Wisconsin is renowned across the nation for its prowess at cheesemaking, but there’s a lot more to this scenic state than just its dairy products. During a visit to the lakeside city of Milwaukee, visitors can stumble upon a truly diverse drinking and dining scene, with high-end restaurants and acclaimed breweries scattered all across city limits. As you plan your next foray into the Badger State, don’t miss out on these beloved spots, each one shining a spotlight on the rich culinary heritage of Cream City.

Discover Milwaukee’s Top Spots for Fine Dining

While Milwaukee is known for classic Badger State dishes spanning from fried cheese curds to the butter burger, the city is also home to its fair share of sophisticated dining establishments. Case in point: Birch, a polished venue located on the banks of the Milwaukee River in the Lower East Side. Operated at the behest of James Beard Award-nominated Chef Kyle Knall, this prestigious spot has mastered the art of wood-fired cuisine, providing diners with a wealth of flavorful dishes cooked over an open hearth. Upon arrival, diners can look forward to dishes like the ember-roasted head-on shrimp and charred beef carpaccio, while the Contramar-inspired fish is a top-tier main dish thanks to its savory cumin aioli and poblano and fermented beet salsa.

Just south of the Menomonee River, Milwaukee’s Walker’s Point neighborhood is a treasure trove of fine dining destinations, with Morel drawing diners in droves thanks to its sophisticated New American fare that changes with each season. While menu items span from wood ear mushroom-loaded rabbit ragout to ricotta gnudi in a pea-mint broth, each dish stands as a testament to Chef Jonathan Manyo’s affinity for fresh, locally-sourced Wisconsin meat and produce. Meanwhile, those in search of inventive small plates can make their way ten minutes south to find Odd Duck, a sophisticated tapas spot that debuted in 2012. In addition to offering creative creations like wood-fired Tibetan bread, Vietnamese-inspired bánh xèo and galbi-jjim, this restaurant has also earned acclaim for its high-end cocktails, with the mezcal and hibiscus-forward #48 and citrus and jasmine-heavy #83 serving as two top choices for first-time visitors.

Immerse Yourself in Milwaukee’s International Cuisine

Milwaukee has earned recognition for its strong German and Polish cultural ties, but the city’s dining scene spans far beyond the reaches of just Central Europe. During a visit to the city’s aforementioned Walker’s Point district, guests can discover a wealth of restaurants that highlight Milwaukee’s thriving Latin American food scene, with Zócalo Food Park serving as one of its most intriguing spots. Home to ten distinct drinking and dining venues operating across one space, diners are welcome to pay a visit to Anytime Arepa for a deep dive on one of Venezuela’s staple dishes, while Las Virellas has earned abundant acclaim for their hearty Puerto Rican classics, with pernil, tostones and tripletas all gracing the menu.

Further west, fans of Mexican cuisine can sample dishes like chiles rellenos and enchiladas poblanas at Guadalajara Restaurant, while Movida is a top spot for classic Spanish tapas, with sofrito-slathered meatballs, patatas bravas and garlic shrimp all up for grabs alongside a wealth of high-end wines—but of course, Walker’s Point isn’t the only neighborhood worth visiting in the heart of the city. In spite of its small size, the Historic Third Ward is packed full of can’t-miss venues like Saffron—a top spot for smoked tandoori lamb chops and dal makhani—and the Korean barbecue-focused Char’d, while those in search of traditional East African cuisine can make their way to East Town to find Alem Ethiopian Village, a cozy venue that’s home to classic dishes like quosta, doro wot, and asa tibs.

Sip Top-Tier Craft Beer Across Milwaukee

First developed due to an influx of German immigrants during the mid-1800s, Milwaukee’s craft brewing scene stands as a major draw for tourism today—and for those in search of a truly iconic destination for beer lovers, there’s no beating Lakefront Brewery. Established in 1987, this storied enterprise has consistently broken barriers across the national brewing scene over the decades, serving as the first certified organic brewery in the U.S. as well as the first government-certified producer of gluten-free beer. Today, visitors can sample groundbreaking creations like the New Grist—a crisp gluten-free pilsner—or keep it classic with a pour of Eastside Dark, their award-winning Bohemian-style dark lager. Post-visit, tourists can keep the brews flowing with a stroll over to neighboring Eagle Park Brewing Company, a polished space that crafts an amazing DDH Bowie’s Space Suit New England hazy.

