Special Projects

The sun blazed down on a hot August morning in Milwaukee. Temperatures reached their highest of 1975 just the day after, made to feel even hotter just miles away from Milwaukee’s industrial corridor on the city’s west side. Under the covered porch of a white two-story duplex, sat Dontray Hunter, just 23 days from his […]

About 32,711 people have gone missing in the City of Milwaukee in the last 10 years, according to the Milwaukee Police Department. At any given time, about 500 people are actively missing in Milwaukee. Many are people of color, yet very few make the news. In 2024 through Oct. 15, 2,466 people were reported missing […]

“She was outgoing, she was a hard worker, she put her kids first.” Niko Nunez was only 14 when his mother, Susan Nunez, disappeared from her house in Milwaukee. “She was the life of the party for the holidays; she made everybody happy,” Niko told Media Milwaukee. Susan D. Nunez was reported missing to the […]

On Tuesday, June 28, 2022, at 12:45 p.m., Tanesha L. Howard, the mother of Joniah Walker, 15, walked into a Milwaukee police district station to update authorities on information regarding her missing daughter. Joniah’s family said there were cameras and that Walker was observed on a Ring camera. She was last seen walking away from […]

This is the story of a teenage girl, described as exceptionally intelligent, who left her Milwaukee home in her brother’s clothes. She turned the corner on a Ring camera and was never seen again. Joniah Walker went missing on June 23, 2022; she was only 15-years-old at the time. Joniah was a sophomore at Riverside […]

In the City of Milwaukee, at any given time there are 500 open missing person cases in Officer Jamie Sromalla’s caseload. Since becoming a police officer seven years ago, Sromalla came into the Sensitive Crime Unit in July of 2024, and ever since than she’s made an effort to help families of missing persons. “This position […]

What began as neighborhood cleanups quickly transformed into a role as an award-winning radio host and “the most requested advocate in the state of Wisconsin.” Tory Lowe magnifies community voices whose loved ones go missing and uses his platform to help find them. The story of the man inside the community and behind the microphone. […]

Carvell Jennings could fix anything, especially when it came to cars. This was something he made sure to instill in his only daughter, Ebony Jennings. He taught her how to change her own tires and check her own oil. As Ebony grew up on Hampton Avenue in Milwaukee, her dad was known as the neighborhood […]

Most nights at Old Guard Games, a gaming store across the street from the UWM campus, there is some kind of open play event. Here, experienced fans or total newcomers can stop by and play some tabletop games. On Wednesday nights, the event is Bloodbowl, a miniatures game based on American football made by Games […]

In this short documentary, Stephen Wielebski introduces us to a non-profit organization called Special Methods In Learning Equine Skills Incorporated (SMILES Inc.). Based in Darrien, WI, SMILES has a 35-acre riding facility that provides joy to individuals with special needs of all ages through equine-assisted therapies.

In this short documentary, Bill Stauber introduces us to Madison-based band .zipbomb. While it is a small band, they are planning to perform at a show on December 29th. The band’s weeknight rehearsals, which run for nearly three hours, help them find the things that work, the ones that don’t, and the places they need […]