The Milwaukee Breakwater Lighthouse, which has dotted the city’s landscape since 1926, has been empty since 1966. And despite a local nonprofit’s promises to restore the historical landmark in 2013, it remains untouched and inaccessible.

Brookfield-based nonprofit Optima Enrichment acquired the lighthouse for free from the National Park Service in 2013, promising $2.5 million worth of major renovations in hopes to create a publicly accessible museum by 2015. Now, almost ten years later, not much has changed.

After Madison resident Steve Tyska purchased property in Sheboygan last year, he noticed a lighthouse in the harbor was in need of some renovations. Thinking it could be a fun project to tackle after retirement, he dove into research.

That’s when he stumbled on past Journal Sentinel articles about the Milwaukee Breakwater Lighthouse. Upon learning of Optima Enrichment’s goals to renovate the building, he called the organization’s owner, Brookfield optometrist Randall Melchert, for some advice.

“This guy tried to do, on a much bigger scale, what I was thinking about doing,” said Tyska.

But Tyska said he was never able to reach Melchert. Disappointed he was unable to find out what came of the project, he contacted Public Investigator.

“10 years later, nothing’s been done,” Tyska said. “Who is overseeing this project? Should the city get involved?”

Despite multiple attempts to reach Melchert through email and phone, Public Investigator was also unable to get in touch with him.

In 2016, Melchert told the Journal Sentinel his nonprofit raised less than $20,000 since it received the deed, which was mostly spent on insurance.

“We were a little optimistic,” Melchert said at the time.

National Park Service spokesperson Jordan Fifer said the lighthouse is still owned by Optima Enrichment.

According to Fifer, the National Park Service is aware that the group hasn’t raised enough money to fulfill its obligations under the National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act of 2000.

Under the act, federally-owned historic lighthouses can be transferred at no cost to federal, state or private entities that pledge to preserve them. The entity that acquires the lighthouse must make it publicly available for educational, recreational, cultural or historic preservation purposes.

If this fails to occur, Fifer said, it’s up to the federal General Services Administration to determine if if the entity should lose ownership.

Fifer said the National Park Service monitors compliance with the act every two years and “maintains regular contact” with the General Services Administration.

Public Investigator asked the General Services Administration whether it has kept tabs on the Milwaukee Breakwater Lighthouse. The agency did not respond by the time of publication.

Meanwhile, Port Milwaukee spokesperson Madison Goldbeck said the city has no authority or jurisdiction over the lighthouse.

Had no other qualified nonprofits or government agencies expressed interest in the Milwaukee Breakwater Lighthouse at the time, it would’ve been sold to the highest bidder, according to the Journal Sentinel’s 2013 article.

For now, Tyska said he’s hopeful an article may spark public officials’ interest.

The Milwaukee Breakwater Lighthouse is one of the last examples of a fully enclosed breakwater lighthouse on the Great Lakes. Its Fresnel lens — the glass that once surrounded the lighthouse’s bulb — is currently on display at the Wisconsin Maritime Museum in Manitowoc.

“It’s something that could potentially be a benefit for the city if it was tended to,” Tyska said, “and it’s certainly something that could be a liability to the city if it’s neglected.”

Quinn Clark is a Public Investigator reporter. She can be emailed at QClark@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter at @Quinn_A_Clark.

About Public Investigator

Government corruption. Corporate wrongdoing. Consumer complaints. Medical scams. Public Investigator is a new initiative of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and its sister newsrooms across Wisconsin. Our team wants to hear your tips, chase the leads and uncover the truth. We’ll investigate anywhere in Wisconsin. Send your tips to watchdog@journalsentinel.com or call 414-319-9061. You can also submit tips at jsonline.com/tips.

While delegates and party leaders gathered in Chicago for the second night of the Democratic National Convention, Vice President Kamala Harris rallied supporters over 80 miles away, in the same city that Republicans nominated her rival just a few weeks prior.

Harris’ campaign said that over 15,000 supporters gathered at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee Tuesday night, where the Democratic nominee spoke alongside her running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz. The vice president took the stage in Wisconsin immediately after the DNC finished a ceremonial roll-call, where delegates confirmed Harris and Walz as their choice for the 2024 presidential ticket.

“We are so honored to be your nominees,” Harris said from Milwaukee while addressing the DNC via a live stream. “Together we will chart a new way forward.”

