Milwaukee, WI
Milwaukee getting new dock for growing cruise ship visits. Some alders say city shouldn’t fund it
Milwaukee is getting a new publicly funded dock to accommodate its growing cruise ship business — despite an attempt by some Common Council members to use $5 million in city cash for other programs.
That dock funding was included in Mayor Cavalier Johnson’s 2025 budget approved by the council.
Work on that new dock, which will better handle large Viking cruise ships, begins in 2025. It’s to be operating by spring 2026.
Here’s what to know.
Viking cruises spur the project
Viking in 2022 began using Milwaukee as a turnaround site for its Great Lakes cruises — with trips starting or ending here. That means more spending by visitors at hotels, restaurants and other businesses, Port Director Jackie Carter says.
But other Great Lakes cities are eyeing that business and Port Milwaukee faces the prospect of increased competition, according to Carter.
That led the port to plan a $17 million project to create a new cruise dock. It will be built on vacant land just east of the Lake Express Ferry Terminal, 2320 S. Lincoln Memorial Drive.
The Viking ships now dock at Port Milwaukee’s heavy lift dock — which mainly serves cargo ships. It’s within an industrial area off South Carferry Drive on Jones Island and “isn’t the most welcoming place” for tourists, according to Ald. Marina Dimitrijevic.
Smaller cruise ships, which can maneuver through shallower waters, dock at Pier Wisconsin, 530 N. Harbor Drive.
Dock funding includes federal, state grants
The project will be funded with $4 million in federal and state grants, $7.64 million in port cash reserves, and $5 million from city taxpayers.
That $17 million tab includes spending on road, sewer and water improvements to make the site available for other development.
Cruise ship passengers visiting Milwaukee generated a $7.2 million regional economic impact from 2022 through 2024, according to a study commissioned by Port Milwaukee.
Ald. Bauman sought to divert funding
Ald. Robert Bauman, who chairs the council’s Public Works Committee, opposed the $5 million funding request that was part of Johnson’s 2025 budget proposal.
He said the cost was too high, and was skeptical of the economic impact study.
Bauman offered an amendment that would have diverted the funding to street reconstruction and paving projects, and a city fund that helps first-time homebuyers with down payments.
Dimitrijevic, whose district includes the dock site, supported the dock funding. She said it would help attract more visitors who spend money in Milwaukee while also setting the stage for additional development at the site.
That amendment was rejected by the council on a 12-2 vote in November. Bauman was joined by Ald. DiAndre Jackson in supporting it.
Other port projects
Meanwhile, a $45 million agricultural maritime export terminal, opened in 2023 on the west side of Jones Island at 1711 S. Carferry Drive.
Clinton-based DeLong Co. uses it to ship dried distillers grain, an animal feed supplement, and other products aimed at international markets.
The terminal is being expanded, with that work likely to start in 2025.
Also, PCB-polluted sediment being removed from the Milwaukee River Estuary will be stored at the port’s Dredged Material Management Facility. It’s being built east of South Lincoln Memorial Drive and north of the Lake Express Ferry Terminal.
Tom Daykin can be emailed at tdaykin@jrn.com and followed on Instagram, Bluesky, X and Facebook.
MILWAUKEE – The Milwaukee Police Department requested the public’s help to find 11-year-old Sir’Charles Bason, a critically missing boy who was last seen near Teutonia and Kiley at around 6:20 p.m. on Saturday, April 18.
Police described Bason as 4 feet, 5 inches tall with a slim build, brown eyes and black, low-cut hair. He was last seen wearing a gray jacket with green lines, dark-colored jeans, tan sandals and carrying gray Nike Jordan shoes.
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What you can do:
Anyone with information on Bason’s whereabouts is asked to call Milwaukee Police District 4 at 414-935-7242.
The Source: The Milwaukee Police Department released information.
MILWAUKEE – A Milwaukee man, previously named one of Wisconsin’s Most Wanted, has been sentenced to prison for shooting and killing his cousin in 2020.
In court
What we know:
A Milwaukee County jury found 39-year-old Brandon Gladney guilty of first-degree reckless homicide and possession of a firm by a felon earlier this year.
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Judge Michelle Havas sentenced Gladney to 29 years in prison on Friday, April 17. He was granted credit for more than a year’s time served and further sentenced to 14 years of extended supervision.
Arrested in Arizona after years on the run, court records show Gladney has also been ordered to pay the Milwaukee County District Attorney’s Office more than $1,800 for extradition costs.
Homicide investigation
The backstory:
The shooting happened in May 2020. Investigators said Gladney was captured on video apparently arguing with the victim, his cousin, outside a Milwaukee convenience store near 21st and Meinecke.
“It’s all on video, and it’s devastating for that family,” the marshal on the case told FOX6 when Gladney was profiled on Wisconsin’s Most Wanted. “You have a family member that shot and killed another family member.”
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Prosecutors said Gladney walked away but then returned with a gun pointed directly at the victim and shot him. The victim died from his gunshot wounds at a nearby hospital. Multiple bullet casings were found at the scene.
Gladney went on the run for years. He was arrested in Arizona in January 2023, years after he was charged.
The Source: FOX6 News referenced information from the U.S. Marshals Service, Wisconsin Circuit Court and prior coverage.
Brice Turang slides to home plate to score during a game between the Miami Marlins and the Milwaukee Brewers on April 17. (Photo by Chris Arjoon/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
MIAMI – Garrett Mitchell went 2 for 4 with three RBIs including a two-run double in the 10th inning and the Milwaukee Brewers beat the Miami Marlins 7-5 on Friday night.
By the numbers:
Miami’s Calvin Faucher (1-2) entered a 4-all game in the 10th and walked Gary Sánchez with Brice Turang on second. Jake Bauers hit a single to load the bases.
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Luis Rengifo reached first on a throwing error by second baseman Xavier Edwards, allowing Turang to score. Mitchell followed with his double.
The Marlins scored one run in the bottom of the 10th when Jakob Marsee came home on Trevor Megill’s wild pitch. Megill settled in for his fourth save.
Coleman Crow, who made his debut on the mound for the Brewers, threw 77 pitches over 5 1/3 innings. He threw four strikeouts, gave up two earned runs and a walk.
The right-hander was 2-0 with a 4.07 ERA in two starts with the Brewers’ Triple-A affiliate in Nashville. He missed part of the 2023 season and all of 2024 after undergoing Tommy John surgery.
The Brewers scored three runs in the fourth inning. With the bases loaded, Mitchell hit an RBI single, Bauers scored on a forceout at first and Rengifo scored on a throwing error by catcher Agustín Ramírez.
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Miami’s Otto Lopez hit a triple to center field in the fourth and scored on a sacrifice fly by Owen Caissie. Lopez hit a two-run homer in the sixth to pull Miami within 4-3 and Ramírez doubled in the eighth to tie the game at four.
Abner Uribe (1-0) earned his first win of the season, coming on in the ninth inning.
Marlins third baseman Graham Pauley left the game in the seventh inning with right oblique discomfort after spinning out of the way of a pitch.
What’s next:
The Brewers and Marlins continue their 3-game series on Saturday, with Brandon Woodruff (1-0, 4.36 ERA) taking the mound for Milwaukee and Sandy Alcantara (2-1, 2.67) for Miami.
The Source: The Associated Press provided this report.
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