Special Projects

When Melissa Thornton, 34, made her friend Scott a sweatshirt as a Christmas gift, she hardly knew what would become of it. It was a basic hoodie with two words printed on it: Milwaukee Home. “He loved it, he wore it out, and people asked where he got it,” says Thornton. The requests prompted Thornton […]

Mounds of scar tissue and vast expanses of ink cover Carly Johnston’s body — a constant reminder of an inner hell. For her, it is the unseen wounds which are the deepest. A scar on her chest represents a moment in her life she will never forget. Infrared burns are all remaining of her rapist — his […]

If you own a cow in Wisconsin and you milk her, store and cool that milk in a tank, bottle it, and sell it, you’re a criminal in the eyes of the state, at least since 1949, when it was decreed in Wisconsin that milk must be pasteurized, or cooked, to kill off contaminating bacteria, […]

Even with the city’s architectural and economic growth since the recession — it hasn’t been happy days for every Milwaukee citizen. Full story: multimedia website

Complete coverage: multimedia website Oversized camouflaged backpacks cover the floor of the UWM Center for Military and Veteran students. It’s crowded, loud and filled to capacity. Dave Tucek sits in his office chair and looks over the state legislation he helped create with Sen. Robert Cowles to give veterans and military students priority registration and […]

Complete coverage: multimedia website A group of fifteen waiters and waitresses dressed in freshly pressed button ups and starched black slacks sit comfortably around a white marble bar. Fresh flowers in sparkling crystal vases don the counter and surrounding tables. A wood-fire stove crackles behind the bar and chefs in white aprons and toques shuffle […]

Complete coverage: multimedia website As winter weather fades and spring approaches, Lifestriders horse stable remains a warm environment year round. Young riders appear one by one. Each bundled in layers of clothing, thick heavy jackets and their helmets strapped tight. Tiny dust particles collect on clothing while the smells of hay and animals fill the […]

Complete coverage: multimedia project Clipboard in hand, pens at the ready, UW-Milwaukee student Angela Lang halted other students as they made the trek along the sidewalk from UWM’s architecture building to Lapham Hall. All around her, music blared and vendors handed out free food and energy drinks, but she wasn’t interested in any of that. […]

Complete coverage: multimedia website The symptoms began six years ago in his hand and gradually progressed up his arm. After months of living under a grey cloud, he scheduled an appointment at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. He was tested, poked and probed for four days. At the end of his visit he sat […]

Complete coverage: multimedia website A quaint little shop with a yellow neon sign that reads “folk instruments” features guitars in the window. The store looks like a dwarf compared to the surrounding shops, bars and restaurants that fill the busy intersection of North Avenue and 69th Street in Wauwatosa. Inside, the atmosphere is a contrast to […]

Complete coverage: multimedia website The wrestling mats are laid out, swept off, bleached and taped down at Greenfield High School. Tables are set at each mat with the typical red versus blue scorecards and the ubiquitous stopwatch you might see hanging from your gym teacher’s neck. Competitors line up to weigh in and pick a […]