Midwest
Longest-serving Wisconsin state Senator to retire
Sen. Rob Cowles, the longest-serving incumbent in the Wisconsin Legislature, announced Monday he will retire rather than run in a district now more favorable to Democrats or move under new district boundaries that take effect in November.
Cowles, 73, had originally said he planned to move and run again to represent the bulk of the district he currently serves that is more Republican. He was first elected to the Senate in 1982 after serving four years in the Assembly.
Under the new maps, Cowles was put in the same Green Bay-area Senate district as two other Republican incumbents: Sens. Andre Jacque and Eric Wimberger. That district will now lean slightly Democratic.
WISCONSIN GOV. EVERS VETOES BILL TO LET TEENS WORK WITHOUT PARENTAL CONSENT
Wimberger has said he plans to move into the same district Cowles had contemplated moving into, meaning they would have faced each other in a Republican primary. Jacque isn’t up for re-election until 2026.
Cowles said “after much thought and deliberation,” he has decided against seeking re-election.
The Wisconsin State Capitol building in Madison, Wisconsin. (Education Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
“I’ve enjoyed the opportunity I’ve had to meet people in the State Capitol and throughout Wisconsin who share my love for the state we call home,” Cowles said in his statement. “From the bottom of my heart, I want to thank everyone who wakes up every day working to make our great state an even better place.”
He did not address the new maps in his statement.
Cowles has been active on environmental policy, currently serving as chair of the Natural Resources and Energy Committee. He was also the former co-chair of the Senate’s Audit Committee, which ordered and reviewed audits of state agencies and programs.
With Cowles’ departure, Democratic Sen. Bob Wirch, of Kenosha, will be the longest-serving senator. He was first elected in 1996, after spending four years in the Assembly.
Democratic Sen. Tim Carpenter, of Milwaukee, has more seniority in the Legislature. He was first elected to the Assembly in 1984, but he wasn’t elected to the Senate until 2002.
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Detroit, MI
Detroit Tigers vs Cincinnati Reds – April 24, 2026 – Redleg Nation
The Cincinnati Reds return home tonight after a 5-1 road trip. It’s Reds Hall of Fame induction weekend with events taking place every day of the series. Cincinnati is welcoming in the Detroit Tigers, who are on a 2-game winning streak. First pitch tonight is scheduled for 6:50pm ET.
Starting Lineups
Eugenio Suarez was initially in the lineup as the designated hitter. Just after 6pm he was scratched from the lineup with what the Reds are calling mid-back pain. Nathaniel Lowe is now the designated hitter.
Starting Pitchers
Andrew Abbott
It has been an uneven start to 2026 for the Reds left-handed All-Star pitcher. He was dominant in his first outing of the season, and he pitched well in Miami, but he’s struggled in each of his last two starts and wasn’t exactly good in his second start of the season, either. All told his ERA is nearly six and he has 11 walks with just 15 strikeouts in 24.2 innings pitched so far this season.
When it comes to the platoon splits – last season there wasn’t a big difference in how lefties or righties hit him. Teams didn’t send many left-handed hitters out to face him, so he was only facing the best lefties in the game while facing your every day right-handers. Righties did hit for a bit more power, but they didn’t hit for much power. This season, which isn’t listed below, lefties are CRUSHING him. They are hitting an absurd .478/.500/.609 against him in their 24 trips to the plate. Righties are hitting .266/.344/.367 against him, but also have 10 walks and just nine strikeouts – making tons of contact but not being able to do a ton with it thus far.
2025 Splits
| Split | PA | H | 2B | 3B | HR | BB | K | AVG | OBP | SLG |
| RHH | 510 | 110 | 19 | 1 | 17 | 34 | 109 | .234 | .287 | .387 |
| LHH | 174 | 38 | 10 | 0 | 2 | 9 | 40 | .236 | .279 | .335 |
Pitch Usage
| 4-seam | Cutter | Curve | Slider | Change | |
| Velo | 92.6 | 86.8 | 79.4 | 81.5 | 85.8 |
| Usage | 51% | 1% | 12% | 16% | 21% |
Framber Valdez
In four of his five starts this season Valdez has been outstanding and allowed zero or one earned run. But on April 8th the Minnesota Twins roughed him up for eight runs on 10 hits and two walks. The 2-time All-Star is an innings eater and has averaged 192.0 innings for each of the last four years – all which came with the Houston Astros.
Last season saw Valdez pitch much worse on the road where his ERA was 4.70 (compared to 2.58 at home). He struck out far fewer batters and gave up significantly more hits. When it comes to the platoon splits, Valdez has reverse splits – or at least did last season. Like Abbott, he was only facing the best lefties around and didn’t face many of them, but the ones he did face hit for a higher average, made more contact, and hit for more power.
2025 Splits
| Split | PA | H | 2B | 3B | HR | BB | K | AVG | OBP | SLG |
| RHH | 651 | 136 | 26 | 4 | 10 | 57 | 154 | .234 | .308 | .344 |
| LHH | 151 | 35 | 7 | 0 | 5 | 11 | 33 | .257 | .309 | .419 |
Pitch Usage
| 2-seam | Curve | Slider | Change | |
| Velo | 94.3 | 79.0 | 86.1 | 89.7 |
| Usage | 49% | 29% | 2% | 19% |
When and Where
- Game time: 6:40pm ET
- Where: Great American Ball Park
- Watch: Reds MLB Channel, Reds.tv (in-market), MLB.tv (out of market).
- Listen: 700 WLW AM (Cincinnati area)
- Forecast: 75°, cloudy, 20% chance of rain
News and Notes
Keep an eye on the weather
While there’s not a big chance for rain at the start of the game there are spotty storms in the forecast as the evening progresses.
