Tom Oberhaus is the co-operator of Cozy Nook Farm in Waukesha County. Cozy Nook is primarily a dairy farm, and it supplements its business with seasonal pumpkin and Christmas tree sales.

When Lake Effect’s Sam Woods spoke with Oberhaus in January, Christmas tree sales were down, and the farm was planning for 2026. Sam checked back in with Oberhaus to see how things are going on the farm ahead of planting season.

The conversation is part of WUWM's commitment to covering issues our listeners say are top priorities, including the economy. As part of that coverage, we’re exploring how the economy is impacting Wisconsinites with different financial needs and concerns.

In parts one and two, we learned about out-of-state landlord David Tomblin. He owns over 200 rental properties in Milwaukee and is fighting lawsuits that threaten to cut him off from rental income. We also learned about how his tenants united against him, and the city’s case for declaring his business model a public nuisance.

Today, we examine how the city has tried similar strategies for dealing with negligent landlords in the past, and we finally speak with the man himself - David Tomblin.

This is the third and final part of “How to Evict Your Landlord," a series produced by WUWM’s Jimmy Gutierrez and Lake Effect’s Sam Woods.

In part one, we learned about David Tomblin, who owns over 200 rental properties in Milwaukee. But lawsuits brought by the city and major lenders could ultimately take those properties away.

These lawsuits follow a long campaign by Common Ground, a nonpartisan advocacy organization, that united Tomblin’s tenants against him. Today, we look at how Common Ground organized Tomblin’s tenants, and how the Milwaukee City Attorney used his legal power to bring Tomblin to court.

This is part two of “How to Evict Your Landlord,” produced by WUWM’s Jimmy Gutierrez and Lake Effect’s Sam Woods

You may have heard that one of Milwaukee’s largest landlords is in big legal trouble.

David Tomblin, founder of Highgrove Holdings Management LLC, owns over 200 rental properties in Milwaukee. But lawsuits brought by the city and major lenders could ultimately take those properties away.

These lawsuits are not the beginning of this story. They follow a years-long campaign by Common Ground, a nonpartisan advocacy organization, that united Tomblin’s tenants against him.

WUWM’s Jimmy Gutierrez and Sam Woods spent a few months with Common Ground and some of Tomblin’s tenants to learn about him, what he represents and how tenants took back their power. This is part one of, “How to Evict Your Landlord.”

Since the dawn of the internet, online spaces have been rapidly changing and eating up more of our time. Social media and attention-driven apps are shaping how young people think and feel and how they learn.

A new documentary, “Your Attention Please,” highlights the real-world consequences of social media and how it reshapes all of us. It also shows how a new generation of parents and teens are fighting back against Big Tech’s agenda to keep us scrolling. The film is showing at the Milwaukee Film Festival. To learn more Lake Effect’s Audrey Nowakowski is joined by director Sara Robin, writer & co-creator Jack LeMay, and film participant Kristin Bride.

A warning to listeners, this conversation does include the topic of suicide.

The Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Fund will likely come to an end this June. Earlier this year, the state senate failed to reauthorize funding for the program. The stewardship fund has helped protect 750-thousand acres of land statewide by investing roughly one-point-three billion dollars to protect Wisconsin’s natural landscape.

The stewardship fund has been working with government and nonprofits since 1989, but in recent years its faced more politicization. WUWM’s Eric Von Fellow, Maria Peralta-Arellano is joined by DNR facilities and lands bureau director, Terry Bay to learn more.

If you go to a natural history museum almost anywhere in the world, you can expect to see dioramas displaying how animals live in the wild. Dioramas have become integral to museums, transporting visitors to unfamiliar landscapes through art and science. But did you know that it started right here in Milwaukee?

The Milwaukee-style diorama revolutionized how museums curated their exhibits, and the original diorama lives on at the Milwaukee Public Museum. Dr. Ellen Censky is the president and CEO of the museum, and she joins Lake Effect’s Joy Powers to talk about the museum’s long history with dioramas.

A new documentary looks at what students with different faith backgrounds can learn from each other. The film focuses on an ambitious teacher and his students in a World Religions class at Prospect High School in Mount Prospect, Illinois.

It’s showing at the Milwaukee Film Fest and ahead of that WUWM’s Maayan Silver speaks with filmmaker Allison Walsh and producer Lily Qi about the project, and what it’s all about.