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Wauwatosa's District 5 alderperson race could be headed for a recount after a single provisional ballot breaks the tie
Evan Casey Alex Groth
No coin toss was needed to decide the winner of the District 5 alderman race in Wauwatosa after the race ended in a tie Tuesday.
After the polls closed, both candidates in the race — Sean Lowe and Rob Gustafson — had received exactly 702 votes. Wauwatosa Clerk Steve Braatz said there was one provisional ballot in the election, and it happened to be for the District 5 race.
On Friday, that ballot was opened, and the Wauwatosa Board of Canvassers finalized the vote count.
The ballot revealed a vote for Lowe. He burst into tears and Gustafson, who sat next to him, patted him on the shoulder.
A recount might be held, depending on whether Gustafson chooses to pursue one. He said he would take the weekend to think it over.
“Most of my adult life I’ve been fighting for civil rights and justice. I’ve been fighting for people,” Lowe said through tears. “This campaign was about equity and inclusion. This campaign was about affordable housing. This campaign was about showing everyone — white, Black, Hispanic, Asian, LGBTQ+— that there’s a place for them in Wauwatosa.”
If the potential recount comes back in Lowe's favor, he will join Margaret Arney as the second person of color to serve as alderperson in the 125-year history of the Wauwatosa Common Council.
"This isn't about me, this is about the future of Wauwatosa. I'm just happy to be apart of it," he said.
The Common Council appointed Gustafson to be the new District 5 alderperson in December 2020 after Heather Kuhl resigned from the seat.
"I've been okay with whatever happened (in the race)," Gustafson said. "I've gotta congratulate Sean."
A provisional ballot is a ballot that is marked but is not counted at the time it is cast, according to My Vote WI. It's issued to a voter who is unable to provide the poll workers with documentation as required by Wisconsin law.
That person had until 4 p.m. Friday to produce their I.D. at City Hall, and they did so.
According to state law, the candidates have the ability to request a recount by 5 p.m. April 13.
There have been recounts in previous Wauwatosa elections
In 2018, a recount was held in Wauwatosa after former Ald. Kathleen Causier beat challenger Barb Schoenherr by four votes. Although the final numbers changed slightly, the recount confirmed Causier as the winner of that race.
During the primary election this year, Wauwatosa's clerk's office found 58 unopened and lawfully cast absentee ballots in a vault in the office days after the election. There were 26 uncounted ballots in the District 3 aldermanic race and 32 in the District 8 race.
However, after the ballots were opened, the winners of the primary election remained the same. | 2022-04-08T21:26:55Z | www.jsonline.com | Wauwatosa District 5 council race in 2022 election could go to recount | https://www.jsonline.com/story/communities/west/news/wauwatosa/2022/04/08/wauwatosa-district-5-aldermanic-common-council-race-2022-spring-election-could-go-recount-one-vote/9502034002/ | https://www.jsonline.com/story/communities/west/news/wauwatosa/2022/04/08/wauwatosa-district-5-aldermanic-common-council-race-2022-spring-election-could-go-recount-one-vote/9502034002/ |
The decision was due to rising costs, according to a Friday announcement from the two museums.
"As the planning process unfolded through 2021 and early 2022, budgetary calculations changed dramatically, both due to external pressures related to inflation and updated plans that would have called for additional costs to design and construct BBCM exhibits," the statement said.
"These factors led BBCM to the difficult decision that it should not build and operate a new construction children’s museum as part of this project," it said.
The children's museum will remain at its O'Donnell Park facility, 929 E. Wisconsin Ave., "while it considers alternative opportunities," the statement said.
Betty Brinn was a very visible but relatively small portion of the $240 million project.
It would have used 33,000 square feet within the 230,000-square-foot building, to be developed north of West McKinley Avenue and east of North Sixth Street.
The new building is to feature exhibit space totaling 80,000 square feet for the Milwaukee Public Museum, to be renamed the Wisconsin Museum of Nature and Culture under a newly organized structure.
The museum also is to have underground parking, a café, gift shop, collections research and storage, a classroom, auditorium, an events venue, offices and an exhibit maintenance workshop.
It would replace the public museum's 480,000-square-foot building, at 800 W. Wells St., which has around 150,000 square feet of exhibit space. Museum officials say that 59-year-old building is in poor shape.
With Betty Brinn no longer part of the project, the museum will work with the project's architects on changes in the conceptual design plans, a museum representative told the Journal Sentinel.
The design process for the new facility isn't expected to be completed until late in 2022.
The announcement comes just over three weeks after the new development recorded a big win: County Board approval of $45 million in county funds to help finance the new building.
With that vote, the museum is ramping up its $150 million private fundraising campaign.The museum has also secured $40 million from the state and is seeking $5 million in federal grants.
Museum officials want to begin construction in late 2023, with completion in spring 2026.
The new facility, just north of Fiserv Forum's parking structure, is to be renamed the Wisconsin Museum of Nature and Culture — a nod to statewide fundraising as well as the institution's status as Wisconsin's most-visited museum.
The cost of designing and constructing the new museum and its exhibits is estimated at $190 million.
Additional costs include $25 million for the museum's endowment, $20 million to move the collections and $5 million to pay for the fundraising campaign and project management.
Children's museum officials said Friday they wish public museum officials well in their plans for the new facility.
“Though we have been energized by the process of imagining a new space and the possibilities associated with co-locating with MPM, we also must be realistic and responsible financial stewards for the long-term future of Betty Brinn Children’s Museum," said Greg Nickerson, children's museum board chair, in a statement.
"We truly wish MPM the best and wholeheartedly support their project," Nickerson said.
Public museum officials said, in effect, no hard feelings.
“Planning for a new museum is certainly a challenge in the best of times, much less during a global pandemic and period of rising inflation," said P.J. DiStefano, public museum chair, in a statement.
"The milestones we have achieved in pursuing a new museum have required much creativity and flexibility, and we recognize that the BBCM board of directors knows what is in the best interest of their patrons and the future of their institution and we wish them the best," DiStefano said. | 2022-04-08T23:15:39Z | www.jsonline.com | Children's Museum drops out of project led by Milwaukee Public Museum | https://www.jsonline.com/story/money/real-estate/commercial/2022/04/08/childrens-museum-drops-out-project-led-milwaukee-public-museum/9517887002/ | https://www.jsonline.com/story/money/real-estate/commercial/2022/04/08/childrens-museum-drops-out-project-led-milwaukee-public-museum/9517887002/ |
According to state Department of Health Services data, Wisconsin has seen a rise in COVID-19 cases throughout the week.
But, due to a backlog of data being entered, Friday's case totals are elevated.
"While we have seen an increase in COVID-19 cases recently, data from April 8, 2022 does not reflect the actual number of new COVID-19 cases in Wisconsin in the last 24 hours," a statement from DHS' website reads.
The seven-day average of daily cases increased by nearly 200 cases from last Friday. However, based on DHS' statement, Friday's seven-day average of 568 cases might be elevated. The seven-day average should become a better indicator in coming days.
On a positive note, the number of deaths reported by DHS dropped considerably throughout the week. The state is currently averaging three confirmed deaths a day, which is down 23 deaths from a month ago.
According to the Wisconsin Hospital Association, COVID-19 hospitalizations seems to have reached a flattening in patient totals data. Hospitalizations have been in a relatively steady decline since its peak of more than 2,250 patients in January.
On the vaccine front, the number of people receiving the shot continues to decline. The seven-day average of daily booster doses fell below 1,000 for the first time since the booster became readily available.
Omicron variant was identified in 100% of tests sequenced during the week starting March 6. | 2022-04-08T23:15:45Z | www.jsonline.com | COVID-19 cases rising again in Wisconsin, but backlog elevates numbers | https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/2022/04/08/covid-19-cases-rising-again-wisconsin-but-backlog-elevates-numbers/9517161002/ | https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/2022/04/08/covid-19-cases-rising-again-wisconsin-but-backlog-elevates-numbers/9517161002/ |
Royce Miles, former Milwaukee Journal Sentinel executive, 'always put the needs of the employees above his own'
Even as a young press operator at The Washington Post, working amid the din of printing presses rolling at deadline, Royce Miles stood out from the crowd.
He took pride in his work, and had a love for print.
"He was clearly both good at his job and interested in learning more," said Donald Graham, The Post's former publisher.
Miles' career in the newspaper industry took him far from The Post's press room to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, where he arrived in 1998 and eventually rose to the organization's No. 2 executive post.
Along the way, Miles, who left the Journal Sentinel in 2016, never missed an opportunity to lend a helping hand to others.
Miles, who lived in Kenosha, died unexpectedly April 3, with his family by his side at Aurora Medical Center in Kenosha.
George Stanley, editor of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, recalled Miles' passion for the job and his fellow workers.
"Royce helped lead the Journal Sentinel through a difficult time of industry transition with his integrity, honesty and deep concern for our employees and for serving our community," Stanley said. "He stayed hopeful and always looked forward. He helped our whole team stay positive with his confidence and gentle sense of humor. You just can't put a value on having a teammate like Royce when going through storms."
Elizabeth Brenner, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel's former publisher, described how she first heard about Miles when she was introduced to workers at the newspaper's West Milwaukee press facility.
"I remember sidling up to a pressman as a brand new publisher and trying to make small talk," she said.
She asked the worker what he liked about working at the Journal Sentinel and was startled when he went on and on about Miles and a program he instituted at the facility.
Brenner's reaction? "Who's Royce Miles and when do I get to meet him."
"Royce's ability to work with management right to the top of the company, and to work with your hard-working pressman or packager was like nothing else I've ever seen in any newspaper I was ever at," Brenner said.
Miles moved through the production ranks at the Journal Sentinel, ultimately becoming the newspaper's executive vice president and general manager, the No. 2 spot to the publisher. He later held the title of Managing Director of Operations for Journal Media Group, Inc.
Journal Sentinel reporter James Causey marveled how Miles, a top executive, became a fixture at conventions for the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ).
"He always told people how much he loved being in Milwaukee, how he loved what we did," Causey said. "Royce appreciated the contributions of journalists."
Miles was born at Andrews Air Force Base in Camp Springs, Md., and raised in Seat Pleasant, Md., just outside Washington, D.C.
His partner, Amanda Ramsfield, said Miles was drawn to printing and graphic design while in high school.
"He knew everything about it," she said.
He eventually found his way to The Washington Post, where he started as a press operator trainee. Miles was part of a program that enabled employees to pursue degrees at the Rochester Institute of Technology, where he eventually received his Bachelor of Science degree.
"Royce was the kind of guy who you knew was going somewhere," said Jim Coley, vice president of production at The Washington Post.
Coley said Miles eventually became assistant superintendent in charge of The Post's press room before heading to Milwaukee in 1998.
Miles was part of the team that planned and helped fully open the Journal Sentinel's West Milwaukee printing plant in 2003. The last papers are due to be printed at that facility next month.
"That was his baby," Brenner said.
Gary Hall, regional operations director for Gannett, said Miles displayed "worth ethic and drive" throughout his career.
"Royce never walked around an issue or a problem," Hall said. "He would confront it head-on. Everyone looked up to him and more importantly he always took the time to listen to any and all of the employees. Royce always put the needs of the employees above his own."
After leaving the Journal Sentinel, Miles worked for Fischer Paper Products and in recent years became the owner and operator of Grundstrom Landscaping in Lake Bluff, Ill.
Miles was known for his dedication to education. He earned an Executive Master's Degree in Business Administration from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and also attended Northwestern University to complete a Media Executive Leadership Program.
He served on the board of directors for Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin.
"Royce was passionate about people," Ramsfield said. "He was such a great leader. In his own way he always wanted to give back and take care of people. He always wanted to help out."
Besides Ramsfield, survivors include Miles' mother, Gloria Miles of Washington, D.C., his daughter Kiah Ballard-Miles of Kenosha and grandson Taurrean "TJ" Koker, Jr.
A visitation will be held at 5 p.m. Tuesday with the funeral services at 7 p.m. at Proko Funeral Home, 5111 60th St., Kenosha. Interment will be private. In lieu of flowers, memorials to the family would be appreciated for his grandson's education. | 2022-04-08T23:16:03Z | www.jsonline.com | Former Journal Sentinel executive Royce Miles looked out for others | https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/obituaries/2022/04/08/former-journal-sentinel-executive-royce-miles-looked-out-others/9501030002/ | https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/obituaries/2022/04/08/former-journal-sentinel-executive-royce-miles-looked-out-others/9501030002/ |
MADISON, Wis. – Freshman guard Lorne Bowman II will not return to the Wisconsin men's basketball team next season.
Bowman and UW officials announced Friday that he plans to transfer to a school closer to his home of Detroit.
"We completely understand and support Lorne's decision to step away from the program and university," head coach Greg Gard said. "We know this is what's best for him currently and also for his future.
Bowman signed with UW before the 2020-2021 season but returned home to Michigan before the opener to deal with personal issues.
He took online classes and rejoined the team before the start of last season. He was a key reserve and averaged 3.0 points and 1.1 rebounds in 22 games. He shot 40.0% from three-point range but left the team to again deal with personal issues.
His departure leaves UW with four open scholarships. UW is bringing in guard Connor Essegian from Indiana and the staff is currently evaluating several transfer prospects.
"First and foremost I want to thank God for giving me the ability to play the game of basketball at a high level," Bowman said. "I want to thank coach Greg Gard, Dean Oliver, Joe Krabbenhoft and Sharif Chambliss and the entire staff for giving me the opportunity to showcase my talents. | 2022-04-09T02:40:08Z | www.jsonline.com | UW basketball player Lorne Bowman decides to enter transfer portal | https://www.jsonline.com/story/sports/college/uw/2022/04/08/uw-basketball-player-lorne-bowman-decides-enter-transfer-portal/9519862002/ | https://www.jsonline.com/story/sports/college/uw/2022/04/08/uw-basketball-player-lorne-bowman-decides-enter-transfer-portal/9519862002/ |
A fire at a junkyard near General Mitchell International Airport sent black smoke billowing above Milwaukee just after noon on Saturday.
According to Milwaukee Fire Deputy Chief Dewayne Smoots, the department was called to the scene at 12:11 p.m. for a car fire. No one was injured.
As of 1:30 p.m. fire personnel were still on the scene and the extent of the damage was not yet known. | 2022-04-09T19:33:05Z | www.jsonline.com | Fire near Milwaukee airport linked to local junkyard | https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/2022/04/09/fire-near-milwaukee-mitchell-international-airport-at-local-junkyard/9525974002/ | https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/2022/04/09/fire-near-milwaukee-mitchell-international-airport-at-local-junkyard/9525974002/ |
A collection of books about the Sikh faith and traditions is now available at the Oak Creek Public Library in a first-of-its-kind collection.
About 120 books, movies and other items available for checkout are on display in Oak Creek, making the largest collection in the state, and possibly the country.
"We did some research and we couldn't find any other library that has aggregated items on display like this," said Jill Lininger, director of Oak Creek Public Library.
The goal is to help others in Southeastern Wisconsin, and across the state, learn more about the Sikh religion, the 5th largest religion in the world.
The collection was made available to the state's Department of Public Instruction and will be used to inform public school curriculum as well.
"I want to encourage people to learn about Sikh communities and our beliefs," said Gurjot Singh Ghotra, a student at Franklin High School who spoke at Saturday's unveiling of the collection. "At school many of my peers ask why I wear a turban. They ask out of curiosity, and I appreciate that. Now I can let them know they can understand it at a much deeper level by reading about it here, at the library in Oak Creek."
A few dozen members of the Sikh community gathered in the library to celebrate the unveiling, done in partnership with the Sikh Temple of Wisconsin.
Gurlal Singh was there with his son Abhiraj. Both avid readers, they were excited to see the collection that they can now access, and point others to when they have questions about their religion.
Gurlal is part of a group that goes to local high schools to teach students more about the Sikh religion.
"When we walk in the mall or airport or outside we standout because of the turban," Gurlal said. "There are some misunderstandings and racists attacks because of it. But if people know more about the turban, and more about us, they feel more comforted."
It was not lost on the group that celebrated the collection in Oak Creek, that they were in the same city where, nearly 10 years ago, a White Nationalist opened fire on worshipers in the local temple, killing six people.
Punjab Singh, a well-known Sikh priest, died in 2020 from complications of gunshot wounds he suffered in the attack, and is considered to be the seventh person killed by the gunman.
"We all dealt with that unspeakable tragedy, and this is a community that bounced back stronger than ever," said Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes, who attended the unveiling. "None of us in this room allowed that horrific act to keep us down. It shouldn't have happened, but it's how we respond in these sort of times is what defines us all."
Responding with a celebration and education of Sikh culture is just what this collection intends to do.
It came about through a collaboration with Lininger, former U.S. District Attorney Jim Santelle, who closely investigated the 2012 Sikh Temple violence, and Sikh Temple Official Kulwant Singh Dhaliwal.
Lininger said they had to scrape through all of their book vendors, and even connect with vendors and friends of Dhaliwal's in India to get the collection together.
"Dr. Dhaliwal gave us the names of some publishers, but they sell everything in Rupees, so they would not accept our credit card, and they also would not ship to us, so that was a challenge," Lininger said. "Luckily Dr. Dhaliwal was able to connect to some of his friends in India, and they bought the books for us, and then they shipped them to him, and he brought them to us."
Dhaliwal did not attend the unveiling as he was morning the loss of his wife, Amrit Kaur Dhaliwal, who died earlier this week. She also helped curate the collection.
"How fitting and how suitable in the reflection of the Dhaliwal family we meet each other for this reason in a library, among the shelves of books and in the place where we expand our minds," Santelle said. "The very books and the bindings and the pages that tell stories of our lives are eternal, now open to all of us, with library cards, right here in Oak Creek."
Milwaukee County residents can check out books in the Sikh Collection at Oak Creek Public Library, and others visit the collection at the library at 8040 S 6th St., Oak Creek. | 2022-04-09T21:56:34Z | www.jsonline.com | Wisconsin Sikh book collection unveiled at Oak Creek Public Library | https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/2022/04/09/wisconsin-sikh-book-collection-unveiled-oak-creek-public-library/9526696002/ | https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/2022/04/09/wisconsin-sikh-book-collection-unveiled-oak-creek-public-library/9526696002/ |
CHICAGO -- Brandon Woodruff struggled in his first start of the season while Justin Steele flourished, and the Milwaukee Brewers fell, 9-0, to the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field on Saturday afternoon.
Woodruff allowed seven runs, all earned, over 3 ⅔ innings while walking three and striking out only two batters.
The Brewers (0-2) righthander allowed the first four batters of the game to reach base without any hits en route to a three-run first inning for the Cubs (2-0). Woodruff was tagged for another three-run frame in the fourth, when five consecutive hitters reached with two outs against Woodruff and reliever José Ureña.
Chicago lefthander Justin Steele threw five scoreless innings, striking out five while allowing five baserunners. Through two games, Milwaukee's offense has scored one run in 10 ⅓ innings against Cubs starters. | 2022-04-10T00:11:26Z | www.jsonline.com | Cubs 9, Brewers 0: Brandon Woodruff struggles, offense silenced | https://www.jsonline.com/story/sports/mlb/brewers/2022/04/09/cubs-9-brewers-0-brandon-woodruff-struggles-offense-silenced/9515316002/ | https://www.jsonline.com/story/sports/mlb/brewers/2022/04/09/cubs-9-brewers-0-brandon-woodruff-struggles-offense-silenced/9515316002/ |
CHICAGO – The hit-by-pitch drama between the Milwaukee Brewers and Chicago Cubs doesn’t appear to be going away.
A 9-0 blowout game wasn’t without drama as the benches cleared Saturday afternoon at Wrigley Field following Cubs reliever Keegan Thompson hitting Brewers designated hitter Andrew McCutchen with a pitch in the eighth inning, the fourth plunking between the teams of the game.
Thompson threw far inside with a fastball near McCutchen’s hip the pitch immediately preceding the hit-by-pitch, which was another four-seamer in a nearly identical location.
McCutchen took offense to Thompson throwing a perfectly-located cutter on the outside corner for Strike 1, then going back inside to hit him a pitch after he believes he had already tried to do so.
“I do take that a little personal when you’re throwing offspeed pitches the first pitch and then you’re trying to hit somebody,” he said. “To hurt him? That’s exactly what you’re trying to do. You’re not just trying to hit him, you’re trying to hurt him. I think there’s some guys old enough over there who hopefully understand that and know that there’s a different way to do it.”
More:Three takeaways as the Brewers struggled in all facets of a 9-0 loss to the Cubs on Saturday
That 'different way', McCutchen said, was to hit him on the first pitch.
“You understand nobody’s trying to hit anybody, but you understand the frustrations behind being hit, too,” McCutchen said. “As a baseball player who understands that, when you’re hitting guys, somebody’s going to get hit. More than likely, somebody’s going to get hit. Guys are in the dugout going, ‘Who’s gonna get it?’ We know.
“Everybody and their mom knew when I came up to bat, I was going to get hit. (Willson) Contreras didn't even move his glove behind the plate, when I got hit. He didn't move it. We all knew it was coming. But it was a matter of how you do it. There was a better way to do it. I just don't agree with the way it was done.”
McCutchen let Thompson know his displeasure with not simply plunking him on the first pitch and the Cubs, including Contreras and Jason Heyward, who sprinted in from center field, which led to the benches clearing.
“I commend the umpires for letting me have that time to let them know how I felt about it,” McCutchen said. “If you would have hit me right away, I would have gone right to first base and not thought much about it. I knew it was coming, cool. Wipe my hands clean. So I had to let him know, come on man, there’s a better way to do it.”
A continued trend between rivals
The Cubs had been hit by three pitches in the game prior to McCutchen’s plunking and, although none appeared intentional, it was the continuation of a common theme between the rivals.
Since 2020, the Brewers have hit Cubs hitters 27 times; Cubs pitchers have hit the Brewers 26 times.
On the receiving end of many of those has been Contreras, who has been hit 12 times since the beginning of the abbreviated 2020 season. The Brewers insist that is the byproduct of the way they attack Contreras by working him with fastballs inside. Contreras, who was hit in the head when the teams met last April, however, typically takes exception to each plunking.
Contreras said last season his frustration is due to the aggregating number of times he is hit as opposed to assuming any ill intent from the Brewers. He was hit by pitch during the opener and once again by a Brandon Woodruff sinker that bore inside Saturday.
“Last year, I get it,” Contreras said. “I was kind of on top of the plate. This year I’m farther back off the plate and I’m still getting hit. I don’t think that’s big-league pitching. Big-league pitching knows how to command the fastball.
“I know they’re not trying to, but like I’ve said before, if you don’t have the command to go in, just don’t go, because you’re going to get somebody hurt.”
Woodruff, whose arsenal is heavily predicated on working hitters inside with his fastballs, reiterated that none of the team’s instances of hitting Contreras have been on purpose.
“None of it was intentional, and I don't know what else to say about it, but I'm just gonna keep doing what I'm doing,” Woodruff said. “We're not out here trying to hit people. I realize the numbers are kind of staggering a little bit in that sense, but it's not intentional.”
Cubs cleanup hitter Ian Happ was the third player for the team hit by pitch when a slider from Brewers reliever Trevor Gott hit him on the knee. Happ was tended to on the field and had to leave the game, though X-rays came back negative.
“I think it's been more of a scouting report thing for a number of guys on the team,” Happ said of the Cubs getting hit. “(Contreras) is obviously an example of that with all the heaters into him. I think (Kris Bryant) and (Javier Baez) were examples of that, too, when they were here the last couple of years. There's just some guys, it's in their scouting reports that it's a way to get them out.
"I don't think it's on purpose but if you're going to come inside you have to throw strikes and be able to command it because it gets dangerous. But, besides that, I don't think it's dangerous."
The following inning, with two outs and nobody on, Thompson hit McCutchen.
Thompson and Contreras both said it was not on purpose.
“Even though it's a 9-0 ball game, I'm still out there trying to work on things,” Thompson said. “I'm still working on my windup and staying on a good rhythm because I still have trouble with that sometimes. I threw a couple of two-seams and I'm working on my two-seam and sometimes it gets away. That just happens sometimes.”
Brewers call HBP 'intentional'
The other clubhouse had a different take on the situation.
“I don’t think there was any intent on anybody’s hit by pitches today except for one,” Brewers manager Craig Counsell said, referencing the pitches to McCutchen. “There’s wasn’t. I think both sides will tell you that. The benches clear when there’s somebody intentionally and that’s what happened today.”
Woodruff was involved in the drama in 2021 when Cubs reliever Ryan Tepera threw behind him while at the plate. Tepera received a three-game suspension and Cubs manager David Ross was also suspended for a game.
“Yeah, I think that was on purpose,” Woodruff said. “If you're gonna hit him, hit him on the first pitch. Don't try to miss and then come back and hit him; if you're gonna do it, do it on the first pitch. That's my take on it.
“I realize I understand that over the last couple of years, we have hit their guys a lot, especially one guy in particular, but it's just how we're trying to pitch him. Sometimes balls get away but we're not trying to do it on purpose; it's not intentional. That's part of the game. I get they're trying to send a message but, you know, send it on that first pitch.”
McCutchen said he broke his ribs in 2014 on a retaliatory beaning while with the Pirates after Paul Goldschmidt of the Diamondbacks fractured his wrist on a pitch inside that him. The first two pitches of that at-bat, he said, were sliders before he got a fastball in the ribs that injured him.
He felt Thompson’s pitch sequence was similar.
“The biggest takeaway for me is you’re throwing a (cutter] away for a first pitch strike, and what are you trying to do? You’re trying to make me guess, like, ‘Oh, you’re going to pitch to me?’” McCutchen said. “And then you’re going to try and hit me and get three chances?
"That’s a little much, man. I’ve been hurt before with that.” | 2022-04-10T02:17:24Z | www.jsonline.com | Brewers, Cubs benches clear after Keegan Thompson hits McCutchen | https://www.jsonline.com/story/sports/mlb/brewers/2022/04/09/brewers-cubs-benches-clear-after-keegan-thompson-hits-mccutchen/9514695002/ | https://www.jsonline.com/story/sports/mlb/brewers/2022/04/09/brewers-cubs-benches-clear-after-keegan-thompson-hits-mccutchen/9514695002/ |
Milwaukee Police are requesting the public's assistance in locating Alonzo Hughes, who they labeled as "critically missing."
He was last seen on April 1 at approximately 6 p.m. in the 7000 block of West Beckett Avenue, near Dineen Park. He is possibly driving a silver 2014 Mazda CX9 with Wisconsin license plate AMC9220.
Hughes is a Black man, 5 feet 11 inches tall, and weighs 210 pounds. He has black hair approximately 2-3 inches in length, and a brown and black full beard approximately 1 inch in length.
He is possibly wearing a black leather "Pelle Pelle" coat with light brown fur around the hood, a black and gold T-shirt with the words "Self Made Savage" in gold writing and black Nike basketball shorts. Hughes may be wearing a blue medical splint boot on his right foot. Hughes also wears prescription glasses.
Hughes suffers from a medical condition. "Critically missing" is a label police apply to missing persons who may be in immediate danger due to a variety of factors.
Anyone with information on Hughes' whereabouts is asked to contact the Milwaukee Police Sensitive Crimes Division at (414) 935-7401. | 2022-04-10T04:14:46Z | www.jsonline.com | Milwaukee police seek help finding missing man with medical condition | https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/2022/04/09/milwaukee-police-seek-help-finding-missing-man-medical-condition/9530283002/ | https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/2022/04/09/milwaukee-police-seek-help-finding-missing-man-medical-condition/9530283002/ |
Milwaukee filmmakers explore the blend of faith, design in 'Secrets of Sacred Architecture'
Steve Boettcher and Mike Trinklein are best known for their profiles of TV giants in productions like "Pioneers of Primetime" and this year's "Betty White: A Celebration."
But since they were kids, the Milwaukee filmmaking partners have had another fascination: churches and other religious buildings.
“I remember sitting in church and kind of looking around and trying to understand what the artifacts meant," Boettcher said.
“One of the things that’s universally true is that both churches and filmmaking have something in common — that you’re trying to tell a visual story,” said Trinklein, who added that the pair at one time thought about being architects. “I think it’s that fascination with the storytelling that church buildings do. They’re just really an interesting way in which communities try to communicate.”
The pair combined both interests in their latest project, "Secrets of Sacred Architecture," which airs on 360 public television stations around the country in April.
Narrated by LeVar Burton, the one-hour documentary explores the connections between churches, synagogues, mosques and temples and the communities that build them.
"The central purpose that unites all sacred architecture is that the goal is to communicate," Burton says in the film's narration. "Every steeple, every stained-glass window, every parking lot is sending a message to the membership and to the community."
Milwaukee churches play featured role
Although the filmmakers traveled all over the world for "Secrets of Sacred Architecture," southeast Wisconsin's houses of worship have a prominent role in the project.
In addition to images of such local landmarks as Holy Hill, Gesu Church and St. Paul's Episcopal Church, it gives extended looks at two of Milwaukee's most notable churches.
Designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, the Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church is, the film points out, is a poured concrete dome on top of a bowl, with the bowl representing God's hand holding the congregation. No parishioner is more than 60 feet from the altar, a design inspired by the Hagia Sophia mosque in Istanbul.
More:Here's a look at seven 19th-century church buildings in the Milwaukee suburbs.
St. Josaphat Basilica also gets a cameo in "Secrets of Sacred Architecture," including a snippet of a performance by the Milwaukee Symphony and Chorus of Handl's "Messiah" in the gold-domed landmark. The program recounts the story of the basilica's construction, when, hard-pressed to come up with the money, they hit on the idea of purchasing a demolished Chicago post office and using the material, from the stone to the doorknobs, to build the church.
"I think it's a great national story to bring to people," Boettcher said. "We are resourceful Milwaukeeans; we find a way to take a building and rebuild it."
Lambeau Field and other sacred spaces
For centuries, Boettcher said, houses of worship were designed to inspire awe. No wonder people find themselves whispering when they go into a church.
"It's an amazing transformation that happens when you leave this world and enter that sacred building," he said.
Examining religious buildings across denominations, Trinklein said, underscores the importance people place on sacred spaces.
"There's a natural, inborn part of us that wants to create these sacred places," he said. "One example of our modern community is Lambeau Field. It's a sacred space — there's even statues of the saints."
Power of megachurch design
"Secrets of Sacred Architecture" doesn't just dwell in the past. The program also looks at the designs of contemporary megachurches as a sign of the evolution of our relationship to religious spaces. Instead of trying to evoke awe, they echo more comforting and comfortable spaces — like shopping malls.
More:Evolve Church is building a new space that will be community focused. The Milwaukee Bucks and city officials recognize its importance.
"You go to some of the bigger churches … and they have climbing walls and they have rec centers and they have all these activities, and you think that's odd" at first, Trinklein said. "But it's really not odd at all, because churches were always gathering places for the community."
Still, "they were designed to communicate a connection with something bigger."
Having faith in LeVar Burton
Making a connection with Burton proved a stroke of serendipity.
Boettcher said that the "Roots" and "Star Trek: The Next Generation" star and "Reading Rainbow" host has a longstanding tie to public television, but they were unaware of his connections to the subject of their program: Before he decided to study acting, Burton was studying for the priesthood.
"When we approached him about this idea," he was, like, 'Oh, I understand this completely. This is in my wheelhouse. I know this topic so well,'" Boettcher said. "It was kind of a natural fit for us."
Whatever the denomination, a house of worship is a reflection of the community it serves, from the quirky gargoyles of the Washington National Cathedral (including one that looks like Darth Vader) to the stained-glass illustrations of Black life at Trinity United Church of Christ, former President Barack Obama's church in Chicago.
“The idea is to recognize that these sacred buildings are talking to" us, Trinklein said. "They are saying something to you, and they have always been designed to say something to you, whether it’s that giant steeple or whether it’s the very familiar look of a megachurch. They’re trying to talk to you. And I’m just trying to awaken people to the conversation.”
"Secrets of Sacred Architecture" is showing at 8 p.m. April 11 on WMTV-TV (Channel 36), at 6 p.m. April 17 on PBS World (in Milwaukee, on Channel 36.2), and at 8 p.m. April 18 on WMVS-TV (Channel 10) and on Wisconsin Public Television stations across the state. | 2022-04-11T11:07:19Z | www.jsonline.com | Milwaukee filmmakers share 'Secrets of Sacred Architecture' | https://www.jsonline.com/story/entertainment/television-radio/2022/04/11/milwaukee-filmmakers-share-secrets-sacred-architecture-pbs-levar-burton/9490842002/ | https://www.jsonline.com/story/entertainment/television-radio/2022/04/11/milwaukee-filmmakers-share-secrets-sacred-architecture-pbs-levar-burton/9490842002/ |
Q&A with new Brewers broadcaster Jeff Maurer, the voice of the team for road games starting in 2022
Players Aaron Ashby, Jake Cousins and Tyrone Taylor weren't the only people make their first opening day rosters at the major league level over the weekend at Wrigley Field in Chicago.
Brewers broadcaster Josh Maurer called his first big league game on the radio Saturday after spending nearly two decades in independent and minor league ball.
Maurer is expected to call around 60 games for Milwaukee this season alongside Lane Grindle on the airwaves while Bob Uecker's schedule is limited to home games and Jeff Levering's television role expands.
Maurer comes to the Brewers from the Boston Red Sox organization; he most recently called games for the Class AAA Worcester Red Sox.
The Journal Sentinel caught up with Maurer at Wrigley Field on Sunday for a conversation to help introduce him to Brewers fans.
What interested you about the Brewers job?
Josh Maurer: The reality is when you’ve been in the minor leagues as long as I had been, any major league job that is available, you try to jump at it and see if you could become a candidate. But the reality also is that you’re probably not going to get it in almost every one of those situations.
What did you like about the process with the Brewers?
This was so different because the Brewers had an open mind. I’ve found that with most major league teams, when they’re hiring a broadcaster, it’s going to go to somebody that’s already an established name who has already worked in the major leagues or works for a network. And I’m not saying that’s a good or bad thing, I’m just saying that’s generally how it’s gone. So for a minor league guy who doesn’t have any name recognition like myself to be considered for this job, I was amazed. Then we started going through the process and it seemed like I actually was a real candidate. I just kept thinking that the other shoe’s gonna drop at some point and it never did.
How long did you work in the minor leagues?
I had my first job in 2003 doing independent league baseball, but full-time minor league baseball has been 16 years.
Where were all your stops before Milwaukee?
I was in the old Can-Am League, which is an independent league. It was with the Brockton Rocks. That was my first job out of college. In fact, I missed my college graduation to go to opening day there. I was the studio host and they won the championship. I was so angry that they won because then I had to stay there two weeks longer for the playoffs.
But that led me to Charleston, South Carolina, to work for the Charleston RiverDogs for four years, which was a great job. The general manager in Brockton left to become the GM in Charleston and took me there with him. That got me into the Yankees organization.
A few years later, I got hired to be the broadcaster for their Double-A team in Trenton. I did two years in Trenton, 2012 and ‘13, then from there I got the Pawtucket job where it became Worcester last year and I worked there for 8 years.
So this is the farthest west you’ve ever worked?
I’ve been up and down the eastern seaboard but I have never worked anywhere outside that coast.
Had you ever been to Milwaukee or Wisconsin before?
I had never been to Milwaukee before. I’ve been to Wisconsin to broadcast a college football game between UMass and the Badgers in 2013, but that was it. I had never actually been to Milwaukee.
Have you been able to spend any time and a get a feel for the city?
I came at the end of January for the last phase of the interview, but was there for less than 24 hours. Then after I got the job, they were gracious enough to bring me back for a few days to look for housing in the middle of February. That was probably four days total that I was there, then I went to spring training. The way scheduling worked out with Bob, it made more sense for them to have me go to spring training in the beginning. So I finished off my college basketball season with Massachusetts and then went down to spring training for eight days. Came back, packed up my life and I just moved, so I got to Milwaukee last Saturday (April 2).
That's a broadcaster's life, isn't it? So you haven’t had much time to explore and get settled?
I have not settled, no. I’m in a big state of flux right now.
Have you done anything cool in Milwaukee yet or has it just been ballpark, airport, home?
Basically just those three. I’ve gotten a few dinners, which is nice. (Brewers broadcasters) Jeff (Levering) and Lane (Grindle) took me out to dinner at Carnivore Steakhouse, which was fabulous and incredibly kind of them. But honestly I can’t say I really know much of anything other than my immediate area.
Anythingspecifically you’re excited about doing or seeing in Milwaukee?
I think that unanimously, everybody who I talked to about Milwaukee says that the summers are great. I’m excited for that. The way my job is laid out, I will have more free time when the team is at home. Then when we’re on the road, I’m actually working and broadcasting the games. I’ll be at the home games, but it won’t be in a working capacity. So I think I’ll have more time to experience some of that stuff and explore the city. I’m excited about it.
It has to be exciting to not be just working in the majors but to have your first job be on the same broadcasting team as Bob Uecker, right?
Yeah, I mean, it’s like you almost can’t believe it. When I’m standing there and Bob Uecker is saying my name, it feels like a fantasy. This is Bob Uecker and I’ve listened to him and watched him for years. My favorite baseball movie was Major League, I could recite it verbatim pretty much. I’ve been aware of him for most of my life, really, and now we’re on the same team, even if I won’t be calling games with him.
How’d your first broadcast go Saturday?
It’s funny. People said to me after the game, they’re like, ‘Oh man, sorry about the game. That wasn’t a good one for your first game.’ I worried about it as much as Craig Counsell did. I’m sure it’s not very much. There’s 162 games and I kind of felt like Craig probably felt last night. That was rusty, I don’t think it was my best effort. There was a lot going on, so I’ll forgive it and move on. There’s a lot of games and you don’t want to put all your stock in how you did on the first one.
How has your rapport with Lane and Jeff been early on?
They’ve been so welcoming. It’s nice to step into a booth where the people who have inhabited it, and this includes Ueck, have been so welcoming to the new guy. There’s a lot to take in. It’s a very involved broadcast, different than anything that I’ve ever been a part of. So there is a big learning curve that I’m having to go through and these guys have been phenomenal.
Contact Curt Hogg at chogg@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @CyrtHogg. | 2022-04-11T11:07:49Z | www.jsonline.com | Q&A with new Milwaukee Brewers radio announcer Jeff Maurer | https://www.jsonline.com/story/sports/mlb/brewers/2022/04/11/q-a-new-milwaukee-brewers-radio-announcer-jeff-maurer/9533982002/ | https://www.jsonline.com/story/sports/mlb/brewers/2022/04/11/q-a-new-milwaukee-brewers-radio-announcer-jeff-maurer/9533982002/ |
The Milwaukee Bucks and Chicago Bulls begin their first-round playoff series starting at some point April 16 or thereafter, with game times yet to be announced.
The Bucks (51-31) own the No. 3 seed, while the Bulls (46-36) come in with the No. 6 seeding. Milwaukee will host the first two games of the opening round before traveling to Chicago for the next two at the United Center.
Take a look at the Bulls to get a sense of what the Bucks will be facing:
Possible starters for Bulls
DeMar DeRozan (27.9 ppg, 5.2 rpg, 4.9 apg)
Zach Lavine (24.4 ppg, 4.6 rpg, 4.5 apg)
Nikola Vučević (17.6 ppg, 11.0 rpg, 3.2 apg)
Ayo Dosunmu (8.6 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 3.3 apg)
Alex Caruso (7.4 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 4.0 apg)
Coby White (12.7 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 2.9 apg)
Patrick Williams (7.4 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 0.7 apg)
Javonte Green (7.2 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 0.9 apg)
Derrick Jones (5.5 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 0.6 apg)
Coach: Billy Donovan
They've fallen apart since the all-star break
After a narrow win over Atlanta on Feb. 24 in the first game after the all-star break, the Chicago Bulls were 39-21, a half-game ahead of the Miami Heat atop the Eastern Conference standings. The 76ers and Bucks were in third, three games back. It seemed like Chicago was on top of the world. What in the world happened from there?
