Saturday, April 4, 2026
Thursday, April 2, 2026
Marshmallow Peeps masterpieces take over Racine Art Museum
Adrienne Davis
Monster brides, camping trips, and even classic '90s cartoons − all made from Peeps marshmallow candy − each earned awards during the 17th edition of the candy-inspired art competition at the Racine Art Museum.
The annual exhibition at the Racine Art Museum showcases work from artists who incorporate or represent the iconic candy. The exhibition runs through April 18 at the museum, 441 Main St., in downtown Racine.
The Golden PEEPS Awards, held March 31, served as the exhibition’s opening reception, honoring artists as they walked an orange carpet.
“Each year, we are presented with truly exceptional artwork submissions, which makes selecting award winners incredibly difficult,” RAM Assistant Curator Katelyn Mitchell said in a news release. "It’s always wonderful to see artists transform this unusual material into something novel.”
Mitchell said judges consider creativity, presentation and the use of Peeps marshmallow candy as art media or inspiration.
Awards in multiple categories were presented to artists during the show, who demonstrated clever and skilled use of Peeps marshmallow candy.
Julie Palmer of Racine won first 'PEEP' in the adult division for the Happy Birthday, PEEP Jr. art display − a spring-colored piece featuring Peeps gathered inside a miniature tree house for a birthday celebration.
Among Milwaukee-area winners include Beatrix W. Leach of Milwaukee, who took home second 'PEEP' for Victorian Peeps, an elegant piece featuring miniature Peeps enclosed in an egg-shaped display set on a sophisticated saucer.
Connie Reeves of Wauwatosa received an honorable mention for Peep Mittens, a pair of mittens knitted in vivid Peeps decorations.
In the Young 'PEEPle's' under 13 division, Charlotte Barnes of Racine, won first 'PEEP' for the Peep Scouts Go Camping, a colorful display showing the marshmallow ducks gathered around a tropical campsite.
In the group division under 13, first 'PEEP' was given to Laura and Steve Grayson of Racine for The Peepeux Tapestry: An Epic Bunny Adventure, a tapestry-styled piece that shows Peeps as they travel through history.
Jon and Laura Leach, also from Wauwatosa, received an honorable mention for Spring Dance − colorful Peeps that appear to float in mid-air.
First-place winners and RAM Staff Choice recipients also received a golden glass PEEPS bunny sculpture handcrafted by Hot Shop Glass in downtown Racine.
Hours
Both campuses of the Racine Art Museum are open Wednesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Admission rates for the Racine Art Museum can be found here.
For more information on the PEEPS Brand Art Exhibition, visit here.
Adrienne Davis is a south suburban reporter for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Got any tips or stories to share? Contact Adrienne at amdavis@gannett.com. Follow her on X at @AdriReportss.
Monday, March 23, 2026
Evers signs bill that shores up FoodShare while banning sugary food
Jessie Opoien
MADISON – Wisconsin will bar FoodShare recipients from using benefits to purchase candy and soft drinks under legislation signed Monday by Gov. Tony Evers.
The bill, which the Legislature sent to the governor with bipartisan support earlier this month, also provides funding and additional positions requested by Evers' administration to ensure the state is not penalized under new federal requirements implemented under President Donald Trump's "One Big Beautiful Bill" last year.
In a statement announcing he had signed the bill into law, Evers championed the approval of those resources for the state Department of Health Services but did not address the new restrictions on purchases for recipients of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.
"In spite of the chaos at the federal level and the continued attacks on our FoodShare program, I am proud of the work my administration has done over the past year to ensure our kids, families, veterans, and seniors across our state receive the resources they need to access basic food and groceries," Evers said in a statement. "As long as I am governor, I will continue to do everything in my power to protect Wisconsin families and taxpayers from the harmful decisions of the Trump Administration."
Evers' administration estimated last fall that Trump's sweeping tax and spending law would cost the state $284 million over the span of its enactment and in August requested nearly $70 million to cover the implementation of the new requirements for SNAP.
