Author Archives: Erik Brooks

Exciting news from Milwaukee County today …

Mark your calendars for June 24, opening day!

The fundraising effort to digitize more than 100 years of city newspaper continues, and I’m happy to report there is a good progress.

The South Milwaukee Historical Society tells me 16 donors have already stepped up to contribute between $10 and $1,000 each, for a total of $5,000. That is in addition to $2,000 committed by the society — with Jay Benkowski, of Benkowski Builders, agreeing to match all new donations dollar for dollar. The goal is $15,000.

Donate today! Send checks to: South Milwaukee Historical Society, 717 Milwaukee Ave., South Milwaukee, WI 53172.

And check out coverage from NOW and Fox 6, and my previous post on this effort. From the Fox 6 story …

Decades of history now sit with no way to access it. Cheaper than buying a new machine is digitizing all of the files — which is also a more user-friendly option. “If you digitize it in a certain way, it’s searchable, so you wouldn’t need to take this film and go through every single frame to see if that’s the one where your family history is on,” Manning said.

But the library can’t afford the project on its own. The South Milwaukee Historical Society is leading the effort to raise $15,000 for the digitization.

“It’s very important because, in some cases, this is the only record of this information,” said Manning. “Once it’s lost, it’s lost.”

South Milwaukee results are in for the spring 2020 primary, and turnout was again solid, at more than 23%.

Big winners locally were Chris Larson for Milwaukee County Executive, Daniel Kelly for Wisconsin Supreme Court and Paul Dedinsky for Milwaukee County Circuit Court judge.

Check out the full local results here.

And mark your calendars for the general election on April 7!

Today is Election Day! Please do your constitutional duty and vote.

There are contested spring 2020 primary races for State Supreme Court, Milwaukee County executive, and Milwaukee County Circuit Court judge.

Here is a sample ballot. And and here are additional voting details …

• Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.
• First District voters vote at Divine Mercy School, 695 College Ave.
• Second District voters vote at the Divine Mercy Gathering Room, 800 Marquette Ave.
• Third District voters vote at City Hall, 2424 15th Ave.
• Fourth District voters vote at the Grobschmidt Senior Center, 2424 15th Ave.
• Not sure what district you live in? Here is a map.
• Please remember to bring photo ID.
• For information on voter registration, polling locations, and to request an absentee ballot for future elections, visit MyVote.

Check out more details on the city’s elections web page … and look for more information on local results from South Milwaukee Blog later tonight or Wednesday morning.

And while you’re out, please thank a pollworker. These dedicated citizens bring democracy to life through their too-often thankless work.

See you at the polls!

How about some February Madness?!

That’s what is coming Friday to South Milwaukee High School, as the boys’ and girls’ varsity teams host rival Cudahy in back-to-back games.

The boys tip at 5:45, the girls after that.

For the girls, there is even more on the line than beating our neighbors to the north — if they win, they clinch their second straight Woodland East Conference championship.

A fish fry run by the student Family, Career and Community Leaders of America organization is also happening down the Hall in the Commons.

Come make it a night of Rocket basketball!

From the South Shore Chamber of Commerce …

It’s that time again for another South Shore Soup event!

South Shore Soup is a micro-granting soup dinner supporting creative projects in Cudahy, St. Francis, and South Milwaukee; the communities that make up the South Shore Chamber.  This innovative micro-granting event has been done throughout the Country and in Milwaukee.

• Sunday, February 16, 2020
• Time: 4 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. (Dinner served at 4:30 with presentations after and dessert at 5:30 p.m.)
• Cudahy United Methodist Church, 5865 S. Lake Drive, Cudahy, WI 53110

RSVP by registering the number of adults and children over age 12 or email infossccwi@gmail.com. Please email if children age 12 and under will be attending. If you email your attendance, payment will be due upon arrival to the event.

PLEASE RSVP ON OR BEFORE 12:00 p.m. Saturday, February 15, 2020

How to attend: For a donation of $10 for adults (children 12 and under are free), attendees receive a variety of hearty soup, salad, bread, dessert and they VOTE for a grantee. Pr-registration is recommended to get a count for the food.

How it works:   At the Soup dinner you hear from four presentations ranging from art, urban agriculture, social entrepreneurs, education, technology and more in hopes the attendees will “grant” them the proceeds from the soup dinner for their cause.

What is the process: Each presenter has four minutes to share their idea and answer four questions from the audience.  At the event, attendees eat, talk, share resources, enjoy and vote on the project they think most benefits the cities most.  At the end of the night we count the ballots and the winner goes home with all the attendee registration money raised to carry out their project.

Winners come back to a future Soup dinner to report their projects progress.

