steinbring

State utility regulators unanimously approved another pair of solar projects that may help power hyperscale data centers.

The Public Service Commission approved on March 19 We Energies' purchase of Good Oak and Gristmill solar generation facilities in Columbia County. The two projects will generate 165 megawatts, enough to power around 50,000 Wisconsin homes, and cost a combined $360 million.

We Energies will own 80% of both facilities, spokesperson Brendan Conway said. The remaining power will be split between Madison Gas & Electric and the Wisconsin Public Service Corporation, another WEC Energy Group subsidiary.

Good Oak will span 800 acres in the Town of Lewiston and consist of 191,000 solar panels. Gristmill is half the size and will consist of nearly 132,000 panels in the Town of Columbus.

Should commissioners approve We Energies' plan to establish a separate electric rate for large data centers, both facilities will allot 70% of their energy to data center customers. Customers in this service category include Microsoft and Vantage's multi-billion dollar data center campuses in southeast Wisconsin.

Two months after announcing its closure, the Sentry Foods grocery store at 6350 W. Silver Spring Drive on Milwaukee’s far northwest side will reopen as One City Foods under the same operator.

Milwaukee Ald. Mark Chambers announced plans for the reopening of the “reinvigorated” supermarket at Tuesday afternoon’s Common Council meeting. He thanked owner Viral Patel, who previously operated the Sentry Foods store, for the quick turnaround on the store and noted that the store will open on April 3.

“We did it,” Chambers said. “Hopefully it’ll be bigger and better than ever.”

Patel could not be reached for comment.

Two license applications were filed with the City of Milwaukee on March 23, one for a permanent change of business and another for an alcoholic beverage dealer. The applications state the store will sell groceries, alcoholic beverages, tobacco products, cigarettes and electronic vaping devices.

If approved, One City Foods will be open from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily.

Sentry Foods announced its closure in January with a sign on its door that read: “It is with a heavy heart we share the news that this store is permanently closing. This decision was not made lightly. Many factors were carefully considered before coming to this difficult conclusion. Saying goodbye is truly painful, and we are deeply sorry to bring this news to the community that has supported us over the years. We are incredibly grateful for your loyalty, kindness, and support. It has meant more to us than words can express, and we thank you sincerely for standing by us throughout this process,” BizTimes’ media partner WISN-TV Channel 12 reported at the time.

On Wednesday, the Chad Smith Foundation announced its After-School Music Program (AMP), a nationwide initiative designed to expand access to high-quality music education. Milwaukee will be the launching point, with community organizations receiving financial and operational support to help students get hands-on experience with the world of music.

“Music has the power to change lives, and every child deserves the chance to experience that,” said Chad Smith, drummer for the Red Hot Chili Peppers and co-founder of the organization that bears his name. “AMP is about bringing instructors, instruments and opportunities directly to kids so they can discover their own voice through music.

“At the foundation, we are working to eliminate all the barriers that we hear too often as reasons for why young adults don’t have access to music programs.”

The initiative is a collaboration between the foundation and four key local partners: the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Milwaukee, the Salvation Army, Notes for Notes and Running Rebels. By embedding music education directly into the existing after-school programs, AMP seeks to create sustainable opportunities for students to discover their musical voices.

Milwaukee would like to bar Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) from staging on city-owned properties. And a new resolution, pending approval from the full Common Council and Mayor Cavalier Johnson, would do just that.

On Monday, the Council’s Steering & Rules Committee approved a resolution that “prohibits the use of City owned or controlled properties for civil immigration enforcement actions.” The resolution is the third item to be approved from a so-called “ICE Out MKE” legislative package that was announced by members of the Council in February.

Properties identified by the latest resolution include “parking lots, vacant lots, garages, public buildings, and parks.”

“Like so many Americans across the country, our city was dismayed and heartbroken to hear the aggressive actions taken by federal immigration enforcement agencies in other cities like Minneapolis and Chicago, just right next door to us,” said lead sponsor Alderperson JoCasta Zamarripa. “My colleagues and I have been implored by our constituents to prepare and do everything that we can to keep our constituents safe. […] This resolution that’s before you today prohibits the use of city properties for immigration enforcement activities.”

“We are on the right side of this, and we want to make sure that there are safe places for everybody in the City of Milwaukee,” said co-sponsor Alderwoman Marina Dimitrijevic. “I’ve been asked, ‘What is it that local government can do to stop the federal government?’ We’re going to find out everything that we can do. We cannot do everything, but we’re going to do all that we can.”

The 2026 Milwaukee Film Festival cometh! Yes, the 18th annual cinematic blowout is set to take over the screens of the Oriental and Downer theaters April 16-30. It’s gonna be great. (The Downer, in case you missed it, was recently purchased by Milwaukee Film.) Advance ticket packages and passes are available NOW.

Need more incentive to get those advance tickets? On Tuesday, Milwaukee Film unveiled 10 titles that will be part of MFF26, plus the festival’s official artwork. The latter is from Milwaukee digital design studio Northern Ground, which also created Milwaukee Film’s new logo and website.

Workers at Discourse have won voluntary union recognition after a third-party card count found majority support for this, cafe management announced Monday.

The move establishes the Discourse Coffee Workers Union, which is expected to begin contract negotiations in the coming months with representation from the Milwaukee Area Service and Hospitality Workers Organization (MASH).

“Workers want to have a voice, a seat at the table and a say in the future, as opposed to a critique of existing management or some problem with the company that needed to be fixed immediately,” MASH President Peter Rickman told Urban Milwaukee in an interview, adding that Discourse management “deserves credit for remaining neutral throughout the process.”

