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From the Article:

Last month was one of the wettest on record for June in a dramatic reversal from the drought conditions that covered Wisconsin at the same time last year.

The month marked the sixth-wettest June in state history based on records dating back to 1895. That’s according to Steve Vavrus, director of the Wisconsin State Climatology Office.

“Last June was the fifth-driest statewide, so this marks the biggest one-year precipitation flip-flop from one June to the next,” Vavrus said.

In June, the state averaged 6.97 inches in rainfall, which was 2.27 inches above normal for the month.

“Most parts of the state had more wet days than dry days in June, which is especially unusual in the summer,” Vavrus said.

The La Crosse area set a monthly record with 24 days of rain last month compared to the previous record of 22 days seen in 1935 and 2013. Frequent rain prompted flooding along the Mississippi River and brought water levels to its second-highest for the month at 11.01 feet.

From the Article:

The Coalition to March on the Republican National Convention (RNC) and the City of Milwaukee have reached a near last-minute deal on the coalition’s plan to march inside the soft security perimeter and within view of the convention being held at Fiserv Forum.

“We’re very proud to announce that as of 11 a.m. today, we have reached a handshake agreement with the city of Milwaukee that will allow us to march within sight and sound of the Fiserv Forum,” Omar Flores, co-chair of the coalition, said at a press conference Friday afternoon. “A member of the City Attorney’s office will be observing the march at the very front to make sure that things go without a hitch.”

It is the second time this week the coalition has had to change the protest route. After losing a lawsuit over the city’s permitting for public demonstrations earlier this week, coalition leaders said the march would still go forward and announced a new route running through the “soft zone” of the RNC security perimeter. Pedestrians and cyclists are able to pass freely through the “soft zone” but vehicles must go through a security checkpoint.

Following the deal with the city, the new route will still run through the security perimeter and through the “soft zone”, going past the intersection of W. Highland Avenue and N. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, where it will be roughly within a block of Fiserv Forum. The march is scheduled to take off Monday morning from Red Arrow Park.

The coalition sued the city after the city refused to permit a march inside the security zone of the Republican National Convention. With legal representation from the American Civil Liberties Union of Wisconsin (ACLU), the group sued the city in federal court seeking an injunction against the permitting restrictions, arguing they violate the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.

U.S. District Court Judge Brett Ludwig did not grant the injunction and said the city’s restrictions meet the standard for “time, place and manner” limitations accepted by the U.S. Supreme Court, in a decision released late Monday.

From the Article:

The nation’s top Republicans will descend on Milwaukee this weekend ahead of the party’s national convention, which kicks off Sunday evening.

Alongside former President Donald Trump and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, two prominent names in socially progressive advocacy are planning to make an appearance.

Ben and Jerry.

The popular ice cream brand, which has a long history of political activism, is set to open its new scoop shop in the Historic Third Ward on Sunday, July 14.

The neighborhood announced the news on social media Wednesday, noting that the business, 203 N. Broadway, will soon be serving “creamy cones and sweet treats galore.”

Frederick and Patricia Rasmussen are co-owners of the upcoming business, which will be the first Ben & Jerry’s location in the state. Both reside in Illinois, according to a license application.

From the Article:

New guidance on how local clerks should secure and maintain absentee ballot drop boxes has been approved by the Wisconsin Elections Commission. The 6-0 vote comes days after Republican National Committee Chair Michael Whatley said the party doesn’t want “ballots going into drop boxes.”

Drop boxes are back in Wisconsin because the Wisconsin Supreme Court’s liberal majority reversed a near-total ban on the receptacles July 5. It was a reversal of the court’s previous conservative majority’s order in 2022, which said unsupervised ballot drop boxes outside a clerk’s office were illegal.

Following the conservative majority’s ruling two years ago, former President Donald Trump falsely claimed the results of the 2020 election were also illegal. Trump lost Wisconsin to former Vice President Joe Biden by around 21,000 votes.

From the Article:

GOP lawmakers overstepped their constitutional authority when they used a committee to block certain gubernatorial actions, Wisconsin’s Supreme Court concluded in a 6-1 ruling.

Friday’s near-unanimous decision hands a major victory to Democratic Gov. Tony Evers, who filed a lawsuit arguing legislative committees like the GOP-led Joint Finance Committee violated the separation of powers established in Wisconsin’s Constitution.

The lawsuit cited moves by the committee, such as blocking the ability of Evers’ Department of Natural Resources to acquire land for conservation using funds that had already been earmarked by the full Legislature. In circumventing the DNR’s ability to carry out those purchases for what’s known as the Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Program, Wisconsin’s budget-writing committee “intruded” on executive power, six justices concluded.

“Maintaining the separation of powers between the branches is essential for the preservation of liberty and a government accountable to the people,” conservative Justice Rebecca Bradley wrote in the majority opinion. “By placing the power of the executive branch to carry out the law in a committee of the legislature, the legislative branch subsumed the executive power.”

Evers called the ruling a “victory for the people of Wisconsin” in a statement Friday.

