Friday night’s Urban News Journal live show covered a lot of ground: a governor’s race that could make Wisconsin history, a gun-violence number every Milwaukee parent needs to hear, an honest accountability update, a Brewers playoff push, and a look at how VA Milwaukee is reaching veterans who feel forgotten. Watch the full episode and listen on Spotify below, then read the breakdown.
Watch the Full Episode
Listen on Spotify
Wisconsin’s First Black Governor?
David Crowley’s photo-finish primary win is official, and now he’s facing U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany for governor in November. If Crowley wins, he becomes Wisconsin’s first Black governor. Both campaigns are leaning on talking points right now, Crowley calling Tiffany a MAGA extremist, Tiffany saying there’s no real difference between Crowley and the more progressive wing of his own party. Neither talking point tells you what either man will actually do for this state.
Here’s what’s actually at stake for Milwaukee: Crowley leaves the county executive’s office if he wins, and that seat controls MCTS funding, the jail, and county health services, the same governance mess we’ve been covering for weeks. Wisconsin decides statewide races by less than a point almost every time. Your vote here isn’t symbolic. It’s the whole ballgame.
4,100+ Shootings Near Milwaukee Schools
A new analysis puts Milwaukee second-worst in the country for shootings near schools, over 4,100 of them. This week alone brought a man charged with shooting a pregnant woman during an argument and two men shot and killed in a separate incident. We’re not going to sensationalize that number and we’re not going to bury it.
If you know anything about a shooting in this city, call MPD at (414) 935-7360 or Crime Stoppers at (414) 224-TIPS, anonymous, no name required. If you’re a parent and this scares you, that fear is information, not irrationality. Use it to talk to your kids about how they get home.
Accountability Watch: The Honest Version
Three weeks ago we told you about a certified-mail letter to seven offices demanding a real after-action report on the August 17 State Fair incident. Tonight’s update, straight: those letters still haven’t been mailed. Certified mail to seven offices costs real money, and that’s the holdup, plain and simple. No countdown clock is running, and we’re not going to pretend one is just because it makes better content.
What is real: two direct press inquiries we sent August 19. State Fair Park’s press desk got theirs, no reply yet. West Allis PD’s bounced and still needs to go out again. We’ll tell you the day the letters actually mail. Not before.
Brewers Chasing October
Milwaukee’s in the thick of a September playoff push, with a key series against the Cubs on deck. This city could use a good October after a heavy news year, and a packed stadium is good for Milwaukee’s spirit and its small businesses alike.
VA Milwaukee Reaches for Rural Veterans
VA Milwaukee’s mental health outreach, including chaplain services, is working to reach veterans in small towns far from the nearest VA facility. As a veteran himself, Marcus put it plainly on air: asking for help doesn’t break you. Carrying it alone does. The Milwaukee VA Health System and the Milwaukee Veterans Stand Down Network both have resources built for exactly this.
This Weekend in MKE
Saturday: Walk to Break the Sickle Cycle at Dineen Park, 11am-3pm, raising awareness for sickle cell disease. Sunday: Jazz Jam at The Amani Place, 5-8pm, bring an instrument or just bring yourself.
Never miss an episode. Get the honest version of Milwaukee’s news twice a week, straight to your inbox. Subscribe free to the Urban News Journal newsletter.
Urban News Journal. Independent. Objective. Unafraid.