Milwaukee, WI

How Milwaukee Riverkeeper Broke a World Record

Published

3 weeks ago

May 14, 2026

How Milwaukee Riverkeeper Broke a World Record

BY ALEXANDRA G STAHL AND AMRITA THAKKAR

Every year, Milwaukee Riverkeeper organizes one of the biggest volunteer-led cleanups in the city – a gargantuan effort that has Milwaukeeans out in droves to clean up the Milwaukee, Menomonee and Kinnickinnic rivers after the first of the spring rains. The science-based advocacy organization works for clean, swimmable, fishable and drinkable water in the Milwaukee River Basin year-round, but April is their biggest push, as they set up what is likely the largest volunteer-led event in the state.

For their 31st annual cleanup on April 25, however, the Riverkeepers had a goal that dwarfed every previous year – they wanted to break the world record for the world’s biggest river cleanup. With 124 clean-up sites this year (versus last year’s 100), they were confident that they had a good chance at the title.

It’s time to pick your Milwaukee favorites for the year!

“The people’s power is something pretty spectacular,” says Jennifer Bolger Breceda, executive director of Milwaukee Riverkeeper. “Our spring cleanup is really kind of a kickoff of spring to a lot of people. We have a lot of nuisance pollution in Milwaukee because of our winters, and the snow covers up a lot of the trash for a significant period of time. When it melts it becomes pretty noticeable, so it’s a perfect time to get out there and do the cleanup.”

Tru Earth, the presenting sponsor of the cleanup, originally approached Riverkeeper with the idea of breaking a world record, aiming to see if the title already existed or if they could create one. The organizations reached out to Guinness World Records, and it turned out there was already an existing world record for “Most Participants in a River Clean-up (multiple locations).” The record had previously been set at a cleanup of the Taff River in the United Kingdom, with 1,327 participants.

But applying to break the record was the easy part – once Guinness was on board, the real work began. The record had to be judged against the previous record, and it had to be done exactly the same way.

“We had to train more volunteers to support our other volunteers, to watch, witness and adjudicate them,” explains Bolger Breceda. “We also had an adjudicator from Guinness present on the day of the event.”

The extra layer caused some logistical challenges. While previous events were more casual, with volunteers showing up in their own time, Riverkeeper requested that volunteers show up early this year so everyone could start at 9 a.m. Every site captain was added to a text message chain, so that all sites started work at the same time.

The event drew over 4,923 volunteers and ended up with approximately 111,452 pounds of trash collected. While Guinness only counted 2,082 people due to their own adjudication standards, it still easily surpassed the previous record.

While Riverkeeper called for pre-registrations well in advance so they could organize for supplies, Bolger Breceda says that they didn’t put in any extra effort into recruiting the record-breaking number. “With the flooding and the rains a couple weeks before the clean-up, as well as the storm last August, people really wanted to clean up the river,” she explains. “There was a lot of trash, debris and litter, and the demand to clean, so to speak, was high.”

As always, the clean-up resulted in a number of strange finds – three toilets, two mattresses, five fire extinguishers, 39 tires, 11 construction barrels, six construction signs, six shopping carts, a golf bag with clubs and even a wheelchair.

The record was announced at Rock the Green at the Harley-Davidson Museum later that day. “It was a lot of work, but it was worth it to put Milwaukee on the map,” says Bolger Breceda.

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Milwaukee, WI

Here’s how much rain fell in Milwaukee area on June 5?

Published

5 hours ago

June 6, 2026

Press Room

Here’s how much rain fell in Milwaukee area on June 5?

After its driest May on record, Milwaukee just got hit with its heaviest day of rain since early April.

Between morning showers and evening storms, Milwaukee logged 1.42 inches on rain on June 5, according to the National Weather Service Milwaukee. That’s Milwaukee’s most precipitation in a day since April 2 and nearly four times what fell in the city for the entire month of May, which received a total of just 0.36 inch.

The rain fell as part of a statewide weather pattern on June 5, as severe weather alerts launched the weekend for several counties in south-central Wisconsin. Tornado warnings were issued in Green Lake, Dodge, Fond du Lac and Columbia counties with the final warning expiring at 10:30 p.m.

