Milwaukee, WI
How this lifelong Brewers fan and famous wood artist played a special role in the 50th anniversary of Robin Yount’s MLB debut
![How this lifelong Brewers fan and famous wood artist played a special role in the 50th anniversary of Robin Yount’s MLB debut How this lifelong Brewers fan and famous wood artist played a special role in the 50th anniversary of Robin Yount’s MLB debut](https://www.gannett-cdn.com/authoring/authoring-images/2024/08/23/PMJS/74920676007-ike-wynter-robin-yount.jpg?auto=webp&crop=1534,863,x1,y313&format=pjpg&width=1200)
Get to know Ike Wynter, Wisconsin wood artist and social media star
The Mequon resident’s muses are nostalgia and mental health awareness. Sometimes, he finds ways to combine the two.
Milwaukee Brewers legend Robin Yount said he was “the luckiest guy in the world” to have been drafted by the team.
When wood artist Isaac Wynter Weins — a lifelong fan of the Crew — was commissioned by the ball club to make a custom piece to honor Yount, he felt pretty darn lucky, too.
“It’s one thing to partner with big companies and do cool collabs, but it’s a whole different ballgame when it’s things that are from your hometown, things you grew up with,” said Weins, known as Ike Wynter to his massive social media following. “It’s definitely a dream come true.”
Spring marked the 50th anniversary of Yount’s debut as a Brewer at 18 years old. The Kid, who’d become the face of the franchise, would spend his entire 20-year career with Milwaukee, during which he batted .285 while amassing 3,142 hits, 251 home runs and 1,406 runs batted in.
Ahead of Sunday’s game at American Family Field, the ball club recognized Yount and his milestone anniversary. That included a 35-second standing ovation as the Baseball Hall of Famer took the field to throw out the ceremonial first pitch.
But before that, in a more intimate setting by the clubhouse, Weins — who’s had quite the career himself — got to unveil to Yount and his family the custom wood mosaic he spent 75 hours creating in his Butler studio.
It’s a home plate with two bats that appear to be crisscrossing through it. A nameplate atop says “Yount #19” with a baseball above and a “50th anniversary” with the Brewers glove logo below.
Besides a couple of bats given to him by the team, the artist used nothing but reclaimed wood — which is Weins’ medium — and his go-to tools: A scroll saw, band saw and sander. He cuts all the pieces to fit together almost like a puzzle. And, he never uses stains or paints.
To bring the piece for Yount to life, Weins used wood from a school desk he found on the side of the road, a sheet of wood paneling and birch plywood from dumpsters, a bulletin board from a Milwaukee elementary school and a kitchen cabinet door from his time in Minnesota.
He knocked out the glove first, then worked his way around the piece, section-by-section, he said. The baseball was one of the last parts he tackled, having to make “the tiniest incisions and cuts” to create its intricate stitching.
Local artist Ike Wynter unveils the custom wood mosaic he made for Robin Yount
“Are you the artist?” Yount pointed to Weins in a video he shared on social media.
“I’m Robin Yount,” the man of the hour said, walking over to shake the artist’s hand.
Awaiting the grand reveal, Yount joked, “I hope you made me look good,” probably expecting a portrait of sorts, Weins recalled. The two-time MVP was in for quite the surprise.
After Weins pulled off a black sheet to reveal the large wood mosaic, Yount’s response was: “Oh wow, very cool.”
Weins walked Yount through the piece and the elaborate journey that went into making it. Weins said Yount “really got” and appreciated it.
Weins said he had heard from folks who watched Yount’s career unfold in real-time that he was “the greatest” both on and off the field.
“Meeting him was a testament to that,” Weins said. “The whole time we were talking and chatting, it wasn’t meeting like an A-list celebrity or anything. He was just a very down-to-earth, Milwaukee dude. And, a community-driven dude. And, you can just tell that.”
Weins also made a plaque to attach to the back of the mosaic that’s embedded with the pencil he used to sketch and mark up the piece. “That’s awesome, Ike,” Yount told him.
To memorialize the moment, Yount, his crew and Weins posed for pics with the mosaic, which will be shipped to the baseball icon’s Arizona home.
And, this wasn’t Weins’ only photo op of the day. He also got to go onto the field — which he had never done before — and to a sentimental spot outside of the stadium.
