Steve Czaban, a popular radio fixture on Milwaukee sports-talk airwaves, is back in the market with the announcement from the Wisconsin Sports Radio Network that he’ll host an hour-long morning show with Josh Albrecht soon.

The show will run from 8 a.m. to 9 a.m. on 105.7 FM and 1250-AM “The Fan” in Milwaukee. The network, established last October, also features stations in Green Bay/Appleton (99.7 FM, 101.9 FM), Wausau (93.9 FM), Madison (94.9 FM) and Duluth/Superior (710 AM).

Czaban, whose role as host of a morning show on 97.3 The Game was eliminated with iHeartRadio’s decision to end that station’s sports-talk format, hasn’t been on the air in Milwaukee since October.

His show somewhat takes the place of Trevor Thomas’s “Inside Wisconsin Sports,” a licensed property that will continue to broadcast within its usual 6 to 9 a.m. slot from its Green Bay home despite ending its partnership with the Wisconsin Sports Network, seemingly amicably. Thomas has been hosting with Albrecht, and their final show together was scheduled for June 30.

Thomas wrote on social media that he notified Audacy Milwaukee in March that he’d like to end the partnership, delaying his announcement until WSSP had a replacement lined up. Thomas said his show will still be heard on WNFL 99.7 FM in Green Bay and on YouTube.

“Changes are made in radio with little to no explanation because employees sign paperwork that, if they get let go, muzzles them in order to receive their severance pay. Probably not uncommon in other businesses as well,” Thomas wrote on X, responding to one commenter who noted it’s rare for changes in radio to receive full transparency.

After community pushback, the Minneapolis City Council unanimously decided to cover about $630,000 in costs that property owners were originally required to pay to support the development of People’s Way, a former gas station turned memorial in George Floyd Square. Council members also voted down a contract with Minnesota Agape Movement, which submitted a plan for the development and was selected by Mayor Jacob Frey in May. 

Edwin Reed had to close his business in George Floyd Square due to drops in revenue in July of last year. Reed said he was surprised to hear about the special assessment handed out.

Reed said the fact that the cost was to be offloaded to locals upset him. He believes the project should not be the people’s responsibility, but the city’s.

“We didn’t start it, they did,” Reed said. “To make us pay for it is just another slap in the face to me, my business was decimated up there.” 

Hennepin County Commissioner Angela Conley lives near George Floyd Square. She said the city council’s original decision was unfair, and she’s glad the council took steps to reconsider. 

“I think it’s great that the city reevaluated the assessments that would have been placed on residents and businesses,” Conley said. “When we set a levy that collects property taxes, it’s to do things like take care of the roads that we drive on.”

Self-proclaimed “Tourist Interrupter” of George Floyd Square and Minneapolis resident Marquise Bowie said the neighborhood has gone without city investment for far too long. 

Bowie is a founder of the Agape Movement, a 40-year-old grassroots community safety organization based in South Minneapolis. Since Floyd’s death, he and others in the organization have tried to support the community in any way they can, a commitment that Bowie said he hasn’t seen from city officials.

“It’s been six years. Nobody’s really investing in our neighborhood without any fires. We’ve seen fires burn down buildings to the gravel that are built back up,” Bowie said. “We don’t have nothing permanent that lets people know anymore about George Floyd or about the community at large.” 

Following the city’s purchase of Peoples’ Way in 2023, the Minneapolis City Council received submissions from four teams that pitched their development ideas for the People’s Way. The Agape Movement was chosen by Frey earlier this year, but the city council voted against the decision, opting to reconsider other applicants. 

South Minneapolis resident Dee Thomas said restrooms are a need at George Floyd Square. 

“They want people to come through here and do tours here, but there’s no place to use the bathroom,” Thomas said. “Where can the people that are here in the community day by day, watching over the square and keeping the people safe, get to use the restroom and wash our hands?” 

South Minneapolis resident Roxy Drake sat alongside Thomas on a metal chair at People’s Way. She said she wants to see a recreational center built. Community members may soon have the development they’ve been hoping for, but struggles to agree on a developer bring further uncertainty to the project.

Conley said, given the survey distributed to community members, Rise and Remember was the more favored option. 

“What you saw the city council do was deny the mayor’s recommendation and move forward with the recommendation of the people who were surveyed and who said Rise and Remember best represents what we want to see at the site,” Conley said. “I think the council was really honoring the voices of residents.”

While it may appear that for one developer to win the bid, another one must lose, Conley said there is plenty to go around with the 38th Street THRIVE Plan, a plan created by community members and the city of Minneapolis to drive engagement on 38th Street between Nicollet Avenue and Bloomington. 

“We should be listening to the residents, and I think we need to really fund the 38th Street THRIVE Plan so that other development can happen,” Conley said. “One of them could be what Agape has presented. Why not both?” 

The timeline for construction of the square remains the same, with the project set to be done in late 2027, though development action remains unclear. However, Minneapolis City Council members Soren Stevenson and Jason Chavez have made continuing efforts with the project, frequently meeting with Frey about what is best for People’s Way.  

Though Stevenson declined an interview with the Minnesota Daily, a member of his team said the next steps are still undecided and will be publicly announced when ready. 

Bowie said he wants the council to move forward with Agape Movement’s plans for the square.

“We’ve been here, we were open to working with whoever to try to build a better community,” Bowie said. “We don’t want to stay in activism mode forever and kick the can down the road. We want to start building.”

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Fever head coach Stephanie White said Fever star guard Caitlin Clark will not practice on Tuesday, adding that Clark will be doing an individual workout.

Clark (back) did not play in the Fever’s game on Saturday against the Los Angeles Sparks.

“We want her to be healthy, physically, mentally and emotionally, all the things,” White said on Friday ahead of the game against the Sparks. “I think it’s important to remember, again, when you’ve gone through injury and the traumatic aspect of injury, especially that she had last year, it’s ups and downs, physically, mentally, emotionally, and making sure that she’s 100% ready to go is the most important thing. Her taking care of that is priority for us.”

Clark left the Fever’s game against the Phoenix Mercury on Wednesday in the third quarter and did not return.

Clark has missed two games this season, both due to a back injury. The first game she missed was on May 20 against the Portland Fire.

Clark is averaging 21.2 points, 4.0 rebounds, and and 8.2 assists per game this season.

The Fever have a long break before their next game, when they travel to Las Vegas to play the Aces on Sunday. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.