South Milwaukee Blog

This will be a memorable couple of days in South Milwaukee — and one of the most unique celebrations in the country.

Get the most up-to-date information on Da Crusher Facebook page.

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Developer Scott Crawford Inc. is proposing an estimated $46 million mixed-use development for the former Bucyrus campus in downtown South Milwaukee, potentially bringing hundreds of new residents to our city center.

The South Milwaukee Plan Commission heard details about the project on Tuesday, voting 5-1 to direct city staff to work with GRAEF and the developer to begin developing a zoning overlay district necessary for the development to proceed. Future meetings of the Plan Commission and South Milwaukee Common Council will include consideration of a potential city contribution (through tax incremental financing) and the additional project details.

You can learn more about the proposal in the Business Journal and Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. From the JS …

The new full application from Scott Crawford, Inc. includes 167 apartment and loft-style units at 1100 Milwaukee Ave. across from Da Crusher statue in South Milwaukee’s downtown. The proposal, presented to the city’s plan commission on Aug. 31, would also include the construction of a new building on the campus, in addition to renovating the Heritage and Technical buildings to primarily residential housing.

The Heritage building would see the most changes, according to the submitted plans, with aluminum windows replacing much of the brick facade, allowing for residential loft-style units, both one- and two-bedroom. The Heritage building would also include 8,000 square feet of commercial space for a “food provider”;  previous plans had hinted at a restaurant or possibly a brewery/distillery in the space.

Most of the development’s amenities would be housed in the Technical building, including community and media rooms, a fitness suite and more. Outside areas throughout the development would be made “transit-friendly” and include two “art alleys,” a dog park, permeable pavement and more green space.

The new building, to be constructed in the parking lot east of the railroad tracks, would feature three-bedroom townhomes on the first floor “specifically targeted to working families and empty nesters,” according to plans submitted to the city. One- and two-bedroom units would be on the two floors.

The Corporate building would retain 30,000 square feet of office space to lease. Que El-Amin, principal at Scott Crawford, Inc., said he would look for a tenant for the Corporate building such as a business or possibly link with an educational institution like Milwaukee Area Technical College.

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The South Milwaukee football team is 2-0 after a big comeback win over Wauwatosa East on Friday.

Aalijah Jones returned the opening kickoff for a touchdown for the second week in a row, and Cooper Vail came off the bench to throw two second-half touchdowns — including a 69-yarder to Colin Bertrand — as South Milwaukee scored the final 13 points in the fourth quarter.

Jones also had a three-yard TD run to tie the game. The extra point from Eddie Arias provided the final margin.

Devan Fitzpatrick had 175 yards rushing and a 44-yard TD in the second quarter to put the Rockets up 19-0. Tosa East then scored 24 unanswered points before Vail connected with Max Johnson on a five-yard score. A two-point run by Myles Molina put the Rockets up 27-24 before Tosa East scored the first 15 points of the four quarter.

Vail was 5-for-7 passing for 104 yards and the two scores. Bertrand and Sam Ortiz had four catches each.

Next up for South Milwaukee is 1-1 Greenfield on Friday, Sept. 3, at Spaltholz Field. Kickoff is 7 p.m.

Here is South Milwaukee’s schedule. Check out the full box score from Tosa East here.

Thanks for the beautiful photos, Julie and Jodie from J and J Double Take!

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Today, I had the honor of recognizing South Milwaukee coaching legend Stan Druckrey with a proclamation — and declaring August 21, 2021, Coach Druckrey Day in South Milwaukee.

Congratulations, Stan! I have had the pleasure of getting to know Coach Druckrey well in recent years, and he is an amazing example of the impact teachers and coaches can have on peoples’ lives. Case in point: The alumni in the photo of the above, who came back to race (and honor their former coach) on Saturday.

Here’s to another 50 years, coach!

From the proclamation, shared ahead of the start of the annual Alumni Meet at Grant Park …

August 21, 2021: Coach Druckrey Day in South Milwaukee

WHEREAS, Stan Druckrey has been guiding young athletes in the City of South Milwaukee for five decades; including as head boys’ and girls’ cross-country coach for 50 years and head girls’ track-and-field coach for 45 seasons; and

WHEREAS, during Stan’s tenure as cross-country coach, he has had at least one individual or team participate in the WIAA state championships for 22 of the past 23 years, guiding Lauren Kleppin to an individual state title in 2006 and Jordan Janusiak to a fifth-place finish in 2017. Coach Druckrey’s top team results at the state meet were a third-place finish for the boys in 2017 and sixth for the girls in 1992; and

WHEREAS, Stan has also had a distinguished career in guiding track athletes, with at least one Rocket girl qualifying for the WIAA meet in 42 of his 45 seasons. This includes state champion Sue Spaltholz in the 440-yard dash in 1979; and

