Author: Public Radio

An estimated 80% of people needing treatment for substance abuse in Wisconsin are not either seeking it or receiving it. Latinos in particular experience a number of barriers to care for a number of reasons, including English proficiency, work demands, a lack of funds, and legal status. Statistics from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health show that over 90% of the Hispanic individuals surveyed reported that they didn’t get help because they didn’t feel they needed treatment. “Language barriers is probably one of the main reasons why people don’t seek treatment,” explained Maria Perez, vice president for...

Hmong people make up the largest group of Asians in Milwaukee. In fact, the Hmong population across Wisconsin is the third largest in the country, behind California and Minnesota. Chia Vang, a historian at UW-Milwaukee, said the difference about Wisconsin’s Hmong community is that the population is spread across the state and not concentrate. So, why did Hmong people decide to resettle in Wisconsin and not cluster together like other immigrant communities? “They actually don’t choose where they want to go. In fact, most refugees have no idea where these states are and no frame of reference. For the...

In the popular imagination, American history exists in a narrative of self-congratulatory. Events of the past are frequently filtered through a majority lens, focusing on the perceived heroics of white abolitionists and civil rights activists. To hear some people explain it, the civil rights struggle of the 1960s ended when President Lyndon B. Johnson indulged Martin Luther King Jr. by signing the Civil Rights and Voting Rights acts, after which racism was solved and everything was better forever. This is an example of why most Americans are generally unfamiliar with Reconstruction, the period of time afterward that is sometimes...

The Milwaukee Public Museum has narrowed the search for its new home from 10 to four sites in downtown Milwaukee, according to MPM President and CEO Ellen Censky. The museum plans to move from its current Milwaukee County-owned building at 800 W. Wells Street to a new building. It has been considering future sites since 2015. Censky, who was named CEO on June 11, said one of her first steps will be to make sure the museum thrives in its current location, so museum leadership can make the case for relocation. “We’re very committed to continuing to serve that...

Preparations are picking up steam as Milwaukee gets ready for the Democratic National Convention next summer. A cherry picker has been parked at the corner of Water and Wisconsin. Worker are using it to drilling holes into the side of a tall brick building, three stories up. The former office complex is going to be the new home of a Drury Hotel. The tourism group VISIT Milwaukee estimates 50,000 people will pour into the city for the Democratic National Convention, which runs from July 13 to 16 of next year. The Democratic National Committee sought a guarantee of 16,000...

After months of watching more than 6,000 entry videos, the judges of the fifth annual Tiny Desk Contest have chosen a winner, but sadly not someone from Milwaukee. Quinn Christopherson is a singer-songwriter from Anchorage, Alaska who writes with emotional depth and a powerful sense of perspective. In his 2019 Contest entry video, “Erase Me,” Christopherson muses about his complicated experience with privilege as a transgender man. He performs in front of a painting of Denali at the Anchorage Museum, accompanied by his friend, Nick Carpenter, on guitar. “I got so used to pulling the short stick / I...