The Public Service Commission approved a new rate structure for We Energies’ largest data center customers, requiring them to cover the full cost of new power generation and fuel.
Paul Kiefer / Wisconsin Watch
Paul Kiefer joined Wisconsin Watch in September 2025 as a Roy W. Howard fellow, focusing largely on immigration and data reporting. He grew up in Washington state, first setting foot in a newsroom as a teenage producer-in-training at a Seattle public radio station. He went on to cover criminal justice in Washington for both the Seattle news site PubliCola and InvestigateWest. He headed east in 2023, finding work as a state politics reporter for Delaware Public Media before receiving a master’s degree in journalism from the University of Maryland and interning with the Washington Post’s metro desk.
Posted inCommunity
‘Language lost. Culture lost’: In Milwaukee, a race to keep Rohingya language alive in exile
After ethnic cleansing in Myanmar scattered Rohingya communities, a grassroots effort in Milwaukee is testing whether teaching the language in written form can help it survive — and whether families will choose to pass it on.
Posted inCommunity, Criminal justice
Steady arrests, shifting targets: Explore latest data on ICE activity across Wisconsin
Scroll through maps and data to explore where ICE is making arrests in Wisconsin — and how patterns are shifting.
Posted inCommunity
Immigration to Wisconsin plunges, yet still fuels nearly half of population growth
As fewer immigrants arrived, 21 Wisconsin counties lost population. Seven more would have declined without immigration.
Posted inCommunity, Economic Development
Competition intensifies over who builds Wisconsin’s grid as data centers drive power demand
The Midwest’s grid operator reversed course on a key transmission project, marking a victory for Wisconsin’s largest transmission developer.
Posted inCommunity, Criminal justice
ICE re-arrests Sheboygan Falls mother after judge halted deportation and cleared green card path
Months after an immigration judge canceled her deportation order and cited family hardship in setting her on a path to legal residency, ICE officers arrested Elvira Benitez during a routine check-in in Milwaukee.
Posted inCommunity, Criminal justice
Immigrants fight ICE detention in federal court — and increasingly win
After a federal appeals board barred most detained immigrants from seeking bond, filings challenging their confinement surged in Wisconsin and nationwide. Wisconsin judges have ruled for detainees more than half the time.
Posted inCommunity, Public Safety
Air Wisconsin turns to ICE
The Appleton-based airline now plays a role in the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown, flying between detention centers. Explore how its flight patterns have changed since its sale to a federal contractor.
Posted inCommunity, Economic Development
Data center boom spotlights Wisconsin’s Public Service Commission. Here’s what the agency does.
The three-member commission regulates Wisconsin’s utilities and power rates. A surge in data center proposals is putting agency decisions under new scrutiny.
Posted inCommunity, Health and Wellness
Can immigration officials access your Medicaid data? What it means for Wisconsin patients
Wisconsin is suing to block federal immigration officials from accessing Medicaid records. The dispute has sparked concerns over privacy and avoided health care.