South Milwaukee Blog

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!

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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.

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)

From the South Milwaukee Fire Department …

SMFD responded to a rollover crash involving a single vehicle that traveled up a small hill and impacted the corner of the Dunkin Donuts building. The sole occupant was extricated from the vehicle and transported to Froedtert Hospital for treatment of serious injuries. The South Milwaukee Building and Health Departments were requested to the scene to determine the extent of damage to the building and the ability of the store to re-open. Fortunately, no other persons were injured.

Please keep this woman in your thoughts and prayers … and continue to thank our first responders for all they do to save lives everyday.

Saturday was a day to remember, as the community came together to tell the South Milwaukee story like never before and make the case to HGTV that, while we’re certainly making strides in our redevelopment, we need some help along the way.

We need a HGTV Hometown Takeover!

It was a full day, and could not have happened without the support of some amazing people, businesses and institutions.

We shot at nine different locations in less than 12 hours: Moran’s Pub, Avenue Coffeehouse, Barbiere’s Italian Inn, The Barber Shop, Parkway Floral, the Muza Church, American Legion Post #27, South Milwaukee High School and the South Milwaukee Performing Arts Center.

We talked to more than a dozen people along the way — not including a segment with the South Milwaukee Youth Basketball Club sixth-grade girls basketball team — who shared their stories about what makes our city great … and why a makeover would only make that story stronger. Thank you to everyone who joined us!

The crew was first rate, and with a distinct local flavor. Producer/director Kyle Olson and videographer Nick Koscielniak are South Milwaukee graduates who started making movies together more than a decade ago while in school — like this one.

They were joined by James Stewart, Sasa Miladinovic and Julia Beck, as well as assistant City Administrator Patrick Brever, who was invaluable in getting us from point A to point B. Editor Mitchell Stewart also joined us, and is cutting the HGTV submission video now (it’s due on Friday). Local teen Austin Keller also pitched in.

And it was great to see Kyle’s parents, Mick (a longtime former South Milwaukee police officer) and Jewel join us on the shoots. It’s easy to see where Kyle gets his Emmy award-winning passion and talent from.

Local photographers Julie Arnold and John Krecji also stepped up to provide content, and a special thanks to Ante Udovicic, who welcomed us with open arms at the school campus and accommodated us despite it being a crazy afternoon and evening of a cappella singing and youth basketball at the school. 

And, our sponsors! We could not have done this without them. Thanks to the City of South Milwaukee, Molthen-Bell & Son Funeral Home, Da Crusher Foundation, Moran’s Pub, DB Tax & Financial Services, and the South Milwaukee Performing Arts Center for their support of this economic development and community building project.

I’ll keep you posted as we submit the HGTV piece, and develop the marketing video.

As I said on camera, I love this city, and telling its story. Our best days are ahead of us, and it was exciting to see that in action on Saturday.

Proud past, promising future, indeed. Together.

I love this story from the South Milwaukee Fire Department today.

Well done, as our team saves another life.

And check out TMJ4 coverage of the story, including video of the rescue. 

I was proud to represent South Milwaukee — along with our city engineer and Alderman David Bartoshevich, and residents — at Tuesday’s Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources public hearing regarding a wetlands permit for the proposed Oak Creek postal facility bordering our city.

It was the first public meeting of any kind on the project, and that’s deeply frustrating. More on that later.

Check out the NOW story here. It includes new details on the project that the public had not seen, unless someone had decided to go to City Hall and ask to view the “70%” project plans.

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From the NOW story …

South Milwaukee rescheduled its regular plan commission meeting to allow representatives to attend the Oak Creek meeting.

“This would never be allowed in the private sector,” said South Milwaukee Mayor Erik Brooks. “I ask the post office to step up here.”

Brooks also expressed concern about how the development’s wetland fill could affect the Oak Creek watershed restoration work.

I was happy to see Sen. Tammy Baldwin’s and Rep. Bryan Steil’s offices represented at the meeting. Someone asked at the meeting, “Just who is the USPS accountable to?” Great question. I would say that’s Congress.

So I ask Sen. Baldwin and Rep. Steil to step up in support of public engagement of this project, and hold postal leaders to account.

I look forward to hearing from them on how they plan to do this.

