Weekend Roundup: Racial disparities in homeownership found across the state

A new report from the nonpartisan Wisconsin Policy Forum found racial disparities among homeownership in Wisconsin extend across the state.

Researchers used 2019 U.S. census data to calculate homeownership rates for Wisconsin’s five most populous cities: Milwaukee, Madison, Green Bay, Kenosha and Racine, as well as for the state, The Cap Times reports. The report also compared homeownership rates for white residents with rates for Black and Hispanic residents.

Green Bay has the lowest Black homeownership rates of the five cities with only 5.6 percent of Black residents owning a home. Milwaukee had the highest with 27 percent — slightly above the statewide rate of 25.5 percent. In Wisconsin 72 percent of white residents own their home.

Madison’s homeownership rate for Hispanic residents is the lowest of the cities studied at 30 percent. Kenosha had the highest homeownership rate for Hispanic residents with 42.7 percent owning a home. Statewide, 41 percent of Hispanic Wisconsinites own a home. In each of the five cities, Hispanic residents are more likely to own homes than Black residents are, but less likely than white residents are.

Joe Peterangelo, senior researcher at the Wisconsin Policy Forum and the lead author of the report, told The Cap Times the findings are concerning.

“It’s pretty troubling … to see how this is a similar big issue everywhere, and how Wisconsin looks compared to the nation,” Peterangelo said. “The racial gaps are much larger here.”

Read the full report here.

Wisconsin DHS: COVID-19 Weekly Recap

The seven-day average for new COVID-19 cases in Wisconsin is 525 as of Friday. The Wisconsin Department of Health Services has confirmed 12,089 total deaths from the disease.

60.5 percent of Wisconsinites are fully vaccinated — 82.4 percent of people age 65 and older, 56.9 percent of children age 12 to 17 and 23.2 percent of children 5 to 11 years old. As of Friday, 32.8 percent have received a booster shot.

Neenah woman pushes more legislation to support those fighting breast cancer

Gail Zeamer, of Neenah, partnered with former Rep. Mike Rohrkaste, R-Neenah, in 2018 to create a state law that requires medical facilities to give patients with dense breast tissue information about breast density.

Zeamer was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2016, though her mammograms never detected the cancer. It was revealed by an ultrasound.

“Basically, my tumor had been masked by my dense breast tissue for several years,” Zeamer told The Cap Times.

As she continues her battle with cancer (now at stage 4), she is pushing for more legislation, this time a bipartisan attempt to cap patient payments for additional breast screenings at $50.

The Legislature is almost wrapped for the year, so the chances of the bill making it to Gov. Tony Evers are slim, but Zeamer aims to keep pushing the issue.

“This is a matter of women’s lives, and I would hope legislators would work quickly to get it done and not wait,” Zeamer said.

Don’t be alarmed, the Pack is just visiting Big Ben!

The Green Bay Packers are going to London.

The NFL announced Monday the Packers will play at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium during the upcoming season.

A date or opponent has not been announced.

Other teams with international games this year are: New Orleans Saints at Tottenham; Jaguars at Wembley Stadium; Arizona Cardinals in Mexico City; and Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Munich, Germany.

Their opponents have also not been announced.

The Packers are the only NFL team that has not played a regular-season international game, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

The Packers have played three international games, the paper reported, and all were in preseason: Toronto in 1997; Tokyo in 1998; and Winnipeg in 2019.

“Our fans in the UK and elsewhere in Europe have been eagerly awaiting an opportunity to see the Packers play in their backyard and that desire becomes a reality this season,” Packers President and CEO Mark Murphy is quoted saying. “This will be a great opportunity to introduce Green Bay and our area to an international audience and encourage fans in the UK to visit us in person at Lambeau Field and Northeastern Wisconsin.”

The Packers will host nine games instead of the typical 10 at Lambeau Field this upcoming season.

Green Bay ➡️ the UK! 🇬🇧#Packers will play in London in 2022 📰: https://t.co/gcUJJDh3dt#GoPackGo pic.twitter.com/33czZP2YMv

— Green Bay Packers (@packers) February 28, 2022

Wauwatosa event will educate faith community on how to be allies for racial justice

The faith community of Wauwatosa will have the opportunity to learn how to be allies for the racial justice movement during a virtual event March 5.

“Authentic Diversity,” will be hosted by Jason Mack, the pastor of Underwood Memorial Baptist Church, and Rhonda Hill, the founder of Race and Faith.

Throughout 2020, Wauwatosa — like cities across the globe — saw demonstrations against police brutality and racism after the murder of George Floyd sparked a summer of racial reckoning, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports.

“It’s very clear that that is still an ongoing struggle and tension in Wauwatosa,” Mack told the newspaper. But the pastor sees improvements being made — specifically in the work of social justice groups in the area.

“There is a groundswell and there are people working on this, and the spirit is moving, and I want to be part of that — and I wanted my church to be a part of that,” Mack said.

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Scientists take rare look under Great Lakes’ frozen surfaces

Scientists have fanned out across the Great Lakes’ frozen surfaces to learn what happens underwater during winter.

United States and Canadian teams have visited all five lakes in recent weeks, The Associated Press reports.

They’ve drilled into the ice to take samples and gather data. Researchers have long done such field work at other times of year, assuming not much is happening in the lakes during winter. But they recently concluded that there’s more activity than they realized.

They say it’s urgent to get more information now, as climate change reduces the Great Lakes’ ice cover.

Adjusting to — and advancing in — a pandemic workforce

Remote work has been an adjustment for many. But for younger employees, those fresh out of college or new to the workforce, it hasn’t been as much of an adjustment; it’s just the way the workforce is, and you must not only navigate it but also conquer it in order to move up the ladder.

Companies must consider hybrid work schedules, managerial styles and ways to make all employees feel connected. Think: Slack channels specifically for pet photos; virtual happy hours; breaks for coffee whenever a coworker travels to your side of town; at-home standing desks.

This story from The New York Times compiles some recent studies that illustrate what a handful of companies have done to attract and retain those who are just getting their feet in the door.

Editor’s note: The Associated Press contributed to this report.