by | January 9, 2012 · 10:40 am

A Local Connection To The John Doe Charges

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has an in-depth look at Tim Russell and his role in the “inner circle” of Gov. Scott Walker and local Republican politics — including his alleged work to defeat Pat Jursik in her run for the Milwaukee County Board.

Check out the story on Russell, one of three people charged in the ongoing John Doe investigation, here. From it:

Russell played a role in County Board campaigns, as well. Olen managed the 2007 board campaign of Chris Kujawa and said Russell was an adviser to the campaign. Thursday’s criminal charges against Russell said he had control over Kujawa’s campaign bank accounts and took $3,000 for personal use. Then, the complaint said, Russell used money intended for a county-run military appreciation day to repay Kujawa’s campaign.

Olen said he never became aware of any problems in the campaign’s books and was shocked by the charges.

Russell wasn’t listed in county records as treasurer for Kujawa’s race or the County Board candidacy of Larry Spicer in 2007, from whom Russell is charged with stealing $550. It was Pierick who held the formal title as Kujawa’s treasurer. Russell’s name, however, is attached to a copy of a bank statement for Kujawa. …

Pierick and Russell were referred to Kujawa at a time Walker was hoping to pick up a seat or two for conservatives on the County Board. Kujawa said Russell had offered to help with things like establishing a campaign account. Kujawa said he didn’t know Pierick well and seldom spoke to him.

“I really don’t recall the exact circumstances” of how Russell’s help came about, Kujawa said.

Supervisor Patricia Jursik, who defeated Kujawa, remains upset at what she views as the intervention of Walker and Russell in the County Board race.

“I was incensed by the whole way it was going down,” Jursik said.

2 Comments

Filed under Milwaukee County

Tagged as ,

by | January 8, 2012 · 4:40 pm

Proud Past, Indeed: Celebrating South Milwaukee And Oak Creek’s Civil War History

Oak Creek Patch has published a well-done series of articles on Oak Creek Township’s impact on the Civil War. And it was significant.

The township — which included what is now South Milwaukee, once upon a time — sent dozens of people to the war, including some from prominent families, and they fought in some major battles.

Check out the series here. It’s worth the read. From it:

Oak Creek Township consisted of modern-day Oak Creek and South Milwaukee. White pioneers had arrived in the late 1830s and 1840s, at a time when Native Americans hunted and fished in the area. Wisconsin became a state in 1848, South Milwaukee incorporated as a village in 1892 and a city a few years later, and Oak Creek did not become a city until 1955.

A total of 38 men from the township served in Company K of the 24th Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry, according to “Wisconsin Volunteers, War of the Rebellion, 1861-1865,” an invaluable research book that has been put online by the Wisconsin Historical Society. One of them joined in 1864, so the number from Oak Creek when the company went into the war in 1862 was 37.

The dead included two cousins – Frederick Fowle of Company K, in 1863 of wounds received in the Tennessee battle, and Royal Fowle, an artilleryman in another unit who died of disease in 1864 in Louisville, Ky. Disease was an equal-opportunity killer of Union soldiers and Confederates in the war; many units lost more men to illness than in battles.

Frederick was the son of Frederick Fowle Sr. and Electra Rawson, while Royal was the son of John Fowle Jr. and Lavina Fowle, according to Judy Balestrieri, a descendant of the Fowle clan and a mainstay of the South Milwaukee Historical Society.

They were grandsons of John Fowle Sr., who was one of the first pioneers of the area and built two sawmills on the waterway that was named Oak Creek. The soldiers’ uncle, Horace Fowle (son of John Sr. and Sarah Dibley Fowle), built a Queen Anne Victorian home in 1892 that everyone today knows as the clubhouse in Grant Park.

Leave a comment

Filed under Community, Oak Creek

Tagged as

by | January 8, 2012 · 4:38 pm

A South Milwaukee Must-Read: SouthMilwaukee.org

I wanted to put a quick plug in for SouthMilwaukee.org, the community events website founded and maintained by City Clerk Jim Shelenske.

While I try to focus my site more on news and viewpoints on current issues, Jim does a great job rounding up many of the happenings around town — from performances at the South Milwaukee Performing Arts Center to local church activities.

Jim also publishes his monthly eVents newsletter. Check it out here — and be sure to get on the email list, if you aren’t already.