For those who prefer to stick closer to the Historic Third Ward, The Explorium Brewpub offers a wealth of refreshing brews served in a historic space. There are 24 taps to sample during a visit, with options ranging from the refreshing Cream City Crusher cream ale to Watermelon Peppercorn wild ale—and to sweeten the deal, the venue also crafts some truly stellar fried cheese curds alongside hearty main courses like Nashville hot wings and roasted mushroom calzones. Once you’ve made your way through Milwaukee’s top breweries, history buffs should be sure to book a tour of the Best Place, a storied facility that offers a deep dive into the history of Badger State beer. During a history tour, guests can gain insight into the past of Best Brewing Co, an iconic organization that served as the largest brewery in the nation in the late 1800s and even gave rise to the renowned Pabst Blue Ribbon lager—and of course, each tour comes with plenty of fresh PBR to enjoy along the way.

BIRNAMWOOD, Wis. — The land of fried cheese curds and the Green Bay Packers is among a half-dozen battleground states that could determine the outcome of the expected November rematch between President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump — a contest in which the cost and availability of health care are emerging as defining issues.

At church picnics and summertime polka festivals that draw voters of all political stripes, Wisconsinites said they’re struggling to pay for even the most basic health care, from common blood tests to insulin prescriptions. A proposal by Wisconsin’s Democratic governor to expand the state’s Medicaid program to thousands of low-income residents has become a partisan lightning rod in the affordability debate: Democrats want it; Republicans don’t.

In 2020, voters here gave Biden, a Democrat, a narrow win after favoring Trump, a Republican, in 2016. Recent polling indicates that the two rivals were neck and neck in this year’s race.

Many Wisconsin voters still can’t figure out whom to vote for — or whether to vote at all.

“I know he’s trying to improve health care and inflation, but I’m not happy with Biden,” said Bob Prelipp, 79, a Republican who lives in Birnamwood, a village of about 700 people in rural central Wisconsin. He reluctantly voted for Biden in 2020, after voting for Trump in 2016.

Prelipp was serving beer at the Birnamwood Polka Days festival on a muggy June day. Pro-Trump hats peppered the crowd, and against the backdrop of cheerful polka tunes, peppy dancing, and the sweet smell of freshly cut hay, candidates for local and state office mingled with voters.

This rural part of the state is ruby red. Trump flags fly over the landscape and businesses proudly display pro-Trump paraphernalia. Biden supporters are more visible and vocal in the Wisconsin population centers of Madison, the capital, and Milwaukee.

Biden “needs to get prices down. Everything is getting so unaffordable, even health care,” said Prelipp, a Vietnam War veteran who said his federal health care for veterans has improved markedly under Biden, including wait times for appointments. Yet he said he can’t stomach the idea of voting for him again, or for Trump, who has disparaged military veterans.

Prelipp said people are feeling nickel-and-dimed, not only at the grocery store and gas pump, but also at doctors’ offices and hospitals.

Greg Laabs, a musician in one of the polka bands at Birnamwood, displayed a pro-Trump sticker on his tuba. He said he likes his federal Medicare health coverage but worries that if Biden is reelected Democrats will provide publicly subsidized health care to immigrants lacking legal residency.

“There are thousands of people coming across the border,” said Laabs, 71. He noted that both Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris endorsed providing public health care to immigrants without legal residency as presidential candidates in 2019, a position that Harris’ home state of California has enthusiastically embraced. “We cannot support the whole world,” Laabs said.

The two main political parties will pick presidential nominees at their national conventions, and Biden and Trump are widely expected to be their choices. Republicans will gather in Milwaukee in July. Democrats will convene in Chicago in August.

Biden is trying to make health care a key issue ahead of the Nov. 5 election, arguing that he has slashed the cost of some prescription medications, lowered health insurance premiums, and helped get more Americans covered under the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare. He has also been a strong supporter of reproductive rights and access to abortion, particularly since the U.S. Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade two years ago.

“The choice is clear: President Biden will protect our health care,” claims one of Biden’s campaign commercials.

Trump has said he wants to repeal Obamacare, despite multiple failed Republican attempts to do so over several years. “The cost of Obamacare is out of control,” Trump wrote last year. “I’m seriously looking at alternatives.”

