One Wisconsin community has found a solution to the presence of PFAS in their drinking water. The Town of Campbell near La Crosse is building its own water system. In 2020, DNR testing found the presence of PFAS in the wells of Campbell residents. Since then, around 16-hundred households have been drinking bottled water provided by the DNR.

Now, the town is tapping into a new, clean source of water and creating its own municipal water system – which is no small task. WUWM’s Susan Bence met Lee Donahue from the Campbell town board to learn how they reached this solution.

Back in 2020 Meagan Johnson learned about the pressing need that many families have for diapers. In Milwaukee – and nationwide - one in two families face diaper needs due to cost and systemic barriers.

Johnson wanted to help make cloth and disposable diapers more accessible in Milwaukee, and she discovered that there was no local diaper bank. So, she started the Milwaukee Diaper Mission along with Jessica Syburg – collecting diapers, wipes, and period products to distribute out of her own garage.

Today, the Milwaukee Diaper Mission has grown to become a reliable source for families in need. To date, they’ve distributed 3-point-6 million diapers and 1-point-5 million period products. Meagan Johnson joins Lake Effect's Audrey Nowakowski to share more about their growth these last five years – and how they want to continue to expand.

The first land transfer between a Catholic organization and a Native American tribe took place in Wisconsin in October. The La Crosse-based Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration transferred land that housed their Marywood Spirituality Center to the Lac du Flambeau Tribe.

The transfer grew from conversations about the sisters’ role in Native American boarding schools. Those schools were used to forcibly assimilate Indigenous children in the 19th and 20th centuries.

A group called Land Justice Futures helped facilitate the transfer of the property from the sisters to the tribe. Brittany Koteles, is the co-founder and director of Land Justice Futures. She joins WUWM’s Maria Peralta-Arellano to learn about what led to the transfer.