MILWAUKEE — Milwaukee’s 112th annual Christmas Tree Lighting Celebration returns to Fiserv Forum next Friday with Santa Claus, musical performances and the first-ever Deer District Holiday Market.

The beloved holiday tradition, presented by We Energies, will take place Friday, Nov. 21, at Fiserv Forum in the Cheer District, according to a release from the city.

Festivities begin at 5 p.m., leading up to the tree lighting at 6 p.m.

“Milwaukee embraces the Christmas spirit every year, and Cheer District is a center of our city’s celebrations,” Mayor Cavalier Johnson said. “I am grateful to all the partners who continue our tradition and make this event an annual success.”

This year’s centerpiece is a 38-foot Colorado blue spruce donated by Kaitlyn Schmidt Thabet and Amgad Thabet. Milwaukee entertaining and style expert David Caruso designed the tree, which will feature more than 600 colorful ornaments and 3,800 glowing lights. A 6-foot LED White Northern Burst will crown the display.

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“It’s always an incredible honor to design the official City of Milwaukee Christmas Tree — a tradition that brings our community together in the spirit of joy and celebration,” Caruso said. “This year’s theme, Together We Shine Brighter, is all about the power of unity. When we come together as a city — with our creativity, compassion and connection — Milwaukee truly shines its brightest.”

Holiday activities:

• Attendees will be able to enjoy fan-favorite Bango spreading holiday cheer alongside Dancer, Cupid and Vixen of Reindeer Games, and of course, Santa Claus himself.
• The New Fashioned will once again provide complimentary hot chocolate to all guests.
• The first-ever Deer District Holiday Market, presented by Deer District BID #53, will feature a curated lineup of local vendors, holiday-themed photo opportunities and seasonal food and beverage specials from Deer District establishments. The market will continue through Nov. 30 on the plaza at Fiserv Forum.
• An interactive display of City of Milwaukee vehicles, including Department of Public Works equipment, a Milwaukee Fire Department engine and Milwaukee Police Department vehicles.
• MPD’s mounted patrol will also be on-site for photo opportunities for attendees of all ages.

Entertainment lineup:

• Back for another great performance, Guyton Entertainment returns with DJ YC and Milwaukee’s piano man extraordinaire, Marcell Guyton, founder of The Rhythm Kings.
• Carolers from the Milwaukee Repertory Theater will perform a medley from their 50th anniversary production of A Christmas Carol.
• Varsity Drumline from Reagan High School will bring the rhythm and energy of Milwaukee Public Schools.

Special guests:

“Mr. Bucks in Six,” Brandon Jennings, will join Mayor Johnson to help light the 2025 Christmas tree and get the holiday started right.

“We are proud to once again partner with the City of Milwaukee to bring this cherished tradition to life in the heart of downtown,” said Michael Belot, Milwaukee Bucks senior vice president of business operations and chief real estate development officer. “Each year, the transformation of Deer District into Cheer District, presented by the We Energies Foundation, captures the joy and togetherness of the holiday season. We can’t wait to celebrate the 112th City of Milwaukee Christmas Tree Lighting and share the magic with our community.”

Parking information:

• The intersection of Vel R. Phillips Avenue and Highland Avenue will be closed to vehicular traffic for the duration of the Tree Lighting Event.
• Free parking will be available at the Highland Avenue structure (1030 N. 6th St.) and the 5th Street structure (1215 N. 5th St.).
• Bikes can also be secured at bike racks located at these structures for anyone who prefers to bike in.

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MILWAUKEE – The nation’s six-week government shutdown – the longest in U.S. history – came to an end Wednesday night, but its fallout is still rippling through the aviation system.

What we know:

TSA officers resigned during the stalemate, and more than 10,000 flights were canceled in the past week.

Airline schedules remain thin with Thanksgiving approaching. Cancellations are already affecting Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport, including flights to Boston, Newark and O’Hare.

What they’re saying:

Darrell English, a TSA officer and union representative for workers in Wisconsin and Illinois, said the loss of experienced staff has created lasting gaps.

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“Those people that have years in and experience level, and you lose that, that becomes a gap because that’s the experience level that takes years to build up to be able to replace,” English said.

Air traffic controllers also worked without pay throughout the shutdown. Adam Uhan, a commercial pilot, former Air Force pilot and leader of The Pilot Network with about 30,000 members, said the controllers remained steady through the strain.

“The most unsung of the heroes, the people that nobody ever sees or meets are the air traffic controllers,” Uhan said. “They did outstanding work throughout the shutdown.”

Uhan said frustration with the system was felt on the ground and in the cockpit.

“If you feel frustrated, your crew, the people that are working the gate, the people who are working in the bags, the air traffic controllers, they feel your frustration,” he said.

Last week, the Federal Aviation Administration directed major cuts at 40 of the nation’s busiest airports – beginning with a 4% reduction and originally slated to reach 10%. With the shutdown over, the Department of Transportation capped the cuts at 6% to relieve the pressure on controllers. 

Dig deeper:

Even so, Uhan said he felt safe in the skies.

“Safety was never, ever an issue in my mind. What was an issue in my mind was the people that were involved and their wellbeing. And as things progressed, if they got worse, more people were going to have to find other options to make those ends meet,” he said. “I never feared for my safety because I know the professionals that are involved, and they are simply some of the best people I’ve ever worked with in my life who could have done a number of other things at a very high level, but they chose this path because aviation is just, it’s like a calling.”

