Editor, Author at Milwaukee Independent

“Walk 100 Miles” program ends its fifth season of exercise and community exploration

Posted by Editor | Sep 10, 2018 |

Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett hosted the finale to his 5th Annual Walk 100 Miles in 100 Days initiative on September 7 at Pere Marquette Park, with a walk around the new Fiserv Forum. The last “Walk 100” for the year celebrated the end of the 2018 season, which has facilitated 125 walks over the program’s half decade history. Throughout the summer, participants were encouraged to walk on their own, in a group, or join one of the many community walks. The goal has been to work towards achieving 100 miles in 100 days, but has also served as a...

Educator, civic leader, and daughter of Milwaukee’s legendary Mayor, Anita Zeidler passes at 73

Posted by Editor | Sep 5, 2018 |

The Frank Zeidler Center for Public Discussion released a statement via social media on September 4 that the daughter of the organizations namesake and board member, Anita Zeidler, passed away suddenly on September 3. Anita Zeidler had a zeal to work on behalf of the common good and always sought to improve conditions for the Milwaukee community. She retired after teaching for 25 years in the Department of Educational Psychology at UW-Milwaukee’s School of Education, and was a longtime member of many civic groups, including the Milwaukee Mayor’s Committee for the United Nations. Zeidler was an active board member...

Stakeholders reflect on four year journey from Bucks ownership transition to new Arena

Posted by Editor | Aug 28, 2018 |

Former Bucks owner Senator Herb Kohl also attended the ribbon-cutting ceremony on August 26 and was honored by the Bucks for his 29-year stewardship of the team with the naming of Herb Kohl Way for the block in front of Fiserv Forum. The groundbreaking ceremony for the new arena was held on June 18, 2016, with substantial completion of the building having occurred on July 31, 2018. Over 3,800 craft workers spent two million total work hours building Fiserv Forum, with 76 percent of the contracts to build the venue completed with Wisconsin companies. The audio was recorded live...

Wubba Lubba Dub Dub: “Rickmobile” from Adult Swim’s “Rick and Morty” rolls into Milwaukee

Posted by Editor | Aug 27, 2018 |

Fans of the Adult Swim cartoon “Rick and Morty” had the chance on August 25 to visit the Rickmobile when it arrived in Milwaukee for *Don’t Even Trip* Road Trip 2018, its second cross country promotional tour. “Rubber baby buggy bumpers!” as the character Rick is fond of saying. Following in the tradition of the Oscar Mayer Wienermobile, the world’s largest Rick – The Rickmobile, a mobile merchandise store shaped like the “Rick and Morty” title character Rick Sanchez – parked behind the Oak & Shield Gaming Pub at 600 E Ogden Avenue. Hundreds of area residents lined up...

First crew of the Milwaukee Streetcar takes full-route daylight test drive

Posted by Editor | Aug 23, 2018 |

The Milwaukee Streetcar training class and support staff took Vehicle #03 for a 2.1 mile run from the Intermodal Terminal to Burns Commons on August 22, making it the first daylight end-to-end route test. The 83,000 pound vehicle was expected to test between 31 and 42 miles along the route, with higher through less traffic-dense straightaways, like East Ogden Avenue. Including the weight of the training crew, stacks of bottled water bundles created 20,000 pounds of ballast to simulate a capacity ride load. The streetcar fleet must log more than 620 miles of testing before it can begin passenger...

Cathedral Square Park continues as hub for downtown arts and music

Posted by Editor | Aug 21, 2018 |

Originally known as Courthouse Square for being where Milwaukee’s two courthouses were located between 1836 to 1931, Cathedral Square continues to be a thriving location for the downtown creative culture. On August 19, MKEfest was held at the small county park for a day of art and music in a festival setting. Organized by SamanthaStarr Events, the venue was used as an open platform for local visual artists to interact with the community, and to raise awareness of the arts in surrounding areas. During the day, twenty diverse individuals painted, sprayed, sketched, chalked, and drew works with Milwaukee-themed messages....