LANSING – Michigan Supreme Court justices quizzed attorneys on Jan. 21 about whether Michigan State University failed to uphold contractual obligations made by the former Detroit College of Law after the schools merged was filed soon enough.

Elizabeth Watza, assistant general counsel for MSU, argued that the claim came outside of the statute of limitations, or in other words, wasn’t filed in time.

Mark Cousens, an attorney for a married couple who are both former employees of the Detroit College of Law and believe contractual obligations are owed to them, argued the university misled the couple about its obligations through the merger. And he noted MSU only shared a transfer agreement with the couple after their two-year window to bring a claim expired.

Amy and Robert McCormick filed the lawsuit against MSU in the fall of 2022 after learning of the terms of the merger between the university and the Detroit College of Law, which included terms that MSU would be responsible for paying and performing certain liabilities and obligations. The McCormicks have argued, including successfully in a 2-1 Michigan Court of Appeals decision, that MSU committed an act of fraudulent concealment by not notifying them sooner of the impact of the merger on them.

Being included in the James Beard Foundation’s annual award process has become a regular occurrence for Milwaukee-area culinary standouts. That process began in earnest Wednesday with the announcement of this year’s James Beard semifinalists, which include a half-dozen representatives from southeastern Wisconsin.

The nonprofit foundation uses its yearly honors to highlight the top restaurants and bars across the United States, as well as the talented people who make them what they are. Following today’s reveal of the semifinalists, the organization will announce finalists March 31 and then the winners in each category June 15 in Chicago.

Emerging chef: Vanessa Rose of Mother’s

This category is spot-on for Rose, whose restaurant didn’t have a brick-and-mortar location at this time last year and instead operated as a pop-up at Ardent, where Rose had served as sous chef. Then, in June, Mother’s found a permanent home in the White House building at 2900 S. Kinnickinnic Ave. and continued its inventive approach to food that has garnered some well-earned attention.

As Milwaukee Journal Sentinel dining critic Rachel Bernhard put it in her review of Mother’s, “Rose’s dishes are at once creative yet familiar. They’re slap-our-knees kooky yet executed with such sincerity. They are a reminder that it’s perfectly OK to play with your food … as long as it turns out as delicious as these do.”

Mother’s is equally inventive with its business approach, adopting the European method of including all tips and taxes in the menu prices while paying equal wages to employees. Then there’s the restaurant’s social consciousness — from its name inspired by the LGBTQ+ community to its commitment to “the blending and sharing of cultures.”

For all of those reasons, we’re thrilled to have Rose and Mother’s once again joining us for this year’s SoundBites at the Harley-Davidson Museum on March 5.

Outstanding bar: The Mothership

The colorful Bay View watering hole has persevered through its share of challenges, including a global pandemic that hit less than a year after opening and this past summer’s flooding that shut things down for three months. Owner Ricky Ramirez and his crew just kept going — aided by the community they built on the corner of Logan and Lincoln Avenues — and kept making cocktails that are seriously excellent, even if the people making it are of the not-so-serious persuasion.

By striking that balance, the Mothership has earned the “beloved” descriptor connected to many a Milwaukee bar, as well as something almost none of them have: recognition from the James Beard Foundation.

Best new restaurant: 1033 Omakase

Like Mother’s, the sushi spot at 1033 S. First St. is a relative newbie to Milwaukee’s food scene, having opened in December of 2024. But quality is undeniable, and Worawit “Chef Ray” Boonyapituksakul will skillfully dish it out to you — if you can snag a reservation.

Milwaukee Magazine food scribe (and This Bites co-host) Ann Christenson discovered just how big of a challenge it is to get in the door at 1033 Omakase before finally scoring a seat nearly six months into her efforts. Fourteen courses and 90 minutes later, the wait proved worth it as Chef Ray and his capable assistant created more than a meal; it was an experience Ann described thusly:

“Watching the chefs … shape sushi rice into perfect mounds, delicately shave black truffles over tuna tartare, grill tiny filets of wagyu beef, and build little bowls of cold creamy sea urchin, roe and rice is as fundamental as the multisensory experience of eating every morsel of what is deftly placed in front of you.”

Best Chef: Midwest: Paul Zerkel & Lisa Kirkpatrick, Zak Baker

Zerkel and Kirkpatrick share their semifinalist honor as owners of Goodkind, which earned one of its own back in 2022 in the category of Outstanding Bar Program. But anyone who’s eaten there knows that what’s on your plate is as excellent as what you’ll sip from your glass. Ann singled out the spicy crab pasta and legendary Tuesday night burgers when she placed Goodkind in her most recent collection of best restaurants in Milwaukee. The Bay View eatery has been a mainstay on those lists for years, and it’s not leaving anytime soon.

