Milwaukee, WI
Can the Chicago Cubs keep the offensive momentum after Sunday’s 5-0 win over the Milwaukee Brewers?
As the temperatures start to heat up, the question around the Chicago Cubs is: when will the bats heat up as well?
In a 5-0 shutout of the Milwaukee Brewers on Sunday, the Cubs didn’t register their first hit until the third inning when left fielder Ian Happ singled on a line drive to center. Starting Cubs pitcher Javier Assad threw 94 pitches over six innings with four hits, four walks, four strikeouts and no runs.
Leading up to Sunday’s game against the division rival, the Cubs were slashing .236/.315/.390 as a team, where they rank 19th, 13th, and 14th, respectively, in the majors.
With Cody Bellinger and Seiya Suzuki out of the lineup, the offense has been a lingering question for a couple of weeks and their absences show in the slim margins — except for that 17-run shutout by the Red Sox on April 27 — by which the team has won and lost. Suzuki and Bellinger have been ramping up for their returns and were running and hitting over the weekend. They’re expected to be back in the lineup within the coming days to help stabilize the offense.
Through the last five games, shortstop Dansby Swanson has an average of .067 and didn’t register a hit Friday or Saturday.
“I think with Dansby he has such a track record that we can kind of go back to. And we’re always trying to just kind of maintain a lot of his movements and some of the things that he’s working on approach-wise,” hitting coach Dustin Kelly said Sunday. “With some of the guys that have that track record, we try not to get too far away from what they’re really good at and what they’ve done really good in the past. There’s always little tweaks, little mechanical things that we are always kind of monitoring, but it’s usually not that far away. And I think that’s kind of where we feel with him right now.”
Photos: Chicago Cubs 5, Milwaukee Brewers 0
Kelly shared that despite Swanson’s recent numbers, he has encouraged the All-Star to remain confident and know that “each day is a new day and he has some way to impact the team.” Swanson, who has recorded a career high in ground balls and whiffs, broke through Sunday hitting a home run to center field in the sixth inning, bringing his season total to four and likely lifting his confidence a little.
“We’re all still human, right? And nobody wants to perform better than us. And at times, you just get so lost in results and numbers and you forget that the main job is to just show up as yourself and be yourself and be committed to who God made you to be,” Swanson said postgame.
“The biggest thing is just being connected. When you’re connected good things happen and this year has been a lot of disconnected moments in my swing and we’ve been working hard day and night almost to figure it out. I think today was a good step in the right direction,” Swanson said.
With late-game pitching an issue over the current 16-game stretch, the Cubs are desperately in need of some clutch hitting. So what exactly are they doing to try to get out of their collective hitting slump entering the third month of the season?
In their assessments of players’ hitting mechanics, some key markers Kelly and his staff look at are stride length, stride height and hand placement.
“There’s a ton of technology, there’s a ton of information for all these guys on their own to go look at and then we have a time in-house as well. (What) we talk about as hitting coaches a lot is we’re going to take the complex as coaches and try to make it really simple for the players,” Kelly said. “And a lot of times it’s just ‘hey you gotta be on the fastball in the middle of the zone and make sure you’re on time for that and use the big part of the field.’ Easier said than done but a lot of times that’s the approach you have to take to make it really simple for guys.”
Thanks to some promising starting pitching, the Cubs’ offensive slump hasn’t impacted their place in the standings, where they’re tied with the Brewers for the National League Central lead. But with upcoming games against the San Diego Padres and Atlanta Braves and the remaining division opponents, the Cubs need to improve their hitting — whether it be mechanics, how they see the ball or confidence — or their win total could look as questionable as their swings.
Your quick guide to Milwaukee concerts in spring 2026
Here’s a look at some of the top acts coming to the Milwaukee area from March through May 2026.
Travel to Ireland, learn how to catch a fish, visit wildlife at the zoo, and see costumed characters this weekend in Milwaukee.
