Milwaukee, WI
RNC Milwaukee 2024; airport preps for first-time travelers
MKE airport preps for 2024 RNC
Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport will have thousands of first-time visitors walking through its terminals as they arrive for the 2024 Republican National Convention.
MILWAUKEE – Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport will have thousands of first-time visitors walking through its terminals as they arrive for the 2024 Republican National Convention.
They will arrive by plane load, from California to the Carolinas, on jet airliners and private planes. The airport is the first chance Milwaukee will have to impress.
“It’s very important to us,” airport director Brian Dranzik said. “We want to showcase the airport as the first impression for people coming in from where they’re coming in”
Dranzik has now prepared for two national political conventions.
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“We’ve been very thoughtful over the past couple of years of what this experience is going to be like for people,” he said. “We were prepping like this for the DNC in 2020.”
This time, though, people are really coming. And the airport will be ready in ways we can and cannot see.
“One of the things we did a few weeks ago is recapped the entire terminal space, which took about a week and a half to complete,” he said. “Also things like runway safety, making sure the airfield is in good condition. We’re going to suspend some of our work activity. Work will conclude before the even and start up again.”
In terms of air traffic volume, the RNC will make Milwaukee’s airport just a tad busier than it would be during a normal spring break week. It’s more than equipped to handle commercial traffic.
A bigger challenge is handling the scores of private planes coming to Milwaukee, sometimes on short notice.
“We’re trying to get information from them as to what that private air traffic looks like, but the problem with that is that they don’t have to notify us until 24 hours before they arrive, but they’ll be shutting down two runways,” Dranzik said.
The signage is already up, reminding visitors about the event. A Dunkin’ Donuts will be open just in time to greet them.
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Perhaps the first test of readiness will be how things go at baggage claim.
“That’s our conversation with the airlines because they’re the ones pulling the bags off and making sure they’re getting back to the causal system,” Dranzik said. “I’m not expecting too may issues that way.”
To learn more on how to handle the mass departures on the two days following the convention, Mitchell officials reached out to the airport in Louisville which handles such crowds each year on the day after the Kentucky Derby.
It’s all hands on deck until the last plane leaves, and the two days following the convention will be the busiest.
“When people are leaving, that’s equivalent to a Super Bowl scenario,” Dranzik said. “Everyone’s gonna want to get out at pretty much the same time.”
Dranzik is confident the airport’s final impression will be as impressive as its first.
MILWAUKEE – Forecast from FOX6 Meteorologist Lisa Michaels
Frosty Monday morning with temps in the teens inland to low 20s near the lake.
Mostly sunny to sunny skies on Monday. Highs in the mid-40s inland, upper 30s near the lake.
A total lunar eclipse will happen Tuesday morning, total eclipse from 5-6am. It may be tough to see due to increasing clouds.
Increasing clouds on Tuesday with highs in the low 40s. Chance of rain and storms possible Wednesday through Friday with warming temperatures.
Today: 39 Lake. Mostly sunny.
High: 44°
Wind: SE 5-10
Tonight: Partly cloudy this evening, mostly clear overnight.
Low: 27°
Wind: SE 5
Tuesday: 39 Lake. Mostly cloudy.
High: 43°
Wind: E 5-10
Wednesday:41 Lake. Chance for scattered showers and t-storms.
AM Low: 32° High: 45°
Wind: E 5-10
Thursday: 39 Lake. Mostly cloudy. Chance storms.
AM Low: 37° High: 42°
Wind: NE 5-10
Friday: Chance for showers and t-storms Warmer. Warming at night.
AM Low: 37° High: 57°
Wind: SE 5-15
Saturday: Mostly cloudy with AM rain showers. Blustery with falling afternoon temperatures.
AM Low: 47° High: 53°
Wind: NE 5-10
6-day planner
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We have a host of maps and radars on the FOX6 Weather page that are updating regularly — to provide you the most accurate assessment of the weather. From a county-by-county view to the Midwest regional radar and a national view — it’s all there.
School and business closings
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Community members and city leaders celebrated the opening of four new community-powered fridges on the North Side of Milwaukee. A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held on Friday, Feb. 27, at Metcalfe Park Community Bridges, 3624 W. North Ave., to mark the occasion.
The effort to fight food scarcity by opening community-powered fridges comes after several grocery stores closed in the area, creating a food desert.
District 15 Ald. Russell W. Stamper II, who saw several grocery stores in his district close over the past few years, served as the event’s emcee.
“We could either complain about the problem, or we could come together to find a solution,” Stamper said.
In July 2025, a Pick ‘n Save on the North Side closed, prompting the opening of a community-powered fridge at Tricklebee Café in the Sherman Park and Uptown area. Since then, several other grocery stores have closed in the area.
This led Stamper, FEED MKE, Metcalfe Park Community Bridges and One MKE to open four more community-powered fridges.
Christie Melby-Gibbons, executive director of Tricklebee Café, talked about the organization’s community-powered fridge. About a week ago, the fridge was empty for the first time since its launch, so staff turned to their online community for support.
“Within 20 minutes, a woman came in with bags of food and filled the fridge for less than $100,” Melby-Gibbons said.
The community-powered fridge network is run by residents on a take-what-you-need, leave-what-you-can model. Taking a grassroots approach to solving food insecurity in the area, community members provide fresh produce and other healthy food options to ensure that their neighbors have access to nutritious foods.
“Everybody deserves to eat. I can’t go to sleep at night knowing my neighbors are hungry,” said Melody McCurtis, deputy director of Metcalfe Park Community Bridges.
Here’s a list of all the community-powered fridges:
Metcalfe Park Community Bridges
3624 W. North Ave.
Rooted & Rising- Washington Park
3940 W. Lisbon Ave.
Sherman Park Community Association
3526 W. Fond du Lac Ave.
Dominican Center
2470 W. Locust St.
Tricklebee Café
4424 W. North Ave.
Jonathan Aguilar is a visual journalist at Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service who is supported through a partnership between CatchLight Local and Report for America.
This article first appeared on Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
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