Author Archives: Erik Brooks

Saturday is one of my favorite days of the year: South Milwaukee Little League Opening Day.

The festivities start with a parade at noon. It leaves from 12th Milwaukee, heads east on Milwaukee to Ninth, then south to Drexel, then east into Little League Park.

Quick aside: How many communities actually have a parade like this? To me, it’s one of the things that makes South Milwaukee special. 

Brief opening day ceremonies follow for the parade. Then there’s a full slate of games.

Diamond #1

• 1:00 Golden Arches vs. Big Macs
• 2:00 Red Sox vs. Yankees
• 4:00 Braves vs. Brewers

Diamond #2

• 1:00 McFlurries vs. Cheeseburgers
• 2:00 White Sox vs. Phillies
• 4:00 Mets vs. Pirates

Diamond #3

• 1:00 Small Fries vs. McMuffins
• 2:00 Diamondbacks vs. Blue Jays
• 4:00 Astros vs. Tigers

Thanks to the Rotary Club of Mitchell Field for bringing back this terrific event.

Committed so far: Streetza Pizza, Meat on the Street, Yellow Bellies, Bebe’s Bistro, Truckmeister, Press (Belgian leige waffles), Denson’s Catering, Little Havana Express, Pig Tailz MKE, Heavenly Cuisine on the Go, Happy Dough Lucky, and Jamaican Kitchen & Grill … with more to come.

Mark your calendars!

There is untapped power in our local religious communities, civic groups and other organizations working together to solve community problems.

One terrific example of this potential coming to life: an effort led by First Congregational United Church of Christ to sponsor a Free Community Meal for South Milwaukeeans dealing with food scarcity issues and in need of a hot meal.

The free meals, which started in April, are served from 5 to 6:30 p.m. on the third Thursday of each month at First Congregational,  1111 N. Chicago Ave.

The next one is scheduled for May 18.

First Congregational is serving the first two meals, which consist of a main dish, side vegetable, dessert, coffee, milk, and water. Others volunteering to serve are:

• South Milwaukee Human Concerns
• Divine Mercy Parish
• Trinity Lutheran Church
• St. Luke’s UCC
• Masjid Al-Huda Mosque and School
• New Day Church

Human Concerns, Gordon Foods and Skyline Catering are also assisting with in-kind donations.

I want to thank First Congregational and the church’s Mission Committee for leading this effort, and to everyone who is stepping up to help this real, and growing, need in our community. Their work is inspiring.

We are stronger, together, in confronting realities like poverty and hunger that exist in South Milwaukee, and the world — one meal at a time.

Note: The meal is handicapped accessible; there are no stairs as you enter. 

Congratulations to the South Milwaukee School District for receiving a $25,000 state grant on Tuesday to expand their Fab Lab.

Among those on hand to award the grant and share a proclamation was Mark Hogan, secretary of the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation.

I was proud to share in the good news — especially as the parent of a sixth grader, as school leaders look to use the funds to expand the lab to more students, including middle schoolers, giving opportunities to kids like Christian that I could have never dreamed of as a student.

It’s more than fancy machines like 3-D printers, laser engravers and plasma cutters. These funds will help tomorrow’s engineers learn problem-solving and leadership skills that will be invaluable as they make their way into the workforce.

More details on the nearly $500,000 in grants awarded statewide here.

Earth Day in South Milwaukee is getting bigger and better all the time … including the addition this week of can recycling, benefiting South Milwaukee Human Concerns.

Check out the full list of activities in the updated flyer, and join us on Saturday.

A complimentary lunch — Cousin’s subs, and the famous beans made from the recipe passed down by decades of mayors’ wives — will be served.

The city’s official Earth Day celebration is next Saturday, April 29, but you can get a head start on cleanup opportunities with two events on Saturday, April 22.

• First, the Friends of Grant Park are holding their annual cleanup starting at 9 a.m. Meet at the beach. The Friends will provide gloves, hot chocolate and bags. Please bring rakes, if possible.
• There is also the South Milwaukee Community & Business Association’s Kicking Butts Downtown cleanup activity, starting at 3 p.m. Details on Facebook.

Let’s clean up this city!

It’s the question I was asked most on the campaign trail, and beyond: What’s up with the downtown mixed-use development?

