MediterraneanGrocery Wholesalers in Milwaukee, WI

The Wisconsin Home Energy Assistance Program will not offer utility assistance until Oct. 1, but residents can still apply beforehand to gain faster access to aid during the winter.

Here are some other resources that might help.

The Wisconsin Emergency Rental Assistance Program provides qualifying applicants up to 18 months worth of rental assistance, which includes help for paying utility bills. Community Advocates (?414-270-4646) administers the program in Milwaukee County and the Social Development Commission (?414-906-2700) also administers the program in the city of Milwaukee.

If you do not live in Milwaukee County, other agencies can help. The Wisconsin Community Action Program Association (WISCAP) coordinates the program through its member agencies. The funds may be available to those who meet income guidelines and have experienced economic hardship during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Eras Senior Network may have a limited number of air conditioners and $100 subsidies remaining for low-income seniors living in the Harambee neighborhood. Your ZIP code must be 53212. Contact Freda Wright at [email protected].

Some households with children may qualify for a Job Access Loan, which is available through the Wisconsin Works agencies in Milwaukee County and statewide. The loans have narrow eligibility criteria and may be used to pay for utility expenses.

If you are struggling to pay your utility bill, IMPACT 211 recommends staying in touch with your utility. For Milwaukee residents, that’s We Energies (800-842-4565). The utility may be willing to negotiate a repayment plan or find another solution. Staying silent is more likely to result in a disconnection.

?Wisconsin Help for Homeowners, a statewide program, can help with overdue bills like mortgage payments, property taxes, utilities and more. The program is “open to individuals and families who live in Wisconsin with overdue housing-related bills, both with and without a mortgage, who meet income and other eligibility requirements, and have experienced a qualified economic hardship since January 21, 2020,” according to the state Department of Administration. Call 1-855-2-HOME-WI (1-855-246-6394) to learn more.

Have questions or want to share any energy assistance resources that we may have missed? Email us at [email protected] or text MKE to 73224, enter your ZIP code and request to connect with a reporter.

Mark lived in Milwaukee. Katie lived in La Crosse.

When they started dating — and driving to opposite ends of the state to see each other — Kwik Trip became a constant.

"When we would travel to see each other, we'd always be stopping at Kwik Trip," Katie Endres said.

"Half way, you'd always stop at Kwik Trip to fuel up and get some food," Mark Endres said. "It kind of became a tradition."

So when the couple got married this summer in La Crosse — where the beloved convenience store chain happens to be based — guess where they took their wedding photos.

"We wanted a light-hearted, joyful, kind of funny spot to have some good wedding memories at," Mark said. "So, we chose Kwik Trip."

More:'See ya next time': How a neighborhood grocery store grew into today's Kwik Trip phenomenon

The Cass Street store was located between where they had their ceremony, Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church, and their reception venue, The Waterfront Restaurant and Tavern.

Let's just call that what it was: Fate.

"We kind of did a flash mob of sorts in front of a Kwik Trip for about five minutes or so," Mark said. "A lot of people were nearby, happy and clapping for us. It was a fun afternoon."

The groomsmen ran inside to buy snacks, and Mark told his bride that he was going to bring her a treat. Since it was a "really hot" day, he said, he wanted to go with a "cool, refreshing drink."

So what did he pick? Oh, ya know, just one of the most Wisconsin beverages ever.

No, not beer. The other one.

With 2% pints of milk in hand, the newlyweds interlocked arms and took a swig as James Stokes Photography captured the moment.

"I don't even drink 2% milk," Katie laughed. "But I thought, 'You know what? I will for you because you're now my husband.' "

They knew 'right away' they were meant for each other

The pair, both teachers, met on CatholicMatch.com shortly before the COVID-19 pandemic hit.

"I knew right off the bat that this was the one that God had in store for me," Mark said. "We had that sense that you just knew right from the get-go. I was just attracted to Katie and her personality, her warmth, her faith and just how kind and selfless she is."

"I knew right away, too," Katie said. "I was just drawn to his personality. And he was so kind and thoughtful and faithful and fun to be around. It just was an instant click for both of us."

For them, dating during a pandemic looked like hiking, biking, running, kayaking, cooking, watching movies and playing games together.

On a snowy February day in 2021, the two hiked at Indian Lake County Park to the top of a hill with a chapel that Mark said his relatives built hundreds of years ago. They came down engaged.

'Surreal': Kwik Trip shared the wedding pics with their followers

This past weekend, the now-Milwaukee couple were out for a walk when all of a sudden their phones started blowing up with messages and social media notifications.

Kwik Trip had shared Katie and Mark's wedding photos with their more than 627,100 Facebook and 125,000 Instagram followers.

"It was a little surreal," Katie said.

"This photo is just to make people smile and laugh, and be a joyful, fun part of their day," Mark said.

Yes, the couple did also take additional photos elsewhere.

"It's a day we'll never forget," Mark said. "It's our best day, favorite day ever."

