Wisconsin Stories

Falcon Bowl is a bar, music hall and bowling alley in the Riverwest neighborhood of Milwaukee. It has been a local staple for at least the last 135 years. Throughout its history, it has served as a skating rink, movie theater and wedding venue. The bowling alley in the basement, added in 1915, is the […]

Cathy Spyres is a long-time active member of the Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church and works as the head of volunteers for the Doors Open Milwaukee event at the church. She’s lived in Milwaukee her entire life and was previously a member of Milwaukee’s first Greek Orthodox church. Skye Williams: Are you from the Milwaukee area? […]

This year marks the 175th anniversary of Forest Home Cemetery & Arboretum. To celebrate, staff handed out free cake to Doors Open Milwaukee visitors—including Sammi Linari, whose family has long worked in the funeral industry. The highlight of her day was seeing the upper Midwest’s first crematory. Built in 1896, the crematory is no longer […]

University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee graphic arts instructor Lauren Robertson takes in the beauty of the Riverside Theater as she sits in the audience. As she gets up from her first row seat, she requests the organist at the side of the stage, who’s playing music for the visitors, to perform “The Phantom of the Opera.” This […]

Kennan Ferguson is a professor at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee who studies and teaches political science. He talked with Aj Dagnon about the first months of the second Trump presidency. Aj Dagnon: Why do you believe we’ve seen inaction from the opposing political party? Kennan Ferguson: You’ve long had a number of people who consider […]

Ryan Sugden is an administrative assistant for the Journalism, Advertising, and Media Studies Program at UWM. He received a bachelor’s degree in the JAMS program and a master’s degree in Media Studies at UWM. Sugden believes that this new administration will affect him in the coming months and is worried for people he knows in […]

Jamal Perry, 31, is from Gary, Ind. Relocating to Milwaukee in his preteen years with just his mother, Perry graduated from UWM in 2015 and then went on to earn his Master’s in Public Health from Purdue University, a degree he thought would solidify his upward trajectory. Perry landed a job working for Wisconsin’s Department […]

Adam Guinee, 22, is a senior film major at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Guinee voted for Kamala Harris in the 2024 election and says United States political history informed his decision. Shannon Knowski: Can you tell me your overall feelings about the current administration and current political climate? Adam Guinee: My opinions on both are […]

Ronald Wielebski, 21, is a sophomore at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater majoring in cybersecurity. He is still processing the early stages of the new Trump administration, but he is not letting the new administration’s actions define how he and his friends live their lives. Stephen Wielebski: How has the new presidential administration affected your everyday […]

Josh Olson, 25, attended Grand Canyon University and majored in government with an emphasis in public policy. He works for a children’s camp and is raising a son with his wife. In the 2024 presidential election, Olson declined to vote for President Trump, even though he considers himself a conservative. Dorothy Carpenter: Can you tell […]

Manuel Cuevas-Silva is the child of immigrants who has lived in Milwaukee his whole life and is studying film at UWM. His family history and his upbringing in Milwaukee have shaped his political views. Aj Dagnon: Have your anxieties surrounding yourself and your family increased in the wake of the new administration? Manuel Cuevas-Silva: Definitely, […]