Human Trafficking & The Super Bowl, Propane Shortage, Real Life Heroes

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Veronica Rueckert and Rob Ferrett talk about efforts to address human trafficking. They’ll also the propane shortage in Wisconsin and learn about real life super heroes.

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  • Super Bowl Is A Huge Human-Trafficking Event In U.S., Says Philanthropist

    The Super Bowl might be the most important football game nationally, but one businesswoman said it’s also the largest human-trafficking event in the U.S.

    Philanthropist Cindy McCain, wife of U.S. Sen. John McCain, said she needs more data, but everyone who has done research on trafficking around major events sees an increase in the crime around the events.

    “It’s not just the Super Bowl. It’s every major event that occurs, you see a serious uptick in human trafficking, and then, a downtick perhaps after the major event is over with,” McCain said.

    McCain said she first became aware of the problem of human trafficking when she was abroad in India. While shopping at a store in Calcutta, she heard a noise underneath the floorboards of the shop. The owner told her it was his family making the noise, but as she was leaving, McCain saw through the slats in the floorboards that it wasn’t a family underneath the store, but a lot of children who were forced to work there.

    Even though she first experienced human trafficking abroad, McCain emphasizes that this isn’t just a problem in the international community.

    “That is the most common misconception about human trafficking. It is not just an international issue. It is a serious domestic issue that hurts over a hundred thousand children every year within our own borders,” she said.

    If the Super Bowl is such a big human-trafficking event, why haven’t more people been arrested in other Super Bowl cities in the past?

    McCain said this isn’t a problem people see walking around the street.

    “It’s a very underestimated probl because you can’t see it. These are girls that are trapped in hotel rooms that are being sold hourly. These are girls that are being moved around the country with great care to make sure that they avoid the police and … our NGO’s that work in this arena as well,” she said.

    There is legislation to combat human trafficking set to pass in Arizona, where next year’s Super Bowl will be held.

    McCain said education about this issue is a key part of the solution. First-responders often aren’t sure of the signs of human trafficking, or see the signs and miss them. McCain is also hoping to get airlines involved in better educating their employees about this problem.

    Knowing all of this, will McCain be able to watch the Super Bowl this year? She said she plans to watch the game, but she’ll be watching with the work that needs to be done on this issue in the back of her mind.

  • Human Trafficking At The Super Bowl

    Cindy McCain, the wife of senator John McCain, calls the superbowl the “largest human trafficking event on the planet.” Ahead of the 2015 Superbowl, to be hosted in her home state of Arizona, McCain is calling for tougher laws to protect vulnerable women and children.

  • Propane Gas Shortage Puts Wisconsin In A State Of Emergency

    A guest from the Wisconsin Department of Administration discusses the propane shortage in the state that caused Governor Scott Walker to declare a state of emergency.

  • Wisconsin Life: Real-Life Superheroes

    You might think of superheroes as part of the world of fiction. But there’s a group of men and women in Milwaukee who work regular jobs by day, and wear costumes and take part in special missions at night. An author explains the superhero culture in Wisconsin.

Episode Credits

  • Rob Ferrett Host
  • Veronica Rueckert Host
  • Veronica Rueckert Producer
  • Amanda Magnus Producer
  • Cindy McCain Guest
  • Chris Schoenherr Guest
  • Tea Krulos Guest

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