Author: Wisconsin Public Radio

Most of Wisconsin has breathed cleaner air over the last several years, according to the American Lung Association. But, the group gave failing grades to six counties along Lake Michigan over smog pollution as part of its annual national report card on the state of air quality. Overall, Wisconsin is seeing fewer days with high ozone levels. But, the report gave a failing grade to Kenosha, Manitowoc, Milwaukee, Ozaukee, Racine and Sheboygan counties for the highest number of days with poor air quality due to smog. That’s down from eight counties in the group’s 2018 air quality report. The...

Wisconsin’s population remained mostly steady over the past 10 years, so it will not lose any seats in Congress during the upcoming redistricting process, the U.S. Census Bureau announced on April 26. The state’s population increased about 4 percent between 2010 and 2020 to roughly 5.9 million people, according to data released as part of the Census Bureau’s population count. The data is the first set of numbers to be released from the 2020 census. Because of the small population change, Wisconsin will continue to have eight seats in the U.S. House of Representatives, the number it has had...

A Milwaukee Common Council committee has approved a settlement with former Milwaukee Bucks player Sterling Brown, who sued the city over a 2018 incident with police. Per the settlement, Brown will receive $750,000 and an apology from the city and the Milwaukee Police Department. Brown originally requested that the city acknowledge it violated his constitutional rights, however, the term isn’t included in the approved settlement, which will need to be finalized by the Common Council and the mayor. “I know this case is not just about Sterling Brown and about the incident that happened that night, so I’m hoping...

February 18 — the day NASA’s Perseverance Rover landed on Mars — was an emotional rollercoaster of a day for Darian Dixon. The landing is the most dangerous part of Perseverance’s mission to take detailed pictures to help scientists search for evidence of life on the red planet. Dixon, who as the Mastcam-Z data management lead is responsible for getting those images to Earth, anxiously watched the pivotal moment from home. “I couldn’t take my hands off my face,” he said. “My eyes wide, tapping my foot, pacing. I ate all the food in the house out of stress....