The chamber wants to help South Shore businesses as best as we can. We’ve developed BINGO cards!
THIS IS OPEN TO THE PUBLIC! PLEASE SPREAD THE WORD!
The rules of BINGO are: five across, five down, or five diagonal. Four corners does not count. Pick a card or play off of both. Once you get BINGO once or as many times as you can, mail in the card(s) and the receipts for the corresponding BINGO to the following address: South Shore Chamber of Commerce, P.O. Box 100183, Cudahy, WI 53110. Please include your full name, address, phone number, and e-mail (if possible) with the mailing.
There is not a minimum purchase price required for each space, but please be sensible with this. We’re here to support!
The receipts must be dated between April 22, 2020 – May 31, 2020. Receipts cannot be back-dated as we would like you to shop again, even if you’ve already visited the business before!
The number of BINGO’s achieved will be the number of entries into a drawing to win “Chamber Bucks”! If you fill up the entire sheet, you will get 20 entries to win! The drawings will occur in June.
PLEASE REMEMBER TO BE SAFE AND PRACTICE SOCIAL DISTANCING WHEN INTERACTING WITH ANYONE AT THESE BUSINESSES!
We have twenty (20) Chamber Bucks to reward to winners, worth $25 each, plus other possible prizes! When the winner receives the Chamber Bucks, it can be redeemed at a local business. The list of businesses that will accept the Chamber Bucks is to be determined. More information about redeeming the Chamber Bucks will be provided to the winners.
Below is two BINGO cards to work off of. We tried to find the most bars, restaurants, and a few businesses that, after research, are open. We apologize if we missed some! The phone numbers were obtained from the main page of a Google search for each.
Let’s have fun and play a game while supporting local businesses in the South Shore!
On Tuesday, I was humbled and honored to be sworn in for a third term as South Milwaukee’s mayor. Especially now, in these unprecedented times, it is a privilege to lead this city, working together to invest in key areas and continue to build our promising future, leading a great team, and partnering to navigate through a pandemic.
We are stronger, together — a fundamental belief I also want to take to the State Capitol.
I am running for Assembly to unite, not divide — as someone who sees compromise as the solution, not the problem.
I am running as someone who has done just that as South Milwaukee’s mayor.
Madison is broken, more polarized by partisanship than ever before. From the partisan games played with every biennial budget … to lame duck session power grabs … to the inaction on key issues like transportation, education and health … to the lack of leadership shown as we voted amid a pandemic, and the discord we’re seeing as we look to reopen the economy … our legislature is not working for you. Often, it’s not working at all.
It doesn’t have to be this way.
South Milwaukee, Oak Creek and Franklin deserve better. You deserve someone who will build bridges to address the big issues facing our state, especially now, as we navigate through a health crisis and begin to assess what the “new normal” should look like in Wisconsin.
It’s simple: Again, we are stronger, together. I have brought that philosophy to life as South Milwaukee mayor, where we have united people to move our city forward in many ways, with an even more promising future ahead.
It’s my job to work with others to get things done, and I will bring that to the Capitol.
I run as a moderate candidate who will stand for you and have the courage to move beyond partisan talking points toward real positive change.
I will stand for you as a husband, father of two, youth basketball coach and local leader with strong roots in the Milwaukee area and South Shore. I will stand for you as a small business owner, community volunteer, and lover of this state.
I will stand for investments in schools and cities, making sure they have what they need to invest in the services that touch people every day. A lot of times, that means getting the state the heck out of the way, and restoring local control the legislature has taken from communities in big and small ways for more than a decade.
It means giving communities more flexibility to fund our first responders, public works crews, public health workers, libraries, and other services — and increasing our ability to fix local roads and invest in utilities and other critical infrastructure. It also means giving our first-class South Milwaukee, Oak Creek and Franklin schools the tools and funding flexibility they need to educate our kids and serve the community in these incredibly challenging times.
I will stand for smart investments in areas like public safety, public education, health, economic development, transportation, a strong safety net, and more. We’ll do that while ensuring the state is a good steward of taxpayer (your) money, just as we’ve done in South Milwaukee for years. And as a career communications professional, I will stand for transparency, making sure you are engaged every step of the way.