For now, I have questions — many, many questions. And judging from the crowd on Tuesday, I’m not alone. Among them …

• When will the United States Postal Service step up and be transparent with their plans on this project? Will they at all?
• Will they schedule any public meetings on this?
• The plans shown were for a 423,900 square-foot facility, but the DNR notice references an eventual facility nearing a million square feet. When is this “second phase” coming? What does that do to the footprint of the site, and potential impacts to things like wetlands and stormwater (topics relevant to Tuesday’s meeting), as well traffic, noise, and other issues important to neighbors?
• Why did they have to grade — clear cut — the entire site, for a development (at least in phase one) that will not take up nearly that amount of property?
• The USPS representative said Tuesday that they still haven’t submitted 100% plans to the city, even for phase one. How can the DNR even rule on the wetlands permit until they do?
• Speaking of plans, the USPS said submitted their first set of “70%” plans in early November … days after they started grading, which they said was done to ensure they meet project timelines for a 2021 opening. How in the world is that OK? I wonder what would happen if a private developer showed up and started digging on his site without having submitted any level of plans to the city …

I’ll keep you posted, and promise to stay engaged on this, to continue to demand transparency.

The USPS has repeatedly said they do not need to comply with the traditional development process because they are the federal government. The truth is, they don’t. But they should.

In fact, I argue governments have a greater responsibility to doing things the right way, to show the way in being open and honest in their communications with the cities they build in and residents they are impacting. The exact opposite is happening here, and I won’t stand for it.

HGTV’s “Hometown Makeover” show is looking for what it is calling “it biggest renovation project ever — a takeover to makeover an entire town.” The goal: “to help you and your community revitalize the place you call home.” They are accepting submissions now, and the City of South Milwaukee plans on making one.

Video is a big part of this. The question is, how do we break through?

Enter, Kyle Olson. Kyle is a 2007 South Milwaukee High School graduate and Emmy-award winning producer who currently lives in Hollywood.  

Kyle has agreed to come back home to produce this video! Joining him will be fellow South Milwaukee graduate and videographer Nick Koscielniak.

Kyle is flying in Friday and filming this Saturday, Feb. 1, so be sure to say hello if you see him and his crew around town. We may also want you to be part of the story — I’ll be reaching out individually on that.

I can’t wait to see this project come together. Hopefully it leads to additional investment in our city from HGTV. Even if it doesn’t, it will be fun to tell the South Milwaukee story in this unique way. And having that story told by Kyle and his team makes it all the more special.

We could not do this without partners. While Kyle is graciously donating his time and talents, there are still travel and production costs to fund.

The city is covering some of that cost — and in return Kyle has agreed to deliver a separate marketing video for us, using footage he collects here.

Also, I’m happy to announce Da Crusher Foundation and Molthen-Bell & Son Funeral Home have agreed to contribute toward this community storytelling project. Thank you so much!

We are still looking for additional donors to help fund the cost of bringing Kyle back to town and make these films, including businesses, organizations and individuals. If you are interested, please email me at brooks@smwi.org.

And please join me in welcoming Kyle back to town!

Our history story is authentic, and uniquely South Milwaukee’s. We as a city need to do a better job telling it.

That’s why I was excited to hear about a new public-private partnership the South Milwaukee Historical Society, South Milwaukee Library and a local business leader (Jay Benkowski and Benkowski Builders) — one that you can also help with.

From the society …

One hundred and twelve rolls of 35 mm microfilm covering South Milwaukee newspapers from 1892 to 2006 are currently unusable because of a microfilm reader/printer failure.

The South Milwaukee Historical Society and the South Milwaukee Library have begun a project to copy the film digitally that will make research of the newspaper files much easier.

A local businessman, Jay Benkowski and his firm Benkowski Properties have generously agreed to match all new donations toward this project dollar for dollar. We hope to reach a total of $15,000 dollars, which would allow completion of the project.

Newspapers are considered a primary source of historical information about people and events. Their preservation and access is very important to researchers both today and in the future. Please help in achieving our goal of making these papers easily researchable.

We are a 501(c)3 Organization. Donations over $250 will be acknowledged by letter.

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

Thanks, Jay, for stepping up to support this effort!