“Republican lawmakers have spent years giving themselves outsized influence and power that they’ve used to unconstitutionally obstruct basic government functions and prevent my administration from doing the people’s work,” the statement said. “I’ve spent years working against near-constant Republican obstruction, and this historic decision rightfully resets constitutional checks and balances and restores separation of powers.”

Joint Finance Co-Chairs Sen. Howard Marklein, R-Spring Green, and Rep. Mark Born, R-Beaver Dam, said the decision was an “unfortunate” reversal of longstanding, “key components” of the land stewardship program that have been in place under both Democratic and Republican administrations. “These provisions have ensured taxpayer resources are spent wisely and that local communities and stakeholders have had a seat at the table on important projects impacting their area,” the statement said. “This decision removes our current legislative oversight process. Our entire stewardship program is now in jeopardy.”

Evers has long been engaged in a tug of war over authority with Wisconsin’s Legislature. Republicans hold a majority in both Wisconsin’s Senate and Assembly, but are just shy of the Assembly supermajority needed to override vetoes from the governor.

From the Article:

Buses will make a wide berth around the Republican National Convention (RNC), cutting off much of Downtown from direct bus service.

The transit system remains uncertain when the detours will begin, but said they could begin as soon as July 11 when fencing for the perimeter begins going up. The detours will last throughout the entire convention, which runs from July 15 to July 18, plus another day afterward.

Buses will not travel west of Broadway, nor east of N. 10th Street, according to a map released by MCTS Monday.

Detoured routes will also run north of W. Walnut Street and south all the way to Walker’s Point while skirting around the security perimeter created for the event.

There will be no temporary stops installed outside of the security perimeter to make up for the route changes. “For safety reasons, riders are asked to go to an existing bus stop as there are no temporary stops,” the statement by MCTS says.

The detours will affect 14 bus routes running through Downtown: CONNECT 1, BlueLine, GreenLine, 12, 15, 18, 19, 30, 31, 33, 34, 57, 80 and 81. Most of the service is being rerouted along N. 12th Street, W. Walnut Avenue and N. Milwaukee Street. The detour for Route 18 is not illustrated in a map from MCTS, but is included in a descriptions of detours (included below).

The large chunk of service taken out of the transit network — nearly all of Westown — will have ripple effects across the entire system. “While public transportation will be most impacted in downtown Milwaukee, riders should also expect delays across the system due to the overall increase in traffic expected at the event,” MCTS said.

The transit system’s paratransit service, Transit Plus, will have access to the security zone for dropoffs. Riders will be subject to security screenings and MCTS asks that riders prepare for longer travel times as a result. “We welcome delegates and visitors to the RNC and look forward to helping you make the most of Milwaukee County and have a wonderful experience during your visit,” said MCTS. “While we’re ready for this worldwide event, we ask everyone to allow more time in your travel plans and know that security measures could change service on short notice.”

From the Article:

Milwaukee County Supervisor Shawn Rolland wants to raise the fine for illegal dumping in Milwaukee County Parks.

Illegal dumping has been a problem in the parks system for many years. With many secluded areas and plenty of space, parks are a ripe target for contractors, landlords and others who want to skirt the fees charged at local dumpsites.

Municipalities struggle with the problem, too. The City of Milwaukee has a $5,000 fine for dumping, as well as a reward for tipsters. Milwaukee County ordinance sets the fine for dumping at $200. Rolland has authored a resolution raising the fine to $5,000, bringing it in line with the city’s fine.

“It’s time to send a message that’s crystal clear: our parks are jewels, not junkyards,” Rolland told Urban Milwaukee. “And if you bring your garbage to our parks instead of your local dump, you’re going to get a painful fine.”

In 2021, parks officials began cataloging instances of illegal dumping throughout the system. They found that much of the dumping is occurring within a few parks in the system, McGovern Park, the Little Menomonee River Parkway and Washington Park are among them.

The problem is tricky to solve. The parks department is already understaffed and the system includes more than 15,000 acres of parkland. Even if the department deployed cameras at the hot-spot parks, it would be difficult to put up enough to catch everything. Department staff have also noticed that when someone gets caught dumping in a specific area the dumping will increase elsewhere.

From the Article:

After its May 21 launch, Amtrak Borealis attracted hundreds of daily passengers for the St. Paul, Minnesota/Milwaukee/Chicago train route and is one of only two state-supported routes to turn a profit.

In its monthly performance report released last week, Amtrak said the St. Paul and Chicago train route dubbed Borealis brought in about 6,600 passengers during the 11 days it was operational in May. The route has eight stops in Wisconsin, including the downtown Milwaukee Intermodal Station.

Recently, the Wisconsin Association of Railroad Passengers reported figures from the Wisconsin Department of Transportation that confirmed the Borealis train in May carried over 600 passengers daily during that 11-day period. The daily average for westbound travelers, they said, was 329. Meanwhile, the daily average for eastbound travelers was 275.

The twice-daily Borealis was built as an expansion of the current Empire Builder service which connects Chicago with the Twin Cities on its way to Seattle. Borealis’ 411-mile route takes about 7 hours and 20 minutes, compared with Empire’s nearly 8-hour journey.