WHEREAS, Stan is an accomplished track athlete himself. He is on the UW-La Crosse Wall of Fame, where he ran hurdles and sprints and still holds nine school records, reaching the semifinals in qualifying for the U.S. Olympic Team as a hurdler in 1972. Stan is also a member of USA Track & Field’s Masters Hall of Fame; and 

WHEREAS, Coach Druckrey is also a dedicated member of his community, holding the position of physical education teacher at South Milwaukee High School for 32 years before his retirement in 2003. He has been married to his wife Nancy for 52 years and they have two children, Amy and Tom; and

WHEREAS, Stan’s passion for coaching and dedication to his students and athletes have positively impacted countless lives throughout the years.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that I, Mayor Erik Brooks, and the Common Council of the City of South Milwaukee do hereby congratulate Coach Stan Druckrey on his many years of service to South Milwaukee students, athletes, and the community, and are proud to declare August 21, 2021, Coach Druckrey Day in the City of South Milwaukee. 

It’s back to fall football.

After a shortened spring season due to the pandemic, South Milwaukee opens its 2021 season by hosting Whitefish Bay Dominican in its opener on Friday, August 20, at Spaltholz Field. Kickoff is at 7 p.m.

Check out the full schedule here, and here is a Woodland Conference season preview. From it …

Greendale is the most established program in the new-look Woodland, which features a collection of teams from the old Woodland East and West and has Grafton joining after years in the North Shore. The Black Hawks are the biggest challengers to Greendale thanks to their size and strength in the trenches. Whitnall has a chance to be the sleeper in the conference after a strong start to its spring season nearly saw it beat undefeated Greendale before attrition hit the program. After those three teams, the conference features a heavy load of programs looking to find their footing and earn a playoff spot.

The rockets finished 3-3 in the alternate spring season — check out results and stats here.

Go Rockets!

Update: You can also watch the game on YouTube! https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPuLScIMOdHb7aF0-2BXHrQ

I love how engaged the South Milwaukee Police Department is in the community, especially with its events.

Recent examples include the DARE Golf Outing and Community Night Out, and another opportunity is Saturday, August 21, as the SMPD hosts Bike with a Cop, starting at 10 a.m. at the department.

More details on Facebook, and in the image with this post.

And here are some shots from Community Night Out earlier this month. Thank you to all of the volunteers, community and law enforcement organizations who helped make this happen!

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Beer. Food. Polka. Beer. Wrestling.

Learn more on the Facebook event page, and on Da Crusher web page, where you can find the music lineup. And see coverage from the Milwaukee Record and NOW.

Mark your calendars, turnkey necks!

As of 11:20 a.m. on Wednesday August 11 …

Hundreds of customers in and around the South Milwaukee area — and still 100,000+ in the region — are still without power, more than 12 hours after the storm. If you haven’t yet reported your outage, please do ASAP.

Track outages, and estimated restoration times, here …https://www.we-energies.com/outagemapext/

Also, from the city …

It’s going to be a HOT one again today! With much of our community still without power, today’s heat might be a bit of a challenge. If you’re looking to take a break from the heat, we have opened two cooling sites. For today only, the following cooling sites are located at:

• South Milwaukee Public Library, 1907 10th Avenue … 9:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m.
• South Milwaukee Senior Center, 2424 15th Avenue … 9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.

Milwaukee County is also listing a number of lcoations as cooling sites.

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We can’t get complacent against COVID-19. New cases are spiking, again, as the delta variant proliferates and we continue to lag on vaccinations. Some headlines …

• The August 6 Situational Briefing shows concerning trends among new cases (43 in the past two weeks in South Milwaukee) and disease burden (nearing 100 for the first time in months). You can read the data for the yourself, including past reports, on the city website.
• Also, check out the county’s weekly report a more holistic local view.
• The City of South Milwaukee is now requiring mask wearing at the South Milwaukee Public Library and Senior Center, no matter your vaccination status. They are being strongly recommended for public spaces in other city buildings.
• Additionally, all Milwaukee County health officers issued a press release on Thursday urging school districts to require universal making. From it …

As school boards meet and prepare for the 2021-22 school year, local health department officials in Milwaukee County unanimously recommend the implementation of universal masking requirements for teachers, staff, students and visitors in K-12 schools, regardless of vaccination status. This recommendation is in alignment with guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), and most recently the Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS).

Since the beginning of July, Milwaukee County has seen a 14-fold increase in COVID-19 cases among children under 18 years old. Because of this, local public health officials urge school boards to consider these facts and vote in alignment with the national and statewide back-to-school universal masking guidance to keep children safe and healthy. The Delta variant is highly transmissible and adding another layer of protection on top of vaccination is needed to stop the spread.

I support the call for school masking, especially during this time of increasing disease burden — with the hope that need for masks decreases as we step up our efforts to fight this disease and the numbers look better.

That starts (and ends) with vaccinations.

