Author: Staff

Longtime Milwaukee educator and fair housing advocate, Mildred L. Harpole passed away on October 24. A native of Cleveland, Mildred moved to Milwaukee to attend Marquette University from which she graduated in 1956. She became one of the first African American women in Milwaukee to receive a law degree which she earned from Western Reserve Law School, now Case Western Reserve University. “Mildred Harpole was a powerhouse and civil rights champion in our community. Alongside her husband, Reuben, Mildred founded numerous organizations and community centers, impacting countless lives in our city,” said Mayor Tom Barrett. “she was no stranger...

Research found the link was so strong that about half of gun violence perpetration and victimization was attributable to blood lead levels. A new study from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee shows a link between childhood exposure to lead and later gun violence. These results suggest even greater urgency to tackling childhood lead exposure and addressing the environmental injustice of vulnerable children experiencing a toxic exposure that they cannot control. “This is the first study to look specifically at the link between childhood lead exposure and gun violence,” said Lindsay Emer, the primary author. “Effective lead exposure prevention strategies already...

“In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit.” When J.R.R. Tolkien, a brilliant Oxford professor, published The Hobbit in 1937, he was far from imagining that his stories would lead to his becoming one of the most important literary figures of the 20th century. Marquette University’s original manuscripts and drawings by author J.R.R. Tolkien will be on display at the National Library of France in Paris as part of the exhibition “Tolkien, Journey to Middle-earth,” October 22, 2019 to Februar 16, 2020. Marquette loaned 80 pieces of its collection of Tolkien works to the library for the...

A comprehensive new exhibition at the Milwaukee Art Museum will mark the fiftieth anniversary of renowned printing and publishing workshop Landfall Press. On view since October 3, “Landfall Press: Five Decades of Printmaking” celebrates and explore the uniquely collaborative work environment at Landfall and highlight Landfall’s continued significant impact on the world of contemporary printmaking. “The Landfall Press exhibition and the Landfall Press Archive both present a wide range of subjects and styles, and several of the works redefine what a print can be,” said Nikki Otten, Associate Curator of Prints and Drawings, Milwaukee Art Museum. “The diversity of...

Governor Tony Evers signed bipartisan legislation, Senate Bill 266 – known as the “duty death” benefit bill, now 2019 Wisconsin Act 19, into law on October 16. The bill had bipartisan support with a 33-0 vote in the Senate and 96-0 in the Assembly. Three widows of officers killed in the line of duty testified to the Senate Committee on Judiciary and Public Safety, even though the bill was not retroactive and would not benefit them. The bill ensures that the surviving immediate family of fallen state and local law enforcement officers, firefighters, and EMS first responders continue to...