John Johnson
@jdjmke.bsky.social
📤 791
📥 159
📝 304
Milwaukee stuff, MULaw Poll, RStats, etc. ☧
https://johndjohnson.info/
Can you guess the 2 non-English languages for which the following are true? 1. at least 50k U.S. residents speak this language 2. the number of speakers has grown over the last 20 years 3. 90% or more of the speakers were born in the U.S. Answer:
bluebookmke.substack.com/p/americas-o...
14 days ago
0
0
0
Wonderful article about the reintroduction of wild turkeys in Wisconsin.
loading . . .
Smith: After 50 years, wild turkey reintroduction ranks among Wisconsin's greatest wildlife successes
The 1976 reintroduction of wild turkeys to Wisconsin restored a native species to the state. After 50 years, it's considered one of the greatest wildlife success stories in state history.
https://www.jsonline.com/story/sports/columnists/paul-smith/2026/01/11/the-1976-wild-turkey-reintroduction-was-among-states-greatest-wildlife-successes/87992886007/
26 days ago
0
4
0
In my latest newsletter I investigate what domestic migration patterns show about where Americans are choosing to live (and leave). Interestingly, the patterns often correspond better to ecoregions than political boundaries. Some of them surprised me. Read more:
loading . . .
Where Americans Choose to Move and Where They Leave
Domestic Migration from 2020 to 2024
https://bluebookmke.substack.com/p/where-americans-choose-to-move-and
29 days ago
3
36
16
2025 birth counts from Milwaukee show a 5% drop since 2024. This resumes a sharp decline after a couple more stable years in 2023-24. The decline is larger than what I'd expect from declining fertility rates alone, suggesting that out-migration of future parents is a big contributor. More here:
loading . . .
Milwaukee’s Baby Bust Hit New Lows in 2025
The fewest babies on record were born to Milwaukee mothers in 2025, according to preliminary vital statistics records.
https://bluebookmke.substack.com/p/milwaukees-baby-bust-hit-new-lows
about 1 month ago
1
16
3
Ever wonder how likely jury duty actually is? I unexpectedly got my hands on a court report with detailed statistics, with which I made this diagram. Read more, including stats on jury pool representativeness, in my latest newsletter:
bluebookmke.substack.com/p/the-odds-o...
about 2 months ago
0
0
0
I use to hear so many horror stories about long daycare waiting lists, but my experience--and that of some friends--has been the opposite. Some highly rated places have active vacancies right now. According to census data, the number of kids under 5 living in the county is down 10% since 2020.
about 2 months ago
0
3
0
Most Milwaukee's houses were built 1890-1960. I got curious about how much it cost to build them & who could afford to buy them. In 1910, a basic house cost 3.8x a carpenter's salary. In 1929, 2.7x. In 1952, 2.5x. In 2025, 5.6x salary. Here's more:
bluebookmke.substack.com/p/the-cost-o...
about 2 months ago
0
8
1
Trump's job approval on 10 major issues. In Nov., 11% only approved, 23% only disapproved, and 66% approved on some issues and disapproved on others.
2 months ago
0
0
0
I wrote a brief blog post summarizing some recent studies about legalized mobile sportsbooks. I hope the discussion about legalizing mobile betting in Wisconsin will reckon with the growing literature about how badly this can go.
law.marquette.edu/facultyblog/...
loading . . .
What the Research Shows about Mobile Sports Betting – Marquette University Law School Faculty Blog
https://law.marquette.edu/facultyblog/2025/11/what-the-research-shows-about-mobile-sports-betting/
3 months ago
0
4
2
shout out to the University of Missouri Library's website collecting primary sources on historical prices and wages. Great stuff here:
libraryguides.missouri.edu/pricesandwag...
loading . . .
Library Guides: Prices and Wages by Decade: 1890-1899
Links to government documents and primary sources listing retail prices for products and services, as well as wages for common occupations.
https://libraryguides.missouri.edu/pricesandwages/1890-1899
5 months ago
0
4
0
I'm no athlete, but I ride my commuter bike every day all over my city. In the thousands of miles I've ridden, I've been hit by a car twice. Each time, my helmet prevented a concussion or worse. Wear a helmet, you might save your life.
add a skeleton here at some point
5 months ago
0
4
0
reposted by
John Johnson
Subscribe to Radio Free America (link in bio)
5 months ago
Actual Blueskyism is people having typical differences within the left-liberal coalition getting into insane flame wars over minor stuff because there are no Republicans to get mad at here.
