South Milwaukee Blog

The South Milwaukee Community & Business Association and I are getting the big scissors ready for more grand openings in May! Here is a list …

• This Saturday, May 5: Join me at two ribbon cuttings before the Little League Parade at noon. First, John at Gecko Leatherworks, 916 Milwaukee Ave., has his opening set for 11 a.m., with treats, special discounts and raffles. Then, at 11:30 a.m., Ryan is christening his new parklet at The Tap Room, 1301 Milwaukee Ave., on Kentucky Derby Day.
• Tuesday, May 8: Kathy from Katrina’a Vintage Shop – formerly Green Flag Racing, 1218 Milwaukee Ave. – is officially re-opening. Summer hours are Saturdays 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., and 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday.
• Friday, May 25: Jason from Modern Machining is hosting a ribbon cutting at 12:30 p.m. at his new location at 2205 12^th, as he expands just a few blocks south of his previous location. He’s adding jobs, too – much more to come on this success story.
• May 19: Ferch’s Beachside opens for the season at Grant Park Beach, with weekend hours through Memorial Day weekend. Watch their Facebook page for updates.

And coming soon: The new ice cream shop at 1232 Milwaukee Ave. and Milwaukee Sausage Co. at 1200 Milwaukee Ave. I’ve spoken to the owners in the last few week, and they are making good progress in remodeling their buildings.

They are both shooting for May openings. More details to come.

Saturday is one of my favorite days of the year: South Milwaukee Little League Opening Day.

The festivities start with a parade at noon. It leaves from 12th Milwaukee, heads east on Milwaukee to Ninth, then south to Drexel, then east into Little League Park.

Brief opening day ceremonies follow for the parade. Then there’s a full slate of games.

From the Little League …

South Milwaukee Little League opens its 65^th season on Saturday May 5^th with its traditional Opening Day parade, ceremonies and games.  Cheer on the over 400 SMLL players on the parade route led by Brad McKendry, this year’s parade marshal, along with area mascots, such as Elvis from the Kenosha Kingfish, Gill from the Lakeshore Chinooks, Ronnie Rocket and more.  Join players at SMLL Park (700 Mackinac Ave) for the Opening Ceremonies, followed by a slate of opening games led off by some of this year’s Rookie teams.  Come on out as SMLL gets ready to – PLAY BALL!

Check out the flyer for a full schedule and list of games.

How many communities actually have a parade like this? To me, it’s one of the things that makes South Milwaukee special. Be sure to get a spot on the parade route and say hello … and stop by the ballyard to check out some games.

It’s the unofficial start of spring in South Milwaukee!

From South Milwaukee Alderman David Bartoshevich …

Thank you to all those who made our Earth Day 2018 event this past weekend successful!  With 130 volunteers, we were able to collect:

• 20+ yards of materials (i.e. garbage, bags, mattresses, chairs, etc.); 
• 83 TVs, and with that, over 400 canned goods for South Milwaukee Human Concerns;
  
• 10 carts of paper for shredding; 
• 14 flags to be recycled; 
• 50 pounds of sharps by the South Milwaukee Health Department; and 
• 334 pound of prescription medications by the South Milwaukee Police Department
  

Looking forward to Earth Day 2019!

The South Milwaukee Common Council gave final approval to the conditional use permit for the indoor soccer facility planned for the former AMF South Park Lanes at 305 N. Chicago Ave.

This is exciting news, and the complex will be a great reuse of building going on four years of vacancy. It will also fill a need in the soccer community, which we’re told has a lack of indoor space available in which to practice and play.

The facility, which will be focused on serving area youth players and teams, could be open by August. More details from NOW.

Welcome to South Milwaukee!

We’re becoming famous as a birders’ paradise, and I love it! See you May 12 … and thanks to Rita Wiskowski for her continued leadership in raising up South Milwaukee’s contributions to birds and their habitat. Be sure to like the South Milwaukee Bird City Facebook page for more regular avian updates.

Another innovative way our police department is working with community members to keep South Milwaukee safe …

We welcome all South Milwaukee residents, block watch groups, and business owners to attend the Expo. STANLEY Security, Home Depot, Able Security Systems, & Bonafide Security Solutions are just a few of the many Safety & Security vendors that will be at the Expo to answer your questions and demonstrate their products/ services. This Expo is free to attend!

