Residents in Opposition: Caledonia

From the mysterious “Project Nova” to Microsoft backing down to community criticism, residents opposed to a data center in the small village of Caledonia were victorious. On Oct. 8, Microsoft announced it would no longer pursue 244 acres of land for a data center. The project was originally going to accompany the tech giant’s much […]

Two Wisconsin Mayors Grapple With the Data Center Gold Rush

From Menomonie to Port Washington to Caledonia, tech companies have been eyeing Wisconsin towns and cities as sites for the next generation of artificial intelligence data centers – megastructures poised to drive the future of computing. While some mayors and community leaders welcomed the ventures, others have remained skeptical. Media Milwaukee interviewed two such leaders, […]

Ghost Town or Revival: The Future of Port Washington’s Data Center

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 […]

All Power Lines Lead to Port Washington

On the night of the Oct. 7 Port Washington Common Council meeting, hundreds of residents crowded the entrance, attempting to enter the chambers to express their concerns about the proposed Artificial Intelligence (AI) Data Center in Port Washington. Many were unable to get inside, and the media were barred from entering for more than 30 minutes after the meeting began.  […]

Foxconn and AI: How History Rhymes

Earlier this year, the Port Washington Common Council announced its controversial partnership with Vantage Data Centers, based out of Denver, to build a new AI data center for OpenAI, north of the town. This announcement was met with uproar from residents in Port Washington and the surrounding communities with fear about how this data center […]

Lead Linked to Criminal Activity in Milwaukee

Milwaukee is struggling handling its lead crisis, with it devastating its most vulnerable residents and having long-lasting impacts on children. In recent studies, lead has been linked to criminal activity in Milwaukee. According to Amy Kalkbrenner, a professor of public health at University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee’s Zilber College, lead primarily affects children’s brain cognitive abilities and […]

Revisiting The Lost Class

The first thing Daran Wiley wanted to be was an astrophysicist, according to his mother Rashawn McKenzie. He even dressed as one for a school event one year. “He came home and he was like, ‘Mom, I want to be an astrophysicist and if you don’t know what it means, it’s okay, I can tell […]

UWM 2025 Annual Security Report: For Better Or Worse

MILWAUKEE-The 2025 Annual Security Report shows the effects of major crimes that occurred on the UW-Milwaukee campus. Burglaries, rape, domestic violence and car thefts have been shown as some of the most superior crimes around campus area, which were alarming to the UWM community. From 2022- 2024, the Milwaukee Police Department reported seven crimes were […]

Wisconsin Human Society Overrun with Stray Cats

Everywhere you look, there seems to be a trail of chaos, the yarn of life tangled, and there are too many complicated things to focus on, but in every small snag, an unsung hero is waiting.  Despite the public’s fondness for cats growing, the animal stray count seems to be constantly rising. Volunteers at Humane […]

Thailand vs. Cambodia: The Airstrike That Led to Deaths Along the Border

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia – On Oct. 26, at the 47th ASEAN Summit, Malaysia, Thailand, and Cambodia’s prime ministers shook hands with U.S. President Donald Trump after they agreed to a peaceful ceasefire between Thailand and Cambodia’s escalating tension around their border. Just this week, Thailand and Cambodia’s century-old dispute erupted again, two weeks after they signed the […]