In 2003, 10-year-old Weins got to play at Helfaer Field, the youth baseball diamond adjacent to where the Brewers play.
Ahead of Sunday, Weins dug up an old photo from that exciting day of him and his teammates outside of what was then Miller Park.
While at the ballpark for the unveiling, Weins stopped by that same spot. It was a “full-circle moment” for him.
“Whatever you want to do or believe in, it’s doable. It’s not out of reach,” Weins said. “If you set out to do something, you can make it happen. You just got to figure it out.”
If Weins’ name sounds familiar, that’s probably because it is. He was the artist behind that giant wooden Crayola crayon box that was making its rounds on social media earlier this summer.
The Mequon resident’s muses are nostalgia and mental health awareness.
The piece that helped launch Weins’ social media career a couple years back was the one he made for former boxing champ Mike Tyson. Since then, he’s constructed Tommy Pickles from “Rugrats,” a “Hoan Town Lager” for 414 Day, a Polaroid camera with interchangeable photos, Legos, a depiction from “Giannis: The Marvelous Journey,” a Father’s Day surprise for “Power Ranger” and singer Chance Perez, and more.
“I feel like a lot of us, your childhood is your greatest years,” Weins said in a previous Journal Sentinel interview. “You just have so many beautiful, warm thoughts. If I can create art that makes people remember things and experiences in their child for that glimpse of a moment as adults now, I just think it’s a cool opportunity.”
His own mental health journey is what led him to start creating art that brings awareness. One of those pieces is “YOU HAVE PURPOSE,” a phrase Weins spelled out with wooden Scrabble letters that span six feet. The number values on the letters made up the Suicide Hotline, which has been simplified to 988.
Weins’ first gallery showing was at Unfinished Legacy in 2023. Since then, he’s displayed pieces at the Milwaukee Night Market, the Milwaukee Athletic Club and a private art gallery at the New York Stock Exchange.
But, before Weins became a full-time artist, he lived many other lives.
He was in the hardcore metal band Narrow Hearts, which played shows at The Rave and all across the country.
He started a junk removal business with his older brother, Andrew, who was formerly in the U.S. Army and remains in the Reserves.
It was during that time that Weins found art as a way to breathe new life into the discarded wood the business collected. And in 2021, Wynter moved to Minneapolis in pursuit of his passion.
Soon after, however, he’d split his time between his own dream and helping make the dreams of others come true. He landed a “dream job,” working as a tour manager for the Los Angeles-based Dream Machine Foundation.
In April 2023, Weins moved back to the Milwaukee area and took his art full-time.
You can read more about Weins and his journey here.
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Milwaukee, WI
Shooting outside Milwaukee bar; security guard killed, suspect sought
![Shooting outside Milwaukee bar; security guard killed, suspect sought Shooting outside Milwaukee bar; security guard killed, suspect sought](https://images.foxtv.com/static.fox6now.com/www.fox6now.com/content/uploads/2024/08/1280/720/0e4141ac-sq1.jpg?ve=1&tl=1)
Security guard killed, suspect sought
Milwaukee police are looking for the person who shot and killed one man – and injured three others – outside a bar near 40th and North on Thursday.
MILWAUKEE – Milwaukee police are looking for the person who shot and killed one man – and wounded three other people – outside a bar on Thursday.
Loved ones of 38-year-old David Anderson said he was working as a security guard at Premier Sports Lounge when he was killed. His family took a moment to grieve on Friday.
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Family grieves
Anderson’s family released green and gold balloons into the Friday night sky. They said those were his favorite colors.
“Everybody know he was at the door, he greeted everybody,” said Shalaney Anderson, David’s sister. “All you had to was just go home. He was 10 or 15 minutes to going home.”
David Anderson (photo provided by family)
“A tragic situation and an unfortunate situation, but it should have never happened,” said Loyalty, who works at the bar.
The shooting near 40th and North happened around 1:50 a.m. on Thursday. Police have not said what led to the gunfire, but did say the other three victims are expected to survive.
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“This is senseless,” said Ethel Anderson, David’s mother. “My son is gone, and I will never see him again. But he is always going to be a part of my life, always be a part of my heart.”
Ethel Anderson spoke publicly for the first time since the shooting during Friday’s vigil.