12
434
45
Personally, I wouldn't categorize this as a "niche athletic" gear and I don't think anyone sees it as such.
add a skeleton here at some point
5 months ago
3
6
0
A recent NYT op-ed "Inside the Rise of the Multiracial Right" used Milwaukee as its example of where "the unity of the Black Democratic vote is splintering." As evidence, it quoted five (5) people who don't like the Democrats. There were no statistics...
5 months ago
1
11
1
In new cities I often wonder where the people live. How far did the baggage handlers at the airport have to commute? Do the finance workers in the towers downtown live in condos nearby, or do they all come in from the outer 'burbs? Here are LAX employees vs Warner Bros (pics from
LODESmap.com
)
6 months ago
0
5
0
I'm pleased to share
LODESmap.com
, a website
@mitchellhenke.com
and I built that lets you explore an extremely detailed dataset of American worker flows over 21 years in spatially integrated geographies. You can seamlessly move between counties, county subdivisions, census tracts, & block groups.
6 months ago
1
6
2
This map shows how diverse the agricultural economy of each county is. Purple = 1 commodity makes up the lion's share of sales Green = ag sales are spread across many products I think this helps explain why Wisconsin's small towns are doing so much better than those in Illinois
6 months ago
1
12
14
The Pew feature on trust and distrust among Americans is good. It's really worth your time.
www.pewresearch.org/2025/05/08/a...
loading . . .
Americans’ Trust in One Another
Americans trust each other less than they did a few decades ago. We explore why this is, and why some are more trusting than others.
https://www.pewresearch.org/2025/05/08/americans-trust-in-one-another/
7 months ago
0
1
0
Something that surprised me a bit in our latest national poll is that all 7 of the Supreme Court decisions we asked about from this term had majority support.
7 months ago
1
4
1
WI's supreme court recently rejected 2 attempts to replace our congressional maps. A 3rd attempt was just filed in Dane County circuit court by the same law firm that got the state legislative maps tossed in 2023. It might have more legs. I broke it down:
bluebookmke.substack.com/p/will-wisco...
7 months ago
0
4
0
I took a look at how the April election broke down in WI's legislative districts. Crawford got 55% of the vote: which worked out to 54 assembly, 19 senate, & 4 congressional seats. It includes some "fun" inside baseball about how these numbers are calculated.
open.substack.com/pub/bluebook...
8 months ago
0
6
1
I have an article recapping the contentious & serpentine 2020s redistricting cycle in Wisconsin in the latest edition of the Marquette Lawyer magazine. Just in time for the process to possibly begin again, this time for the congressional map!
today.marquette.edu/2025/05/the-...
loading . . .
The Boundaries of Law and Politics | Marquette Today
Wisconsin’s 2020 redistricting cycle was long, bitterly contested, and subject to dramatic reversals of fortune. Yet perhaps the most unusual feature of the whole process was how it ended in 2024: wit...
https://today.marquette.edu/2025/05/the-boundaries-of-law-and-politics/
9 months ago
0
5
0
MPD just fulfilled my records request by giving me some data on a CD-ROM lol
9 months ago
0
8
0
I made a tool where you can toggle between detailed maps of Milwaukee from 1856, 1897, 1934, 1958, and the present day. It is remarkable how much better georeferencing software has gotten in the past few years.
johndjohnson.info/posts/2025/h...
loading . . .
Historic Maps of Milwaukee on an Interactive Map – John Johnson’s Internet Archive
https://johndjohnson.info/posts/2025/historic-mke-maps.html
9 months ago
0
11
4
I finally resurrected my tufte-inspired weather graphs, updating daily w/the latest from NOAA. Jan/Feb were extraordinarily dry, but recent rainfall has actually pushed us above average for the year. Latest graphs:
johndjohnson.info/weather-grap...
Code/Docs:
github.com/jdjohn215/mi...
10 months ago
1
3
1
These 4 houses were built in Milwaukee last year at a cost of ~$400k. The goal was to prove that market-rate housing could be built in Midtown--a place w/lots of empty lots. Instead, the first 1 sold this month (324 days after listing) for $281k. 1/2
10 months ago
1
7
1
better late than never:
mulawpoll.org
now includes the results of the 2024 november election. See lots of tables and graphs for every county/municipality in Wisconsin, covering 2000-2024.
loading . . .
Wisconsin Elections, 2000 - 2024
http://mulawpoll.org
10 months ago
0
6
2
Awhile ago I started wondering, where's the point in Milwaukee County furthest from a road? Answer: a corn field in Franklin owned by the county parks dept. Now I'm trying to visit each county's remotest point. I wrote about it for the A Wealth of Nature blog.
awealthofnature.org/where-is-mil...
loading . . .
