As both the Tour de France and La Course wrapped up last weekend in Europe, the Wisconsin Women Cycling founder Cindy Petted was keeping her eye on preparations for a more local ride. On Saturday, July 29, the Wisconsin Women's Century ride will take place in Cedarburg, where riders will bicycle up to 100 miles and support charities in southeastern Wisconsin. 

Lake Effect essayist Mark Siegrist is thinking about the ideal summer road trip, too - it’s the one he just took:

Sometimes hitting the open road is just good for the soul.

That might sound rather strange from a guy who hates driving in the city.

All that weaving, and speeding, and tailgating just wears me down.

But the open road is different.

Drivers seem less uptight.

More willing to give a little.

Except for the guy who cut me off at the Illinois tollbooth.

As evidenced by their performance on Summerfest's Emerging Artists stage, The Zach Pietrini Band says that the recognition of their brand of folk music is growing. The Milwaukee-based group describes its style as "Salt-of-the-Earth-Americana," and their songs speak to the lived experiences of Midwesterners.

Another week, another set of controversies in the Trump Administration. The week closed with the resignation of White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer, the naming of a new communications director, and continued friction between the President and Attorney General Jeff Sessions.

That all came on the heels of President Trump’s trip to Europe for the G20 Summit - a trip that dominated headlines. But it was the lack of dominance on the part of the U.S. that drove the media frenzy back home, a departure from previous summits where American presidents drove much of the discourse.

The Public Policy Forum just released a comprehensive report on how Milwaukee is supported with public money, compared to other peer cities around the country. The report found that compared to similar cities, Milwaukee is decidedly more reliant on state funds as a result of the city's inability to impose most forms of local taxation. 

Whitefish Bay painter and realtor Kathleen Davis says she had a recurring vision not long ago, involving her 18-year old son, Henry, an avid climber. 

"I was having these nightmares," she explains, "that Henry would look back at me and then just take a step off the mountain and that was it." 

A six-year-old boy was shot and killed in a hail of gunfire on the north side over the weekend.  Earlier in the week, four people, including two children, were shot at 39th and Burleigh, near the Sherman Park neighborhood. For some community members, that shooting was the last straw—so they called an emergency meeting to look for solutions.

Many of us have - at some point in our lives - had dreams of traveling abroad and volunteering to help those in need. Today we'll meet two men who actually did that. Not only did they venture to Samoa and Tanzania, but they brought some fun stories back with them.

While these voices may sound unfamiliar, they have been the "silent voices" behind Ex Fabula: board members who are now moving on to their next adventures. It's with gratitude, as well as sadness, that we say a fond farewell to retiring board members Bob Pothier and Adam Weise.