I will also stand against business as usual in Madison, where politics has become a zero-sum game, and “if I’m right, you are not only wrong, you must also be shouted down and ridiculed because of it.” I will stand against lawmakers looking to score political points — sometimes, and shamefully, in the middle of a crisis — instead of actually moving our state forward.
Those days of dysfunction must end, and it starts in the 21st Assembly District. It starts November 3.
Our best days are ahead of us. There is a better way. Let’s deliver it, together.
Teachers and staff from local elementary schools are parading in the streets, saying hello to their students. I had a chance to check out the E.W. Luther parade on Monday — awesome.
The South Milwaukee Human Concerns fundraiser has topped $8,400 … let’s get it past $10,000! More details here.
And don’t forget about the in-person donation dropoff from noon to 6 p.m. on April 29 at the high school. Details here.
We also had a chance to thank our dispatchers last week, which you can see in the images with this story. I’m proud to recognize these too often unsung employees, whose importance is only magnified during times like this. Thank you!
The South Milwaukee Library is opening curbside checkout soon, more details to come. Very happy to see that. Follow their Facebook page for updates, and other fun virtual offerings.
And keep the mask donations coming! A thanks this week to St. Thomas More High School (my alma mater). From the South Milwaukee Police Department: “As our first responders work to keep everyone safe, there are teachers who are providing us with much needed protective equipment. These masks and 3D printed clips were made and donated to our officers. Please join us in a heartfelt thank you to Ms. B and Ms. Pirkl of St. Thomas More High School for being so generous with their time and talent!”
You’ve probably seen the news about Governor Evers’ extension of the “Safer at Home” order. See it here.
And here are statements from me, Health Administrator Jackie Ove and South Milwaukee Police Chief William Jessup …
Statement from South Milwaukee and St. Francis Health Administrator Jackie Ove and South Milwaukee Mayor Erik Brooks
We stand behind today’s decision by Governor Evers to extend the “Safer at Home” order. The revised order — as with other rules, guidance and recommendations issued during the COVID-19 pandemic – are being put in place to slow the spread of the virus and improve public health. They are working. We are “flattening the curve.” However, cases continue to increase, and we need support from the community to ensure we continue to make progress in fighting the virus. Please read the order, and act accordingly, and responsibly. Let’s be safer at home – the health and safety of you, your family and other South Milwaukeeans depend on it.
Statement from South Milwaukee Police Chief William Jessup
We thank the vast majority people who have voluntarily complied with the “Safer at Home” order. We need to abide by the revised order. We will continue to work in concert with our Health Department to ensure orders are followed. If violations arise, law enforcement will take note and educate and inform those individuals. Enforcement has been and will be a last step.
And I’ll add this … I absolutely sympathize with our small business owners and the hardships they are facing. As a small business owner who is being impacted by this, I understand the push by some to reopen the economy quickly. But we must make decisions guided by our health professionals, and they are clear: Now is not the time to let up, or we risk giving back the gains we’ve made in slowing spread.
As we make decisions like this, I also try to remember for whom we are doing all of this. People like my stepfather and my son.
We are very low on monetary donations and if we look into the near future we will be running low on food donations. The national postal drive that normally brings in up to 17,000 pounds of food has been postponed until possibly September. We have plenty of meat and peanut butter but are running low on condiments, hamburger helper, Mac and cheese, soups, canned spaghetti-raviolis, personal hygiene.
As always, South Milwaukee is already stepping up, led by a GoFundMe campaigned organized by the McCarty family. Details here. From it …
Come on Rockets! Please join us in raising money to benefit South Milwaukee Human Concerns with a cash donation to help support purchases of fresh food and non-perishable items for their food bank. Due to recent circumstances regarding the COVID-19 virus, there has been a decline in food and donations made to South Milwaukee Human Concerns and any donation will help make an impact. Thanks in advance for your contribution to this cause that means so much in the SM Community. Go Rockets!
If you haven’t seen John Krasinski’s “Some Good News” videos the past few weeks, check them out.
They’re incredibly inspiring, and fun. Pants optional.
I don’t have his permission, but who cares? I’m starting an online (for now) “Some Good News” affiliate in South Milwaukee — SGNSM!
I’m starting on the blog, but if someone wants to take this information to produce some local “newscasts,” go for it!