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English cautioned that workers face long-term financial consequences.

“People have to realize that this is not going to be a quick fix, because officers had had devastated their credit ratings, their livelihood. They got behind on bills because of this. And it’s going to take a while for them to actually get themselves out of this hole. An additional on top of that. This may repeat itself in January,” English said. “They’re still struggling to get out of this hole. So when you see these officers, don’t think that, okay, you’re going to get paid, you should be good. It’s not good because these officers now are in debt, to someone or some other agency that they owe money to. So be patient with them. They still have a lot of issues on their mind or how they want to get things paid back. And again, they had that problem down the line in January. How do I prepare for that?”

What’s next:

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said air traffic controllers may receive partial pay within days. The Trump administration said backpay for federal workers could begin this weekend and continue into the middle of next week.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem handed out $10,000 bonus checks to TSA agents she said “served with exemplary service” in Texas on Thursday, with more bonuses potentially on the way. Air traffic controllers may also receive bonuses as flights try to ramp back toward normal levels ahead of the holidays.

The Indiana Hoosiers might be a problem for college basketball this season. Just ask the teams residing in the 414. 

Three days after the Hoosiers laid a beating on Marquette, they turned their sights to its neighbors on the east side and beat the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, 101-70, at Assembly Hall on Nov. 12. 

The Panthers managed to hang with the new-look, high-octane Hoosiers most of the first half and even a bit into the final 20 minutes before first-year head coach Darian DeVries’ crew ran their visitors out of the gym and into their next difficult non-conference challenge down the stretch. 

BOX SCORE: Indiana 101, UWM 70

Indiana became the first team to hang 100 points on Milwaukee since Oakland hit that mark on Jan. 4, 2024, doing so with four players scoring in double digits, led by Lamar Wilkerson’s 24. The Hoosiers have now put up 100 points or more in back-to-back games after doing so in a 23-point win over Marquette Nov. 9. They shot 56.7% from the field against the Panthers, who struggled to keep them from clean looks from deep early and in the paint late.

“To come here someone’s going to have to score 90 to have a chance to win,” Panthers head coach Bart Lundy said.

Despite being outmanned, Milwaukee still shot 46.8% from the field with Danilo Jovanovich (18 points) and Seth Hubbard (17 points) leading the charge. 

“A lot of positives to take out of the game,” Lundy sai. “I thought the atmosphere and some of the adversity we handled pretty well. We absorbed the scouting report. We had some chances to make it a much closer game. They’re a really good team. They can really score. They made us pay for every mistake that we made. They hurt us with some things we knew we were going to have to give up.”

Three-point defense lacks in first half

If there was one thing the Panthers couldn’t do against the Hoosiers, it was allowing open looks from three. It turned out to be a far too common sight in the first half. 

Indiana hit 9 of its 14 attempts from deep in the first half, with Wilkerson, a certified marksman who hit 10 threes in the Hoosiers’ first two games, left with space to operate too many times on his way to sinking five. Those looks came in a variety of ways, with being untagged in transition to too much space with the shot clock winding down, but Lundy thought the Panthers otherwise did a good job of following the scouting report against him.

“We were keyed in on him and (Tucker) DeVries,” Lundy said. “Wilkerson got us on a couple of turnovers. Both those guys are NBA shooters.”

While the Panthers buckled down on Indiana’s perimeter attack in the second half – keeping Wilkerson without a triple over the final 20 minutes – their defensive issue became attempting to contain the Hoosiers in the paint. Indiana made 11 of 16 two-point field goals in the period while going to the free throw line 17 times thanks to 12 Milwaukee fouls.

The team defense left something to be desired, but it wasn’t all bad.

Jovanovich showcased some stopper potential on DeVries, who torched Marquette for 27 points and is a potential all-American, in the first half and Tate Mackenzie stepped forward to give the Panthers some rim protection that was absent the first three games of the year. The reserve big man and former Michigan football recruit showcased his athleticism with three blocks in 10 minutes. 

“He and Faizon (Fields) at the rim were phenomenal. Both of them were walls,” Lundy said. “You want to learn from these types of games, and we’re learning that Tate’s really pretty good.”

Indiana is going to give plenty of opponents fits with its scoring prowess in the months to come, but nevertheless the total effort wasn’t one that Lundy walked away from feeling good about – and that’s the third time that has happened through four games. 

Danilo Jovanovich shines

On his way to leading Milwaukee in scoring, Jovanovich put together a sequence on offense that displayed his top-end ability.

The Panthers had been within six points at 31-25 before the Hoosiers rattled off rapid 11-2 run in less than two minutes. With the arena rocking on the heels of an off-the-glass alley-oop to Reed Bailey to put Milwaukee in a 15-point hole, the ball went to Jovanovich at the top of the key. He slowly backed down DeVries and as the shot clock neared zero calmly hit a fadeaway off one leg in slow motion. 

That bucket slowed the roll of the Hoosiers momentarily, sparking a 9-2 run to draw the Panthers within 43-36 with two minutes to go in the first half.

Defensively, Jovanovich was tasked with guarding DeVries and held him to just two points in the first half by presenting him with a physical challenge off the dribble and not allowing his shifty back cuts to work. DeVries hit a pair of threes in the second half to finish with 12 points but was, on the whole, outdueled by Jovanovich.

“I thought D-Lo did an unreal job on DeVries,” Lundy said. “This was D-Lo’s best college game on both sides of the ball, to play like that against an all-American.”