WUWM News

People will soon be allowed to smoke marijuana in Illinois. The law was passed in May and will take effect in January 2020. That could spark a whole new type of "weed tourism," where Wisconsinites travel south to use the drug.

So, what do people traveling through this state need to know about possessing marijuana or even driving after ingesting it?

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.

In his new book, The Years That Matter Most: How College Makes or Breaks Us, education writer Paul Tough dismantles the myth of college as a pure meritocracy. Instead, he makes the case that the U.S. higher education system reinforces class and racial inequalities.

Research shows that a college degree, especially from an elite institution, increases one's chances of social mobility. But the people who could most benefit — low-income, first-generation, and black and Hispanic students — often don’t get those opportunities.

It’s that time of year again when lawmakers are deliberating budget proposals from the city of Milwaukee and Milwaukee County. This year the county caught some fortuitous breaks whereas the city is struggling to cover soaring pension costs. But both are calling for raising the sales tax as a tenable way forward. 

Entrepreneurs and people from the Milwaukee’s Harambee neighborhood toured city-owned, vacant business buildings Thursday. The goal is to get business back in Harambee.

According to Aldwerwoman Milele Coggs, the so-called “Buy Back the Block tour” is a chance to be more creative with building showings.

There are a lot of vacant commercial buildings in the north Milwaukee neighborhood of Harambee. In fact, Harambee along with Metcalfe Park has the most vacant buildings in the city.

However, a new effort is underway to change those numbers.

Gov. Tony Evers' administration has been promoting action on climate change since his inauguration day in January. In Milwaukee Thursday, Evers took a step toward tangible action.

He announced the creation of a task force charged with coming up with recommendations to combat climate change.

Where do you go when you're homeless and you're being forced to relocate from the shelter you found under a bridge? That's the dilemma that dozens of people who have been living in a homeless camp, or "tent city," in downtown Milwaukee are facing. 

State officials have ordered campers to vacate the area near 6th and Clybourn streets by the end of the October, so work on a stormwater runoff project can begin. The camp started with a few makeshift shelters a couple years ago but has grown to more than 60 tents.  

Milwaukee-area photographer Corey Fells has unveiled a new documentary and photography series – and this time, he's putting men under the spotlight. His name may be familiar because we met Fells at the beginning of the year, when he introduced his “100 Womxn Project.” That project highlighted millennial women of color in Milwaukee.

The 11th annual Milwaukee Film Festival kicks off Thursday and it includes a program called Cine Sin Fronteras (or Cinema Without Borders). The program, which showcases Latino stories, includes nine feature films and three short pre-feature films. 

Claudia Guzman and Jeanette Martin are two programmers of Cine Sin Fronteras. Guzman says inclusion is the guiding philosophy that defines what Cine Sin Fronteras hopes to accomplish. 

Updated at 8:50 p.m. CT

Milwaukee County Executive Chris Abele announced Wednesday that he's not running for re-election. This comes after announcing his 2020 re-election campaign in May. 

We Energies says it's time to increase its electric rates. But critics say customers will be paying more while the utility remains too reliant on polluting energy sources like coal.

Lincoln Hills is once again in the news.

The juvenile facility has been in the limelight for years, after allegations surfaced in 2014 of kids being physically and sexually abused and the ACLU filed a lawsuit over the use of solitary confinement and pepper spray.  

The local host committee for next summer's Democratic National Convention (DNC) in Milwaukee says it's still looking for money, hundreds of sites, and thousands of volunteers.

The convention runs July 13-16, 2020.

Officials have been trying to raise $70 million to pay for buses, parties and other things for the Democratic Party's presidential nomination event, including more than $20 million locally. Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett says the fundraising is coming along.

Gov. Tony Evers has declared the second Monday in October as Indigenous Peoples Day in Wisconsin — the day federally recognized as Columbus Day. The state joins a growing list of others, such as Minnesota and New Mexico, that have chosen to celebrate native peoples instead.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) thinks it's come up with a good formula to better protect Americans from lead in drinking water, calling it a major and much-needed overhaul. Officials unveiled the proposal Thursday in Green Bay. But concern is already bubbling up among those who feel the EPA changes aren't stringent enough.