Harris’ rally was held at the same event center where former President Donald Trump accepted the Republican National Convention’s presidential nomination last month, invoking comparisons online of the two event’s crowd size. Photos and videos appear to show that Harris’ rally garnered a similar crowd to the first day of the RNC on July 15, where Trump made his first public appearance after surviving an assassination attempt two days prior.

NBC News correspondent Yamiche Alcindor shared a “360 view” of the crowd in Milwaukee Tuesday night to X, formerly Twitter, writing that rally-goers for Harris and Walz were “cheering” and “enthusiastic.”

In a separate video posted to X by Turning Point USA reporter Savannah Hernandez Tuesday night, the Fiserv Forum appeared filled with energized supporters before the vice president took the stage. Hernandez said her video was taken after the doors to the rally officially closed. The Fiserv Forum has a seating capacity of 18,000.

“This is not a concert,” Victor Shi, a member of Harris’ youth engagement team, wrote in a post X along with a video of Tuesday’s rally. “This is the political rally for Kamala Harris & Tim Walz in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Totally full arena. This will make Trump go crazy.”

Trump, who has been accused of inflating the size of his rally crowds, has recently raised complaints against news outlets for reporting on the size of Harris’ rallies while not focusing on his crowd size. Walz poked fun at the former president while addressing supporters Tuesday, saying from the stage, “Not only do we have massive energy in our convention, we have a hell of a lot more energy where they had their convention…That other guy is going to be so sad tonight, so sad.”

It’s unclear how many people were in attendance each night of the RNC, although a party official reportedly predicted before the convention that peak daily attendance was expected to reach 20,000. The DNC is being hosted in the United Center in Chicago, which has a seating capacity of 23,500. Organizers estimate that over 20,000 people attended the first night of the DNC on Monday, according to the Associated Press.

Newsweek reached out to Harris and Trump’s campaigns via email Tuesday night for comment.

The group attempting to recall four Milwaukee Public Schools board members fell thousands of signatures short.

The group turned in petitions that appeared to have unverified names signed by the same person. In some instances, addresses were linked to abandoned homes, according to documents submitted to the Milwaukee Election Commission. 

“The people of Milwaukee have emphatically rejected this dishonest effort to remove good public servants from our democratically elected school board,” said Milwaukee Teachers’ Education Association President Ingrid Walker-Henry. 

Members of the MPS School Board Recall Collaborative did not respond to requests for comment. 

At a July 24 press conference, weeks before they turned in the petitions, the recall group announced they had 37,000 of the 60,000 signatures needed to unseat MPS board president Marva Herndon, vice president Jilly Gokalgandhi, board member Erika Siemsen and at-large board member Missy Zombor. 

On Aug. 12, the group submitted a total of 29,787 signatures to the Milwaukee Election Commission. 

Their efforts were launched following several tumultuous weeks for the school district. In May, it was revealed that MPS had failed to file audits with the state Department of Public Instruction, leading to the loss of millions of dollars and the resignation of Superintendent Keith Posley. 

Gov. Tony Evers has since called for operational and instructional audits of MPS. 

MPS School Board Recall Collaborative called for more transparency within MPS and on the school board. 

But it soon became apparent the recall itself was shrouded in secrecy. 

When asked who was funding the efforts and who was paying canvassers, the only response by organizer Tamika Johnson  was “anonymous donors.” 

Walker-Henry said the public faces of the recall effort were a “private voucher school teacher and the founder of a now-shuttered private charter school.” 

“From the beginning when libelous assertions were made about MPS and MTEA, we have been alarmed at the clear anti-public education motivation of these recall efforts,” Walker-Henry said. “The people of Milwaukee should remember that this campaign was fueled by individuals and groups whose sole vision of education in Milwaukee is its complete privatization.” 

MTEA and Zombor filed complaints with the Wisconsin Ethics Commission last month. Zombor received an email July 22 from commission staff counsel David Buerger, saying her complaint would be investigated. 

On Tuesday, Zombor said the Ethics Commission has a yearslong backlog and she’s not confident the recall group will be looked into before the next MPS school board election. 

Gokalgandi’s term expires in April 2025. The other four board members will serve through April 2027. 

“I believe that the city of Milwaukee voters want school board members that believe in public schools,” Zombor said. “I think they want school board members who are going to build the district up and not tear it down. Even parents, regardless of where they send their kids to school, want a school board that has the best interest of public schools in mind.”