The federal program, administered at the state level and known as FoodShare in Wisconsin, provides low-income families with cash assistance to purchase certain foods at authorized retailers. It is subject to work requirements.
The federal law imposed new work requirements and shifted more of the administrative costs onto states. It also subjects states that make too many overpayment or underpayment errors to hundreds of millions of dollars in penalties.
The bill recently passed both chambers of the Legislature with bipartisan support, emerging from the Assembly with a 71-22 vote and the Senate with a 25-8 vote.
Under the bill, DHS must request a waiver from the federal government to enact the ban on sugary purchases. The federal government has approved similar waivers in nearly two dozen states, allowing them to implement these bans as two-year pilot programs.
Bill author Rep. Clint Moses, R-Menomonie, said the policy will redirect benefits toward healthy foods in an effort to improve health outcomes.
Under the bill, DHS will be required to contract with a nonprofit organization to develop a platform with a database of eligible products to be implemented by retailers. The bill requires nonprofit organizations to partner with a technology firm that is "experienced with this state's Medical Assistance enterprise data warehouse and data analytics reporting system" to administer the platform.
The database could include an optional public-facing inventory of eligible products under the law.
The DHS funds requested by the Evers administration were attached as an amendment to the bill as the Assembly neared the end of its work last month.
"I think people should have the ability to make those choices when they're getting their food, but at the end of the day (this funding) is the one that's really important," Evers told reporters March 18 in Milwaukee when asked about the funds being attached to the purchase restrictions. "So was happy to do that. It's one of those things that we call compromise in the Legislature and the governor's office, so this for sure takes precedent."
SNAP recipients living in Colorado, Iowa, Nebraska, Tennessee and West Virginia sued the U.S. Department of Agriculture earlier this month over similar purchase restriction policies implemented in their states.
In the lawsuit, plaintiffs argued they or their family members rely on the restricted foods to manage health conditions such as diabetes and allergies, or to obtain energy boosts needed in their daily lives.
The lawsuit said the federal government exceeded its legal authority by approving waivers without conducting "reasoned decision-making" and seeks to void the waivers.
Jessie Opoien can be reached at jessie.opoien@jrn.com.
Friday, March 13, 2026
37% of cannabis poisonings in Wisconsin involved children under 5
Gina Lee Castro
Most calls to the Wisconsin Poison Center about edible cannabis poisonings in 2025 involved children and teens.
According to Bre Campbell, a spokesperson for the center, 68% of the 309 calls the center received about cannabis poisonings last year involved people under 19 years old.
Children under 5 accounted for 37% of the calls. This age group often mistakes THC-infused edibles as candy and can eat multiple pieces or even the whole bag, Campbell said.
“That’s a dangerous scenario,” Campbell said.
According to Campbell, about 8% of calls related to edible cannabis resulted in patients being admitted to critical care.
Starting in November, most hemp products will become illegal nationwide due to a federal ban.
Until then, hemp products with low levels of THC are legal in Wisconsin. However, a recent Milwaukee Journal Sentinel investigation that tested 30 hemp products in Wisconsin found 18 of them contained THC above the federal limit.
Among older children and teens ages 6 to 19 years old, street drugs and stimulants like THC and nicotine were the fourth most common substances involved in poisonings in Wisconsin last year.
Thirty-one percent of calls related to edible cannabis involved 6- to 19-year-olds, Campbell said.
Adults 20 years or older accounted for a similar share.
Children under 5 years old are frequently exposed to nicotine, too. About 86% of poisoning calls related to e-cigarettes and liquid nicotine in 2025 were for children under 5 years old, Campbell said.
The best thing parents and guardians can do to avoid these exposures is store these substances safely locked away and have discussions about the risks of using things like nicotine and cannabis and other drugs, Campbell said.
Contact the Wisconsin Poison Center at 1-800-222-1222 or at www.wisconsinpoison.org.
Gina Castro is a Public Investigator reporter. She can be reached at GCastro@usatodayco.com.
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