality PDR professional to do the work. For just $200, the technician managed to pull out the big dents in his tailgate and even straighten some imperfections in the middle of it.

While Wilkerson admits that it’s not technically perfect, it’s the kind of fix that most people wouldn’t notice from 10 feet away. His attitude about it now is that, while he might eventually get the rest fixed, part of him appreciates the “battle scars” that show his truck is actually used for what it was made for.

Why Not Use Insurance?

Now, some readers might be asking why Wilkerson didn’t just file an insurance claim. Well, he addressed that too. “By the time I go through the whole process, I’d be without my vehicle for weeks,” he explained. And that’s a very valid concern. Given the notoriously long repair wait times at Rivian service centers, it’s not surprising that many owners would rather avoid the hassle entirely.

Review: The 2025 Rivian R1S Is An Imperfect But Promising Look At The Future

On top of that, insurance companies are totaling more vehicles than ever before. A recent study says that there’s a 42 percent chance of damage leading to a total loss than there was just a few years ago. While Wilkerson’s incident might not have led to that outcome, doing it the way he did assured that it wasn’t even possible.

Damaged tail light and big dent fixed by DIY and PDR for under $1000
byu/Domphotog inRivian

Lead image Dominic Wilkerson

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Some Milwaukee organizations are starting to feel the effects of federal funding cuts, the result of Trump administration efforts to shrink the federal government and make it more efficient.

Although many attempts to roll back funding face legal challenges, and the federal and state budgets are under review, neighborhood and advocacy-focused organizations in Milwaukee are making difficult decisions around staffing, program planning and fundraising as they wait for answers.

“I think the biggest challenge for us is just the uncertainty of the situation,” said Bill Schmitt, executive director of Rooted & Rising, a social service agency based in Washington Park.

Uncertainty impacts staffing

Uncertainty around funding led the Hmong American Women’s Association to cut its staff from 11 to four people. 

Vina Xiong, education and outreach director at HAWA, said 63% of the organization’s budget relies on federal funds.

“We had to do this because a lot of the federal grants covered our staff pay, and without us really knowing if we’re going to be getting the funds, we couldn’t allow to keep anyone on our team without paying them fairly,” Xiong said.

HAWA receives funding to advocate for domestic abuse and sexual assault survivors through the Victims of Crime Act, or VOCA, and other grant programs administered by the state Department of Children and Families or End Domestic Abuse Wisconsin.

Schmitt said the first funding cut to directly impact Rooted & Rising is tied to Section 4, a capacity-building and community development grant program from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

The Associated Press and Bloomberg CityLab reported that HUD terminated awards in February to at least two of three national organizations that distribute Section 4 grants to local community organizations, including Local Initiatives Support Corp., or LISC.

LISC Milwaukee distributed $225,000 in Section 4 grants to four local organizations with contracts ending between February and May, according to Theodore Lipscomb, executive director of LISC Milwaukee.

Lipscomb said the grants are foundational to LISC’s efforts to help other organizations become prepared to develop new work and pull in other investments, especially with affordable housing projects. 

“It can include a portion of staffing,” Lipscomb said.

“It also can be about organizational capacity, like making sure that you have good, strong financial oversight and governance and that sort of thing to make sure that you’re successful long term.”

LISC plans to appeal the Section 4 cancellations.

Rooted & Rising used its $50,000 community development grant, ending in March, to support neighborhood engagement. Losing that funding would impact the work, Schmitt said, but it is not fully reliant on one grant.

“But if it’s a sign of things to come, it certainly becomes a much bigger problem for us,” Schmitt said.

Supporting projects and programming

VIA CDC, a community development corporation serving the neighborhoods of Silver City, Burnham Park and Layton Park, also received a $50,000 Section 4 grant from LISC Milwaukee that it used to pay staff salaries.

“My fingers are crossed that there will be a resolution that comes forward that allows us to apply for this funding or some version of it,” said JoAnna Bautch, executive director of VIA CDC.

Bautch said she doesn’t think the grant changes will cause VIA to make staffing changes, but it may have to reallocate some other funding.

VIA’s Section 4 contract ended at the end of February, but Bautch said LISC offered support to the organizations for 30 days after the grants were halted.

LISC Milwaukee had planned to distribute another award of $420,000 to extend contracts to four organizations and provide contracts to five additional organizations – all of which are currently suspended, according to Lipscomb.

“Then what that really means is that there’s a project somewhere that’s going to stall because someone’s not going to be working on it,” Lipscomb said.

Thinking about funding alternatives

At HAWA, Xiong said the organization has been able to submit reimbursements to cover pay and services so far this year, but that the organization’s leadership team is thinking about ways to pursue other funding.

“I think this current situation makes us really think about where else we need to look, in terms of more stable funding or funding that can also help support advocacy work that doesn’t rely on federal state funding so much,” Xiong said.

Bautch and Schmitt both said they are working to identify alternative sources of funding.

“I see our philanthropic funders wanting to step up to the plate,” Bautch said. “I had a brief conversation with folks at Zilber Family Foundation who give us a lot of support, and they are trying to strategize on how they can support us.”

How you can help

HAWA, Rooted & Rising and VIA recommend following their social media accounts and newsletters for updates, contacting your senators and representatives, or donating to their programs to show support for their work.