Chicago lost its next five games, 10 of its next 13 and overall finished the season at 7-15. The schedule after the break was one of the toughest in the league, and injuries began to take their toll.
Guard Lonzo Ball, who last played Jan. 14, was ruled out for the rest of the season April 6, all-star Zach LaVine dealt with nagging issues and Alex Caruso missed nearly two months after his much discussed collision with Grayson Allen. Patrick Williams missed the vast majority of the season with torn wrist ligaments before returning this month.
But even with those players back and DeMar DeRozan (whose MVP candidacy has fallen off alongside Chicago's overall plight) putting up big numbers offensively, Chicago just hasn't been able to stop teams.
Some bad blood lingering from Alex Caruso's injury?
Grayson Allen was ejected for the hard foul on Alex Caruso in the teams' first meeting Jan. 21, one that ended with Caruso's broken wrist. The Bucks disagreed with the league's decision to issue a one-game suspension to Allen, and the incident put Allen (no stranger to the spotlight of national attention) under the microscope again. Allen was knocked to the floor on a hard foul by Vučević in the teams' final meeting in April, netting Vučević a technical, and it's safe to say tensions between the two sides haven't entirely dissipated.
They haven't beaten the Bucks ... or really any other title contender
The Bucks have won all four meetings against the Bulls, and that's not unusual for Chicago, which hasn't fared well against the elite tier of teams in the NBA. Chicago is also 0-4 against both Miami and Philadelphia, with a 1-2 mark against Boston for good measure. Against the top four teams in the West? The record is 1-7. The Bulls deserve credit for beating up on the teams that they need to, but they haven't proven they're among the league's elite despite lingering near the top of the East for most of the season.
They can shoot the basketball but have struggled rebounding it
Chicago ranks fourth in the NBA in three-point percentage, making 36.8% on the year. Overall, the Bulls' 48.0% shooting is third, behind only Phoenix and Denver, and Chicago is also third at 81.4% at the free-throw line. They also aren't bad at protecting the basketball, with 12.7 turnovers per game which ranked fifth. Where they struggle is on the boards, bringing in 42.3 rebounds per game — second worst in the league. Their 8.6 offensive boards also rank second-worst.
DeMar DeRozan is nonetheless a problem
Before things went south, the 32-year-old DeRozan was, after all, an MVP candidate. He's still averaging 28.0 points per game this year with 5.2 rebounds and 4.9 assists, shooting 35.2% from three-point range (blowing away his previous career high of 33.8%) and 50% from the field, the second best year of his career. After three seasons in San Antonio, he became an all-star in his first season with the Bulls. He's had a 35-point game and 40-point game against the Bucks this season.
The Bulls have a Wisconsinite on the roster, if he he's healthy
Matt Thomas, who played high school ball at Onalaska, is in his third year of NBA action. He saw action in 41 games for Toronto in the 2019-20 season, then spent time with Utah before joining the Bulls. He's shooting 39% from three-point range this season and seeing 11.5 minutes per game. However, he's played only sparingly since late February and has had his own health issues, so it might be unlikely to see him on the floor against the Bucks.
In February, the Bulls released Alfonzo McKinnie, who played college basketball at UW-Green Bay.
After a loss to Charlotte in the penultimate game of the regular season, frustrated Bulls fans at the United Center booed their team. "To be honest, they should (boo)," LaVine said in the postgame news conference. "It's embarrassing."
There was a lot to remember from the 2015 first-round playoff clash between the two teams. Milwaukee fell behind in the series, 3-0, before a buzzer beater by Jerryd Bayless at the Bradley Center, and then Milwaukee won again. But the series came crashing down in Game 6, when the Bulls destroyed Milwaukee, 120-66, four points shy of the largest margin of defeat in NBA playoff history. In that game, Giannis Antetokounmpo was famously ejected for clearing out Mike Dunleavy, a former Bucks player who'd administered a hard foul to Michael Carter-Williams.
That was the last playoff series Chicago has won. They returned to the playoffs in 2017 and lost to the Celtics. This is their first playoff trip in five years.
How did Milwaukee fare against Chicago in the regular season?
April 5: Milwaukee 127, Chicago 106. Milwaukee clinched the Central Division title by finishing off a season series sweep at the United Center. Brook Lopez delivered a season-high 28 points and seven rebounds on 9 of 14 shooting.
March 22: Milwaukee 126, Chicago 98. The shellacking came as the Bulls were in the midst of a tailspin, and Milwaukee was without Khris Middleton. But Giannis Antetokounmpo racked up 25 points, 17 rebounds and five assists, with Jrue Holiday adding 27 points and seven helpers.
March 4: Milwaukee 118, Chicago 112. In the tightest of the clashes between the two teams, a short-handed Bucks team employed the defensive talents of newcomers Jevon Carter and DeAndre Bembry, not to mention Wesley Matthews, and Holiday scored 16 of his 26 points in the fourth quarter to help the Bucks rally. That included clinching free throws with 12.5 seconds left.
Jan. 21: Milwaukee 94, Chicago 90. It took a while for the teams to meet for the first time this season, with Chicago enjoying a huge start to the year. But Milwaukee moved to 18-3 when their "Big Three" play, with Khris Middleton hitting two big free throws with 15.8 seconds left after DeMar DeRozan missed a big 3-pointer. The game was most remembered for a mid-air collision between Alex Caruso and Grayson Allen, leading to an ejection and suspension for Allen and a broken wrist for Caruso. | 2022-04-11T11:07:55Z | www.jsonline.com | Seven things to know about Bucks playoff opponent, Chicago Bulls | https://www.jsonline.com/story/sports/nba/bucks/2022/04/11/seven-things-know-bucks-playoff-opponent-chicago-bulls/9533715002/ | https://www.jsonline.com/story/sports/nba/bucks/2022/04/11/seven-things-know-bucks-playoff-opponent-chicago-bulls/9533715002/ |
Pitbull playing 50-plus North American cities, including Milwaukee in August with Iggy Azalea
Rapper and pop artist Pitbull, aka Armando Pérez, aka Mr. Worldwide, has plans to play all over North America this July and August, bringing his "Can't Stop Us Now" tour to more than 50 cities.
Milwaukee is one of them. Pitbull will play the American Family Insurance Amphitheater Aug. 26. Rapper Iggy Azalea will be his opening act, along with DJs from Pitbull's SiriusXM channel.
Tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. Friday at the box office (200 N. Harbor Drive) and ticketmaster.com. Fans can register for early ticket access at pitbullmusic.com/tour. Information on ticket prices wasn't immediately available.
Reopened last year following a $51.3 million renovation, Milwaukee World Festival's American Family Insurance Amphitheater is expected to have its busiest season in at least 18 years in 2022.
The 23,000-person-capacity venue will host 22 events this May through October, including nine Summerfest shows, and concerts with KISS, Keith Urban, Josh Groban, Alanis Morissette, Santana with Earth, Wind and Fire and more outside of the Big Gig. Five amphitheater concerts have yet to be announced, including one Summerfest headliner for June 30. | 2022-04-11T16:25:02Z | www.jsonline.com | Pitbull playing Milwaukee in August with guest Iggy Azalea | https://www.jsonline.com/story/entertainment/music/2022/04/11/pitbull-playing-milwaukee-august-guest-iggy-azalea/7275135001/ | https://www.jsonline.com/story/entertainment/music/2022/04/11/pitbull-playing-milwaukee-august-guest-iggy-azalea/7275135001/ |
Delafield aldermanic race heading to recount
CITY OF DELAFIELD - A recount is coming for the District 6 aldermanic race.
Challenger Paul Price was declared the winner of the seat over incumbent Phil Kasun on April 7 after their race was decided via lot draw, a process in which both candidates' names are placed in a hat and the winner is drawn.
The draw came after election day results yielded 172 votes for each candidate and two write-ins.
"Anybody elected Tuesday (April 5) starts in two weeks, so it has to get done," Kasun said. "I certainly wouldn't want anyone appointing or selecting one of us, so I guess the next best thing is a name out of a hat. It wasn't me, but that's the way it turns out."
The city's election rules state that a recount can be called for a close race, although it is not automatically conducted. A candidate must explicitly ask and file for a recount.
Kasun filed paperwork requesting a recount Friday afternoon. The recount should be held this week; a date has not yet been announced
More:Voters reelect Delafield Mayor Kent Attwell to third term; reelect Ald. Wayne Dehn to council
More:More: Wisconsin spring election results
"I don’t expect any different outcome, but I use scanning machines at work (Arrowhead High School) all the time, and they make errors ," Kasun said. "I want to make sure everything was scanned properly and that every form was done right and counted right."
Price, who was absent at the lot draw and could also miss the recount because of a previously planned, pandemic-delayed vacation, said he welcomes a recount. While he is proud to serve as the next alderman for his district, he wants the results to speak for themselves.
"I would doubt things change, but I suppose if someone marked their ballot incorrectly and the machine didn’t pick it up,” he added. “I suppose there’s a chance something is off. I hope that if that’s the case, maybe I gain a few more votes. You can’t have two alderman in the same seat, though, so we’ll have to pick one."
If the results hold up, Price said he is ready to serve.
"We worked real hard, a lot of door-to-door walking, and I look forward to serving the city and getting some things through that we have on the table," Price said. "Now, we just wait until next week to see if things change."
Low turnout
With 172 votes each and two write-in votes, a total of 346 people voted in District 6, which has more than 600 residents. For both candidates, the importance of a single vote is now clearer than ever.
In nearby Wauwatosa, a single vote decided the results of the District 5 aldermanic race.
"It shows how important your vote actually is," Price said. "Most people who stay home would’ve changed the election, even just one person who goes to the polls and casts their vote."
Kasun mentioned that in addition to low turnout, he was surprised at the partisan nature of this election cycle.
"I’m a little disappointed that these nonpartisan elections became very partisan," he said. "Political parties picked and chose favorites, and lately, on record, I’ve perhaps been the most fiscally conservative voice on the common council. But some voices were glad to see me go, and as it turns out, it was a draw, so we had to have the name pulled."
More:Wisconsin Republicans celebrate 'flipping' school boards -- but they didn't win everywhere
Despite low turnout, Kasun said he was still surprised by the numbers for the spring election though he wished more came out.
"Because the election was partisan, there was probably a larger turnout than there might have been. I was told people voted simply because their party told them to," Kasun said. "But, in general, there’s probably 600 to 700 voters in my district, and there were 346 votes. I realize it’s a spring election and they have lower turnout, but I know people who said they liked what I had to say, and I’m sure they just didn’t get out to the polls for whatever reason, so that’s a disappointment.” | 2022-04-11T18:44:10Z | www.jsonline.com | Delafield alderman race heading to recount | https://www.jsonline.com/story/communities/lake-country/2022/04/11/delafield-alderman-race-heading-recount/9513742002/ | https://www.jsonline.com/story/communities/lake-country/2022/04/11/delafield-alderman-race-heading-recount/9513742002/ |
Cedarburg parents and medical professionals criticize school district over reviewing sex education proposal promoting abstinence-only policy
The Cedarburg School District is facing criticism from parents and medical professionals over a proposal for "radical, regressive changes" to its sex education curriculum after nearly a decade of controversy over the policy.
District officials on March 30 reviewed a proposal from an independent consultant that suggested changes that "stressed the value of abstinence as the only way to prevent pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections," according to the policy manual.
Policy updates could also include slashing education about "the health benefits, side effects and proper use of contraceptives."
The proposal was one of more than 100 suggested changes by Neola, an independent policy consultant that submits recommendations to districts across the state.
The School Board's policy committee tabled the proposed curriculum change until September after "the Committee's chairman raised concerns about the proposed changes not complying with applicable state statutes," said Karen Egelhoff, the district's communication coordinator, in a statement. A representative from Neola said they would update the proposal "at a later time."
After learning about the proposal, a group of medical professionals and parents wrote a letter to the district detailing their concerns.
"One day, our kids will leave "the bubble' and need to be prepared," the letter stated. Knowledge is power. When young adults have comprehensive information, they can make good decisions and keep themselves safe."
"We're already playing with these kids' lives. We can't continue to go backwards," said Cori Kaminski, who's a mother of two teenage sons in the district. "Even though this is tabled, this is something that eventually they'll come back around and decide on. The fact that this is even being suggested is horrifying to us as parents."
The proposal comes after years of controversy over the district's opt-in sex education curriculum. The district adopted curriculum a decade ago called "Choosing the Best," in which "teens are encouraged to make their own commitment to the healthy choice: abstinence until marriage," according to the curriculum.
In response, medical professionals and parents created an independent program under which parents could sign up their teens to learn about things like contraceptives and consent. The program was only supposed to last a year or two, but it still exists over 10 years later to fill in the education gap, Kaminski said.
"You need to give these kids the best opportunity to make the best choices," said Kaminski.
RELATED:Cedarburg School Board selects two finalists for superintendent position | 2022-04-11T18:44:16Z | www.jsonline.com | Cedarburg school district criticized for reviewing abstinence sex ed | https://www.jsonline.com/story/communities/northshore/2022/04/11/cedarburg-school-district-criticized-reviewing-abstinence-sex-ed/7274343001/ | https://www.jsonline.com/story/communities/northshore/2022/04/11/cedarburg-school-district-criticized-reviewing-abstinence-sex-ed/7274343001/ |
For months, Democrats and their allies have claimed that Republican U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson and some of his top donors benefited from a key provision he pushed for in President Donald Trump's signature 2017 tax bill.
During a meeting with GOP supporters Friday in Medford, Johnson was asked by an audience member how they should respond to an ad attacking the senator for his wealth and support for the measure.
Johnson acknowledged the Oshkosh-based plastics business he owned, Pacur LLC, benefited from the small-business tax provision, as did some of his prominent donors.
But Johnson, running for re-election, said many other businesses benefited as well, according to a recording obtained by the Journal Sentinel.
"Now, did my business benefit? Sure. Did some of my donor businesses? Sure. When you give tax relief to everybody, everybody benefits," Johnson said.
"So they want to make it sound like I carved out some loophole for a couple of people. What I did is I made sure that 95% of American businesses weren't left behind in tax reform. I'm really proud of that achievement."
The issue may persist throughout the campaign as Democrats try to flip Johnson's seat, which could determine the party that controls the U.S. Senate.
During the meeting in northern Wisconsin, Johnson defended his work on the pass-through provision and said he received criticism from the White House and talk radio in Wisconsin as Republicans were pushing hard to pass the sweeping tax overhaul.
"I was making sure that every small business in America and Wisconsin got tax relief and would be able to remain competitive with the big guys," he said.
In August, an investigation from ProPublica found that the tax provision Johnson championed delivered millions in tax savings to key donors of his campaigns, Dick and Liz Uihlein of Pleasant Prairie-based Uline and Diane Hendricks of Beloit-based ABC Supply.
Johnson pushed for a tax break for small businesses and other so-called pass-through entities. In these businesses, profits pass-through to the owners who pay taxes on their personal returns.
Johnson has said pass-through entities represent more than 90% of all businesses and during the 2017 tax overhaul he sought to keep them competitive with large publicly held C-corporations.
Pacur LLC, the Oshkosh-based plastic company that Johnson helped found, was structured as a pass-through business. Johnson disclosed in his official statement of economic interest that he sold his interest in the business for between $5 million and $20 million in 2020. He said the deal had been in the works since 2018.
Johnson's campaign spokesman Jake Wilkins said the audio "is exactly what Senator Johnson has said in public and private for years.
"Despite strong opposition, he secured tax relief for more than 90% of U.S. businesses who benefited from it after it became law. While it is true that Pacur is an LLC and received tax relief along with the other more than 20 million tax filers that take advantage of his efforts, that’s the necessary result of ensuring all businesses get a tax cut so they can remain competitive with big business C-Corps. It is a gross distortion to imply his tax cuts were a special deal for a few. His tax cuts benefited the many."
Wilkins also launched a broadside over ads that have run on the subject.
"If media outlets were honest and unbiased, they would fact check the Democrat attack ads and label them ‘mostly false,’ " Wilkins said in a statement. "Although the ads do contain a kernel of truth, they grossly distort the full impact of his important legislative achievement and falsely imply a selfish motive."
During the Taylor County meeting, Johnson took on what he called the "distorted attack ads" that have run against him.
Johnson explained that after he got elected in 2010 he took all of his "marketable securities" and placed them in cash so that he would have no conflicts. Meanwhile, the stock market went up 3.8 times. | 2022-04-11T18:44:28Z | www.jsonline.com | Ron Johnson says Pacur LLC benefited from 2017 business tax cut | https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/politics/elections/2022/04/11/ron-johnson-says-pacur-llc-other-businesses-benefited-2017-tax-cut/9518476002/ | https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/politics/elections/2022/04/11/ron-johnson-says-pacur-llc-other-businesses-benefited-2017-tax-cut/9518476002/ |
Kenosha-based toolmaker Snap-on Inc. is the victim of a large data theft, according to a report
Kenosha-based toolmaker Snap-on Inc. is the victim of a large data theft, according to a report.
The Conti ransomware gang is responsible for the theft, according to a Twitter account maintained by VxThreat, a ransomware monitoring platform.
More than 10 gigabytes of data was leaked in the attack and 90% of the files were published, according to the tweet issued Monday by TxThreat.
Representatives from Snap-on didn't immediately respond to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel's requests for comment on the report.
Snap-on makes high-end tools for automotive mechanics, aviation and aerospace workers and other trades people.
The company has 12,500 employees worldwide and posted sales of $4.25 billion in 2021, according to its website.
More:Feeds by @VxThreat
"Conti cyber threat actors remain active and reported Conti ransomware attacks against U.S. and international organizations have risen to more than 1,000," according to a February advisory issued by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency.
"While there are no specific or credible cyber threats to the U.S. homeland at this time, CISA, FBI, and NSA encourage organizations to review this advisory and apply the recommended mitigations," it said. | 2022-04-11T20:54:47Z | www.jsonline.com | Kenosha-based toolmaker Snap-on reportedly victim of data theft | https://www.jsonline.com/story/money/2022/04/11/kenosha-based-toolmaker-snap-reportedly-victim-data-theft/7279758001/ | https://www.jsonline.com/story/money/2022/04/11/kenosha-based-toolmaker-snap-reportedly-victim-data-theft/7279758001/ |
Executives are warned that China's economic policies could present major challenges to local manufacturers
The war between Russia and Ukraine has hit Wisconsin farmers and manufacturers with increased costs and supply chain issues, but Milwaukee's business community was warned Monday that China could present a larger problem.
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee political science professor Shale Horowitz told the Greater Milwaukee Committee what is happening in China is similar to what is being seen in Russia — but on a larger scale.
"China's economy is huge, the size of the United States, while Russia's is about the size of Florida's," Horowitz said. "Over the last 30 years, China has become the world's factory, and supply chains all over the world became dependent on China."
Horowitz explained "decoupling," the idea that China is following a long-term strategy of reducing dependence on foreign technology and will eventually not do business with western countries.
"The goal is not to assume an equal position with countries like the United States, they want to dominate," Horowitz said. "These kinds of goals have been affecting other countries, and now they are coming for us and coming for our allies and we have to figure out how to adjust."
More:Tom Saler: The repercussions of Putin's war against Ukraine will be felt in economies around the world
More:From fire engines to snow throwers, Wisconsin companies such as Harley-Davidson and Oshkosh face 'daily battle' against shortages
Austin Ramirez, CEO of Husco International, a global engineering and manufacturing company that provides hydraulic and electromechanical components for automotive and off-highway application, said the company's large factory outside Shanghai has been closed since the pandemic began. This has forced Husco to adjust to supply chain issues.
"Initial plans are never adequate and you can never predict the next global emergency," Ramirez said. "Two years ago, no one could get face masks, so the knee-jerk reaction was to localize the supply chain. I can guarantee you the next emergency won't be face masks."
Ukraine conflict caused abrupt supply chain disruption
Horowitz said the Ukraine conflict caused an abrupt disruption in the export of raw materials including oil, gas, metals and grain, first because of politically imposed sanctions and then private companies responding.
A wide range of manufactured goods have been in short supply because of COVID-related trade disruptions and now the war in Ukraine. Wisconsin companies have gone from being worried about not having enough workers to dealing with broken supply chains.
Exports to Russia in 2021 were 109.1 million, with Russia ranking as Wisconsin's 35th largest export destination, between Egypt and Costa Rica, according to the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp.
Over the past 5 years, exports have hovered between $107 million and $121 million. Imports from Russia were at their highest level in 2021 compared with the past 10 years at $26.4 million, according to WEDC.
Wisconsin exports to Ukraine peaked at $60.5 million in 2017 and have been on a downward trend since, totaling just $20.6 million in 2021, according to WEDC.
Imports from Ukraine have been more stable, ranging between $3 million and $5 million since 2014, hitting $3.8 million in 2021.
Since the invasion of Ukraine at the end of February, a number of Wisconsin companies have stopped their operations in Russia, including SC Johnson, Harley-Davidson, Johnson Controls and Rockwell Automation.
Rockwell announced March 9 it was suspending business in Russia. Sales to Russia and Belarus represent less than 0.5% of Rockwell’s total revenue. The company will continue to pay salaries and benefits for its roughly 30 Russian team members.
Rockwell does not directly employ anyone in Ukraine or Belarus but has a large presence in Poland, Becky House, senior vice president for Rockwell told the GMC. | 2022-04-11T20:54:53Z | www.jsonline.com | Executives warned that China could create larger problems than Russia | https://www.jsonline.com/story/money/business/2022/04/11/executives-warned-china-could-create-larger-problems-than-russia/7274049001/ | https://www.jsonline.com/story/money/business/2022/04/11/executives-warned-china-could-create-larger-problems-than-russia/7274049001/ |
'He has touched every single person that he talked to': Stunned Wisconsin players fondly recall former running backs coach Gary Brown
MADISON – Wisconsin assistant Bobby April welcomed UW’s outside linebackers into his home for a “Louisiana Day” meal early Sunday.
The menu featured crawfish etouffee and a variety of snacks from Popeyes.
Food, football and frivolity made for a good day.
A few hours later, though, those players and their teammates and coaches received the news, generally via text message, that former running backs coach Gary Brown had died.
“It’s pretty heartbreaking,” redshirt sophomore Kaden Johnson said Monday. “I got that text and I didn’t know what to think. He was just here a little bit ago, coaching us all up.
“We talked about that today. You never know, so live in the moment.”
Brown, 52, twice battled cancer before he joined the UW staff last spring.
The first time came when he was in his early 40s and coaching running backs with the Cleveland Browns. Doctors found the cancer in his colon and liver. The second time came not long after the 2019 NFL season, when Brown and several other Dallas Cowboys assistants were not retained by new head coach Mike McCarthy. This time, doctors found a tumor near his pancreas.
More:'My parents raised me to fight': UW's new running backs coach shares wisdom from his two bouts with cancer
Brown was undergoing treatment last December when his condition began to deteriorate, forcing him to miss the Las Vegas Bowl.
“Cancer is a horrible thing,” Johnson said.
Reporters met Monday with five outside linebackers – Johnson, Nick Herbig, C.J. Goetz, T.J. Bollers and Darryl Peterson. Several of the players noted they were not aware that Brown was near death.
“He doesn’t bring his personal life to the stadium,” Herbig said. “Smile on his face 24/7. I don’t recall a time when he wasn’t smiling or making a joke. He was just fun to be around.”
Peterson, a redshirt freshman, formed a surprisingly close bond with Brown.
According to Peterson, his stepfather had a role in the 2008 movie “More Than a Game,” which featured LeBron James.
“Coach Brown was a big fan of that,” Peterson said. “My stepdad got all the (guys) to sign something for him and I gave it to him. Ever since then we’ve been locked in.
“When fall camp was getting tough me he was that guy I was talking to because he has been through it all, from college to the league.”
All the players who spoke to reporters Monday noted Brown’s palpable energy and positive attitude around the football facilities during his lone season on Paul Chryst’s staff.
“He brought contagious energy to practice every day,” Goetz said.
They also noted that although he was old enough to be their father, he was relatively young.
“That could have been somebody close to me,” Bollers said. “It really makes you not take anything for granted. It makes you want to come in here every day and give it your all because everyone is fighting battles. His battle was really intense.”
Peterson and Herbig focused on how Brown masked his battle with cancer so he could focus on his job.
“He had that mentality that I’m going to cherish every day and give my best every day,” Peterson said. “Now that he is gone, we’re going to take that approach in what we’re doing, from lifts to practice … trying to make the most of what we have here. Like you say, you never know when it could be over.
“That is what we’re going to remember him by, cherish every day.”
Herbig initially had to fight back tears when asked about Brown’s passing.
“I think he changed a lot of people,” Herbig said. “You can see it. If you go look at Twitter or Instagram, how many people are posting about him? I really do believe that he has touched every single person that he talked to.
“We knew the stuff he had been through earlier in life. Just to see the way he approached every day, he didn’t care.
“How he approached (life) is big to me. I respect him so much for that. We tend to complain about a lot of things. My arm or a workout or something that is hard.
“He was battling real-life issues and he put it aside just to be here for us. He loved us.” | 2022-04-11T20:55:06Z | www.jsonline.com | Wisconsin football players reflect after death of assistant Gary Brown | https://www.jsonline.com/story/sports/college/uw/2022/04/11/wisconsin-football-players-reflect-after-death-assistant-gary-brown/7274324001/ | https://www.jsonline.com/story/sports/college/uw/2022/04/11/wisconsin-football-players-reflect-after-death-assistant-gary-brown/7274324001/ |
BALTIMORE – As a youngster, Josh Hader dreamed of someday pitching at Oriole Park at Camden Yards.
If things go his way over the next few days, the left-hander will finally get his chance with the Milwaukee Brewers taking on the Baltimore Orioles in a three-game interleague series that kicked off Monday afternoon.
Hader grew up in Millersville, Maryland, an unincorporated community of about 20,000 people that lies 18 miles due south of Baltimore.
One of his fondest memories as a youth was going to games and even getting to walk around the warning track as a Little Leaguer.
“Just going around the park last night and seeing it and then coming in today was pretty cool,” said Hader, who had yet to pitch against his hometown team entering 2022.
"Remembering all the times you came to the games with your buddies and stuff like that and just enjoying baseball. Roles have kind of flipped now, and you're playing where you wish you were.
"It's really cool. A cool experience."
More:A Cubs fan growing up 35 miles from Wrigley Field, Mike Brosseau lived out his dream with go-ahead home run
In 2012, the Orioles actually drafted Hader in the 19th round out of Old Mill Senior High School in Millersville — a huge thrill at the time — only to trade him to the Houston Astros a little over a year later along with another minor-leaguer and a draft pick for right-hander Bud Norris.
"it was awesome," Hader said of his brief Orioles experience. "Hearing I got drafted, I was actually heading to Camden Yards — we had a meeting at the warehouse for our high school all-star game and then playing in the all-star game here and meeting Buck (Showalter) and Adam Jones was pretty awesome.
"Then, moving forward, just being drafted by the team and thinking I have a chance to play in the stadium where I grew up at and be the hometown kid that hopefully makes it to the big leagues with the team.
"But, the business side came and in all reality I think it was a good thing I moved quick and got away from the hometown and kind of went on my own journey. I think it shaped who I am today."
Hader’s stay with Houston lasted two years before he was traded as part of a four-player package to the Brewers in exchange for Carlos Gomez and Mike Fiers.
Hader has since become a three-time National League reliever of the year and one of the most dominant closers in the game while another player acquired by Milwaukee in that trade — right-hander Adrian Houser — has developed into a key member of the Brewers’ starting rotation.
To that end, Hader entered the series on the heels of his first save of 2022, which featured a 99.3-mph fastball on his first offering of the season, the second-hardest pitch he's thrown in his career.
"Obviously, being off for a few days definitely helps," Hader said. "And then I just think the work I've been able to put in with my arm care, just trying to get stronger within my body and my legs and using Pilates to kind of have that body awareness that helps me get down the mound a lot better and have a solid base.
"That's something that's a big part of the velo part of it. But when you're feeling good, and obviously being at Wrigley...it's something about Wrigley that brings out the best in me."
Said manager Craig Counsell: "Josh has been locked in since the first pitch he threw in spring training."
There were a couple other Baltimore storylines that were scuttled by differing — and disappointing — circumstances.
The best was the prospective matchup featuring Brewers third baseman Luis Urías squaring off against his older brother Rámon, an Orioles infielder, for the first time in the major leagues.
Luis is on the injured list with a left quad strain suffered in his first Cactus League game.
He said in spring training he and Rámon had played against each other three times previously in organized games in Mexico, when Luis was 17 and Rámon was 20.
The brothers previously were uncertain the series would take place at all, with baseball’s labor strife pushing the start of spring training back and potentially threatening the start of the regular season.
"Yeah, we were kind of worrying about it during the lockout, when they were suspending games," Luis said last month. "We were like, ‘Man, we might not play (against each other).’ I’m really excited for it."
The other would have been the return of Pedro Severino. He played for the Orioles the previous three seasons but had since signed a free-agent deal with the Brewers and was poised to be their backup catcher until he was suspended last week for 80 games following a positive PED test.
The only other player on Milwaukee’s roster with major-league experience with Baltimore is utility man Jace Peterson, who played 122 games for the Orioles during parts of the 2018 and '19 seasons.
As for Baltimore, pitchers Jordan Lyles (2018 and '19) and Jorge López (2015, '17 and '18) spent time with the Brewers.
If it seems like the Brewers haven’t played the Orioles in Baltimore for a while, well, it’s because they haven’t.
It may be hard to believe, but the teams haven’t played at Camden Yards since June 13-15, 2003, which is easily the team’s longest active streak without visiting an opponent.
Milwaukee’s next-longest streak is against the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park, with the teams last playing there April 4-6, 2014. That streak will end this season as well, with the Brewers traveling there for a three-game set from July 29-31.
“It's fun for us to come here. I think everybody was looking forward to coming here,” said Counsell, whose team is starting Houser and Eric Lauer the first two games and closes the series with Corbin Burnes, leaving the home opener Thursday to Brandon Woodruff.
The Brewers were scheduled to play at Camden Yards in 2020, but the COVID-19 pandemic reduced the schedule to two months and used regional opponents to cut down on travel.
"it's a beautiful park," Counsell continued. "A lot of the players have been here, but the traveling party really has not been here. I was really looking forward to coming here."
For Counsell personally, it's been even longer.
“I looked it up this morning; it was 1998 with the Marlins. A long time – 24 years,” he said. "Honestly, the only thing I remember is I hit a ball down the line and the umpire called it foul. That's what I remember about this park, is that I was mad the umpire called that ball foul.
"Because it was fair, and I needed hits."
The Brewers’ streak of seasons not playing in Baltimore was actually the third-longest in the major leagues entering Monday; the San Diego Padres haven’t played at Kansas City since June 28-30, 2002 and the Orioles haven’t played at St. Louis since June 6-8, 2003.
Finally, Monday marked the fourth time Milwaukee served as the opponent in Baltimore’s home opener.
The Brewers lost the first meeting, 10-0, on April 6, 1972 and won the final two, 12-0, on April 4, 1988 and 7-0 on May 1, 1995. | 2022-04-11T20:55:12Z | www.jsonline.com | Brewers' Josh Hader, a Maryland native, enjoys return to Camden Yards | https://www.jsonline.com/story/sports/mlb/brewers/2022/04/11/brewers-josh-hader-maryland-native-dreamed-playing-camden-yards-baltimore/7274511001/ | https://www.jsonline.com/story/sports/mlb/brewers/2022/04/11/brewers-josh-hader-maryland-native-dreamed-playing-camden-yards-baltimore/7274511001/ |
Aside from fervent Milwaukee Bucks fandom itself, the one thing that unites the 156,000 members of the Bucks subreddit on Reddit is a strong opinion on 15-year NBA veteran Mike Dunleavy Jr. An opinion that includes an expletive.
The inside-joke-meme "FMD" — you can put the pieces together on what that stands for, right? — requires a bit of explanation; just don't ask for it on the subreddit itself, where users will quickly chime in to repeat the mantra as if it justifies itself and requires no context at all.
"Sort of like 'Bucks in 6' took on a life of its own, FMD sort of took on a life of its own," said Appleton's Patrick Casey, one of the moderators on the Bucks subreddit. "There's a difference between real hate and sports hate, and this is sports hate. For a lot of people, this represents the Bucks turning the corner and not being the punching bag of the league anymore."
So why the vitriol for Dunleavy, who played two years for the Bucks from 2011-13 and even played some early high school ball in the Milwaukee area when his father, Mike Sr., was an executive and head coach in Milwaukee?
It dates to the last time the Bucks met the Bulls in the postseason, after the 2014-15 season, a series won by Chicago in six games. It also stars a skinnier, less heralded version of Giannis Antetokounmpo, a second-year player just beginning to flash the greatness that would define his career.
Dunleavy, a second-year starter for the Bulls, had targeted Bucks guard Michael Carter-Williams on a couple sort-of-punches near his neck area. Dunleavy also had pushed Antetokounmpo in the face during a box-out, sending Antetokounmpo to the floor.
At the moment Antetokounmpo took the fall, the Bulls were on their way to eviscerating the Bucks in Game 6 of that series, 120-66 — the fourth-largest margin of victory in NBA playoff history. At the time, Chicago was already ahead, 58-28, late in the second quarter when Dunleavy boxed out Antetokounmpo , who got to his feet and made a beeline down the floor toward Dunleavy. Dunleavy shot a 3-pointer from the corner — and hit it — but Antetokounmpo ran full speed into the 6-foot-9 forward and sent him into the first row of seats.
Officials reviewed the play, assessed a Flagrant-2, and ejected Antetokounmpo from the game. His second season in Milwaukee was over.
Related:Seven things to know about the Chicago Bulls, the Milwaukee Bucks' first playoff opponent
"In the heat of battle, guys get upset about a lot of stuff, especially when you're losing by a lot," Dunleavy said after the game. "They had some momentum in the series, won a couple in a row, and we came out on their home court and put it on them. For anybody that's been there before, that's frustrating. I understand that. And things happen."
The series featured 15 technical fouls between the two teams. Carter-Williams said afterward that his teeth had sustained some damage during his battles with Dunleavy.
"(Dunleavy) was playing cheap and you can't control that," Carter-Williams said. "Unfortunately we got penalized for it."
Even getting that far in the series had been a feat for the Bucks. Jerryd Bayless found himself wide open on a cut to the basket to receive an inbound pass from Jared Dudley in the final seconds of Game 4, allowing for a buzzer-beating layup and 92-90 win.
"You can only have so many moral victories," Dudley said "This was more of a veteran game today. All the vets were in at that time. It's something you have to show the young guys."
Carter-Williams scored 22 points, and Khris Middleton added 21 in Game 5, a 92-88 win at the United Center that pushed the series back to Milwaukee. Which set up Chicago's triumphant last swing ... complete with some undercard swings by Dunleavy.
"He plays smart," Bucks big man Zaza Pachulia said. "He kind of got under our guys' skin. He picked the young guys. He picked the right guys.
"Unfortunately, our guys responded. When we responded, we got hurt. But they are going to learn from this. I'm sure in the future they won't make the same mistake."
Perhaps in the moment it could be read as a flicker of immaturity for the 21-year-old Antetokounmpo. But over time, that metamorphized into an act of heroism.
"This was Giannis standing up for his teammates," Casey said. "Young Giannis mustered one of his first and meanest mean mugs. We rallied behind FMD, sort of a similar flavor behind 'Bucks in 6.' It's this thing that's maybe unreasonable, where we're underdogs that don't have a chance, but we're still going to have pride and confidence and basically fake it 'til we make it."
Needless to say, since that series, the Bucks have made it. Chicago hasn't won another postseason series; Milwaukee enters the 2022 postseason as reigning NBA champion.
Casey reiterates that the disdain for Dunleavy is more a fun rallying cry than actual outright hate (though Casey does feel like Dunleavy tends to avoid taking full responsibility for some of his cheap shots); a satirical post on the site (warning for strong language) outlines all the particulars of the grievance, complete with some over-the-top details. It naturally points out that Dunleavy played at Duke, a basketball factory of oft-despised NBA players.
Of course, the Bucks have their own Duke alumnus on the team now in Grayson Allen, who also happens to have some "history," which extends to a play earlier this year that left Bulls starter Alex Caruso with a broken wrist.
"Bucks fandom is one that is comfortable with living in paradoxes," Casey said. "It's the absurdity of fandom."
Whether we see more from the simmering feud between the Bulls and Allen or an "FMD" chant bubbles up at Fiserv Forum during the playoff series remains to be seen.
"Man, it's going to be wild playing them," Casey said. "I'm psyched to have a renewed Bulls rivalry; it's good for the league and fans. Their fans have been calling Fiserv and BMO Harris before it, 'United Center North' for decades. It's fun to be good at the same time. I'll throw my own shade, I don't know if they're really that good. I think everyone wanted to play them in the first round." | 2022-04-11T20:55:18Z | www.jsonline.com | Since 2015 Bucks-Bulls series, Mike Dunleavy has been Reddit villain | https://www.jsonline.com/story/sports/nba/bucks/2022/04/11/since-2015-milwaukee-bucks-chicago-bulls-series-mike-dunleavy-has-been-reddit-villain/7278602001/ | https://www.jsonline.com/story/sports/nba/bucks/2022/04/11/since-2015-milwaukee-bucks-chicago-bulls-series-mike-dunleavy-has-been-reddit-villain/7278602001/ |
Ted Davis, former longtime Bucks play-by-play announcer, says he's leaving his full-time Milwaukee radio gig
Ted Davis, who retired as radio play-by-play announcer for the Milwaukee Bucks after last season, says he's left his full-time sports radio gig in Milwaukee.
Davis said on Facebook Sunday night that his April 8 show as part of "Heller & Davis," the midday talk show he co-hosted with Mike Heller on WRNW-FM (97.3), was his last. (The show is now labeled "The Mike Heller Show' on the site for WRNW, branded as The Game.)
Last fall, the Bucks hired Dave Koehn to replace Ted Davis behind the mic.
In the post, Davis said he "will transition" to a role as vacation replacement at the station, starting with a show from 3 to 6 p.m. Thursday.
After he retired from his Bucks gig, which he'd had since 1997, Davis said he and his wife moved to Texas, "home for us with warm winters and no state income tax." And with The Game becoming the flagship station for the Green Bay Packers starting this fall, "they need people with Boots on the Wisconsin soil."
Meantime, Davis said he's been hired to do play-by-play for men's and women's basketball, among other sports, at Schreiner University in Kerrville, Texas, where he'll also be teaching a course in broadcasting.
"I enjoyed every minute of my time in Wisconsin," Davis wrote in his post. "It was a privilege to bring you Bucks games and I got to call a championship. … At soon-to-be-66 years old, it’s time to slow it down a bit." | 2022-04-11T22:52:29Z | www.jsonline.com | Former Bucks announcer Ted Davis leaves full-time Milwaukee radio gig | https://www.jsonline.com/story/entertainment/television-radio/2022/04/11/former-bucks-announcer-ted-davis-leaves-full-time-milwaukee-radio-gig/7282217001/ | https://www.jsonline.com/story/entertainment/television-radio/2022/04/11/former-bucks-announcer-ted-davis-leaves-full-time-milwaukee-radio-gig/7282217001/ |
Is Giannis Antetokounmpo the greatest European to ever play in the NBA? NBA fans and influencers placed him on the first team, alongside some legends.
In November, as part of the NBA's 75th anniversary, the league launched "NBA 75 Euro Vote." Part of the campaign was to find the 10 best European players of all time.
Fan votes accounted for half the results while a panel of more than 40 European media, broadcasters, influencers and celebrities made up the other half, according to an NBA press release.