Here we go …
Let’s start with the Shelenske and Blaha families, aka the “Easter Bunnies” this past Sunday. Together they handed out almost 600 bags of goodies to local kids, as they drove by homes across the city. Donations and help also came from PyraMax Bank, South Milwaukee Lions Club, Friends of the Mill Pond & Oak Creek Watercourse, Diamond Vision, Walmart, and Pick ‘n Save. I love this! Happy Easter, indeed.
I want to thank everyone from the South Milwaukee School District who joined the vehicle parade this afternoon, as they drove by City Hall and the Police and Fire Departments to thank our city employees. Very cool, and much appreciated.
Hospital serenade. If you haven’t checked out what South Shore fire departments did on Thursday to thank health care workers at Advocate Aurora South Shore Hospital, please do. Awesome stuff, and thanks to South Milwaukee Fire Chief Knitter for organizing it. Check out the video.
Our Police and Fire Departments also helped deliver a special birthday last week for a South Milwaukee 13-year-old.
Masks! We have so many people stepping up to make cloth masks for family, friends, health care workers, first responders and others, and I love it. Please keep it up!
Feeding kids young and old. I love what the Grobschmidt Senior Center is doing to make sure seniors are getting daily meals during the pandemic. And South Milwaukee schools are stepping up, too, with meals for all local kids. Details on our website.
Speaking of our schools, they are doing some great work on Facebook, offering lighthearted ways to get through the pandemic. For example, who doesn’t love pictures of pets and stuffed animals?
Speaking of feeding families, how about a shoutout to those helping South Milwaukee Human Concerns? They are still stepping up to serve local families in need, with fewer volunteers and a growing demand. Neighbors are helping neighbors, as they serve between 100-125 families per week, which is up around 20%. There has been a small but most welcome outpouring of monetary donations to SMHC. Many thanks to those who have recently provided much needed monetary help. If you can give, please go to their website and click “Donate Here.”
There is also a GoFundMe campaign underway for Human Concerns … please help!
Small business. Folks across the community are also stepping up to support small business, and I love to hear about how many people are ordering carryout or delivery to lift them up during this time. It looks like that continued on Good Friday!
I’m also proud of the work the city is doing to support small business, including our Street Department signage program and production of the Bridges magazine special edition focused on shopping local. More than 50 small businesses will be featured in this edition! It should be in the mail soon.
We recognized our Health Department during National Public Health Week. Here is the proclamation we did.
MJ Media is also producing “Heroes” yard signs, for $11 each. To order one, click here.
Have a story to share? Send it to me at brooks@smwi.org.
Results are in from the pandemic election of 2020, and I want to start by saying thank you.
I am excited to serve a third term as mayor, and look forward to building on the positive momentum we’ve established the last six years, and to continue to lead the city through the coronavirus crisis.
We have a lot of work to do, and we are doing it, every day.
I’m also proud of my wife, Sarah, who recorded the most votes of the five candidates for South Milwaukee School Board. Well done, honey!
Other winners of contested races in South Milwaukee were Joe Biden, Jill Karofsky, Chris Larson, Brett Blomme, and Rebecca Kiefer.
Joining Sarah on the School Board will be Patrick Hintz and Augie Vega, who finished second and third, respectively. I want to thank John Haslam for his decades of service to the district — he leaves a strong legacy.
Both referendum questions — supporting Marsy’s Law and non-gerrymandered district maps — passed easily.
The biggest headline, however, may be the turnout — below 50% of registered voters, down 15 percentage points from four years ago. There were almost 2,000 fewer votes cast in this election vs. 2016 — disappointing, but not surprising, given that we were asked to deliver an election in the middle of a health crisis.
It’s clear: Many voters sat this one out, and I can’t blame them. You can read my thoughts on that reality here.
That said, our people stepped up. I want to thank everyone who helped execute this election, led by our clerk’s office and poll workers, including all of the city employees who worked to process absentee ballots, staff the polls, and count votes. The teamwork was impressive, and appreciated.
They delivered a safe election in the face of an unprecedented situation. That will never be taken for granted, and long remembered.
A pandemic is not slowing down several major infrastructure and economic development projects in South Milwaukee.
