Monday, April 13, 2026
Wisconsin ranks among the states with the worst roads, report says
Maia Pandey
As Milwaukee officials buckle down on traffic safety measures, a new report has ranked Wisconsin among the states with the worst roads.
Wisconsin has the 14th-worst roads in the country, worse than any of its neighboring states, according to the analysis by ConsumerAffairs, a consumer news platform. To rank the states, researchers used data from the Federal Highway Administration and the Bureau of Transportation Statistics on the conditions of urban and rural roads and the rates of car accident fatalities in each state.
Wisconsin's ranking was, however, improved from its spot as 8th-worst in the same analysis conducted by ConsumerAffairs last year.
In recent years, Milwaukee officials have adopted a goal of reducing the city's annual number of traffic deaths to zero by 2037. That includes implementing hundreds of traffic calming projects citywide, including an additional 60 projects recently announced for 2026.
So far, the efforts seem to be showing returns: Traffic fatalities in Milwaukee hit a six-year low in 2025, city officials announced in March. The city logged 57 traffic fatalities in 2025, compared 70 deaths in 2024 and 77 deaths in the peak year of 2022.
Here's what else the report found about Wisconsin's roads:
About 57% of Wisconsin's urban roads and 15% of its rural roads are considered in "poor" condition by the Bureau of Transportation Statistics, per the report. In contrast, about 36% of urban roads nationwide and 10% of rural roads are in poor condition.
Wisconsin has about 4,400 miles of urban roads and about 12,750 miles of rural roads.
Neighboring states Illinois, Michigan and Iowa ranked as 19th worst, 25th worst and 34th worst (or 16th best), respectively. Minnesota, meanwhile, had the second-best roads in the country.
Though the lowest-ranked states were scattered across the country and varied in size, certain climate and weather patterns were among the unifying characteristics in the states with the worst roads. In cold areas, for example, freeze-thaw cycles can increase potholes, per the report. States with heavy commercial truck traffic, such as New Mexico and Oklahoma, are also likely to see increased wear and tear on roadways.
Here are the top five states with the worst roads, per ConsumerAffairs:
- New Mexico
- Mississippi
- Rhode Island
- Hawaii
- Oklahoma
And here are the top five states with the best roads:
- Indiana
- Minnesota
- Vermont
- Georgia
- Kansas
How to track Milwaukee's traffic calming projects
You can keep tabs on the progress of Milwaukee's traffic calming projects with this dashboard maintained by the Department of Public Works. The dashboard includes information for nearly 400 projects the department is currently pursuing.
For completed projects, the city is collecting data on whether speeding and traffic crashes have reduced in the area since the construction was completed. Overall, traffic calming measures since 2022 have reduced speeding by 32% and crashes by 15% citywide, per the dashboard. You can follow the progress here.
Cartoon raindrop falls prettily but not accurately
ASK THE WEATHER GUYS | PRECIPITATION
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A large raindrop, about one-quarter of an inch across, or about the size of ahouse fly, has terminal fall speeds of about 20 mph. The smallest raindrops fall at about 2 mph. |
Question: What is the shape of raindrops?
Answer: While cartoonists typically draw raindrops like a teardrop or a pear shape, raindrops are not shaped like that.
They are drawn as teardrops to give the image of falling through the atmosphere, which they do. But as they fall, raindrops are flattened and shaped like a hamburger bun by the drag forces of the air they are falling through.
Raindrops are at least 0.5 millimeters or 0.02 inches in diameter. You will not find a raindrop bigger than about one-quarter of an inch in diameter. Larger than that, the drop will break apart into smaller drops because of the air resistance. Precipitation drops smaller than 0.02 inches in diameter are collectively called drizzle, which is often associated with stratus clouds.
The typical speed of a falling raindrop depends on the size of the drop. Gravity pulls everything downward. As an object falls it experiences a frictional drag that counters the downward force of gravity. When the gravity and frictional drag are balanced, we have an equilibrium fall speed that is known as the terminal velocity of the object. The terminal velocity depends on the size, shape and mass of the raindrop and the density of the air. Thus, it is worth talking a bit about the shape and size of raindrops.
A large raindrop, about one-quarter of an inch across or about the size of a house fly, has terminal fall speeds of about 10 meters per second or about 20 mph. That kind of speed can cause compaction and erosion of the soil by the force of impact. Since raindrops come in a variety of sizes, they fall with different speeds. The smallest raindrops fall at about 2 mph. Water droplets smaller than these smallest raindrops (known as cloud liquid water droplets) can resist falling in the atmosphere because there is upward moving air that overcomes the force of gravity and keeps them suspended in the cloud.
Steve Ackerman and Jonathan Martin, professors in the UW-Madison department of atmospheric and oceanic sciences, are guests on WHA radio (970 AM) at noon the last Monday of each month. Send them your questions at stevea@ssec.wisc.edu or jemarti1@wisc.edu.
