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:

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:

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.

From the acrticle:

The U.S. Secret Service on Friday revealed maps of the security zones for the upcoming Republican National Convention.

There are two zones that will be located around Fiserv Forum and around Henry Maier Festival Park. The Republican National Convention is scheduled for July 15 through July 18.

The former includes a vehicle restricted zone with boundaries that stretch north to Cherry Street, south to Clybourn Street, west to Ninth Street and east to the Milwaukee River. This outer vehicle screening perimeter (highlighted in yellow in the maps below) is where vehicles will be screened upon entrance but pedestrians are free to access without screening.

A pedestrian screening perimeter (highlighted in red in the maps below) will be accessible only to people attending or working the event.

Pedestrian restricted area enforcement begins Sunday, July 14, at 6 p.m. Vehicle screening perimeter enforcement will begin Monday, July 15, at 2 a.m.

Only one residential building, 550 Ultra Lofts, is in the pedestrian restricted area. Residents will be permitted to access their homes and parking spaces.

Commercial and recreational water travel will not be permitted on the Milwaukee River between Cherry and Michigan streets beginning July 14 and running through the early morning hours of July 19.

New train! Very excited

WisDOT released their alternatives for WIS175. Ive linked the website that places to submit feedback.

What are your thoughts on the alternatives?

New vendor announced for Vel R Phillips Plaza

In Chicago, venues are booking fast for the Democratic convention in August. But Milwaukee, host of the Republican convention, is wondering if customers will come.

DPW just released plans and renders for the upcoming Michigan St redesign. What are your thoughts?

What are your thoughts on the upcoming RNC?