Bucyrus Club
A lot has happened since the city acquired the property at 1919 12th Ave. in February, including hiring a property and project manager to serve as our day-to-day connection with project partners Skyline Catering and the South Milwaukee Industrial Museum, and to lead our efforts in hiring an architect and eventually general contractor. We also continue to explore funding sources to reduce the city’s contribution to the project. We expect to have a recommendation on the architect to bring to the Common Council in May, with renovation work to begin later this summer on this game-changing downtown development. Our commitment to this project remains as strong as ever … as do our continued thanks to the Bucyrus Foundation.
Public Space
The pandemic has slowed progress a bit on planning for the public space redevelopment at 11th and Madison. But Saiki Design — our landscape architecture and design partner — is ready to roll once we can more easily seek stakeholder and other public input into the project. Much more to come on that this summer and beyond.
Milwaukee Avenue Streetscaping
You may have noticed the construction crews near 10th and Milwaukee — a very visible sign that we have restarted work on this big investment in our city center. This includes the full or partial closure of stretches of Milwaukee Avenue in coming days and weeks for street reconstruction, including the full closure of the 1000 block of Milwaukee starting on Saturday. More details in this letter, and you can get updates on this page on our city website, and by joining the Facebook group we’ve started.
Memorial Drive, Pine and Hawthorne
The city is also moving ahead with the conversion of Memorial Drive from a one-way to a two-way street, as well as work on Hawthorne and Pine Avenues. The Common Council on Tuesday approved a contract with Payne & Dolan for $433,574.01 for the job, to be completed in time for the 2020-21 school year. Due to the curb and road condition, and extent of work at the intersection, reconstruction of Pine Street from the east side of Memorial to Chicago has been included with the project. The project bid package also included base patching and resurfacing of Pine Street (Fairview to Memorial) and asphalt patching of Pine from Lake Drive to Fairview.
Polls are closed, and I want to thank everyone who stepped up today to deliver a safe and effective election in South Milwaukee amid almost impossible circumstances.
We will let history judge if we should have voted at all in the middle of a pandemic.
But no matter how that story is written it should clearly note the efforts of our clerk’s office, city employees and other poll workers, led by City Clerk Karen Kastenson.
Without them, we never could have pulled this off. Their contributions will long be remembered, and never taken for granted. Heroes, all of them.
I am told things went smoothly, as I knew they would. Turnout today was very low, with 1,212 voting, out of more than 11,000 registered voters. Of course, more than 5,000 people requested absentee ballots, including the approximately 600 people who voted early the last two weeks.
We’ll add up all the numbers and share them in coming days … but it looks like we will fall short of the 7,485 ballots cast in the 2016 presidential primary. (And potentially well short, depending how many absentee voters did not meet today’s deadline for submitting or postmarking ballots. We will see what comes in the mail the next couple of days.)
Whatever happens, this historic election is done, and counting is underway. Results will be announced on Monday.
I know one winner already: Our team. And I’m proud to lead them.
The chaos continues around Tuesday’s election, following two Supreme Court rulings Friday evening.
First, Election Day will be held as scheduled, after Gov. Evers initially ordered it suspended on Monday afternoon, the Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled.
Then the U.S. Supreme Court court ruled all absentee ballots must either be returned or postmarked by April 7 to be counted — a reversal of a ruling last week that gave voters until April 13.
Details on the rulings here … and you can read my broader concerns about our leaders in Madison here. I also delivered a citywide phone message this evening, and you can see the contents of that here.
Long story short, we will get it done locally tomorrow, thanks to the hard work of our clerk’s office, all of our teams supporting them, and all of those working at the polls and counting ballots in the days ahead. Because that’s what we do. Accountability for our state leaders must come later.
Governor Evers has ordered the suspension of Tuesday’s election, and Republican leaders have vowed to fight it in front of the Wisconsin Supreme Court.
In other words, as I write this, we are less than 18 hours from the start of live voting, and we still do not know what will happen when polls open on Tuesday.
That is a failure of leadership from our governor and lawmakers. Shame on all of them.
Let me be clear: We have been taking necessary steps to make the experience as safe as possible for voters and our poll workers. Whenever the election is held, we are planning to enforce social distancing, sanitizing, and even adding locally made acrylic barriers between workers and the public.
You can read more about the steps South Milwaukee is taking here.
No matter what happens on Tuesday, I can’t thank City Clerk Karen Kastenson and her team enough for getting us ready for this day – and to all of the poll workers (including a number of city workers being redeployed) for stepping up to help this week and beyond.
