Wisconsin
These 14 cities are the best places to live in Wisconsin, report says
Check out the frozen Lake Michigan lakefront in Milwaukee from a drone
The recent deep freeze has left the shoreline and banks of Lake Michigan around Milwaukee beautifully frozen in a picturesque display.
What makes a good place to live?
Maybe it’s affordable housing and a strong local economy, or access to quality schools and health care, or even healthy air quality and a low chance of extreme weather.
These were all among the metrics U.S. News & World Report measured in its latest ranking of the best places to live in the United States. Of the 250 cities named in the list, 14 in Wisconsin made the cut.
U.S. News & World Report named Eau Claire the top Wisconsin city to live in and the 49th-best city overall. Appleton wasn’t far behind, ranking as the 53rd-best place nationwide. Milwaukee, meanwhile, placed at the bottom of the list of Wisconsin cities.
Here’s what else to know about the rankings:
Here are the best places to live in Wisconsin, according to U.S. News & World Report
These 14 cities are the best places to live in Wisconsin, according to U.S. News & World Report:
- Eau Claire
- Appleton
- Waukesha
- Oshkosh
- Wausau
- Green Bay
- Sheboygan
- Janesville
- Kenosha
- La Crosse
- Madison
- Fond du Lac
- Racine
- Milwaukee
What makes Eau Claire one of the best places to live?
Eau Claire’s low cost of living and its strong job market earned it the top spot among Wisconsin cities.
The median home value in Eau Claire is $260,971, compared to the national average of $370,489, according to the study. Most data in the report was from the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey.
As of 2023, the city’s unemployment rate of 3.6% was nearly a full percentage point below the national rate. Eau Claire’s job market index – based on local unemployment and average household income – was also better than other similarly sized metro areas, the report said.
As for Eau Claire’s population, the report found residents’ ages were fairly evenly distributed across age groups. The under-20 group made up the largest proportion of the population, accounting for 23% of the approximately 72,000 residents.
The average commute time in Eau Claire is just over 13 minutes, or eight minutes lower than the national average, the study found. Nearly 84% of Eau Claire commuters drive to work, and under 5% walk, ride a bike or use public transportation.
What did the report have to say about Milwaukee?
Milwaukee residents may take issue with the city’s placement on the list, but U.S. News & World Report still ranked it among the best places to live nationally.
Like Eau Claire, the report found Milwaukee offers a lower cost of living than most similarly sized cities. The city’s median home value is $197,153, and its median household income is $53,370. Median rent is $900.
Milwaukee’s population skews younger, with under-20 residents making up 28% of the population; 20- to 24-year-olds making up 8%; 25- to 34-year-olds making up 17%; 45- to 64-year-olds making up 21%; and residents over 65 making up 12%.
The city’s median age is 31.7, and just over 26% of residents are married, the report said.
10 best places to live in the US, according to U.S. News & World Report
U.S. News & World Report ranked these 10 cities as the best places to live in the country:
- Johns Creek, Georgia
- Carmel, Indiana
- Pearland, Texas
- Fishers, Indiana
- Cary, North Carolina
- League City, Texas
- Apex, North Carolina
- Leander, Texas
- Rochester Hills, Michigan
- Troy, Michigan
Wisconsin
Stepmom from hell accused of starving 35-pound teen daughter enters plea — could spend the rest of her life behind bars
The Wisconsin stepmother from hell accused of abusing her 35-pound 14-year-old daughter by depriving her of food and water has entered a no-contest plea in the twisted case.
Melissa Goodman, 52, now faces up to 46 years in prison if she’s handed the maximum sentence for charges of chronic neglect causing great bodily harm, chronic neglect causing emotional damage and false imprisonment.
She’s set to be sentenced on July 1.
Goodman, along with husband Walter Goodman, has been accused of starving her autistic stepdaughter.
Goodman’s daughter Savanna Goodman and her girlfriend Kayla Stemler were also charged over the alleged abuse, People reported.
The family is accused of locking the teen in a bedroom without a mattress, restricting her to only her room for years and depriving her of food and water, according to Wisconsin prosecutors.
The mobile home they lived in became a house of horrors for the teenager, who was mistaken for a 6-year-old when she was found by cops in August 2025 and rushed to the hospital.