Where is Milwaukee County’s Remotest Point? | A Wealth of Nature
By John Johnson With an introduction and photography by Eddee Daniel I have long been captivated by the idea of “urban wilderness” and the feeling one can have in certain […]
https://awealthofnature.org/where-is-milwaukee-countys-remotest-point/
10 months ago
1
10
3
Me watching the results come in last night.
10 months ago
1
9
0
More bad news for Schimel in these quickly-reporting towns, in very different parts of the state. Crawford is running 11 points ahead of Harris even in the two tiny, ruby-red Wood County towns of Cameron and Hiles. Wipeout stuff.
10 months ago
0
28
5
Great results for Crawford in the first Dane Co reports
10 months ago
1
6
1
Please stop putting AI images in your newsletters. This isn't some artistic purity statement. I just hate looking at them.
10 months ago
0
7
0
In my latest, I try to answer an old question in Wisconsin politics. How many Wisconsin adults lack a photo ID?
law.marquette.edu/facultyblog/...
loading . . .
Who Lacks a Photo ID in Wisconsin? – Marquette University Law School Faculty Blog
https://law.marquette.edu/facultyblog/2025/03/who-lacks-a-photo-id-in-wisconsin/
11 months ago
2
10
2
Got an unexpected delivery of data I put in a public information request for in January. Everything's coming up Milhouse
11 months ago
1
9
1
In an effort to be the change I want to see in the world, I've resuscitated my personal website to be a central home for stuff I've also published elsewhere. It's about as simple as they come: static HTML, made with Quarto. Check it out:
johndjohnson.info
11 months ago
0
3
1
What did birders do to this journalist??
11 months ago
0
5
1
Last night Trump & Elon fired 18F, which you've probably never heard of. This was the group of technologists who worked to improve government data & services, like getting a passport & filing taxes. In other words, the people who made government more responsive & efficient.
11 months ago
1
16
9
Handsome tilework on this old Milwaukee building, 25th and Vliet
11 months ago
0
5
1
Good, detailed reporting here. Many people misunderstand the big threat from lead. It's paint, not pipes. And specifically, paint on the sills of windows that are regularly opened and closed--pulverizing the lead into chips and dust.
www.wpr.org/news/milwauk...
loading . . .
Milwaukee Health Department may shut down city schools due to high levels of lead
Officials with the health department said they may move to shut down schools in Milwaukee to clean additional buildings that may have lead risk hazards.
https://www.wpr.org/news/milwaukee-health-department-may-shut-down-schools-high-levels-lead-poisoning
11 months ago
3
74
18
There were 3 more state legislative special elections yesterday. Democrats overperformed in 2 and underperformed in 1. Across 9 races so far, the average shift has been +8.4 D, with 78.4% lower turnout than Nov 2024. I'm tracking these in this repo:
github.com/jdjohn215/sp...
11 months ago
0
5
1
What to make of turnout in yesterday's nonpartisan primary? Feb '25 (DPI primary): 467,235 Feb '23 (SCOWIS primary): 961,665 Feb '21 (DPI primary): 326,074 I'd say this points to high turnout in April.
12 months ago
0
5
1
Special elections were held a few days ago in two safe-blue Delaware state senate districts. Both races were contested. The Democratic candidates improved over Harris' performance by 3 and 14 points. Turnout was 87-89% lower than November. I'll be tracking these specials all year
12 months ago
0
2
2
Milwaukee's 3rd alder primary featured a candidate endorsed by the mayor (Bauman), a DSA-endorsed candidate (Brower), & another DSA member (Kostal) who ran on his support for single-family zoning in the campaign. There were 5 also-rans. Brower: 29% Bauman: 28% Kostal: 27% Brower & Bauman advance.
12 months ago
0
4
1
I set up a github repo to track state legislative and congressional special elections this year.
github.com/jdjohn215/sp...
12 months ago
0
3
2
I don't think I could participate in a democracy if I thought my fellow citizens were just "spoon-fed dopes"
add a skeleton here at some point
12 months ago
2
3
1
Our latest poll includes another set of open-ended responses to the questions, "What do you [like/dislike] about Donald Trump?" I find these responses fascinating. You can read them all here:
lubarcenter.shinyapps.io/janfeb-2024-...
loading . . .
Perceptions of Donald Trump a month into his second term
https://lubarcenter.shinyapps.io/janfeb-2024-trump-views/
12 months ago
1
4
1
Currently at a sold-out show of Hildegard von Bingen's chants. Live music is BACK
12 months ago
0
3
1
This map shows the total sales of a particular agricultural commodity, by county, in 2022. Guess which one?
12 months ago
4
2
0
Elevated urban freeways are one of those things that I usually hardly even consciously perceive, but sometimes the sheer weirdness of them hits me in the face
12 months ago
6
108
3
Load more
feeds!
log in