Protesters gather to march on Mayor Tom Barrett’s house, to demand a freeze on evictions in 2020. (Photo | Isiah Holmes)

“Eviction filings are on the rise again in Milwaukee County after tapering off for a few months,” the Milwaukee Autonomous Tenants Union (MATU) warns in a statement to Wisconsin Examiner. During the first week of August, 327 evictions were filed, about 72% above average. Numbers like those haven’t been seen in Milwaukee County since last February, when winter evictions surged 81% above average. By comparison, eviction filings in Milwaukee County had been below the average from April to July, ranging from 1% to 28% below average. “MATU deplores this increase in eviction filings and is currently working with dozens of tenants to help them fight back against evictions,” the group stated.

The tenants’ union points to several contributing factors fueling a perfect storm for Milwaukee’s most vulnerable renters. “Though the COVID-19 pandemic and its economic side-effects continue to impact the people of Milwaukee federal money devoted to rental assistance is running out and renewal past Sept. 30 is not guaranteed,” MATU told the Examiner. In June, the group notes, the amount of federal funding Wisconsin received in Emergency Rental Assistance dropped from $15.3 million to $10.9 million, with the total allocated to Milwaukee County dropping from $5.2 million to $3.5 million. Further declines in emergency rental assistance will cause evictions to rise more.

“With higher eviction numbers and decreased amounts of funding from the federal government local rental assistance organizations are forced to be more selective with who they approve for rental assistance, and the length of time it takes to disperse funding.” MATU said in a statement. The union stressed that, “there are still tenants being evicted while waiting for rental assistance money to be disbursed to their landlord.”

In late July, just prior to the August spike, MATU had already started hearing concerning reports of evictions from tenants. One woman had been evicted despite being in a rent abatement program due to the poor condition of her home. Her landlord, Athlene Alexis, owns more than 20 homes throughout Milwaukee’s predominately African American North Side. In the week prior 191 evictions had been filed in the county, a figure that was dwarfed by the next wave in August. Although Alexis’ properties are located on Milwaukee’s North Side, she lives in the wealthy community of Brookfield. Many of her properties have outstanding code violations including pests, and chronic disrepair.

While Alexis had filed 40 evictions this year by the end of last month, she’s far from Milwaukee’s top evicting landlord. According to Track Milwaukee Evictions, one of the county’s top evicting landlords is Berrada Properties, which owns several LLCs that rent properties to Milwaukeeans. Just one of those LLC’s, Berrada Properties 7 LLC, was the lead plaintiff in 454 eviction filings since 2016. Another of the companies identities, Berrada Properties 16 LLC, was the lead plaintiff in 244 evictions over the same period of time.

Berrada is the subject of a Wisconsin Department of Justice (DOJ) lawsuit over allegations of illegal and unethical activity against tenants. Metropolitan Associates also is at the top of the charts, with 881 evictions filed from 2016 to the present. According to Eviction Lab, many neighborhoods in Milwaukee’s North Side are seeing an increase in evictions. The predominantly Latino South Side is also experiencing a rise in evictions. One census tract along the northwestern border between Wauwatosa and Milwaukee has seen a sharp rise of 37 evictions over the last four weeks.

MATU has long argued that protections for tenants in the Milwaukee area are inadequate, from rental assistance programs to the seemingly one-sided battles that play out in the courts. “Many landlords have refused to fill out the necessary paperwork for their tenants to receive rental assistance, preferring to move forward with eviction rather than receive [Emergency Rental Assistance] funds,” the union said in a statement. “Further, some employers are refusing to provide the necessary information that would allow tenants to receive assistance after the tenant in question has been laid off or had their hours decreased.”

The union stresses that one major weak point in the rental assistance programs is their reliance on employer cooperation. “Forcing the tenant to rely on their landlord and employer, whose class interests are often directly opposed to those of the tenant, creates a situation where the state empowers the landlord and employer at the expense of the tenant, putting them at the mercy of those who hold a significantly more powerful social and economic position in society,” the tenants’ union states. Previous eviction surges have occurred in the winter, usually from December to February. As the numbers continue to rise, Milwaukeeans will need to brace for another potential surge once the cold sets in.

In the coming decades, the climate in the U.S. will heat up to potentially disastrous levels. While Wisconsin’s long winters will turn milder, summer temperatures will hit record highs.

That assessment is according to a new study from the nonprofit research group First Street Foundation focusing on extreme heat events nationwide. Jeremy Porter, chief research officer of the Foundation, said climate scientists often warn temperatures will rise a few degrees on average in the coming decades, and to many, that doesn’t sound like much. But he said it spells out catastrophic heat.

“Today, about 7 million people are at risk of potentially hitting 125 degree heat index,” he said. “And in 30 years, that number is going to rise to over 100 million people that are at that same risk. So you can see not only are the average temperatures changing, but the exposure to extreme heat events is also changing.”

At those temperatures, the study said, railroad tracks will become wavy, airport tarmacs will melt and the joints in bridges will swell to unsafe levels. Energy grids are not built to sustain the number of people who will be cranking up the air conditioning, Porter said, which could lead to blackouts. He also said emergency infrastructure isn’t set up to handle the coming heat waves.

While lowering greenhouse gas emissions is still the long term goal, Porter said cities and states need to prepare for the inevitable.

