News
Homicides, shootings and carjackings fall as Milwaukee violence prevention efforts show progress
1+ day, 21+ hour ago (716+ words) Progress is possible, and Milwaukee’s decline in violent crime in recent years suggest it’s happening. Advocates and violence prevention workers say keeping crime trending down depends on investment in the trusted relationships that make violence less likely. Examples of investments…...
Is it legal in most states to record a conversation without other person's OK?
4+ day, 27+ min ago (165+ words) Wisconsin Watch partners with Gigafact to produce Fact Briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. Read our methodology to learn how we check claims. Generally it’s legal in 38 states, including Wisconsin, to record a conversation between two parties if at…...
Do more than a quarter of Wisconsin state employees work for the Corrections Department?
1+ week, 3+ day ago (175+ words) Wisconsin Watch partners with Gigafact to produce Fact Briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. Read our methodology to learn how we check claims. By a traditional count, the Wisconsin Department of Corrections accounts for about 28.5% of state employees, according…...
Researchers say car crashes could help identify youth at risk of gun violence
1+ week, 4+ day ago (875+ words) Researchers from Children’s Wisconsin and the Medical College of Wisconsin found an association between motor vehicle crash injuries and firearm injuries among children and adolescents. The findings could help inform violence prevention efforts, said Dr. Mike Levas, one of the…...
ICE announces 39 Wisconsin arrests in one of state’s largest immigration enforcement sweeps
2+ week, 3+ day ago (596+ words) U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said Tuesday that its agents arrested 39 people across Wisconsin over the final weekend in June — among the largest enforcement operations in the state since President Donald Trump returned to office in January 2025. An ICE spokesperson claimed…...
Indian Health Center’s grief vigil offers space for remembrance in Milwaukee
2+ week, 4+ day ago (757+ words) In the same way that there is no one cause, there is no one cure. On a Friday night on Milwaukee’s South Side, local Indigenous community members gathered to grieve and try to find healing together. On June 19, the Gerald…...
ICE ramps up operations in Milwaukee while advocates rush to catch up
2+ week, 4+ day ago (526+ words) Federal immigration authorities conducted a wave of arrests in greater Milwaukee over the final weekend in June as Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) launched what it called a “targeted operation” in and around the city. Immigrant rights group Voces de…...
Nearly 40 years after Shelly Hansen vanished in Wisconsin’s Northwoods, unsealed records reveal a hidden suspect
4+ week, 1+ day ago (1841+ words) Nearly 40 years ago, Marchelle “Shelly” Hansen went missing in Price County, Wisconsin. Law enforcement officials have since told the public very little about what happened to the pregnant 23-year-old. The sheriff in 1987 said investigators didn’t suspect foul play. They have…...
Federal court newsletter sparks Wisconsin Watch sextortion story
1+ mon, 2+ day ago (272+ words) My wheels got turning about how common sextortion has become after reading about a local case in the federal court newsletter CourtWatch. Journalists Seamus Hughes and Peter Beck flagged a federal sextortion case from Outagamie County in March that caught…...
‘The word is out’: Wisconsin families turn grief into action as sextortion cases rise
1+ mon, 2+ day ago (1799+ words) Editor’s note: This story discusses suicide. If you or someone you know may be experiencing a mental health crisis, contact the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline by dialing “988.” In a hotel conference room in Appleton, Jamie and Jared Weigelt prepared to tell…...