Dec. 27 (UPI) — Herb Kohl, former U.S. senator and Milwaukee Bucks owner, died Wednesday at the age of 88 following a brief illness.
Herb Kohl Philanthropies, his nonprofit organization which has provided more than $34 million in grants and scholarships to Wisconsin educators and students, announced his death.
“While we are saddened by the passing of Sen. Kohl, our hearts are filled with the outpouring of support and tributes from across our state and nation,” the organization wrote Wednesday in a post on X, formerly Twitter. “Today, we remember Sen. Kohl’s legacy and his incredible commitment to those who call Wisconsin home.”
Kohl, D-Wis., served 24 years in the Senate after bringing the Milwaukee Brewers baseball team to the city in 1970 and saving the Milwaukee Bucks basketball team from being sold and moved to another city in 1985. He also donated $100 million to build the new Fiserv Forum arena.
Kohl, who ran for the Senate in 1988 at the age of 53 to replace the retiring Sen. William Proxmire, won re-election in 1994, 2000 and 2006. He retired before a fifth term in 2012.
Kohl ran his campaign with the slogan “Nobody’s Senator but Yours,” after opponents accused him of trying to buy his Senate seat.
“The important thing is that when the campaign is over, I will owe nothing to anybody but the people of Wisconsin,” Kohl said in 1988.
Kohl was born and raised in Wisconsin where he expanded his family-owned Kohl grocery and department store businesses. He became president of Kohl’s Corporation in 1970, which had 50 supermarkets.
Kohl, whose parents immigrated to Milwaukee from Poland and Russia, “never took the good fortune of his life for granted,” his nonprofit said.
“Throughout his life, Herb Kohl always put people first — from his employees and their families to his customers and countless charitable organizations and efforts,” said JoAnne Anton, director of giving for Herb Kohl Philanthropies.
“Herb Kohl Way isn’t just the name of a street in front of the Fiserv Forum,” Anton added. “The Herb Kohl Way perfectly sums up a legacy of humility, commitment, compromise, and kindness to countless people he worked with, served and helped along the way.”