The league announced the results Monday. NBA champion and two-time MVP Antetokounmpo was named to the all-time NBA European first team. Giannis, of course, was born in Athens, Greece to Nigerian immigrants.
Related:Here's why Giannis Antetokounmpo should be the NBA's Most Improved Player
Related:Giannis Antetokounmpo may be playing like an MVP, but he's an unlikely winner at this point
The rest of the All-Time NBA European First Team consists of three-time NBA All-Star Luka Dončić (Slovenia), two-time NBA champion Pau Gasol (Spain), NBA champion and MVP Dirk Nowitzki (Germany) and four-time NBA champion Tony Parker (France).
Nowitzki, who played all 21 years with the Dallas Mavericks, received the most votes.
“European players past and present have made an indelible impact on the NBA and the game of basketball,” said George Aivazoglou, the NBA Head of Fan Engagement and Direct-to-Consumer for Europe and the Middle East.
“As we celebrate our landmark 75th Anniversary Season, it is fitting to recognize and honor the best European players of all time, all of whom have inspired generations of players and fans across the continent and around the world.”
The All-Time NBA European Second Team consists of reigning NBA MVP Nikola Jokić (Serbia), Hall of Famers Toni Kukoć (Croatia) and Arvydas Sabonis (Lithuania), NBA champion Peja Stojaković (Serbia) and the late Drazen Petrović (Croatia).
According to the fans and panelists, Giannis' Game 6 NBA Finals performance, when he scored 50 points to seal a championship for Milwaukee, wasn't the all-time European moment. Instead, voters opted for Nowitzki winning an NBA championship after leading the Mavericks back from a 2-1 deficit in the 2011 NBA Finals.
As part of the vote, the NBA also asked fans and panelists to name the greatest all-time NBA dynasty and the 1995-'98 Chicago Bulls received the most votes. Votes were also cast for the all-time NBA jersey and the 1998-'99 Toronto Raptors road jersey received the most votes. The Bucks have had some spiffy jerseys in their past, but Milwaukee did not crack the top 10. | 2022-04-11T22:52:35Z | www.jsonline.com | Giannis Antetokounmpo named to the all-time NBA European first team | https://www.jsonline.com/story/sports/nba/bucks/2022/04/11/giannis-antetokounmpo-named-all-time-nba-european-first-team/7281055001/ | https://www.jsonline.com/story/sports/nba/bucks/2022/04/11/giannis-antetokounmpo-named-all-time-nba-european-first-team/7281055001/ |
The North Shore Library has reached half its fundraising goal after a developer donated $4 million
Efforts to relocate the North Shore Library to an $84 million multi-use development in Bayside are moving forward after a developer donated $4 million and a capital campaign backed by Bud Selig has formed.
Bayside Development Partners II LLC pledged the amount, which represents half the library’s $8 million fundraising goal. The North Shore Library, which was built in 1986, serves Bayside, Fox Point, Glendale and River Hills.
“We want this development to be a hub of activity in the community, and having a library here will add to its liveliness and serve the area’s long-standing need to upgrade the community library,” said Scott Yauck of Bayside Development Partners II LLC in a statement. “We are fully invested in the success of this area, and the library is a big part of that commitment.”
More:A group of Bayside residents is suing the village after officials approved an $84 million development
The 27.4-acre multi-use project would bring 350 to 650 apartments and housing units, a hotel, a new North Shore Library and more to the area north of West Brown Deer Road between I-43 and North Port Washington Road.
The library would occupy a 24,000-square-foot space, adjacent to an outdoor plaza, on the ground level of a mixed-use building, with residential units or offices above it.
The four communities are collaborating to promote the Building a Better North Shore Together Capital Campaign to raise the additional funds.
Selig and arts activist and philanthropist Marianne Lubar will lead the capital campaign. Selig, of Bayside, said nothing brings people closer than a library.
“The new North Shore Library will offer so much more to our community than a place to store books,” Selig said in a statement. “It will be a place (to be) together and meaningfully connect with one another. A place that inspires imagination and ignites passion for learning in old and young alike.”
Lubar said she is proud and excited to be “part of this new beginning for the North Shore Library.”
“Libraries are the most democratic institutions in the world,” she said in a statement. “Everyone is welcome, help is available in almost any area of life and the rules are the same for everyone.”
Bayside Village President Eido Walny said the library will be a safe and welcoming place with “the best technology, programming and event spaces that we can get to promote lifelong learning and community interaction for generations to come.”
“We’re fortunate to have these two gifted leaders and incredibly dedicated library advocates on our side as we launch our campaign,” he added.
The donation will provide the momentum for raising the additional $4 million, which will be used to furnish and equip the interior of the new library, Walny said.
Construction of the new building is expected to start in the third quarter of 2022 and be completed in 12 to 18 months, according to a news release. | 2022-04-12T12:25:35Z | www.jsonline.com | North Shore Library receives $4 million donation from developer | https://www.jsonline.com/story/communities/northshore/news/2022/04/12/north-shore-library-receives-4-million-donation-developer-bud-selig-bayside-glendale-fox-point/7279537001/ | https://www.jsonline.com/story/communities/northshore/news/2022/04/12/north-shore-library-receives-4-million-donation-developer-bud-selig-bayside-glendale-fox-point/7279537001/ |
In 2019 and 2020, Working Moms of Milwaukee recognized local businesses that accommodated employees who were breastfeeding moms. The winning businesses' accommodations included such initiatives as private lactation rooms for employees, the use of hospital grade breast pumps and allowing moms to visit onsite day care facilities during the day to nurse their children.
Breastfeeding-friendly workplaces have long been advocated by working moms who don't want to give up breastfeeding to go back to work, but also don't want to give up their careers to be stay-at-home moms. It's one of the most visible ways companies can help employees achieve work-life balance.
Susannah Lago, founder of Working Moms of Milwaukee, said women's feedback from the breastfeeding-friendly awards made her realize something else.
"It became apparent that there are many other things moms are looking for and needing in their workplaces," said Lago. So a few months ago, the group announced an "upgraded award": the pro-mom workplace award.
"The mom community in Milwaukee has asked me for this, to highlight great places for moms to work," said Lago. "They're not just mom-friendly though. These are different. They're pro-mom every step of the way. They're fighting, advocating, inspiring and promoting moms."
In evaluating nominees, the organization considered criteria like the percentage of the business' executives who are mothers, the existence of benefits such as parental leave and childcare allowances, and the workplace's degree of flexibility in terms of when and where moms work.
The African American Breastfeeding Network, a community-led organization that offers support and education to Black families regarding breastfeeding, doula work and other birth-related needs
Close to the Heart Boutique, an all-women-led maternity clothing boutique
Gimbel, Reilly, Guerin & Brown, a Milwaukee law firm
Kane Communications Group, a business consulting group that advises businesses how to grow based on research-based strategies
The winners were recognized for policies, procedures and philosophies that create a work environment conducive to a better sense of work-life balance.
Related:For third annual Working Moms Day, working moms have child care on their minds
Related:Not interested in traveling for your kids' spring break? Here are some close-to-home things to do.
Dalvery Blackwell, director of African American Breastfeeding Network, said the organization's model is to hire independent contractors, allowing them to set their own hours "to create the work-home-life balance they need."
"In reality, a BIPOC woman can spend all her acquired vacation and sick days before summer simply with things like doctor visits and staying home with a sick child," said Blackwell. "Employment that calls for punching a clock or inflexible schedules are not feasible and realistic to many women that may be the primary breadwinners and households headed by single women."
Kimberly Kane — who founded Kane Communications after working as a reporter and news anchor at WTMJ-TV — formed her consulting company when one of her children was diagnosed with a mental illness and she was told by a teacher her child's needs meant she needed to be with him more often.
"That put me in a position where I had a choice I didn't want to make, having a career or being an involved mom," said Kane.
She left her job and founded her company as a consultant who could set her own schedule, dropping her kids off in the morning, picking them up in the afternoon and doing her work when her kids were doing their schoolwork.
"The fact that the people joining my team were also parents was not lost on me," said Kane. "The ability to create a dream working environment for working parents is an inspiration for me."
A key part of that dream working environment is flexibility. Kane said her employees are discouraged from scheduling meetings early in the morning or late in the afternoon so parents who have to drop off and pick up their kids from school don't feel pressured.
"I tell my employees if it's going to take them an hour to get to day care in the morning and evening, then let's create a schedule that works with that," said Kane. "If our employees need to work from 9 to 3 in the office, that's fine. What's wrong with that?"
"What's wrong with that?" reflects the views of all the pro-mom award winners — the idea that there's no reason to hold on to a traditional view of what workplaces look like, especially when those views make it more difficult for employees to strike a work-life balance.
"The pandemic opened people's eyes to the fact that different ways of working are possible," said Erin Strohbehn, a partner at Gimbel, Reilly, Guerein & Brown. "Before, it didn't even occur to me that leaving the office in the afternoon and working at home was something I could even do. Now I'm wondering why I didn't do this all the time. What difference does it make the location of the computer I use? It doesn't."
Flexible PTO policies
Strohbehn said one more flexible policy her law firm has embraced is in its system for time off. As Blackwell indicated, many working parents can use up all their PTO very early on each year, just in the time they need to take off to care for sick children and attend their appointments and school events.
Strohbehn said her firm now has an open PTO policy for most employees.
"We don't track PTO anymore," Erin said. "As long as you get your work done, you have flexibility. You take the time off that you need."
Strohbehn also notes that most employees in the legal profession work on a billable hour basis. The minimum hour requirements at large firms can be prohibitive for employees, even if they do have open PTO. That's why Strohbehn's firm has lower minimums so PTO can be taken when it's needed without added stress, and when employees take parental leave, the minimum billable hour requirement is prorated.
"As a smaller law firm, we don't have the kinds of salaries that large firms have," said Erin. "But if we're a better place to work, that often attracts people who value the flexibility we can offer."
Flexible workday scheduling and PTO polices are important for parents in an environment where child care is often prohibitively expensive and — especially during the pandemic — unreliable.
During the summer of 2021, many of Kane's clients — local businesses — were starting to ask their employees to return to work, but noticed that women had both left the workforce in bigger numbers than men and were returning to work more slowly.
After conducting surveys and focus groups, Kane found the biggest obstacle for women in the workplace is child care.
"Women really face a difficult reality where they don't have employer support," said Kane. "If a parent can't afford child care or their child care isn't close to where they work, it's hard for them to get to work and stay at work and be engaged in work."
For employers who don't offer child care subsidies or onsite child care, they can provide an understanding environment that allows parents to be flexible about their scheduling to work around pick-up and drop-off times, take PTO when they need to and — another popular option that was made more acceptable by the pandemic — work from home.
Both Kane Communications and Gimbel, Reilly, Guerin & Brown allow employees to work from home two days a week.
Strohbehn and her husband — who is also a partner at her law firm — take advantage of the benefit. "One of us picks our daughter up after school every day and then we work from home for the rest of the day," said Strohbehn. "It's nice that she doesn't have to stay so late at school like she used to."
And although Jessica Featherstone runs a physical store — Close to the Heart Boutique — she also has employees who perform administrative tasks that don't require them to be at work in person.
"We have so many great tools out there that make remote work totally possible," said Featherstone. "We make sure to set clear expectations for how many hours my remote employee is working each week, and then she can do that from home. She doesn't have to come in."
Take your child to work
Featherstone also has employees — especially those who work in sales — who have to work in-person. But she also embraces flexibility for those employees by allowing them to bring their children into work with them.
At African American Breastfeeding Network, mothers are encouraged to bring their babies into work, especially those who are breastfeeding. And when the organization runs events, training sessions and press conferences, there are often children present. Blackwell said some young children don't want to leave their mothers' side, and that's fine.
For both Blackwell and Featherstone, the presence of children in the workplace is more than just a convenient allowance that makes their employees' lives easier. It's part of a greater philosophy of prioritizing family in all life, including working life.
"Sometimes you have to bring your kids to work, and that's not something that needs to be totally crazy," said Featherstone. "If your child care falls through or they can't go to school, kids are welcome. Kids are just part of our life." | 2022-04-12T12:25:59Z | www.jsonline.com | Working Moms of Milwaukee honors four businesses for pro-mom policies | https://www.jsonline.com/story/life/wisconsin-family/2022/04/12/working-moms-milwaukee-honors-four-businesses-pro-mom-policies/7198375001/ | https://www.jsonline.com/story/life/wisconsin-family/2022/04/12/working-moms-milwaukee-honors-four-businesses-pro-mom-policies/7198375001/ |
Wisconsin's stagnant — and in some cases declining — investment in state financial aid has led to college students and their families having to pay for a larger portion of the cost of a degree, according to a new report by the Wisconsin Policy Forum.
The policy forum's report, issued Tuesday, is the latest in a series of analyses by the forum that have sought to dive into the challenges the state's colleges and universities face in preparing the workforce of tomorrow amid declining taxpayer support and, in many cases, declining enrollment trends.
The nonpartisan research center found that state lawmakers have not prioritized financial aid in recent state budgets. Instead — in the University of Wisconsin System's case — they took the approach of freezing tuition for in-state undergraduates for nearly a decade.
But freezing tuition does little to specifically target those students who are most in need, the forum's report concludes. The approach also doesn't help students who attend private colleges or the state's technical and tribal colleges.
More:Declining enrollment, weak legislative support, pandemic fallout all cloud UWM's future
More:Report: Wisconsin's public colleges are falling behind as state funds lag and enrollment drops
Wisconsin saw rapid growth in state spending on grants, loans and scholarships to undergraduate students between 2000 and 2011, but that has since come to a grinding halt and ultimately declined by half a percentage point in the decade since.
From 2000 to 2021, the average unmet need for students at all Wisconsin colleges grew 135.6% when adjusted for inflation, to $8,845 in 2021. The average award for the federal Pell Grant and the state's Wisconsin Grant combined covers 69% of the in-state tuition at UW-Madison. In 2002, the grants used to cover just over 90%.
The report also found Wisconsin was trailing other states in terms of how much it spends on financial aid grants per student. In 2020, the state spent $541 per undergraduate student, almost half the national average of $980.
That's even though the total spending on grant aid for undergraduates increased by $13.7 million from 2010 to 2020, a growth rate that ranked the state 36th out of 50 states and was three-and-a-half times less than the growth rate nationally.
Recommended solutions already rejected by state lawmakers
The report suggested several possible options to address the declines in state financial aid, some of which have been proposed in the past but lacked support from state lawmakers.
The first is to potentially consolidate small financial aid programs that are run by various state agencies so that Wisconsin students and families can access information in a one-stop state website.
The authors also suggested financial aid funding levels should be determined based on the end cost to the students, and that the state should consider expanding or duplicating a UW-Madison full scholarship program for all public and tribal colleges.
The idea of expanding Bucky's Tuition Promise — which provides full-tuition scholarships to Wisconsin residents whose annual household income is less than $60,000 — is not new.
Former UW System President Tommy Thompson pitched the idea to state lawmakers in 2020, with no luck. The program was part of a $95.7 million budget increase request for the UW System, of which the colleges ultimately got only $8.25 million.
Finally, the report said, the state could increase the overall funding for the Wisconsin Grant program, which is administered by the state's Higher Education Aids Board and provides scholarships to Wisconsin students at UW, technical, tribal and private colleges.
A $6.1 million increase in funding would provide $204, or 10% more, to each of the nearly 30,000 UW System students who received grants averaging $2,037 in 2021. Proportional increases for students at technical, tribal and private colleges would cost the state even less, the report's authors wrote.
Sherrie Nelson, the Higher Education Aids Board's administrative policy advisor, said the agency did seek more funding for Wisconsin Grants at all types of colleges in its 2020-2023 budget request. The UW System alone requested the state put $4.5 million more toward the Wisconsin Grant program in the 2021-23 biennium.
"None of the Wisconsin Grants got any increases at all," Nelson said.
The program operates on a first-come, first-serve basis, and has had a long waitlist. In the 2019-20 school year, the UW System fell about $2.3 million short of funding all the eligible applicants.
Michael Falbo, interim president of the UW System, responded to the report's findings, saying more targeted aid would not just help students and families, but all of Wisconsin.
"Declining student aid increases student debt, depresses enrollment, and exacerbates Wisconsin’s workforce challenges," he said.
The report was partially funded by the Herzfeld Foundation, the Higher Education Regional Alliance, the ADAMM Foundation and the Milwaukee Regional Research Forum. | 2022-04-12T12:26:17Z | www.jsonline.com | Wisconsin lags the country when investing in college financial aid | https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/education/2022/04/12/wisconsin-lags-country-when-investing-college-financial-aid/7281789001/ | https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/education/2022/04/12/wisconsin-lags-country-when-investing-college-financial-aid/7281789001/ |
All 3 Republican candidates for Wisconsin governor back eliminating firearm permits that require training
MADISON - Wisconsin residents would be able to carry concealed firearms without obtaining a state license that requires training under legislation the three top Republican candidates for governor promise to sign if elected.
Former Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch, Pewaukee management consultant Kevin Nicholson and state Rep. Tim Ramthun said in recent weeks they would sign legislation that would eliminate permit requirements for firearm owners, a policy known to supporters as constitutional carry.
Aides to Kleefisch and Nicholson also said they support keeping in place a state law that requires licenses to carry concealed firearms in school zones.
The candidates' support comes as most Wisconsinites — 76% — oppose the idea of removing concealed carry permits, according to 2021 polling by the Marquette University Law School, and goes further than desired by Republican leaders of the state Legislature.
Current law requires Wisconsin residents to undergo training in order to apply for a state permit to carry firearms in a concealed manner.
Bills that would remove state requirements to obtain state licenses have been proposed in recent years by Republican lawmakers but blocked from advancing by legislative leaders, and they were not supported by former Republican Gov. Scott Walker and current Democratic Gov. Tony Evers.
"We're a sporting family. We're a hook-and-bullet, sporting heritage group of people and I think it's important to acknowledge our Second Amendment rights. And this is one more way to do it," Kleefisch said about her support for the policy.
"I'm a Second Amendment guy — absolutely," Ramthun said.
Nicholson said removing requirements for permits and training for firearm owners is needed for more than hunting-related reasons.
"It is crystallized to everybody that the police won't always be in a position to protect your life and, therefore, the people of Wisconsin, while the left attacks the Second Amendment and defunds police, should have again a full Second Amendment right," Nicholson said.
Evers opposes the idea, saying "giving anyone the ability to carry a loaded and concealed weapon in public without any kind of safety training or permitting process will not improve public safety in our state."
Kleefisch said the measure would be an improvement to the state's current set of laws related to firearms, including measures signed into law by Walker in 2011 that allowed residents to carry concealed firearms with a permit, and provided legal protections to homeowners who shoot intruders — a policy sometimes referred to as 'castle doctrine.'
"I think we took steps toward it with concealed carry, and we took steps toward it with castle doctrine. But this is going all the way there. And right now the only people who have constitutional carry are the bad guys," she said.
More:Bice: Rebecca Kleefisch takes off the gloves, accusing Kevin Nicholson of being an 'opportunist' and 'shapeshifter'
Aides to Kleefisch and Nicholson said they would sign recently introduced legislation that has stalled in the Legislature that gives firearm owners the option to obtain a state-issued license, and keeps in place a state law that allows a license holder to carry a firearm in a school zone anywhere but on school grounds.
Ramthun did not answer whether he wanted exceptions to the policy, like barring firearms on school grounds.
Evers seeks stricter gun regulations
Evers, who declined to be interviewed for this story, said eliminating a process that requires firearms training won't improve safety in the state.
"Every Wisconsinite deserves to live in a safe community, free of gun violence. That’s why I’ve invested more than $100 million into violence prevention programs and local law enforcement agencies to give communities the tools they need to keep people safe," Evers said in a statement, referring to distributions of federal funds he has made over the last two years to public safety efforts.
"Wisconsinites want lawmakers to find common-sense solutions that will both respect and uphold rights for responsible gun owners, while keeping our communities safe. Permitless concealed carry could put our kids and communities in danger and make Wisconsin less safe,” he said.
Evers has called for stricter firearm regulations, including expanding background checks to all firearm sales and transfers — which is supported by the vast majority of Wisconsinites, according to 2019 polling by the Marquette University Law School. Legislative leaders have turned down his calls to take up legislation that would accomplish those goals.
Kleefisch, Nicholson and Ramthun said they do not agree with expanding background checks.
"I like the status quo," Nicholson said.
Kleefisch said she believes expanding background checks "denies Wisconsin tradition."
"In deer camps across the state, you have people who are passing on a traditional rifle down to the next generation," she said. "I don't think government needs to necessarily nose its way into things like that."
Ramthun said he believed universal background checks would be unenforceable without a "national firearm registry."
"Without knowing exactly who has the hundreds of millions of privately owned firearms, it is impossible to control the flow of private sales," he said. Ramthun said expanding background checks invades firearm owners' privacy and would amount to a constitutional overreach.
Kleefisch's position on the proposal is a departure from Walker, whom she served as lieutenant governor. Walker refused to endorse the idea when dozens of Republican lawmakers proposed it in 2017.
At the time, Walker said he thought the current concealed carry law — which requires permits and training — "is a good law."
“The people that talk to me about it say they like where it’s at," Walker said at the time. "Obviously, we’re one of the last states to have concealed carry and people said the world was going to come to an end who were the critics. It hasn’t. We’re one of the larger number of permits in the country and it works well that way." | 2022-04-12T12:26:35Z | www.jsonline.com | 3 Republicans running for Wisconsin governor back ending gun permits | https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/politics/elections/2022/04/12/3-republicans-running-wisconsin-governor-back-ending-gun-permits/9474064002/ | https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/politics/elections/2022/04/12/3-republicans-running-wisconsin-governor-back-ending-gun-permits/9474064002/ |
Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Mandela Barnes is breaking with the Biden administration on a key piece of immigration policy.
During an interview with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Barnes said he doesn't support the administration's plan to lift what is known as Title 42, which has been used to turn away migrants at the southern border during the pandemic.
Explaining his opposition to ending the restriction on May 23, Barnes said "simply because there's not a detailed plan in place so that we can keep asylum seekers and people in the country safe."
"I'd like to see Biden put forward a comprehensive plan that deals with an influx of asylum seekers before we lift Title 42," Barnes said.
Title 42 was imposed in March 2020 during the Trump administration by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and restricted migrants coming into the country because of a public health emergency triggered by the pandemic.
A bipartisan measure introduced in the U.S. Senate calls for a 60-day extension of Title 42 while requiring the Department of Homeland Security to draw up a plan to deal with an influx of migrants.
In a wide-ranging interview ahead of the candidate's rural tour, called "Barnes for Barns," the front runner for the Democratic nomination laid out the broad strokes of his campaign.
Asked what few words he wanted the public to associate with his campaign, Barnes said, "opportunity, middle class and future."
"I know the struggles of working people," he said. "Those struggles are my struggles. And I connect with people in every corner of the state."
In both public and private polling, Barnes, the state's lieutenant governor, has a lead over three main rivals, Milwaukee Bucks executive Alex Lasry, state Treasurer Sarah Godlewski and Outagamie County Executive Tom Nelson.
They're running with others in the August 9 primary, with the winner taking on two-term Republican U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson in the fall.
Unlike Johnson, Lasry and Godlewski, Barnes has yet to launch a campaign ad.
"I look forward to communicating with people over the air and in person," he said.
On Tuesday, the Barnes campaign announced it raised more than $1.7 million in the first three months of the year.
Barnes declined to compare himself to his primary opponents. Instead, he emphasized his own credibility as a candidate.
"Knowing the concerns people have, the struggles people have, also the hopes and dreams," he said.
With inflation spiking, Barnes said he was supportive of a suspension of the 18.4 cents per gallon federal gas tax, a proposal also backed by Lasry and Godlewski.
A supporter of Medicare for All and a Green New Deal "that works for Wisconsin," Barnes was asked if his liberal background might leave him open to attack in the fall, if he's the nominee.
"I don't think that, I don't think that at all," he said. "The issues that I have always consistently brought up throughout my time in office are the issues that have been most concerning to people in Wisconsin."
Barnes said he "supports comprehensive immigration reform that treats people with dignity, with fairness, with humanity"
He also said he is not part of the defund the police movement.
"I want to make sure that law enforcement agencies have the resources they need," he said, adding "I also think we need to increase crime-prevention initiatives."
Barnes, who has traveled the state as lieutenant governor, said Democrats can attract voters in rural areas, where Republicans have dominated.
"We just can't assume that people in rural communities won't show up to vote for us," he said. "We have to have a presence."
Yet Barnes said Democrats can't take for granted turnout in urban areas, either, including the party's strongholds in Madison and Milwaukee. Turnout in Milwaukee's recent special election for mayor was lower than in 2020.
Barnes said the turnout was "less of a concern, more of a warning about what we need to actually excite people. We have to have people engaged."
He added Democrats "actually have to talk about the things that matter. by making the more direct connection to people by directly appealing to their concerns." | 2022-04-12T12:26:41Z | www.jsonline.com | Mandela Barnes opposes Biden plan to lift Title 42 rule at the border | https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/politics/elections/2022/04/12/mandela-barnes-opposes-biden-plan-lift-title-42-rule-border/7279683001/ | https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/politics/elections/2022/04/12/mandela-barnes-opposes-biden-plan-lift-title-42-rule-border/7279683001/ |
For the first time in its 13-year history, the Tour of America's Dairyland, the largest competitive multi-day road cycling event in the U.S., will be making a stop in West Allis.
The West Allis Cheese Wheel Classic, the sixth race in the 11-race series, is set for Tuesday, June 21.
The day's racing schedule can be found here.
Second District Alderman Marty Weigel, who's been pushing for a West Allis stop on ToAD for years, said scheduling has been a roadblock in the past, but things fell into place for this year.
"We're all very excited about getting it here," said Weigel, a self-described ToAD fan and cycling advocate.
Weigel said West Allis Cheese & Sausage Shoppe owner Mark Lutz is doing the "heavy lifting" financially by being a sponsor for the event.
Lutz said he's backing the race because he thinks it'll be a positive for the city.
"I'm a big supporter of West Allis, and West Allis has been very good to me, so I thought this would be a nice event to bring to the area," he said.
ToAD anticipates hosting an estimated 500 pro and amateur racers on the starting line each day in 11 Wisconsin communities from June 16-June 26.
Professional cycling sisters in West Allis plan to race
Sam and Skylar Schneider, professional cyclists from West Allis, are ecstatic that ToAD is making a stop in their hometown.
"We are over the moon excited, almost in disbelief, that West Allis is getting a bike race of this caliber," Sam said. "We're super, super excited."
The two are racing on the same team this season, L39ION of Los Angeles, and Sam said the team is coordinating its schedule so the sisters can race in West Allis.
"We just got confirmation from the team that we will fly in Monday (June 20) from New York City, race on Tuesday and then leave straight away on Wednesday for nationals," Sam said. "I think we're going to be on quite the adrenaline kick coming to the race there."
The sisters, who plan to open a bakery and café called The Bread Pedalers this year in West Allis, didn't want to miss a race in their hometown, Skylar said.
"Having a business coming to this city, and speaking about how we're opening a bakery and café, and (being) professional cyclists, now both worlds can collide and that'll be really special for us," she said.
The race will start and finish on West Becher Street
The race route will start and finish at South 69th and West Becher streets, Tour of America’s Dairyland Executive Director Bill Koch said.
Racers will travel in a counterclockwise direction, following Becher Street to 68th Street, north on 68th to Burnham Street, west on Burnham (staying south of the railroad tracks) to 69th Street, south on 69th to Rogers Street, west on Rogers to South 71st Street, south on 71st to Becher and east on Becher.
Lutz said the route is mostly residential.
"There's only a couple businesses on the route, and the rest is residential, so it should be fun for the neighbors, I hope," Lutz said. "I hope I don't make too many of them upset."
Weigel said some city staff will spend extra time on race-related tasks, but the city isn't opening up its checkbook to fund the event.
"We're not having to shell out cash money for this race, that's been a big win for the city," he said.
West Allis Mayor Dan Devine said because this is the first time the city is holding a race, they're still working out the logistics and responsibilities.
He said financial support is coming from sponsorships and from the West Allis Tourism Commission, which is funded by the hotel room tax.
Overall, Devine said the race will be great for the city.
"I hope it will bring in a lot of new faces to visit West Allis," Devine said in an email. "I am sure some will be visiting for the first time, while others will return and see all the positive changes that have taken place in recent years." | 2022-04-12T15:45:48Z | www.jsonline.com | West Allis Cheese Classic race part of Tour of America's Dairyland | https://www.jsonline.com/story/communities/southwest/news/west-allis/2022/04/12/west-allis-cheese-classic-cycling-race-part-of-tour-of-americas-dairyland-series/9501491002/ | https://www.jsonline.com/story/communities/southwest/news/west-allis/2022/04/12/west-allis-cheese-classic-cycling-race-part-of-tour-of-americas-dairyland-series/9501491002/ |
Five Finger Death Punch, Megadeth going on U.S. amphitheater tour, including Milwaukee stop
The American Family Insurance Amphitheater will close out the 2022 season with some hard rock and metal heavyweights.
Five Finger Death Punch will headline the 23,000-person-capacity venue at Maier Festival Park Oct. 7, part of a 30-plus-city U.S. tour this August through October announced late Monday night, coinciding with the release of their latest single “AfterLife.”
The song is scheduled to appear on a new album later this year. A release date has yet to be announced, but the band will still have new music to share on the road from 2020 album “F8.”
One of metal’s all-time biggest bands, Megadeth, will open the tour. The band was supposed to headline the amphitheater during Summerfest in 2019 but canceled just a few weeks before the appearance when Dave Mustaine was diagnosed with throat cancer. They resumed touring last year and are scheduled to release a new album this year.
Rounding out the bill are Mongolian hard-rock act the Hu, who have built up a local following with shows at the Rave over the years, and Fire From the Gods.
Tickets for the Milwaukee date go on sale at 10 a.m. April 15 at the box office (200 N. Harbor Drive) and through ticketmaster.com. Fans can also register for the new Five Finger Death Punch fan club beginning at 10 a.m. Tuesday for early access to tickets, at fivefingerdeathpunch.com.
Reopened last year after a $51.3 million renovation, the American Family Insurance Amphitheater is on tap to have its busiest season in 18 years, back when the 35-year-old venue was known as the Marcus Amphitheater.
There are 22 concerts scheduled for 2022, according to parent company Milwaukee World Festival Inc.'s calendar of events. That includes nine Summerfest shows and shows outside of Summerfest, with Luke Bryan, KISS, Alanis Morissette, Santana with Earth, Wind and Fire, Josh Groban and a Pitbull show that was announced Monday.
Three amphitheater concerts have yet to be announced, including Summerfest's amphitheater headliner on June 30.
RELATED:Alpine Valley Music Theatre hosting first EDM fest, with Griz, in the venue's busiest season in 19 years | 2022-04-12T15:46:00Z | www.jsonline.com | Five Finger Death Punch, Megadeth tour includes a fall Milwaukee stop | https://www.jsonline.com/story/entertainment/music/2022/04/12/five-finger-death-punch-megadeth-new-usa-tour-milwaukee-american-family-insurance-amphitheater/7286872001/ | https://www.jsonline.com/story/entertainment/music/2022/04/12/five-finger-death-punch-megadeth-new-usa-tour-milwaukee-american-family-insurance-amphitheater/7286872001/ |
MADISON – A unanimous state Supreme Court on Tuesday ruled those challenging a narrowly decided 2020 school referendum in Racine did not have a right to have ballots re-examined in court after they had already been reviewed during a recount.
The decision lets stand a referendum that passed by five votes and is expected to cost Racine taxpayers $1 billion over 30 years.
The ruling has implications for future recounts in a perennially purple state. Wisconsin has had a long run of tight elections, resulting in a statewide recount in 2016 and limited ones in 2020.
At issue in the case decided Tuesday was whether those challenging election results can force courts to reexamine ballots after they have already been recounted. The justices sided with lower courts that determined they could not.
"We conclude that the circuit court competently and comprehensively reviewed each of (the) factual and legal challenges to the recount conducted by the Board of Canvassers," Justice Patience Roggensack wrote for the court.
The decision comes as Republican lawmakers continue to review how the 2020 presidential election was conducted. Recounts in Dane and Milwaukee counties and court rulings upheld Joe Biden’s victory over Donald Trump.
In conjunction with their review, Republicans who control the Legislature have sought to overhaul the state's voting rules. Democratic Gov. Tony Evers on Friday thwarted those efforts with a string of vetoes.
Related:Absentee ballots in last week's election were handled inconsistently across Wisconsin after a state Supreme Court ruling
Related:'They're infringing on my right to vote': Wisconsin Supreme Court order makes it harder for those with disabilities to vote
Five-vote margin
The Racine Unified School District’s referendum was held in April 2020, just as the coronavirus pandemic shut down much of the state. The referendum passed by about one one-hundredth of a percentage point, with 16,748 voters in favor and 16,743 against.
Both sides lost votes during the recount that month, but the five-vote margin held. The final tally showed 16,715 in favor and 16,710 opposed.
The rules of the election were in flux because of the coronavirus pandemic and court decisions regarding voting policies. Racine County Circuit Judge Michael Piontek found those rules were consistently applied and observers had equal opportunities during the recount to view ballots and make challenges to them.
Those challenging the referendum appealed, in part because the judge hadn’t specifically ruled on their request to "examine the ballots" and "have those votes recounted in their presence in open court."
A unanimous appeals court last year determined reopening the ballots was unnecessary because the board of canvassers had done so during the recount and the judge had found the recount was conducted properly.
The Supreme Court reached the same conclusion Tuesday.
You can find out who your legislators are and how to contact them here: https://maps.legis.wisconsin.gov/ | 2022-04-12T15:46:06Z | www.jsonline.com | Wisconsin Supreme Court lets stand Racine school referendum result | https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/politics/2022/04/12/wisconsin-supreme-court-lets-stand-racine-school-referendum-result/7287450001/ | https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/politics/2022/04/12/wisconsin-supreme-court-lets-stand-racine-school-referendum-result/7287450001/ |
Calling the Pewaukee transportation fee an ‘illegal tax,' a manufacturers group has sued the village
VILLAGE OF PEWAUKEE - A lawsuit filed against the village claims that the transportation users fee is unlawful and calls for its termination.
Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce filed the suit in Waukesha County Circuit Court on April 7. The claims state that the fee, enacted in September 2021, was made with power beyond the village's legal authority, is unconstitutional and is not authorized by state law.
“Not only are our members seeing costs go up thanks to record-breaking inflation, now they are being hit with an illegal tax that would make matters even worse,” said Scott Manley, executive vice president of government relations, in a press release. “In simple terms, this transportation user fee is just an additional tax on property owners that violates both state law and the constitution’s uniformity clause.”
The transportation users fee is an annual base fee of $15.74, plus an additional usage fee to be billed quarterly that is determined by the number of trips assigned to that particular property. The fee is charged to all residential and commercial properties in the village.
The ordinance states the the usage fee per-trip-rate is $1.28. This equates to an annual charge of $27.84 for a single-family residence, which will be added to the quarterly utility bills that includes water, wastewater and stormwater fees.
Developed properties, like commercial businesses, will be charged based on property use and size of the buildings on the property. The estimated traffic count for these properties is based on a formula determined by the Institute of Traffic Engineers Land Use Code defining the property use to assist in generating the average daily trips for each property, according to the ordinance.
The first bills were seen by residents in October 2021 and again at the beginning of 2022.
WMC's suit claims the Wisconsin Constitution requires the the taxing of property to be uniform for all classes of property, while the village's base fee does not account for property value.
“Local governments have a number of ways to raise additional revenue for their budgets, but they must do it in a way that follows the law,” Manley said. “In this case, Pewaukee is attempting to raise taxes on its residents and business owners with no authority to actually do so.”
WMC is calling for the law to be declared unlawful and become invalid. It is also requesting an injunction prohibiting the village from levying, enforcing or collecting the fee.
Village Attorney Mark Blum declined to speak to a reporter, saying, "We do not comment on pending litigation." The village has 20 days from April 7 to respond to the lawsuit, according to the complaint.
Background on fees
Transportation user fees are a relatively new way to increase revenue to cover road upkeep costs. Pewaukee is not the first to introduce a fee in the state.
Neenah has had a transportation fee since 2018. Its annual base fee is $23, and it brings in an estimated $400,000 annually.
According to a 2020 legal opinion from the League of Wisconsin Municipalities, "the State has not expressly prohibited communities from creating such a utility and imposing such fees."
That could change, though. In February, legislators introduced a bill into committee that would penalize municipalities that enact such fees by forcing them to lower the amounts collected from property taxes by how much they raise from the new fees. | 2022-04-12T18:44:03Z | www.jsonline.com | Pewaukee sued over transportation users fee | https://www.jsonline.com/story/communities/lake-country/2022/04/12/pewaukee-sued-over-transportation-users-fee/7275595001/ | https://www.jsonline.com/story/communities/lake-country/2022/04/12/pewaukee-sued-over-transportation-users-fee/7275595001/ |
This family-owned St. Francis restaurant is trying to find housing for a family of four Ukrainian refugees
In keeping with the “spirit of giving and inclusion,” Peter Burzynski and his family, owners of Polonez restaurant in St. Francis, are trying to help a family of Ukrainian refugees find a home.
Burzynski said his mother saw a Facebook post shared by a family friend and former St. Francis Police officer about a Ukrainian family of four looking for a place to stay.
The father is an Orthodox priest and the children, both girls, are 13 and 11 years old. An Orthodox church in Mequon is helping out, Burzynski said, with a parishioner putting up the family until a more permanent place can be secured.
“We thought it would help putting it on our Facebook page,” Burzynski said. “I want to help out. I’m happy to be a conduit to get information out there.”
Six landlords have reached out to Burzynski and he has gone on a few showings, but nothing has been finalized.
“We’re looking for a landlord at an affordable price for a two- to three-bedroom,” he said, adding that the main issue is a lack of current employment and references for the family.
Since the effort started, residents have offered clothes, shelf-stable food, bedding, full beds and living room furniture, and someone was thinking of donating a car, Burzynski said.
A few community groups also offered assistance including the St. Francis Lions Club, which offered a $500 credit for its annual second-hand sale, the South Milwaukee Knights of Columbus, which offered $500 toward the first rent payment, and the Ladies Auxiliary for the South Milwaukee Knights of Columbus, which will buy new bedding, bath towels and washcloths, Burzynski said.
Anyone with housing opportunities or wishing to donate can reach out to the restaurant at polonezrestaurant@gmail.com. People can also support the effort by sending money via a Venmo account set up for the family, @UkrainianRefugeeRent, which will go to rent and the security deposit.
“We had an outpouring of support,” he said. “Once we have the place, we’ll follow up with people who offered things.”
Burzynski's distant relatives also once fled a war-torn place
In addition to helping this Ukrainian family, Burzynski said the restaurant is also collecting donations for the Kosciuszko Foundation, a nonprofit started in 1925 by Stephen Mizwa with the goal of promoting “closer ties between Poland and the United States through educational, scientific and cultural exchanges,” according to the foundation’s official Facebook page.
Recently foundation President Marek Skulimowski was on the Polish/Ukrainian border helping war refugees, according to a Feb. 27 Facebook post. It’s that effort that Burzynski said motivated him to help.
“I think the story is really incredible,” he said. “I was really inspired by that.”
So far the restaurant has collected $500 through people leaving spare change, Burzynski said.
Some family history also motivated Burzynski. He said his father’s older brother, his father’s mother and her brothers were living in Wołyń, a former town in Poland at the end of World War II. Shortly after the war, the town was annexed to Ukraine and is now called Volhynia.
The family had to flee.
“They themselves had escaped from a war-torn place,” Burzynski said.
