Four southeast Wisconsin schools are pledging to close racial and income gaps in college graduation by 2030.

UWM, MATC, UW-Parkside, and Carthage College are the first regional collective to join a national initiative from D.C.-based education firm EAB. The initiative is called Moon Shot for Equity.

Early voting began Tuesday as COVID-19 cases hit record-breaking levels in Wisconsin.

In Milwaukee, people began forming lines outside of voting booths in the pre-dawn hours, ready to cast their ballot in person. According to Claire Woodall-Vogg, executive director of the Milwaukee Election Commission, there were lines at each of the 13 early voting sites that were open Tuesday.

Spaced 6 feet apart, many people waited for up to an hour. But Sarah Burrell, who voted at Washington Park Library, said she was fine waiting if it means her vote will count.

Wisconsin is currently facing a massive spike in coronavirus cases. The state continues to break daily records of confirmed cases. The death toll reached more than 1,600 people this week and hospitalizations have more than tripled in the last month.

COVID-19 cases are increasing in Wisconsin and health officials say there’s no end in sight. During a briefing Tuesday, Wisconsin Department of Health Services Secretary-designee Andrea Palm shared the latest number of confirmed cases in Wisconsin – 178,482. She says more than 60% of those cases were diagnosed within the last two months.

A 38-mile walk that started in Kenosha in the early morning hours ended at Red Arrow Park in downtown Milwaukee Tuesday night. About 25 people participated in the walk, organized in support of Jacob Blake, a Black man who was shot by a white Kenosha police officer in August. Blake was paralyzed from the waist down and was recently released from the hospital.

Family members and loved ones of people incarcerated in Wisconsin are growing more concerned about the spread of COVID-19.

At least three state prisons have reported outbreaks among inmates, and at least two people have died at the Dodge County Correctional Facility. The number of deaths from COVID-19 inside prisons could be higher, but the Department of Corrections doesn’t release that information due to privacy concerns.