Milwaukee, WI
How this lifelong Brewers fan and famous wood artist played a special role in the 50th anniversary of Robin Yount’s MLB debut
Get to know Ike Wynter, Wisconsin wood artist and social media star
The Mequon resident’s muses are nostalgia and mental health awareness. Sometimes, he finds ways to combine the two.
Milwaukee Brewers legend Robin Yount said he was “the luckiest guy in the world” to have been drafted by the team.
When wood artist Isaac Wynter Weins — a lifelong fan of the Crew — was commissioned by the ball club to make a custom piece to honor Yount, he felt pretty darn lucky, too.
“It’s one thing to partner with big companies and do cool collabs, but it’s a whole different ballgame when it’s things that are from your hometown, things you grew up with,” said Weins, known as Ike Wynter to his massive social media following. “It’s definitely a dream come true.”
Spring marked the 50th anniversary of Yount’s debut as a Brewer at 18 years old. The Kid, who’d become the face of the franchise, would spend his entire 20-year career with Milwaukee, during which he batted .285 while amassing 3,142 hits, 251 home runs and 1,406 runs batted in.
Ahead of Sunday’s game at American Family Field, the ball club recognized Yount and his milestone anniversary. That included a 35-second standing ovation as the Baseball Hall of Famer took the field to throw out the ceremonial first pitch.
But before that, in a more intimate setting by the clubhouse, Weins — who’s had quite the career himself — got to unveil to Yount and his family the custom wood mosaic he spent 75 hours creating in his Butler studio.
It’s a home plate with two bats that appear to be crisscrossing through it. A nameplate atop says “Yount #19” with a baseball above and a “50th anniversary” with the Brewers glove logo below.
Besides a couple of bats given to him by the team, the artist used nothing but reclaimed wood — which is Weins’ medium — and his go-to tools: A scroll saw, band saw and sander. He cuts all the pieces to fit together almost like a puzzle. And, he never uses stains or paints.
To bring the piece for Yount to life, Weins used wood from a school desk he found on the side of the road, a sheet of wood paneling and birch plywood from dumpsters, a bulletin board from a Milwaukee elementary school and a kitchen cabinet door from his time in Minnesota.
He knocked out the glove first, then worked his way around the piece, section-by-section, he said. The baseball was one of the last parts he tackled, having to make “the tiniest incisions and cuts” to create its intricate stitching.
Local artist Ike Wynter unveils the custom wood mosaic he made for Robin Yount
“Are you the artist?” Yount pointed to Weins in a video he shared on social media.
“I’m Robin Yount,” the man of the hour said, walking over to shake the artist’s hand.
Awaiting the grand reveal, Yount joked, “I hope you made me look good,” probably expecting a portrait of sorts, Weins recalled. The two-time MVP was in for quite the surprise.
After Weins pulled off a black sheet to reveal the large wood mosaic, Yount’s response was: “Oh wow, very cool.”
Weins walked Yount through the piece and the elaborate journey that went into making it. Weins said Yount “really got” and appreciated it.
Weins said he had heard from folks who watched Yount’s career unfold in real-time that he was “the greatest” both on and off the field.
“Meeting him was a testament to that,” Weins said. “The whole time we were talking and chatting, it wasn’t meeting like an A-list celebrity or anything. He was just a very down-to-earth, Milwaukee dude. And, a community-driven dude. And, you can just tell that.”
Weins also made a plaque to attach to the back of the mosaic that’s embedded with the pencil he used to sketch and mark up the piece. “That’s awesome, Ike,” Yount told him.
To memorialize the moment, Yount, his crew and Weins posed for pics with the mosaic, which will be shipped to the baseball icon’s Arizona home.
And, this wasn’t Weins’ only photo op of the day. He also got to go onto the field — which he had never done before — and to a sentimental spot outside of the stadium.
In 2003, 10-year-old Weins got to play at Helfaer Field, the youth baseball diamond adjacent to where the Brewers play.
Ahead of Sunday, Weins dug up an old photo from that exciting day of him and his teammates outside of what was then Miller Park.
While at the ballpark for the unveiling, Weins stopped by that same spot. It was a “full-circle moment” for him.
“Whatever you want to do or believe in, it’s doable. It’s not out of reach,” Weins said. “If you set out to do something, you can make it happen. You just got to figure it out.”
If Weins’ name sounds familiar, that’s probably because it is. He was the artist behind that giant wooden Crayola crayon box that was making its rounds on social media earlier this summer.
The Mequon resident’s muses are nostalgia and mental health awareness.
The piece that helped launch Weins’ social media career a couple years back was the one he made for former boxing champ Mike Tyson. Since then, he’s constructed Tommy Pickles from “Rugrats,” a “Hoan Town Lager” for 414 Day, a Polaroid camera with interchangeable photos, Legos, a depiction from “Giannis: The Marvelous Journey,” a Father’s Day surprise for “Power Ranger” and singer Chance Perez, and more.