More:Photos from the candlelight vigil to honor the children killed in Ukraine
More:'We're so worried about our friends in Ukraine': How the war is hitting Wisconsin farmers and could lead to higher food prices
More:'Enough of this:' Milwaukee area parishioners take to the streets in Wauwatosa to call for peace in Ukraine
Polonez restaurant also needs some help
Polonez opened its doors in 1983. Bruzynski said the restaurant’s loyal customers and staff were able to maintain the restaurant through the pandemic with carry-out.
Now, while trying to help others, the restaurant needs some help of its own as it's been hit by the recent staffing shortage felt by many businesses. Burzynski said he needs experienced cooks or anyone with knowledge of European cuisine.
In addition to helping with the family restaurant, Burzynski is also an associate lecturer at Milwaukee Area Technical College where he teaches introductory composition and communication.
He also works with Woodland Pattern Book Center, a local literary nonprofit. | 2022-04-12T18:44:09Z | www.jsonline.com | St. Francis restaurant seeks housing for Ukrainian refugee family | https://www.jsonline.com/story/communities/south/news/st-francis/2022/04/12/st-francis-restaurant-seeks-housing-ukrainian-refugee-family-polonez/9505956002/ | https://www.jsonline.com/story/communities/south/news/st-francis/2022/04/12/st-francis-restaurant-seeks-housing-ukrainian-refugee-family-polonez/9505956002/ |
The inclusive, accessible playground on Summerfest grounds will open to the public for the season on April 19.
The Northwestern Mutual Community Park, which opened in June 2021, will be available for families to play daily 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. On event days — including Summerfest and other ethnic and cultural festivals — the park will be open to attendees.
Additionally, there are several Sunday Family Fun Days scheduled throughout the summer, when the park's stage will be used to showcase family-friendly programming by local groups including Danceworks, First Stage and the Milwaukee Youth Symphony Orchestra. Other entertainment and activities will include balloon artists, face painters and food trucks.
Sunday Family Fun Days are scheduled for 10 a.m.- 4 p.m. on June 19, July 17, Aug. 7, Sept. 18 and Oct. 9.
In one more change for the park's season, a book donation box will be installed. Families are encouraged to drop off new or gently used children's books, which will be donated to the Next Door Foundation's Books for Kids program.
To keep up-to-date with changes to days and hours of operation, check the park's website at milwaukeeworldfestival.com.
More:Attorney files complaint to IRS challenging the nonprofit status of Summerfest organizer Milwaukee World Festival Inc.
More:How to get tickets and find deals to Summerfest 2022 in Milwaukee | 2022-04-12T18:44:27Z | www.jsonline.com | Playground to reopen on Milwaukee's Summerfest grounds | https://www.jsonline.com/story/life/wisconsin-family/2022/04/12/playground-reopens-milwaukees-summerfest-grounds-northwestern-mutual-community-park/7290671001/ | https://www.jsonline.com/story/life/wisconsin-family/2022/04/12/playground-reopens-milwaukees-summerfest-grounds-northwestern-mutual-community-park/7290671001/ |
Affordable apartment projects for Milwaukee's north side win early city approval. They total about 70 units in Harambee and Halyard Park
Two affordable apartment developments planned for Milwaukee's north side were endorsed by city officials Tuesday.
The developments, totaling about 70 rental units, are to be built in the adjacent Harambee and Halyard Park neighborhoods. They were recommended for approval by the Common Council's Zoning, Neighborhoods and Development Committee.
Both projects are being financed in part with federal affordable housing tax credits.
The tax credits will be sold to raise cash, with the developers seeking bank loans and other funding sources to complete their financing packages.
Developers who receive tax credits must generally provide at least 85% of a building's apartments at below-market rents to people earning no higher than 60% of the local median income.
Related:This Riverwest apartment development will feature a commercial kitchen to help launch food-oriented businesses and provide cooking classes.
Related:Milwaukee is adding more neighborhood healing spaces. They transform vacant lots into Little Free Libraries, gardens and public art.
The Harambee development, known as Bronzeville Estates, calls for building about 30 rental units within single-family homes, duplexes and two mixed-use buildings with street-level commercial space and upper-floor apartments.
Bronzeville Estates is being developed by Maures Development Group LLC, led by Melissa Allen.
The houses and duplexes will be primarily on North Fifth, Sixth and Seventh streets, between West North Avenue and West Chambers Street.
They will be built on vacant lots and within dilapidated buildings which will undergo extensive remodeling. Allen's investment group is buying the dilapidated buildings from the city for $1 each.
Also, the city is selling two other buildings to Allen's investment group as part of the plan: A vacant mixed-use building, at 540 W. North Ave., for $52,000, and another vacant mixed-use building, at 1940-1948 N. King Drive, for $45,000.
Those two-story buildings will be redeveloped for a mix of commercial space and apartments.
Construction is to begin this summer, with completion by around September 2023, Allen told committee members.
In Halyard Park, Haywood Group LLC, led by Kalan Haywood Sr., plans to develop a four-story, 38-unit building at 1728 N. Sixth St.
It will have 32 two-bedroom affordable units and six three-bedroom townhome-style units with market-rate rents.
That building will be the second phase of City Place development, which opened its first phase in 2018 at 506 W. Walnut St.
The City Place expansion includes the sale of the city-owned development site for $20,000. | 2022-04-12T18:44:33Z | www.jsonline.com | Affordable apartments for Harambee and Halyard Park OK'd in Milwaukee | https://www.jsonline.com/story/money/real-estate/commercial/2022/04/12/affordable-apartments-harambee-and-halyard-park-milwaukee-win-city-approval/7288585001/ | https://www.jsonline.com/story/money/real-estate/commercial/2022/04/12/affordable-apartments-harambee-and-halyard-park-milwaukee-win-city-approval/7288585001/ |
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee's plans to demolish the century-old Columbia Hospital building are still on hold after its historic designation won another city endorsement.
But Tuesday's recommendation by the Common Council Zoning, Neighborhoods and Development Committee could provide just a brief reprieve for the building — which UWM says is costly to maintain.
The committee's 5-0 vote for historic designation comes after an April 4 recommendation by the Historic Preservation Commission. The proposal will likely be reviewed by the full council at its April 19 meeting.
But, even if the full council agrees with designating the building, UWM could later seek city permission to demolish it.
More:Historic Walker's Point industrial complex will be converted into 182 higher-end apartments. The first units will be ready in early 2024.
Also, if UWM later seeks Historic Preservation Commission approval to demolish the building, a denial of that request can be appealed to the council — which can consider "economic hardship" as a factor.
Also, there's a claim by the UW System that the city's historic preservation ordinance doesn't apply to its buildings — which the City Attorney's Office disputes.
UWM: Cost to rehab building would be at least $100 million
Ald. Nik Kovac, whose district includes the site, said economic hardship is a legitimate factor for UWM to raise if it seeks permission to raze the building.
Kovac, who hopes to see the building preserved, told committee members that UWM could promptly apply for that permission in order to get a faster decision from city officials.
The dispute centers on a former hospital building, 3321 N. Maryland Ave., that opened in 1919.
Plans to demolish it were first reported by the Journal Sentinel in January 2020.
University officials have said the building is in poor condition and would cost $100 million to $200 million to redevelop — depending on whether it was used as classrooms and offices or research labs.
UWM has an agreement with nearby residents to not use the building for student housing — which university officials characterize as the most likely use.
University officials say the demolition would cost $6 million. The building's annual maintenance costs are over $200,000.
The building has remained largely vacant for years, with no developers showing any interest in it, according to UW System officials.
The demolition is scheduled to begin May 2, said Keri Duce, UWM director of external relations.
Delaying that work will add costs of around $1,000 a day to the project, according to the university.
Preservationists say the building is a valuable piece of cultural and architectural history, and cited other historic Milwaukee buildings that were in dire straits before being redeveloped. | 2022-04-12T18:44:39Z | www.jsonline.com | UWM plan to tear down old Columbia Hospital building still on hold | https://www.jsonline.com/story/money/real-estate/commercial/2022/04/12/uwm-plan-tear-down-old-columbia-hospital-building-still-hold/7288060001/ | https://www.jsonline.com/story/money/real-estate/commercial/2022/04/12/uwm-plan-tear-down-old-columbia-hospital-building-still-hold/7288060001/ |
Kohl's Corp. has sold one of its buildings at its Menomonee Falls headquarters for $4.3 million, according to public records.
"The sale of our Woodale Drive facility is a direct reflection of the evolution of work at our corporate campus," said Jenn Johnson, senior vice president of corporate communications for Kohl's.
More: The future of Kohl's is at stake as the company prepares for a fight with activist investor
Kohl's credit and customer service employees that were working in the facility have been relocated to the main corporate campus.
Johnson added Kohl's has not been actively using the space since March 2021.
"As the future of work and physical workspaces evolves, Kohl’s continues to evaluate its workplace accommodations to increase flexibility for associates, increase collaboration amongst teams and drive operational efficiencies in its physical footprint," Johnson said.
The sale of the building is not related to the proxy fight Kohl's is managing with activist investor Macellum Capital Management. | 2022-04-12T21:21:13Z | www.jsonline.com | Kohl's sale of building for $4.3 million not related to proxy fight | https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/local/milwaukee/2022/04/12/kohls-sale-building-4-3-million-not-related-proxy-fight-macellum-capital-management/7291184001/ | https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/local/milwaukee/2022/04/12/kohls-sale-building-4-3-million-not-related-proxy-fight-macellum-capital-management/7291184001/ |
MADISON - Thanks to a lack of springtime rain and dry grass, the Department of Natural Resources is asking residents to avoid any type of burning in order to prevent wildfires.
Dry vegetation, an incoming high-pressure weather system and a lack of springtime rain caused a very high fire danger alert to be issued for the western part of the state, with a high risk for most central and eastern counties, according to a press release from the DNR.
Areas with very high dangers as of Tuesday afternoon include: Adams, Buffalo, Chippewa, Clark, Columbia, Crawford, Dane, Dunn, Eau Claire, Grant, Green, Green Lake, Iowa, Jackson, Juneau, La Crosse, Lafayette, Marquette, Monroe, Pepin, Pierce, Richland, St. Croix, Sauk, Taylor, Trempleau, Vernon, and Waushara counties.
The DNR has suspended all issued and special burning permits for debris piles, burn barrels, and prescribed burns in those counties where the DNR has permit authority.
While the state is discouraging all types of fires in high-risk counties, small fires for warming or cooking are allowed. The DNR asks that anyone lighting a fire for those reasons keep a close eye on the flame and any resulting embers, and be sure to completely extinguish your fire before leaving it.
More: Here are precautions you can take when it comes to wildfire season
The department is also asking anyone transporting a trailer to ensure no chains are dragging on the ground during transport, as sparks between the metal and road could cause a fire, and to operate equipment such as chainsaws, off-road vehicles or lawn mowers either early in the morning or later in the day to avoid sparks during peak burning hours, according to a release.
The DNR has already responded to more than 100 wildfires this year, which burned more than 270 acres. Nineteen of those fires ignited Monday and were related to debris burning. As of Tuesday afternoon, four fires were burning.
For more information on daily fire danger, wildfire reports and burning restrictions, visit dnr.wi.gov or call 1-888-947-2876. | 2022-04-12T21:21:19Z | www.jsonline.com | Lack of rain leads to high fire risk for western portion of Wisconsin | https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/local/wisconsin/2022/04/12/lack-rain-leads-high-fire-risk-western-portion-wisconsin/7292646001/ | https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/local/wisconsin/2022/04/12/lack-rain-leads-high-fire-risk-western-portion-wisconsin/7292646001/ |
At some point during overtime of the clash between Middlebury College of Vermont and Gustavus Adolphus College of Minnesota for the NCAA Division III women's hockey title last month, Milwaukee native Ellie Barney looked around the Middlebury bench and realized just how deep the talent level ran on her squad.
"We were playing some of the best hockey we've ever played, and every single person on that bench could have scored," Barney said. "It's a really cool thing to experience. Resilience and perseverance is how I'd describe it, after they tied the game with one second left, to roll that (level of play) into overtime like that is not an easy thing to do."
It was Barney who cashed in the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. The University School of Milwaukee alumna sent her own rebound into the goal in OT, giving Middlebury the championship with a 3-2 victory and capping the first undefeated season (27-0) in NCAA DIII history.
As if to highlight her own assessment, it was just Barney's third goal of the season; she describes herself as more of a defensive-minded winger. But thanks to an unconventional substitution, leaving her alone behind the action in the neutral zone, she was available to receive a long pass from teammate Eva Hendrikson, slip past a defender and take a shot off the right pad of goalie Katie McCoy — a Milwaukee-area native from Cedarburg High School.
Barney followed the shot and set off a wild celebration that would have happened in regulation, if Gustavus Adolphus' Molly McHugh hadn't tied the game in stunning fashion with 0.1 of a second on the clock.
"I have never experienced joy like that," Barney said. "It was truly so loud, so much cheering, so many people on our team that just started sobbing. I just remember being so joyful and so utterly exhausted, looking at the crowd and thinking, 'I'm so hungry!' It was incredible to celebrate with the team like that. It's not a position a player finds themselves in a whole lot."
So how has she been celebrating her moment in the sun on campus? She's not. She graduated in February as part of Middlebury's atypical academic calendar, leaving her 90 days to continue NCAA competition according to the collegiate sports governing body's bylaws. Two weeks after her goal, she was working her new sales job at a tech startup in New York City.
From Milwaukee Jr. Admirals to national champion
Barney attended University School for nearly all of her academic upbringing, but she only played hockey her sophomore year at USM, in 2015. It culminated with the first and only state title in USM history.
She elected to play with the Jr. Admirals program exclusively thereafter.
"That was also just an incredible time (at USM)," Barney said. "I love the Milwaukee Jr. Admirals but we didn't have the most successful winning seasons, and for the first time in my life, I was battling for a championship; it was a huge growth experience for me, being in those high stakes winner-take-all situations.
"I just think being a young person on my team, it was the first time I experienced leadership, being pulled up by all the upperclassmen, a huge learning experience for me there as far as what good leadership looks like and mentorship looks like."
With the Jr. Admirals, she was able to participate in tournaments that exposed her to college coaches, such as those from Middlebury.
"A lot of people don't know Middlebury around (Wisconsin), but it's very prominent on the East Coast," she said. "Once I knew I was going to be a D3 player, I wanted a really strong academic school with success in hockey."
Middlebury, which won three national titles from 2004-06 but hadn't won one since, came into the season loaded. With the 2020 season and 2021 regular season and postseason wiped away by COVID-19, Barney deferred a semester and spent it away from school last year, then returned as part of a talent-rich senior class.
She said her teammates never discussed the potential of an undefeated season.
"The fact that that happened all year (never losing a game) and we never talked about it was crazy, I think," she said. "Maybe we were too scared to verbalize it because it meant perhaps it was a weight on our shoulder. Middlebury is always at the top of conference, and there's always a target on our back, so going undefeated wasn't spoken about at all.
"We had 10 one-goal games and when we had those moments (when it was close), that's when I would think, 'these are the moments I want to hold on to.'"
Even as the intensity of the postseason increased, Middlebury was talented enough to maintain four lines of skaters, with no discernible drop-off in talent.
A big moment for Wisconsin women's hockey
If there was even a tinge of bittersweet for Barney, it was scoring the goal against her former Jr. Admirals teammate, McCoy.
"She had the most amazing run, is an incredible human, and I talked to her parents after the game," Barney said. "What an incredible thing that I was in that position to score, and it happened to be Katie. I just think she's a rock star."
It's no secret that the University of Wisconsin women's hockey team has enjoyed success, securing consecutive NCAA Division I championships (2019, 2021) before Ohio State won the crown this year. They were the fifth and sixth titles in program history.
The United States women's hockey team that took silver at the 2022 Winter Olympics featured a number of Wisconsin connections, including starting goalie Alex Cavallini (an Arrowhead graduate), Dousman's Brianna Decker and Madison's Amanda Kessel.
But it doesn't stop there.
Franklin-Pierce University, a New Hampshire school playing NCAA Division I hockey in the New England Women's Hockey Alliance, won its first conference tournament title with a 1-0 win over Saint Anselm. The goal was scored by Eau Claire's Ava Kison, and Middleton's Suzette Faucher was named the tournament most outstanding player after recording 26 saves in the final. Just a sophomore, Faucher was also named the league's goaltender of the year after the regular season.
Closer to home, the Milwaukee School of Engineering has started a women's hockey program and hired head coach Chad Davis, who formerly built up Adrian into a strong Division III program and most recently coached at Division I Rochester Institute of Technology in New York. | 2022-04-12T21:21:31Z | www.jsonline.com | Milwaukee's Ellie Barney relishes goal that won national hockey title | https://www.jsonline.com/story/sports/college/2022/04/12/milwaukees-ellie-barney-relishes-goal-won-national-hockey-title/7287540001/ | https://www.jsonline.com/story/sports/college/2022/04/12/milwaukees-ellie-barney-relishes-goal-won-national-hockey-title/7287540001/ |
Kamari McGee, a graduate of Racine St. Catherine's High School, is coming to UW after standout freshman season at UWGB
MADISON – Wisconsin coach Greg Gard and his staff have bolstered their backcourt for next season and beyond.
The Badgers received an oral commitment Tuesday from point guard Kamari McGee, a graduate of Racine St. Catherine’s High School who made the Horizon League all-freshman team this past season at UW-Green Bay.
McGee, who recently entered the transfer portal and visited the UW campus Sunday, started the final 21 games for the Phoenix and finished at 11.6 points, 2.8 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game.
Before Sunday, his only time in Madison came last season when UW-Green Bay faced UW at the Kohl Center.
"The city of Madison is very beautiful," McGee said Tuesday. "The campus is very beautiful. The facilities were beautiful. Everything was … it just felt good.
"And the coaches showed nothing but love throughout the entire time."
McGee shot just 38.8% overall, including 27.5% from three-point range, at UW-Green Bay. However, he improved with more playing time and in the final five games averaged 17.6 points and 5.4 rebounds and shot 50.1% (34 of 67), including 40.0% from three-point range (6 of 15).
McGee teamed with Iowa State guard Tyrese Hunter to help St. Catherine’s win a WIAA state title in 2021.
More:Longtime 'best friends' give Racine St. Catherine's the state's best backcourt duo
Nick Bennett, who helped UW-Stevens Point to NCAA Division III titles in 2004 and 2005, coached McGree and Hunter at St. Catherine's. He believes McGee can help UW on both ends of the court and in the locker room.
"I think his shooting percentages will go up,” Bennett said, acknowledging that McGee will be surrounded by more overall talent at UW. “His shots are going to be better shots. I think his efficiency numbers will get higher.”
McGee concurred.
"I can be a more efficient player," he said. "At Wisconsin I won’t have as much pressure.
"Even in high school – I know it is high school, but I was an efficient player because I had certain guys around me who helped out."
McGee essentially takes the spot vacated by Lorne Bowman, who returned home to Michigan during the season to deal with personal issues and recently announced he was leaving the program. Bowman announced Sunday he is transferring to Oakland, which is near his home.
The Badgers have one freshman signed for next season, Indiana guard Connor Essegian. With Essegian and McGee set, the Badgers have three open scholarships.
McGee played 22 minutes in the Phoenix's 72-34 loss to UW on Nov. 12 and finished with four points, three rebounds and one assist.
Asked about the challenge of making the transition from the Horizon League to the Big Ten, McGee sounded unfazed.
"I am a huge competitor," he said. "When I was at Green Bay and we faced those high-major teams, I never shied away from those games. I loved playing against the higher competition."
The 6-foot McGee is a tenacious defender.
“He loves it,” Bennett said. “I’m not just saying that. He was our best defender. I thought he was the best defender in the state his senior year. That was his role for us, guarding the other team’s best (scorer). He guarded guards, big guys, point guards. He is really strong. He looks like a football player.
“And he was a 4.0 student in high school. I’m darn proud of him for that. He is probably the neatest kid I’ve coached. Just his personality, a team-oriented kid. He is positive. He cares about winning. He’s not selfish. He is humble.
“If I gave you the numbers of all the teachers at St. Catherine’s and said call them and ask them about Kamari, I’d have zero doubt that every teacher would say: What a treat he was to have in class.’ ...
“He is just a quiet, humble kid.”
At a minimum, McGee will help ease the workload of Chucky Hepburn, who started all 33 games at point guard for UW as a freshman last season.
"They see me as a competitor who has that grit, that dog in them, to want to work hard and get better each day," McGee said, referring to the UW coaches. "And they see me as a leader." | 2022-04-12T21:21:37Z | www.jsonline.com | UW-Green Bay freshman standout Kamari McGee to transfer to Wisconsin | https://www.jsonline.com/story/sports/college/uw/2022/04/12/uw-green-bay-freshman-standout-kamari-mcgee-transfer-wisconsin/7273021001/ | https://www.jsonline.com/story/sports/college/uw/2022/04/12/uw-green-bay-freshman-standout-kamari-mcgee-transfer-wisconsin/7273021001/ |
One of the strengths of the Milwaukee Bucks as they enter the 2021-22 postseason tournament is that they return four of their five starters from Game 6 of the NBA Finals victory over the Phoenix Suns, and the two top bench options in Bobby Portis and Pat Connaughton, too.
The Bucks no doubt hope continuity will be king.
But not everything remains the same.
The new fifth starter for much of the season was guard Grayson Allen, acquired via trade at the start of the year and signed to a contract extension in mid-October. But in the home stretch of the regular season, veteran Wesley Matthews took over that spot for an added defensive presence.
Instead of Jeff Teague, who played a key role in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference finals, the team brought back George Hill to fill the veteran, backup point guard position.
More:Bucks podcast: Examining Milwaukee's first-round playoff foe, the Chicago Bulls
More:Moment in 2015 playoffs served as turning point for Bucks and turned Mike Dunleavy Jr. into an internet villain
Hill played in the 2018 NBA Finals with Cleveland, which was swept by Golden State. He’s also been a part of Eastern Conference finals trips with Indiana (2013 and 2014) and Milwaukee (2019). Allen and Matthews have yet to make such a deep run.
“I think pressure is you want it, what it feels like, you can get that monkey off your back,” Hill said. “Then at the same time you can have the pressure of wanting to do it again. A lot of us want to feel that feeling that the guys felt last year.
“I think that pressure is on us where we want to complete that mission. Hopefully we can go in with our shoulder relaxed a little bit and just play good playoff basketball. That’s what our goal is.”
When asked if the 35-year-old Matthews and Hill and the 26-year-old Allen had brought anything different to the team in terms of added focus or hunger for a title to complement the returning core, Giannis Antetokounmpo acknowledged that trio had a good sense of the process needed to win one.
“Hopefully we can win another one and they can be a part,” Antetokounmpo said. “And I think they already feel a part of a championship team. Because whenever we step on the court they say the world champs, you know?
“So, they’re a part of that. We’ve got to defend that, so they’re defending it with us. But there’s steps we’ve gotta do. We’ve got to build good habits. There’s steps we gotta do in order for us to get another one.”
Upon hearing that, Allen grinned.
“Yeah … I’m definitely not a champion,” he said. “So I’m not going to say that. But we’re a collective group and they don’t want to make a difference between the core that’s still the defending champions, that’s still the same team with a few extra pieces in. They’re doing a great job making us feel together and feel together as a group where it’s not them trying to defend.”
The shooting guard has not advanced past the first round of the playoffs in two previous trips to the postseason but was a key part of an NCAA championship team at Duke in 2015. Could any of that experience help him as the Bucks begin this run?
“Maybe the whole of the pressure of the game could be similar, but the one thing that’s different – and it’s the biggest thing about playing the NBA playoffs – is you play the same team over and over and over again,” Allen told the Journal Sentinel. “So, that first game is like the title game. And then next game it’s a level up and then the next game is another level up, so it just makes it trickier because that competitiveness is still there and you know the other team and you just saw them yesterday or two days ago. So there’s definitely a few more levels up when it comes to the playoffs.”
With the title defense beginning Sunday against Chicago in the first round, the Bucks will no doubt lean on their six returning players. But at this point last season, none of them had championship experience. And at some point, nearly every person in the top 10 of the rotation played a key role in getting the Bucks to the Finals.
Khris Middleton, Jrue Holiday, Brook Lopez, Antetokounmpo, Portis and Connaughton may have been there and done that already – but the door is now open for Matthews, Hill and Allen to make their mark. Which is a door the core group unlocked for them upon arrival.
They wanted all the new players to feel a part of a championship team so when it came time to win another they wouldn’t be caught up in the moment.
“This group collectively as a team – there’s nothing that we can face in the playoffs where it’s like, ‘we haven’t been here before’ but me as a fourth-year player who has only made it to the first round, I haven’t been there before,” Allen said. “But that’s where you’re just looking to others where you follow their lead, follow their mindset, follow what they’re doing and you’ll be in the right spot. That’s an important distinction there, important words to say.” | 2022-04-12T21:21:55Z | www.jsonline.com | Milwaukee Bucks count on newcomers to help defend NBA championship | https://www.jsonline.com/story/sports/nba/bucks/2022/04/12/milwaukee-bucks-count-newcomers-help-defend-nba-championship/7288282001/ | https://www.jsonline.com/story/sports/nba/bucks/2022/04/12/milwaukee-bucks-count-newcomers-help-defend-nba-championship/7288282001/ |
"The judges who are dragging this out, they know better," Gableman told WTAQ-AM host Joe Giganti. "They know that the law is very clear, that the Legislature gets to perform legislative oversight. They know that the Legislature is entitled to these interviews, they’re entitled to these documents."
Gableman didn't say why he believes Ramirez is the one causing the delay. At a hearing this month, attorneys for Gableman asked for as much time as possible to file briefs in the case. A hearing is to be held in July.
Lanford offered no opinion on Gableman's views.
"This matter is still pending before me, and I do not feel it is appropriate to comment on a defendant’s remarks about the merits of a case," she said by email.
Ramirez did not immediately respond Tuesday to an email from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. | 2022-04-12T23:53:01Z | www.jsonline.com | Gableman accuses judges of dragging out cases over GOP election review | https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/politics/2022/04/12/gableman-accuses-judges-dragging-out-cases-over-gop-election-review/7294461001/ | https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/politics/2022/04/12/gableman-accuses-judges-dragging-out-cases-over-gop-election-review/7294461001/ |
Marquette's Justin Lewis declares for NBA draft, but is maintaining his NCAA eligibility
One of the biggest off-season questions for the Marquette men's basketball team has been whether Justin Lewis would declare for the NBA draft.
That was answered on Tuesday, but not with finality.
Lewis announced on social media that he was entering the NBA draft but signing with a NCAA-approved agent to maintain his college eligibility.
The announcement came on Lewis' 20th birthday.
More: How Justin Lewis put everything together in his second season
The 6-foot-7 forward made a huge leap in production in his second season with the Golden Eagles.
As a freshman in the 2020-21 season, he averaged 7.8 points and 5.4 rebounds in 21 minutes per game. He also had a memorable highlight with his tip-in at the buzzer to beat Wisconsin in his fourth college game.
Lewis thrived in a bigger role under new MU coach Shaka Smart, averaging 17.1 points and 8 rebounds in 32.4 minutes per game while being named to the all-Big East first team. He was also honored as the conference's most improved player.
Lewis had a college-high 33 points at Seton Hall and scored the Golden Eagles' final seven points in a thrilling win at Villanova. But Lewis struggled in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, scoring six points on 2-for-15 shooting in a loss to North Carolina.
NBA scouts have long been intrigued by Lewis' physical tools, with his 7-foot-plus wingspan and versatile offensive game. Prominent NBA mock drafts done by ESPN and The Athletic have pegged Lewis as a possible early second-round pick June 23.
With a NCAA-approved agent, Lewis can still work out and interview with NBA teams and also attend the NBA draft combine May 16-22 in Chicago. If Lewis wants to return to MU, he would need to withdraw from the draft by June 1. | 2022-04-12T23:53:07Z | www.jsonline.com | Marquette's Justin Lewis declares for NBA draft, maintains eligibility | https://www.jsonline.com/story/sports/college/marquette/2022/04/12/marquettes-justin-lewis-declares-nba-draft-maintains-eligibility/7296258001/ | https://www.jsonline.com/story/sports/college/marquette/2022/04/12/marquettes-justin-lewis-declares-nba-draft-maintains-eligibility/7296258001/ |
BALTIMORE – Among the services coach Quintin Berry provides Milwaukee Brewers outfielders is twice a year putting together highlight videos of each player's best defensive moments.
Tyrone Taylor made the first two contributions to his reel on Monday, making a pair of spectacular grabs in center field and taking hits away in the process in a 2-0 loss to the Baltimore Orioles.
In the first inning and with a runner on first, Trey Mancini sent a drive to the gap in right-center that appeared destined to fall for extra bases until Taylor made a leaping grab just shy of the wall.
He crashed into the wall and landed on the warning track but hung onto the ball, earning a salute from pitcher Adrian Houser.
Then in the second with a runner on second, Austin Hays crushed a ball to straightaway center. Taylor didn't get a good read on it at first but quickly adjusted and hauled in on a dead sprint just shy of the warning track, completing the play with a snow-cone catch.
"It’s tough to judge which way to open up on those," Taylor said Tuesday. "On that one specifically I had to make a little correction right away and stuck my glove out there last minute and snagged it.
"It was cool."
Two great plays, two runs likely saved on a day on which scoring came at a premium.
"They both were very, very impressive," said Lorenzo Cain, a Rawlings Gold Glover who knows a thing or two about playing center. "Very impressive."
Taylor, who bounced back and forth between the minors and majors each of the previous two seasons, made his first opening-day lineup this season on the strength of his ability to play center.
And with Cain nearing 36 and the Brewers wanting to keep him as healthy and fresh as possible this season, Taylor is likely to see plenty of time out there in 2022.
"I think he's always been a good defender," manager Craig Counsell said of Taylor. "I think experience has made him a little bit better, for sure.
"Playing center field in the big leagues is hard. It's very hard. It's like shortstop; a lot of outfielders are drafted as centerfielders but not many stick there because you have to be an elite defender.
"That Tyrone's able to still play a really good center field is just a credit to his work on defense and his athleticism."
Taylor, who turned 28 on Jan. 28, garnered attention last season mostly for his offensive exploits. Those included some monster home runs and a couple of two-homer games on his way to a .247 average, 12-homer, 43-RBI campaign while playing in a career-high 93 games.
It's been a slow ascent for the 2012 second-round pick, but better late than never.
More:Brewers podcast: A slow start, but also a remarkable home-run moment and benches clearing in Chicago
"I just try to get better at everything I can, every single day and defense is one of those things," Taylor said. "We have (Berry) out there helping us get our work in, and I get to learn from guys Cain, (Andrew McCutchen, Christian Yelich) and (Hunter) Renfroe.
"It’s a good time out there."
Cain was asked what he likes best about Taylor's game.
"He can do it all," he said. "He's a very, very well-rounded player. He can do a little bit of everything, and that's something that will keep him in this game for a long time.
"He can play defense, throw people out, run 'em down – he's got plenty of range – and he can swing the bat and steal bases.
"Sky's the limit for the kid; they've got to get him consistent, every-day at-bats."
Justice is served for Andrew McCutchen
Three days after being plunked in the left hip by Chicago Cubs pitcher Keegan Thompson, McCutchen scoffed when asked if he was still feeling the physical effects.
"Man, I didn't feel that," he said.
The incident caused a spirited response from McCutchen at the time, leading to the benches clearing but no punches thrown in a 9-0 Brewers loss at Wrigley Field.
After the game, McCutchen told reporters why he was so upset by Thompson's throw, which he believed was intentional and thrown with ill intent.
Major League Baseball apparently agreed with McCutchen's take as on Monday, Thompson was suspended for three games and Cubs manager David Ross one for the incident, which came on the heels of several Chicago hitters being hit by Milwaukee pitchers in the series.
"I have nothing to say about it," McCutchen said. "It's not on me to decide. Whatever happens after the fact is what happens. I spoke my peace about it."
Luis Urías making progress
On the 10-day injured list with a strained left quad, third baseman Luis Urías remains at the Brewers' Arizona complex in Maryvale rehabbing.
"He's progressed to at-bats in games down there in Arizona at the end of this week," Counsell said. "I think it will be past (the second road trip for a return) based on the rehab part of it.
"He'll go to Double-A or Triple-A – whichever is better weather, frankly – and that'll be a seven- to 10-day process. We're just having to go at the pace the injury's telling us right now.
"We're sticking to a calendar, I guess, but we're not able to speed up."
Milwaukee has been playing Jace Peterson and Mike Brosseau at third base with Urías out. | 2022-04-12T23:53:20Z | www.jsonline.com | Brewers' Tyrone Taylor makes exceptional plays in center field | https://www.jsonline.com/story/sports/mlb/brewers/2022/04/12/brewers-tyrone-taylor-makes-exceptional-plays-center-field/7286887001/ | https://www.jsonline.com/story/sports/mlb/brewers/2022/04/12/brewers-tyrone-taylor-makes-exceptional-plays-center-field/7286887001/ |
Bucks playoff tickets are available for their first-round series vs. the Chicago Bulls at Fiserv Forum
Some of the Uecker seats are already gone for Game 1 between the Milwaukee Bucks and the Chicago Bulls on Sunday in their Eastern Conference first-round NBA playoff series at Fiserv Forum.
But upon further review, you can still be in the front row.
It will cost you a pretty penny, however. Those seats are going for $2,600. You may not have that much in your swear jar, but that's why they invented credit cards.
If you want to avoid possibly having David Bakhtiari spilling some suds on you, don't spend that type of loot. The $46 standing room only ducat will fit your needs. There is no guaranteed court view. But, hey, the Bucks beat the Bulls by an average of 14.8 points during the regular season. So you may not miss much.
Games 1 and 2 are set for Fiserv Forum, as are Games 5 and 7 if necessary. Game 1 is scheduled for Sunday. The time hasn't yet been announced.
How can I get Bucks tickets for the games in Chicago?
If you're looking to make it a Deer District South, the only official and secure places to buy Bulls tickets are Bulls.com, NBATickets.com, the United Center box office, Ticketmaster.com, or NBA.com. Fans who obtain tickets in unauthorized ways such as StubHub, eBay, TicketsNow or Craigslist, or from other fans outside the United Center, run the risk of buying lost, stolen or counterfeit tickets, which will not be honored for admission. And those tickets will not be eligible for any refund or exchange. Games 3 and 4 will be played in Chicago.
How do I access my tickets?
Via the Bucks app on your mobile device. | 2022-04-12T23:53:32Z | www.jsonline.com | Bucks playoff tickets vs. Bulls for NBA Eastern Conference first round | https://www.jsonline.com/story/sports/nba/bucks/2022/04/12/bucks-playoff-tickets-vs-bulls-nba-eastern-conference-first-round-series/7279462001/ | https://www.jsonline.com/story/sports/nba/bucks/2022/04/12/bucks-playoff-tickets-vs-bulls-nba-eastern-conference-first-round-series/7279462001/ |
A powerful spring storm could bring severe weather to Milwaukee and southeast Wisconsin on Wednesday, forecasters say.
The storms, should they develop, would be part of a severe weather outbreak that is forecast to occur across a large portion of the central U.S., potentially from Wisconsin to the Gulf Coast.
"It's an impressive April storm," said Marcia Cronce, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Sullivan. "The entire country has been talking about this for several days."
More:April blizzard blasts northern Plains; more severe storms likely in central US
Whether the storms turn severe in Milwaukee and southeast Wisconsin largely depends on how much sunshine the area receives during the day on Wednesday, Cronce said.
"Our concern for Wednesday is cloud cover. If it is really cloudy, it's going to be difficult to get anything strong in terms of thunderstorms. But that doesn't mean we won't get thunderstorms. It's just the strength of them depends" on how much sun and daytime heating occurs, Cronce said.
"There's still a risk for severe storms," she added. Exactly where the storms fire up and how strong or potentially severe they may become is "very uncertain," Cronce said.
"It's a complicated system," Cronce added. "There are a lot of factors going into this."
The setup will also depend on whether rain and storms that developed in western Wisconsin on Tuesday afternoon will continue eastward into the overnight and early morning hours on Wednesday.
Those storms could rob the atmosphere of the energy needed for severe storms to develop in southeast Wisconsin on Wednesday.
"The longer storms linger through the morning hours Wednesday, the lower the potential for severe storms during the afternoon will be," the weather service said in a statement.
The afternoon and early evening hours Wednesday would be the time during which forecasters say severe storms could develop over southeast Wisconsin.
There will be plenty of warm, moist air across the region out ahead of a cold front that is set to move through the area by afternoon or evening.
"If the sun does come out at all, we will spike into the 70s easily," in terms of the high temperatures across southeast Wisconsin on Wednesday, Cronce said.
It will be cooler along Lake Michigan.
The high temperature in Waukesha is forecast to hit 69 degrees on Wednesday while Milwaukee is forecast to see a high of 63.
Fond du Lac is forecast to hit 68 degrees and Sheboygan is forecast to see a high of 59.
Hail, high winds in west central Wisconsin
Rain and thunderstorms for Milwaukee on Wednesday would be part of the same storm system that brought severe storms to western and central Wisconsin on Tuesday afternoon.
Numerous severe thunderstorm warnings were in effect on Tuesday afternoon across portions of western and central Wisconsin.
Hail an inch in diameter was reported on Tuesday afternoon in Nekoosa, Port Edwards, Wisconsin Rapids, Waupaca and southeast of Plover, according to the Storm Prediction Center.
The LaCrosse Regional Airport reported a wind gust of 67 mph at 3:32 p.m. on Tuesday, according to the Storm Prediction Center.
The same storm system also resulted in I-35 being temporarily closed in south-central Minnesota on Tuesday afternoon when numerous tractor-trailers were blown off the freeway, according to the Minnesota Department of Transportation.
Also Tuesday, tornado watches were posted for portions of Iowa, Nebraska, South Dakota and Texas.
More of the same is forecast for Wednesday.
"Numerous severe thunderstorms appear likely across a large portion of the lower/mid Mississippi Valley into the Midwest, and lower Ohio Valley on Wednesday," the storm center said in a statement. "Damaging winds, some of which could be significant, several tornadoes (some strong), and large to very large hail will likely occur." | 2022-04-12T23:53:38Z | www.jsonline.com | Milwaukee could see severe storms on Wednesday afternoon, evening | https://www.jsonline.com/story/weather/2022/04/12/milwaukee-could-see-severe-storms-wednesday-afternoon-evening/7284214001/ | https://www.jsonline.com/story/weather/2022/04/12/milwaukee-could-see-severe-storms-wednesday-afternoon-evening/7284214001/ |
The New York Police Department has identified Frank R. James, who is tied to addresses in Wisconsin, as a person of interest in the New York subway shooting that left at least 29 injured Tuesday.
"We are endeavoring to locate him to determine his connection to this subway shooting, if any," New York Police Chief of Detectives James Essig said at a news conference.
A Milwaukee police official referred questions to the local FBI office. FBI's Milwaukee office referred questions to the New York City Police Department.
In a video dated March 20, 2022 and posted to social media, a man who appeared to be James is seen driving, saying he was on his way to Philadelphia and leaving Wisconsin.
He described it as the "first leg" of his trip.
He ranted about a variety of subjects, including Ukraine, nuclear war, race and traffic in Chicago.
At his last known Milwaukee address in the city's Harambee neighborhood, a Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reporter knocked on the door and there was no answer.
The key led police to James, who they said is believed to have rented it in Philadelphia. Authorities found the van in Brooklyn and were searching it.
The New York Times reported that officials "said that consumer-grade fireworks, gasoline and two unused smoke grenades had been recovered from the scene of a shooting, and a photograph circulated on social media on Tuesday appeared to show the fireworks, along with other material."
The Times reported that "William Weimer, a vice president at Phantom Fireworks, said that a man named Frank James from Milwaukee ... had purchased several brands of the fireworks seen in the photo from the Phantom Fireworks’ showroom outside of Racine, Wis., in June 2021."