The terminal velocity depends on the size, shape and mass of the raindrop and the density of the air.
Influential U.S. cardinals caution against Iran war, Trump immigration policies
Sunday, April 12, 2026
Saturday, April 11, 2026
Friday, April 10, 2026
Wisconsin sheriff sues Skokie woman and Cook County politician who claimed she was detained by ICE
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| Summer Sundas “Sunny” Naqvi, right, said she was detained by federal immigration officials upon her arrival at O’Hare International Airport. U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials and local officials in Wisconsin, where Naqvi said she was held in custody, are disputing her account. Sister Sarah Afzal is at left. (Sarah Afzal) |
Is driving with hemp or THC legal in Wisconsin? OWI rules to know
Gina Lee Castro
Hemp and its many intoxicating products have been legal in Wisconsin for eight years. But driving around with hemp products could still put you in hot water with the law, said Milwaukee attorney Andrew Mishlove.
Hemp looks and smells identical to marijuana, and both come from the Cannabis sativa L plant. But hemp is legal – for now – and marijuana is not.
When hemp users drive with these products in their cars, a police traffic stop can spiral into citations or even jail time, said Mishlove, who specializes in defending people charged with operating while intoxicated.
“It’s a mess,” he said. “Hemp is legal. Wisconsin law hasn’t caught up with that reality at all.”
Here's what we learned about why hemp can still put Wisconsin drivers at risk of an OWI.
Is it legal to drive with hemp in my car in Wisconsin?
Yes, but it’s a risk, Mishlove said.
If police officers catch a whiff of weed from a car or see it in the car, they can easily gain probable cause to make an arrest for possession of a controlled substance or begin an investigation into operating while intoxicated, Mishlove said.
Overall, state law doesn't say much about driving with hemp. Wisconsin doesn’t have an open container law for hemp the way it does for alcohol, Mishlove said. Nor is there a limit on how much hemp an individual can possess, or any laws on how drivers can lawfully transport hemp.
In contrast, in Illinois, where cannabis is legal, the product must be sealed in a child proof container and inaccessible to the driver.
Is it illegal to drive with hemp in my system in Wisconsin?
Yes. Wisconsin law does not allow drivers to have any THC in their blood. Any amount above one nanogram per milliliter is considered evidence of operating while intoxicated.
Although hemp is restricted to trace amounts of THC - the component in cannabis that makes users feel high - some products contain THC in amounts comparable to states where marijuana is legal.
In fact, a recent Milwaukee Journal Sentinel investigation found that many hemp products in Wisconsin contain THC above the federal legal limit, with consumers none the wiser. Some gummies and drinks below the federal legal limit still packed over 10 milligrams of THC per serving.
In addition, some hemp products contain a compound known as delta‑8 THC that is so similar to traditional THC that it appears chemically indistinguishable in blood testing, Mishlove said.
The THC blood test has been criticized by some scientists and lawmakers who say the limits are arbitrary and do not necessarily constitute impaired driving.
How does law enforcement determine impairment?
The Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene conducts blood testing for law enforcement agencies across the state. Kayla Neuman, director of forensic toxicology, said the test cannot determine whether a person is impaired, nor can it show when THC was last consumed. The test only confirms that THC is present in a person’s system.
Neuman said observations from officers and results from roadside impairment tests contribute to evidence of impairment.
Chronic, daily THC users are more likely to have detectable levels of THC in their blood at all times and can exceed the one‑nanogram legal threshold, Neuman said.
But due to Wisconsin's zero-tolerance policy, people can be charged with an OWI even if they are sober, Mishlove said.
“It doesn’t matter whether you are impaired or high on this stuff or not,” he said. “You can’t have it in your system and drive.”
What are the laws in other states around THC and driving?
The Michigan Impaired Driving Safety Commission has said there is no scientifically supported threshold of THC in the body that proves impairment. As a result, Michigan doesn’t have a legal limit for THC. Instead, a series of roadside sobriety tests must prove the driver is impaired.
In some states where marijuana is legal, like Illinois and Colorado, the limit is five nanograms of THC, to account for chronic users.
How can hemp users in Wisconsin steer clear of legal trouble?
If you're a hemp user and plan to drive, try to keep documentation on you.
For example, Milwaukee Police Lt. Matthew Kaltenbrun said showing officers a certificate of analysis – a third-party lab test of the specific hemp product – is good evidence that the product in question is hemp, not marijuana.
Mishlove added that keeping the product's original packaging and receipt of purchase can prove the product was bought legally in Wisconsin.
As for how frequent users can prove they aren't currently impaired by THC, that's a tricky one.
"I advise people to not break the law," Mishlove said. "The law says don't drive with a restricted substance in your system. Don't use those products and drive in Wisconsin."
