Author: Lee Matz

Historic rainfall over the weekend of August 9 and 10 swamped Milwaukee County with record-breaking floods, prompting the cancellation of the final day of the Wisconsin State Fair, cutting power to tens of thousands, and leaving emergency crews scrambling to handle hundreds of calls for help. The deluge, which began on August 9, dumped as much as 12 inches of rain in parts of the metro area, overwhelming drainage systems and submerging streets, basements and parks. The National Weather Service reported the Milwaukee River cresting at a record 11.19 feet, surpassing the 10.48-foot mark set in July 2010. City...

Last year, Milwaukee Independent was in production on what would become the award-winning news series Milwaukee Voices. Korean Experiences. Even though 72 features were published, with more than 20 interviews, several ideas were cut or went undeveloped due to deadlines. With 2025 being a significant anniversary year for the Korean War, this article is one of those untold stories. While working at the Milwaukee Business Journal in January of 2024, I came across a situation that did not fit inside the newsroom’s normal lanes of coverage. An elderly man had taken his own life in an assisted living apartment...

Beneath the sweeping canopy of century-old trees and towering monuments, Forest Home Cemetery celebrated its 175th anniversary on June 25. The evening gala featured a keynote address by celebrated historian John Gurda, who has spent decades chronicling Milwaukee’s past. He also counts himself among the future residents of the city’s most storied burial ground. “This may be my last chance to talk in both my first and my last neighborhood,” Gurda said. Gurda grew up on South 34th Street, just blocks from the cemetery, and recalled the landscape of his childhood stretching between Forest Home and Jackson Park. He...