New York City police commissioner, Keechant Sewell noted investigators were pouring over social media posts appearing to come from James where he mentioned homelessness and New York City Mayor Eric Adams. She said the mayor's security detail would be tightened out of an "abundance of caution." | 2022-04-13T02:07:45Z | www.jsonline.com | Frank James person of interest in Brooklyn, New York, subway shooting | https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/crime/2022/04/12/frank-james-person-interest-brooklyn-new-york-subway-shooting-wisconsin-address/7296971001/ | https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/crime/2022/04/12/frank-james-person-interest-brooklyn-new-york-subway-shooting-wisconsin-address/7296971001/ |
A Fox Point woman was completing her regular dancing exercise routine at Azura Memory Care when the Bucks Grand Dancers surprised her by showing up and joining in.
Judy Brannon, 73, who has dementia, watched the team and picked up on some of their moves.
"I've always danced. It's good exercise," Brannon said. '"It was really fun."
As part of a program at Azura, staff started working to fulfill Judy's dream of dancing with her favorite hometown sports team: the Milwaukee Bucks. On March 29, the Bucks Grand Dancers came to put on a show for Judy, and also let her dance with them.
Then they took it another step.
Team members were so impressed with Brannon's dancing ability that they invited her to join them at the Fiserv Forum to perform at a playoff game. The date has not yet been set. Brannon plans to go to a few rehearsals to learn the routine.
"That's all right. I'm used to dancing, but they might be tall, and I'm really short," she said of dancing with the team. "But if you're a dancer, you're a dancer. That's that."
Any nerves about dancing with the team won't stop Brannon, said Justine Barton, Azura's director of MOSAIC Training & Engagement.
"If you turn on music, Judy gets up and starts dancing, and she doesn't stop until the music is off," said Barton. "She can't sit still."
Dancing can significantly reduce the risk of dementia, according to a New England Journal of Medicine study. Regular dancing reduced the risk of dementia by 76%, which was twice as much as reading, according to the study.
RELATED:Azura Memory Care opens assisted living center at former Dunwood School site in Fox Point | 2022-04-13T15:06:19Z | www.jsonline.com | Fox Point woman with dementia dances with Bucks Grand Dancers at Azura | https://www.jsonline.com/story/communities/northshore/2022/04/13/fox-point-woman-dementia-dances-milwaukee-bucks-grand-dancers-azura/9495888002/ | https://www.jsonline.com/story/communities/northshore/2022/04/13/fox-point-woman-dementia-dances-milwaukee-bucks-grand-dancers-azura/9495888002/ |
A vacant three-story building in Glendale will be torn down to create green space.
The Glendale Plan Commission on Tuesday approved a request from the Orthopaedic Hospital of Wisconsin to raze the building.
“Normally we are approving projects that add value to the gross equalized value of the city,” said Mayor Bryan Kennedy during the meeting.
The hospital purchased the property at 575 West River Woods Parkway for $2.5 million in 2017, according to property records.
“The previous owners came to us and wanted to build a parking ramp so that they could entice somebody to come and rent out that entire building,” Kennedy said at the meeting. “Apparently in that process, we voted them down on a parking ramp because they weren't at capacity. They couldn't demonstrate a need for it.”
After the hospital acquired the property, the building was used by a daycare center, The Nurturing Nook, which has since moved across the street to 4425 N. Port Washington Road.
The green space will be mostly covered in prairie grass plantings, according to plans submitted to the city. A majority of the parking lot will also be turned into green space.
“A mowed grass path will meander through the grass space, coming off a central paved area that can be used for benches and picnic tables,” the plan said. “There will also be a grass field space that can be utilized by the physical therapy group for catch, throw or run activities.”
Kennedy said the green space will also benefit the city, since it’s good to be able to trap as much rainwater where it falls.
“If we're going to give up tax revenue, to me, it seems like that's the right thing to give up tax revenue for,” he said. | 2022-04-13T15:06:31Z | www.jsonline.com | Glendale Orthopaedic Hospital to raze building for green space | https://www.jsonline.com/story/communities/northshore/news/glendale/2022/04/13/glendale-orthopaedic-hospital-raze-building-green-space/7296459001/ | https://www.jsonline.com/story/communities/northshore/news/glendale/2022/04/13/glendale-orthopaedic-hospital-raze-building-green-space/7296459001/ |
1. Egg Day at the Milwaukee County Zoo
The Milwaukee County Zoo marks the season with its annual Egg Day event, April 16 from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Activities include a Bunny Parade at 10 and 11:30 a.m. and 1 p.m.; an egg hunt; face painting; scavenger hunt; and more. Admission is $14.75, $13.75 for seniors 60 and older, $11.75 for kids ages 3 to 12; for county residents, it's $13, $12 and $10, respectively. (Children 2 and younger get in free.) Info: milwaukeezoo.org.
RELATED:Easter 2022 brunch and dinner, for takeout and dining in, at Milwaukee-area restaurants
2. Marcus Theatres' 'Hop to the Movies'
Marcus Theatres is bringing back its "Hop to the Movies" event, with Easter-themed activities and a screening of "Hop," the 2011 live-action/animated family movie surrounding the escapades of the Easter Bunny's teenage son. Doings start at 9:30 a.m. April 16, including coloring and craft stations and an Easter egg hunt, with the movie starting at 10:30 a.m. at Marcus' Bistroplex Southridge, Hillside, Majestic, Menomonee Falls, Ridge, Saukville, Southgate and South Shore cinemas. Tickets are $8. Info: marcustheatres.com.
3. 'PAW Patrol Live's The Great Pirate Adventure'
"PAW Patrol Live's" latest touring show, "The Great Pirate Adventure," pulls into the Miller High Life Theatre for five performances April 16-17. In this show, the hero puppies are on the hunt for pirate treasure, among other shenanigans. The performances are at 10 a.m., 2 and 6 p.m. April 16, and 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. April 17. Tickets start at $18. Info: pawpatrollive.com. | 2022-04-13T15:06:43Z | www.jsonline.com | Things you probably should be doing in Milwaukee this Easter weekend | https://www.jsonline.com/story/entertainment/events/2022/04/13/things-you-probably-should-doing-milwaukee-easter-weekend-zoo-marcus-theatres-paw-patrol-live/9491643002/ | https://www.jsonline.com/story/entertainment/events/2022/04/13/things-you-probably-should-doing-milwaukee-easter-weekend-zoo-marcus-theatres-paw-patrol-live/9491643002/ |
Fortune magazine names Baird best Wisconsin company to work for. It's the only Wisconsin company on the annual list
Wealth management firm Baird has made Fortune’s list of the 100 Best Companies to Work For.
This is the 19th consecutive year the company has been named to the magazine's list, ranking No. 27 in 2022 — up from 32 last year.
“We are proud to be recognized by Fortune again for our dedication to maintaining a workplace environment of trust, inclusion, respect and teamwork, where every associate can thrive,” Steve Booth, Baird president and CEO, said in a statement. “As we continue to navigate various changes and challenges, we recognize the importance of a great workplace to our ongoing success."
The Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For list is based on an analysis of survey responses from more than 4.5 million employees across the U.S.
In that survey, 94% of Baird’s employees ranked the company as a great place to work.
Baird is the only Wisconsin company to make the magazine's annual list. The last time another Wisconsin company was on the list was in 2017. That year, Sheboygan-based Acuity Insurance was included.
The top three companies on this year's Fortune 100 are San Francisco-based Cisco Systems, Hilton and Wegmans Food Markets, a grocery chain in seven eastern states. | 2022-04-13T15:07:01Z | www.jsonline.com | Baird is the only Wisconsin company to make Fortune 100 list | https://www.jsonline.com/story/money/business/2022/04/13/baird-only-wisconsin-company-make-fortune-100-list/7302741001/ | https://www.jsonline.com/story/money/business/2022/04/13/baird-only-wisconsin-company-make-fortune-100-list/7302741001/ |
A long-planned Milwaukee east side apartment tower could be revived under new ownership
A long-planned Milwaukee east side apartment tower could be revived under new ownership.
A Madison-based investors group, led by Christopher Houden Jr., has purchased the Goll House development site, 1550 N. Prospect Ave., for $2,865,000.
Houden said his firm, Willow Partners LLC, intends to "bring a slightly revised plan forward" for the site.
"We are excited to continue our investment in the city of Milwaukee and hope to bring an excellent addition to the Milwaukee skyline," Houden said.
He declined further comment on those plans.
The property, which includes the Goll House, a historic mansion later converted into small offices, was sold by Goll Mansion LLC — a group led by Houden's father, Christopher Houden Sr.
The elder Houden operates Madison-based Palisade Property Management LLC.
Palisade's 27-story, 192-unit apartment tower planned for the site received Common Council approval in 2017.
Palisade's plans included relocating and renovating the 1898 Goll House mansion to make room on the site for the tower.
The historic mansion would be renovated into a small number of apartments connected to the high-rise.
However, that project didn't proceed and the property was listed for sale in 2020.
Any changes to the proposal could require new Plan Commission and Common Council review.
That 2017 Common Council vote came after the proposal was previously rejected because of opposition from neighboring condo owners.
Those residents have raised concerns about the traffic impact from a new high-rise. | 2022-04-13T15:07:07Z | www.jsonline.com | A long-planned Milwaukee east side apartment tower could be revived | https://www.jsonline.com/story/money/real-estate/commercial/2022/04/13/long-planned-milwaukee-east-side-apartment-tower-could-revived/7300109001/ | https://www.jsonline.com/story/money/real-estate/commercial/2022/04/13/long-planned-milwaukee-east-side-apartment-tower-could-revived/7300109001/ |
Volunteers. Neighbors. Artists. Advocates. Business owners.
People from across Wisconsin have been featured. In honor of Milwaukee Day, April 14, here's a look at 14 people making a difference in the city, listed in alphabetical order.
Clayborn Benson
After a nearly 40-year career with WTMJ-TV (Channel 4), Clayborn Benson founded the Wisconsin Black Historical Society and Museum.
Benson still leads the society, which tells the story of African Americans in the state through personal narratives, art installations and community-centered programming. He also offers genealogy workshops for teens to help them better connect with history.
“Education is everything,” Benson said. “Kids don't see the value in (history). It’s everything. It's intangible, but it’s so important.”
Samantha Collier wants to help those who have experienced sexual violence to move from "surviving to thriving."
She founded her nonprofit, TeamTeal365, to do just that. Her work also led to Paint The City Teal Day, an annual event in April when Milwaukee landmarks are illuminated in teal, the color associated with sexual assault awareness.
"My mission is to empower, validate and motivate sexual assault survivors and now all survivors of violence," Collier said.
Tenia Fisher
For Tenia Fisher, running is about more than pounding the pavement. It's a form of activism.
The former Rufus King and University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee track standout founded a running group: "Forget Everything and Run," known as F.E.A.R.
She wanted to show people there is no specific body type or socioeconomic status that defines a runner, and make the sport fun and accessible to young people of color.
"I wanted something more," Fisher said. "And that's when F.E.A.R. came along, and it just came at the most perfect time."
Marcela “Xela” Garcia
Xela Garcia helps young Milwaukee Latinos see themselves in art and education.
Garcia grew up on Milwaukee's south side and has served as executive director of the Walker's Point Center for the Arts for five years.
At the University of Wisconsin-Madison, she minored in Chicano/Latina studies and American Indian studies and saw herself reflected in the class readings.
“It brought me back to that feeling of empowerment, of feeling seen,” she said. “This was something that was me.”
Lyle Ignace
Lyle Ignace has helped grow the Milwaukee health clinic named after his father, the Gerald L. Ignace Indian Health Center.
Ignace went into medicine like his father and his career took him across the country before he made a return to Milwaukee.
Ignace, who is Coeur d'Alene, Menominee and Oneida, said he has always had a "burning desire" to help Native health.
"This clinic has helped fulfill a lot of those medical gaps that individuals may not otherwise be able to afford," he said.
Christopher Klusman
The Rev. Christopher Klusman has dedicated himself to making sure those who are deaf and hard of hearing can participate fully in church.
Klusman was ordinated 10 years ago in the Archdiocese of Milwaukee, becoming one of the few deaf Catholic priests in the U.S.
Only about 1% of the deaf community attends religious services of any kind, surveys show. One major reason is the lack of accommodations.
“My hope is to support more people and encourage more people to join any faith, just to be able to learn God’s word," Klusman said.
Darryl Morin, a Milwaukee businessman, believes in the dignity of every person.
He created Forward Latino to help people pursue the American Dream through "advocacy, civic engagement, education and service delivery." That group then brought together the 80% Coalition consisting of dozens of organizations working to pass gun violence prevention legislation.
“I like to think that when my day comes, people will not think of what I said, but what I did,” Morin said.
Tia Richardson
Tia Richardson is a mural artist who brings people together in Milwaukee.
Her murals can be seen across the city and nearly all of them are a product of strong community involvement, from those telling her what they want it to represent to those who help paint it.
"It's therapeutic; it's relaxing. It brings people together; there’s sense of unity," Richardson said. "Those are all the things that I want for our community. And that's what happens when we do that work."
Mag Rodriguez and Michelle Alfaro
Mag Rodriguez and Michelle Alfaro are the co-owners of Maranta Plant Shop, located at 1739 N. King Drive in the Bronzeville neighborhood.
As one of the few, possibly only, Black-and-brown-owned plant shops in the state, the two sell plants from the Caribbean, Central and South America and Africa as a way for people to reconnect with their heritage. They also host special events featuring local vendors.
"The goal is to make this a community space that is centered around plants, and the symbolism of plants and growth and community," Rodriguez said.
Michail Takach
Michail Takach is one of the most prominent researchers, writers and storytellers of Milwaukee's LGBTQ+ history.
Takach grew up in Oak Creek and settled into Milwaukee's Walker's Point neighborhood after graduating from college. Around that time, he found one of the earliest iterations of the Wisconsin LGBTQ History Project website, which was created by Don Schwamb. Takack quickly volunteered to curate archival material and articles.
“My generation of LGBT history grew up with essentially no elders because everyone had died,” Takach said.
“There were very few people in the generation before us to coach or mentor us," he added. "We really consider ourselves the guardians of this history.”
Olga Thomas
Olga Thomas, a professional photographer, has made a difference in Milwaukee and abroad in Romania.
Last year, she started a chess club and hosted games on her Bay View front lawn to bring people together.
After the Russian invasion of Ukraine, she housed refugee Ukrainian women and children at her AirBnB in Romania, where she was born and raised.
"Kindness is my biggest core value," Thomas said. "It's important for me to help others in need."
Artaynia Westfall
Artaynia Westfall is a chef, gardener and entrepreneur.
She gives cooking lessons at the "We Got This" garden in Milwaukee. She tends to more than two dozen raised garden beds at St. Ann’s Center for Intergenerational Care — Bucyrus Campus, where she also prepares meals and teaches classes.
And she runs a youth-based culinary school called “The NEST,” or Nutritional Educational Successful Training Culinary School, which shows kids and teens how to grow and cook their own food.
“They can feed themselves with knowledge, even if there’s no grocery stores around,” she said.
Tammie Xiong
Tammie Xiong has served as executive director of the Hmong American Women’s Association since 2014.
The nonprofit — known as HAWA — connects women experiencing domestic abuse or sexual violence with services in a culturally specific way. The organization serves members of the Hmong and broader Southeast Asian community in Milwaukee.
"Oftentimes, what we hear from our women is, 'If HAWA was not here, I don't know what I would do,' " Xiong said.
Know a Difference-Maker? Tell us!
Each week, we profile difference-makers in our community. Some may be newsmakers; some may be unsung heroes. If you have suggestions, please send them to jsmetro@jrn.com. | 2022-04-13T15:07:37Z | www.jsonline.com | 14 people making a difference in Milwaukee | https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/local/milwaukee/2022/04/13/milwaukee-day-14-people-making-difference-city-artists-business-advocates/7266951001/ | https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/local/milwaukee/2022/04/13/milwaukee-day-14-people-making-difference-city-artists-business-advocates/7266951001/ |
The Mequon Common Council voted Tuesday night to approve an agreement to merge fire departments with the village of Thiensville.
Thiensville, which approved a memorandum of understanding to share emergency medical services with Mequon, will vote on the agreement at a future meeting.
Mequon City Administrator William Jones said Ozaukee County approved $5 million in federal pandemic relief funds to hire 18 paramedics and fund a study to determine how local fire departments should be consolidated.
“Fire and EMS staffing is not just a challenge here in Mequon and Thiensville and across the county, but it’s a rising concern across the state,” Jones said.
More:Rising 9-1-1 call loads, recruitment struggles put Wisconsin fire and EMS agencies on shaky ground, new report says
The number of EMS calls in Mequon has more than doubled in the last decade, increasing from 1,000 in 2011 to more than 2,000 in 2021, according to data presented April 12.
Merger timeline and costs
If approved by Thiensville, fire and EMS operations would merge by July 1. Mequon Fire Chief David Bialk would become chief of both departments. Thiensville Fire Chief Brian Reiels plans to retire in June.
The merger would happen in a phased approach, with an official merge scheduled for 2023. In 2024, departments would share and sell excess equipment. The municipalities are expected to plan and implement a shared facility, the Southern Ozaukee Joint Fire & Emergency Medical Services Department, by 2025.
According to the resolution Mequon officials approved, Mequon would pay nearly 84.4% of all net operating and capital improvement expenses. Thiensville would be responsible for the remaining 15.6%. The ratio is based upon the initial amount of each departments’ budgeted expenses for 2022, when considered on a combined basis.
According to a financial forecast, Mequon and Thiensville would be responsible for the following costs through 2027, respectively:
2022: $723,878; $133,493
2023: $1.01 million; $186,379
Thiensville's next village board meeting is scheduled for April 18; a committee of the whole meeting is slated for May 2. | 2022-04-13T18:43:50Z | www.jsonline.com | Mequon approves resolution to merge fire departments with Thiensville | https://www.jsonline.com/story/communities/northshore/news/2022/04/13/mequon-approves-resolution-merge-fire-departments-thiensville/7296474001/ | https://www.jsonline.com/story/communities/northshore/news/2022/04/13/mequon-approves-resolution-merge-fire-departments-thiensville/7296474001/ |
We Energies is creating a new solar farm in Oak Creek.
Part of the company’s Solar Now program, a pilot project that leases rooftops or land for solar projects, a portion of land owned by PPG Industries will help generate power for the next three decades.
The Oak Creek Plan Commission on April 12 approved an amendment to a conditional use permit to allow the 8-acre solar farm at 10600 S. 13th St. We Energies has a 30-year lease paid monthly to PPG for a portion of land immediately north of the PPG storage area.
PPG was founded in 1883 and offers paints, coatings, optical products and specialty materials.
Seventeen rows of ground-mounted solar collectors will be installed and surrounded by fencing monitored remotely around the clock. Each collector will be between seven and eight feet tall and installed by Pewaukee-based SunVest Solar LLC.
The panels will create 1.87 megawatts of energy which, according to SunVest, is enough to power about 375 homes. At the end of the lease, either PPG will purchase the facility for its own use, or the system will be removed and the site returned to its original condition.
We Energies owns and will operate the solar facility and is responsible for all repair and maintenance, which includes inspecting the panels at least twice a year. Native grass will be planted once the panels are installed, according to Bill French, regional director of project development at SunVest.
“It won’t be too dissimilar for what’s out there now,” he said.
There will be no external lighting on the property with the solar farm quiet during the day and silent at night, according to the SunVest slideshow.
This isn’t the only solar project in Oak Creek.
Assistant Fire Chief Mike Havey highlighted a recently installed solar farm on the Milwaukee Area Technical College Oak Creek campus. He also mentioned part of the IKEA roof features solar panels.
One other recent Solar Now project was constructed in Cudahy, also on eight acres. We Energies partnered with ATI Forged Products, which owns the land, for the 7,000 solar panel farm. That project is producing enough energy to power about 700 homes.
During a special ribbon cutting for the Cudahy solar farm, We Energies President Tom Metcalfe said the project is part of a clean energy initiative helping the company to lower greenhouse gas emissions.
SunVest also installed the panels for the Cudahy solar farm. The company, founded in 2009, has installed over 850 solar projects in 12 states. | 2022-04-13T18:44:02Z | www.jsonline.com | We Energies to build a new solar farm in Oak Creek | https://www.jsonline.com/story/communities/south/news/oak-creek/2022/04/13/we-energies-build-new-solar-farm-oak-creek/7301579001/ | https://www.jsonline.com/story/communities/south/news/oak-creek/2022/04/13/we-energies-build-new-solar-farm-oak-creek/7301579001/ |
Valentyn Potapenko was born and raised in Brovary, Ukraine.
He remembers running through fields near raspberry bushes as a child, playing soccer in the streets and hockey on the pond with his friends.
Even after he moved to America in 1995, he's kept in touch with several family members and friends who still live in Ukraine.
Many of those families and friends have decided to leave their homes, after Russian troops invaded their nation on Feb. 24.
"The first thing that goes through my head is where is my family," Potapenko said of the days after the invasion.
Potapenko was left to watch the carnage unfold as Russian forces entered Ukraine and targeted a military base in Brovary.
"The first week, I was kind of paralyzed as to what I can do here and what they're able to do there," Potapenko said.
But he knew he had to do something.
Within days he started a website — ukrainemke.com — to collect donations that would go directly to help those in Ukraine.
In just two days, Potapenko raised $20,000.
As of April 13, the website was nearing $50,000 in donations. That's helped more than 30 families in Ukraine.
Soon after the invasion, Potapenko was asked by many about how to help. He didn't want to deal with the bureaucracy of using other donation websites or services, however.
That's why Potapenko is donating 100% of the funds he receives through the website directly to families, who are using the money to buy medicine, food and other essentials.
He's also using the money to buy and ship medical supplies for military members on the ground in Ukraine.
“The majority of things I’m sending is to literally save lives on the combat field,” he said.
He's overwhelmed by the support he's received in the Milwaukee area — and nationwide. He's received international donations, as well.
"It's been pretty impressive just how much people have been supporting the website and just donating what they can," he added.
He's encouraged when he sees residents place Ukraine flags outside their homes, as several neighbors who live near him in Wauwatosa have done in recent weeks.
"It means not just a lot to me, but I put those pictures on Facebook and Instagram, and people in Ukraine are just absolutely amazed by the support they're getting here," he said.
How the money is being used
Shortly after the invasion began, Potapenko was on the phone, as he has friends who live near the military base that was attacked.
Potapenko compares Brovary, a suburb of the nation's capital, to Wauwatosa.
He said a lot of younger families and individuals quickly left the area and headed west to Poland.
But he also said many individuals who are older— such as his 83-year-old grandmother — have decided to stay in their homes for now.
"No one really knew if it was short term or long term," Potapenko said of the invasion.
Many Ukrainians have had to move across the country with no income, many with children and with mounting expenses.
And many older individuals still need to pay for medication and other essentials, the price of which has risen since the invasion.
That's where the funds Potapenko has raised come in.
“Each family has a lot of different needs; some of them are spending it on a simple thing (such as) as fuel to get across the country,” he said.
He's also raised about $20,000 for supplies for the military, as he's been in communication directly with medics and other military members on the front lines.
"It's just to have every person and people in those combat groups to have those essential supplies to be able to slow down their injuries or to save their lives," he said.
Potapenko has also used the website to write about what he's hearing from those who are still in Ukraine.
"Some of my family have moved their wives and children west or to small villages outside of the city, and some have returned to the city to work and protect what is left," Potapenko wrote in one blog post.
He also created an Amazon wishlist for first aid items and supplies for the military.
Potapenko was in Ukraine just last year visiting family and friends. Everyone he spoke to then didn't think the situation with Russia would escalate to what it's become now.
"It's pretty difficult to watch at times. It's difficult to talk about because it hits home," he said.
Potapenko said he'll now shift his efforts to Wisconsin Ukrainians Inc., as he joins the nonprofit's board.
That nonprofit, with members from across the state, has helped collect more than 115,000 pounds of supplies for Ukrainian families and military members.
the organization has raised $83,337 as of April 13, purchasing "generators, tourniquets, quick clot, first aid kits, multi-tools, food, binoculars, boots, body armor, an offroad vehicle for evacuations, van for the transportation of items and helping refugees in Ukraine," according to its website.
Potapenko said he plans to help with future recovery efforts in Ukraine as well. That would likely mean traveling to the country to offer physical support at some point.
Learn more about Wisconsin Ukrainians Inc. at donorbox.org/wisconsin-ukrainians.
More support
In March, Wauwatosa officials approved a resolution to place a Ukrainian flag in one of the city's busiest parks.
Milwaukee's Hoan Bridge was lit with the Ukrainian flag colors, and rallies have been held across the area and state to call out Russia's actions against Ukraine. Many are waving the Ukrainian flag in support.
In March, about 75 people gathered at a busy Wauwatosa intersection to call for peace. Many held signs in support of the country or waved Ukrainian flags after parishioners walked several blocks from Latvian Evangelical Lutheran Holy Trinity Church in Wauwatosa.
More than a dozen Milwaukee landmarks and buildings were lit up in blue and yellow in March.
Meanwhile, sales for the Ukraine flag have increased dramatically across the area and nation. | 2022-04-13T18:44:08Z | www.jsonline.com | Ukraine fundraiser Milwaukee: Wauwatosa man raises nearly $50,000 | https://www.jsonline.com/story/communities/west/news/wauwatosa/2022/04/13/ukraine-fundraiser-milwaukee-wauwatosa-man-raises-nearly-50-000/7281479001/ | https://www.jsonline.com/story/communities/west/news/wauwatosa/2022/04/13/ukraine-fundraiser-milwaukee-wauwatosa-man-raises-nearly-50-000/7281479001/ |
A 260-unit apartment development is being proposed for a large site near Milwaukee's Summerfest grounds.
The proposal had an initial review Wednesday by the Historic Third Ward Architectural Review Board.
Bloomington, Minnesota-based Kaeding Development Group is proposing the development, which would include a 310-space parking structure.
The Journal Sentinel reported in December that Kaeding Development had reached a preliminary agreement to buy the project site from the Italian Community Center for $5.5 million.
The site is mostly vacant, and includes a warehouse, at 640 E. Summerfest Place, that would be razed.
The apartments would have a main entrance at 129 N. Lincoln Memorial Drive, as well as an entrance to the parking structure from Summerfest Place.
Related:A long-planned Milwaukee east side apartment tower could be revived under new ownership
The apartment building would wrap around the parking structure, project architect Scott Ramlow, of Ramlow/Stein Architecture + Interiors, told review board members.
The design includes two courtyards with a swimming pool and patio/grilling area, as well as a dog park, he said.
Carl Kaeding, Kaeding Development chief executive officer, said the building's design respects the Third Ward's historic nature while also using a contemporary style.
He said one challenge was "don't be a monolith....That's absolutely not what anyone wants to see."
Board members provided comments about the design, with Kaeding Development to return for another review with a revised proposal.
One question that arose during the board's discussion was how residents would handle traffic during Summerfest.
When streets are closed during the festival, people living nearby typically have placards to allow them to still drive to and from their buildings.
And, Kaeding said, prospective renters would be well aware of Summerfest and the amount of people it draws.
"You're either going to love it or you're going to hate it," Kaeding said about the building's location near Maier Festival Park, which also hosts ethnic festivals and other events.
The apartment project is one of two major commercial developments pending near the festival park.
Madison-based concert promoter Frank Productions and its concert-promotion division FPC Live are proposing an entertainment complex with two venues — one with 4,000-person capacity, the other with 800-person capacity.
That project, which has drawn opposition from nearby condo residents as well as competing venue operators, would be developed on a vacant lot south of the offices of Summerfest operator Milwaukee World Festival Inc., 639 E. Summerfest Place. | 2022-04-13T18:44:33Z | www.jsonline.com | 260-unit apartment building proposed near Milwaukee Summerfest grounds | https://www.jsonline.com/story/money/real-estate/commercial/2022/04/13/260-unit-apartment-building-proposed-near-milwaukee-summerfest-grounds/7306843001/ | https://www.jsonline.com/story/money/real-estate/commercial/2022/04/13/260-unit-apartment-building-proposed-near-milwaukee-summerfest-grounds/7306843001/ |
Cavalier Johnson opens 'new chapter' in city's history and is sworn in as Milwaukee's mayor
Cavalier Johnson was sworn in as Milwaukee's new mayor Wednesday, declaring a "new chapter" in the city's history while laying out an agenda built on a foundation of cooperation.
"This is a generational transition in Milwaukee and a departure from the city's long custom of deriving executive leadership only from men of European background," said Johnson, 35, the first Black individual elected as mayor in the city's 176-year history.
"We are a diverse city," Johnson said during the ceremony at the Harley-Davidson Museum. "I embrace the diversity and the change that has arrived in Milwaukee."
Johnson, the former Common Council president, assumed the role of acting mayor following ex-Mayor Tom Barrett's move from City Hall to U.S. Ambassador to Luxembourg.
More:See Cavalier Johnson's historic election night told in photos and his rise to become Milwaukee's first African American mayor
He won the job April 5, defeating former Ald. Bob Donovan in a special election, and will serve two more years before facing re-election in 2024.
Johnson faces an array of challenges as the city endures a spike of violence, emerges from the depths of the coronavirus pandemic, and confronts a looming pension crisis.
But Johnson, who was sworn in by City Clerk Jim Owczarski at 10:21 a.m., predicted that better days lie ahead.
"We will see transformation throughout Milwaukee in the coming years," he said. "I'm not talking just about landmarks and high-rise buildings. I'm talking about the addition of good-paying jobs, new investments in city neighborhoods, improvements in public infrastructure and transformation in spirit — a sense of optimism that we can solve problems ..."
He added: "With every major challenge Milwaukee faces, whether it's a matter of safety, a government fiscal issue or a concern about Milwaukee's children, cooperation is the best path forward."
Interactive:See how far Milwaukee was behind similar cities in electing a Black mayor
Johnson said he wants the Milwaukee Police Department "to be sufficiently staffed, and I want officers to be in the community providing effective, respectful, Constitutional and community policing."
He called the city's homicide numbers this year "unacceptably alarming."
"Loss and grief affect people across Milwaukee," he said. "I believe that, together, we can reduce homicide deaths."
Johnson called for toughening laws "to keep guns away from people who should not them in the first place," and asked for partners in state government "to work with us to make gun safety a priority."
"I strongly believe the most important ingredient needed for neighborhood stability, safety and hope is a strong economy," he said.
Johnson said he backed a $15-an-hour minimum wage and said he wasn't "asking the private sector to do anything we, at city government haven't already done."
He said he'll work to bring "goals, accountability and results" to city government.
"I am not a micromanager," he said. "But I am, however, a listener, a planner, and a champion for positive change."
He said he looked forward to working with the Common Council and backed city workers.
"I have very little patience for the dishonest accusations, the baseless innuendos and the outright threats leveled at city workers," he said. "Whether the targets are health officials dealing with the COVID or election workers operating with accuracy and integrity, I will vigorously defend those workers. Disingenuous, politically motivated falsehoods are wrong, and together we need to stand up to such bullying."
He also promised to work "collaboratively" with leaders in Madison for more revenue as the city confronts its fiscal challenges.
"Milwaukee is not alone, the system for funding local government in Wisconsin is broken," he said.
Johnson was joined at the inauguration by top Democrats, Gov. Tony Evers, U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin and U.S. Rep. Gwen Moore.
Moore recalled how she met Johnson when he was 17 years old and "he declared then to me that he was going to be the Mayor of Milwaukee."
Johnson was accompanied by his wife, Dominique, and their three children.
Carolyn Neumann, who was Johnson's second-grade teacher at Parkview Elementary in Milwaukee, recalled the young student standing out for his "bright infectious smile" and for his "kindness."
"That child had the most amazing printing for a 7-year-old," she said. "I can still remember the letters C-A-V-A-L-I-E-R."
Dominique Johnson introduced her husband and said "the importance of this moment is not lost on Cavalier and me."
She said she believed her husband was elected on hope, "the hope that Cavalier can be the mayor to do the right thing." | 2022-04-13T18:44:45Z | www.jsonline.com | Cavalier Johnson opens 'new chapter,' sworn in as Milwaukee's mayor | https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/2022/04/13/cavalier-johnson-opens-new-chapter-sworn-milwaukees-mayor/7303348001/ | https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/2022/04/13/cavalier-johnson-opens-new-chapter-sworn-milwaukees-mayor/7303348001/ |
Another private school is planning to set up shop in a former public school building on the far northwest side of Milwaukee, further tipping the balance in the neighborhood away from Milwaukee Public Schools.
Greater Holy Temple Christian Academy, which has operated a school farther south at North 76th Street and West Silver Spring Drive, is planning to uproot and move to the former MPS Fletcher Elementary building on North 95th Street a block north of West Brown Deer Road.
The school is the educational outreach program of Greater Holy Temple Church of God In Christ, according to its website.
The city's zoning committee on Tuesday approved the sale of the Fletcher building to a developer, Robert Chandler's Synergy Development Group, which will lease it to the school. The full Common Council is set to consider final approval April 19.
As MPS buildings are owned by the city of Milwaukee, city officials control their sale under a certain protocol.
After Fletcher closed in 2009 amid declining enrollment, the district used the building for storage but ultimately declared it as surplus, giving city officials the green light to solicit buyers.
Built in 1973, the one-story building covers 60,754 square feet and sits on nearly 9 acres. It was nearly turned into affordable housing in 2019, but the proposal fell through.
The new buyer is set to pay $500,000 for the property, which was appraised in 2015 at $1.4 million, according to city documents. Proceeds from the sale go to MPS.
Synergy Development Group planned to spend $5.3 million renovating the existing building, adding an early childhood academy, updating playground areas and installing a community lighted basketball court.
Edward DeShazer, the school's executive director, said the school plans to purchase the property from Synergy in about 10 years, assuming it will be in a better financial position to do so.
Under the terms approved Tuesday, Synergy and any future buyer of the property would not be allowed to seek any exemptions from paying property taxes — something churches commonly seek. Reversing those terms in the future would require a two-thirds vote of the Common Council.
School could compete with MPS
The property is within about two miles of four other private schools: Risen Savior Evangelical Lutheran School, the Institute of Technology and Academics, Granville Lutheran School and New Testament Christian Academy.
Greater Holy Temple Christian Academy, along with the other private schools, participates in the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program, allowing students to attend the schools for free with tax-funded vouchers. All students at Greater Holy Temple are currently part of that program.
The school promotes itself as "rooted on a firm Christian foundation of morals and values" with biblical curriculum, and DeShazer said all students and staff are expected to participate in the religious aspects of the school, including a weekly church service.
The public school in that far northwest section of the city, Goodrich Elementary, has already felt the competition from the private schools. MPS recently gave the school $3 million to expand its classrooms, taking advantage of unfinished and unused basement space.
In approving the renovation plans, Superintendent Keith Posley said the addition would be important to help the school retain students.
"It's surrounded by choice and charter schools over in that area and we need to have a building that's large enough to take in the students in that area, and I think this is a golden opportunity to do just that," Posley said at the time.
Enrollment has dropped at Goodrich since the 2019-20 school year, according to data reported to the state, from 362 to 301 students, while enrollment also dropped districtwide. Enrollment had been growing at Goodrich the prior two years, up from 334 in 2017.
Goodrich reports higher test scores than Greater Holy Temple but a lower overall score on its state report card because it ranked lower in growth and attendance rates.
Goodrich reports serving many more students with disabilities, about 22.9% of the school's population compared with 0.6% at Greater Holy Temple, according to the state report card data. DeShazer said the school's actual population of students with disabilities is higher but did not provide the number.
Greater Holy Temple Christian Academy opened in 2003 as an outgrowth of Greater Holy Temple Church of God in Christ at 4240 N. Green Bay Road, serving 57 students before growing and moving to the North 76th Street property in 2006.
DeShazer said Greater Holy Temple, which reported 485 students this school year in K-4 through eighth grade, aims to enroll about 550 in its new location. They plan to move out of the old location and move into the new one at the start of the next school year, he said.
At the new property, with the new Early Learning Academy, DeShazer said the school plans to serve students as young as 4 months old.
In its current building on West 76th Street, Greater Holy Temple is renting from MPS because it's another of the district's old buildings. The school pays MPS about $600,000 annually.
DeShazer said the school will be paying less in rent at its new, bigger location.
DeShazer said the deal with Synergy Development Group's Robert Chandler, a personal friend of his, allowed the school to make the move without having to organize a fundraising campaign to purchase the building right away.
"The relationship with MPS has been very good, but we’ve been looking at, how do we grow our program?" he said. "It’s a situation where all the stars aligned at the right time." | 2022-04-13T18:44:51Z | www.jsonline.com | Greater Holy Temple Christian Academy to move into MPS Fletcher School | https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/education/2022/04/13/greater-holy-temple-christian-academy-move-mps-fletcher-school-milwaukee-charter-parental-choice/7282779001/ | https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/education/2022/04/13/greater-holy-temple-christian-academy-move-mps-fletcher-school-milwaukee-charter-parental-choice/7282779001/ |
Former Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Brett Phillips always has been one of the more endearing players in Major League Baseball, and it goes way beyond his unique laughter that first saw the light of day in 2016 or his willingness to buy a massive supply of Girl Scout cookies from an Oconomowoc girl.
But Tuesday really took the cake.
Wearing a wristband given to him by 8-year-old Chloe Grimes, now in her second battle with cancer, Phillips homered in Tampa Bay's 9-8 win over Oakland and became emotional in a postgame interview talking about his young fan.
"I'm usually not at a loss for words, but I had a chance to meet Chloe for the first time, and she's battling cancer and brought me these gifts," he said, holding up a softball and a picture she had inscribed. "Chloe, you're an inspiration. Holy cow. I think that's the hardest ball I've hit in my career. I'm praying for you guys."
It couldn't have been more serendipitous. During the bottom of the third, Grimes was getting interviewed in the stands on Bally Sports Sun, where she explained Phillips — who had caught her ceremonial first pitch before the game at Tropicana Field — was her favorite player, citing his great smile as the reason. "He's always having fun and I like how he does the airplane."
Phillips most notably employed the "airplane" celebration after his joyous game-ending hit in Game 4 of the 2020 World Series. He had another surprise in store here, when he hit a mammoth home run during the at-bat.
On the broadcast, Grimes' mother explained that her daughter went through 36 rounds of chemotherapy the first time, adding that she's ready to take on the fight of a second diagnosis.
Just one night earlier, Phillips was in the spotlight again for an incredible catch he made ... as a pitcher. Called upon to mop up in a 9-2 deficit in the ninth inning, Phillips raced off the mound for a popup and made a sliding catch up against the Athletics dugout. Afterward, he deadpanned that he conjured the physics of the "Slip 'N Slide" in making the smooth grab.
"If I don't win catch of the year for pitcher, I'll be highly disappointed," Phillips joked afterward. "That's what I do best, is catch baseballs."
Three batters later, he surrendered a grand slam to Sheldon Neuse in the 12-3 loss.
"I'm gonna have to call my mom and basically explain to her I just didn't have my best stuff tonight," he said.
Phillips came to the Brewers organization in a 2015 trade with Houston that also added current Brewers Josh Hader and Adrian Houser, as well as former Brewers outfielder Domingo Santana, in exchange for Carlos Gomez and Mike Fiers. Milwaukee traded Phillips to Kansas City in 2018 in the deal that brought Mike Moustakas back. This is the defensive-minded Phillips' third season with the Rays. | 2022-04-13T18:44:57Z | www.jsonline.com | Ex-Brewers outfielder Phillips continuing to steal hearts in Tampa Bay | https://www.jsonline.com/story/sports/mlb/brewers/2022/04/13/former-milwaukee-brewers-outfielder-brett-phillips-continuing-to-steal-hearts-in-tampa-bay/7303227001/ | https://www.jsonline.com/story/sports/mlb/brewers/2022/04/13/former-milwaukee-brewers-outfielder-brett-phillips-continuing-to-steal-hearts-in-tampa-bay/7303227001/ |
The Milwaukee Bucks' quest for back-to-back NBA titles in 2022 features the core players from last season's team as well as a mix of newcomers and veterans.