Andrew Quigley, a meteorologist at the NWS Milwaukee/Sullivan office, said there were no confirmed tornadoes in south-central Wisconsin yesterday. However, there was some severe weather inthe western half of the state.

In Juneau County, the NWS received reports of 60 mile-per-hour winds and damage to barns, said Jeff Boyne, a meteorologist at the NWS La Crosse office. There was also a report of a tornado in Buffalo County, though the NWS has not yet confirmed it.

How much rain did the Milwaukee area get on June 5?

Quigley said southern Waukesha County and southern Milwaukee County turned in the day’s highest totals with anywhere from 1 inch to 1.5 inches of rain, on average. Other suburbs in the Milwaukee area averaged from a half inch to 0.9 inch of precipitation.

“[It’s] some beneficial rain,” Quigley said. “I know some were probably going to be looking for a little bit more than that, but it’s a good start.”

The National Weather Service has a volunteer monitoring system for rainfall, which is updated each morning. Here are southeastern Wisconsin’s rainfall amounts in the 24-hour period as of 9:30 a.m. June 6.

Lake Geneva: 0.44 inch
Wauwatosa: 0.69 inch
Menomonee Falls: 0.69 inch
Mequon: 0.52 inch
Waukesha: 0.71 inch
Jefferson: 0.72 inch
Oregon: 0.87 inch
Burlington: 0.92 inch
Racine: 1.06 inches
Greendale: 1.37 inches
South Milwaukee: 1.44 inches
Cudahy: 1.72 inches

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Milwaukee, WI

Brewers score 8 late runs, stun Rockies 9-7 in wild 10-inning victory

Published

15 hours ago

June 6, 2026

Press Room

Brewers score 8 late runs, stun Rockies 9-7 in wild 10-inning victory

DENVER (AP) — Jake Bauers hit a two-run double in Milwaukee’s four-run 10th inning after Andrew Vaughn’s pinch-hit two-run single capped a four-run ninth and the Brewers held on to beat the Colorado Rockies 9-7 on Friday night.

Milwaukee scored eight runs in the final two innings after going hitless from the second through the eighth innings. The Brewers won for the first time this season when trailing after eight.

Trevor Megill (1-2) blew the save, but got the win for the Brewers. Aaron Ashby allowed two runs — one earned — on Sterlin Thompson’s bases-loaded single in the 10th before getting Brett Sullivan to ground into a double and striking out Jake McCarthy to end it.

Juan Mejia (1-5) got just one out and gave up four runs — three earned — to take the loss for the Rockies.

Colorado took a 3-1 lead into the ninth after Ryan Feltner allowed one hit and a run through six innings and Jaden Hill pitched a scoreless seventh.

Antonio Senzatela struck out the side in the eighth before coming back out for the ninth. He gave up a leadoff single to Brice Turang, then threw wide of second going for a double play after snagging a comebacker from William Contreras.

Bauers followed with an RBI single and Sal Frelick doubled in the tying run before Vaughn’s single made it 5-3. Turang’s hit was the first for the Brewers since Bauers doubled in the first inning.

Chad Stevens walked to force in a run against Megill in the ninth, and Hunter Goodman hit a sacrifice fly to tie it at 5.

Goodman hit his 16th homer, a solo shot in the third to make it 3-1. Willi Castro had a two-out double, but Frelick made a diving catch in right on a sinking liner by Ezequiel Tovar to save a run and end the inning.

Brewers starter Brandon Sproat allowed three runs and seven hits in five innings. He was relieved by Brian Fitzpatrick, who threw a scoreless sixth, came out for the seventh and was throwing warmup pitches when he reacted in pain and grabbed his left arm. Brewers manager Pat Murphy told reporters after the game that Fitzpatrick, promoted before the game, would have an MRI but “it doesn’t look good.”

Up next

Brewers RHP Jacob Misiorowski (6-2, 1.65) starts Saturday opposite Rockies RHP Tanner Gordon (0-1, 6.37).

___

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb

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Milwaukee, WI

With Banana Ball coming to Milwaukee, here’s how it all got started

Published

1 day ago

June 5, 2026

Press Room

With Banana Ball coming to Milwaukee, here’s how it all got started

It all started when the Savannah Sand Gnats announced in May 2015 that the team was leaving its home at Grayson Stadium in Savannah, Georgia, as the New York Mets Class A affiliate moved to Columbia, South Carolina.