Leave a comment

Filed under Community

Tagged as

by | January 7, 2012 · 10:43 pm

Gurda Draws Parallels And Differences Between M&I, Bucyrus Acquisitions

Local historian John Gurda has another great piece in Sunday’s Milwaukee Journal Sentinel — this one taking a closer look at the acquisitions of M&I Bank and Bucyrus International in the past year.

“Before 2011 disappears completely in the rear-view mirror,” Gurda writes, “we should pause to consider two local business giants who lost their independence during the year. One succumbed to failure and the other, ironically, was a victim of its own success. Those icons, you may have guessed, are M&I Bank and Bucyrus International. They’re both still with us, in most of the same locations and with substantially the same products, but they operate under different principles and entirely different principals.”

As for Bucyrus, he writes:

Turnabout, I suppose, is fair play. Milwaukee snatched Bucyrus from Ohio in 1893, and now an Illinois firm was returning the favor. Caterpillar moved quickly to secure its new prize, changing the signs on the South Milwaukee plant to yellow and gold almost overnight.

The Caterpillar sale was a tribute to Tim Sullivan’s management skills, a windfall for stockholders and a testament to the quality of the Bucyrus labor force. Whether it works out for the long-term benefit of those employees and their communities is a question that only Caterpillar can answer.

Check out the column here, and post your comments below.

By the way, Gurda also spoke at the South Milwaukee Performing Arts Center on Saturday. The topic: “A Region Built on Water: Milwaukee’s Use and Abuse of a Vital Resource.” If you went to the show, I’d like to know what you thought.

2 Comments

Filed under Local Business

Tagged as , , , ,

by | January 6, 2012 · 10:42 pm

January Golf At Grant Park And Other Headlines

Update: Also, one of the Gov. Scott Walker appointees charged in the John Doe investigation last week is from Cudahy. See the story here. 

Grant Park is open again for some January golf. How crazy is that?

Learn more in this Journal Sentinel story.

And check out these other headlines of local interest:

Also, state Sen. Chris Larson has published a new Larson Report, and there is a new police blotter on South Milwaukee NOW.

Leave a comment

Filed under Headlines

Tagged as

by | January 5, 2012 · 10:30 pm

Reminder: Voter ID Information Meeting Is Jan. 19

Don’t forget: The city clerk’s office is hosting a public information meeting on the state’s new voter ID law on Thursday, Jan. 19, at City Hall.

Election experts from the Government Accountability Board will present information about the new law and be on hand to answer questions.

The meeting is from 6 to 7:30 p.m.

See you there!

Leave a comment

Filed under 2012 Elections

Tagged as ,

by | January 5, 2012 · 10:35 am

More Local Headlines

Check out these headlines from around the South Shore:

Leave a comment

Filed under Headlines

Tagged as

by | January 5, 2012 · 10:29 am

Positive Sign: City Hall Gets New Everbrite-Built Sign, Message Board

You’ve seen some significant improvements to the look of City Hall in the past six months.

This summer, City Clerk Jim Shelenske led a volunteer effort to upgrade the landscaping in front of the city administration building – and the results have been easy to see.

The most recent upgrade is also eye-catching to anyone who has stopped by City Hall in the past few weeks: a new sign and message board.

Jim and South Milwaukee Public Health Administrator Jacqueline Ove, working with local signage company Everbrite, helped make this improvement happen – and it is a big improvement. The lighting on the old sign had failed. And the new message board gives the city a chance to share key messages with residents about anything from upcoming meetings to emergency notifications.

As part of the deal, Everbrite is also donating a new Grobschmidt Senior Center sign, which will also get fresh paint around its frame,  and the Police Department sign and frame will also be replaced.

Which brings me to another key point: No city property tax dollars are being put toward the new signage, which is coming at a cost of about $20,000. (Some city funds are being spent on wiring upgrades.)

The purchase was made possible through Public Health Emergency Preparedness funds that were unexpended in the five-year grant cycle.

Thanks to Jim and Jackie for their work on this — and to Everbrite for the partnership.

One other note about the grant funds: As of August, we have started a new five-year cooperative agreement with the state and federal government for these funds.

4 Comments

Filed under Community

Tagged as

by | January 4, 2012 · 11:26 am

Decision 2012: More Ballot Competition In Other Nearby Communities

While South Milwaukee elected officials have little to no competition this April, that is not the case in a couple nearby communities.

