South Milwaukee Blog

Details on the South Milwaukee Police Department Facebook page.

Early voting is now open for the August 13 partisan primary election, and there are just two contested races on the ballot — the Democratic primary for Milwaukee County treasurer and Republican primary for United States Senator.

• Democratic incumbent David Cullen is running against challenger Ted Chisholm for the treasurer position; there is no Republican candidate, which means the August 13 vote essentially decides this election. I am proudly supporting Ted Chisholm, as he brings new energy, ideas and a commitment to working with municipalities on areas where the treasurer’s office interects with their work, especially around redevelopment of properties in significant arrears on their taxes. (This is a big issue in redeveloping cities like South Milwaukee working to reinvigorate vacant buildings.) And this. And this.
• Eric Hovde, Charles Barman, and Rejani Raveendram are competing in the Republican primary for U.S. Senate, with the winner facing incumbent Sen. Tammy Baldwin.

There are also two referendum questions related to the power of the Wisconsin legislature. I will be voting “no” on both of these questions, which represent the latest partisan power grab from a Republican-controlled legislature that, soon enough due to new maps, won’t be nearly as red.

Check out the following from the city’s website …

• Sample ballot
• Polling locations map
• Key dates are below.

He was hard to miss the last week, but in case you did …

South Milwaukee has a new mascot! Hello, South Milwaukee Sam.

The Sasquatch lives in Grant Park and he loves his new hometown, calling himself “the biggest cheerleader for South Milwaukee’s local businesses, community events, and good old-fashioned fun.”

Check out his website, Facebook page and first blog post, and coverage from WISN and JSOnline.

From the JSOnline story …

When the Bucyrus Foundation issued a grant to South Milwaukee, it came with a request that some dollars be used toward a new marketing campaign for the city.

Savage Solutions, the Milwaukee-based agency which helped rebrand the city in 2018, was tasked with coming up with this new campaign. “They came back with a couple (ideas) that were a little more traditional,” Brever said. “And then they came back with this very creative and outside the box idea that we thought was a lot of fun and decided to go down that route.”

Savage Solutions met with city officials one at a time because they didn’t want to spoil the campaign by presenting in front of the Common Council publicly. “We were so pleasantly surprised with how much (city staff) were gravitating toward it,” said Cory Savage, founder and CEO of Savage Solutions. “They’ve been so supportive which makes us work twice as hard.”

He was surprised the idea didn’t leak out ― other than a few times when Sam was out filming scenes reminiscent of classic Big Foot sightings. “He’s been out and about,” Savage said. “People were stopping in their cars looking and taking pictures.”

Savage said the idea came from the Milwaukee Lion sightings on the city’s north side from nearly a decade ago. He commended South Milwaukee officials and staff for agreeing to and rallying behind such a unique campaign. “This is the first project in the history of this company where every single employee at Savage had a piece of it,” Savage said.

Creative Director and partner at Savage Solutions Mark Hungsberg said it’s a campaign that “legitimately has legs.” He said Sam was to be “a regular kind of guy” and was designed and redesigned many times to make sure he wasn’t too scary for kids. The primary Sam actor has experience in children’s theater and mascot work.

“We also wanted to be true to the history of South Milwaukee by doing this almost blue-collar worker shirt, that mechanic’s shirt,” Hungsberg said. “He’s not some gimmicky, over-the-top, showboaty thing. He’s a hard worker.”

Savage said Sam “just fit the mentality and personality of what South Milwaukee has to offer.”

Brever said he’s happy with the costume and campaign. “It’s just kind of a fun way to get some attention to the community and our businesses,” Brever said.

Sam is on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok. There is even a Sam Tracker, Sam Swag and more. He also opened a business recently. 🙂

I like Sam. Sam is a unique way to lift up the people, places, businesses and organizations that make South Milwaukee special, a creative extension of the branding work we launched in 2018.

The whole thing is a bit weird, but it’s fun. And we need more weird and fun these days — as well as creative opportunities to promote our city. Go Sam!

From the City of South Milwaukee …

In May 2024, the Common Council approved five exciting projects totaling $50,000 as part of the Bucyrus Civic Grants Program. For 2024, the approved community projects include:

• $22,000 for ArtWorks: Supporting the artist’s professional services and materials for a beautiful new mural on the west side of 907 Milwaukee Avenue.
• $13,600 for Friends of the Library: Add improvements to the Children’s Area at the South Milwaukee Public Library by adding child-appropriate tablets, comfy lounge sofas, and child-sized workspaces.
• $11,400 for Warm Up South Milwaukee: The purchase of three defibrillators along with training, and creating a winter coat program by getting new coats for local elementary schools.
• $2,000 for Friends of Mill Pond: Adding an informational kiosk near the Oak Creek Parkway Warming House to share educational information, events, and Warming House pictures.
• $1,000 for South Milwaukee Historical Society: Adding a laptop and printer for everyone to use and search for ancestry and historical data.

