Weekend Roundup: Lawmakers continue fight to end racial disparities in Wisconsin pregnancies, birth rates

In Wisconsin, Black women who give birth are five times more likely than white women to die during or within one year of pregnancy. The risk of death for Black infants is double the state average, and they are more often born premature or with a low birth weight than white babies, according to a 2017 state Department of Health Services report.

The report also shows the state’s death rate of babies born to Black mothers was the highest in the United States, and continuing to worsen as structural inequities aren’t being addressed, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

The state has done little to address this issue — what many advocates see as a “state of emergency,” reported the Journal Sentinel.

Racial disparities between white and Black residents in Wisconsin are prominent, apparent in factors like health care, housing, education and others, all of which affect Black pregnancies and raising children.

Republican state lawmakers have cut back on many initiatives that would help reverse these statistics, including Medicaid, Gov. Tony Evers’ Healthy Women, Healthy Babies proposal and Planned Parenthood funding.

Last month, Rep. Shelia Stubbs, D-Madison, chair of the Legislature’s Black Caucus, and Sen. LaTonya Johnson, D-Milwaukee, introduced six bills under the Birth Equity Act. This set of bills, they say, is important because they are “made not just for Black and Indigenous people of color, but by them,” writes the Journal Sentinel.

But the bills have to face the state Senate and Assembly, which both have Republican majorities.

“These bills can’t just be bills that are an issue for Black people or people of color,” Stubbs said. “It’s a state of Wisconsin issue. It has to be addressed by 99 representatives and 33 senators.”

Wisconsin DHS: COVID-19 Weekly Recap

The seven-day average for new COVID-19 cases in Wisconsin is 3,004 as of Friday. DHS has confirmed 8,848 total deaths from the disease.

More than 55 percent of Wisconsinites are fully vaccinated — 83.8 percent of people age 65 and older and 46 percent of children ages 12 to 15.

DNR continues invasive carp removal in Mississippi River

The state Department of Natural Resources has announced further action to reduce the number of invasive carp in the Mississippi River.

Along with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources and several federal environmental agencies, the DNR is increasing commercial netting operations, tracking tagged carp and continuing to use the Modified Unified Method, which drives the fish toward a series of smaller areas until they’re netted.

At the end of October, the agencies netted and sampled more than 100,000 pounds of fish near La Crosse. According to a press release, although seven silver carp were observed jumping out of the sampling area, no invasive carp were captured.

“This is potentially very good news about the current status of invasive carp in Pool 8,” said Jordan Weeks, DNR Mississippi River fisheries biologist. “Invasive carp captures decreased sharply. We’re hopeful this indicates a decrease in the actual invasive carp population.”

Wisconsin State Fair cream puffs for sale at a drive-thru in December

The warm weather might be long gone, but that staple food of Wisconsin summer — the Wisconsin State Fair’s much-loved cream puffs — will be making a brief return next month, the Journal Sentinel reported.

A cream puff drive-thru will be held at Wisconsin State Fair Park from Dec. 9 through Dec. 12. Three-packs and six-packs of cream puffs will be for sale and in two flavors coinciding with the holidays: cocoa and candy cane, the newspaper reported.

Read about the state rivalry between the cream puff and kringle: The ‘most friendly debate’: cream puffs vs. kringle — 2 of the state’s most popular delicacies

Cone-gratulations. Go shawty, it’s sherbet day. This Milwaukee business focuses on plant-based ice cream.

Olivia Menzia started making ice cream when she was a student at Marquette University and share it with her friends.

After realizing many people couldn’t have dairy, she decided to focus on plant-based ice cream. In 2019, she opened Liv A Little Ice Cream, a plant-based vegan business.

“One day I brought a gallon to eat with my friends,” she told the Journal Sentinel. “Only two of us could have it. I could eat the whole gallon, but should I? That got me thinking outside the box. Let’s try something different.”

Her ice cream uses coconut and oat milks.

The 25-year-old isn’t the only person in her family that has a deep love for ice cream. Her father loves it just as much, he even worked at an ice cream shop growing up. And her grandpa worked with ice cream, too.

“I had already thought of all my dream flavors when I was a child,” she said.

Her top two sellers are Warm Hugs, a chai latte inspired option, and 3 O’Clock Coffee, which, you know, is coffee flavored.

So how does she come up with her flavors?

“I’ve got a lot in my head,” she told the Journal Sentinel. “Nostalgia is a big stem for a lot of them. I’m always thinking what am I craving? Usually it is something that I had when I was young. For example Pop Tarts are a craving, but I can’t get myself to buy a whole box. I’d have to have the whole box, not just one. When I have those moments, I bet I’m not the only one.”

Liv A Little Ice Cream doesn’t have a brick and mortar story, but the delicacies can be found in Milwaukee at pop-ups, Dead Bird Brewing and Strangetown or ordered through Milwaukee Farmers United.

City property taxes climbing higher in Eau Claire

Eau Claire city officials said property taxes will likely climb for many homeowners next year based on the recently approved budget, the Eau Claire Leader-Telegram reported.

The average home will see their taxes go up by about $60.

Officials said the hike is tied in part to the renovation and additions to the L.E. Phillips Memorial Public Library building.

“Based upon that $205,000 home the increase would be about $60 annually or about $5 a month,” city finance director Jay Winzenz told the Leader-Telegram.

As pandemic continues, Milwaukee bars, restaurants improvise outdoor seating options

Many Milwaukee area bars and restaurants have created impromptu outdoor seating as winter approaches and the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic leaves many patrons wary about crowded indoor spaces, the Journal Sentinel reported. The outdoor structures range from private plastic domes to greenhouses.

“Most of the spaces have small heaters that keep the temperature relatively comfortable, but you’ll still need to dress warmer than if you were dining inside. Most offer a limited menu — usually with family-style food and drink packages — and have a reservation fee. They usually seat between six and eight people and are reserved exclusively for your group,” the newspaper reported.

The Journal Sentinel created a list of what some Milwaukee-area restaurants and bars are doing.

Biden says US is considering diplomatic boycott of Beijing Winter Olympics

The Winter Olympics are scheduled for February in Beijing. On Thursday, President Joe Biden said the U.S. is considering a diplomatic boycott of the Games, meaning no government officials would be allowed to attend. U.S. athletes would still compete.

The potential boycott is a result of “growing pressure to hold China accountable for human rights abuses,” reported the New York Times.

The comment from Biden came during a Thursday meeting with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada and President Andrés Manuel López Obrador of Mexico at the U.S. White House.
They discussed trade, the climate crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic.

A reporter at the meeting asked Biden about the diplomatic boycott, which he said is “something we are considering.”

U.S. officials are concerned about abuses in Xinjiang, Tibet and Hong Kong, according to a statement from the White House. There are also concerns about Beijing’s economic policies.

Read here for more of what Biden, López Obrador and Trudeau discussed Thursday.