BY ALEXANDRA G STAHL AND AMRITA THAKKAR

Every year, Milwaukee Riverkeeper organizes one of the biggest volunteer-led cleanups in the city – a gargantuan effort that has Milwaukeeans out in droves to clean up the Milwaukee, Menomonee and Kinnickinnic rivers after the first of the spring rains. The science-based advocacy organization works for clean, swimmable, fishable and drinkable water in the Milwaukee River Basin year-round, but April is their biggest push, as they set up what is likely the largest volunteer-led event in the state. 

For their 31st annual cleanup on April 25, however, the Riverkeepers had a goal that dwarfed every previous year – they wanted to break the world record for the world’s biggest river cleanup. With 124 clean-up sites this year (versus last year’s 100), they were confident that they had a good chance at the title. 

“The people’s power is something pretty spectacular,” says Jennifer Bolger Breceda, executive director of Milwaukee Riverkeeper. “Our spring cleanup is really kind of a kickoff of spring to a lot of people. We have a lot of nuisance pollution in Milwaukee because of our winters, and the snow covers up a lot of the trash for a significant period of time. When it melts it becomes pretty noticeable, so it’s a perfect time to get out there and do the cleanup.”

Tru Earth, the presenting sponsor of the cleanup, originally approached Riverkeeper with the idea of breaking a world record, aiming to see if the title already existed or if they could create one. The organizations reached out to Guinness World Records, and it turned out there was already an existing world record for “Most Participants in a River Clean-up (multiple locations).” The record had previously been set at a cleanup of the Taff River in the United Kingdom, with 1,327 participants. 

But applying to break the record was the easy part – once Guinness was on board, the real work began. The record had to be judged against the previous record, and it had to be done exactly the same way.

“We had to train more volunteers to support our other volunteers, to watch, witness and adjudicate them,” explains Bolger Breceda. “We also had an adjudicator from Guinness present on the day of the event.”

The extra layer caused some logistical challenges. While previous events were more casual, with volunteers showing up in their own time, Riverkeeper requested that volunteers show up early this year so everyone could start at 9 a.m. Every site captain was added to a text message chain, so that all sites started work at the same time. 

The event drew over 4,923 volunteers and ended up with approximately 111,452 pounds of trash collected. While Guinness only counted 2,082 people due to their own adjudication standards, it still easily surpassed the previous record.

While Riverkeeper called for pre-registrations well in advance so they could organize for supplies, Bolger Breceda says that they didn’t put in any extra effort into recruiting the record-breaking number. “With the flooding and the rains a couple weeks before the clean-up, as well as the storm last August, people really wanted to clean up the river,” she explains. “There was a lot of trash, debris and litter, and the demand to clean, so to speak, was high.”

As always, the clean-up resulted in a number of strange finds – three toilets, two mattresses, five fire extinguishers, 39 tires, 11 construction barrels, six construction signs, six shopping carts, a golf bag with clubs and even a wheelchair. 

The record was announced at Rock the Green at the Harley-Davidson Museum later that day. “It was a lot of work, but it was worth it to put Milwaukee on the map,” says Bolger Breceda. 

Minnesota legislators passed a housing bill on May 13 that includes $40 million in emergency rental assistance, a partial answer to pleas that have been coming from Twin Cities metro area officials and others since the early December start of Operation Metro Surge.

The $165 million bill is now headed to the desk of Gov. Tim Walz. It also includes $100 million to build affordable housing, $14 million for housing meant to meet workforce needs in Greater Minnesota, $4 million to support manufactured homes and $4 million for a homelessness prevention strategy threatened by federal cuts.  

State Rep. Liish Kozlowski (DFL-Duluth), who authored the rental assistance portion of the bill, said it has been “the most pressing issue facing Minnesotans” since the session began.

The funds will be distributed through the state’s Family Homeless Prevention and Assistance Program, which partners with counties, nonprofits and other organizations. To be eligible, participants must be Minnesota residents undergoing a housing crisis who have an income at or below 200% of federal poverty guidelines. 

Legislature passes housing bill amid feds’ threat to strategy to prevent homelessness

Kozlowski believes the “lion’s share” of the funding will go toward the Twin Cities metro, but that every county in the state will receive some portion. They added that they were hopeful that residents would receive the dollars by the time June rent comes due, but that money would definitely be available by July.

Kozlowski said the bill was “the thing I’m most proud of and also it gives me heartburn,” acknowledging that even a figure as large as $40 million pales in comparison to the estimated cost of meeting emergency assistance needs for the state’s low-income households, which Minnesota Housing pegs at $350 million.

The decision comes as eviction filing rates statewide continue to slightly outpace last year. As of May 1, 2026, nearly 8,500 households had received an eviction notice this year, up about 8% from the same time period in 2025.

In Minneapolis, evictions are outpacing solutions

The money will come from a state fund originally created for counties to pay out settlements connected to a U.S. Supreme Court decision that found the state’s forfeiture law was unconstitutional.

Minneapolis City Council members, who have been calling on the state to add to funds approved by the city, as well as those raised privately through sites like Stand With Minnesota, said they were relieved to see it finally happen.

“My community, my colleagues and I on the Council, and people throughout the city and state have been telling lawmakers that emergency rental assistance is desperately needed in the wake of Operation Metro Surge,” said Council member Aisha Chughtai (Ward 10). “This is a win for working class people.”

Council member Jason Chavez agreed, saying that “this action is exactly what is needed to keep more neighbors housed.” He added, though, that many residents still need more time – a nod to the Council’s efforts to extend the eviction timeline, which have been met with vetos from Mayor Jacob Frey.

Frey’s spokesperson said the mayor was thankful that the state has invested in emergency rental assistance, a measure he has said he prefers to eviction period extensions.

St. Paul City Council President Rebecca Noecker (Ward 2) said the bill’s passage was “really exciting news,” saying the need for rental assistance is bottomless.

“We’ll be fighting for as much of that money as possible in St. Paul,” Noecker said. The announcement made her even more grateful, she said, that the Council passed an ordinance extending St. Paul’s eviction timeline to 60 days – which coincidentally went into effect on May 14 and will last through the end of 2026.

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