While many of our poll workers have understandably declined to work on Tuesday, at least South Milwaukee has enough to pull this off. A number of communities in the county are using National Guard members to help.
The City of Milwaukee has been forced to reduce its number of polling locations from 180 to five – five! – for a city of nearly 600,000 people. Oak Creek reduced its voting sites to one, from six. Waukesha, with a population of more than 70,000, also went to just one.
Thankfully, about 45% of registered voters in South Milwaukee have either voted or have a ballot in their hands as you read this, including the approximately 600 who voted in-person at City Hall the past two weeks.
But the reality is stark: That means more than 5,000 people have noted yet, in an election that was expected to draw more than 80% of voters to the polls. Do the math: Unless Gov. Evers’ order is upheld, we could see thousands people at the polls on Tuesday.
Of course, if the election is held, turnout will be lower, and that would be one of consequences of the inaction of our leaders in Madison. There will be disenfranchisement in this election if the election is held on Tuesday. People will “sit this one out” vs. risk infection at the polls – it’s a guarantee.
That is most likely to happen in larger cities like Milwaukee. For example, how many will choose not to vote in the Sherman Park neighborhood, the epicenter of the outbreak in Wisconsin? How many will choose not to vote because of the long lines almost certain to materialize as thousands of people show up at five Milwaukee high schools on Tuesday?
Of course, this has political implications, which is obscene to even think about here. But it most assuredly is being contemplated by some in power, just like most decisions being made in Madison these days, even in the middle of a pandemic. That is the state of our state in 2020.
Many saw this coming weeks ago.
On March 22, I joined more than 300 leaders from across the state in signing a letter to Governor Evers, Rep. Vos and Sen. Fitzgerald asking them to “take action now to reduce the risk of our residents, members of our staff and our election workers, and to avoid unnecessary disenfranchisement of voters.” I helped write the letter that the League of Wisconsin Municipalities circulated for signatures – that is how strongly I felt about this then, and still do.
We heard no response. So I wrote a personal letter on March 26. From it …
Over the weekend, you received a letter from the League of Wisconsin Municipalities co-signed by more than 300 local leaders from across the state, urgently asking you to offer us options around voting in the middle of a pandemic.
Four days later, I have seen no response, and there remains no unified action at the state level. That is a failure of leadership, and, to me, a willful choice to not respond to those who are focused on delivering this election safely and fairly as you read this. Instead, as this election moves to chaos, you offer us hand sanitizer and well wishes.
Again, I received no response. The election was to go on as scheduled.
Meanwhile, local communities did exactly what I thought they would: pursue their own fixes to try and keep the public and workers safe. Some closed early voting entirely. Some limited hours. Some offered it via drive-through, or by appointment. Some asked everyone to purposely misrepresent their situation to get around the ID requirement. Some filed lawsuits, seeking even more dramatic solutions.
Then came the last few days.
Friday’s call for a special session by Governor Evers smacked of a “too little, too late” half measure, with a predetermined outcome made real when the legislature gaveled in and gaveled out their sessions in less than a minute.
But that decision was made years earlier, the result of years of discord and divisiveness between the two parties. There is no way the legislature was going to work with the governor on a solution because in today’s zero-sum game of politics, compromise is weakness. If I’m right, you must be wrong – and you must be angrily criticized and ridiculed for taking the position you do, even during a pandemic. Especially during a pandemic.
Governor Evers knew Saturday’s result the minute he called for a special session. Just as legislative leaders knew what the response would be when they floated the idea the next day of allowing churches to reopen for Easter services.
In that way, this is just another example of political gamesmanship, rhetorical bomb throwing and disgusting demagoguery at a time when we can least afford viral opportunism.
So it’s no surprise we are where we are today in Wisconsin, faced with encouraging the largest gathering of people in the country in the month of April on Election Day, faced with having to act against the advice of health professionals to hold a live election that could and should be held any number of other, safer, ways.
That’s probably the worst part of this. All along, we have been saying how important it is to listen to the advice of health leaders. “Be safer at home,” they said. “Limit personal contact.” “Stay at home and save lives, and flatten the curve.”
On Tuesday, before Gov. Evers issued his 11th-hour order, we were left with no choice but to ignore their clear directives, due to dysfunction in Madison and the lack of political will to do anything about it.
