Articles by William Stauber Soik

The AI data center surge has stoked fears in communities across the United States, not just for their insatiable energy requirements, but also for the dramatic economic impact they have on the communities they occupy. Port Washington, Wisconsin, a town of roughly 13,000, stands at a crossroads as the issue swiftly hits the mainstream. The […]

AI’s rapid growth is driving a surge in massive data centers, boosting innovation but raising environmental concerns. Expanding energy and water demands strain local resources, while Big Tech’s dominance concentrates power. As AI infrastructure scales, questions about sustainability, accountability, and equitable access are becoming increasingly urgent for communities and policymakers. Believe it or not, a […]

People have been telling each other stories for thousands of years, from myths to poetry to the modern novel. Bill Stauber Soik explores the world of storytelling with five experts.

The Milwaukee Democratic Socialists of America are fighting to put the city’s energy infrastructure in the hands of the public. Since 2022, they’ve called the campaign Power to the People. Now they are running their first candidate for the city council. It’s a high-stakes race, and it will decide the future of the movement.

While application and enrollment trends tick upwards at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, funding cuts and other policies at the federal level spurred discussions in the UWM Faculty Senate about the university’s R1 status. “We want to do more than maintain our research status,” Chancellor Mark Mone said in an interview, “It won’t be easy in […]

Jaden Siegel does a quick check-up on his personal vehicle, putting to practice some of the things he has learned as an aspiring mechanic.

Demonstrators gathered in downtown Milwaukee shortly after the detention of Mahmoud Khalil, a pro-Palestinian student activist at Columbia University, and called for his release from US Immigration and Customs Enforcement.  A key figure in the pro-Palestine encampment at Columbia last spring, which sparked similar campus demonstrations across the nation, Khalil is now being processed in […]

Tucked away on the ground floor, the Studio Arts & Craft Centre is a corner of the UW-Milwaukee Student Union brimming with creativity. From Monday until Saturday, students and community members come to create, experiment and learn. A “Project of the Week” table welcomes everyone through its doors as people work well into the evening […]

Although the US appears to be heading toward a possible trade war, the steel and aluminum tariffs imposed Wednesday by the Trump administration may affect the job market and prices of goods on their own. The Trump administration’s 25% tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports drew quick responses from Canada and the European Union, […]

Sixty percent of Wisconsin adults favor President Donald Trump’s policy of deporting immigrants who are in the US illegally, according to a Marquette Law School national poll. Republican support for the policy was almost unanimous, with 93 percent favoring the deportation of immigrants in the US illegally, the poll found. Democrats, on the other hand, […]

Taylor Sager describes how one song was a refuge during her tumultuous adolescent years.

In this Faces of UWM podcast episode, UW-Milwaukee student Ethan Ainley tells why he took some time away from college.