Anime Milwaukee
The 2026 “Magical Academy” themed animation convention comes to the Baird Center, 400 W. Wisconsin Ave., and Hilton Milwaukee City Center March 6-8. The weekend features Japanese industry guests and cultural experts, artists and official merchandise, gaming, music, dance, manga, cosplay, anime and Asian fashion. New this year is the Nocturna Anime Bar with a lounge and specialty drinks, including nonalcoholic beverages. Exhibit hall hours are 1 to 8 p.m. March 6, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. March 7 and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. March 8. Full weekend access is $100; single day access is $50-$75. animemilwaukee.org
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Sports Show
The 85th year of the Sports Show is at State Fair Park’s Wisconsin Exposition Center, 8200 W. Greenfield Ave., West Allis, from noon to 7 p.m. March 6, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. March 7 and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. March 8. Along with outdoor exhibitors, see what’s swimming in the trout pond, watch the lumberjack show and the fastest retriever race, or catch the archery and air rifle tournaments. General admission tickets at the door are $15; youth tickets (ages 6-14) are $6. In honor of Women’s Day on March 8, all women receive $10 admission at the door. Check out the full schedule at jssportsshow.com.
Gardens & Gears: Steampunk Faire
Celebrate the industrial age at the Gardens & Gears art fair from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. March 7 at the Mitchell Park Domes, 524 S. Layton Blvd. The immersive garden event features creators, costumes and live entertainment, with gears, goggles and handcrafted mechanical curiosities on display in the gardens. Domes admission required. mitchellparkdomes.com
Milwaukee County Zoo Family Free Day
Everyone receives free admission at the Milwaukee County Zoo, 10001 W. Blue Mound Road, from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. March 7. See the red pandas in their outdoor habitat, lions, penguins and more. Parking and regular attraction fees still apply. milwaukeezoo.org
Irish Family Day
Travel to the Irish countryside during “Passport to Ireland” from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. March 8 at the CelticMKE Center, 1532 N. Wauwatosa Ave., Wauwatosa. With Irish dance, arts, crafts and storytelling, each county will be featured with an activity that celebrates Irish culture, history and traditions. Buy one, get one free Irish Fest tickets will be available to purchase, with lunch, beverages and snacks served in the Celtic Café. Admission is $10 at the door. celticmke.com
What’s new in Milwaukee-area theaters this weekend
Marcus Theatres: See a marathon of the 2026 Best Picture nominees at select theater locations. Day one of the marathon is March 7 and features “Sentimental Value,” “F1: The Movie,” “The Secret Agent,” “Bugonia,” and “Sinners.” The marathon resumes March 14 with a new set of films. Visit marcustheatres.com.
Milwaukee Film: Women’s History Month programming features the action films of Michelle Yeoh. See her Oscar-winning performance in “Everything Everywhere All At Once” screening at 6 p.m. March 6 at the Oriental Theatre.
“Hoppers”: A robotic animal with a human mind helps real animals thwart a plot to destroy their habitat in this Disney and Pixar feature film. See it at AMC Mayfair Mall; Avalon Theater; Marcus Theatres’ BistroPlex Southridge, Hillside, Majestic, Menomonee Falls, Movie Tavern Brookfield Square, North Shore, Ridge, South Shore cinemas; Rosebud Cinema.
“The Bride!”: A lonely Frankenstein (Christian Bale) travels to 1930s Chicago to ask a scientist (Annette Bening) to create a companion. See it at AMC Mayfair Mall; Marcus Theatres’ BistroPlex Southridge, Hillside, Majestic, Menomonee Falls, Movie Tavern Brookfield Square, North Shore, Ridge, South Shore cinemas.
“Protector”: A veteran war hero (Milla Jovovich) must use the violent skills she thought she left behind to save her daughter. See it at Marcus Theatres’ BistroPlex Southridge, Hillside, Majestic, Menomonee Falls, Movie Tavern Brookfield Square, North Shore, Ridge, South Shore cinemas.
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Josue Ayala has resigned from the Milwaukee Police Department days after he was charged with a crime over his alleged misuse of license plate-reading Flock technology.
Ayala, 33, pleaded not guilty to one count of attempted misconduct in public office during his initial court appearance on March 4.
The charge is a misdemeanor that carries a potential maximum penalty of nine months in jail and $10,000 fine.
Milwaukee is one in a growing number of communities nationally that have started using Flock cameras to help locate stolen vehicles, identify vehicles used in violent crimes, and track vehicles associated with missing persons. The technology is controversial and been criticized by civil rights and privacy advocates.
Conducting searches for personal reasons is a violation of department policies.
Prosecutors say Ayala used the Flock camera system while on duty more than 120 times to look up the license plate of someone he was dating. They believe Flock technology also was used on a second license plate, one belonging to that person’s ex, 55 times, according to a criminal complaint, filed Feb. 24 in Milwaukee County Circuit Court.
Ayala joined the Milwaukee Police Department in 2017, and his total gross pay was about $120,000 in 2024, according to the most recent city salary data available.