![](https://images.foxtv.com/static.fox6now.com/www.fox6now.com/content/uploads/2024/08/932/524/9P-SECURITY-GUARD-KILLED-BALLOON-RELEASE-PKG_00.00.15.32.jpg?ve=1&tl=1)
Shooting near 40th and North (Aug. 22, 2024)
MPD tips
MPD said officers know who they’re looking for. No arrests have been made yet.
“Whoever you are, come forward, turn yourselves in, because what you did was wrong,” Ethel Anderson said. She and others pleaded for the person responsible to come clean.
Anyone with information is asked to call MPD at 414-935-7360; to remain anonymous, call Crime Stoppers at 414-224-TIPS or use the P3 tips app.
Milwaukee, WI
Milwaukee County Medical Examiner’s Office seeks help in notifying family of man who died
![Milwaukee County Medical Examiner’s Office seeks help in notifying family of man who died Milwaukee County Medical Examiner’s Office seeks help in notifying family of man who died](https://www.gannett-cdn.com/authoring/authoring-images/2024/08/23/PMJS/74924052007-2404610-booking-photo-652009-me-photographs-miscellaneous-jimenez-david-07102024-output.jpg?auto=webp&crop=2087,1175,x0,y708&format=pjpg&width=1200)
The Milwaukee County Medical Examiner’s Office is asking for help to find the family of a man who died on July 10.
David Jimenez, 52, died at about 7:14 a.m. in the area of 2201 S. 7th St. and his death is not considered suspicious, the office said. The office is seeking to notify the family of Jimenez’s death so they can make final arrangements.
Anyone with information should contact the county office at 414-223-1200.
Milwaukee, WI
Groundbreaking announced for Downtown MKE Dog Park
The new MKE Dog Park is expected to open later this year at 103 W. Clybourn St. and a groundbreaking ceremony has been set for Thursday, Sept. 5 at 3 p.m.
The 22,000-square-foot dog park – a collaboration between Milwaukee Downtown, Business Improvement District #21 (BID #21) and the Historic Third Ward Business Improvement District #2 (BID #2) – will be built beneath the I-794 freeway, along the west bank of the Milwaukee River, which will also get a new section of RiverWalk.
Adjacent to the park will be the Foxtown Landing development with a restaurant and brewery taproom, as well as copious outdoor space on the riverfront.
The dog park will include separate fenced areas for big dogs and small dogs; synthetic turf with an irrigation system for maintenance; security lighting; decorative fencing; water stations; public art; and RiverWalk access.
“Since announcing plans for Downtown’s first dog park at this underutilized space, excitement for the project has continued to grow,” said Matt Dorner, economic development director for Milwaukee Downtown, BID #21. “Businesses of all sizes, philanthropic partners and thousands of residents have pledged their support for this vital amenity.
“While fundraising efforts continue, their enthusiasm for the project has brought us to this exciting juncture.”
Naming rights for the park were purchased in 2002 by Fromm Nieman Brands, which owns Fromm Family Pet Foods and Foxtown Brewery & Station in Mequon.
The following year, the Admirals signed on as a signature sponsor of the dog park.
“We are thrilled to be the title sponsor of the Downtown Milwaukee Dog Park,” said Tom Neiman, owner of Fromm Family Pet Food.
“As a family-owned business committed to the well-being of pets, we believe this new amenity will enhance the quality of life for both dogs and their owners in the community. We’re delighted to be part of the upward momentum taking place in the greater Downtown area.”
Exploratory work on the adjacent site was undertaken earlier this year to determine whether or not foundations of earlier buildings remained on the future Foxtown Landing site and work is expected to begin there soon.
On July 25, the City of Milwaukee’s Board of Zoning Appeals approved a variance request from the Foxtown Landing developers to allow a design that does not conform to rules for street frontage windows. Next, the Department of City Development will consider the permit to construct the building’s foundation.
By next time this year, if all goes well, the dog park should be in use as the new Foxtown Landing rises to its south.
“The Downtown Milwaukee Dog Park area will be revitalized to meet the growing demands of our residents, employees and guests,” said Paul Schwartz, executive director of the Milwaukee Public Market and BID #2.
“The groundbreaking celebration is an opportunity to thank all of our committed partners, sponsors and those that have supported the project from the beginning, while also engaging new champions on the sponsorship opportunities still available.”
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