Monthly Archives: December 2011

A Banner Year For South Milwaukee Blog: Looking Back To 2011

Again, I’d like to thank everyone for reading South Milwaukee Blog.

It’s been a year of major growth for this blog, and I appreciate everyone who has taken the time to check out the site, with a special thanks going out to my regular readers and subscribers.

All in, the blog logged about 44,000 page views in 2011, and it’s seen more than 71,000 since I launched it in October of 2009. The biggest single day for page views this year came on Nov. 2, with 488.

Of course, while I’d like to think that it’s my prose that keeps people coming back, I know news stories drive traffic to this blog. And 2011 was a big year, with the happenings in Madison, sale of Bucyrus and approval of Walmart among the stories dominating the headlines.

Here are the five most-viewed stories from 2011, according to this summary:

These were five of the more than 415 posts on this blog in 2011 … and I look forward to doing even more in 2011. Thanks again for your support, and please keep reading, commenting and spreading the word about South Milwaukee Blog. Happy new year!

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Oak Creek’s Growth, Upcoming Transit Changes And Other Local Headlines

Oak Creek Patch has an interesting story on the explosive growth of Oak Creek in recent decades.

Check it out here. From it:

As you may have noticed, the once-small community of Oak Creek is no longer small. So much so that, according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2010 report, Oak Creek led Milwaukee County in population growth.

The population is now nearing 35,000, making it the sixth-largest community in Milwaukee County. That’s nearly double the population from 1980.

And check out these other local headlines:

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Cudahy Kmart Survives Cut

Sears Holdings — which includes the Kmart brand — announced this week that it will close 100 to 120 underperforming stores across the county.

The Cudahy Kmart is not on the list.

But a Rice Lake Kmart and West Baraboo Sears Grand/Essentials store is.

Check out stories in The Business Journal and Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

Of course, this list of closures is only partial, and the fate of the Cudahy Kmart bears even closer watching once the South Milwaukee Walmart is up and running — likely not until 2014. I’ll keep you posted.

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What’s For Sale? Taking A Look At Properties For Sale In South Milwaukee

It’s time for another installment of What’s For Sale? — a regular glimpse at the local real estate market.

A highlight this week: the former Zion Lutheran Church (and later Calvary Academy) property at 2200 9th Ave. (9th and Madison). The building, listed at $150,000, is back on the market after an attempt by a local man to use the property as a commercial kitchen, breakfast/fish fry restaurant and indoor farmers’ market fell through earlier this month.

The plan has been considered at a couple Plan Commission meetings and approved by the City Council before it fell apart.

Check out property details here. And here are some other properties listed through Metro MLS at Nicholson Realty’s website, a sampling of single-family, multifamily and commercial property:

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Back To Blogging … And Here Are Some Local Headlines From The Past Week

I hope everyone had a blessed Christmas and found some time to relax and enjoy gathering with family and friends. I know I did.

Sarah and I will always treasure these times with our two young children. They make the holidays that much more special.

Anyway, it looks like it’s been a light news week around the South Shore. Here are a few headlines, as I return to regular blogging:

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Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas to all readers of South Milwaukee Blog!

With the holidays finally here, I am taking a few days off from blogging, but I’ll be back next week and beyond with more news, information and viewpoints from South Milwaukee and the region. In the meantime, I hope you can enjoy some time with family and friends (like I will), all while keeping in mind the reason for the season.

Thank you for reading!

Here are a few holiday reminders:

  • City Hall has limited hours through Jan. 2. Learn more at the city website.
  • The library also has limited hours.
  • There will be no City Council meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 3. It next meets Jan. 17. Learn more on the city calendar.
  • South Milwaukee schools are on break through Jan. 1. See the school calendar here.

And, finally, be sure to check out this funny and heart-warming Journal Sentinel column about a truly unique South Milwaukee nativity display. Ewe’ll be happy ewe you did.

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Caterpillar Sales Jump And Other Local Headlines

Good news for South Milwaukee: Caterpillar continues to see strong sales growth of its construction and mining machinery.

That’s according to this story from the Wall Street Journal. From it:

The November period was the 19th straight three-month period of sales growth for the world’s largest seller of bulldozers, excavators and wheel loaders. But the growth has been moderating in recent months because of tougher year-ago comparison figures and softening economic conditions throughout the world.

And check out these other local headlines:

Also, South Milwaukee NOW has published a new South Shore police blotter.

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Patrick Cudahy Sues U.S. Navy, Alleged St. Matthew Theft And Other Local Headlines

Patrick Cudahy Inc. and others are suing the U.S. Navy for its alleged role in the massive 2009 fire at the Cudahy meatpacking plant.

Check out the story here.

And check out these other local headlines:

Also, County Supervisor Pat Jursik weighs in (strongly) on the debate over the Shakespeare in the Courts program and Sheriff David Clarke’s budget (including his stable of horses). And State Sen. Chris Larson has published a new Larson Report, where he, in detail, deconstructs one year of Republican control in Madison.