Milwaukee police confirmed in a March 4 email to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that Ayala has resigned from the department.
Ayala and his attorney Michael J. Steinle, of Milwaukee, would not speak to reporters as they left the courtroom.
Prosecutors say the department became aware of the allegations against Ayala after a driver saw that they were the subject of searches through the website, www.haveibeenflocked.com, which collects and publishes “audit logs” of searches of the Flock system by police agencies.
The driver saw that Ayala had searched the plate numerous times, which prompted the driver to file a complaint with the Milwaukee Police Department.
Detectives then audited Ayala’s searches in the Flock system from March 26, 2025, through May 26, 2025.
Ayala is at least the second Wisconsin officer to face criminal charges for misuse of the Flock system. A Menasha police officer was charged in January for tracking an ex-girlfriend’s car.
Milwaukee police began using Flock cameras in 2022. MPD has a $182,900 contract with Flock for the use of the technology. That contract is active through January 2027.
Court Commissioner Dewey B. Martin released Ayala on a $2,500 signature bond March 4.
Signature bonds, sometimes referred to as a personal recognizance bond, allow a defendant to leave custody without paying cash as long as they sign a promise to appear for their upcoming court dates.
Martin also ordered Ayala not to contact the two victims in the case.
Ayala also must report to the Milwaukee County Jail to be booked on March 9. If he doesn’t show up, a bench warrant will be issued for his arrest.
Ayala is scheduled to appear for a pre-trial conference on April 17.
David Clarey of the Journal Sentinel contributed to this story.
Chris Ramirez covers courts for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. He can be reached at caramirez@usatodayco.com.
Ever since the shooting deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti, both by federal agents in Minneapolis in January, there have been numerous student protests by high school students across the country – including several in Wisconsin and the Milwaukee area.
Students at Milwaukee Public Schools’ high schools including Milwaukee King, Ronald Reagan, and others; Wauwatosa East High School, Shorewood High School, Menomonee Falls High School, Nicolet High School, Whitefish Bay High School – even one student at Marquette University High School – have all walked out of school to protest Immigrations and Customs’ Enforcement actions in Minneapolis and nationwide.
What is it about ICE’s actions that have students walking out? How are school districts handling it, and what do students and parents think?
UW-Madison political science professor shares thoughts on what’s behind student walkouts
Political science professor emeritus Howard Schweber of the University of Wisconsin-Madison said several factors play into why students are protesting.
One of those factors is that ICE raids have taken place near schools. In some school districts, teachers have been arrested and students have disappeared. In some areas of Minneapolis, schools have had to switch to remote learning because students feared ICE raids, Schweber said.
Second, Schweber said the walkouts tie in to past student protests over guns in schools; high school students are feeling unsafe in their schools.
“They’re feeling threatened by forces, you know, far beyond their control, and feeling like first, it was their government wouldn’t protect them. This time it’s their government that’s doing it to them. Of course I’m only speaking from the perspective of the students who are protesting. I don’t mean to suggest that all students feel this way, but the ones who are protesting, this is, I think, what is driving them,” he said.
“Unlike some other issues, I think this one – like the guns in schools issues – hits very close to home, and makes them feel personally involved and threatened by the situation,” he said.
Schweber also talked about where the First Amendment applies during these situations.
He said students, particularly high school students, do have First Amendment rights. He said that schools may not punish students for expressing one viewpoint as opposed to another, and that any policy must be neutral. However, he said, students who walk out, and especially students who engage in conduct that disrupts school activities, can be disciplined.
“The legal background to this is students have a right to express themselves, but while they’re in school or while they’re supposed to be in school, that right is quite curtailed,” he said. “I noticed that in Madison, for example, there were some protests that were held after school ended in order to avoid this problem, which is certainly one way to avoid the issue, but then it’s not a walkout.”
How school districts deal with the walkouts
When it comes to walkouts, school districts typically approach them from several perspectives: attendance, neutrality, recognizing freedom of speech and safety.
In general, school districts will mark students who participate in walkouts as absent and unexcused unless their parents call in to excuse them. Most districts surveyed by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel also stressed that walkouts are student-sponsored and not organized or sanctioned by the districts.
For example, Pewaukee High School principal Brian Sniff said in a letter to parents that a Feb. 4 walkout at that school was student-initiated and student-led. He said that while students planning the walkout consulted with administration for clarity on the school’s expectations and potential consequences so they could make an informed decision about their plans, the district did not endorse or encourage the activity.