That opened the door for Jesse Cole and his Fans First Entertainment company as the former Wofford College pitcher saw an opportunity to fill the baseball void in Savannah after the Sand Gnats departed.

The meteoric rise of the Savannah Bananas as one of the most successful sports and entertainment franchises in the world started in 2016 and continues to grow.

The Banana Ball League brings two of its teams – the Party Animals and the Loco Beach Coconuts – to American Family Field in Milwaukee for games Saturday, June 6 and Sunday, June 7.

Here’s a look at the history of the Savannah Bananas and Banana Ball:

November 2015: Fans First Entertainment holds an event in Savannah to announce it’ll field an expansion team playing at Grayson Stadium in the Coastal Plain League, a summer college league that expanded to 16 teams.
February 2016: After input from fans in a Savannah Morning News poll, the name of the Savannah Bananas is revealed. The other finalists were the Ports, the Seagulls, the Anchors and the Party Animals, a choice that would come into play later.
June 2016: The Bananas host their first game at Grayson Stadium in front of a sellout crowd of 4,000 fans in a loss to the Lexington Blowfish.
August 2016: The Bananas go on the road to Hampton, Virginia, and beat Peninsula to take a best-of-three series, 2-1, and win the Coastal Plain League championship. The Bananas broke the CPL season attendance record with more than 90,000 fans attending games at Grayson Stadium. The team sold out 17 of 25 games in that first season and have sold out every game since.
2018 season: Tyler Gillum takes over as the manager of the Bananas.
June 2020: The first official game played under Banana Ball rules is played at Grayson Stadium. The concept had been developed with unofficial games dating to 2018.
March 2021: The Bananas Premier Team, a professional squad playing by Banana Ball rules, faces off against the new team on the block in the Party Animals, in games at Grayson Stadium.
August 2021: The Bananas win another CPL championship with a series win over Morehead City.
March-May 2022: The Bananas Premier Team, coached by former Major League star Eric Byrnes, takes a tour of seven cities, playing 14 Banana Ball games.
August 2022: The Bananas win their third Coastal Plain League title over the Wilson Tobs.
August 2022: The Bananas announce they’re leaving the Coastal Plain League to focus on expanding Banana Ball and hold games throughout the country.
August 2022: ESPN+ airs five-part documentary “Bananaland” and, in 2022, Banana Ball made its television debut with six games, one aired on ESPN2 and the others on ESPN+.
2023: The Bananas hold 80 games across the country, including stops in Cooperstown, N.Y., the home of the Baseball Hall of Fame. Another stop was at Franklin Field in Franklin to three sold-out crowds.
May 2024: A third team joins the Banana Ball fray as the Firefighters are added to the league, joining the Bananas and the Party Animals.
2024: The Bananas’ popularity continues to skyrocket with their “World Tour” as they sell out MLB venues like Fenway Park, where they played the Party Animals in front of a crowd of 37,000 on June 8. They also sold out games at Nationals Park in Washington, D.C.; Houston’s Minute Maid Park; Philadelphia’s Citizens Bank Park; and Cleveland’s Progressive Field.
March 2024: Former Major League star Roger Clemens, a seven-time Cy Young Award winner, pitches for the Bananas in a game at Minute Maid Park.
2025: The World Tour expands to NFL and college stadiums as the Bananas make trips to Tampa Bay’s Raymond James Stadium and at Clemson Stadium, where a crowd of 81,000 came for an April game with the Party Animals. The Texas Tailgaters team also joined the Banana Ball League.
November 2025: Jackie Bradley Jr., a former Milwaukee Brewers outfielder, is taken with the first pick of the Banana Ball Player Draft by the Indianapolis Clowns, a new team in the Banana Ball League. Bradley is the first former MLB player to take on a full-time role in Banana Ball.
2026: The Indianapolis Clowns and the Loco Beach Coconuts join the Banana Ball League with the Bananas, Party Animals, Texas Tailgaters and the Firefighters. They’re playing 190 games this season in a tour that’ll visit 45 states and 75 stadiums.