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South Milwaukee Sports And Activities Update

Here is the latest installment of Rocket Update from the school district’s athletics and activities department … congratulations to the boys’ and girls’ basketball teams for their hot start!

Good morning everyone,

Here is another quick update. If you have a TV near you, try to turn on TMJ4 to catch a glimpse of the Madrigal Choir. They are singing until 7:00am on their local morning show this morning.

MADRIGAL CHOIR
The madrigal singers are currently at the TMJ4 studios, singing Christmas songs as they have for several years running and are doing a fantastic job under the direction of first-year choir teacher Emily Buckner and student leader senior Lexie Bartell. They deserve a lot of credit for sounding so good this early. The bus picked them up at 3:50am!!

BOYS BASKETBALL
The Rockets are off to a fast start with a 6-1 record, despite a slew of injuries to a number of starters. Senior Austin Stueck has led the way, averaging over 20 points a game, despite a pretty bad high ankle sprain limiting him in practice. Senior Dominic Stanley also has a fractured ankle and was the team’s second leading scorer and is out at least another week or two. Senior Sam Stojsavljevic has taken his turn filling in nicely, scoring 18 pts in their 49-29 win over St. Francis on Tuesday, and senior Jake Eaton has been solid averaging over 12 pts a game.

The Rockets next game is at Concordia University in Mequon as they take on the Neenah Rockets in the Wisconson Yearbook Classic on Tuesday, 12/27 at 8:00pm. Tickets are $5 for the game.

GIRLS BASKETBALL
Like the boys, the Rocket girls team is off to a super start with a 5-0 record, despite a rash of injuries. Returning all-conference guard Mallory Wesley is a week away from returning after a foot injury that has kept her out for 3 weeks after a strong first week of the season. The Rockets have been led by a contingent of juniors who have just played fantastic basketball seemingly alternating big games. In their win against St. Francis, junior Riley Budde led the way with 13 pts and 10 reb. In their win over Shorewood last Friday, junior Emily Pusheck led the way with 15 pts and 10 reb, and against Greenfield, junior Ellie Pusheck led the way with 12 pts and 9 reb. Junior Sam Page has also been among the contributors, playing solid defense and passing the ball well averaging over 2 steals and 4 assists a game.

The Rockets next play on Tuesday, January 3rd @ Wauwatosa West.

WRESTLING
The Rockets are a very young squad with several freshman in the mix at the varsity level, but that has not stopped them from starting off the winter strongly. They defeated New Berlin at home on 12/4 with 8 pins out of 14 total matches. At the prestigious and stacked Stech Tournament in West Allis, the Rockets did a great job taking 9th place out of close to 20 teams, with juniors Tom Mitchell (182 lbs) and Tom Wawrzyniak (285 lbs) taking 2nd place in their respective age divisions.

The Rockets next home meet is Wednesday, January 4th (in the Middle School Gym) at 7:00pm.

POMS
At the recent Milwaukee Bucks competition, the JV Poms took 1st place overall in their division, while the Varsity Rockettes took 3rd in the Pom division and 5th in the Jazz division.

BOYS SWIM & DIVE
The Rockets took 2nd place at the Milwaukee Hamilton Invite on 12/13, just narrowly being edged out for 1st place. The 200 freestyle relay with Andrew O’Neill, Bart Brzezicki, Brian Rewolinski, and Michael O’Neill took second, and the 400 freestyle relay with Brian Rewolinski, Dan Wimmer, Mark Carnezki, and Jake Polakowski took second. The 200 freestyle relay with Andrew O’Neill, Bart Brzezicki, Brian Rewolinski, and Michael O’Neill took second, and the 400 freestyle relay with Brian Rewolinski, Dan Wimmer, Mark Carnezki, and Jake Polakowski took second. In the 100 free Matt Verstegen too second with a time of 55.22. In the 500 Free Mark Czarnezki took second with a time of 6:08. In the 100 free Matt Verstegen too second with a time of 55.22. In the 500 Free Mark Czarnezki took second with a time of 6:08.

The Rockets next home meet is Wednesday, January 4th (in the Middle School Pool) at 5:00pm.

POWERLIFTING
The powerlifting team started off their season well qualifying seven lifters for State, including senior Devin Dettmann who lifted an astounding 1100 lbs without any equipment. The Rocket Varsity girls took 1st place and the Rocket Varsity boys took 2nd place overall.

CHEER
At the Oak Creek Cheer Invitational, the Rockets did a fantastic job, taking 2nd place in the competition.

ROCKET REVUE & THESPIANS
On 12/16, a number of students (and a few alumni) performed in the PAC in a variety of singing acts, raising money for the Thespian Scholarships and did a fantastic job. Over a dozen student actors also did their annual elementary school tour performing the children’s classic story, “The Mitten,” before student audiences at each of the four elementary schools. The performers did great, but so did each of the elementary audiences!