Gina Castro is a Public Investigator reporter for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. She can be reached at gcastro@usatodayco.com.
We Energies proposes plan to shield ratepayers from data center power line costs
Francesca Pica
As artificial intelligence data centers are being built in eastern Wisconsin, so too is a massive network of new power lines to serve them.
The American Transmission Company is seeking more than $2 billion in transmission projects that will help serve Microsoft's massive Mount Pleasant campus, Vantage's project in Port Washington and a data center in Beaver Dam built by Meta, parent company of Facebook and Instagram.
Microsoft, Meta and other tech giants have publicly pledged to pay for new power lines supplying their electricity-hungry data centers. But due to the way ATC’s billing works, ratepayers in eastern Wisconsin could face higher costs for transmission lines in the years before campuses go online.
In public filings submitted to state regulators April 1, We Energies says it plans to ensure transmission costs are transferred directly to data center companies in their service territory. The move is intended to shield other ratepayers from hundreds of millions of dollars in extra transmission costs associated with data centers while those projects ramp up.
The utility said it’s working with ATC to submit a plan to federal regulators by the end of April.
The proposal would protect not only We Energies customers but ratepayers across ATC’s footprint, said Bert Garvin, WEC Energy Group senior vice president of external affairs. That includes Alliant Energy and Wisconsin Public Service Corporation territory in eastern Wisconsin, as well as customers in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.
“That was important to us and to the data centers,” Garvin told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “No other utilities’ customers will be paying for this lag issue as they ramp up.”
In Wisconsin, transmission is one of the “loopholes that would need to be fixed if the world was going to live up to the promises" made by data center companies, said Tom Content, executive director of the state Citizens Utility Board.
Content said he was glad to see We Energies address transmission cost concerns, but is waiting to see specifics of the proposal filed to regulators.
"We have all these promises that the tech companies are going to pay their own way," he said. "We don't have anything in writing today in this case that protects customers from $2.3 billion in costs."
ATC seeking more than $2 billion in new transmission
The state Public Service Commission already signed off on two transmission projects related to data centers.
Part of a $625 million project that was approved in May 2025 includes the construction of a power line to serve Microsoft’s data center campus in Mount Pleasant, built on the former Foxconn site.
In public filings, ATC said the project’s massive energy demand – around 900 megawatts for the first two phases – will overload existing infrastructure.
ATC is also building two new power lines and a substation in Milwaukee and Waukesha counties. The project will cost $423 million and help maintain system reliability as large data centers come online.
Another transmission project, approved in November 2025, will cost $191 million. It will serve Meta’s Beaver Dam data center.
ATC is awaiting approval of a massive proposal to hook up the Port Washington data center campus. It would cost an estimated $1.4 billion to $1.6 billion. ATC also wants to build a $56 million power line in Milwaukee and Racine counties, in part to support the Mount Pleasant campus.
Lag, lower-than-expected energy use could expose residents to higher costs
ATC bills though utility companies, who pass costs onto their customers in rates.
Transmission accounts for around 15% of a We Energies customer's monthly electric bill, Content said. And unlike utilities – which must wait for a power plant to begin service before putting costs into rates – ATC can start charging as soon as shovels break ground on a new power line or substation.
As part of its data center rate proposal, We Energies wants to charge data center companies a transmission service charge once they go online. It would be based on how much energy they use, regardless of whether they meet their projected load.
But that means We Energies would recover fewer costs if data centers used less than expected, Public Service Commission analysts said.
"Put another way, when [data center customers] are charged less through the Transmission Service Charge due to changes in actual demand and energy usage, ATC's other customers will be charged more to make up the remaining transmission costs," analyst William Koebel said in January.
Koebel also said other customers may subsidize data center-related transmission costs in the gap between project approval and when the data center enters service. That gap could last around three to five years.
We Energies plan shields ATC ratepayers from $561 million in costs
To address the lag issue, We Energies says it will enter a service agreement with ATC to directly assign costs to data centers during the construction and ramp-up period.
We Energies says this will save ratepayers in ATC’s footprint around $561 million through 2028.
If approved, We Energies customers will avoid $130 million in extra costs in 2027 and 2028, according to the utility’s electric rate proposal filed April 1.
A spokesperson for ATC said the company continues to work with utilities on ways to assign costs to “large load customers,” including data centers.
“Under the concepts being considered, a large load customer would pay the financing costs of transmission facilities while under construction,” the ATC spokesperson said. “Also, customers would be charged for the full amount of transmission service for new, large loads they request, at the time they request it to be available, for a minimum period of 10 years regardless of when and if the full load shows up.”
The plan would be submitted to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, which oversees transmission rates. As part of that process, the state Public Service Commission will likely weigh in on whether the proposal adequately addresses the lag issue.
Francesca Pica can be reached at fpica@usatodayco.com.
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