Oak Creek and Greenfield are among the cities where elected officials will have opponents come April 3. 

These headlines detail some of that:

The Journal Sentinel has a roundup of all contested races here, and here is a story taking a more global view of competitive local elections.

Note: Cudahy does not have any city races on the ballot this spring.

Leave a comment

Filed under 2012 Elections

Tagged as

by | January 4, 2012 · 11:06 am

New Enews From Jursik … And Where To Find Future Editions

State election laws prevent Milwaukee County Supervisor Pat Jursik from sending her monthly email news blast out during her campaign.

But it doesn’t stop her from publishing eNews.

You can check out the latest edition (and all editions through April) here.

It includes updates on the South Shore transit, Seven Bridges repairs and Grant Park roadway construction. It also details a Friends of Grant Park meeting at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 12, where a Department of Natural Resources conservation warden will be on hand to discuss suspected poaching in the park. The meeting is at the Grant Park clubhouse.

Leave a comment

Filed under Milwaukee County

Tagged as

by | January 3, 2012 · 6:58 pm

Decision 2012: Little Competition In South Milwaukee

Uncontested races have become the norm in South Milwaukee in recent years — and that won’t change this April.

All candidates running for city office will run unopposed, as the 5 p.m. Tuesday deadline for prospective candidates to declare their intentions to run and submit the necessary signatures came and went with no challengers stepping up.

So here is who you will see on the April 3 ballot:

  • Mayor: Tom Zepecki
  • City Clerk: Jim Shelenske
  • City Treasurer: Karen Skowronski
  • City Attorney: Joseph Murphy
  • Municipal Judge: William Fenger
  • 1st District Alderman: Fran Van Dusen III

You’ll recall that Frank, appointed to his seat this summer to replace Mike Karbowski, must run for the seat and the chance to serve a one-year term. He will be up for re-election again with the rest of the aldermen in April of 2013.

The South Milwaukee School Board will see some competition in April, as incumbents David Maass and Kathleen Molus and challenger Sophia Williams vie for two seats. I will post more information on this race in coming days and weeks.

At the county level, Supervisor Pat Jursik, who represents South Milwaukee, is also running unopposed (as is County Executive Chris Abele).

Frankly, I’m surprised at the lack of competition at the city level, especially in the political climate were in — and given the rancor surrounding the Walmart debate last fall. There was so much anger over that issue — along with threats of ballot challenges and recalls — that I was certain that that votes taken by the council (and mayoral support) would lead to at least one candidate for mayor (and perhaps a couple of the other seats).

I was wrong.

In  a way, that’s disappointing. I think competition is a good thing. It makes everyone better.

Of course, I’d like to know what you think. Post your comments below!

4 Comments

Filed under 2012 Elections

Tagged as , ,

by | January 1, 2012 · 9:10 pm

Council Approves 6 a.m. Alcohol Sales

You can now buy alcohol at liquor, grocery and other “off-premise” South Milwaukee retailers starting at 6 a.m. — two hours earlier than you could before.

The City Council approved the change at its Dec. 20 meeting, aligning our start time with a new state law that took effect in late December.

Communities could enact ordinances more restrictive than state law, and some have decided to keep their 8 a.m. starting times.

Our vote was 7-1, with all but Alderman Craig Maass voting in favor of the ordinance change.

I voted yes because it could help local business, boosting sales with, among others, third-shift workers looking to purchase beer on their way home from work.

I also don’t see harm arising from the increased hours. In my mind, there is no significant difference between allowing sales at 6 a.m. or 8 a.m. — and in cases like that I will generally side with local business.

Keep in mind that off-premise retailers can still only sell alcohol until 9 p.m. each night in South Milwaukee. That does not change. This is stricter than state law, which allows for the off-premise sale of beer until midnight.

1 Comment

Filed under Local Business

Tagged as

by | December 31, 2011 · 9:18 pm

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!

1 Comment

Filed under Uncategorized

Tagged as

by | December 31, 2011 · 9:15 pm

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:

Leave a comment

Filed under Headlines

Tagged as , ,

by | December 29, 2011 · 10:18 pm

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.

Leave a comment

Filed under Local Business, South Milwaukee Walmart

Tagged as ,