The route is sponsored by the states of Wisconsin, Minnesota and Illinois. A federal grant was to provide 90% of the first year operating costs. In its brief history, the St. Paul-to-Chicago route is one of only two Amtrak state-supported routes — out of 30 nationwide — to turn an operating profit this year; revenue for May was $600,000, vs. expenses of $500,000.

St. Paul’s Union Depot is working on becoming a destination attraction train travelers. The depot recently welcomed a new restaurant from the owners of Lake Elmo Inn called 1881 by Lake Elmo. St. Paul officials are reportedly hoping the upscale restaurant will become an attraction in its own right for people traveling into St. Paul via train.

From the Article:

For the first time in over a year, WISN 12 News cameras were granted rare access Monday inside the former Northridge Mall weeks before a contractor is set to begin demolition.

The city of Milwaukee acquired the site of the former mall in January 2024 after a judge granted a foreclosure following years of unpaid taxes by U.S. Black Spruce Enterprises, the Chinese-based company that owned the property.

Since gaining access to the buildings, the city of Milwaukee says they have secured the premises and added 24/7 on-site security.

This comes after years of vandalism at the property including a string of dangerous arsons in the summer of 2022.

That vandalism was still on full display Monday. Stores once filled with eager shoppers are now littered with shattered glass, graffiti and broken property. Mold and asbestos cover the floors and walls.

"It's a real health and safety issue," Benji Timm, a project manager with the Department of City Development said. "It doesn't take long for people to get inside, for Mother Nature to work her magic on a building like this."

The city says they are now working with Veit, a Minnesota-based contractor to begin asbestos abatement and demolition by late summer.

Timm says the process will likely take close to a year to complete. The city hopes to have a more concrete timeline in August when they plan to hold a special public meeting.

In the meantime, the City has launched two websites to provide updates on the project and give community members a chance to weigh in on what they'd like to see built on the property once the former mall is removed.

From the Article:

The Marcus Performing Arts Center is not ready to sever its relationship with Milwaukee County taxpayers.

MPAC, the 55-year-old, downtown art center, is reporting that it has spent the last few years spending down its cash reserves as it struggles to bring in revenue. It was supposed to cut financial ties with the county in 2026, but it’s unlikely the organization will be ready to do so.

MPAC wants to extend its funding agreement with the county. Unfortunately for MPAC, the organization’s plea comes at a time that county policymakers are looking to cut spending on arts and culture.

Milwaukee County owns the building at 929 N. Water, which is operated by MPAC. The privately-built center opened in 1969 and was deeded to the county, to be held in trust for the public and to support the performing arts.

In 2015, a plan to transfer ownership of the building from the county to the Wisconsin Center District was added to state legislation financing the new Milwaukee Bucks arena. A year later, the county board finalized a funding agreement with MPAC that stated the county would stop providing funding if ownership was transferred to the district.

In light of this agreement, MPAC and the county successfully sought a repeal of the state legislation authorizing the ownership transfer.

From the Article:

Dust off those lawn chairs and pack the cooler. The South Milwaukee Heritage Days Parade will kick off its annual parade at 11 am on Saturday, July 27th. This highly anticipated parade will feature over 150 units marching through the center of South Milwaukee along Milwaukee Avenue, culminating at the Lionsfest grounds on 16th & Rawson Avenue.

The 2024 Heritage Days Parade promises to be an unforgettable experience – boasting a diverse array of exciting highlights. Attendees can expect a captivating Harley-Davidson prelude, a harmonious crescendo of marching bands, patriotic displays from military, veteran, fire, and police personnel, dance performances, majestic horses, and colorful floats. Bring a bag to collect the candy and swag giveaways!

From the Article:

The former Llewellyn Library in Bay View is now up for sale for $300,000.

The 8,234 square-foot building, located at 907 E Russell Ave., used to be the Milwaukee Public Library but was replaced in 1993 by the Bay View Library on Kinnickinnic Ave.

The former Llewellyn Library, built in 1913 and expanded in 1958, is zoned as RT4 residential. This zoning allows for up single-family to four-unit homes and "commercial establishments commonly found in urban neighborhoods," according to the city zoning code.

The Milwaukee Department of City Development prefers an adaptive reuse of the building as residential, low-traffic commercial, studio, shop, or art gallery space.

The former library cannot be used as a "parking lot, pawnshop, cigarette or cigar shop, gun shop, tavern, liquor store, currency exchange, payday or auto-title loan store, medical service facility, daycare facilities," or uses prohibited by zoning according to the Department of Development.

The selected developer cannot apply for tax exemption and must host an informational neighborhood meeting explaining the new use of the building.

According to our partners at OnMilwaukee, after the former library closed, it was briefly leased to Milwaukee Public Schools, which used it for Bay View High School's Redcat Academy, a program to "serve at-risk students with a mix of programming that included NJROTC, construction and technical specialty training."

The building has sat vacant since the Redcat Academy program ended over a decade ago.

The Milwaukee Department of City Development issued a Request for Proposals for the 17,315 square-foot lot.

Proposals to buy the building are due by noon on Tuesday, July 30.