Milwaukee hosted the Republican National Convention last year. City officials touted a potential economic windfall. Visit Milwaukee released a report claiming the event carried a 321-million-dollar economic impact.

But this number doesn’t include normal business that was crowded out by the RNC. Instead, it's a tally of what was spent by visitors and the cost of putting on the event.

Lake Effect’s Sam Woods looks at what’s in the report.

The Milwaukee Art Museum has a new leader at the helm. Kim Sajet was previously the director of the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery, where she worked to increase the representation of women and people of color in the collection. In May, President Trump claimed to have fired Sajet from the Smithsonian in part because of her work to diversify the collection.

Although the Smithsonian made it clear the president has no authority to fire employees of the institution, Sajet decided to resign from her position a couple weeks after the incident. But DC’s loss is Milwaukee’s gain. Sajet brings with her a wealth of knowledge and experience, and a desire to invigorate the Milwaukee Art Museum’s space with new community engagement efforts.

WUWM is examining systemic housing problems – and solutions – for more affordable housing. Milwaukee is trying to change its zoning code to encourage more affordable housing in the city. A piece of the plan to allow more new duplexes across the city has been stripped out. But a new change will allow for accessory dwelling units, or extra units above a garage or on the back half of a lot. So, will it bring housing costs down?

To find out, WUWM's Katherine Kokal is joined by Meg McMahan, the director of city planning for the city of Minneapolis, which made similar changes in 2018.

Wisconsin has about 400 miles of Lake Michigan shoreline. But a dispute in Shorewood has ignited a debate about who has access to that shoreline. The public can get to the water at Atwater Beach in Shorewood. But residents with homes to the north and south of that beach own everything down to the water’s edge. A Shorewood resident challenged that policy in municipal court earlier this month, and a judge will announce a ruling early next year.

This debate has been going on for decades and has been settled in other states, according to David Strifling. He’s an associate professor at Marquette University’s Law School. He joins WUWM environmental reporter Susan Bence to explain the Public Trust Doctrine.

This holiday season, you might be looking for an idea of what to give the readers in your life. Well, here at Lake Effect we have our own annual “books to gift” conversation to help you answer that.

We have two of Boswell Book Company’s book buyers in studio: Jason Kennedy who has book recommendations for adults, and Jen Steele who specializes in children’s books – to share some of the titles that stood out to them this past year.

Wisconsin’s school safety tip line received nearly seven-thousand tips last school year – mostly from students. Bullying was the most commonly reported issue to the Speak Up, Speak Out tip line, also referred to by its acronym SUSO. But threats of school violence or concerns about self harm are also reported to this line, such as the deadly shooting at Abundant Life Christian School in Madison one year ago.

To learn about how this works and when schools or parents become involved, WUWM education reporter Katherine Kokal is joined by the state’s head of the office of school safety, Trish Kilpin.

A note to our listeners this conversation touches on school violence and mentions suicide.

Playing games is a year-round hobby for some, but buying and exploring new games is also a great holiday tradition. And games are an everyday endeavor for freelance game designer and editor James Lowder. Every year he joins us to share his Games to Gift list - which includes everything from two-player games, RPGs, and tabletop games.

So whether you’re just curious about getting into gaming or looking for a gift for the serious gamer in your life, chances are Lowder has a suggestion for you.

He joins Lake Effect's Audrey Nowakowski to share more.

Today, the federal criminal trial starts for Judge Hannah Dugan. Dugan is a Milwaukee County Circuit Court judge who’s accused of helping an undocumented immigrant slip out of her courtroom to try and evade ICE agents. To find out more about Dugan’s jury trial – and what it says about politics today - WUWM reporter Maayan Silver joins Lake Effect's Joy Powers in studio.