Even Democrats who back Biden say the president must make it easier and cheaper to get medical care.

“I signed up for one of the Obamacare plans and got my cholesterol and blood sugar tested and it was like $500,” said Mary Vils, 63, a Democrat who lives in Portage County in central Wisconsin.

She strongly supports Biden but said people are feeling squeezed. “We’re fortunate because we had some savings, but that’s a lot of money out-of-pocket.”

Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers, a Democrat, said he understands “the frustration that people have.”

Evers has repeatedly attempted to expand Medicaid to low-income adults who don’t have children, which all but 10 states have done since the enactment of Obamacare in 2010. The state’s Republican-controlled legislature has repeatedly blocked his efforts, yet Evers is trying again. Expanding Medicaid would provide coverage to nearly 90,000 low-income people, according to his administration.

Evers, who supports Biden, has argued that expanding Medicaid would bring in $2 billion in federal funding that would help reimburse hospitals and insurers for uncompensated care, and ultimately “make health care more affordable.”

Many states that have expanded Medicaid have realized savings in health care spending while providing coverage to more people, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, a think tank based in Washington, D.C.

“We have to get the Medicaid expansion money,” Evers told KFF Health News. “That would solve a lot of problems.”

Biden’s campaign is opening field offices in Wisconsin, and he and federal health care officials make frequent visits to the state. They’re touting Biden’s record of increasing subsidies for Obamacare insurance plans, and promising to expand access to care, especially in rural communities.

“Millions more people have coverage today,” said Neera Tanden, a domestic policy adviser to Biden, at a mid-June town hall event in Rothschild, Wisconsin, to announce $11 million in new federal funding to recruit and train health care workers.

She said the gains in Obamacare coverage have helped achieve “the lowest rate of uninsurance at any time in American history. That’s not an accident.”

But attendees at the town hall event told Tanden and the secretary of Health and Human Services, Xavier Becerra, that they have lost access to care as hospitals and rural health clinics have closed.

“We had a hospital that’s been serving our community for over 100 years close very suddenly,” said Michael Golat, an Altoona, Wisconsin, resident who described himself as an independent voter. “It’s really a crisis here.”

Becerra encouraged Wisconsin lawmakers to expand Medicaid. “Instantaneously, you would have hundreds of thousands of Americans in rural America, and including in rural Wisconsin, who now have access to care,” he said.

Cory Sillars, a Republican running for the Wisconsin State Assembly who campaigned at the Birnamwood polka festival, opposes Medicaid expansion and said the state should instead grant nurses the authority to practice medicine without doctor supervision, which he argued would help address gaps in rural care.

“If you’re always expanding government programs, you get people hooked on government and they don’t want to do it themselves. They expect it,” he said.

Sillars is running as a “pro-life” candidate with “traditional, Christian values,” an anti-abortion stance that some Democrats hope will backfire up and down the ballot.

Kristin Lyerly, an obstetrician-gynecologist and a Democrat, has made access to abortion and contraception central to her campaign to fill the congressional seat vacated by Mike Gallagher, a Republican who resigned in April.

Lyerly lives outside Green Bay but practices in Minnesota after facing threats and harassment, largely from conservative extremists, she said. She was a plaintiff in the state’s legal bid to block Republicans from halting access to abortions. Abortions still are not available everywhere in Wisconsin, she said.

“It is incumbent upon me as a physician and a woman to stand up and to use my voice,” Lyerly said. “This is an issue that people in this district might not be shouting about, but they’re having conversations about it, and they’re going to vote on it.”

This article was produced by KFF Health News , which publishes California Healthline , an editorially independent service of the California Health Care Foundation .

COLUMBIA COUNTY, Wis. (WMTV) – The Columbia County Sheriff’s Office said Saturday night they are searching for a 63-year-old man that went underwater in Lake Wisconsin on the Wisconsin River.

Officials said numerous 911 calls came into the county’s dispatch center around 2 p.m. reporting a person that had gone underwater and not resurfaced.

Many area residents began searching for the man in their personal boats until CCSO’s Dive Team arrived and began searching, officials said.

Authorities were unable to find the man and called of the search for the night due to the darkness. The search will resume Sunday morning.

The area north of Tipperary Point is under an emergency slow-no-wake order. The Sheriff’s Office added it is vital that boaters abide by that order to keep divers safe and search efforts unhindered.

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