Here is the Bucks roster in the upcoming NBA playoffs, which begins at 5:30 p.m. Sunday for Game 1 in a first-round series vs. the Chicago Bulls.
Milwaukee Bucks projected starting lineup
6-foot-11, 242 pounds, 27 years old, forward, Greece (prior to NBA), 9th year in league
6-foot-3, 205 pounds, 31 years old, guard, UCLA, 13th year
6-foot-4, 220 pounds, 35 years old, guard, Marquette, 13th year
6-foot-7, 222 pounds, 30 years old, forward, Texas A&M, 10th year
7-foot, 282 pounds, 34 years old, center, Stanford, 14th year
Milwaukee Bucks projected bench for 2022 NBA playoffs
6-foot-10, 250 pounds, 27 years old, forward, Arkansas, 7th year
6-foot-5, 209 pounds, 29 years old, guard, Notre Dame, 7th year
6-foot-4, 198 pounds, 26 years old, guard, Duke, 4th year
6-foot-10, 235 pounds, 32 years old, Republic of the Congo, 13th year
6-foot-4, 188 pounds, 35 years old, guard, Indiana-Purdue-Indianapolis, 14th year
6-foot-1, 200 pounds, 26 years old, guard, West Virginia, 4th year
6-foot-8, 225 pounds, 23 years old, forward, Louisville, 2nd year
6-foot-6, 219 pounds, 29 years old, forward, Greece, 4th year
6-foot-3, 209 pounds, 24 years old, guard, Arkansas-Little Rock, 3rd year
6-foot-3, 190 pounds, 26 years old, guard, Argentina, rookie
6-foot-9, 240 pounds, 22 years old, forward-center, Seton Hal, rookie
6-foot-1, 189 pounds, 24 years old, guard, Iowa State, rookie | 2022-04-13T18:45:03Z | www.jsonline.com | Milwaukee Bucks roster for the 2022 NBA playoffs, starting lineup | https://www.jsonline.com/story/sports/nba/bucks/2022/04/13/bucks-roster-2022-nba-playoffs-eastern-conference-giannis-antetokounmpo-khris-middleton-jrue-holiday/9525647002/ | https://www.jsonline.com/story/sports/nba/bucks/2022/04/13/bucks-roster-2022-nba-playoffs-eastern-conference-giannis-antetokounmpo-khris-middleton-jrue-holiday/9525647002/ |
Justin Otto works in event hospitality at Pabst Theater Group taking care of the needs of performers and artists who come to Milwaukee. It’s often a thankless job.
“We’ve got people in the building doing that job right now,” Otto said. “A lot of people don’t realize this job starts early in the morning and goes until the wee hours of the night.”
Lulu Sanchez started at Pabst more than five years ago working as event staff and now works at the box office.
More: Employees of Pabst Theater Group in Milwaukee are trying to form a union
“It’s a job that really allows you to be creative, allows you to make friendships,” Sanchez said. “We love working here. It’s a place where we develop a community, and we develop that community for ourselves as we serve the public who also love our shows.”
When Otto, Sanchez and other Pabst Theater Group workers approached management, armed with roughly 80% of their fellow workers signing union cards, asking for their union to be recognized, they were hoping to get support.
But The Pabst Theater Group has denied the employees request to be recognized and the issue will eventually go to the National Labor Relations Board for an official vote.
“We view this as an unnecessary delay because over 80% of us have already signed cards saying this is what we want and we’re eager to get to the table and negotiate a contract,” Otto said.
Otto, Sanchez and other workers rallied on Wednesday in front of the Riverside Theater for their right to be recognized as a union. The workers were joined by union members of the Milwaukee Area Service and Hospitality Workers Organization (MASH).
“We expect that they will allow a free and fair choice of Pabst Theater Group workers to form their union,” said Peter Rickman, MASH president. “We expect they will do so without relying on the bureaucratic machinery that, unfortunately, federal labor law allows too many employers to take advantage of.”
In a statement, The Pabst Theater Group said it would honor the results of a vote certified by the NLRB.
"The Pabst Theater Group received the union's request for voluntary recognition,” the statement said.
“We feel that the best way to determine whether a majority of employees desire to be represented by the union is through a free and fair secret ballot election conducted by the National Labor Relations Board in accordance with the provisions of the National Labor Relations Act. We have respectfully declined the union’s invitation to bypass that election procedure and have asked the union to file a petition with the NLRB to request an election. Our company has a long history of working with unions and we are committed to honoring the results of an election certified by the NLRB.”
With roughly 60 employees from bartenders to event staff and hospitality to part-time workers ready to be part of the bargaining unit, the workers expect to win the vote.
“We’re strong enough to do this election and still win,” Sanchez said. “It was a little hiccup in the road but I think it will be fine.” | 2022-04-13T21:55:19Z | www.jsonline.com | Pabst Theater Group denies request to recognize union, setting up vote | https://www.jsonline.com/story/money/business/2022/04/13/pabst-theater-group-denies-request-recognize-union-setting-up-vote/7307328001/ | https://www.jsonline.com/story/money/business/2022/04/13/pabst-theater-group-denies-request-recognize-union-setting-up-vote/7307328001/ |
Deanna Alexander is returning to the Milwaukee County Board after winning a write-in contest
Unofficial results from last week's election show former Milwaukee County Supervisor Deanna Alexander will be returning to the District 18 seat she did not seek again in April 2020.
The election was an all-write-in contest. Alexander beat incumbent Supervisor Russell Antonio Goodwin Sr. and six other candidates in the eight-way race, according to results posted by the county Election Commission.
A write-in election took place after Goodwin failed to secure enough signatures to get on the ballot, falling six short of the required 200, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel previously reported.
Alexander received 645 votes to Goodwin's 452 out of 1,855 total ballots cast.
More:Milwaukee County Board sees reshuffle as new faces join and a long-serving supervisor is ousted
Alexander had been the leading conservative member of the County Board before she decided not to run again in 2020 and took a position as the administrator/clerk/treasurer for the village of Newburg in Ozaukee and Washington counties. She remains in her position with the village.
Alexander was elected to the board in 2012 and reelected in 2016 and 2018.
Goodwin was elected in April 2020 as the only candidate to seek the seat.
Alexander said in a text message that she was honored voters chose her.
"I look forward to returning, ready to go from day one," she said.
In an email to the Journal Sentinel, Goodwin said he did his best while in office to make progress in the district and that he would continue to serve residents.
"While in office, I did my best to move Milwaukee County District 18 Forward through strategic partnerships, proactive solutions and community awareness," he said.
Milwaukee County Clerk George Christenson said ballots in five wards were hand-counted because there were names written in but the ovals next to the "write-in" section were not filled and therefore not read by the voting machines.
District 18 encompasses the farthest northwest corner of the city of Milwaukee on the borders of Waukesha and Ozaukee counties.
The results in District 18 came after a key question in the District 12 race was resolved late last week, when former Democratic state Rep. Josh Zepnick said he would not seek a recount of his 17-vote loss to Juan Miguel Martinez.
The election also brought other changes to the County Board, including a loss by John F. Weishan Jr., one of the county's longest-serving supervisors. He was ousted by Peter M. Burgelis, a newcomer to the Milwaukee political scene, after two decades on the board. | 2022-04-13T21:55:37Z | www.jsonline.com | Deanna Alexander returning to Milwaukee County Board | https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/local/milwaukee/2022/04/13/deanna-alexander-returning-milwaukee-county-board/7306815001/ | https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/local/milwaukee/2022/04/13/deanna-alexander-returning-milwaukee-county-board/7306815001/ |
Shaka Smart is still building his culture at Marquette after his first season as men's basketball coach. He's hoping that his three-player recruiting class for next season will help him continue that.
Ben Gold, a New Zealand native who committed to the Golden Eagles in February, signed his national letter of intent on Wednesday. So the 6-foot-11 forward joins fellow 2022 prospects Sean Jones and Chase Ross as the first players fully recruited by Smart at MU.
"I'm super excited about Ben Gold," Smart said. "There's a lot of attributes that he has that I believe, once he gets his feet under him here, and that does take time for any freshman, but once he makes the transition it's really exciting what he can become as a player.
"For an incoming player, he has very good maturity. There's something about international guys with some of the experience they have, that makes them a little bit different than American-born players. From the standpoint of perspective. From the standpoint of lived experiences. He has that."
More: Marquette cultivated an early relationship with Ben Gold
More: Chase Ross flew under the radar but Marquette locked in on him
More: Sean Jones talks about why he committed to Marquette
Gold plays for the NBA Global Academy in Canberra, Australia. He first attracted attention as a shooter, but his game has expanded as Gold has gotten stronger.
"One of the best things about him is he can really, really move at that size," Smart said. "He's what we call a clean mover and that's so important in basketball. He's got a lot of positive attributes and I think his best basketball, like a lot of these guys, is still ahead of him. I think the key for all of our incoming freshmen, just like our freshmen this past year, just like freshmen any year, is how you respond when things get really, really challenging. And Ben will have to deal with that just like any other freshman.
"I think he's got a maturity about him. He's got a really good way where he doesn't get too high or too low, which I think will serve him well. Because in college basketball, you have ups and downs and if you can stay even-keeled during that time and continue to grow and develop, I think he will be a significantly better player by the second half of the season compared to where he is right now. And it's just a matter of him getting a ton of experience being around our guys, being in our competitive environment and getting out there in real games."
Gold has sprouted several inches over the last few years and has put on a lot of muscle.
"One thing I like about him, he's got rugby background," Smart said. "He used to play rugby, which to me is like football players in this country. They're not going to be soft."
The 19-year-old Gold also spent a few weeks in February playing with New Zealand's senior national team.
"He's on the court with guys in their 30s," Smart said. "And guys that have been playing professional basketball for a long time. And one of the reasons they included him, he was by far the youngest guy that was included when he played a couple months ago with that group, is that they see a bright future in him and potentially long-term could be a significant piece on their national team. Maybe even in Olympic Games or big, big international competitions."
Gold should be a nice fit alongside incoming freshmen Jones and Ross. Jones, a 5-10 guard from Gahanna Lincoln High School, was named co-player of the year in Ohio's Division 1 after averaging 21 points per game as a senior. The lightning-quick and aggressive Jones profiles as a defensive disrupter, but he also scored 1,680 points in high school. Ross averaged 15 points per game at Cushing Academy in Massachusetts, which plays in the competitive New England Preparatory School Athletic Council. The 6-4 Ross shot just 23.5% on three-pointers but used his athleticism to get 2.4 steals per game.
"Ben Gold is on an upward trajectory," Smart said. "He's getting better and better. His confidence has grown as his body's gotten stronger. And he's really excited about coming here in late May and getting to work with Sean Jones, Chase Ross and the rest of our guys." | 2022-04-13T21:55:49Z | www.jsonline.com | New Zealand native Ben Gold officially signs with Marquette | https://www.jsonline.com/story/sports/college/marquette/2022/04/13/new-zealand-native-ben-gold-officially-signs-marquette/7302553001/ | https://www.jsonline.com/story/sports/college/marquette/2022/04/13/new-zealand-native-ben-gold-officially-signs-marquette/7302553001/ |
One construction worker injured in fire at Camp Randall Stadium
MADISON – One construction worker was injured after a fire broke out at Camp Randall Stadium on Wednesday morning, according to University of Wisconsin officials.
According to UW:
The fire, involving roofing solvent material, occurred on the site of the south end zone renovation project.
It was extinguished before members of the Madison Fire Department arrived. Fire Station No. 4, at 1437 Monroe St., is located across the street from the stadium.
The injured worker was treated by paramedics and transported to a local hospital. The extent of the injuries is unclear.
J.P. Cullen, which is supervising the renovation project, its subcontract partners and UW Police, are investigating the incident. | 2022-04-13T21:55:55Z | www.jsonline.com | Construction worker injured in fire at Camp Randall Stadium | https://www.jsonline.com/story/sports/college/uw/2022/04/13/one-construction-worker-injured-fire-camp-randall-stadium/7309624001/ | https://www.jsonline.com/story/sports/college/uw/2022/04/13/one-construction-worker-injured-fire-camp-randall-stadium/7309624001/ |
Tailgating for the Milwaukee Brewers home opener at American Family Field on Thursday is going to be windy — really windy.
Southwest winds are forecast to be blowing at 25 to 30 mph with gusts of 45 to 50 mph during the afternoon on Thursday, said J.J. Wood, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Sullivan.
A wind advisory goes into effect at 10 a.m. and continues until 7 p.m. on Thursday for Milwaukee and almost all of Wisconsin.
"It will be very windy," Wood said. "Anything that's loose, make sure you secure it because it is going to be quite windy on Thursday."
For tailgaters, that means just about everything from paper plates to plastic cups to tables and chairs, to portable canopies/tents/sun shelters to lightweight portable grills could be blown over.
"It's not going to be great to be outside," Wood said. "The winds are going to be the main problem. They are going to be blowing pretty much all day and especially in the afternoon."
The good news is that the sun will be shining and there is no snow in the forecast.
The high temperature for Milwaukee on Thursday is forecast to be in the mid- to upper-40s. That means there will be a wind chill.
"With that wind blowing around it is going to feel much colder," Wood said. "It will feel like it is only in the 30s with the wind chill."
First pitch for the game between the Brewers and St. Louis Cardinals is scheduled for 4:14 p.m. on Thursday.
Other random tailgate info
Among Major League Baseball franchises, there is nothing else quite like tailgating at a Milwaukee Brewers game.
"For Milwaukee Brewers fans, tailgating is the public manner in which one eats, drinks, plays and socializes before the first pitch (at American Family Field) where the parking lots function as baseball beer gardens in a ritual that is arguably unique in all of Major League Baseball," according to the Encyclopedia of Milwaukee.
Stadium parking lots open three hours in advance of the game. Tailgating activities must end 30 minutes after the game starts.
As for grills, only gas/propane units with fuel-valve turn-offs and self-contained-charcoal grills are permitted.
"No open flames or wood fires are permitted by order of the fire marshal," according to the Brewers. | 2022-04-13T21:56:07Z | www.jsonline.com | Milwaukee Brewers home opener tailgate forecast calls wind, sunshine | https://www.jsonline.com/story/weather/2022/04/13/milwaukee-brewers-home-opener-tailgate-forecast-calls-windy-conditions/7284397001/ | https://www.jsonline.com/story/weather/2022/04/13/milwaukee-brewers-home-opener-tailgate-forecast-calls-windy-conditions/7284397001/ |
A more aggressive approach at the plate is already paying dividends for Andrew McCutchen
BALTIMORE – For the first two months of 2021, Andrew McCutchen served as the Philadelphia Phillies' primary leadoff hitter.
Which was fine with him, except for one major issue – he tended “to get a little passive,” since being patient and seeing what the starting pitcher is throwing goes hand-in-hand with that role.
“Taking more pitches, trying to work the count, trying to get my guys good eyes on what he’s doing,” is how McCutchen described his approach at the plate during that time.
He hit .199 with seven home runs and 20 runs batted in to go along with a .691 OPS in the leadoff spot.
McCutchen was eventually moved to the heart of the Philadelphia order and went on to finish the year as one of the team’s top run producers with 27 homers (third-most in his career) and 80 RBI (most since 2017).
Now with the Brewers, McCutchen has led off three times in a lineup manager Craig Counsell has utilized against left-handed starters and batted cleanup three times – including in Tuesday’s 5-4 victory over the Baltimore Orioles.
McCutchen drove in the first two runs of the game with a double to left in the first inning and then the game-winner with an opposite-field single in the seventh.
In that at-bat, he worked a full count.
In both spots in the order McCutchen has been swinging early and often, to the point he’s gone after the first pitch a career-high 58.8% of the time. He’s also swinging at a career-high 49.1% of all pitches.
Granted, the season is only five games deep. But to hear the 14-year veteran talk about it is to realize it’s an approach he’s sticking with moving forward.
“You’ve got to be aggressive from Pitch 1 – especially if they’re going to throw something in the zone,” said McCutchen, who last season slashed .293/9/19/1.069 when swinging at the first pitch.
“That’s something I got away from over the past few years, so I did a little bit of research and found that’s where I was doing my damage – I was doing it early.
“I was telling myself to try to be a little more aggressive this season and (make it) more of a mental thing than necessarily physical. Get pitches in the zone and be ready.
“It’s something I’m going to try to continue.”
McCutchen has started all six games to this point and five at designated hitter, which is what was expected when the Brewers signed him to a one-year, $8.5 million contract on March 16.
The universal DH is a new full-time addition to the National League and a new role for McCutchen, who’d started just 29 games there over the entirety of his career entering this year.
“Do less. That’s it – do less,” he said when asked how he remains engaged despite no longer taking the field on a regular basis. He’s made one start in left to this point.
“A lot of trial and error for me, but after talking to some guys who did DH for some of their career, you find a formula that works for you,” he continued. “Whatever works, works.
“I had a little bit of a run there in 2020 where I was able to do it more than I was used to, so I figured out what worked for me. It’s still a work in progress. It’s still early for me.
“But, don’t overdo it – that’s the biggest thing.”
Brandon Woodruff gets his chance to shine in American Family Field home opener
Corbin Burnes earning the nod as the Brewers’ opening-day starter was a pretty obvious choice for Counsell.
He’s the reigning NL Cy Young Award winner, it was noted at the time.
But Counsell made certain not to give short shrift to Brandon Woodruff, who’d started the previous two openers, finished fifth to Burnes in the Cy Young balloting and has been every bit the horse in Milwaukee’s rotation along the way.
To that end, it will be Woodruff who takes the ball Thursday afternoon when the Brewers host the St. Louis Cardinals in their home opener at American Family Field.
“I'm a fan of him pitching the home opener, I am,” Counsell said. “The home opener is a big day. I know it's not opening day, but the home opener is a big day. When we put this together, there was some thought put into that.”
Woodruff, who is as easygoing as they come, was definitely on board.
"It's cool," he said. "I told him if it was just about that, I was OK with not throwing the opener. I just want to be able to win ballgames. And if that means pitching the second game at home, then so be it.
"But, he did give me an option to decide and I can't not throw opening day at home in front of our crowd, which is always fun. It's always cool. Anytime you can throw any type of opening day – whether it's the 'real' opening day or the first one at home, it's always special.
"The crowd is so energetic and it feels like postseason baseball that we've been used to for the last four years, which is always fun. You just have to go out there and really calm yourself down because it's loud and St. Louis is in town and they're good.
"It'll be a good series."
With the rotation having completed one full turn now, Counsell said the reins will be loosened and the starters will be allowed to go deeper into games moving forward.
Entering Wednesday, Woodruff and Eric Lauer had each gone the deepest as far as pitch counts, throwing 89 each in their first appearances.
Also, Aaron Ashby will make his first start of the season Sunday against the Cardinals.
Hoby Milner's victory was part of major-league history
Lost in all the different storylines in Tuesday’s game was the fact major-league history was made.
Hoby Milner, the anonymous left-hander in his second season with the Brewers, finally earned a decision in his 96th appearance – the longest-ever such streak to begin a career.
He did so by throwing just three pitches, the third of which retired Jorge Mateo on a groundout in the sixth and stranded a pair of runners.
The Brewers eventually went on to beat the Orioles and it was Milner who was awarded the victory.
“A couple years ago, I realized that I had a pretty high number and I couldn’t find it anywhere,” said Milner, who broke in with the Philadelphia Phillies in 2017 and has also pitched for the Rays and Angels.
“I looked myself, couldn’t find it. Asked people to look, couldn’t find it. But I guess the actual statistic, it’s not all that great of a record, but it’s cool.
“It’s a cool story for the kids.”
As is the routine for any significant milestone for a player, the 31-year-old Milner was celebrated by his teammates afterward and then presented with the lineup card.
The appearance was the third of the season – tied for the team lead with the reliever he replaced, Jake Cousins – and 22nd of his Brewers tenure.
“The win isn’t a thought at all when I’m out there pitching,” he said. “I’m just trying to make sure that those two guys on base don’t score. That was really the main focus – I just need to get that guy out and execute a pitch here and there, and it just happened to be in a game where we really needed a win.
“So, it was awesome.” | 2022-04-14T00:49:42Z | www.jsonline.com | Andrew McCutchen is swinging early and often, and so far it's working | https://www.jsonline.com/story/sports/mlb/brewers/2022/04/13/andrew-mccutchen-swinging-early-and-often-and-so-far-its-working/7302624001/ | https://www.jsonline.com/story/sports/mlb/brewers/2022/04/13/andrew-mccutchen-swinging-early-and-often-and-so-far-its-working/7302624001/ |
U.S. Rep. Gwen Moore announced late Wednesday that she has tested positive for COVID-19.
Earlier in the day, Moore attended and spoke at Mayor Cavalier Johnson's inauguration.
"Today, I was experiencing very mild symptoms associated with COVID-19. I got tested as a precaution and tested positive for COVID-19," Moore said in a statement.
Johnson's swearing-in at the Harley-Davidson Museum was attended by many of the state's highest-ranking Democrats, including Gov. Tony Evers, U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin, Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes and Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley.
Her positive test joins a growing list of Washington officials who are testing positive for COVID-19. The House was in session last week but house members are under a home district work schedule this week, according to its schedule. | 2022-04-14T05:49:16Z | www.jsonline.com | Gwen Moore has tested positive for COVID-19 for a second time | https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/local/milwaukee/2022/04/13/gwen-moore-has-tested-positive-covid-19-second-time/7314584001/ | https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/local/milwaukee/2022/04/13/gwen-moore-has-tested-positive-covid-19-second-time/7314584001/ |
A Delafield aldermanic race was decided by pulling a name out of a hat. The losing candidate might ask for a new election.
CITY OF DELAFIELD - A discrepancy that arose during the district 6 alderperson race recount April 13 may lead to a candidate asking for a new election.
The decision could come from incumbent Phil Kasun, who lost the election after a deadlocked tie with challenger Paul Price that led to a lot draw that Price won when his name was picked out of a hat. The tie was upheld at the recount; however, a point of contention arose with the fact that 364 voters from the district were listed as voting in the election but only 363 ballots were counted on election day and during the April 13 recount.
City Clerk Molly Schneider, who acted as a member of the board of canvassers at the recount, said that the reason for the discrepancy is unknown and it is "impossible for us to track it back at this point."
“There is no way to know unless you can pick out who that person was, and there is no way for us to know,” Schneider told the Journal Sentinel. “The general assumption is that for this election, we had nine ballot colors. This person may have received an incorrect ballot color and voted out of their ward and voted on another ballot. That’s where we say the voter’s responsibility comes into play. ... It’s a long day, so human error is inevitable."
According to Wisconsin law, the recount can only review ballots from the district the recount is addressing. It cannot review the rest of the city's ballots, even if it is possible there could be a ballot for someone from the recount district within the ballots not counted at the recount.
"Despite the human error, clerks and poll workers complete an extremely important task under intense levels of scrutiny," Kasun said immediately following the recount. "As I read and understood Wisconsin law, my petition for recount can only apply to my district, and finding the error for my district would likely require a city-wide recount, and that may not resolve anything anyway. This outcome will allow me to join and help organize the active group of citizens who want the mayor to learn what transparency really means and what real, open dialogue looks like because Delafield’s citizens deserve it."
However, just hours later after talking to fellow residents, Kasun said: "I'll be obtaining formal opinions and may ask for a new election."
According to the Wisconsin Election Commission election recount procedures, a candidate has a right to appeal a recount result in circuit court. That appeal must be filed within five business days of the completion of the recount. Notice must also be served in person or by mail on all other candidates and persons who filed a written notice of appearance before the board of canvassers.
Price did not attend the recount because he was on a pre-planned vacation.
What led to the recount?
Price and Kasun were on the spring election ballot for district 6. The final tally on election day was 172 votes for each candidate. The deadlock led to a lot draw on April 7, which Price won.
Kasun filed for a recount on April 8. The official recount took place in city hall April 13 with four counters and three people making up the board of canvassers. The count took about 2 ½ hours. Following the count, there was some deliberation, mostly over a rejected absentee ballot that was not counted on election day.
The ballot in question had a witness signature but did not have a witness address on it. Attempts by polling place chiefs to reach the voter were made on election day so that the individual could correct the ballot, but the voter did not do so.
At the recount, the board of canvassers reached out to the Wisconsin Election Commission and the city attorney for direction on how to proceed. In the end, the decision was left up to a vote amongst the board of canvassers.
All three voted to reject the ballot, stating that poll workers did their due diligence to try to correct the ballot, and even though it could be a deciding vote, it needed to be treated like every other ballot.
Around 12:30 p.m., the recount results were read and came out exactly as originally counted with 172 votes for each candidate. A total of 363 votes were counted for district 6; however, 364 voters from the district were listed. The reason for the discrepancy remains unknown. | 2022-04-14T11:11:26Z | www.jsonline.com | Delafield alderman recount could lead to court challenge, new election | https://www.jsonline.com/story/communities/lake-country/news/delafield/2022/04/14/delafield-alderman-recount-could-lead-court-challenge-new-election/7308772001/ | https://www.jsonline.com/story/communities/lake-country/news/delafield/2022/04/14/delafield-alderman-recount-could-lead-court-challenge-new-election/7308772001/ |
If you think competition in elections is a good thing, then here’s one trend that might cheer you up: Wisconsin will have twice as many competitive congressional districts in 2022 as it did in 2020.
Unfortunately, the number is only going from one to two.
Of the state’s eight U.S. House seats, six will remain safe for one party or the other.
Compare that to the 1990s, when the state had four or five relatively competitive U.S. House districts (out of nine). Under that map, four congressional seats changed hands from one party to the other over the course of 10 years, one of them twice.
By contrast, we just saw a full decade go by in Wisconsin with no U.S. House seats changing partisan hands, something that hadn’t happened in nearly a century. In the past 80 November races for the U.S. House, the incumbent party was 80-0.
How did elections for Congress in Wisconsin become such a foregone conclusion?
The primary answer here is not gerrymandering -- the manipulation of district boundaries for partisan advantage.
Gerrymandering is a very real issue, but in Wisconsin it has played a much smaller role in killing competition in congressional elections than it has in killing competition in legislative races (for state Assembly and state Senate).
Instead, the growth of safe congressional districts in this state has been driven more by shifts in how people vote: the decline of ticket-splitting, the rise in party-line voting, and the plummeting fortunes of the Democratic Party in the state’s more rural regions.
For a very long time, the state’s most evenly balanced congressional district was the northern Wisconsin seat held for four decades by Democrat Dave Obey, who retired in 2011. In its partisan makeup, it was one of the most competitive House seats in the nation.
But today you simply can’t draw anything like a 50/50 district in the northern half of Wisconsin, because Democrats are no longer very competitive there.
The biggest reason there are only two truly “purple” congressional districts under the new map is that those districts — one in western Wisconsin, one in southeastern Wisconsin — are the only places in the state these days where there are enough Democratic and Republican voters living in the same region to draw a competitive seat without completely blowing up the old map.
To underscore that point, let’s take a closer look at the state’s new congressional lines, which were approved by the Wisconsin Supreme Court last month.
The new map features four “red” seats that are all but guaranteed to elect a Republican: the 5th in the outer suburbs of Milwaukee (represented by Scott Fitzgerald); the 6th in east central Wisconsin (represented by Glenn Grothman); the 8th in northeast Wisconsin (represented by Mike Gallagher) and the 7th in northern Wisconsin (represented by Tom Tiffany).
It also features two overwhelmingly “blue” seats that are guaranteed to elect a Democrat: the 4th based in the city of Milwaukee (represented by Gwen Moore) and the 2nd anchored by Madison and Dane County (represented by Mark Pocan).
The partisan lean of these six seats reflects the increasingly partisan makeup of those six underlying regions of the state. Milwaukee and Dane counties have been getting bluer and bluer; northern and central Wisconsin have been getting redder; and the outer suburbs of Milwaukee remain very Republican.
Almost any map that emerged from this year’s redistricting battles was going to reflect this geography, especially after the state Supreme Court ruled that it would only accept a plan that made minimal changes to the previous lines.
The real drama was what the remaining two seats would look like in regions that are not truly dominated by either party: the 3rd in western Wisconsin and the 1st in the state’s southeastern corner.
What did these two districts look like before the new lines were adopted last month?
Under the map approved by a Republican governor and Legislature in 2011 and in effect from 2012 to 2020, the 3rd district was very balanced. It had a small Democratic lean at the beginning of the last decade, reflecting the fact that western Wisconsin was historically a swing region, combining Democratic-leaning cities with rural counties that were less Republican than in other parts of the state and country. It was even made a little bluer in the 2011 redistricting.
But over the course of the past decade, its rural areas became redder, as many communities swung from voting for Barack Obama in 2008 and 2012 to Donald Trump in 2016 and 2020. While it remained competitive, the 3rd shifted politically from a small Democratic lean to a small Republican lean. Trump won it twice by more than 4 points.
Meanwhile, the 1st district has had a consistent Republican lean over the past decade of about 9 or 10 points. It was tilted enough to make it pretty safe for the GOP. But it wasn’t as one-sided as the state’s other GOP seats because it combined red-leaning suburbs and rural areas with the Democratic cities of Janesville, Kenosha and Racine.
In the recent redistricting fight, Republicans proposed a map that would have preserved the party’s roughly ten-point edge in the 1st and increased its advantage in the 3rd from around 2 points to about 5.
This map, approved by the GOP-controlled Legislature, would have probably given Republicans six of the state’s eight U.S. House seats, with only the seats around Milwaukee and Madison controlled by Democrats.
More from Craig Gilbert: As midterm elections approach, Wisconsin voters aren't happy.
But a rival congressional map proposed by Democratic Gov. Tony Evers made both districts more competitive and more winnable for Democrats. Under this map, the 3rd remained a very balanced district (marginally GOP-leaning) and the 1st got significantly more balanced than before in its partisan makeup, going from a GOP edge of 9 or 10 points to about 2 points. (These numbers are all based on how these districts have voted in recent top-of-the-ticket races for president and governor).
This was the plan chosen by the state Supreme Court.
The Democrats essentially out-maneuvered Republicans in the legal battle by submitting a map that stuck more closely to the court’s demand for minimal population shifts from the old boundaries.
So, instead of a clear 6-2 edge in U.S. House seats for the GOP, we will have 4 safe GOP seats, 2 safe Democratic seats, and 2 seats that may lean marginally Republican but can be won by Democrats in good Democratic years.
Growing urban-rural divide
The new plan is still pretty good for the GOP. Even though Wisconsin is a 50-50 state overall, this map gives Republicans a good shot at winning five or six of the eight House seats and gives Democrats no shot at winning more than four.
But that math also reflects the state’s growing urban-rural divide. Because Democratic votes come disproportionately from two counties – Milwaukee and Dane – Republicans have a numerical edge in the rest of the state. The only way today to create a “50-50” congressional map in Wisconsin — a map that would give the two parties an equal shot at winning at least half the districts — is to cut Milwaukee city or Dane County (or both) in two and disperse their overwhelmingly Democratic voters into a greater number of districts.
But that would run counter to the notion that redistricting should preserve communities of interest and municipal boundaries. And it would run afoul of the recent mandate from the conservative majority of the Wisconsin Supreme Court for minimal changes to the old map.
The overriding political fact is that the growth of the urban-rural divide has helped Republicans in district-based elections for state Legislature and the U.S. House, here and around the country.
This doesn’t negate the role of gerrymandering. When it comes to the state legislative map, gerrymandering by the GOP in 2011 added greatly to that party’s partisan advantage, turning what would have been a “natural” edge of 10 or 12 seats in the 99-seat state Assembly into a gerrymandered edge of about two dozen seats. The 2011 gerrymander also went out of its way to eliminate competitive legislative districts.
But the GOP’s congressional edge in Wisconsin has emerged largely because of voting trends, without dramatic changes in the way districts are drawn.
You can see this from what has happened to individual U.S. House districts.
Take the 7th District in northern Wisconsin, which in 2000 and 2004 voted Democratic for president by a single point. In 2011 it was redrawn to make it a few points better for Republicans by pushing three small blue cities into the 3rd district: Stevens Point, Wisconsin Rapids and Chippewa Falls. But even without that ploy, voting shifts in northern Wisconsin would have turned this into a safe GOP seat. Republicans now have a 20-point edge in the makeup of the district, based on presidential voting.
Or consider the 8th district, which includes Green Bay, much of the Fox Valley and more rural counties to the north. This has been a Republican-leaning district for a long time, but Democrats have been able to take it away in very good Democratic years: 1974, 1996, 2006.
Two things have changed to make it a bullet-proof GOP seat today. One is the growing GOP tilt of the region. The district has gone from a plus-10 Republican district a decade ago to plus-16 or plus-17 (meaning Republicans win it by 16 to 17 points for president and governor).
At the same time, the partisan tilt of a district matters more than ever before. It’s much harder for one party to win a seat that has even a modest tilt in the other direction because fewer voters split their tickets today. Elections are more polarized and voting is more partisan.
In the 1990s or 2000s, Democrats could win the 8th when it was just a plus 7 or plus 8 GOP district. But in the political world of today, a partisan lean of 7 or 8 points is too big for the minority party to overcome.
The same is true of Democratic-leaning seats. Moderate Republican Scott Klug won the very blue 2nd district around Madison four times in the 1990s even though it had a double-digit Democratic lean. Lots of people voted Republican for Congress and Democratic for governor and president. But today that kind of ticket-splitting is largely gone. And the 2nd has gone from a plus-10 or plus-15 Democratic district to a plus-40 Democratic district.
The state's lone wild card
With northern, central and much of western Wisconsin getting redder and Milwaukee and Dane counties getting bluer, there is one congressional district in Wisconsin where the political landscape and the partisan trend lines are a good deal more mixed and complicated.
That is the 1st district, the seat now held by Bryan Steil and once held by Republican Paul Ryan and Democrat Les Aspin. Several things stand out about the first. One is that it contains a mix of Democratic cities, purple and red suburbs, and red countryside.
Under the old map, it included all or parts of six counties – two of them blue (Milwaukee and Rock); two of them red (Waukesha and Walworth) and two of them purple (Racine and Kenosha). And unlike other districts in the state, it had a lot of both red and blue communities just outside its borders, meaning the district could easily be made bluer or redder by making modest adjustments to its boundaries.
In the redistricting after the 2000 census, the Democratic city of Beloit at the far western end of the district was removed from the 1st and Republican suburbs in Waukesha County along the northern border of the district were added. These changes helped the GOP incumbent at the time, Paul Ryan, by turning the district from a nearly 50/50 seat to a clearly Republican-leaning one.
In the new map approved by the state Supreme Court, those changes have been reversed: Beloit has been added back into the district and southern Waukesha County has been removed, making the seat more purple again, as it was in the 1990s.
Because it is politically diverse, isn’t trending overwhelmingly toward either party and can be easily redrawn in ways that alter its partisan makeup, the 1st is a unique wild card in the state’s congressional map going forward.
But there is less suspense about other parts of Wisconsin, where in many cases, the red places are getting redder and the blue places are getting bluer.
If you value competition in elections, the “good news” this year is that instead of just one competitive congressional district, Wisconsin now has two.
The “bad news” is that in this political environment, this is probably the most anyone can hope for. | 2022-04-14T11:11:44Z | www.jsonline.com | New redistricting has killed competition in Wisconsin's election | https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/2022/04/14/redistricting-gerrymandering-has-killed-competition-wisconsins-election/7293246001/ | https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/2022/04/14/redistricting-gerrymandering-has-killed-competition-wisconsins-election/7293246001/ |
The 2022 Milwaukee High School Sports Awards, presented by Festival Foods, will be held live May 25 at The Pabst Theater, beginning at 7:30 p.m.
The show honors more than 200 high school athletes from across the Milwaukee area, as well as awarding players of the year for approximately 25 sports. It also will include several major awards, including overall Girls Athlete of the Year, Boys Athlete of the Year, Team of the Year, Coach of the Year and Courage Award.
Learn more about the program and see which athletes already have been named nominees on the show’s website here. Nominated athletes must register for the event here. Each nominated athlete will receive one free ticket for their admittance to the show. Additional tickets may be purchased here.
The Milwaukee High School Sports Awards is part of the USA Today High School Sports Awards program, the largest high school sports recognition program in the country. | 2022-04-14T11:11:50Z | www.jsonline.com | 2022 Milwaukee HS Sports Awards to be on May 25 at The Pabst Theater | https://www.jsonline.com/story/sports/high-school/sports-awards/2022/04/14/2022-milwaukee-hs-sports-awards-may-25-pabst-theater/7306883001/ | https://www.jsonline.com/story/sports/high-school/sports-awards/2022/04/14/2022-milwaukee-hs-sports-awards-may-25-pabst-theater/7306883001/ |
In Boston, housing that’s affordable – because the community owns the land
Life in America was not easy. “It was crowded,” Meidan “Abby” Lin says.
In March 2016, Ms. Lin; her husband, Yin Zheng; their young son, Yuchen; and Mr. Zheng’s mother left Fuzhou, China, a bustling coastal city at the mouth of the Min River, for another port half a world away on the Charles River in Boston.
They shared their first apartment in Boston’s Chinatown with another family. During nights in that cramped space, Lin started dreaming of a place she could call her own. But Boston’s soaring real estate prices seemed to put that dream out of reach. Zheng works at a restaurant. Lin works at home.
Then a friend told Lin about the Chinatown Community Land Trust. The organization was just getting its start, but maybe it could help.
The group was selling apartments at discount prices, and Lin jumped on the waitlist. But there was only one apartment big enough for her family. “I didn’t think we were able to get it,” she says. All she could do was hope.
That mission has gained new urgency over the past year as homeowners reap the rewards of a red-hot real estate market while renters are hit with steep rent hikes, deepening the divide between the housing haves and have-nots. Estimates show home values in U.S. metropolitan areas increased a record-breaking 18.8% in 2021. Rents were up by 19.3% over the same period.
People walk by a brick row house (on the corner) owned by the Chinatown Community Land Trust on Feb. 9, 2022, in Boston. The building has three affordable apartments, one of which is owned by Ms. Lin's family.
'Breathing space'
Community land trusts have been around for decades, but the trend really began to accelerate after the 2008 recession. In 2019, the Schumacher Center for a New Economics counted 215 land trusts in the U.S. and estimates that there are more than 250 today.
Basically, land trusts raise money from donations, grants, and government funds to buy property. Then they lease the house or apartment to a buyer well below market value, but the trust retains ownership of the land.
This way, occupants typically get an ownership stake in their homes. They build equity over time, but at a rate that is often capped at 1% or 2% a year. The trust, which is governed democratically by residents and neighbors, can decide to whom the dwelling can be sold and at what price, usually through a covenant in the lease. This ensures the property remains affordable.
The land trust idea was imported to the United States by civil rights activist Charles Sherrod in the early 1970s from the kibbutzim of Israel. Sherrod saw land trusts as a way for Black Americans to buy agricultural land in the South.
“We don’t always talk about community land trusts as tools of justice, but they are,” says Andre Perry, a housing policy expert at the Brookings Institution.
Perry’s own research shows that an “intrinsic value of whiteness” persists at almost every step of home buying from the appraisal to the sale. Minorities, but especially Black people, must pay more and get less.
By taking property out of the traditional market, land trusts reduce the discrimination baked into that system and empower communities to actively fight it, Perry says.
When Susan Saegert, a professor of environmental psychology at the City University of New York, compared homebuyers and renters with land trust homebuyers in several U.S. cities, she found that the land trust buyers were more likely to be minorities, especially single mothers. Moreover, she found that they received all the social benefits of homeownership — things like stability and a sense of home — without as many costs.