Details on this Facebook event.

I stopped by over the weekend and saw local woodworker Larry Oleson is almost done with the Little Free Libraries.

Two are still unspoken for, available to loving homes.

Interested? Email me at erikbrooks32@gmail.com, and let me know why we should add your name to the list. I don’t need a thesis — just a sentence or three on your plans for the library and why it would make a great fit for your neighborhood.

I want to thank our partners for their support of this.

• That list starts with Larry. He has been so gracious to lend his talents to this twice now. He is making these for free, and this couldn’t happen without him. Take a look at his progress in the image with this post.
• South Milwaukee Library. As in 2015, they donated all the wood for the libraries, from their collection of retired bookshelves.
• South Milwaukee Ace Hardware. They donated a number of materials for the project, including the doors and windows, hinges and latches, nails, screws and more. Very cool.
• Bliffert Lumber in Cudahy. They stepped up to donate posts.
• We also had a private donation of shingles.

Look for the libraries to be up around town this spring!

Please be sure that you have the ability to transport your library and anchor it into the ground, to get on the list. 

South Milwaukee is getting closer to having an indoor youth soccer/futsal facility at the former AMF South Park Lanes.

The new owners of the site came before the South Milwaukee Plan Commission on Monday for a public hearing and discussion of their plans to convert the former bowling alley into a three indoor soccer/futsal fields, offering a local alternative to local soccer teams, especially area youth.

Here is NOW coverage from the meeting. The Plan Commission recommended approval of a conditional use permit for the facility, and the matter now heads to the full South Milwaukee Common Council for our May 1 meeting.

I want to thank those who spoke at the public hearing. There were a number of valid concerns raised, from traffic to safety and security to hours of operation to building appearance. The commission took those to heart and spelled out a number of conditions for the owners, to ensure this will be a development we can all be proud of. This includes no hours of operation after 10 p.m. and the closure of a service drive that was too often used as a connecting street through the property.

I’m excited about the prospects of this project. As the father of a youth soccer player, I know there is a shortage of indoor space for kids (and adults), validated at the meeting by the facility operator, a longtime member of the youth soccer community who plans to move his youth league to South Milwaukee.

The facility will also attract plenty of visitors to our city, which I love.

I’ll keep you posted as the ball continues to roll here.

• Authorities Called to Auto Body Shop Fire in South Milwaukee (CBS 58)
• Caterpillar Sales Jump on Strong International Demand (Wall Street Journal)
  • Also earnings coverage from Reuters and the Peoria Journal-Star
• Parents and Their Children Could be Cited for Student Bullying with Newly Proposed Ordinance in South Milwaukee (NOW)
• New Jobs, Maintenance Budget Included in Possible Fall South Milwaukee School Referendum (NOW)
• South Milwaukee Mayor Declares Tuesday Catherine Krause Day as Woman Celebrates 100th Birthday (Fox 6)
• Waterford Woman and South Milwaukee Woman Face Drug Charges (Racine County Eye)
• Man Exposes Himself and Urinates on Wall While Giving Blood in South Milwaukee (NOW)

Also, the South Milwaukee Police Department has started providing weekly crime summaries on their new Facebook page. They just posted one for April 12-19. Please like their page, if you haven’t already — it’s full of useful information.

Updated on April 26.

As the weather finally warms and you make planting plans for your home, use these special discounts offered to South Milwaukee residents!

Thanks to Patti Bergeson and the South Milwaukee Beautification Committee for pulling this together and doing their part to encourage a more beautiful city.

South Milwaukee Library Director Nan Champe and board member Dan Reszel presented the 2017 library annual report to the South Milwaukee Common Council on Tuesday. From it …

With more than 78,000 visits in 2017, the South Milwaukee Library (SML) is the city’s most-used non-school public facility. Your SML is an engaging learning, information and idea center that enhances the community’s quality of life.

I couldn’t say it better myself. It’s great to see so many good things happening at this important local institution.

Check out a PDF of the report here, including a page detailing the library budget.

Don’t forget the library remains closed as they install new carpet and paint. Follow progress and see pictures on their Facebook page.