The new collective bargaining agreement covers all employees at Discourse’s Milwaukee cafes: 1020 N. Broadway and 220 E. Pittsburgh Ave. It does not include the Chicago-based location, but is likely to apply to any future Milwaukee stores, according to founder and CEO Ryan Castelaz. Rickman said 74% of workers voted to join the union, though he believes actual support is higher, noting that some employees have not yet had a chance to sign on.

“We have always stood behind our teams, and we are incredibly excited to foster a strong relationship with their union, ensuring that equitable compensation and employee well-being remain at the core of our mission as we grow in Milwaukee and beyond,” Castelaz said in a statement.

Attendees of the ribbon cutting ceremony at Metcalfe Park Community Bridges locked arms to form human chains on either side of Melody McCurtis, deputy director of Metcalfe Park Community Bridges.

As she cut the ribbon tied around the new community fridge in the neighborhood nonprofit's office, lyrics to “Lean on Me” by Bill Withers filled the room.

Lean on me when you’re not strong. I’ll be your friend – I'll help you carry on. For it won’t be long ‘til I’m gonna need somebody to lean on.

It was a fitting end to an event centered on solidarity, mutual aid and community-led solutions to food insecurity on Milwaukee’s north side.

Organizers and elected officials praised the response created by and for neighbors after the sudden departure of the Metcalfe Park Pick ‘n Save on North 35th Street nearly eight months ago.

Milwaukee Film now owns the Downer Theatre.

The nonprofit behind the Milwaukee Film Festival – and operator of the Oriental Theatre since 2018 – has purchased the 111-year-old two-screen Downer Theatre, Milwaukee Film officials announced March 2.

“Owning the Downer Theatre is a dream-come-true for Milwaukee Film,” Milwaukee Film Executive Director Susan Kerns said in a news release. “It affords our organization stronger financial footing and ensures our ability to provide the city we love with the film festivals and year-round programming it deserves. We’re delighted to close this deal in time for this April’s Milwaukee Film Festival.”

Bridge33 Capital purchased the Downer Theatre, 2589 N. Downer Ave., and surrounding businesses in early 2020. Milwaukee Film operated the Downer beginning in 2024 through a rental agreement with Bridge33, with Milwaukee Film reporting an additional $925,000 spent in the neighborhood in 2025 for dining, shopping, parking and more, according to a Cinema United study.

Several private donations and a low-interest loan courtesy of The Helmerich Trust helped make Milwaukee Film's Downer acquisition possible. Financial details of the sale were not disclosed.

In a bipartisan about face, the Wisconsin Senate passed a bill Wednesday that includes nearly $600,000 in funding for WisconsinEye, the state’s version of C-SPAN.

But before it can be signed into law, it needs to pass both houses of the Legislature. The state Assembly already passed a different bill to fund WisconsinEye last week, and it plans to adjourn for the year on Thursday. The competing bills were introduced after WisconsinEye, which has been operating mostly on private donations since 2007, ran out of money and went off the air in December. Without the nonprofit broadcasting the Legislature’s hearings, some Democrats attempted to stream proceedings with their phones and said Republican committee chairs blocked them from doing so.

Last week, state Sen. Julian Bradley, R-New Berlin, introduced a bill requiring WisconsinEye and any other takers to submit bids for the right to broadcast the Legislature’s business. Senate Democrats initially balked at the legislation because it didn’t include any money.

Things changed Wednesday when Bradley amended his bill to include $585,630 over 12 months for WisconsinEye, while still requiring the nonprofit to submit a competitive bid to lawmakers.

Republicans in the Wisconsin Assembly say they’ll pass two bills related to women’s health Thursday, a surprise move that comes after years of blocking the legislation.

The bills, which would increase Medicaid access for low-income postpartum mothers and remove out-of-pocket costs for breast cancer screenings, had wide bipartisan support across multiple legislative sessions and passed the Senate late last year. But until late Wednesday, it seemed unlikely that they would reach the Assembly floor for a vote before the body adjourned for the year later this week.

The bills have faced opposition from Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, who has called the postpartum Medicaid bill an expansion of welfare.

MADISON - Assembly Speaker Robin Vos announced his retirement at the opening of the final meeting of the body Thursday afternoon, marking the end of his decades-long political career.

In an emotional speech at the start of the session, Vos, 57, said he decided to retire after a mild heart attack in November.

"Luckily, my doctors say I'm perfectly fine, but I do need to reduce my stress," he said. "And let me tell you, this job is stressful."

He said spending the past 13 years as the speaker has been the "greatest professional honor" of his life.

"I am struck by how much this work has shaped me, how honored I am to play a small part in democracy," he said. "And how proud I am to know that the state of our Legislature is strong."

Vos has served in the Assembly for more than two decades and as speaker since 2013.

With the end of the legislative session drawing near, the state’s top GOP leaders say they’ve agreed on a $2.3 billion plan to spend Wisconsin’s budget surplus on tax rebates for residents and additional money for special education.

But whether Democratic Gov. Tony Evers can get on board remains an open question.

Last week, Evers and Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, appeared to be making progress toward a $1.3 billion agreement that would lower property taxes and increase school funding. But Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu, R-Oostburg, opposed the plan.

A letter sent to Evers Monday by Vos and LeMahieu said they’re willing to send another $200 million toward special education reimbursements, among other initiatives. In exchange, they want Evers to sign off on one-time tax rebates of $500 for individuals and $1,000 for married couples filing joint-tax returns.