My ask: Let’s stand up for South Milwaukee!

The South Milwaukee Theatre Company won funding at the last event, and I’m told the South Milwaukee Leo Club application will present this time on a project to provide blankets to hospital patients and get more young adults involved in service work by engaging them with a blanket-making project.

Stop by, enjoy some great food, and support a great cause!

I love this, and judging from the incredibly viral nature of this story to date, I won’t be alone.

From the South Milwaukee Fire Department …

Meet Tuff, the 12-year-old English Bulldog, who fell through the ice near the South Milwaukee Yacht Club on Jan. 31, and was rescued by members of the South Milwaukee Fire Department. 

In recognition of the heroic act of our firefighters — and to commemorate the toughness, fearlessness, and tenacity of Tuff — the City of South Milwaukee and South Milwaukee Fire Department are proud to offer Tuff t-shirts for sale, for charity.

Shirts are $20, plus shipping, with all proceeds going to the South Milwaukee Fire Department for the purchase of additional ice/water rescue equipment and — recognizing that bulldogs are the unofficial mascot of the U.S. Marine Corps —  to K9’s for Warriors, the nation’s largest provider of service dogs to military veterans.

You can find them here: http://southmilwaukeecares.com/shop

We’d like to give a special thanks to our South Milwaukee-based partners — JB’s Tee Shirt Factory, which designed and is producing the shirts; Classic Cargo International, which is shipping them; and to South Milwaukee alumnus Dan Regalia for the creation of our e-commerce site.

We announced the t-shirt sale at a special ceremony today at the South Milwaukee Fire Department.

Now, please help us spread the word, and buy a shirt or five!

This is terrific news — and validation that our local schools are doing things right. As the parent of a high school freshman and middle school sixth-grader — and former E.W. Luther student — I see it every day. It’s nice to see that work being recognized on the state and national levels.

From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel …

The Wisconsin Department of Instruction has nominated two suburban Milwaukee schools — Maple Dale-Indian Hill School District’s Maple Dale Elementary in Fox Point and Luther Elementary in the South Milwaukee School District — along with six other schools statewide for a national award.

The schools have been nominated for the U.S. Department of Education’s 2020 National Blue Ribbon Schools Program, which recognizes schools for academic excellence and making strides toward closing achievement gaps, according to a news release from the DPI Feb. 6. The program has recognized more than 9,000 schools since it began in 1982.

The other Wisconsin schools a nominated are: Lake Delton Elementary School, School District of Wisconsin Dells; Altoona Intermediate School, School District of Altoona; Nicolet Elementary School, Menasha Joint School District; Lake Superior Elementary School, School District of Superior; Red Apple Elementary School, Racine Unified School District and Thomas Jefferson Elementary School, Wausau School District.

From the city clerk’s office …

Happening Now: In-Person Absentee Voting in the Clerk’s Office. 

Hours for in-person absentee voting are weekdays, 7:30 a.m. – 4:00 p.m., and Friday, February 14th, from 7:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. Please bring a photo ID!

To register to vote, find your polling location, or request an absentee ballot, please visit MyVote. https://myvote.wi.gov/en-us/

From the South Milwaukee Fire Department …

The annual WANTED: PEANUT BUTTER Collection Drive has begun. Once again, every fire department in Milwaukee County has opened their doors to receive your donations. So, stop by and drop off your donation of this delicious source of energy and nutrition at any fire station. In South Milwaukee, donations are being accepted at the Fire Department, as well as the Health Department, City Hall, Senior Center, and Public Library. Watch this page for upcoming opportunities to meet your South Milwaukee Firefighters at the South Milwaukee WalMart and Pick ‘n Save stores who have, once again, graciously agreed to let us set up outside their stores.

In addition, if you are part of a civic organization, church group, girl or boy scout troop, or fun committee at work, feel free to join us in collecting. We’ll even get your photo on this very same Facebook Page !!! All donations received in South Milwaukee go directly to South Milwaukee Human Concerns, our local food pantry.

Please take a look at the message shared by South Milwaukee Police Chief William Jessup this week. It’s good news, for the most part.

The headline: Crime is down in key areas, and continues to be down.

And while we should be proud of that, one crime is too many, and our officers, in partnership with the community, must continue to work to bring these numbers down — which they are doing every day.

We are making progress, sustained progress, and that could not happen without the members of South Milwaukee Police Department. We thank you, and will never take your work for granted.

You can see more data on the police department Facebook page, and in its upcoming annual report.

