Category Archives: South Milwaukee

Check out this story from WUWM on the Milwaukee County Parks earning status as a Wisconsin Bird Conservation Initiative Important Bird Area — and what that means for Grant Park. From it …

Milwaukee County Parks joins 92 other IBA sites in Wisconsin. There are 2,832 around the United States and 12,000 around the world.

His team of four, including Russart, manages 10,000 acres of natural park areas. Russart says without the help of volunteers their work would be impossible. Rita Flores Wiskowski, of South Milwaukee, is one of those volunteers. She’s kept track of a lot of birds in Grant Park.

“This spring I spent a lot of time at the tennis court pond, and it had the prothonotary warbler, the hooded warbler … so it ended up being this great little spot that nobody else was flocking to,” Wiskowski says. …

IBA isn’t simply for the birds. It’s about engaging the public in the conservation effort. Volunteer Rita Flores Wiskowski says she takes a people-centric approach.

“When I’ve come here this spring, there were more birders in this park than I’ve ever seen in the spring from all over Wisconsin. So, that’s a really cool thing to have in our county to bring people in to enjoy our parks. I think people are as important as nature,” Wiskowski says.

Of course, Rita has also led efforts to have South Milwaukee declared a Bird City the past couple of years. Thanks, Rita, for helping get our city recognized as a birder’s paradise. Let’s tell the world!

New this year, The Salvation Army nationwide is collaborating with Walmart to help ease the burden that back to school shopping causes. Donations will be collected at Walmarts across Milwaukee County, including South Milwaukee. Collections will be taking place at Walmart locations from 8 a.m. – 6:30 p.m. on Saturday, August 3.

More details here.

Have a plan: Bring the stakeholders together to determine your vision for the future, and what it will take to achieve that vision.

Work the plan: Bring to life to goals and objectives that make up your plan, delivering on the collective vision for a more promising future.

We are doing it with our 2035 Comprehensive and Downtown Plan, and we will do it with the Oak Creek Watershed restoration plan. Now, we are proud to say we’re employing this strategy in city government with out first strategic plan in decades.

We have emerged from this process with a shared vision for city government, and will use the plan as a foundation for our employees, upon which they will build their own goals and objectives, making it part of a performance culture at the city.

The South Milwaukee Common Council approved the plan at its July meeting, and I encourage you to check out the summary here.

Hold us accountable to it. We will do the same.

Another innovative approach to community outreach from the South Milwaukee Police Department … and a partnership with a local business. Love it!

Come join us this Wednesday, July 31st, at the South Milwaukee McDonald’s. “Cone with a Cop” is an opportunity for you and the children to enjoy some ice cream, compliments of McDonald’s, while talking to our officers about anything on your mind. We hope to see you there!!

I am glad this story had a happy ending, and that’s because of people and communities working together.

In this case, it’s the South Milwaukee and Cudahy Fire Departments partnering with the South Milwaukee Yacht Club to get medical care to someone in need, and maybe save a life.

From the South Milwaukee Fire Department …

At approximately 1:50am this morning, SMFD was called upon to assist the Cudahy Fire Department with extricating an adult male patient from the lake bank overlooking Lake Michigan. The patient fell over the edge, eventually ending up towards the bottom of the bank. Due to the mud, brush, and steepness of the lake bank, it was decided that lowering the patient to the beach and placing him in an inflatable raft for transfer onto the SMFD Rescue Boat was the best option. This means of rescue was used successfully last year with another one of their patients.

This time, however, the CFD inflatable raft was deployed from the SM Yacht Club and escorted to the location by the SMFD Rescue Boat, who also had a Cudahy Police Officer and Milwaukee County Sheriff Deputy on board. Once on scene, the CFD raft picked the patient off the beach and brought the patient to the SMFD Rescue Boat. Due to the size of the SMFD Boat, it is unable to get close enough to shore to execute a direct “pick off.”

The SMFD Boat brought the patient back to the SM Yacht Club where he was evaluated by SMFD Paramedics. His injuries were determined to be non-life threatening and he was transported to Froedtert Hospital for further care.

There are lots of deserving homes and businesses out there — I see them every day. Make sure they get nominated for their great work!

There are two easy ways to enter: Simply write the address as a comment on the pinned post on the city’s Facebook page, or use this online form.

From the city website …

The South Milwaukee Curb Appeal Awards are presented to South Milwaukee businesses, homeowners and civic organizations who devote extra effort to their property’s beautification, through landscaping and other street-facing efforts.

Judging criteria include utilization of color, appropriateness for the architecture of the structure, originality, lawn upkeep, and decorative exterior structures. Properties also will be judged on the overall exterior appearance of their buildings.

*Current-year Garden Tour entrants are also not eligible.

Winners will be selected by the Beautification Committee. Five winners will be selected to receive a cash prize, a sign, and recognition on the city’s/mayor’s digital platforms.

