African Americans make up the majority of residents arrested on charges of violating Milwaukee’s stay-at-home order, data show.
Category: Coronavirus Coverage
Wisconsin Watch’s reporters and editors are investigating state and local impacts of the global pandemic and issues related to quality of life in Wisconsin. Also follow our Wisconsin COVID-19 Update — a roundup of top news and information about Wisconsin’s response to the coronavirus.
As the nation reckons with race, a mother awaits unemployment aid — and Wisconsin officials lack research
National research shows jobless Black and Latino workers are less likely than white workers to receive aid. Experts say Wisconsin should study the issue.
Lives on hold: Pandemic exposes failures of Wisconsin unemployment insurance system
Wisconsin has failed to deliver unemployment aid to thousands at a time when they most need it. The crisis was years in the making.
Study: Poll closings, COVID-19 fears, kept many Milwaukee voters away
The Brennan Center for Justice says Black voters were particularly disenfranchised when the city cut polling places during the pandemic.
Photos: Fury and resolve as Wisconsinites rally for Black lives
Over the past few weeks as furor over the killing of George Floyd spread around the country, rallies and protests took place in Wisconsin communities both large and small. Here are scenes from some of the peaceful protests that our photographers have captured.
Milwaukee County on pace to top overdose record again in 2020
The pandemic has left many who struggle with substance abuse out of work, creating roadblocks to recovery.
Reversing course: Wisconsin seeks federal OK to aid the unemployed with disabilities
Wisconsin has denied federal pandemic aid to workers on federal disability who lost their jobs. The state’s top employment official now seeks a reversal.
Introducing Jessica Barrera: A single mom reflects on returning to work during the pandemic
The 40-year-old single mother shares a $900 per-month apartment with her 10-year-old son Niko. She lost her job due to the pandemic, and was denied an unemployment insurance claim because she also receives federal disability benefits.
Introducing 85-year-old Beverly Blietz: ‘I grieve for the time that’s being wasted’
Last summer Blietz spent her spare time driving for Uber in northern Wisconsin. This summer she found her movements restricted due to the rules of the independent living facility where she lives in Sister Bay, Wis.
Introducing Milwaukee entrepreneur and baker Adija Greer-Smith: ‘I’ve poured my life into this business’
Having just opened her bakery business in November 2018, Confectionately Yours, Adija Greer-Smith was prepared for a lot of things to go wrong, but didn’t anticipate a pandemic.
‘I cried for days’: Wisconsin blocks pandemic payments for federal disability aid recipients
A 2013 Wisconsin law prevents laid-off workers on federal disability from getting state unemployment. Now the state is denying them federal pandemic aid too.
Wisconsin’s coronavirus eviction ban has expired. Here’s what renters need to know.
The end of a pause on evictions has triggered fears that many renters will lose housing.