Walter Goodman, the victim’s father, called 911 to report that his daughter was lethargic and ill.
Responding officers found her weighing just 35 pounds; she was hospitalized with multi-organ dysfunction, including respiratory failure and pancreatitis.

From 2020 until August 2025, the victim, whose name is not disclosed because she is a minor, was allegedly isolated in a trailer on Hattie Lane, in Oneida, Wisconsin.
Extended family members were told she was away on vacation or with other relatives to explain her absence.
Wisconsin
‘Song Sung Blue’ subject Claire Sardina playing Wisconsin State Fair
When “Song Sung Blue” – the biopic about Milwaukee Neil Diamond tribute act Lightning & Thunder – had a premiere at the Oriental Theatre in Milwaukee last December, star Hugh Jackman gave Claire Sardina (played in the film by Kate Hudson) an engraved bench honoring Lighting & Thunder to be installed at Wisconsin State Fair Park.
In August, Sardina will get to have a seat on that bench – and sing again on a State Fair stage.
Sardina will perform with tribute act So Good: The Neil Diamond Experience Aug. 9 at the Bank Five Nine Amphitheater, the largest stage at the fair featuring free concerts with admission.
For Sardina, it will be a return to a place central to Lighting & Thunder. The band performed in the Milwaukee area from 1989 until Mike Sardina, aka Lightning, passed away in 2006. The State Fair was one of their favorite places to play, and the couple got married there in 1994.
The couple’s wild story – from a performance at a Pearl Jam Summerfest concert to major health issues – was the subject of the documentary “Song Sung Blue” that inspired the biopic, and earned Hudson an Oscar nomination for portraying Claire Sardina.
Fair officials May 8 revealed the full headliner lineup for the stage, which includes:
- Aug. 6: Sixteen Candles
- Aug. 7 and 8: Here Come The Mummies
- Aug. 10 and 11: Herman’s Hermits starring Peter Noone
- Aug. 12: Hairbangers Ball
- Aug. 13: Too Hype Crew
- Aug. 14: The Gufs
- Aug. 15: Let’s Sing Taylor – An Unofficial Live Tribute Show
- Aug. 16: Pat McCurdy
All Bank Five Nine Amphitheater concerts are included with fair admission.
The lineup is also nearly complete for the Bank Five Nine Main Stage, with just a show on Aug. 11 to be announced.
Tickets are on sale for these shows at wistatefair.com and include same-day fair admission:
- Aug. 6: Hairball
- Aug. 7: Nelly
- Aug. 8: Bailey Zimmerman with Chandler Walters
- Aug. 9: Wynonna Judd and Melissa Etheridge
- Aug. 10: For King + Country with Rachel Lampa
- Aug. 12: John Mulaney
- Aug. 13: The All-American Rejects with Joyce Manor
- Aug. 14: Lindsey Stirling with PVRIS
- Aug. 15: AJR with Em Beihold
- Aug. 16: The Beach Boys
Wisconsin
Wisconsin universities and schools impacted by Canvas data breach
WAUSAU, Wis. (WSAW/GRAY NEWS) – A ransomware group has claimed to have breached the learning management system Canvas, possibly exposing the personal information of students, teachers and staff across the country.
According to a statement from the Universities of Wisconsin website, they were notified of a nationwide security breach experienced by Instructure, the provider of Canvas. Universities of Wisconsin schools use the cloud-based management system.
UW-Stevens Point tells NewsChannel 7 they have not confirmed UWSP was involved in the breach, but did send communication that Canvas was down and students should not perform any asked actions if prompted, as it may not be legitimate while Canvas is down.
Instructure, the parent company of Canvas, posted on May 1 about a cybersecurity incident that had been reported and was under investigation.
The next day, Chief Information Security Officer Steve Proud wrote that the information involved in the attack included names, student ID numbers, messages between users and email addresses.
“At this time, we have found no evidence that passwords, dates of birth, government identifiers, or financial information were involved. If that changes, we will notify any impacted institutions,” he wrote.
The Wausau School District sent a letter to parents Wednesday regarding the cybersecurity incident. They said there is no evidence that passwords, single-sign-on credentials, financial information or social security numbers were impacted. They stressed that type of information is not stored in Canvas.
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