Author: Correspondent

Envisioning a unique hub for creative expression, Artists Working in Education (AWE), in partnership with Milwaukee Public Library, announced on March 22 that they are finalizing plans for the implementation of a $150,000 “Our Town” grant from the National Endowment of the Arts (NEA) which will fund Gathering Art, Stories and Place, a project that will be housed at the Milwaukee Public Library Mitchell Street Branch. The project, which was awarded the NEA grant in 2017, is in collaboration with many community partners, including artists Sonja Thomsen and Adam Carr and storytelling organization Ex Fabula. Partners are seeking to...

Milwaukee World Festival officials recently announced a new ten year sponsorship agreement with Klement’s Sausage Company. The sponsorship includes the building of a new stage area, “The Klement’s Sausage & Beer Garden,” as well as Klement’s being named the Official Sausage of Summerfest. The Klement’s Sausage & Beer Garden will be located on the North End of Henry Maier Festival Park and will feature acoustic music from 2-8 p.m. daily, spotlighting local artists. Modelled as a backyard picnic-style area, there will be a seated lounge area, picnic tables, and barbeque grills, as well as locations to purchase Klement’s products....

As a member of the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee and the bipartisan Senate Great Lakes Task Force, Senator Tammy Baldwin helped to secure full funding for the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) in the Fiscal Year 2018 budget bill. In spite of President Trump’s 2018 budget request that zeroed out funding for the Great Lakes, this year’s budget bill provides $300 million in federal funds for the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative. “Investments in the Great Lakes are an investment in the future of Wisconsin’s economy,” said Senator Baldwin. “I am proud to have worked in a bipartisan way to...

The Wisconsin League of Conservation Voters delivered a petition with 1,817 signatures to the Department of Natural Resources on March 21, calling for the agency to reject a plan to divert seven million gallons of water per day from the Great Lakes to the private company Foxconn. The plan to raid Great Lakes water solely for manufacturing giant Foxconn represents an unprecedented betrayal of the core intent of the hard-won, bipartisan Great Lakes Compact of 2008. “This diversion plan is a thinly veiled attempt to degrade the Great Lakes Compact, one of the finest conservation achievements in a generation,”...

The first streetcar vehicle for The Hop, presented by Potawatomi Hotel & Casino, left manufacturer Brookville Equipment Corp. on March 23 using a flatbed truck for transportation. The modern, 67-foot long, 83,000-pound streetcar vehicle will travel from the plant in Brookville, Pennsylvania through Ohio, Indiana and Illinois before arriving in Milwaukee. The vehicle’s arrival is expected to mark the first time the fleet’s color scheme will be seen by the public. “The arrival of The Hop’s first vehicle in Milwaukee is a major and highly visible step forward in the development of our new streetcar system,” Mayor Tom Barrett...

The historic Pfister Hotel recently announced that Stephanie Schultz has been selected as its next Artist in Residence. As the program celebrates its 10th anniversary, Schultz, a Milwaukee-area fashion designer, will work in the hotel’s lobby-level Artist’s Studio for one year beginning April 1, 2018. She is succeeding current Pfister Artist in Residence and tintype photographer, Margaret Muza. “I am thrilled to be the next Artist in Residence as The Pfister celebrates the program’s 10th anniversary. It will be an honor to share my enthusiasm for fashion design with a community that I love,” said Schultz. “What I value...