The street leading to the Chinatown gate is bustling on Feb. 9, 2022, in Boston. The gate was a gift to the city from Taiwan in 1982. Real estate in the area is very expensive, but in 2019 the Chinatown Community Land Trust secured two row houses, seven units in total, that they began refurbishing.
One of the most striking findings was in survey data from Minneapolis, Professor Saegert says. Freed from the stress of constantly worrying about the next rent hike or eviction, land trust homeowners there reported they had more time to pursue their passions.
“They have breathing space,” Professor Saegert says. “They can now imagine a better life than before.”
Innovation needed
In California, justice is what drives Jacqueline Rivera and her fellow housing activists in San Jose. In the heart of Silicon Valley, where even high-paid tech employees struggle to find housing, development was pushing out vibrant Black, Hispanic, and immigrant neighborhoods.
In community conversations, Rivera and her colleagues held around the city in 2018, land trusts kept coming up. Rivera grabbed hold of the idea, and by 2020 she was heading up the South Bay Community Land Trust.
By definition, land trusts do not make profits, and fundraising is the biggest challenge they face. To buy their first property, a fourplex in downtown San Jose, they need to fundraise at least $1 million, on top of the half million dollars they need to pay professional staff and make the organization run. Speed is a problem, too. Developers snap up properties with cash in a matter of days, while the land trust moves “at the pace of community,” Rivera says.
Yet, in order to disrupt traditional real estate, land trusts “still have to play in the real estate game,” she adds.
Advocates stress that land trusts are just one tool in a broader approach to the affordability crisis, but it could be a more effective one with government help. Sorce, of Grounded Solutions, says state and local governments should invest money in land trusts and change appraisal policies so land trust properties aren’t paying taxes based on their speculative value.
“When we think about community land trusts, so many times we think about just the homeownership level,” says Sheldon Clark, who recently served as president of the board of the Douglass Community Land Trust in Washington, D.C. “And that really just doesn’t cover the housing needs that we have.”
Douglass has units it’s maintaining as permanently affordable rentals and other properties set up as cooperatives. They’ve also helped tenants take advantage of a District of Columbia law that entitles them to buy their unit if their landlord plans to sell.
Really, land trust leaders say, homeownership is just one aspect of their focus on what Clark calls the “big C” in community land trusts: the community.
Lydia Lowe, director of the Chinatown Community Land Trust, poses in tiny Tai Tung Park in front of a fish mural in Chinatown, on Feb. 9, 2022, in Boston. Golden carp symbolize wealth and prosperity in Chinese culture. The Chinatown Community Land Trust is fighting to save Chinatown’s legacy.
Douglass organized food drives during the pandemic and helps connect residents to credit unions, as many are unbanked. In Boston’s Chinatown, the land trust helped save a local park.
Lydia Lowe, the Chinatown Community Land Trust’s executive director, strides down the narrow streets of the neighborhood she’s fought for since the 1980s with pride and determination. She points out low-income apartments she’s worked to save from developers on Johnny Court and buildings the land trust is eyeing near the Ding Ho takeout place on Harrison Avenue.
Lowe has needed plenty of determination since the land trust’s incorporation in 2015. “We couldn’t get anyone to give us property because they’re sitting on a gold mine,” she says. In 2019 the land trust finally secured two row houses, seven units in total, and set about refurbishing them.
Finally one day in September 2021 the three-bedroom walk-up on Oak Street was ready. After their long wait since moving from China, Lin and her family opened the door and walked in. They could hardly believe what they saw: three cozy bedrooms, a living room with big windows, and a spacious kitchen.
Most of the apartments on Oak Street in Boston are priced from $600,000 to well over $1 million, according to Zillow. Chinatown Community Land Trust sold Lin and Zheng their apartment for about $220,000. Lin said homeownership in Chinatown would not have been possible without the land trust.
“I’m here with my husband and my kids. I have my own family. That’s all that matters,” —Lin says. And six years after coming to America, it finally feels like her family has a home.
This article was originally published by The Christian Science Monitor. It is republished here with permission. It is part of the SoJo Exchange from the Solutions Journalism Network, a nonprofit organization dedicated to rigorous reporting about responses to social problems. | 2022-04-14T14:09:58Z | www.jsonline.com | Housing that’s affordable – because the community owns the land | https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/solutions/2022/04/14/housing-thats-affordable-because-community-owns-land/7305568001/ | https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/solutions/2022/04/14/housing-thats-affordable-because-community-owns-land/7305568001/ |
Wisconsin's state park roster is set to grow by one more this year, and the new property isn't too far from Milwaukee.
Lizard Mound Park, in Farmington northeast of West Bend, was formerly owned by Washington County, which had operated it as a county park since 1986.
The county’s board of supervisors authorized giving the land to the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources in 2020, and the state’s Natural Resources Board officially approved the re-deeding in October.
The DNR intends for the property to be a state park, but the department must determine exactly how to get it that distinction since it's not the first time this land has been a state park. It held that title from 1950 until Washington County took over the deed for the park in 1986.
Even though it's now back in state hands, the 32-acre property most likely won’t feature extensive trail systems and developments like other state parks.
“This is a little different property than your normal state park in that ... it’s a human burial site," said Ricky Kubicek, a departmental archaeologist and historic preservation officer for the DNR. "It’s a cemetery. And it should be treated like that and sort of appreciated like that.”
Effigy mounds in Wisconsin
Lizard Mound, which is on the National Register of Historic Places, is home to 28 effigy mounds — one of the largest and best-preserved collection of mounds in southern Wisconsin.
Effigy mounds are piles of earth sculpted to resemble animals, humans and supernatural beings. They rise anywhere from a few feet to 20 feet above the ground and can stretch horizontally for a few feet or hundreds of feet.
Typically, they were built near bodies of water or on hilltops and were arranged in patterns that fit with the natural landscape — birds flying along ridge tops, animals with their legs placed downslope, water spirits moving to or from water sources.
Effigy mounds were built by Native Americans known as the Late Woodland people, between 750 and 1200. Most of the mounds contain human remains, but archaeologists speculate they served as more than burial sites.
"The effigy mound groups are now considered reflections of an ancient belief and social system. … They functioned as ceremonial centers that were periodically used for a range of social, religious, and political purposes but also as cemeteries," write Robert Birmingham and Amy Rosebrough in the second edition of “Indian Mounds of Wisconsin."
The Ho-Chunk Nation counts the effigy mound builders among their ancestors and considers the sites to be sacred.
“(Lizard Mound) is a burial site and a mortuary, and a place that we hold sacred to us and near and dear to our hearts,” said Ho-Chunk Nation Tribal Historic Preservation Officer Bill Quackenbush.
While conical and linear mounds appear in other parts of the country, animal- and human-shaped effigy mounds are unique to southern Wisconsin and adjacent states, which makes them an "archaeological world wonder," according to "Indian Mounds."
There were once between 15,000 and 20,000 mounds in Wisconsin (3,000 of which were effigy mounds) — more than in any other equivalent land area in North America.
As Europeans settled in southern Wisconsin in the 19th and 20th centuries, they plowed over and dug under the mounds for farms and quarries. More than 80% of the mounds were destroyed, and only about 4,000 remain today.
When county surveyors first documented Lizard Mound in the 1800s, the site had 40 mounds, according to Kubicek. Later surveys found evidence that there were once as many as 60 mounds at the site, compared to the 28 that still stand.
Among the mounds still standing are conical and linear mounds, and effigy mounds shaped like water birds and long-tailed panthers or water spirits, which early investigators thought were lizards, thus giving the park its name.
Despite the park having less than half of its original mounds, it is remarkable that so many have survived. The property is surrounded by flat farm fields on all sides, and easily could have been destroyed like so many other mound groups.
The Wisconsin Archaeological Society is partially to thank for that. The group took up the cause of saving mounds in early 1900s, and in the '40s encouraged the state to purchase and protect Lizard Mound. The fact that the site's mounds had been publicized early and its location near the state's largest population base likely also helped save so many of the mounds.
"It's one of the most well-preserved effigy mound sites in the state and certainly in southeastern Wisconsin," Kubicek said. "I think the fact that it's been managed as a public site for over 70 years has helped save the site.”
While other properties have been classified as state parks due to their scenery, Lizard Mound qualified by virtue of another attribute laid out in Wisconsin state statute 27.01, which states: "An area may qualify as a state park by reason of its scenery, its plants and wildlife, or its historical, archaeological or geological interest.”
Kubicek speculated that the DNR gave the land to Washington County amid budget crises in the ‘80s.
Now the county is giving it back to the DNR, noting the decision came “after reviewing the long-term management plans for the park and recognizing our limitations on caring appropriately for the effigy mounds,” according to a news release from the Natural Resources Department.
Caring for a sacred site
Quackenbush said it doesn’t matter much whether the state or the county is taking care of the land, but that they are taking care of it properly, as they would any other cemetery or site where people are buried — with as little disruption to the site as possible.
Quackenbush said they want to have some input in the management process, and he is encouraged that they will since the handover got off to a promising collaborative start with the DNR conducting a site walk-through with Quackenbush and other interested parties in late March.
They addressed some issues that need improvement at the property, he said, including things like the signage at the site’s interpretive center, which was completed in 2012.
“It was written, obviously, at a period of time where there was not much interaction with tribes to gain full understanding of what we feel needs to be incorporated into a site — for example, to talk about our culture and our history, what we refer to as our way of life,” Quackenbush said.
They also discussed the mounds themselves, and how they were built at a time when most of the landscape was oak savanna — open prairie with scattered oak trees. But with cultivation and fire suppression around the site in more modern times, the site today is more heavily wooded.
The DNR is hoping to “recapture that snapshot in time,” he said, which involves removing trees and undergrowth around the mounds.
They also addressed the small trail system, which could “serve as an adverse effect to the mound system,” if it becomes rutted and compact, he said.
The overall goal for the site should be to reduce human impact on it, he said, since it is a sensitive, sacred area.
It’s a difficult balance that all parks face — recreation vs. preservation. It’s an even more difficult balance at a park like Lizard Mound, which both Kusick and Quackenbush agree is not a traditional park.
“They have to get away from that mentality — that it's a park,” Quackenbush said. “In short, view it as a burial site, view it as a mortuary. View it as you would your own. They need to begin focusing on it in that way, no different than they focus on the burial systems of their ancestors and how they treat their ancestral burial sites.”
“The protection of our ancestors once they're placed in the ground is no different than any other society or group of people around the world. They want to protect, preserve where their grandfathers and grandmothers and their loved ones are buried,” he said.
It wasn’t until 1987 that effigy mounds were officially protected as burial sites under Wisconsin state law and given the same protection afforded to other cemeteries, including laying out penalties and fines for anyone who intentionally disturbs a burial site.
The law requires any proposed development or disturbance to a cataloged burial site to be approved by the Wisconsin Historical Society.
The DNR can do things like remove hazardous trees from Lizard Mound without approval, as long as they don’t disturb the surface characteristics of the site. Kubicek noted they do that kind of work when the ground is frozen and, ideally, there is snow cover to prevent undue ground disturbance.
But if they were to add interpretive signs, for example, that would require approval.
There are no plans to add those at Lizard Mound, however, especially since there is already an interpretive center outside the boundaries of the cataloged burial site. There were signs next to some of the mounds at one time, but Washington County removed them years ago in an effort to restore the site to the state it would have been in when it was constructed.
The county also made efforts to move the mile-long trail away from the mounds in order to discourage people from walking on them.
Kubicek said if the DNR were to do any trail work, it would be done in “a very low-impact way. ... It would be just adding something like gravel instead of going out there with a skid steer and plowing some area out and putting a concrete path in.”
DNR staff from the Kettle Moraine State Forest's northern unit will manage the property for now. The department will kick off regional master planning for that area of the state at the end of this year or beginning of next, which is when the park could officially be designated as a state park again.
Quackenbush is hopeful that if the DNR continues to work collaboratively with the Ho-Chunk Nation and other interested parties in managing the property, everyone will benefit in the future.
“I think we only stand to create a better management system for them and a better opportunity for us to take our kids and our families and our interest groups to these sites,” he said.
More information: Lizard Mound Park, 2121 County Highway A, Farmington, is currently open to visitors from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. The gate to the property’s parking lot is expected to open May 1. The park will operate like other seasonal parks, with the gate staying open until about Nov. 1. Visitors can still enter the park by foot in the off-season, but the entry roads and parking lots will not be maintained for winter use.
Other state parks with Native American mounds include High Cliff in Sherwood, Governor Nelson in Waunakee, Wyalusing in Bagley, Nelson Dewey in Cassville, Perrot in Trempealeau and Aztalan in Lake Mills.
More:DNR issues permit for Kewaunee Co. factory farm, capping herd size and requiring groundwater monitoring
More:Smith: As sturgeon return to Milwaukee River, plan to protect them gets closer to becoming a necessity | 2022-04-14T14:10:04Z | www.jsonline.com | Lizard Mound in Washington County to become Wisconsin state park | https://www.jsonline.com/story/travel/wisconsin/outdoors/2022/04/14/lizard-mound-state-park-washington-county-wisconsin-effigy-mounds/7232102001/ | https://www.jsonline.com/story/travel/wisconsin/outdoors/2022/04/14/lizard-mound-state-park-washington-county-wisconsin-effigy-mounds/7232102001/ |
The Exclusive Company – and its name – are going away, but employees at the company's Greenfield location are trying to buy the store to keep it open.
The Wisconsin-based record store chain announced April 7 that after 66 years in business, it would be closing all its locations in the coming months.
That includes the Greenfield store at 5026 S. 74th St.
The news came about five months after the death of owner and founder James Giombetti, better known as "Mr. G."
Employee Tom Bohne is one of those spearheading the effort to keep the Greenfield store open, along with fellow staffers Isabella Charles and Sam Alberti.
"We of course knew when the owner passed, something was going to change, but from our eyes, the business is quite successful here," Bohne said. "We can feel it in terms of the traffic coming in. Our vinyl sales were up 47% in 2021 over 2020, and overall sales are up 27%, so it's definitely viable."
He said staying in the same location is key.
"There is a very loyal customer base that has been coming here for close to 30 years now, and we think that would add a lot of risk to try to go to another spot," Bohne said. "So we think that's strategically important to stay here and we're trying to do that."
The employees have started a GoFundMe page to help with the purchase.
As of mid-afternoon Wednesday, the page had raised more than $2,000 of its $100,000 goal.
Bohne said the fundraising page is one path to keeping the store open, and they're keeping their minds open to all of them.
He said the employees are willing to put in what they can, but they'll more than likely need help with capital investment and other areas.
"We're open to various ownership structures," he said. "We do need business leadership, particularly to get through the startup process, we are looking for that. If there's somebody out there that is interested in music, interested in a business like this, we want to talk to them."
He said they're looking at an approximate deadline of April 26 to complete the transaction.
Bohne said those interested can contact him directly at 414-305-9260.
The group's tentative name for the new store is That Girl Records.
The name, according to the GoFundMe page, is a reference to a running joke among staff members, "something that has connected us over the years."
It also has two media references, the 1960s TV show "That Girl," as well as the song "That Girl" by Beat Happening.
The idea of employees or others purchasing an Exclusive Company store to keep it open is not new.
Earlier this month, The Exclusive Company's original West Bend location shut its doors and reopened under new ownership as Beat Goes On Records & More.
In March, employees at the company's Milwaukee location started an attempt to buy that store.
Bohne's experience with the Greenfield store started as a customer. He was working for Harley-Davidson and would visit The Exclusive Company every two weeks to buy a few CDs and some occasional vinyl.
He's now been a staff member for four and a half years.
The Exclusive Company Greenfield is nearing its 30th anniversary and the employees don't want it to be their last ever as a record store.
"We know that we can't see this place go," Charles said on the GoFundMe page. "It has become a home to all of us and the lifelong bonds we've made are sacred to us. We know that it holds true to many of our customers as well. We can't imagine serving the community any other way."
More:Anne's Acres, a new family-run garden center in Greenfield, will open the first week in May
More:Melt n Dip, a sweets and desserts restaurant, is being eyed for Greenfield | 2022-04-14T16:54:43Z | www.jsonline.com | The Exclusive Company Greenfield employees push to buy, save the store | https://www.jsonline.com/story/communities/southwest/news/greenfield/2022/04/14/exclusive-company-greenfield-employees-push-buy-save-store/7303655001/ | https://www.jsonline.com/story/communities/southwest/news/greenfield/2022/04/14/exclusive-company-greenfield-employees-push-buy-save-store/7303655001/ |
Stephen Colbert just can't resist getting in a dig at southeastern Wisconsin.
In the monologue on CBS' "The Late Show With Stephen Colbert" Tuesday night, Colbert used a Milwaukee-named product to joke about the impact of inflation on everyday purchases.
With inflation reported at 8.5%, he told the studio audience, "that means no more splurging at the grocery store. Instead of Milwaukee's Best, it'll have to be Waukesha's Ehhh," in a reference to Molson Coors' low-cost beer product.
"Which is, let's face it, not that much worse."
The Milwaukee-Waukesha joke kicks in at the 00:40 mark in the clip below.
Actually, there is no Milwaukee's Best anymore; Molson Coors discontinued the product last year. The brewing giant does still market Milwaukee's Best Ice, Milwaukee's Best Premium and Milwaukee's Best Light.
It wasn't the first time that Colbert has tapped a joke at the expense of a Milwaukee brand.
In August 2020, he playfully mocked the Democratic National Convention's gathering in Milwaukee, which was aggressively stripped down because of the COVID-19 pandemic. He offered a special virtual tour of the city for the occasion, including a virtual tailgate at what is now American Family Field and such "historical sites" as "an abandoned factory" and "an abandoned mall."
After some backlash to the bit from Milwaukee, Colbert apologized on the air a few days later. He also took up the Milwaukee Brewers on an offer to apologize in person at a tailgate event at the ballpark — which finally happened in August 2021. He turned the visit into a self-deprecating bit that aired on his show more than a month later.
And earlier in the pandemic, Colbert joined other late-night hosts in mocking the Wisconsin Supreme Court's decision to block Gov. Tony Evers' stay-at-home order. Noting Evers said the ruling left Wisconsin as "the wild West," Colbert joked, "You wish it was the wild West — at least those guys wore bandannas."
More:Tom Saler: Putin's war in Ukraine makes it far more difficult for the Federal Reserve to bring down inflation
More:Trevor Noah will be using mugs on 'The Daily Show' designed by a famous Milwaukee ceramicist | 2022-04-14T16:54:55Z | www.jsonline.com | Stephen Colbert uses Milwaukee's Best beer to joke about inflation | https://www.jsonline.com/story/entertainment/television-radio/2022/04/14/stephen-colbert-uses-milwaukees-best-beer-joke-inflation/7317287001/ | https://www.jsonline.com/story/entertainment/television-radio/2022/04/14/stephen-colbert-uses-milwaukees-best-beer-joke-inflation/7317287001/ |
WRNW-FM (97.3), the Milwaukee sports-talk station branded as "The Game," announced a "multiyear" contract extension Thursday for morning show host Steve Czaban.
Czaban joined "The Game" in May 2019, six months after the iHeartMedia Milwaukee station switched its format from contemporary-hits music to sports-talk. His show airs on weekdays from 6 to 9 a.m.
Although he's based in the Washington, D.C., area, Czaban has been a regular presence in Milwaukee radio for nearly a quarter of a century. He had a segment on the "Bob and Brian" show on WHQG-FM (102.1) for more than 20 years before abruptly leaving that station in late 2018, and joining The Game six months later.
News of Czaban's contract extension came less than a week after Ted Davis, former radio play-by-play announcer for the Milwaukee Bucks, disclosed that he no longer had a full-time gig on The Game. Davis, who lives in Texas, said he will continue to fill in occasionally at the station.
Last fall, "The Game" landed radio broadcast rights to the Green Bay Packers games, which had aired in Milwaukee on WTMJ-AM (620) since 1929.
More:Ted Davis, former longtime Bucks play-by-play announcer, says he's leaving his full-time Milwaukee radio gig
More:Longtime 98.3 radio host Andrea Williams will join WTMJ's Channel 4 TV news staff | 2022-04-14T16:55:01Z | www.jsonline.com | Steve Czaban gets extension at Milwaukee sports radio station The Game | https://www.jsonline.com/story/entertainment/television-radio/2022/04/14/steve-czaban-gets-extension-milwaukee-sports-radio-station-game/7317470001/ | https://www.jsonline.com/story/entertainment/television-radio/2022/04/14/steve-czaban-gets-extension-milwaukee-sports-radio-station-game/7317470001/ |
Harris was last seen 10 p.m. Wednesday as she was walking east from the area of the 1400 block of West Burleigh Street, in the Borchert Field neighborhood on Milwaukee’s north side.
She is described as Black, with black and red hair in French braids, and standing 5-foot-1 and 170 pounds. She was last seen wearing a red Puma hoodie with white lettering, multicolored pajama-like pants and white Nike shoes.
Anyone with any information is asked to contact Milwaukee Police at 414-935-7405. | 2022-04-14T16:55:13Z | www.jsonline.com | Milwaukee police search for missing 11-year-old Patrice Harris | https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/2022/04/14/milwaukee-police-search-missing-11-year-old-patrice-harris/7316879001/ | https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/2022/04/14/milwaukee-police-search-missing-11-year-old-patrice-harris/7316879001/ |
Fundraising for all-inclusive park, splash pad in Pewaukee continues
CITY OF PEWAUKEE - Another fundraiser for the an all-inclusive playground and splash pad at the Pewaukee Sports Complex is scheduled for April 24.
The event is hosted by Friends of the Parks of Pewaukee at Andrea's Red Rooster, N14 W22032 Watertown Road and is set for 1 to 4 p.m. It will include bingo, a 50-50 raffle and raffle baskets, in addition to food and drink specials.
All proceeds from the raffles and a portion of all sales will be donated to the project.
"We’re inviting the community to come out, help us fundraise and continue to spread awareness," said Nick Phalin, the city's director of parks and recreation. "I still think all-inclusive playgrounds aren’t commonplace. Some people don’t understand what they are or are about. The entire purpose is to remove barriers so everyone can feel welcome."
This is the latest attempt to raise funds for the project, which is expected to cost about $1.5 million. The idea stemmed from conversations with the parks department and the community for another playground and splash pad to be included at the Pewaukee Sports Complex, which opened in 2019.
Phalin said that one thing missing from the parks in the community was an all-inclusive playground.
"This will be a space every child can maneuver and recreate without having to be excluded or worry about how they feel or look," he added. "We want it to be a destination for people in our community and to visitors who may be there for baseball or soccer tournaments. It’s for everyone."
So far, the community has committed $360,000 to the project. This comes from other fundraisers and selling naming rights for the playground. Phalin said he is also applying for a community development block grant from Waukesha County and another for a Department of Natural Resources grant. Those would total $1.08 million, he said.
More:To pay for a splash pad and playground, Pewaukee will offer naming rights opportunities at its sports complex
"We could get zero; we could get it in full," he added. "These would be a huge tipping point for this becoming a reality."
Regardless, Phalin and community members plan to see out the project. The hope is to complete fundraising by spring 2023 and put a shovel in the ground soon after.
In addition to the fundraiser at Andrea's Red Rooster, anyone can donate via a GoFundMe link set up for the project, or or by sending a check to Friends of the Parks of Pewaukee, PO Box 257, Pewaukee, WI 53072. | 2022-04-14T19:18:16Z | www.jsonline.com | Fundraising for all-inclusive park, splash pad in Pewaukee continues | https://www.jsonline.com/story/communities/lake-country/2022/04/14/fundraising-all-inclusive-park-splash-pad-pewaukee-continues/7317075001/ | https://www.jsonline.com/story/communities/lake-country/2022/04/14/fundraising-all-inclusive-park-splash-pad-pewaukee-continues/7317075001/ |
The village of Hartland might be getting a new ice cream shop as early as this summer.
Owner Tanya Rzepiejewski Little, who moved to Hartland in 2011, said she plans to open the doors to Little DippeRz, 230 Pawling Ave., Hartland, by Memorial Day weekend.
"Opening the shop has been sitting in the back of my mind for years, and the timing for the space was perfect. This is going to be something new for me," said Little, who's currently a certified pharmacy technician.
Little plans to serve ice cream from Cedar Crest Ice Cream, which is based out of Cedarburg. The shop will be open year-round
In addition to ice cream, Little said she plans to sell popcorn grown on Wisconsin farms, chocolate and pastries, among other treats.
"It's going to be a stellar experience. We want it to be a place where people can come as an adult and bring your kids and your family. Stop by and get a treat and take a smile away, not just something tasty," said Little.
There's still a lot of work to complete before the shop opens, said Little, who just recently got the keys to the shop. She plans to apply for approval with the building inspector the week of May 23 so the shop can open before the start of summer.
The property was formerly owned by Albright Gun Works, which recently moved its business online, and is moving to a new location for manufacturing and distribution only.
"It's something to do, and it's something I've wanted to do for a few years," Little said. "The opportunity is right here, right now."
For more information, visit the Facebook page at Little DippeRz, LLC.
RELATED:Coffee shop focused on hiring staff with special needs opens in Delafield | 2022-04-14T19:18:22Z | www.jsonline.com | Hartland ice cream shop Little DippeRz to open Memorial Day weekend | https://www.jsonline.com/story/communities/lake-country/2022/04/14/hartland-ice-cream-shop-little-dipperz-open-memorial-day-weekend/6908583001/ | https://www.jsonline.com/story/communities/lake-country/2022/04/14/hartland-ice-cream-shop-little-dipperz-open-memorial-day-weekend/6908583001/ |
Mequon's Barthel Fruit Farm, a popular spot for picking your own strawberries, is dropping that crop. Here's why.
Mequon's Barthel Fruit Farm, a popular spot for picking your own strawberries, is dropping that crop.
That's according to an announcement emailed by Barthel to its customers.
"We have always strived to provide our customers with the best possible product and after growing strawberries for 72 years, our fields are tired and can no longer sustain growing berries for you," Barthel's statement said.
"After soil testing and speaking with various experts it is clear that our land is yelling for help, and it is our job to listen before it’s too late. We must provide this land with the break it needs before it becomes barren.
"Growing strawberries is very hard on the soil. Each year as we grow our food, we take nutrients from the soil, and unfortunately, we do not have enough land to properly replace those nutrients at the rate it needs.
"For the next several years, what was once strawberries, will now be cover crops to help add life back to its veins until the soil nutrients are back up to where they need to be. This will also allow us to free up other farmland to more properly rotate the crops we are continuing to grow," it said.
For this summer's season, Barthel, 12246 N. Farmdale Road, will offer pre-picked strawberries. The farm will continue to have other crops, including pick-your-own sugar snap peas, as well as apples, plums and pumpkins to pick.
"We hope that you all know that this decision was not made lightly. We know that many of you will be heartbroken by this. However, we do hope that after the feelings of sadness and disappointment pass you will begin to realize that we are doing this for the future and continuation of this farm," the announcement said. | 2022-04-14T19:18:47Z | www.jsonline.com | Strawberry-picking destination Barthel Fruit Farm in Mequon drops crop | https://www.jsonline.com/story/money/2022/04/14/strawberry-picking-destination-barthel-fruit-farm-mequon-drops-crop/7319181001/ | https://www.jsonline.com/story/money/2022/04/14/strawberry-picking-destination-barthel-fruit-farm-mequon-drops-crop/7319181001/ |
MADISON – Wisconsin’s crime labs took longer to process DNA samples last year but began bringing down their caseloads at the end of 2021, according to a state Department of Justice report released Thursday.
Attorney General Josh Kaul, a Democrat who won his office in 2018 on a promise to clear up a separate backlog of sexual assault cases, said the trendlines are moving in the right direction after processing times fell behind during the coronavirus pandemic.
“The crime lab is well-positioned for the long term,” Kaul said in an interview.
The crime labs on average processed DNA samples in 128 days in 2021, up from 94 days in 2020 and 97 days in 2019, according to the labs' annual report. The median processing time last year was 115 days, up from 79 days in 2020 and 65 days in 2019.
The longer processing time occurred even though the crime lab took in fewer cases last year — 3,612, compared to 3,820 in 2020 and 4,400 in 2019.
By the fall of 2021, the number of pending DNA cases began to come down, according to the report. Kaul said that showed the state's three crime labs, which are located in Madison, Milwaukee and Wausau, are moving in the right direction.
In the 2018 campaign, Kaul hammered then-Attorney General Brad Schimel for how the crime labs handled of DNA cases on his watch.
Thursday’s report showed the number of cases the Department of Justice handled came down significantly after Kaul was elected but began to creep up in late 2019, just before the pandemic started. Once the pandemic was underway, the number of pending cases rose well into 2021 before plateauing and then coming down.
“It's on a downward trend and even during the pandemic, it never got as high as it had been in 2018,” Kaul said.
Kaul said the pandemic was one of the main reasons for the increase in processing times.
The Department of Justice moved to staggered shifts so fewer analysts were in the lab at the same time. Analysts performed some duties, such as writing reports, from home, he said.
Now, the courts are beginning to hold more trials as the pandemic eases, which means analysts must spend more time testifying. Any time spent in court is time they’re not analyzing DNA, he noted.
Democratic Gov. Tony Evers is providing the crime labs with $5 million in federal coronavirus relief aid to help catch up on cases, Kaul said. Some of the funds will be used to outsource some of the state’s work to private labs, he said.
Fond du Lac County District Attorney Eric Toney, former state Rep. Adam Jarchow of Balsam Lake and attorney Karen Mueller are running in the Republican primary to challenge Kaul.
Toney described Kaul's handling of the crime labs an "abysmal failure."
"Kaul is testing significantly less items than former AG Brad Schimel and is still taking longer to test many categories of key items in comparison to Schimel, including DNA," he said in a statement.
Mueller did not immediately react to the report.
More:Bice: AG candidate Eric Toney's office accused of botching case in which a 9-time felon killed a firefighter while out on $500 bail
Longer times for controlled substances
The crime lab also took longer to process controlled substances and produce toxicology reports. Controlled substances samples took 61 days to process on average last year, up from 44 days in 2020 and 33 days in 2019.
Toxicology cases took 48 days on average in 2021, up from 39 days in 2020 and 36 days in 2019.
Kaul noted he sought authority last year to hire four more people to handle toxicology cases, but Republicans who control the Legislature declined to approve his plan.
In a bright spot in the report, the crime lab processed firearms cases more quickly than in past years. Cases on average took 157 days in 2021, compared to 247 days in 2020 and 258 days in 2019. | 2022-04-14T19:18:59Z | www.jsonline.com | Wisconsin crime labs took longer to process DNA in 2021 | https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/politics/2022/04/14/wisconsin-crime-labs-took-longer-process-dna-2021/7311359001/ | https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/politics/2022/04/14/wisconsin-crime-labs-took-longer-process-dna-2021/7311359001/ |
The two multi-millionaires in Wisconsin's Democratic primary for U.S. Senate are flexing their financial muscle.
Milwaukee Bucks executive Alex Lasry poured $3.45 million into his campaign in the first three months of the year, while state Treasurer Sarah Godlewski added $1.5 million to her campaign, according to statements issued Thursday.
In all, Lasry's campaign said it raised $3.9 million during the quarter, meaning that in addition to Lasry's cash, it received another $450,000 from contributors.
Since entering the race last year, Lasry has given his campaign $5.8 million, enabling him to mount the most aggressive advertising effort among Democrats who are seeking to take on Republican U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson in the fall.
“Back when we announced, I said that I will invest in my campaign right alongside the thousands of Wisconsinites that have donated whatever they can to our effort," Lasry said in a statement. "Since then, with the help of people from every corner of our state, we’ve been able to build a campaign that is not only ready to win this primary, but also beat Ron Johnson in November.”
Godlewski's campaign said it will report more than $2.1 million in campaign contributions. That means besides Godlewski's $1.5 million, she raised around $600,000 from individual contributors, her best effort yet during the race.
The campaign said it had around $1.63 million cash on hand at the end of March.
More:Is Sen. Ron Johnson a 'vulnerable' incumbent? Sure. Will he be hard to beat? Probably.
Overall, Godlewski has put $3.295 million into the race since entering last year. The cash infusion has enabled Godlewski to spend significantly on television ads in recent weeks.
In a statement, the campaign said Godlewski is "building the momentum resources and support" necessary to win the Aug. 9 primary and the fall election.
Earlier this week, the campaign for Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes announced it raised $1.7 million in the first quarter. Barnes received money from more than 28,000 total donors.
Polls show Barnes as the front runner for the Democratic nomination.
Full financial filings are due Friday. There will be intense interest in how much Johnson raised since he officially announced for re-election in January.
At the end of last year, Johnson's campaign had $2.4 million cash on hand. | 2022-04-14T19:19:05Z | www.jsonline.com | Alex Lasry, Sarah Godlewski spend big in Democratic U.S. Senate race | https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/politics/elections/2022/04/14/alex-lasry-sarah-godlewski-spend-big-democratic-u-s-senate-race/7320317001/ | https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/politics/elections/2022/04/14/alex-lasry-sarah-godlewski-spend-big-democratic-u-s-senate-race/7320317001/ |
Greg Elliott spent five seasons with Marquette men's basketball. He will play elsewhere next season.
Greg Elliott will not be returning for a sixth season with the Marquette men's basketball team.
The 6-foot-3 guard announced Thursday that he had entered the NCAA transfer portal, a move that was expected after both Elliott and MU head coach Shaka Smart hinted at the end of the season that Elliott was likely moving on from the Golden Eagles.
Elliott committed to former MU coach Steve Wojciechowski in March 2017. He was snake-bit with injuries from his first appearance in a Golden Eagles uniform, hurting his left thumb in an exhibition game in the 2017-18 season. He played the rest of that season with a cast, but then hurt the thumb again before the 2018-19 season and opted to redshirt. Sitting on the bench that season, Elliott became a fan favorite and beloved teammate for his enthusiasm on the bench. Elliott also had surgery twice on his right ankle.
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Elliott became a key role player in his final two seasons, shooting 45.5% on three-pointers in 2020-21 and 38.6% in 2021-22. He stuck around after a coaching change to play for Smart.
After a four-game suspension for violating team rules, Elliott had some big games as a senior, including 22 points against UCLA in December and a college-high 25 against DePaul in January. But Elliott struggled with his touch down the stretch, shooting 1 for 13 from long distance over MU's last six games.
Elliott played in 114 games at MU, averaging 5.6 points, 2.1 rebounds and 1.2 assists.
A smart, veteran player like Elliott should draw a lot of attention in the transfer portal. The Detroit native could follow the path of his close friend and former MU teammate Jamal Cain, who used his extra season of eligibility to play at Oakland University and was the co-player of the year in the Horizon League after averaging 20.1 points and 10.2 rebounds.
The move opens up a scholarship slot for MU. The Golden Eagles have put out feelers in the transfer market and brought in NAIA player of the year Zach Wrightsil for an official visit. The 6-foot-7 Wrightsil averaged18.7 points, 8.8 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 2.1 steals for NAIA champion Loyola in New Orleans. | 2022-04-14T19:19:11Z | www.jsonline.com | Marquette basketball guard Greg Elliott enters NCAA transfer portal | https://www.jsonline.com/story/sports/college/marquette/2022/04/14/marquette-basketball-guard-greg-elliott-enters-ncaa-transfer-portal/7319203001/ | https://www.jsonline.com/story/sports/college/marquette/2022/04/14/marquette-basketball-guard-greg-elliott-enters-ncaa-transfer-portal/7319203001/ |
High winds in Milwaukee damaged the glassy exterior of the downtown Chase Tower, prompting police to close sidewalks in the area as glass fell from 15 floors up.
Milwaukee police reported the incident around 1:30 p.m. Thursday, asking the public to avoid the 100 block of East Wisconsin Avenue after the window broke. Police said sidewalks surrounding the building would be shut down and officers would assist in directing traffic.
Milwaukee is under a high wind warning until 7 p.m., with southwest winds whipping at 35 to 40 mph and gusts reaching as high as 60, according to the National Weather Service in Sullivan.
An official at the Chase Tower did not immediately return a request for comment.
Related:Strap down your tailgate gear. It'll be windy for Milwaukee Brewers home opener against St. Louis Cardinals | 2022-04-14T21:33:13Z | www.jsonline.com | Winds damage window of Chase Tower in Milwaukee; sidewalks closed | https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/2022/04/14/winds-damage-window-chase-tower-milwaukee-sidewalks-closed-glass-falls/7322094001/ | https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/2022/04/14/winds-damage-window-chase-tower-milwaukee-sidewalks-closed-glass-falls/7322094001/ |
David D. Haynes
Are inherent flaws in American capitalism harming the nation's working class?
Anne Case, author of "Deaths of Despair and the Future of Capitalism," thinks they are.
She will discuss her ideas tonight in a lecture at the University of Wisconsin-Madison that will livestreamed here from 7-8 p.m. Case will be speaking before a live audience at the Overture Center for the Arts in Madison.
Case will discuss the dramatic rise in deaths from opioid overdose, alcoholism, and suicide in recent decades and how the disparity between those who are prospering and those who are struggling continues to grow.
This event is free and will include time for questions, which can be submitted at go.wisc.edu/askanne
Case's talk is sponsored by the La Follette School of Public Affairs, the Center for Demography of Health & Aging, and the Hilldale Lecture in the Social Sciences. Funding is provided by the Hilldale Lecture Fund and the Offner Lecture Fund.
Case is the Alexander Stewart 1886 Professor of Economics and Public Affairs, Emeritus at Princeton University. | 2022-04-14T21:33:25Z | www.jsonline.com | Flaws in American capitalism are hurting the nation's working class | https://www.jsonline.com/story/opinion/2022/04/14/flaws-american-capitalism-hurting-nations-working-class/7320927001/ | https://www.jsonline.com/story/opinion/2022/04/14/flaws-american-capitalism-hurting-nations-working-class/7320927001/ |
The Wisconsin Department of Health Services made several changes to its public COVID-19 data pages Thursday, most notably by adopting the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's system for indicating risk and community-level spread of the virus.
The CDC breaks down COVID-19 levels into high, medium and low tiers, taking into account both local disease spread and hospital capacity. The new levels replace the states COVID-19 activity levels that the state used to feature on its site by region and county.
"We really value that CDC has incorporated (hospital capacity data) into the community levels and want to encourage people to use that method for their decision-making," said Traci DeSalvo, director of DHS's bureau of communicable diseases.
DHS also updated its data on rates of illness, hospitalization and death among vaccinated and unvaccinated people.
According to the March 2022 data, unvaccinated people were being diagnosed with COVID-19 at similar rates as those who were vaccinated. The state health department attributed that to the spread of the virus' highly-transmissible Omicron variant.
The more concerning differences emerged in the rates of hospitalization and death: unvaccinated people were hospitalized at a rate 2.4 times higher than vaccinated people, and they died at a 3.4 times higher rate.
"Our data are continuing to show the value of vaccines to really prevent those severe cases of COVID-19 and really helping to reduce morbidity and mortality from this illness," DeSalvo said.
Also as part of the Thursday update, the health department scrapped several charts that were previously available on its site. Most notable, it dropped data visualizations showing the percentage of cases in group housing and the percentage of confirmed COVID-19 deaths in group housing settings, such as nursing homes and assisted living facilities.
More:Wisconsin reclassifies 1,000 past COVID-19 deaths, now reports 45% of all deaths were in long-term care facilities
DeSalvo said the state health department is still collecting information on outbreaks in long-term care facilities and hasn't changed the definition of what counts as an outbreak. That definition is one or more cases.
But she said the department removed group-housing-specific charts on cases and deaths because there have been fewer interviews happening with COVID-19 patients as the pandemic has progressed. The data has become more unreliable.
For current data on outbreaks in nursing homes, the state health department is now pointing people to federal data on the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services' website.