PERSIAN MARKET & ART HONOR
Congratulations to HS Art teacher Rick Cartwright and his Art Honor students, including senior Alaina Totka for raising over $1,100 in scholarship money through their Persian Market fundraiser. Many people bid on some fantastic items, raised some good money and enjoyed themselves.

Stay tuned for a really good alumni update coming soon!

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A Brief Consolidation Update

The mayor on Tuesday night gave a brief update on fire department and dispatch consolidation talks between South Milwaukee, Cudahy and St. Francis. It was brief because there really isn’t much new to report.

Talks involving city, fire and law enforcement leaders and staff continue, and their next meeting is set for January.

The parties remain in the information gathering stage and are working to pull together more data they’ll need to hopefully step up the discussions in 2012. This may include a third-party review of the pros and cons of various consolidation possibilities.

One factor that will be an important part of the debate: Recent cuts in county funding to municipalities for paramedic service. Simply, this reduction in funding (and potentially more down the road) will force all county communities offering this service, including South Milwaukee, to ask hard questions about how paramedic services are delivered going forward.

I’ll keep you posted. And post your comments below!

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More On Drafting Of The Mining Bill, New Interim Oak Creek Mayor And Other Local Headlines

It turns out that South Milwaukee Rep. Mark Honadel was one of five state lawmakers who led drafting of the controversial mining regulation bill now before the legislature.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t just lawmakers who helped draft the bill. The mining industry also apparently played an advisory (how strong, not sure) role in shaping the wording — which has me further concerned about what this legislation will mean for the environment if enacted in 2012. Honadel’s quote from the Journal Sentinel story:

“Of course we worked with getting ideas from the mining company,” Honadel said. “If a biotech company came here, we would sit down with and get all of their ideas, too.”

Check out the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel story here. And check out these other South Shore headlines:

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Route To A Smaller County Board

Update: The City Council on Tuesday decided not to move ahead with putting either question on the spring ballot. A motion to do so was not seconded — essentially killing the proposed referenda. 

Should South Milwaukee voters weigh in on the size and full-time status of the Milwaukee County Board?

The City Council will consider that issue on Tuesday night, when we discuss and potentially act on two potential advisory referendums that several other communities are adding to their local April ballots.

One asks voters if supervisors should be part-time, instead of full-time, positions. The other under consideration would ask voters if the board should be reduced from its current 18 members to nine.

Five other local councils have already voted to bring these questions before voters next spring, and the County Board had considered calling for a similar countywide referendum — an effort that now appears dead.

Where do I stand? Let me start by saying I think we have a terrific county supervisor in Pat Jursik. She is smart, hard-working, passionate and focused on positive change, and she truly cares about her constituents.

Even so, I absolutely support a smaller county board, and nine seems about right. (I’m not sure about the part-time issue.)

I am just not sure these local referendums will make any difference toward this end.

With only a handful of the county’s communities planning to ask the questions, their effectiveness is limited, and the message they may send would be severely weakened. And with these questions only being advisory in nature, you have to ask: How seriously will county supervisors take the results? My guess: Not very.

Any referendum on this issue should be countywide. Only then would it carry significant weight with the people who need to hear the message the loudest: the county board.

While I am open to hearing other arguments, I am hesitant to support putting this on the ballot only in South Milwaukee. It strikes me as a waste of time.

What do you think? Post your comments below!

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South Milwaukeeans Injured In Oak Creek Crash, Walmart Growth And Other Local Headlines

Several South Milwaukeeans, including two children, were hurt in a serious car crash on Sunday in Oak Creek.

One woman suffered life-threatening injuries and was airlifted to the hospital, according to the story in Oak Creek Patch.

Check out the story here.

Also, a 78-year-old Cudahy man was killed in a Washington County crash over the weekend. Check out the WISN story here.

And check out these other local headlines:

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Free Falling? Magazine Offers A Rather Unflattering Portrayal Of Milwaukee … And Cudahy

The Atlantic magazine has a piece on the demise of the middle class in Milwaukee and its impact on the region — including inner ring suburbs like Cudahy.

Check out the story here.

I’d like to know what you think about the piece and its conclusions. I guess I take a  more optimistic view. Sure, the Milwaukee area has its problems, and income disparity, joblessness and poverty are among them. But I also see so many good things — positive signs — emerging.

I see hope.

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Report: South Milwaukee Associated Bank Spared

Associated Bank announced Friday that it will close 21 branches across the state — and South Milwaukee’s won’t be one of them.

That’s according to this story in the Wisconsin State Journal, which lists the locations of the planned closures. They include Milwaukee-area locations in Greendale, Brookfield and Waukesha.

The Associated Bank in South Milwaukee is at 2815 S. Chicago Ave.

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