My response was always the same: Vetter Denk is as committed to the project as ever. On Tuesday, Vetter Denk’s owners reinforced that commitment. Now the real work begins.

The South Milwaukee City Council unanimously approved a six-month extension of the planning option for the proposed mixed-use project at 11^th and Madison Avenues downtown.

At the meeting, co-owner John Vetter said he is more excited about the project now than he was even six months ago, when it was first proposed. During that time, the firm has been doing its due diligence, refining plans for the residential, commercial and public use components of the development. They’ve met with prospective retail tenants, too, including potential microbrewers, although they do not have a signed lease for that part of the project, and may not even as dirt is moved on the apartments.

So, good news. But there is a lot more work to do. In fact, it’s just getting started in many ways.

Details matter, and there are a lot of details to be worked out in coming weeks and months, from further honing the development plans to finalizing potential incentives, including tax incremental financing. There is a long road ahead, with a number of governmental approvals necessary and public comment opportunities to come. Vetter Denk knows this … and is focused on moving the development forward.

We look forward working with them.

Wrote Vetter Denk in the extension request: “We will present the City with a final development that not only meets our pragmatic requirements, but will also be the catalytic project that you have envisioned for the City of South Milwaukee.”

I’ll keep you posted as plans advance.

The 128th Air Refueling Wing Civic Dinner Dance is a truly special event, one that I look forward to every year. It’s a moving tribute to our military, and a great way to honor a different South Shore community icon each year.

This year, it means even more for South Milwaukee, as the honored citizen hails from our city: Gary Wetzel, the Medal of Honor recipient for his heroism as an Army soldier in the Vietnam War.

Please join me at this event to honor our military, and Gary.

Tickets are $40 each, and you can order them through George Becker, a member of the 128th Dinner Dance Committee, by phone 414-764-3299 or email at corvettegeorge2014@gmail.com. Order by April 28.

Let’s get a great South Milwaukee turnout this year!

The Beautification Committee continues to make a difference.

The latest example: The launch of a new and improved Neighborhood Beautification Program, which returns for a second year to help unite neighbors “to improve the ‘curb appeal’ of your neighborhood block.”

Here is a PDF of the flyer … take advantage of the resources, and spread the word!

We continue to see a lot of positive momentum on key initiatives these days.

One I’m really excited about is our community rebranding effort.

With dozens of interviews of local residents and their own discovery and research, Savage Solutions is making strong progress on this project, but they need your help.

Be part of the process at this May 3 Community Focus Group — a chance to offer your opinions on topics that will guide development of the new community identity and logo.  

Remember the Aaron Rodgers Ford TV spots filmed locally more than four years ago?

Well, two new commercials have strong South Milwaukee ties.

• First, much of this new Ariens spot — the parts shown before they show an actual Ariens factory in orange — was filmed at The SHOP, the new classic motorcycle repair shop at 1905 13th Ave.
• Then there is this West Bend Mutual spot. It features Neal Letteney, pastor of New Day Church, which recently moved to Wil-o-Way Grant. Pastor Neal, an actor, is the bearded fellow in the blue flannel shirt (and the wood shavings in his beard).

I love showing off the people and places that make our city great!

While Drexel Town Square and development around the Drexel freeway interchange have gotten most of the attention recently, I’ve long thought Oak Creek’s plans for Carrollville will have the biggest impact on their neighbor to the north and east.

Us.

Those plans are starting to come together and include a wide mix of uses, from single-family housing to light industrial to a convention center. A new lakefront park is already open, located along a newly extended Fifth Avenue connecting to Highway 100.

From a recent Business Journal story …

The overall vision breaks the land surrounding Lake Vista Park into different districts, each with a different redevelopment strategy.

There’s 91 acres northeast of American and Fifth avenues where the city is encouraging offices or light industrial buildings for water technology businesses or other research and development. There also could be medium-density housing with apartments and single-family homes.

An affiliate of Wispark LLC, Milwaukee, owns 46 acres in that area that it eventually plans to sell to another developer, said president Jerry Franke. Wispark shareholders invested in that land as part of the same agreement that led to its participation in the Drexel Town Square and OakView Business Park developments, he said.

“Obviously, that’s the most difficult one and the one we’re working with the city on for a strategy to have someone else buy it and redevelop it,” Franke said of the lakefront land.