Check out these South Milwaukee headlines, including an update on progress at the former site of AMF South Park Lanes. Lots happening locally these days …

• A Former South Milwaukee Bowling Alley is Finally Ready to Repoen as an Indoor Soccer Facility, Owner Says (NOW)
• Emmy Winner Returns Home to South Milwaukee to Enter the City into an HGTV Hometown Makeover Contest (NOW)
• 80-Year-Old Drives Goes Airborne, Crashes Into Dunkin’ Donuts (WISN)
• 22-Year-Old Dead After Multi-Vehicle Crash in South Milwaukee (CBS 58)
• Milwaukee’s Rich Heritage of Urban Theater Spaces (Shepherd Express)

And check out photos from the South Milwaukee girls’ basketball team’s recent win over Brown Deer.

Sample cover of our new newsletter.

As mayor, I proudly wear the hat — among many — of Chief Communications Officer of the City of South Milwaukee.

I do not take that responsibility lightly. How we tell our story and share information with residents, business owners, visitors and other stakeholders matters, a lot.

That is why I am proud to get behind two new communications platforms we are launching in coming months.

First, we are proud to partner with the South Milwaukee School District on the launch of “Bridges,” our new official city news magazine, debuting in April.

The magazine is being produced by Barb Caprile, who is also behind similar publications in Oak Creek and Greendale. Like those, this beautiful publication will combine information from our city departments with news and features from around the community and schools. Each edition will profile a local business. Rich imagery will be found throughout, and the magazine will bring our new brand to life.

We will partner with the school district on editorial planning — and together will tell a strong and cohesive story about what makes South Milwaukee, South Milwaukee.

Improved storytelling is also the goal of the city’s effort to relaunch its website as part of the Civic Engage network. The South Milwaukee City Council approved this move last month, with a plan to launch the new site this summer.

It will offer a more user-friendly experience, improving design, repackaging information, and streamlining content to make information more accessible, actionable and compelling. The focus will be on residents and business owners, but the new site will also better tell our city story to visitors.

Civic Engage is a leader in this space, and I’m excited to work with them, joining communities like West Allis, Bayside, Greenfield, Muskego, and New Berlin who already use the company for their sites.

Look for more details soon on both platforms in coming weeks, as our team — led by Communications Coordinator Katie Crosby and Assistant City Administrator Patrick Brever — works to get these off the ground. I thank Katie and Patrick for their efforts and their work on our city Facebook page, which has also seen a major upgrade in recent years, getting us to what I believe is a best practice page for communities.

Social media, digital and print: We are committed to strong communications in South Milwaukee, and I’m excited about what we’re delivering here, together.

Sad news this morning, as one person was pronounced dead following a head-on crash around 8:30 a.m. today on Nicholson Avenue near Hickory.

The South Milwaukee Fire Department reports … “One adult occupant was pronounced deceased at the scene. Two adults and one teenager were transported to Froedtert and Children’s Hospitals for treatment of non-life threatening injuries. The Oak Creek Police Department and Wisconsin State Patrol are investigating.”

Please keep everyone involved in this incident in your prayers.

I love South Milwaukee Little League! It is one of those organizations that defines our community, and builds it, bringing people together through sports, through the generosity, passion and commitment of volunteers.

My son played Little League baseball for years, and it’s always exciting to see a new generation of kids step up to the plate.

And it’s time to sign up for the 2020 season. Early bird registration ends today for  2020. Sign up and other details here. From the site …

Little League Programs are for every level, ages 4-14 years old. Create lifelong memories, and amazing friendships in the community – play Little League. All skill levels welcome.

The programs that we offer are as follows:

• Rookie Ball – 4-5 Year olds
• A Baseball/Softball – 6-7 Year olds
• AA Baseball/Softball – 7-8 Year olds
• AAA Baseball/Softball – 9-10 Year olds
• Major Baseball/Softball – 11-12 Year olds
• Intermediate Baseball – 11-13 Year Olds
• Junior Baseball/Softball 13-14 Years Old

REGISTER ONLINE: https://active.leagueone.com/Olr/Pages/Welcome.aspx?ClubId=13780

2020 Early Bird Season Pricing

Baseball/Softball Early Bird – before February 5

• Baseball/Softball: $105 (paid by Credit Card) – save $35!
• Baseball/Softball: $130 (paid by Check) – save $10!

Rookie Early Bird – before March 15

• Rookie: $70 (paid by CC or check) – save $20!

REGISTER ONLINE: https://active.leagueone.com/Olr/Pages/Welcome.aspx?ClubId=13780

2020 Regular Season Pricing

Baseball/Softball Regular – after February 5

• Baseball/Softball: $140 (paid by Credit Card)
• Baseball/Softball: $140 (paid by Check)

Rookie – after March 15

• Rookie: $90 (paid by CC or check)