WUWM News

The Milwaukee Common Council Health and Public Safety Committee on Thursday approved an ordinance to require masks whenever an individual is in public.

The ordinance, now headed to the full council, was introduced by Alderwoman Marina Dimitrijevic. She says she was spurred into action thinking about her son and his safety. She says the fact that Wisconsin set another single-day high with 754 cases reported on Thursday is troubling. 

Colleges are trying to figure out how to safely resume classes this fall amid the coronavirus pandemic. Many will hold the lion’s share of classes online.

But a new forthcoming rule from federal immigration officials warns that international students will be deported if their course load is all-online. Some see the rule as an attempt by the federal government to push colleges to reopen.

Updated Friday at 10:25 a.m. CT  

Newly elected Alderwoman JoCasta Zamarripa is receiving a salary from the Wisconsin Legislature and Milwaukee City Hall. In April, the Democratic state Assembly member was elected to the Milwaukee Common Council as the first Latina and first openly out member of the LGBTQ community.

On Tuesday, the Milwaukee Common Council narrowly confirmed the appointment of Claire Woodall-Vogg as the executive director of the Milwaukee Election Commission.

After an hour-long discussion, Woodall-Vogg was approved in a vote of 8 to 7. Woodall-Vogg’s appointment comes with a bit of urgency as the Aug. 11 partisan primary draws near.

The job was open because former Executive Director Neil Albrecht announced plans to retire. Mayor Tom Barrett appointed Woodall-Vogg to take Albrecht’s place.

It had been two weeks since Gov. Tony Evers and state public health officials summoned the press to discuss the status of the coronavirus in Wisconsin. But Tuesday was not a case of 'no news is good news,' cases of the coronavirus are on the rise. And for the first time, Evers and his colleagues wore face masks as they addressed their virtual audience.

Even had Evers and top state health officials not had their faces shielded by masks because of a new Dane County mandate, it’s unlikely they would have had upbeat expressions.

A federal program trying to recruit 1 million people for medical research is launching an effort to learn more about COVID-19. The Medical College of Wisconsin and some other health care outlets in the state are part of the program called All of Us. 

All of Us began during the Obama administration and could cost $1.5 billion nationally over a 10-year period.

A vigil was held in Milwaukee Monday night calling for justice for a female U.S Army soldier who served at Fort Hood in Texas. Pfc. Vanessa Guillen, 20, was bludgeoned to death and dismembered.

There’s been an outcry around the nation as people say Guillen complained of sexual harassment by another soldier, and that the military doesn’t take such complaints seriously enough. Milwaukee activists gathered to demand change and accountability.

Updated Thursday at 7:33 a.m. CT

A man armed with a shotgun was killed by VA police as he tried to enter a Milwaukee veterans hospital, according to Department of Veterans Affairs officials.

The man was stopped by VA police outside an entrance to the Clement J. Zablocki Medical Center in Milwaukee at about 8:40 p.m. on Monday. Police ordered him to drop his gun, but he refused and threatened police, who fired multiple shots, authorities said.

The coronavirus pandemic has many of us feeling unsure. How far is far enough when social distancing? How clean is clean enough?

Milwaukee-area entrepreneur Todd Muderlak thinks the coronavirus is changing the way people approach sanitation — and he’s developed products he hopes will fill a void.

Standing in the middle of his Glendale headquarters off Port Washington Road, Muderlak says as a kid he surrounded by his dad’s creations, including washroom innovations.

Milwaukee County officials are projecting a $10 million budget deficit for the 15,000-acre county parks system this year due to health restrictions triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic. County leaders are hoping that citizen volunteers will — literally — lend a hand.

Despite renewed concerns about COVID-19 over the last two weeks, Milwaukee County continues to reopen facilities at some of its roughly 155 park sites. On July 4, wading pools or splash pads opened at eight parks, including Cooper on Milwaukee's northwest side and Jacobus Park in Wauwatosa.

The Milwaukee Common Council's Public Safety and Health Committee is urging the Fire and Police Commission to adopt a number of changes in police procedures and recruitment efforts.

At Thursday’s special meeting, Alderman Khalif Rainey said he wants Milwaukee police to be required to report every time they pull their gun, mace or taser while on duty. Under Rainey’s proposal, officers would also have to report where the incident occurred.

In June, some local students were named finalists in the national NPR Student Podcast Challenge.

Health officials are issuing the standard safety warnings about using fireworks use this week. It may be though that more people should be listening to those warnings as more residents of Wisconsin and the nation, for various reasons, may be setting off their own fireworks.

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced a lot of community fireworks displays to be canceled, or altered so people don't gather in one area. If people still need a fireworks fix, one place they can go to buy their own is the West Frontage Road along Interstate 94 in Caledonia. 

Milwaukee Public Schools is seeking feedback from families and staff about how to reopen in the fall, as the coronavirus pandemic continues.

The survey is available online and closes on July 8. It asks families whether they want their kids to be back in classrooms, stick with virtual learning, or do a combination. And it asks staff whether they feel comfortable returning to schools and what safety measures are important to them.