Happy fifth anniversary, Pink Bunny Games!

There was a great turnout for their celebration and ribbon cutting on Saturday.

‘Thanks to the South Milwaukee Community & Business Association and state Rep. Jonathan Brostoff for being a part of this special day, as we celebrate yet another small, independent business choosing to locate and grow in South Milwaukee.

Damien opened the store in 2012 as a way to get his collection out of the living room — and now he is eyeing expansion. Here’s to 50 more years in South Milwaukee!

By the way, here is the story on the name, from their Facebook page …

This story is really a two parter. The first part, I used to be what you would call a backpack dealer of Magic cards. This means that I would travel to events all around the midwest and trade cards for a profit with people at those events. There were several other people that did the same thing as myself, and we all sort of hung out with each other at the events.

The next part had really nothing to do with my Magic dealings. My girlfriend Ericka, had ordered a coat online. When the coat arrived, it did not look like the picture on the internet. The one that arrived was shaped like a big square, while the one pictured online was shaped like a woman. She was going to send it back, but I asked how much it cost her. It was only $20, so I told her to keep it and I would wear it. The coat in question was a fluffy, furry Pink coat.

Now back to my side gig as a backpack dealer. Magic was almost all males at the time, it is still a lot more males than females now, but we are moving in the right direction. Back then however, a room with 1000+ Magic players likely had less than 10 women in its population. Back then, I started wearing this fluffy Pink coat. I was just wearing it to be that goofy guy that did abnormal stuff, but what I didn’t realize, was that I was creating a brand. When a player walked into that room with 1000 people in it and had to find one of us backpack dealers to get that last card for his deck, I stood out like a sore thumb. It was fairly easy to pick out the fluffy Pink coat in a room full of guys.

All of the backpack dealers had nicknames for each other, and mine was Pink Bunny, due to my coat resembling the energizer bunny. I wore that coat for several years before it had to be retired, but the nickname has been with me ever since.

Fast forward a few years, and I had made the decision to open a store, rather than continue working out of my apartment. When decidinbg what to name the store, I made the decision that a descriptive name was not as good as a memorable name. I could have been Game Store, or Game Emporium, but if you looked at a list of generic sounding names, mine would dissappear into the mix as soon as you got to the next page, however, a name like Pink Bunny Games would stick with you, it would stand out, much like the fluffy Pink coat did for me so long ago.

Check out these South Shore headlines …

• Bumpy Road: An Endless Quest to Fix Local Roads in Wisconsin (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)
• Comic Jackie Kashian Took a Very Long Road from Minneapolis to National Success (Minneapolis Star Tribune)
• South Milwaukee Man Pleads Guilty in Crash That Killed 2 Bicyclists (Journal Sentinel)
• Local “Blessing Box” Brings Community Together (CBS 58)
• “Oak Creek Fights” Facebook Page Taken Down Amid Concerns (Oak Creek Patch)
• Cudahy Man Held in Canada Over Fake Bomb in Luggage (Journal Sentinel)
• Oak Creek Delves into Milwaukee Aerotropolis Plan (NOW)
• Improved South Shore Terrace Beer Garden Opens for Season (NOW)

Also, NOW has published a new police blotter, including this item …

Officers were called to an apartment in the 1200 block of Michigan Avenue at 12:52 p.m. April 4 and 8:49 a.m. April 5 after a 35-year-old woman told police that she had received phone calls she believed were from actor Kiefer Sutherland. She was advised it was a scam and to ignore the calls.

From the South Milwaukee Performing Arts Center …

Please mark your calendars for the South l Performing Arts Center’s 2017-18 Season Preview & Tasting Party, Wednesday, May 24 at 6:30 pm, at the PAC. 901 15^th Avenue.

In addition to sneak previews of the upcoming season, we’ll feature our NEW official caterer, Skyline Catering, and some of our PAC sponsoring restaurants. The following sponsors have graciously offered to participate in our event by hosting a complimentary tasting (small bites) of their specialties:

• Skyline Catering
• Scrappy’s BBQ
• Barbiere’s Italian Restaurant
• Azteca Mexican Restaurant

This FREE event is open to the public.  Invite family and friends to join in the fun.