Meet In CommonNews

Local news in and around Racine, WI

Reliable News · Kenosha, WI

Nearby: Kenosha, WI

Food Stamps Shut Down 2025: How SNAP Changed

Food stamps and the 2025 shutdown became linked in public debate when a government shutdown dragged into late October 2025 and the Agriculture Secretary appeared at a news conference on SNAP food aid benefits during it, per The Christian Science Monitor. But the shutdown itself was not the main force changing the program. The larger shift came from a 2025 tax and spending law, signed on July 4, 2025, that is rewriting who qualifies, who pays and how many people receive benefits. The record so far: national SNAP enrollment fell 13% between July 2025 and June 2026, with every state except Alaska seeing some decline, according to reporting by The Christian Science Monitor. The unemployment rate stayed steady over that period, which implies the drop was not driven by more people finding work. An analysis by the Food Research & Action Center, an anti-hunger advocacy group, put the number of Americans who lost benefits since the law was enacted at about 5.2 million, per CBS News.

Lake and McHenry County Scanner · Union Grove, WI

Nearby: Union Grove, WI

Wisconsin man accused of recording 3 people in changing room at Crystal Lake Target

A 26-year-old Wisconsin man was arrested Thursday for allegedly recording a woman in her underwear and another person’s exposed intimate parts in a changing room at the Target in Crystal Lake. Jacob S. Schuster, 26, of Union Grove, Wisconsin, was charged with three counts of unauthorized video recording, a Class 4 felony. Schuster allegedly made the recordings around 2:25 p.m. on October 4 while three people were inside a changing room at Target, 5580 Northwest Highway in Crystal Lake. A criminal complaint signed by a Crystal Lake Police Department officer said Schuster knowingly made a video recording of the intimate parts of one person without that person’s consent “for the purpose of viewing the body” of that person. He is also accused of making a video recording of a second person without that person’s consent while the person was in the changing room.

Brooklyn Reporter · Norway, WI

Nearby: Norway, WI

Norwegian historian Lars Nilsen addresses Society of Old Brooklynites

Lars Nilsen, co-chairman of the Norwegian Immigration Association (NIA) and a former consulting engineer with NASA’s Apollo program, was the guest speaker at the monthly meeting of the Society of Old Brooklynites at Brooklyn Borough Hall on Thursday, Nov. 5. Members of the group also watched a video entitled “200 Years of Norwegian Emigration,” which highlighted the voyage of the replica Sloop Restauration from Norway to Pier 16 in the South Street Seaport in lower Manhattan. The video also shows HRH Crown Prince Haakon (now the King of Norway) greeting the sloop. *** Did you know Green-Wood Cemetery has a field of large boulders that were collected and some dug up from throughout its 478 acres? ( Reportedly, about the size of 360 football fields.) According to Wikipedia, these giant rocks resulted from the Wisconsin glacial ice sheet more than 20,000 years ago. All of the land of Green-Wood and the surrounding landscape sits on the top of a glacial moraine.

Lake and McHenry County Scanner · Zion, IL

Nearby: Zion, IL

Jury convicts 2nd man of murder in Zion home invasion, triple shooting sparked by Snapchat video of victim’s settlement cash

A man faces up to 120 years in prison after a jury convicted him of murder Tuesday in a 2018 Zion home invasion and triple shooting that prosecutors say was planned after robbers saw a victim with lawsuit settlement cash on Snapchat. Tracy Davis Jr., 36, of Minnesota, was found guilty Tuesday of one count of first-degree murder and two counts of attempted murder, a Class X felony, prosecutors said. Davis was indicted in January 2023 on five counts of first-degree murder and three counts of attempted murder. The Zion Police Department responded to the 2800 block of Edina Boulevard in Zion on February 16, 2018, for a report of a home invasion and shots fired. Officers found a man and two women, between the ages of 24 and 43, who had been shot inside the home. One of the women, Kaleah Beville, 36, of Zion, was shot multiple times and airlifted to Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville where she later died. The other two victims were also taken to Advocate Condell Medical Center.

Lake and McHenry County Scanner · Beach Park, IL

Nearby: Beach Park, IL

‘Wonderful friend’: Warren Township mourns sitting clerk, a former Gurnee fire chief and Beach Park deputy chief

Warren Township’s current clerk, a fire service veteran who spent years as Gurnee’s fire chief and later served as Beach Park’s deputy chief, has died, the township announced Wednesday. Warren Township announced the death of its clerk, Fred N. Friedl III, in a statement Wednesday morning. The Illinois Fire Chiefs Association, which counted Friedl as a member for 38 years, shared news of his death and his funeral arrangements. The Village of Gurnee, where Friedl was fire chief, also announced his death Wednesday morning. None of the announcements said when or how Friedl died. Friedl had served as Warren Township clerk since he was appointed in August 2020, the township said. The township said Friedl also served as fire chief of the Gurnee Fire Department and deputy fire chief of the Beach Park Fire Department, “among many other titles and roles he held throughout the community.” “His commitment to serving others was evident in everything he did,” the township said.

Madison365 · Milwaukee, WI

Nearby: Milwaukee, WI

Milwaukee Bobblehead Museum adds Governor-elect David Crowley to political collection

A new line of bobbleheads from Milwaukee’s National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum will feature Governor-elect David Crowley along with other recent winners in the midterm elections. The National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum was founded in 2014 in Milwaukee. As its name suggests, it creates bobbleheads with an emphasis on sports, but has since expanded into pop culture and touched on political options in limited runs since the 2016 presidential election. The newest line of political bobbleheads features a select range of politicians elected in the recent midterms, featuring figures like Texas’ James Talarico and Gina Hinojosa, Michigan’s Abul El-Sayed, Ohio’s Amy Acton, and Wisconsin’s very own Governor-elect David Crowley. Political bobbleheads have not been a big thing for the National Bobblehead Hall of Fame past some presidents until around the COVID-19 pandemic.

NYC Daily Post · Milwaukee, WI

Nearby: Milwaukee, WI

More than a World Series championship: how the Milwaukee Brewers brought an entire community together

There are championship victories and then there are moments that become part of a community’s history. For Milwaukee and the surrounding Wisconsin communities, the Milwaukee Brewers first World Series championship was more than a baseball achievement. It was a celebration of hometown pride, perseverance, camaraderie and the shared excitement of generations of baseball fans. Having grown up in the Milwaukee area, I have a personal connection to the Brewers that goes back many years. I have attended countless games, met players, collected autographs from some of the well-known team players (Yount, Molitor, Deer, Gantner, Cooper) when I was younger and participated in the tailgating traditions that have become such a recognizable part of the Milwaukee baseball experience. Over the years, I have also enjoyed visiting the restaurants and team store inside the stadium, where fans can find an impressive selection of Brewers merchandise.