“I feel like a lot of us, your childhood is your greatest years,” Weins said in a previous Journal Sentinel interview. “You just have so many beautiful, warm thoughts. If I can create art that makes people remember things and experiences in their child for that glimpse of a moment as adults now, I just think it’s a cool opportunity.”
His own mental health journey is what led him to start creating art that brings awareness. One of those pieces is “YOU HAVE PURPOSE,” a phrase Weins spelled out with wooden Scrabble letters that span six feet. The number values on the letters made up the Suicide Hotline, which has been simplified to 988.
Weins’ first gallery showing was at Unfinished Legacy in 2023. Since then, he’s displayed pieces at the Milwaukee Night Market, the Milwaukee Athletic Club and a private art gallery at the New York Stock Exchange.
But, before Weins became a full-time artist, he lived many other lives.
He was in the hardcore metal band Narrow Hearts, which played shows at The Rave and all across the country.
He started a junk removal business with his older brother, Andrew, who was formerly in the U.S. Army and remains in the Reserves.
It was during that time that Weins found art as a way to breathe new life into the discarded wood the business collected. And in 2021, Wynter moved to Minneapolis in pursuit of his passion.
Soon after, however, he’d split his time between his own dream and helping make the dreams of others come true. He landed a “dream job,” working as a tour manager for the Los Angeles-based Dream Machine Foundation.
In April 2023, Weins moved back to the Milwaukee area and took his art full-time.
You can read more about Weins and his journey here.
1st Costco in Milwaukee County
Costco is set to break ground on its first Milwaukee County location this week. The store will be located at 27th and Drexel in Franklin.
FRANKLIN, Wis. – Costco is set to break ground on its first Milwaukee County location this week. The store will be located at 27th and Drexel in Franklin.
“This has been a long and exciting planning process, and I know many people in Franklin are happy to hear this news,” said Franklin Mayor John Nelson. “I want to thank the Costco team for choosing our community to build its first store in Milwaukee County.”
The 164,000-square-foot facility will be built on more than 20 acres of land at South 27th Street and West Drexel Avenue — a site Northwestern Mutual used as its Franklin campus.
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The facility will feature a 12-pump gas station at the south end of the development and 868 parking spaces.
The store is set to open in November 2026.
Costco stores
What we know:
Costco currently has several stores surrounding Milwaukee County, but none within its borders. The Franklin store will be the company’s first in the county.
The Source: The information in this post was provided by the City of Franklin.
Milwaukee, WI
Milwaukee’s housing crisis leaves younger adults and families struggling to find stability
Housing instability for young adults in Milwaukee is a growing problem. Looking for solutions, young adults, residents and leaders gathered at Wellpoint Care Network in late April to discuss systemic gaps and realities young adults face with renting and homeownership.
“Homeownership is a privilege when it shouldn’t be,” Tamia Abney, youth-coordinated entry liaison at Pathfinders, said.
The convening challenged members to think of possible solutions to the young adult housing crisis.
Basic needs aren’t being met
A 2024 Wisconsin Policy Forum study revealed that half of Milwaukee renters are using at least 30% of their income to keep a roof over their heads.
In 2024, the average monthly rent in Milwaukee was $1,177. Workers in common jobs like fast food, retail, nursing assistants and other occupations earn between $28,000 and $44,000 a year, and can only afford approximately $720 to $1,100 in rent, according to the Wisconsin Policy Forum.
“Those are important jobs that make up most of our society,” Abney said. “The income isn’t meeting the needs to pay for their living.”
During the convening at Wellpoint Care Network, Mayor Cavalier Johnson said there are young people who have decent jobs and still struggle with affordable housing.
“When you make that first good job out of college and make a certain dollar amount, everybody thinks you have it when that’s not the case,” Johnson said. “I lived it, too.”
Milwaukee housing shortage
One reason for the high rent prices in Milwaukee is that the number of people needing homes is growing faster than the number of housing units available.
According to the Wisconsin Policy Forum, Milwaukee’s households increased by 17,335 between 2010 and 2024, but only 11,038 housing units were available, leaving an underproduction of 6,297 units.
“There’s a shortage for low-income families because somebody else has already snatched it away from them,” said Carl Mueller, founder and chairman of Mueller Communications.
The mayor, who declared 2026 the year of housing in Milwaukee, said the city is working to increase housing supply so rent can become cheaper and change how tax dollars are being used to support young professionals.
“We still invest in affordable housing, but what we’ve done now is open it up to make investments in workforce housing, so young professionals don’t end up in situations where they’re spending 30% of their income, too,” Johnson said.
Mueller and other community members suggested the city build developments similar to NeuVue and ThriveOn King, which bring housing and community resources together.
Additional challenges
Another reason for the local housing shortage is that residential projects take the longest to get approved.
According to the Wisconsin Policy Forum, the median time it takes for a Milwaukee building project to go from zoning to final building permit approval is 145 days, but for residential projects it takes about 224 days.
