Seeing a production of the Nutcracker is a holiday tradition for many Wisconsinites. For fans of the classical ballet – there's an opportunity to not just watch a performance of the Nutcracker but actually immerse yourself in the story.

You can do it on a visit to the Paine Art Center and Gardens in Oshkosh. That’s where we’re headed for this month’s Wandering Wisconsin. Lake Effect’s Becky Mortensen is joined by Aaron Sherer from the Paine Art Center and Amanda Weibel with Travel Wisconsin.

A massive data center campus is being constructed in Port Washington. Elected officials there say the project will be a boon for the community, but not all residents are on board. Some are concerned about the environmental impact, their bills and quality of life. WUWM has been exploring this data center debate, and today we look at buildings.

Vantage Data Centers is the company building this campus. It has purchased more than 100 properties in Port Washington – which means some buildings need to go. That’s where David DeVooght (duh-VOHT) comes in. He moves buildings for a living. He sees this land purchase as an opportunity to reuse existing structures rather than have them end up in a landfill. WUWM’s environmental reporter Susan Bence met with DeVooght to learn about his work.

The rates of depression, anxiety and PTSD are higher among physicians compared to the general population. Unfortunately, this problem is not improving, as at least one physician in the U.S. dies by suicide every day. Despite the proven effectiveness of treating mental health conditions, most physicians don’t seek help. So why does this treatment gap exist - and what barriers are preventing it from closing?

Dr. Jesse Ehrenfeld looked into this issue firsthand and co-authored a study that shares a few solutions to reduce barriers to mental health care for physicians. Dr. Ehrenfeld joins me now to share more, and starts by explaining why mental health challenges are prevalent among physicians and others in the medical field. A note to our listeners - this conversation has mentions of suicide.

For decades, racially restrictive covenants were a common part of deeds for Milwaukee-area homes. These were clauses that typically restricted properties from being sold to non-white people. Although these covenants have been illegal since the Fair Housing Act was passed in 1968 - their legacy remains in the high segregation we see throughout the Milwaukee-area.

An ongoing project headed by UW-Milwaukee professors Derek Handley and Anne Bonds, is mapping out where these racially restrictive covenants were, and where they remain in some property deeds. They join me now to talk about their work - Derek, Anne, thank you both so much for joining us on Lake Effect.

College instructors are facing quieter classrooms: few questions, little debate between students, not much feedback. Educators place some blame on the pandemic and virtual learning. Others point to social media. This class of college freshmen were born around 2006. So it’s safe to say they’ve seen their fair share of people fighting online.

Dr. Amelia Zurcher is trying to correct that. She launched a civic discourse curriculum three years ago to help teach students how to disagree with one another. WUWM education reporter Katherine Kokal spoke with her about the program and how disagreements about campus speech are taking shape.

For more than a century, an invasive species has been literally sucking the life out of the Great Lakes. They’re known as sea lampreys. After nearly decimating commercial fishing operations in the early 20th Century, a management program was created to keep the lampreys at bay.

It’s been successful: the number of sea lampreys has been reduced by 90% since the program first began. But the work has been on-going and now cuts to the federal program are threatening that progress. Journalist Katie Thornton tagged along with some of the people doing this work, and wrote about it for The New Yorker. She joins Lake Effect’s Joy Powers, along with Mark Gaden, the executive secretary of the Great Lakes Fishery Commission, whose work was featured in the piece.

Some local officials are calling to defund it. Others want to expand it. But they’re running into trouble doing that because of a 2023 state legislative package.

WUWM’s Maayan Silver jumped on the Hop with Jeremy Jannene, president of Urban Milwaukee, to learn how the Hop is funded and what’s on the table for the future.

Wisconsin’s FoodShare is funded by SNAP, which was frozen November 1st, because of the longest federal government shutdown in history. Three federal judges have ordered funding to be restored, at least in part.

That led to Wisconsin and some other states issuing November FoodShare benefits. But the Trump administration says states shouldn't have done that. College students are among FoodShare users who’ve been caught in the middle.

UW-Milwaukee says the FoodShare freeze came on top of October cuts to paychecks and other benefits, caused by the government shutdown. That means a growing number of UWM students are using the campus Food Center & Pantry.