Year In Review 2024: Navigating Milwaukee’s social injustice, family struggles, and historical lessons
2024 marked yet another year of profound social change and uncertainty for residents across Milwaukee. While the pandemic had faded into the background of public consciousness, the emotional and financial impact of COVID-19 continued to ripple through the local...
Santa Speaks: A Christmas Letter reflecting on conflicts, struggles, and small acts of hope in 2024
The children of the world write to me each year. They tell me what they want, what they dream of, and sometimes, what they fear. Their letters pile high in my workshop, each one a snapshot of hope and imagination. But this year, their words hit me differently. Their...
Exploring the mind of AI: Another interview with ChatGPT 4.0 about life, Milwaukee, and everything
As part of an April Fools’ Day feature for 2023, Milwaukee Independent conducted a groundbreaking Q&A interview with ChatGPT, an artificial intelligence program developed by OpenAI. At the time, ChatGPT 3.5 represented cutting-edge AI capabilities, and the...
The planet is choking in plastic waste as 57 million tons of it is pumped out each year
The world creates 57 million tons of plastic pollution every year and spreads it from the deepest oceans to the highest mountaintop to the inside of people’s bodies, according to a new study that also said more than two-thirds of it comes from the Global South....
From radiation to pollution: Godzilla at 70 still has an urgent environmental warning to humanity
By Amanda Kennell, Assistant Professor of East Asian Languages and Cultures, University of Notre Dame; Jessica McManus Warnell, Teaching Professor of Management and Organization, University of Notre Dame The 2024 Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded to Nihon Hidankyo,...
Milwaukee faith leaders unite to demand legislation to prevent gun violence after school shooting
A coalition of faith-based and community leaders gathered at Milwaukee’s City Hall on December 20 to address what they described as a preventable tragedy, the recent mass shooting at Abundant Life Christian School in Madison. Hosted by the 80% Coalition, an advocacy...
Protection Uncertainty: DACA recipients worry that they will be deported during another Trump term
Reyna Montoya was 10 when she and her family fled violence in Tijuana and illegally immigrated to the U.S. Growing up in Arizona, she worried even a minor traffic violation could lead to her deportation. She did not feel relief until 11 years later in 2012, when she...
Lack of decency: News media scolded by Wisconsin officials over feeding off pain of shooting victims
Wisconsin police did not plan any public updates on December 18 into the extremely rare religious school shooting that killed a teacher and a student and wounded six others, a day after the city’s mayor chastised reporters and urged them to leave victims alone....
Tech Tip: The process required for users to escape the hate factory of Elon Musk’s X platform
Since Elon Musk acquired Twitter, renamed it X, fired much of its staff, and made other big changes, a steady stream of celebrities, public figures, organizations, and ordinary people have quit the social media platform as it transformed into a toxic swamp of...
Wisconsin Gun Violence: Teacher and student fatally shot at a Christian school by 15-year-old girl
A 15-year-old student opened fire inside a study hall at a small Christian school in Wisconsin, killing a teacher and teenager and prompting a swarm of police officers responding to a second grader’s 911 call. The female student wounded six others during the...
David Crowley: Redefining Milwaukee County’s leadership through education as a new UWM graduate
It is not every day that a high-level elected official quietly attends classes, writes research papers, and sits side-by-side with traditional undergraduates while holding one of the most influential positions in local government. Yet Milwaukee County Executive David...
David Crowley: A look at the County Executive’s final week before graduating from UWM in photos
During the week leading up to Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley’s graduation from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, “Milwaukee Independent” documented Crowley’s intense balancing act, capturing moments that blended the responsibilities of public office with the pressures of completing a college degree.