Lake Effect | WUWM 89.7 FM - Milwaukee's NPR

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Lake Effect is your connection to the community. We bring you local conversations about the people, places and organizations that shape Milwaukee.

Wendy Christensen (pictured above) recreated Samson, Milwaukee’s iconic gorilla, as part of a 2007 exhibit at the Milwaukee Public Museum called ‘Remembering Samson.’

Robert Clark

National Geographic

Environment

‘Passionate about wildlife:’ Taxidermist who recreated Milwaukee’s gorilla Samson reflects on career

Xcaret Nuñez

Many Milwaukeeans are familiar with Samson, the beloved gorilla who died in 1981 at the Milwaukee County Zoo. Wildlife artist and world champion taxidermist, Wendy Christensen, made the popular recreation of Samson that’s on display at the Milwaukee Public Museum.

Lake Effect Spotlight

The Lake Effect Spotlight podcast features some of our favorite conversations about the people, places and organizations that shape Milwaukee.Learn more about Lake Effect here.

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How primary care physician shortages are impacting the U.S. and Milwaukee

Students gather outside a college campus. They have tents set up on a lawn, and they use chalk to decorate a sidewalk. Palestinian flags and posters populate the lawn.

What to know about university endowments and divestments

MPS proposed budget would cut about 300 positions

Emily Files

Despite voters' approval of an MPS referendum, the district will have to make budget cuts next school year.
Traffic deaths rise in Milwaukee County, sharply contrasting state-wide data

Audrey Nowakowski

A recent report from the Wisconsin Policy Forum shows rising numbers of traffic related deaths in Milwaukee County, especially for Black residents, sharply contrasts the statewide trend where traffic deaths have been on the decline for decades.
This UWM student went back to college in her 70s

Emily Files

JoAnne Potter started college in 1969, but never finished. Now, 55 years later, she’s graduating from UWM with a bachelor’s degree.
Environment

What happens when an animal at the Milwaukee County Zoo dies?

Xcaret Nuñez

Every day, thousands of people visit the Milwaukee County Zoo to see the animals they love — whether it’s the adorable otters, roaring tigers or giant elephants. These animals live their lives on display, but most of us don’t know what happens after they die.
The future of Milwaukee Public Museum's 'A Tribute To Survival' exhibit

Audrey Nowakowski

Carol & Diane Amour of the Tribute Documentary Group join Lake Effect's Audrey Nowakowski to share more about future plans for the large rotating powwow exhibit at the Milwaukee Public Museum — "A Tribute to Survival."
The long history of student protests at UW-Madison

Jimmy Gutierrez

There's a history of harm being done to marginalized students at UW-Madison, but there's a just-as-long history of students protesting and calling for a more inclusive campus. The 'Sifting and Reckoning' project archives those student-led movements.