In February, we announced plans to launch “Bridges,” a new City of South Milwaukee news magazine in partnership with the South Milwaukee School District. We quickly went to work preparing for our first edition … and then the world changed.
So we’ve regrouped, and we have a new plan for our first magazine: A special publication of “Bridges” all about supporting local businesses, including free ad space.
We are proud to announce that each South Milwaukee business will be given space for a 1/6th-page ad – 2.33 inches wide by 4.875 inches tall – to promote their operations during and/or after the emergency order.
Let customers know what your business is doing during these challenging times. What ways are you meeting with clients during this time of social distancing? Are you offering carryout or delivery? Any special discounts or free add-ons? If you are closed now, what are your plans to reopen when this crisis is passed? You get the idea.
Interested? Fill out this form by noon on Thursday, April 2.
You can either submit your own completed ad (high-resolution, color PDF for print), or complimentary ad design will be provided, if needed. All ad content will be needed by end of day on Tuesday, April 7. We will not be able to accommodate you after this date.
We are anticipating mailing the newsletter the week of April 13.
The City of South Milwaukee is fully funding design, print and mail costs, and we and the school district will include a small amount of content related to our local response to COVID-19.
Thanks to Caprile Marketing/Design for stepping up to help with this issue.
Design or other questions? Call Barb Caprile at 414-215-7999.
South Milwaukee always steps up. Always. And it is now, as we get through the COVID-19 pandemic, together.
I’ve already written about the work our city teams are doing. The selfless, team-first approach being shown by our workers – led our first responders, Health Department and Clerk’s office, which is trying to run an election in the middle of all of this, as well as the nurses coming out of retirement to help, the Street personnel helping guide in-person absentee voters as they arrive at City Hall, and others staffing up to process absentee ballot requests, and more – their work continues to inspire me.
Local retailers like Walmart, Pick ‘n Save, Ace Hardware, ALDI and Mara’s Sewing House have stepped up to assist the city in obtaining supplies that are critical to assure continuity in essential city operations. Mara dropped off 50 hand-sewn masks at the South Milwaukee Fire Department on Friday – adding to the 100 already donated anonymously. Learn more on the department Facebook page.
South Milwaukee Human Concerns, as usual, is stepping up too. While they have limited their hours, they continue to their mission of getting food in the hands of those who need it most – a need that will only grow as the economic recession takes hold. Details here.
And don’t forget South Milwaukee schools and the Grobschmidt Senior Center – they are also working to ensure no one goes hungry during this emergency.
The Senior Center continues to serve drive-through lunches for seniors Monday-Friday. Interested? Or know a friend, neighbor or family member who is? Sign up here.
Also, the South Milwaukee School District is resuming its meal service program on Monday, March 30. All kids in the city are eligible, with lunches (and a breakfast pack for the next day) being served from 11:30 to 1 p.m. at three locations. Details here.
We are stepping up as a city to help local businesses, too. Details here.
A special shoutout to American Acrylics USA, a South Milwaukee company that has stepped up to quickly produce plastic shields we will use to separate voters from our poll workers on Election Day, April 7. The order came in Thursday and they quickly tackled the project – and other communities are ordering too. Thanks to owner Mike Wittman and all of the workers at this local company, as we take the steps necessary to keep us safe come Election Day, proudly shopping local in doing so.
Businesses are helping businesses, too. One example: Last week, Rose Mob Grill food truck cooked food from the temporarily closed South Milwaukee Café, lest it go to waste, with all proceeds going to the cafe owners. They also donated a portion of proceeds and all tips to Human Concerns during fish fry service, and donated food to hospital workers. Owner Brittany Rosales is also supporting Moran’s Pub with sales from their online store.
I also love how churches are stepping up, offering remote worship in many cases, daily affirmations and more.
Know of another example of South Milwaukeeans stepping up to help? Let me know! brooks@smwi.org.
It’s a new normal for South Milwaukee churches, too.
Click the links to see how some area congregations are changing their approach to worship amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Many are doing some sort of Facebook Live or recorded YouTube video services.
We can use all of the prayers we can get these days.
Here is a sampling of those offering online worship …
It’s Da Crusher, of course! Shot the night of Crusherfest, as we unveiled this statue to the world. Do you have a photo you’d like to share on the blog? Send it along.
South Milwaukee Blog 