Johnson said when he came into office, he challenged the City of Milwaukee Department of Neighborhood Services to speed up the permit process.
“I think if we had been more aggressive and if we had cut more red tape over the years then a lot of the development that’s happening in some of the surrounding communities would have happened in the city,” Johnson said.
Johnson added that Milwaukee’s zoning policies need to be updated so more properties can be built.
“We haven’t had a wholescale zoning policy since John Norquist was mayor,” he said.
A need for a better quality of living
Al Smith, chief operating officer at Milwaukee Habitat for Humanity, said youths, families and young adults are living in places with high rent prices but are experiencing poor conditions – lead issues and infestations among them.
“Some are paying up to $1,500 a month for places they don’t want to live in, but it was the only option they were left with,” Smith said. “We need a better quality of housing stock.”
Iasia Sawyer, 21, and a member of the Wisconsin Youth Advisory Council and participant of the Youth Transitioning to Adulthood program, said she’s already in her second apartment and has faced ongoing challenges with her landlord over mold and pipes.
Housing stability creates positive impact
Al Smith, chief operating officer at Milwaukee Habitat for Humanity, said youths, families and young adults are living in places with high rent prices but are experiencing poor conditions – lead issues and infestations among them.
“Some are paying up to $1,500 a month for places they don’t want to live in, but it was the only option they were left with,” Smith said. “We need a better quality of housing stock.”
Iasia Sawyer, 21, and a member of the Wisconsin Youth Advisory Council and participant of the Youth Transitioning to Adulthood program, said she’s already in her second apartment and has faced ongoing challenges with her landlord over mold and pipes.
Housing stability creates positive impact
Smith said more young adults and families in stable housing would bring an increase in graduation rates and other benefits.
“When I think about education or even kids having to switch schools constantly, there’s no stability in that,” he said.
Johnson recalled how traumatizing it felt when he had to attend six different Milwaukee Public Schools throughout his childhood because of housing instability.
“As mayor, I’m working to make sure that more kids in Milwaukee have the stability that I didn’t have growing up,” Johnson said. “It’s not just about housing support; you guys are also providing the foundation for everything else in life.”
Homeownership can be attainable for young adults
Smith said he found it disheartening to know there are some who have no desire to become a homeowner.
“If you’ve seen multiple generations of your family that were only renters and never owned a home, they don’t think homeownership is a possibility for them,” he said.
He said the best way to encourage young adults into homeownership is through community support to address credit, bankruptcies and other barriers so they can make the adjustments to become eligible to buy a home.
At Milwaukee Habitat for Humanity, Smith said they are teaching individuals how to financially prepare for homeownership.
According to Smith, it takes about $275,000 for the organization to build a home, and families who participate in the program only pay about $150,000 for their first mortgage. The program provides additional financial support to help keep monthly payments affordable.
“You’ll also get the benefit of building wealth and equity into that,” Smith said.
Sawyer said she wants young people navigating adulthood to know that although finding stable and quality housing is a challenge, it can be attainable.
“There are people who are ready to give up because they don’t have the right support around them for their situation,” she said. “Now it’s about moving forward.”
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Illegal dumping at former grocery store near 35th and North, Milwaukee
MILWAUKEE – Milwaukee leaders on Monday, May 4, will unveil new plans to help stop illegal dumping in the city.
Mayor Cavalier Johnson and the Department of Neighborhood Services are expected to announce the expansion of a citywide program that uses hidden cameras in the monitoring of illegal dumping.
This annoucement will be made at City Hall at 10 a.m.
Illegal dumping
Dig deeper:
Illegal dumping continues to impact Milwaukee neighborhoods, especially on the north side.
Boats, mattresses and even small vehicles are among the items dumped along streets and vacant areas on the city’s north side.
Alderwoman Andrea Pratt said she monitors more than 40 illegal dumping sites weekly. One recurring trouble spot, she said, is along the Beerline Trail.
Additionally, since closing in July 2025, the former Pick ‘n Save parking lot at 35th and North has also become a major site for trash, furniture, and tires.
In March, FOX6 News first showed viewers piles of garbage around the building after a viewer reported concerns. The city then issued an order to the property owner to clean up the property.
Weeks later, neighbors say the major trash piles are gone, but graffiti now covers parts of the building and new trash has appeared behind it. They say the closure created additional problems for the neighborhood.
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The City of Milwaukee Department of Neighborhood Services has now issued another order, requiring the property owner to remove the graffiti or face fines.
Illegal dumping at former grocery store near 35th and North, Milwaukee
Report illegal dumping
What you can do:
If you are caught dumping garbage illegally in Milwaukee, you can face a fine of up to $25,000.
Anyone can report illegal dumping by calling 414-286-2489.
The Source: The information in this post was provided by the City of Milwaukee and the Milwaukee Department of Neighborhood Services.
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