Congratulations to all the organizations receiving an award in 2024! This program is completely funded with the generous support of the Bucyrus Foundation.

More on the program — and all of the grants made available through the Bucyrus Foundation’s legacy donation to the community — here.

The foundation’s 2021 grant to the city will live on for many years. I love it.

Heritage Week continues with maybe my favorite event of all — the South Milwaukee Heritage Days Parade. Details here. And here is the parade route …

Don’t forget about the Duck Race …

And Lionsfest continues …

Here is the updated schedule. Hope to see you there!

Note: Unfortunately, the Badger Band performance has been cancelled. They still will be playing in the Heritage Days Parade, however. On Wisconsin!

Three events, seven hours, one special night. This might be the biggest downtown South Milwaukee celebration in my 20+ years in this city.

Three events are planned for tonight …

• South Milwaukee Downtown Market: 3-8 p.m., Bucyrus Commons. This week’s market includes a special fun zone for kids (inflatables, face painting), music by Dog House Charlie from 5 to 8 p.m., and a proclamation by Mayor Jim Shelenske for NCAA Champion and South Milwaukee native Nate Snead (6 p.m.) Details
• Moran’s Award Winning First Annual Mid-Summer Block Party Extravaganza: 4-10 p.m., 900 block of Milwaukee Avenue. Down the block from the market, check out family-friendly activities like the Dance Academy of Mexico, food, live music and more. Radio Radio plays at 7 p.m. Details
• Paint the Mural. 4-7 p.m., 907 Milwaukee Ave. Join the Art Works team and muralist Tone Gomez in painting the next mural in downtown South Milwaukee. Grab a brush and be part of making history on Milwaukee Avenue! Details

From the South Milwaukee Fire Department …

Welcome back, Nate! Nate Snead, who helped Tennessee to a College World Series championship in June, is making his official return to South Milwaukee at a series of events in the next week.

Among his stops, from the Snead family …

• Wednesday July 24: SMFD Brat & Tot Fry (appearance time TBD). Fox6 News at 9 interview with Tim Van Vooren.
• Thursday, July 25: Mayoral proclamation at South Milwaukee Downtown Market, 6 p.m. Then a visit to the Moran’s Award Winning First Annual Mid-Summer Block Party Extravaganza.
• Friday, July 26: South Milwaukee Lionsfest Car Show (appearance time TBD).
• Saturday, July 27: South Milwaukee Heritage Days Parade grand marshal, starting at 11 a.m.
• Monday, July 29: First pitch at the Atlanta Braves vs. Milwaukee Brewers game, 7:10 p.m. first pitch.

It should be a week to remember for a local champion. Congratulations, Nate!

See you at Grant Park. Details here.

Today begins my favorite time of year! Learn more on the blog’s Events page.

And I’ll see you around town.

• Thursday, July 18: Downtown Market Music, Larry Lynn & the Decade Band and South Milwaukee Youth Theatre performance. Details
• Friday, July 19: Ferch’s Beachside Summer Music-Zakk Daniel, 5:30-8 p.m., Grant Park Beach. Details
• Sunday, July 21: Friends of Grant Park Art Fair, 10 a.m.-2 p.m., Grant Park Picnic Area 5 (Brown Pavilion). Details
• Monday, July 22: South Milwaukee Police Department DARE Golf Outing, Grant Park. Details
• Tuesday, July 23: South Milwaukee Municipal Band Concert, 7 p.m., Bucyrus Commons. Details
• Wednesday, July 24: South Milwaukee Fire Department Brat & Tot Fry, 4-7 p.m., South Milwaukee Fire Department. Details
• Thursday, July 25: Three downtown events … Moran’s Pub Block Party, 4-10 p.m., 900 block of Milwaukee Avenue (details) AND Paint the Mural, 4-7 p.m. 907 Milwaukee Ave. (details) AND South Milwaukee Downtown Market Evening at the Commons and Market Music-Dog House Charlie (’70s and ’80s). Details
• Friday, July 26-Sunday July 28: Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast Jr.,” presented by South Milwaukee Youth Theatre. Three shows, South Milwaukee PAC. Details
• Friday, July 26-Sunday, July 28: South Milwaukee Lionsfest. Details
• Friday, July 26: Lionsfest Car Cruise. Details
• Friday, July 26: Ferch’s Beachside Summer Music-Ryan McIntyre, 5:30-8 p.m., Grant Park Beach. Details
• Saturday, July 27: South Milwaukee Heritage Days Parade. Details
• Saturday, July 27: Great Duck Race, presented by the Friends of the Mill Pond and Oak Creek Watercourse, 1 p.m., 15th and Milwaukee Avenues. Details
• Sunday, July 28: Suburban Soles — “Dragonflies and Damselflies,” 1 p.m., Mill Pond. Details

From the South Milwaukee Fire Department …