“We’re almost locked in over that time period to what the environment is going to look like in 30 years,” he said. “Anything we do now is going to be to offset additional changes beyond that time period.”

Temperatures in Wisconsin won’t match the extreme highs of states farther south, but Steve Vavrus, a senior scientist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison Nelson Institute’s Center for Climatic Research, said the consequences will likely be worse.

“The places that have the greatest mortality during heat waves are not the hottest places,” he said. “It’s not Arizona and Louisiana that have the most heat-related deaths. It’s places that are not accustomed to it, that don’t have the infrastructure.”

Cities and towns in Wisconsin are not built to withstand extreme heat, he said, and people here are not used to living in dangerously high temperatures. Not everyone has access to air conditioning, and bigger cities like Milwaukee do not have enough tree cover and vegetation, creating urban heat islands. The state needs to build up its infrastructure to deal with the changing climate.

“One thing we can do is provide more early warnings when we do have heat waves coming,” he said. “And providing more public cooling shelters can be very effective, especially for people who don’t have air conditioning. And checking in on vulnerable residents.”

Older and socially isolated people are more at risk, he said. So are people of color and those in low-income areas — who he said are more likely to live in urban heat islands, work outdoor jobs — and people who live in certain parts of the state.

“In the far north, we have a lot of forests, and that has a natural cooling effect,” Vavrus said. “And areas around the Great Lakes around Lake Superior and especially Lake Michigan, we expect to not have as many hot days as elsewhere in Wisconsin.”

Southwest Wisconsin, though, lacks those buffers.

Data from First Street Foundation projects the temperature in Iron County will top 90 degrees for 15 days in 2052, up from nine days this year. In 2052, temperatures will hit that level for 34 days in Milwaukee, 42 days in Madison, and 47 days in Grant County, up from 32 this year.

Jeff Kindrai, the director and health officer for Grant County, said he’s already seeing the consequences of high temperatures, and the infrastructure to deal with heat isn’t there.

“We have a limited amount of cooling centers … and the nighttime temperatures seem to be rising,” he said.

The county has launched educational campaigns, handing out brochures that promote cooling centers, and they’re bolstering their emergency response systems. Still, he said policymakers need to take further action.

“Making sure that there’s resources available to support individuals, making sure that there’s resources available for further study of impacts that we may not have thought of yet,” Kindrai said, “and then addressing those impacts in a proactive way to minimize any impacts.”

Right now, the southwestern part of the state doesn’t have enough resources to shore up crucial infrastructure, said Jennifer Filipiak, the executive director of the Driftless Area Land Conservancy, which works to protect nature and agriculture in Southwest Wisconsin. Living in Lafayette County, she said she sees the consequences of rising temperatures up close.

“Our communities are rural,” she said. “So we don’t have the same infrastructure and the same resources that a bigger city like Madison might have, for example, to have cooling centers.”

Most people work in agriculture, spending their time outside, she said, and most houses don’t have air conditioning. As temperatures rise, she said they will need to find ways to protect their farms and animals, or risk losing income.

“Things are changing, and we’re having to adapt to those changes, and they’re changing faster than our ability to adapt,” she said. “And that makes it hard, but we’ll do it. We’ll adapt, we’ll figure things out.”

USA TODAY

Keep an eye to the sky across Wisconsin on Wednesday night. The aurora borealis, or northern lights, may be making a rare appearance.

Recent explosions on the surface of the sun have sent clouds of charged particles, known as coronal mass ejections, hurtling through the solar system, according to AccuWeather.

"These clouds of particles are predicted to collide with Earth's magnetic field on Wednesday night into Thursday, sparking dazzling displays of the aurora," AccuWeather's Brian Lada said.

According to Earthsky.org, much of the state, including Milwaukee, could see the aurora directly overhead. Auroras typically appear as rippling curtains of green, red or purple light.

Skies over the southern half of Wisconsin, including the Milwaukee metro area, are expected to be mostly clear on Wednesday night. So if the northern lights do appear, folks in the southern portion of the state should be able to see them, said Marcia Cronce, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Sullivan.

The chances of the northern lights making an appearance over southern Wisconsin are fairly high again Thursday, "but there will be more clouds around," Cronce said.

Still, far southeast Wisconsin skies will range from partly cloudy to possibly clear again on Thursday night, Cronce said.

Even if clouds do show up, "We have a pretty good chance for some holes in the clouds for Thursday night," Cronce said.

Geomagnetic storms such as these can also affect infrastructure in near-Earth orbit and on the surface, possibly disrupting communications, the power grid, navigation, and radio and satellite operations, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said.

But such disruptions are unlikely from this event, Lada said.

Geomagnetic storm watch issued

NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center has issued a G3 (strong) geomagnetic storm watch into Thursday. This is the third level of NOAA's five-level geomagnetic storm scale. (G1 storms are minor; G5s are considered extreme.)

The storms can drive the aurora farther south from its usual position over the polar region. Auroras for this storm may be visible, if weather conditions are favorable, as far south as Pennsylvania to Iowa to Oregon, NOAA reported.

Joe Taschler of the Journal Sentinel staff contributed to this report.