Ca’Lucchenzo hasn’t been at it quite as long as Goodkind, but the Italian spot in Tosa carries a similar reputation for quality — albeit with a slightly more carbohydrate-centric approach. Baker and his wife Sarah nailed the cozy feel of Italy’s neighborhood restaurants, and the food matches that vibe.

Ann gave it a special shout in Milwaukee Magazine’s comfort-food feature, writing that “you have only to bite into Baker’s chewy tubes of rigatoni, a sauce of stewed sweet peppers, Italian sausage and mascarpone clinging to its ridges, to feel, at least for the time being, like all is right in the world.”

A public school superintendent in Minnesota said federal immigration agents have detained four students over the last two weeks, including a 5-year-old who was allegedly “used as bait.”

Zena Stenvik, the superintendent of Columbia Heights Public Schools, said 5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos and his father were detained in their driveway as they returned from school on Tuesday, Jan. 20.

Stenvik said Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents refused to allow the boy to stay with an adult who lived in the house and instead told the boy to knock on his front door “to see if anyone else was home – essentially using a 5-year-old as bait.”

Liam and his father were taken by immigration agents and brought toa detention facility in Texas, Stenvik said, adding that they had active asylum cases and did not have deportation orders.

Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement that ICE conducted a “targeted operation” to detain Liam’s father, writing “ICE did NOT target a child.”

The incident is among the latest interactions between civilians and immigration agents fueling outrage over the aggressive enforcement operations in Minnesota following the deadly shooting of Renee Nicole Good by an ICE agent on Jan. 7.

Vice President JD Vance will travel to Minneapolis on Thursday where he will meet with federal agents amid intensifying legal battles and protests over the ongoing immigration raids.

A White House official said Vance will meet with ICE officers, deliver remarks praising their work and criticize Minneapolis’ “sanctuary” policies that limit cooperation with federal immigration authorities.

As the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement efforts continue to roil Minneapolis, Vice President JD Vance said he hopes his presence in the city Thursday will calm things down.

“Certainly one of my goals is to calm the tensions, to talk to people, to try to understand what we can do better,” Vance said during a speech in Toledo, Ohio, before flying to Minnesota.

At the same time, Vance blasted local officials for not cooperating with federal immigration authorities and blamed the lack of cooperation for “chaos” in the city. The vice president said he also wants to send a message to law enforcement “that we stand with them and we’re not going to abandon them.”

“We’re not going to do what the last administration did,” Vance continued. “Which is throw them under the bus to appease a bunch of left-wing radicals.”

–Zac Anderson

Vance says Renee Good was in leftist network. Where’s the evidence?

U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi said federal agents arrested two people involved in a protest that interrupted Sunday service at a church in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Bondi identified those arrested as Nekima Levy Armstrong and Chauntyll Louisa Allen but did not describe any alleged charges. “More to come,” Bondi said on X. “WE WILL PROTECT OUR HOUSES OF WORSHIP.”

A group of protestors entered Cities Church on Jan. 18, alleging that Pastor David Easterwood serves as the ICE St. Paul Field Office acting director. Videos show dozens of protesters changing “Renee Good,” and “don’t shoot,” as some verbally confronted churchgoers.

Anti-ICE protesters emerge during Minnesota church service

Anti-ICE protesters emerge during a church service in St. Paul, Minnesota.

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The DOJ launched an investigation into the protest as a potential violation of the FACE Act, a federal law that prohibits the use of force, threats or physical obstruction to block people from reproductive health care or access to religious worship under the First Amendment right to religious freedom.

A federal appeals court on Jan. 21 paused a lower court’s order that had ordered federal immigration agents in Minnesota not to use “intimidation tactics” against peaceful protesters.

The move by the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals delivered a win to the Trump administration, which had vowed to appeal the lower court’s order that set up guardrails around the behavior of federal agents.

In the lower-court order, U.S. District Judge Kate Menendez said agents appeared to have engaged in “chilling conduct” and “intimidation tactics.” She noted actions such as the “drawing and pointing of weapons,” the “use of pepper spray and other non-lethal munitions” and “actual and threatened arrest and detainment of protesters and observers.”

Organizers in Minneapolis asked people to call out of work, skip school and refrain from buying anything as part of a protest against the ongoing immigration operations.

“Faith leaders, business owners, workers, and concerned Minnesotans have called for a statewide day of public mourning and pause through ‘No Work, No School and No Shopping’ and a massive, peaceful march in downtown Minneapolis that afternoon,” said a news release about the demonstration scheduled for Friday, Jan. 23.

Over the last two weeks, students at schools across Minnesota have held walkouts in protest of the immigration operation and Renee Good’s killing.