That data includes vaccination rates and weekly case and death totals at nursing homes. However, it does not include totals for assisted living facilities, which are not subject to the same federal reporting requirements as nursing homes and which are regulated by the state. | 2022-04-14T23:35:15Z | www.jsonline.com | Wisconsin health department updates COVID charts to align with CDC | https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/health/2022/04/14/wisconsin-health-department-updates-covid-charts-align-cdc/7321752001/ | https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/health/2022/04/14/wisconsin-health-department-updates-covid-charts-align-cdc/7321752001/ |
Six games do not a trend make.
But heading into Thursday's home opener against the St. Louis Cardinals at American Family Field, Milwaukee Brewers pitchers had combined to issue 32 walks. That total ranks as second-highest in the major leagues, only two behind the Washington Nationals.
They'd also hit six batters, tied for fourth-most.
Considering the caliber of pitcher they can trot out on a daily basis and the fact they finished right around the middle of the pack (14th) in 2021 with essentially the same staff, the number is at least a tad bit surprising.
Not that manager Craig Counsell is panicking.
RELATED: Brewers owner Mark Attanasio mum on stadium renovation financing plan
"I mean, I'm going to have a hard time explaining six games as a trend," said Counsell, whose team issued 32 walks over a six-game stretch only once last season. "We've walked too many hitters and it's not something that's a recipe for success for the long term.
"But it's something that we're going to have to improve on to put together wins in big stretches."
Perhaps the die was cast from the very first batter faced by reigning NL Cy Young Award winner Corbin Burnes on opening day at Wrigley Field.
After setting a major-league record by striking out 58 batters without issuing a walk to start 2021, Burnes walked the first batter he faced – the Chicago Cubs' Rafael Ortega –and finished his five innings with three.
The right-hander had 4 three-walk games total in 28 starts last season, with the first not coming until May 25 (he missed two starts in late April-early May after testing positive for COVID-19).
Could it be the shortened spring training?
Due to the late start caused by the lockout, pitchers entered the season several appearances shy of what they would have thrown.
And for starters, those final couple outings are when they typically stretch out to about seven innings and 90 or so pitches, a final chance to dial in, so to speak.
"I think that plays into it," closer Josh Hader said. "Realistically, we should probably be around our last week of the spring. I think guys are still trying to even out some kinks they might have in their deliveries.
"For me, it's more so just having the intent. It's a big difference in the intensity level from now to the spring. We get up there in the spring, but it's a whole different level when you get into a competitive season.
"So, I think it's a mix of those two things plus if guys are still working on some other mechanical things or pitches, that's another thing.
"Also, it's cold out, man. That makes a big difference, too, with the grip of the ball. I think if you kind of put all that together, that's what's happening."
Burnes was the first Brewers starter to take a second turn through the rotation and his command was markedly better Wednesday as he walked one while also hitting a batter in the foot with a wayward cutter.
"Personally, it was better last night," Burnes said. "But I've still got a lot to work on."
Freddy Peralta walked four in his four-inning start Sunday against the Cubs, while setup man Devin Williams was the most recent example of control problems with a total of three walks and a hit batter in consecutive outings at Baltimore on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Williams struck his way out of his self-created mess in the first game; he wasn't so lucky in the second and had to be removed mid-inning after a 28-pitch inning raised his two-day count to 51.
First-pitch strikes are also vital, and at least for Milwaukee's starters they've been the biggest bugaboo. By connecting with their first offering only 49.6% of the time entering Thursday, the Brewers ranked last in the majors.
But considering their quality – behind Burnes there's Brandon Woodruff, Peralta, Adrian Houser and Eric Lauer – that figure should rise dramatically in the days, weeks and months to come.
"We can make any excuse that we want. But our job is to go out there and throw strikes and limit free passes," Burnes said. "Shortened spring training, we weren't ready. I think it's just early on we're still trying to find a feel for things.
"Obviously that's something we did last year, not put guys on base. It's still early and we're going to get things figured out as we get into the season. But we've just got to do a better job finding the zone."
President of baseball operations David Stearns summed up his concern level on the matter rather succinctly.
"I think it's an anomaly," he said. "I wouldn't read into it." | 2022-04-14T23:35:27Z | www.jsonline.com | Milwaukee Brewers pitchers give up too many walks to start 2022 season | https://www.jsonline.com/story/sports/mlb/brewers/2022/04/14/milwaukee-brewers-pitchers-give-up-too-many-walks-start-2022-season/7316425001/ | https://www.jsonline.com/story/sports/mlb/brewers/2022/04/14/milwaukee-brewers-pitchers-give-up-too-many-walks-start-2022-season/7316425001/ |
VILLAGE OF HARTLAND - A natural herbs and remedies company in Hartland is being evicted after 22 years.
McGillick's Herbs, 418 Merton Ave., was notified March 21 that it had 28 days to move out of the property it has called home for more than two decades.
Owner Rose McGillick and her daughter, Michelle Merschdorf, said they were not given a reason for the eviction. They said their landlord, Brian Cass, who is the owner of the dry cleaner Martinizing in the same shopping plaza, has not responded to questions about the decision.
Their last day of business will be Saturday.
"We have had an honest business," McGillick said. "Rent has always been paid on time. (My daughter's husband) has been a maintenance man, so we take care of everything. When I wanted to go out, I wanted to go out on my terms. We're shocked."
McGillick's husband, Terrence, opened McGillick's Herbs in 2000. Rose took over after his death. She said that in her 15 years at the helm, she has had four landlords at the shopping mall but has had complications with the most recent landlord.
McGillick said Cass had mentioned the potential for signing a long-term lease multiple times.
"I've told Brian, I could leave here tomorrow, but I love what I do, I believe in what I do and the good Lord gave me good health to do it," McGillick said.
In February, Cass told McGillick he had a potential tenant for her space. The prospective tenant toured the space days later.
Between then and the eviction notice on March 21, McGillick said she was discussing signing a new, five-year lease with Cass and real estate broker Garrett Warner. McGillick's Herbs had for years been on a month-to-month lease. Cass even sent an email on March 9 stating that he would raise rent by $92 starting in April.
Then, on March 21, McGillick was informed by email that she was instead being evicted effective April 18. No reason for the sudden eviction was given.
"(Cass) has not shown up," she said. "He will not address it. We have never had a landlord like that."
According to McGillick, Cass still billed her for the entire April rent at the increased rate.
Numerous messages left for Cass seeking an interview have not been returned.
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"Brian had the nerve to bill us for the full month when we needed to be out on the 18th," McGillick said. "I wrote the check and said that I think that's the wrong amount, and I prorated it. I stated at the bottom, 'Now you know how to do it.'"
McGillick's Herbs posted on Facebook about the notice on March 24. An outpouring of support has come since then. Customers have offered to help try to find a way to keep the shop there through legal action, find a new space, and have also come in to show their support, buying as much as $400 worth of product in a single purchase.
"People are angry; they're angry," McGillick said. "Someone with a lawyer asked if I wanted to stay here, and I said it’s a toxic environment. It’s not healthy. I have to get out. When you don’t know from day to day if you’re going to be here, it’s not healthy.”
Though she has worked to move most of her product off the shelves in preparation for the last day, McGillick plans to take whatever is left and store it in case she can open elsewhere in the area.
"I’ve kept everything open with our vendors," McGillick said. "They’re willing to do that. Then, I will have time to go, personally, to different spots and seek out a new place. If there isn’t a place I can go or if there is nothing suitable, then I’ll have to make that decision. Right now, I’m not closing my doors."
Her last day of business will be April 16. She'll spend the next two days moving her things out.
"I wouldn't trade the last 15 years for anything," McGillick said. "We’re going to move on, and hopefully I’ll get an answer on where I'm supposed to land." | 2022-04-15T22:33:28Z | www.jsonline.com | McGillick's Herbs faces sudden eviction from Hartland store | https://www.jsonline.com/story/communities/lake-country/2022/04/15/mcgillicks-herbs-being-evicted-hartland-storefront/7323140001/ | https://www.jsonline.com/story/communities/lake-country/2022/04/15/mcgillicks-herbs-being-evicted-hartland-storefront/7323140001/ |
MADISON – The Wisconsin Supreme Court embraced a redistricting plan crafted by Republican state lawmakers Friday, three weeks after the U.S. Supreme Court threw out election maps drawn by Democratic Gov. Tony Evers.
States must draw new election maps once a decade after each census to make sure legislative districts have equal populations. Where the lines go can confer advantages on one political party.
Evers and Republicans who control the Legislature couldn't agree on new maps, so it fell to the state Supreme Court to decide on the districts. In a 4-3 ruling last month the justices picked Evers' maps, which had a Republican tilt to them even though they were drawn by a Democrat.
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Republican lawmakers appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, which found the state court had not provided enough evidence justifying why the state was increasing the number of Assembly districts with Black majorities in Milwaukee from six to seven.
The U.S. Supreme Court left in place the congressional district boundaries drawn by Evers and approved by the state Supreme Court. Friday's decision by the state court affects races for state Legislature.
In Friday's 4-3 ruling, the justices picked maps drawn by Republican lawmakers and explained why they believed Evers had not provided enough evidence to show why race should be taken into account when drawing districts in Milwaukee.
The Republican maps reduce the number of Assembly districts in Milwaukee with Black majorities from six to five.
Democrats or their allies are likely to challenge those maps in federal court on the grounds that they don't comply with the Voting Rights Act. With the election approaching so quickly, such a challenge may have to wait until after this fall's elections.
Federal law is complicated because it says mapmakers cannot consider race most of the time but must take it into account when they are drawing lines in areas with high populations of minorities. The policy is meant to ensure Black and Latino voters have opportunities to elect the candidates they want.
"Here, examining the available record, we conclude that there is not a 'strong basis in evidence' that the (Voting Rights Act) requires the use of race to draw majority-black legislative districts. Specifically, there is insufficient evidence to demonstrate that here, black voters have their choice of candidate blocked by a cohesive and oppositional voting bloc," Chief Justice Annette Ziegler wrote for the majority.
Primaries are slated for Aug. 9, but candidates and election officials need to know where the lines are well before then.
The state justices issued their opinion the same day candidates could start taking out petitions to get on the ballot. Candidates need to know where the lines are so they could make sure the signatures they gathered were from residents of their districts.
As with the other redistricting decisions, Friday's ruling came down to Justice Brian Hagedorn. He was elected in 2019 with the support of Republicans but has ruled with the court's liberals in some high-profile cases.
Hagedorn sided with conservatives in November in a decision benefitting Republicans that set rules for drawing maps. That decision said the court would make as few changes as possible to the existing districts, which Republicans drew in 2011 to their advantage.
In March, Hagedorn joined with liberals to choose maps drawn by Democratic Gov. Tony Evers.
On Friday, he sided with the conservatives to put the Republican maps in place.
Friday's ruling covers maps for the state Assembly and state Senate.
The state justices in March chose Evers' maps for the state's congressional districts and the U.S. Supreme Court in a ruling last week let those maps stand. | 2022-04-15T22:34:04Z | www.jsonline.com | Wisconsin Supreme Court adopts legislative maps drawn by Republicans | https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/politics/2022/04/15/wisconsin-supreme-court-adopts-legislative-maps-drawn-republicans/7250042001/ | https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/politics/2022/04/15/wisconsin-supreme-court-adopts-legislative-maps-drawn-republicans/7250042001/ |
MADISON – Still looking to bolster the Wisconsin roster for next season, Greg Gard and his staff landed their first commitment for the 2023 freshman class.
John Blackwell, a combo guard from Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, announced his commitment on Friday.
“I just felt it was the right time,” Blackwell said by phone. “It takes a lot of stress off you.”
UW was the only Power 5 program to offer a scholarship to the 6-foot-4, 1-pounder from Brother Rice High School.
Loyola Chicago, VCU and Rhode Island were among the schools that offered Blackwell but he said he ultimately chose UW over Loyola Chicago.
The Ramblers finished 13-5 in the Missouri Valley Conference under first-year coach Drew Valentine. They won the MVC tournament to secure an NCAA Tournament berth but lost to Ohio State in the opening round to finish 25-8.
“Great guys over there,” Blackwell said. “Coach Valentine is a great dude.”
More:Kamari McGee, a graduate of Racine St. Catherine's High School, is coming to UW after standout freshman season at UWGB
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UW’s staff evaluated Blackwell last summer in Georgia, hosted him on an official visit in September and extended a scholarship offer shortly after that.
“They’ve been on me ever since they saw me in Atlanta,” Blackwell said, “coming to my games and practices. Little details like that showed they really cared. They love what I can bring to the table.”
Blackwell had a three-day weekend because of Good Friday. Asked what he had planned for the time, he said:
“Going back to work. I’m getting in the gym. Every day. I just love basketball.”
His father, Glynn Blackwell, played four seasons at Illinois (1984-1988). A 6-4 shooting guard, Glynn Blackwell started 57 games and played in 106 for the Illini. He averaged 12.1 points per game as a senior.
"He has a better floor game than I did," Glynn Blackwell said of his son. "I was known to be able to hit the open shot. Not that he can’t. But he has a better (basketball) IQ than I did.
"How he will fit there … he is a big guard. He can (defend). He is a competitor. Nothing flashy about him. No glitz and glamor. Just a competitor. He is a hard-nosed player.
"I don’t like to make promises about what he is going to be and all that. But I just know he is a competitor. He is a great teammate. He just loves the game." | 2022-04-15T22:34:10Z | www.jsonline.com | Wisconsin basketball lands guard John Blackwell for 2023 class | https://www.jsonline.com/story/sports/college/uw/2022/04/15/wisconsin-basketball-lands-guard-john-blackwell-2023-class/7336443001/ | https://www.jsonline.com/story/sports/college/uw/2022/04/15/wisconsin-basketball-lands-guard-john-blackwell-2023-class/7336443001/ |
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“I was fortunate,” said Donovan, who found out he tested positive as he was going to work out. “I know a lot of people who have really had a very, very hard time with it. It’s been really, really unfortunate what people have had to deal with. But I was very fortunate that … my symptoms weren’t too severe.”
The Bucks, who finished the regular season 51-31, swept the four-game season series with the Bulls. | 2022-04-15T22:34:29Z | www.jsonline.com | Two Bulls assistants to miss start Bucks NBA playoff series | https://www.jsonline.com/story/sports/nba/bucks/2022/04/15/two-bulls-assistants-miss-start-bucks-nba-playoff-series/7337419001/ | https://www.jsonline.com/story/sports/nba/bucks/2022/04/15/two-bulls-assistants-miss-start-bucks-nba-playoff-series/7337419001/ |
Deer District watch parties are back for the Milwaukee Bucks 2022 playoff run
Fans who didn't get a chance to visit the Deer District plaza last year, as well as fans who simply want to relive the Milwaukee Bucks magical championship run, will now have another opportunity to watch games in the Deer District.
Bucks watch parties will be held during every Bucks playoff game this year – home and away – with the first one scheduled for Game 1 of the Bucks’ first-round series against the Chicago Bulls at 5:30 p.m. Sunday.
Of course, Sunday's crowd won't come close to the more than 65,000 fans who packed into the area for Game 6's clinching victory during the NBA Finals. The Bucks have placed a capacity limit of 11,000 for this weekend.
The stage and outdoor screen will be set up on the south side of the plaza. Fans planning to attend the watch parties should enter on the south side of the plaza near the intersection of Highland Avenue and Vel R. Phillips Avenue.
Fans with tickets to that day’s Bucks game should enter on the north side of the plaza near the intersection of Juneau Avenue and Vel R. Phillips Avenue.
According to the Bucks' news release, Juneau Avenue will be closed for traffic between Fifth Street and Vel R. Phillips Avenue.
The Bucks said surprise guests are expected to make appearances at the festivities. | 2022-04-16T01:01:19Z | www.jsonline.com | Deer District watch parties are back for this year's Bucks playoffs | https://www.jsonline.com/story/sports/2022/04/15/deer-district-watch-parties-back-years-bucks-playoffs/7339139001/ | https://www.jsonline.com/story/sports/2022/04/15/deer-district-watch-parties-back-years-bucks-playoffs/7339139001/ |
Patience is a virtue Christian Yelich exhibits not only when in the batter’s box.
Seven games into the 2022 Major League Baseball season, Yelich is off to a strong start at the plate and has the underlying numbers that back up those results.
But the Milwaukee Brewers outfielder is just as slow to rush to any conclusions about positive early-season plate appearances as he would be if they were littered with strikeouts and pop outs.
“Players in April, teams in April, everyone on the outside likes to overreact,” Yelich said before Friday’s game against the St. Louis Cardinals at American Family Field. “It’s either you’re gonna win the World Series or you’re the worst team ever. You’re either gonna win the MVP or you suck after April, then there’s five months to go.
“That’s a long time. You’re just kind of settling into the season.”
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Through 30 plate appearances, Yelich is batting .261/.400/.391 and is third on the team in OPS, but let’s ignore all of that for now.
The underlying numbers of Yelich’s at bats are the topic worth discussing.
Entering games Friday and among players with at least 100 pitches seen, Yelich is 10th in average exit velocity at 94.6 mph. Of his 17 balls put into play, 13 have been hit 95 mph or higher, the fourth-most in baseball.
Is that a sign that Yelich is feeling more comfortable at the plate early in 2022?
“Whatever you want to make of that, you can,” Yelich said.
Perhaps it is only worth making as much of those numbers as Yelich is – which is to say very little. But batted ball data can also be indicative, even in small samples at times.
During Thursday’s home opener, Yelich scalded a line drive 109 mph and a projected 409 feet for a double off the top of the centerfield wall. Earlier in the week, he hit a ball 111 mph and 398 feet.
Last year, Yelich had just one batted ball of 109 mph or greater that went at least 390 feet.
After a 2021 season in which less than half (49%) of Yelich’s batted balls were hit 95 mph or harder, the early results are encouraging signs for the Milwaukee offense.
“He’s off to a good start,” Brewers manager Craig Counsell said. “The biggest thing is he’s hitting the ball hard. He’s driving the ball. He’s had two balls over the center fielder’s head, off the top of the wall.”
Hitting the ball hard was rarely the issue for Yelich last season as his numbers dipped to .248/.362/.373, good for an OPS+ of 98. OPS+ is a metric that takes a player’s OPS and normalizes the number across the league on a scale with 100 being average. His average exit velocity of 91 mph ranked 42nd out of 203 hitters with at least 1,500 pitches seen.
Doing consistent damage with those hard-hit balls was the greatest difference in Yelich’s game from his first two seasons in Milwaukee.
His average launch angle dropped to 2.8 degrees, down from the 11.3 degree mark from 2019 when he hit 44 homers. When Yelich would square the ball up, it was often pounded into the ground, where less damage can be done than with hard-hit fly balls.
Any launch angle numbers this early in the season are to be evaluated with extreme small-sample caution, but Yelich so far has elevated the ball more than last year and three of his five hardest-hit balls have been fly balls.
Yelich also has been statistically the most disciplined hitter of the young season. He has swung at only 10.9% of pitches outside the strike zone, which is tied with Chicago Cubs rookie Seiya Suzuki for the lowest in the majors. Yelich has always had excellent strike zone discipline – the big league average chase rate is around 31% – but this season he is tracking well below his career rate of 24%.
“He’s got a good strike zone,” Counsell said. “The strike zone has always been a strength of his. I think he’s pitched in a challenging way but he’s doing well.”
During Brewers principal owner Mark Attanasio’s news conference before the home opener Thursday, he indicated, unprompted, that injury problems contributed to down years for Yelich the last two seasons.
“A lot of this has been health-driven,” Attanasio said. “He will never make an excuse, but he’s in good health now and I think we’re seeing signs of that.”
Yelich has never given any indication that lingering effects from injuries – including a fractured kneecap suffered in September 2019 that ended his season – have had any impact on his production since 2020. When asked if he was feeling any more comfortable due to health than early in 2021, when he missed extended stretches due to oblique and back injuries, Yelich maintained a similar refrain as before: it’s too early to make any judgments.
“I don’t know yet. We’ll see,” Yelich said. “It might be a good year, might not be a good year.” | 2022-04-16T03:12:04Z | www.jsonline.com | Brewers' Christian Yelich taking patient approach in 2022 season | https://www.jsonline.com/story/sports/mlb/brewers/2022/04/15/brewers-christian-yelich-taking-patient-approach-2022-season/7338470001/ | https://www.jsonline.com/story/sports/mlb/brewers/2022/04/15/brewers-christian-yelich-taking-patient-approach-2022-season/7338470001/ |
With just four homers in eight games, the Brewers' bats are experiencing a power outage
Let's face it. The Milwaukee Brewers haven't exactly been knocking the cover off the baseball so far in 2022.
But when it comes to home run, it's been almost a complete power outage.
Entering Saturday's matchup against the St. Louis Cardinals at American Family Field the Brewers had logged just four home runs, tying them with the Kansas City Royals for second-fewest in the major leagues.
Only the Baltimore Orioles had fewer, with three.
And of the Brewers' four homers, three came in their 5-4 victory over the Chicago Cubs at wind-swept Wrigley Field on April 10 with Willy Adames, Rowdy Tellez and Mike Brosseau all going deep.
Omar Narváez hit Milwaukee's fourth homer on Thursday in the home opener.
That meant the Brewers had failed to take the ball out at all in their six other games. For a unit that's struggling to simply put runs on the board in general, it's not exactly been a recipe for early season success.
"We've seen a lot of wall balls. We just haven't hit homers," said manager Craig Counsell, whose team also ranked 23rd in batting average (.216) 24th in slugging percentage (.336) and 27th in runs scored (24).
"Obviously, in the offensive game today, you need homers, there's no question about it. I saw something today (saying) singles are going down even more. That means that it's hard to string together hits. Because the single is obviously the easiest hit to get. So, you need extra-base hits for run production.
"And that's just what we've been lacking right now. They come in bunches. You'd hope you'd get consistent, daily, one or two a game, but they're going to come in bunches a little bit, too."
Milwaukee's two biggest offensive acquisitions in the offseason, Andrew McCutchen (27 homers in 2021) and Hunter Renfroe (31) were among those who fall into the "wall ball" category along with Christian Yelich, who had scorched several balls to the fence but had yet to get any over.
Kolten Wong, Tyrone Taylor and Keston Hiura are all players with power who entering Saturday night were seeking their first homers as well while Luis Urías, the Brewers' second-leading power man in 2021 with a career-high 23, opened the year on the injured list and has yet to play a game.
As a team, the Brewers finished 18th in homers last season with 194. Avisaíl García led the way with 29 and aside from Urías, Adames was the only other player to reach 20.
"Yeah, we've got some guys who are going to hit home runs that haven't hit homers yet," Counsell said. "But they're coming."
Mike Brosseau, Kolten Wong achieve career firsts
There generally isn't much good that comes out of a 10-1 blowout like the one the Brewers suffered Friday night.
But Mike Brosseau and Kolten Wong were both talking prior to Saturday's game about logging their first major-league action at shortstop.
Brosseau, one of two utility men on the roster, replaced Adames at the start of the ninth inning but only three batters came to the plate and no outs had been registered when Brent Suter ran into the fence in front of the St. Louis dugout trying to glove a popup.
Suter was shaken up and removed from the game, leaving Counsell to replace Suter with Brosseau and Wong to slide over to shortstop from second base.
"That was one of the three (positions) I hadn’t played – I needed catcher, short and center," said Brosseau, who saw action at the other six spots, including pitcher, with the Tampa Bay Rays.
"A first for me," added Wong, who hadn't played shortstop at all since high school in Hawaii. "It was cool. You don’t want to be doing that too many times, but it was cool to see it from that side.
"I’ve always wanted to have some innings there, and it’s kind of fun to get that."
Brosseau allowed a hit and a walk but no runs in throwing the ninth, lowering his career ERA to 3.38. He pitched three times for the Rays in 2019 and once in 2020.
"(Counsell) came up to me and asked me if I was able to do it," Brosseau said. "I was like, ‘Yeah, I’ll get you three outs. I don’t know what’s going to happen before three outs, but I’ll get you three outs.’
"(Just throwing strikes) is the gist of it, because obviously the circumstances aren’t great when you’ve got a position player out there. Just pound the zone and get outs as quickly as possible."
Brent Suter feeling fine
The day after his scary collision, Suter was no worse for wear.
"Got really lucky," he said. "Passed all the tests, so good to go."
Counsell was asked if it was a lesson learned for the hard-charging left-hander.
"In general, full-speed running into walls is not (a good idea)," he said. "But, look, it happens. A guy’s trying to make a play. So, what do you tell a guy trying to make a play? He just lost himself on the field a little bit and obviously it’s not a play that pitchers are required to make very much.
"Frankly, we got lucky that he’s OK." | 2022-04-17T01:05:01Z | www.jsonline.com | Milwaukee Brewers hit just four home runs through first eight games | https://www.jsonline.com/story/sports/mlb/brewers/2022/04/16/milwaukee-brewers-hit-just-four-home-runs-through-first-eight-games/7338218001/ | https://www.jsonline.com/story/sports/mlb/brewers/2022/04/16/milwaukee-brewers-hit-just-four-home-runs-through-first-eight-games/7338218001/ |
Madison native and former Marquette star Wesley Matthews is looking to win his first NBA championship with the Milwaukee Bucks in his second stint with the franchise.
Here's more about Matthews.
How long has Wesley Matthews been in the NBA?
This is Matthews' 13th NBA season.
Has Matthews played for other NBA teams?
Yes, he has played for six other NBA teams. After going undrafted, Matthews played his first season with the Utah Jazz (2009-10). He then spent the next five seasons with the Portland Trailblazers where he became known for his durability and his three-point shooting.
He parlayed his success in Portland into a four-year, $70 million deal with the Dallas Mavericks. Matthews was traded to the New York Knicks in late January 2019. He was released after just two games there. The Indiana Pacers signed him for the rest of the season.
He then joined the Bucks for the 2019-20 season, a year in which he helped the team have the NBA's best record before the league shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Bucks lost in the second round of the playoffs that year when the NBA resumed play in the Orlando bubble. Matthews played in 58 games with the Los Angeles Lakers during the 2020-21 season. Without a team at the start of the 2021-22 season, the Bucks signed Matthews in early December.
What's Matthews' contract?
Matthews is playing on a one-year contract worth nearly $2 million, according to Spotrac.com, an online sports contract database.
What’s Matthews known for?
His three-pointing shooting and defense.
While his shooting beyond the arc has dipped in recent years and his three-point makes and attempts have dropped significantly from his numbers earlier in his career when he made nearly three a game while in Portland, Matthews can still deliver from long range. He made the go-ahead three-pointer during the Bucks' Christmas Day comeback against the Celtics this season.
He'll also be tasked in the playoffs with defending some of the game's top offensive players around the perimeter. Matthews has been working with former Marquette women's basketball star turned personal trainer Erin Monfre to stay agile.
He has also recently moved into the Bucks' starting lineup after coming off the bench for most of the regular season.
How tall is Matthews?
How old is Matthews?
What are Matthews' stats from this season?
5.1 points per game, 1.9 rebounds, 0.7 assists, 0.5 steals, 0.2 blocks, 39.5% field goal, 33.8% three point, 78.6% free throw (49 games).
What are Matthews' career stats?
12.2 points per game, 2.9 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 1.0 steals, 0.2 blocks, 42.1% field goal, 37.7% three-point, 82.4% free throw (898 games).
What's Matthews' nickname?
Iron Man (he even wore an Iron Man mask before a playoff game in Portland!)
Who's Wesley Matthews' family?
Wesley's father, Wesley Sr., spent nine years in the NBA and several more playing professionally in other leagues. He won two championships with the Los Angeles Lakers.
Both his dad and mother, Pam, played college basketball at the University of Wisconsin. Pam also starred on the track and field team, where she earned All-American honors. Wesley was raised by his mother.
Matthews has a young daughter.
Other facts about Wesley Matthews in high school, at Marquette and in the NBA
- Matthews earned Wisconsin Mr. Basketball in 2005 and led Madison Memorial to the Division 1 state championship that year. He scored a game-high 29 points in the title game against a Marcus Landry-led Milwaukee Vincent squad.
- He set a Marquette single-season record for free throws made in 2008-09 (213), a mark that was broken 10 years later by Markus Howard (227). His 1,119 minutes played during the 2008-09 season are still top 5 all-time.
- When he left Portland he was the franchise's all-time leader in three-pointers made and attempted (he is now third behind Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum). He's also top 10 in those three-point categories in Dallas Mavericks franchise history. | 2022-04-17T01:05:07Z | www.jsonline.com | Wesley Matthews known for three-point shooting, dad played in NBA | https://www.jsonline.com/story/sports/nba/bucks/2022/04/16/wesley-matthews-three-point-shooting-dad-played-nba-career-stats-contract-marquette-university/7345275001/ | https://www.jsonline.com/story/sports/nba/bucks/2022/04/16/wesley-matthews-three-point-shooting-dad-played-nba-career-stats-contract-marquette-university/7345275001/ |
Ask a player about reaching a statistical milestone during a season, and almost always the response is the same: "I'll look back on it at the end of the year," or "I'll appreciate it when I'm done playing."
Milwaukee Brewers closer Josh Hader was all smiles, though, when the subject of 100 saves was broached Saturday before the game against the St. Louis Cardinals.
He was set to hit that mark the next time he shut down a game, joining franchise record holder Dan Plesac (133) and John Axford (106) as the only Brewers to reach triple digits.
"I think it’s awesome," Hader said. "Just in general, getting saves as a relief pitcher is a pretty big deal. Just think about all the historical closers we’ve grown up watching. It just kind of puts it into perspective – ‘Dude, you’ve got 100 and Mo (Rivera) and Trevor (Hoffman) have 600.’
"Just thinking about it, 100 feels like a lot."
Hader entered Saturday with three, the last two coming on consecutive nights against the Orioles in Baltimore, with family and friends cheering the Millersville, Maryland, native on from the stands.
Hader's career high is 37, set in 2018, and he had 34 a season ago when he was named the National League's reliever of the year for the third time.
One more big campaign and Hader could finish as the franchise leader by the end of 2022.
"It’s a big deal," he said. "For me, look at all the hard work we put into trying to be the best we can possibly be each and every day. Enjoying those little moments, I think, is a cool part about it.
"It is pretty cool. Especially thinking about the guys that were here – Plesac, Axford. Those two guys are Brewer legends.
"To be named with those guys is pretty special." | 2022-04-17T03:50:20Z | www.jsonline.com | Milwaukee Brewers closer Josh Hader talks about approaching 100 saves | https://www.jsonline.com/story/sports/mlb/brewers/2022/04/16/milwaukee-brewers-closer-josh-hader-talks-approaching-100-saves/7346972001/ | https://www.jsonline.com/story/sports/mlb/brewers/2022/04/16/milwaukee-brewers-closer-josh-hader-talks-approaching-100-saves/7346972001/ |
Have you noticed Jrue Holiday's "sword" celebration after he hits a three-pointer this season? The gesture originates from a popular television show produced by the BBC and available on Netflix, and actors from the show are rooting the Milwaukee Bucks in their quest to repeat as NBA champions.
It turns out one of the principal actors in the past two seasons of "The Last Kingdom," a historical fictional drama set in medieval England, proclaims to be a lifelong Bucks fan. He relayed as much to Holiday and teammate Sandro Mamukelashvili in a message tweeted by the Bucks official account Saturday.
Iceland-born Eysteinn Sigurðarson had a starring role in the past two seasons of the show and took notice when the celebration was explained by Bally Sports Wisconsin broadcaster Zora Stephenson during the regular-season finale. Sigurðarson posted his reaction on Instagram.
"When you love a team and watch every game for years, then find out they’re watching back," wrote Sigurðarson with a "mind blown" emoji after showing his reaction to a clip from the Bucks regular-season finale against Cleveland.
Based on a bestselling novel, "The Saxon Stories," by Bernard Cornwell, "The Last Kingdom" debuted on the BBC in 2015, and each of its five seasons can be found on Netflix.
"It's a little thing that me and the young boy Sandro got, from this TV show we watch," Holiday said after his team's April 7 win over Boston when asked about the sword celebration. "It's like a Viking show. Y'all should watch it, man."
Mamukelashvili is just as enthusiastic about the program, specifically mentioning the main character Uhtred (further identified as "Uhtred, Son of Uhtred" on the show), who wields a sword on his back and is played by German-born actor Alexander Dreymon. Fans of the HBO show "Succession" will recognize Matthew McFayden, who briefly plays the elder Uhtred in the pilot.
"That's my favorite TV show," Mamukelashvili said after the Cleveland finale. "This was the only flight where he finished it, but every flight before then, I just sit next to Jrue and we watch it the whole flight. It just bonded us together. We have the celebration now. I know one of the characters, I'm texting him, it's great. It's a great, great TV show and me and Jrue are really into it."
Mamukelashvili and Holiday both responded to the Instagram post by Sigurðarson, who plays Sigtryggr, a Danish warlord who appeared on each of the past two seasons and (spoiler alert!) meets his demise during the fifth season of the show.
"We got your back sigtryggr ! Let’s get this chip," Mamukelashvili wrote, with Holiday repeating the show's mantra, "DESTINY IS ALL."
The message posted Saturday by the Bucks came from both Sigurðarson and Dreymon, and Holiday's disbelieving reaction is priceless.
"I just wanted to tell you guys I am such a big Bucks fan, and I have been for many years now," Sigurðarson said, adding that he and his brother would stay up late watching games, "and it's always worth it."
Then, the big reveal was a message from Dreymon.
"To our allies in the kingdom of Milwaukee, I, Uhtred of Bebbanburg, would like to say Bucks in six, fear the deer, and destiny is all." | 2022-04-17T03:50:26Z | www.jsonline.com | Actors from Netflix series 'The Last Kingdom' wish Bucks well | https://www.jsonline.com/story/sports/nba/bucks/2022/04/16/actors-netflix-series-the-last-kingdom-wish-bucks-well/7347646001/ | https://www.jsonline.com/story/sports/nba/bucks/2022/04/16/actors-netflix-series-the-last-kingdom-wish-bucks-well/7347646001/ |
NAIA player of the year Zach Wrightsil will play for Marquette next season
Zach Wrightsil knows what the debate will be after the 6-foot-7 forward announced his transfer to the Marquette men's basketball team on Sunday.
How will the NAIA player of the year fare at the high-major level?
"Honestly, that's probably the last thing I'm worried about is how my game will translate to the Big East," Wrightsil said. "I know it seems like a big jump to many from the NAIA to the Big East. But for me, I've always felt this way from the beginning, and that is that I never felt that I belonged in the NAIA in the first place. So, for me, it's basically I'm going to be playing at one of the highest levels of college basketball this year and I know without a doubt that this is where I belong and where I've always belonged."
Wrightsil helped lead Loyola (New Orleans) to a 37-1 record and the NAIA national championship and claimed nearly every individual award at that level. He averaged 18.7 points, 8.8 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 2.1 steals per game as a senior. He is the school's all-time leader in points, rebounds and assists while also being top-five in steals and blocks.
More: Marquette had exhilarating highs and crushing lows in Shaka Smart's first season
Wrightsil looked to make the leap to the highest level of college basketball for his fifth season. Texas Christian, Virginia Tech and Loyola (Chicago) were among the schools to reach out. Wrightsil's teammate at Loyola, Myles Burns, also jumped to Division 1 and will play at Mississippi.
Wrightsil committed to MU coach Shaka Smart right after his official visit.
"It was incredible," Wrightsil said. "Just meeting the entire coaching staff for the first time in person. It's one thing to have that relationship over the phone. But just to finally do that in person, and get a feel for the type of people that they are in person was just really fun for me.
"I really just enjoyed every aspect of the visit. Especially when they were working me out. Got some good work in. I got a feel for the coaches' playing styles and their coaching styles and how they like to coach. Obviously being with Coach Shaka, just being around that energy. Everybody said every single time he walks into a room, man, he just lights it up. That's exactly the type of feeling that I had that whole time."
Wrightsil takes the open scholarship slot created after Greg Elliott entered the transfer portal. Another slot will open if Justin Lewis decides to stay in the NBA draft. Wrightsil will be the oldest player on the Golden Eagles' roster.
"That's one of the main reasons they brought me in," Wrightsil said. "To be that voice. With me having just winning experience on my previous team. Winning the national title. Going 37-1 in the season. That's one of the main things that stuck out to them when they were recruiting me. And they absolutely just wanted a guy like that to come in and be able to step on the court Day 1 and be that voice for these young guys."
Wrightsil shot 62% as a senior, but was just 4 for 27 (14.8%) on three-pointers. He has a strong body and good athleticism.
"The word I kept hearing throughout the entire recruiting process and my visit was versatile," Wrightsil said. "They want me to be the most versatile player on the floor. They want me to play basically every single position, one through five. They want me to handle the ball. They want me to shoot, pass. Play defense. That's probably the biggest thing, play defense. They love how I can guard multiple spots on the floor and affect the game on every single level. That's why they feel I'll have a lot of success here."
Javan Felix, an assistant coach at Loyola, played for Smart in the 2015-16 season at Texas.
"He basically just said that Shaka is an incredible guy," Wrightsil said. "Incredible human being. He cares about life outside of basketball. Not a lot of coaches do that. He's all about relationships."
Wrightsil plans on arriving to MU's campus in late May. He's eager to prove he belongs.
"I'm already knowing the talk is going to come after me making this decision," Wrightstil said. "I'm fully prepared for that. I'm fully aware of that. I just embrace it. It makes me tougher. It makes me play with a chip on my shoulder like I got something to prove. I have no doubt in my mind that with all the work I'm going to put in this summer that I'm going to be fully prepared for the season." | 2022-04-17T16:58:17Z | www.jsonline.com | NAIA player Zach Wrightsil will transfer to Marquette next season | https://www.jsonline.com/story/sports/college/marquette/2022/04/17/naia-player-zach-wrightsil-transfer-marquette-next-season/7350171001/ | https://www.jsonline.com/story/sports/college/marquette/2022/04/17/naia-player-zach-wrightsil-transfer-marquette-next-season/7350171001/ |
A New Berlin physical therapist is part of a charity team in Boston Marathon for 261 Fearless, a club for beginning women runners
With the hopes of getting never-before-runners to try the sport, a New Berlin woman is going to run in the Boston Marathon on Monday.
Anne Coffman, 51, is also raising money by running on a charity team in the 126th annual event. Her cause: a new local chapter of a group called 261 Fearless, a women-only running club for first-time and beginner-level runners.
“The goal for our local 261 Fearless Club Milwaukee group is to reach out to women who are not already running and help them become active, engage with other women and enjoy movement and running,” Coffman said. “We hope to reach a membership of 30 or more by the end of 2022.”
This will be Coffman’s fifth Boston Marathon; the physical therapist qualified three times before and also ran in 2018 as a special charity runner with 261 Fearless.
This running group with several chapters is named to honor Kathrine Switzer, the first woman to officially enter and run the Boston Marathon. Switzer basically had to sneak into the 1967 Boston race because at that time the race was considered a male-only event. She used her initials only to register and competed under the bib number 261.
Midway through the competition, the race director “leapt from the press truck and attempted to pull Switzer from the race. In one of sport’s most dramatic moments, Switzer’s burly boyfriend bounced the official off the course, allowing Switzer to go on to finish,” according to the 261 Fearless website. Switzer went on to later win the 1974 New York Marathon.
The local group will hold runs at 5:30 p.m. Wednesdays starting at the Wisconsin Athletic Club in West Allis, 1939 S. 108th Street. Women can attend three meet-up runs for free before joining as a member for an annual fee of $50.
For more information visit the Milwaukee club's Facebook page or email 261FearlessClubMilwaukee@gmail.com. | 2022-04-18T11:50:07Z | www.jsonline.com | New Milwaukee chapter of 261 Fearless will hold runs on Wednesdays | https://www.jsonline.com/story/sports/2022/04/18/new-milwaukee-chapter-261-fearless-hold-runs-wednesdays/7352533001/ | https://www.jsonline.com/story/sports/2022/04/18/new-milwaukee-chapter-261-fearless-hold-runs-wednesdays/7352533001/ |
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