economy

The 2008 economic recession hit Milwaukee hard. The housing market wasn’t spared and with it came a wave of foreclosures. Property values still haven’t quite recovered in many neighborhoods throughout the city.

The regional economic development partnership known as Milwaukee 7, or M7, says it has brought a lot of jobs to the area, or kept them here. But that may not be true in some low-income neighborhoods. 

M7 was launched in 2005 as a cooperative economic platform for Kenosha, Milwaukee, Ozaukee, Racine, Walworth, Washington and Waukesha counties. The partnership has just completed its third, five-year job recruitment effort, funded by about $9 million in public money and private donations. 

Wisconsin leads the nation in farm bankruptcies.

Gov. Tony Evers addressed the plight of dairy farmers in his State of the State address on Wednesday night. He's calling for a special session on Tuesday to take up a package of bills aimed to help farmers. The bills address challenges from exports to mental health support.

The November issue of Milwaukee Magazine focuses on women. From profiles of local women who are doing great things to national trends on pay equity, the issue takes a snapshot of how women are doing.

Updated at 1:43 p.m. CT 

Vice President Mike Pence visited a northeastern Wisconsin shipbuilding company on Wednesday. He went to Fincantieri Marinette Marine, a firm that already has two major deals with the U.S. Navy and is competing for a third. 

The Federal Reserve cut interest rates on lending by a quarter percentage point on Wednesday. Many analysts predicted another rate cut to spur business growth and head off a potential recession. But a national economist told hundreds of people in Milwaukee Tuesday that consumer spending should be able to keep the U.S. economy going anyway. 

Trade issues continue to go unresolved as farmers and manufacturers face higher import and export tariffs with China.

Meanwhile, Vice President Mike Pence has been traveling the country pushing a trade agreement between the United States, Canada and Mexico. Pence was in Wisconsin Wednesday to drum up support for the agreement. 

Updated on Oct. 21 at 12:40 p.m.

Strauss Brands is no longer looking to build a slaughterhouse at Century City, which is on Milwaukee's north side, the company's president and CEO announced Monday afternoon.

What does it take to get people out of their homes and willing to sit in a restaurant these days?

That's a question a lot of businesses are grappling with in the era of Uber Eats, Grubhub and other food delivery services. Across the United States and in the Milwaukee area, some developers are betting on food halls.

Wisconsin's paper industry has faced many challenges as mills close and people switch to digital. But there is one sector of the paper industry that is growing: specialty paper.

"Specialty paper goes across a broad gamut of things," says Steve Ottone, technical service manager at Omya — a chemical industry company headquartered in Switzerland. "Think about the ways that paper touches your life. Say you have your morning cup of tea. In that tea bag what actually holds the tea?"