At the same time, some districts have acknowledged that students have free speech rights, as guaranteed by the First Amendment.
While reiterating that students who walk out are unexcused unless a parent excuses them, the Wauwatosa School District said in a letter to parents in advance of a Jan. 12 walkout that it values and encourages student self-expression and recognizes the “importance of civic engagement as part of a well-rounded education.”
“We view moments like this as opportunities for young people to explore their voices, deepen their understanding of social issues, and learn about the power of collective action in a safe and constructive way,” the letter said.
Safety is also another factor that districts consider.
South Milwaukee School District Superintendent Deidre Roemer, Shorewood High School principal Tim Kenney and Franklin High School principal Michael Vuolo said in their letters to parents before planned walkouts that staff would not supervise students who left school grounds.
Sniff said that if students walked out, administrators and security would monitor the situation, ensure they remained in designated safe areas on campus and prevent conflict. But he added that supervision means ensuring safety, and does not equal support.
Parent, student perspective
Jamie Esser, a parent of a child attending Pewaukee High School, said she supported the walkout there. She said teens getting involved with politics and social issues was “heartwarming” to her.
“I think our children, ever since lockdown, have been isolated and stuck in their cell phones and stuck on social media and not really interacting with each other or looking at the world at large. So I think – especially with all the controversy around ICE and around the treatment of their fellow Americans or even fellow human beings – I think it’s great that kids are taking up concerns, and as far as I’m concerned, it’s very promising for the future that today’s generation sees the injustice and just wants to be heard that they don’t agree with it,” Esser said.
Conversely, Joe Rivera, a parent and school board candidate for the Wisconsin Hudson School District in northwestern Wisconsin, said he was concerned about inconsistencies in how that district told parents it would handle a walkout v. what actually happened.
The walkout took place, even though the district told parents that students would not be allowed to leave campus and that classes would continue as scheduled, a Feb. 14 post on his campaign Facebook page said.
“Allowing a large, pre-planned demonstration during the school day – after communicating it would not be allowed – created confusion, undermined trust, and placed students in unnecessary danger, the post said. “We do not have to look far to see how similar situations, even nearby, have escalated quickly and turned tragic.”
“As a parent in this district, I find it unacceptable that families were told one thing and experienced another – especially when it involves student supervision and safety during the school day,” the post said.
Thomas Stilp, a Marquette University High School student, said he was among several students who were organizing a walkout at his school in February. Things looked ready to go until the night before the walkout. That’s when organizers heard concerns that the walkout might draw unwanted attention from ICE; those concerns led them to cancel the event.
Stilp said he thinks students fear that what’s happening in Minnesota will eventually happen in Milwaukee.
“What we really want is the whole country to be doing this, and if people are leaving schools and people are shutting down their offices and are not showing up to work, like businesses are closed; if you can’t get your coffee in the morning because of these ICE raids that are happening and businesses are calling for that to be stopped, that’s when you’re going to notice,” he said.
However, not all students support the walkouts.
One of those students is Turner Dittrich, a senior at Arrowhead High School and a founder, former president and current member of the school’s chapter of the conservative organization Turning Point. He is also the son of Terry Dittrich, the Waukesha County Republican Party chairman.
Turner Dittrich said that while people have the right to protest, they should not interfere with ICE, which is investigating criminal behavior.
“My whole take on it is, is why should undocumented illegal citizens get the same immunity as the ones who sacrifice to follow the law? We are America. We are a country of laws,” he said.
Dittrich said anti-ICE protests have been boosted by students who simply do not want to be in school. He also said he does not think it’s right for students to miss school for protests, out of respect for teachers.
“At Arrowhead especially, I’ve met some phenomenal teachers, some phenomenal individuals. They wake up tired and they’re really pouring out their energy into what they’re teaching students. For the ICE protests to not be done at 3:30 or 4 [after school] is just shocking to me because it’s like, what are these teachers possibly doing? Now, I understand freedom of speech. They can’t control kids necessarily, but at the end of the day, when teachers are getting paid to show up and work hard, it just unfortunately saddens me.
“It’s the same thing if there was a pro-ICE protest. I would think that during school hours, it’d be wrong, right? So I think on both sides of the aisle, the fact that we’re doing this during school hours, is wrong. It can’t be done that way,” Dittrich said.
Contact Alec Johnson at (262) 875-9469 or alec.johnson@jrn.com. Follow him on X (Twitter) at @AlecJohnson12.
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