Start your Heritage Days Sunday with …

Suburban Soles – Guided Nature Walks
Sunday, July 28, 2019 – 10:00 a.m.
“Echos from the Past”
Discover Histories of the Seven Bridges & Wulff Lodge
GPS Grant Park Area 5

Put on your hiking shoes and join us as this week’s Suburban Soles adventure will focus on the history of the Seven Bridges area.  Local historian Nels Monson will be your guide for this fact-filled tour.  Wander through the picturesque ravines as we visit the site of the Grant Park Tourist Camp, the original beach area, and the home of Frederick C. Wulff – the man whose vision and dedication led to the creation of this delightful public treasure.  This tour is sure to please anyone interested in the history of Grant Park.

And end with Family Day at South Milwaukee Lionsfest! Chicken dinner, discounted rides and plenty of kids activities. Details …

Just a couple hours after the parade and few blocks from South Milwaukee Lionsfest on Saturday is the Friends of the Mill Pond and Oak Creek Watercourse Great Duck Race.

Check out this fun event to raise money for a terrific organization.

The race starts at 2 p.m. on Saturday, July 27, at 15th and Milwaukee Avenue. You can buy ducks at the event — one for $3 and two for $5.

• Grand Prize: $500
• 2nd  Prize $250
• 3rd  Prize $150
• Lame Duck: $25

• What: South Milwaukee Heritage Days Parade
• When: 11 am on Saturday, July 27th, 2019
• Where: The parade route starts at 8^th and Milwaukee Avenues, heads west on Milwaukee to 16^th Avenue, then turns north before ending at South Milwaukee Lionsfest
• Who: More than 100 units take to the streets for the parade. Marching bands, local political leaders, clowns, Scouts, veterans groups, local businesses – and everyone in between.
• Why: Because parades are fun … and bring communities together!

See you at 16th and Rawson!

IMPORTANT: Nicholson / Pennsylvania Road Repairs – Drexel to Rawson Avenue. EXPECT DELAYS. Alternate routes of travel are recommended.

Pavement repairs will be under construction Thursday, July 25th through Tuesday, July 30th. The road will be closed to thru traffic at times for asphalt milling and paving.

The work is being performed by Payne & Dolan, Inc. under a contract with City of Oak Creek Government.

I love downtown event! From the Facebook event page …

The biggest block party in the South suburbs, spanning three blocks in Downtown South Milwaukee — July 25th 4pm to 10pm. Three stages, wrestling, classic car show, bouncy houses, farmers market, arts and crafts, displays, food trucks, food vendors. Fun for everyone.

Entertainment Lineup

Spirits Stage:
4-6 pm Bill & LJ • 7-10 pm Xeno

South Milwaukee Performing Arts Center Stage:
4-6 pm Neo Caveman • 7-10 pm De La Buena

Brew City Wrestling Show presented by 
Molthen Bell & Sons 6-7:30 pm

Car Show Stage: Tim Castle and Country Legends.

See you at the firehouse!

From the South Milwaukee Fire Department …

At 12:53PM this afternoon, SMFD received a 9-1-1 call for a report of smoke coming from the attic of a single family residence at 2810 South Chicago. First arriving SMPD units found smoke coming from the eaves and roof vents of the building and notified responding SMFD units who called a working fire, bringing assistance from the Cudahy, St. Francis, Oak Creek, and 128^th Airports.  At the same time, staffing at the station was reduced by an ongoing ambulance call.

The fire was contained to the attic and was quickly knocked down.  Damage is indicative of a possible failure of the electrical system as a cause. Damage also showed that the fire had been burning for quite some time prior to being discovered. No damage estimate is available at this time.  No injuries were reported.  The owner of the building was home, but the 2^nd floor occupant was not.

Here is the update we shared online today, and are hand-delivering to Milwaukee Avenue business and property owners.

Long story short: This long-overdue upgrade to our Main Street is about to begin … and we’re going to do our best to minimize disruptions.

From the letter …

The City of South Milwaukee is moving ahead with a streetscaping project to enhance the look and feel of Milwaukee Avenue. The work will transform our Main Street, with new sidewalks, street lighting, planters, bike racks, trees, traffic signals, benches, and other decorative features. There will also be a limited amount of street repair, and the addition of bicycle lanes to create a spur of the Oak Leaf Trail through downtown.

While this is a significant and positive investment in our city center, the work will bring disruptions to businesses, residents and others who frequent our downtown area. We are committed to reducing those disruptions as much as we can. Open lines of communication will be key.

Check out the schedule in the letter. How will we communicate this?

• On July 29, we will launch a Milwaukee Avenue Streetscaping page on our website with regularly updated information on construction progress, timelines, and other tools likes parking maps. 
• We will also be sharing project updates on the city Facebook page, and starting a Facebook group to share information.
• We will also be sharing updates on the SM Works app. If you have not downloaded it yet, please do from the Apple App Store and Google Play.
• If you would like to receive email updates, please contact Assistant City Administrator Patrick Brever at brever@smwi.org.
• You can also contact Patrick (414-768-8051) or City Engineer Kyle Vandercar (contact information below) with any questions about the improvements.

Thank you ahead of time for your patience, as we make this significant investment in our city center, one that will help us continue our very real downtown momentum. There is much more to come.