Articles by Mary Jo Contino

In January 2016, a transgender woman — a student at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee — was asked to leave the women’s locker room at the fitness center. When she filed a complaint, UW-Milwaukee’s provost said she was welcome to use the locker room, but only if she covered up her “non-conforming genitalia.” LGBTQ experts say the […]

Inside a mid-sized, ornate home in Glendale, Wisconsin lives Howard Melton and his wife Evelyn. They have a quiet life. Howard is semi-retired from his family-run business while Evelyn works at home to care for Howard after his recent heart and back surgeries. Howard remains in relative good health, cracking jokes with Evelyn and spending […]

College is expensive. That is a well-known fact. College also creates debt. Lots of it. Over a trillion in the U.S., in fact. The measures students take to rid themselves of their ever steepening mountain of debt typically range from working part/full time jobs to applying for scholarships. That doesn’t quite do the trick anymore. […]

Dressed in all black, a woman holding a photo of a young girl bowed her head during a vigil for peace put on during the Walker’s Square Point Dia De Los Muertos celebration. The girl in the photo was Izabel Laxamana, a 13-year-old who killed herself after sending a suggestive selfie to a boy and […]

Gov. Scott Walker vetoed a provision in the biennial state budget on Sunday that would have turned all probationary contracts for academic staff in the UW System into fixed-term contracts. The Legislature would have mandated the elimination of indefinite status, the non-PhD equivalent of tenure, for about 158  academic staff at UW-Milwaukee, as well as more […]

There are 158 employees at UW-Milwaukee whose probationary terms could be switched to fixed term contracts – likely two years long – if the full Legislature approves a Joint Finance Committee measure ordering the Regents to eliminate indefinite status for academic staff in the UW System. As a result, they are on what the chancellor […]

About two weeks after a UW-Milwaukee journalism class began searching for a photo of Robert Wisch, who died in Vietnam, a phone call came from a Florida area code. It was Kathleen Henkelman. His sister. “Bobby was my second oldest brother,” she said. Did she have any photos of Robert that she could perhaps scan […]

This story is part of a series of Milwaukee homicide sentencings being covered this spring by UWM journalism students. You can read other student stories about this sentencing here. At a Milwaukee courthouse hearing Friday afternoon, Melvin Jones, 17, was sentenced to 25 years in prison with 10 years extended supervision after entering a guilty plea […]

The Milwaukee Art Museum put on a special exhibition of couture gowns and fashions that helped redefine beauty for African American women. Media Milwaukee reporter Mary Jo Contino gives a recap on Inspiring Beauty: 50 Years of Ebony Fashion Fair.

Presidential and vice presidential candidates for the UWM Student Association all voiced concern over the Governor Walker’s proposed budget cuts to the UW System in a campus debate Thursday, but several challengers argued for a more aggressive approach in getting the SA message out and connecting with faculty. One presidential candidate, Franco Ferrante, focused his […]

Rhena Ripley is just like any “normal” student at the University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee. She enjoys spending time with friends, volunteering, drinking coffee, and exploring the city. She is a social work major and has very detailed plans for her future. She’s also physically disabled and has been confined to a wheelchair since age […]

Winter isn’t the easiest time to find fresh produce in Wisconsin, except at the Milwaukee County Winter Farmer’s Market, an increasingly popular venue for local farmers.