Jose Trevino officially begins a rehab assignment
This afternoon the Reds announced that Trevino would be joining the Dayton Dragons tonight on a rehab assignment. He hasn’t played since April 4th after having a thoracic spine strain.
Division Standings
| Team | W | L | GB | Playoff Odds |
| Cincinnati | 16 | 9 | 0.0 | 29.1% |
| Chicago | 16 | 9 | 0.0 | 73.4% |
| St. Louis | 14 | 10 | 1.5 | 12.1% |
| Pittsburgh | 14 | 11 | 2.0 | 55.0% |
| Milwaukee | 13 | 11 | 2.5 | 39.5% |
| Playoff Odds via Fangraphs | ||||
Milwaukee, WI
Milwaukee’s intense rain leads to 2.7 billion gallons of sewage released
Take a tour of Milwaukee’s deep tunnel
Take a tour of Milwaukee’s deep tunnel. It was designed to capture and hold excess runoff and sewer water, thereby mitigating flooding.
About 2.7 billion gallons of untreated wastewater was discharged into local waterways and Lake Michigan, according to the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District.
Last week’s torrents of rain pushed Milwaukee into its rainiest April on record. Upwards of 6.69 inches of rain fell in the Milwaukee area from April 12 to 16, according to the sewerage district’s rain gauges. Flood warnings remain more than a week later in a dozen counties.
The systemwide combined sewer overflow, initiated at 8:24 p.m. on Apr. 14, lasted about 114 hours. The wet weather also resulted in several sanitary sewer overflows in the sewerage district’s isolated-sewer system.
In a combined system, a single pipe carries both untreated wastewater and stormwater. It makes up 6% of the sewerage district’s service area, and is located entirely within the city of Milwaukee and the Village of Shorewood. In an isolated-system, sewage and stormwater flow through different pipes.
In both cases, an overflow can mean elevated bacteria from untreated wastewater in local waterways.
The estimated total volume was of the sanitary sewer overflows was 11.6 million gallons, impacting West Allis, Milwaukee, Bayside and River Hills. Specifically, these overflows occurred at:
- W. Grant Street and S. 77th Street in West Allis;
- S. 43rd Street and W. Lincoln Avenue in Milwaukee;
- S. 74th Street and West Oklahoma Avenue in Milwaukee;
- N. Broadmoor Road in Bayside;
- N. Lake Drive and East Ravine Lane in Bayside
- N. Range Line Road and Milwaukee River in River Hills; and
- N. River Road and W. Greentree Road in River Hills.
An in-plant spill also occurred at the Jones Island Water Reclamation facility as a result of the intense rainfall. However, the sewerage district said that Lake Michigan and local waterbodies were not impacted. Work on this spill is ongoing.
By federal law, the sewerage district is allowed six combined sewer overflows per year. Since 1994, it has captured and cleaned an average of 98.6% of wastewater.
Last year’s historic August flood event led to about 5.14 billion gallons of untreated wastewater being discharged into nearby waterways and Lake Michigan. It was the largest systemwide since the Deep Tunnel was built in 1993.
Since 1995, the sewerage district has invested more than $580 million in green infrastructure and flood management projects to improve the landscape’s ability to hold onto water, helping to avoid overflows.
Green infrastructure helps nature do its job by absorbing and storing rain and melting snow. It protects against flooding and excessive heat as well as improves air, soil and water quality, which can help the city better adapt to a changing climate.
Caitlin Looby covers the Great Lakes and the environment for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Contact: clooby@gannett.com. Follow her on social media @caitlooby.
Caitlin is an Outrider Fellow whose reporting also receives support from the Brico Fund, Fund for Lake Michigan, Barbara K. Frank, and individual contributions to the Journal Sentinel Community-Funded Journalism Project. Journal Sentinel editors maintain full editorial control over all content. To support this work, visit jsonline.com/support. Checks can be addressed to Local Media Foundation (memo: “JS Community Journalism”) and mailed to P.O. Box 85015, Chicago, IL 60689.
This fundraising effort is made possible through our partnership with Local Media Foundation, a verified 501(c)3 nonprofit organization (tax ID #36-4427750) and EnMotive Company, LLC, a subsidiary of USA TODAY Co., Inc. USA TODAY Co., Inc. is the parent company of this publication.
The JS Community-Funded Journalism Project is made possible through our partnership with Local Media Foundation, tax ID #36-4427750, a Section 501(c)(3) charitable trust affiliated with Local Media Association, and EnMotive, LLC, a subsidiary of USA TODAY Co., Inc. USA TODAY Co., Inc. is the parent company of this publication.
Minneapolis, MN
Iconic Minneapolis Music Festival Ends After More Than 25 Years
MINNEAPOLIS, MN — The Basilica Block Party has officially come to an end after more than 25 years as one of the Twin Cities’ best-known summer music events.
The Basilica of Saint Mary said this week that the final Block Party was held in 2024, “concluding an incredible run and leaving a lasting legacy in our community.”
“For over 25 years, the Basilica Block Party brought together an extraordinary spirit of music and community in the Twin Cities,” organizers said in a statement. “We are deeply grateful for the fans, the artists, and the support shown for our beloved Basilica.”
The event began in the 1990s as a fundraiser for the Basilica of Saint Mary and grew into a major outdoor music festival, drawing national acts and thousands of fans to downtown Minneapolis over the years.
While the Block Party is ending, the Basilica said it will continue hosting other events and community opportunities.
“The Basilica of Saint Mary continues to be a strong voice in our community and we look forward to new events and opportunities to build connections in the future,” organizers said.
The Basilica also pointed supporters to its “Restoring Beauty, Inspiring Hope” campaign, a comprehensive restoration and capital campaign aimed at preserving and renewing the historic church.
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