I know, after more than a year, we are all frustrated to still be in this situation. We are done with COVID. But COVID is not done with us … explained well, I think, in this USA Today article.

COVID won’t be done until we get more people vaccinated. As a city, our rate is 50%. We must do better.

It can’t be more convenient to get the shot. The St. Francis and South Milwaukee Health Department continues offer COVID-19 vaccines from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. each weekday at City Hall.

Getting vaccinated is indeed a personal choice. If you have not gotten the shot yet, please choose to do so. It is the only way we can truly return to normal, safely.

It was exciting to read about the newest venture for South Milwaukee’s Sara Lewkowski and Aaron Ruiz, owners of Avenue Coffee downtown.

They will be opening Supernova Coffee & Doughnuts as part of the part of the cool new 3rd Street Market Hall in downtown Milwaukee.

From the OnMilwaukee.com story …

Lewkowski says she always loved coffee shops. In high school, one of her favorite pastimes was hanging out in local coffee houses with friends. And she says she often thought about how fun it would be to own a shop of her own. 

“I didn’t really know if it would ever happen,” she says. But, thanks to a series of fortuitous events, her coffee house dreams did come true, albeit almost a decade later. And it started with a trip to the West Coast.

In 2014 Lewkowski and Ruiz moved to California, where they lived and worked for about a year. While they were there, Lewkowski took a job as a barista and worked in operations for a small vegan raw snack food company. Ruiz worked a temp job and played music for tips on the Santa Monica Pier.

When they returned to Milwaukee, Lewkowski branched out, working for Classy Girl Cupcakes and East Side Ovens before taking a job at the South Milwaukee coffee shop MKE City Sippers. She also decided to enroll in the baking and pastry program at MATC where she first met chef and instructor Kurt Fogle.

When the owner of the coffee shop decided to sell the business in 2016, Lewkowski and Ruiz expressed interest. By September of 2016, they’d purchased the shop, renaming it the Avenue Coffeehouse.

And as they celebrate their fifth anniversary, they will grow, building on their local success with a second location.

It’s a terrific South Milwaukee small business success story, and I can’t be happier for Sara and Aaron. I can’t wait to try out their shop downtown — especially their unique doughnuts.

They are not alone.

• The Avenue Coffee story reminds me of Taco Stop MKE, another story of a former South Milwaukeean who returns home to open a small business that is building on the strong performance of its local store with growth outside of the city. Taco Stop now has three locations, including in Elm Grove and (most recently) Brady Street.
• Azteca Restaurant MKE also comes to mind. It’s been fun to watch Carlos and Rosie find growth through food trucks — three in all, to go along with their Milwaukee Avenue restaurant.
• And then there is MilitaryConnection Collectibles, which is using its South Milwaukee store and museum as a base of operations for continued growth in online sales and at shows. I was excited to be part of the ribbon cutting for the newly renovated and expanded space downtown on July 31.

And these are just the start. Our redevelopment pace is quickening, across the city — and small businesses are at the foundation of that success.

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See you at City Hall!

South Milwaukee is full of smart, passionate people who want to make a difference. One way to do it – step up and be considered for a volunteer board or commission.

The city has more than a dozen of these groups providing oversight and guidance to various city departments and functions, and we’re always looking for new people to provide their expertise in any number of areas.

We have openings on the Plan Commission, Board of Health and Library Board.

Interested? Get more details and apply here and here.

Even if these aren’t for you, please consider filling out the application, so we can get your name on file for future board and commission openings.

Diverse applicants are encouraged.

Lots of options this year … lots of home and business owners investing in their properties to make them — and the city — more beautiful. Congratulations to our winners!

And thanks to everyone who made nominations and voted on Facebook.

Medieval Market, Country Fair and now a truly unique Car Show … I love these special South Milwaukee Downown Markets! Mark your calendars for August 12, and purchase your Pine Wood Derby kit starting today.

More details on Facebook.

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With the delta variant proliferating and cases spiking yet again in some parts of the state and country — positive cases in Wisconsin are seven times higher than a month ago — we are far from out of the woods with COVID-19.

Thankfully, cases remain low in South Milwaukee, so far, with five new cases July 14-21, and our burden rate stood at just 9.65 as of Friday. But we can’t let up. We have to take this seriously.

And it starts with getting more people vaccinated. About 50% is not enough.

With that in mind, I share this message from the South Milwaukee/St. Francis Health Department …

“The South Milwaukee/St. Francis Health Department will be hosting a back to school COVID-19 vaccine clinic at the South Milwaukee Schools High school on August 5th from 3-5 PM. We will have the Pfizer vaccine. Appointments are encouraged but walk ins will be accepted. This is open to anyone 12 and older. To schedule an appointment please visit: https://smhsaugust5clinic.timetap.com/#/“

Walk-in options are also available throughout the week in the South Shore.

Get more information on vaccinations in South Milwaukee here.