“For the most part, what we’re talking about here are really essential services for our community that are being provided by agencies like ours, that are mission-driven and meeting real needs for the community, and it’s really vital that those programs continue,” Schmitt said.

News414 is a service journalism collaboration between Wisconsin Watch and Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service that addresses the specific issues, interests, perspectives and information needs identified by residents of central city Milwaukee neighborhoods. Learn more at our website or sign up for our texting service here.

How Milwaukee’s community organizations are responding to federal funding cuts is a post from Wisconsin Watch, a non-profit investigative news site covering Wisconsin since 2009. Please consider making a contribution to support our journalism.

Reading Time: 3 minutes

In Milwaukee, lead poisoning is one of the most serious health threats facing young children, according to the City of Milwaukee Health Department.

From 2018 to 2021, nearly 6.25% of children younger than 6 in Milwaukee County tested for lead were considered lead-poisoned, with percentages of children poisoned in some Milwaukee neighborhoods nearing 25%, according to data from the Wisconsin Department of Health Services.

Lead hazards in paint, water and soil are common throughout many of Milwaukee’s older homes and buildings, contributing to the widespread issue of lead poisoning. Here are some ways that you can identify and manage lead hazards.

Lead hazards in buildings

After lead poisoning cases were linked to an abundance of lead hazards in two Milwaukee Public Schools facilities, Sean Kane, senior director for facilities and maintenance services at Milwaukee Public Schools, said that the district “assumes that there is lead in a building that’s been constructed before 1978.”

One reason why is because lead paint, identified as a leading cause of lead poisoning by the health department, was used often in homes and buildings before it was outlawed in 1978.

“You should always assume that a building has lead paint if it’s older than 1978,” said Michael Mannan, home environmental health director at the health department.

Lead also can be found in a building’s water – Milwaukee mandated the use of lead service lines in 1872 and outlawed the practice in 1962. A citywide lead service line replacement program seeks to replace an estimated 65,000 lead service lines. (You can check to see if your building has lead pipes here.)

But lead contamination in water can extend beyond the city’s water mains and service lines. Plumbing materials like pipes and faucets inside the building can still contain lead.

Before 1986, interior plumbing materials like pipes and faucets could be made entirely of lead, and plumbing materials made before 2014 may contain higher levels of lead.

Soil is another common source of lead contamination. Paint chips and dust from the exterior of homes built before 1978 can result in high lead levels in soil, and deposits from leaded gasoline and industrial activity also can contaminate soil.

What can you do?

“Make sure that your child gets screened for lead,” Mannan said.

The health department recommends testing all children for lead poisoning at the ages of 12, 18 and 24 months and then once every year until the age of 6.

More information about lead poisoning and free testing resources is available here.

The health department Lead-Safe Registry also lists properties that have been inspected and verified to be lead-safe. However, at the time of this story, only 18 properties in the city have participated in the registry program.

Milwaukee’s land management system also lists important information about a property, such as past lead orders or permits that would indicate that lead abatement has been completed.

But this only provides information for one point in time, Mannan said. Even if a home has undergone lead abatement in the past, new renovations and construction or further deterioration may introduce lead hazards.

Property owners also are required to disclose any past lead abatement to a tenant at the time of lease. A lead disclosure is also required to be provided to tenants at any building built before 1978.

“If you’re not receiving those documents, that should be a concern,” Mannan said.

Lead-safe practices

It is also important to maintain lead-safe practices, especially if you live in a building built before 1978.

The first step, Mannan said, is to check for flaking or chipping paint, especially around high-movement areas such as windowsills, which can cause toxic lead dust to gather. Areas with deteriorated paint can be a risk and will require professional remediation and repair efforts, such as repainting or sealing an area.

If you see any serious paint hazards, there are a few interim controls you can make to an area before completing more permanent repairs. Before cleaning lead dust, make sure that children are not present.

Mannan recommends using wet cleaning methods, like wiping or mopping, to clean off lead dust, and to make sure to dispose of a mophead or paper towel after wiping an area clean. A HEPA vacuum, which has additional filtration over a typical vacuum, also can be used to clean up lead dust. Free HEPA vacuum rentals from the health department are available to property owners during cleaning or renovation projects.

Covering a paint hazard with tape can help in especially deteriorated areas, but removing the tape afterward can cause more damage to the paint.

While these practices are helpful, “these are just intermediate controls until you can really rectify the paint hazard,” Mannan said.

It also is important to use cold filtered water for drinking and cooking. Using hot water from the tap can cause lead to dissolve more quickly, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.

Not all filters remove lead, however. Look for a point-of-use filter, such as a pitcher or faucet-mounted filter with the NSF/ANSI 42 and 53 designations, for lead certification. More information is available here.

In some situations, Milwaukee Water Works will provide a voucher for a free water filter at properties when a lead service line replacement is scheduled.

The health department also recommends maintaining other clean practices to help lower lead risks. These recommendations include washing hands regularly, washing children’s toys and removing shoes at the door to prevent tracking in soil with lead dust.

News414 is a service journalism collaboration between Wisconsin Watch and Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service that addresses the specific issues, interests, perspectives and information needs identified by residents of central city Milwaukee neighborhoods. Learn more at our website or sign up for our texting service here.

Lead hazards are everywhere in Milwaukee. Here’s what you can do to mitigate them. is a post from Wisconsin Watch, a non-profit investigative news site covering Wisconsin since 2009. Please consider making a contribution to support our journalism.