Milwaukee, WI
Lead filter giveaway, Milwaukee group offers resource to community
MILWAUKEE – Lead is virtually invisible to the naked eye, but its negative impacts are hard to miss. The topic is heavy on the minds of people across Milwaukee amid a string of recent school closures due to unsafe lead levels.
What they’re saying:
Metcalfe Park Community Bridges said lead has been an issue for decades. Now, the group is trying to alleviate the issue right in people’s homes.
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“Lead, as we know, causes so many issues,” said Melody McCurtis, the group’s deputy director. “It messes with our minds, our bodies, and all of those different things.”
Concerns about lead are flowing throughout the city of Milwaukee. The Milwaukee Health Department recently identified seven schools with unsafe lead levels. Three of those schools remain closed for cleanup and renovations.
Lead filter giveaway
Local perspective:
McCurtis said she speaks from experience; she had lead poisoning as a kid. Now, Metcalfe Park Community Bridges is looking to help people lose the lead in their water by filtering it out at home.
“These lead filtration systems will help folks have some type of drinking water at home, where that means is not contamination by lead,” she said.
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On Saturday, the group hosted an event in the Metcalfe Park neighborhood. Roughly 60 people signed up to receive free filters.
“We’ll know that by hooking them up to the kitchen sink that it’s running through, being purified,” neighbor Latisha Bully-White said.
“I think it’s important because it starts off at home,” said neighbor Monifa Johnson.
Lead water filter for Metcalfe Park Community Bridges giveaway
Citywide attention
What’s next:
McCurtis said the decades-long issue needs to come to an end, and they’re pushing the city for long-term solutions while turning to filters for a short-term fix.
“You don’t want lead in the body, lead does not belong in our bodies. We should not be drinking it,” she said.
Metcalfe Park Community Bridges will be going door-to-door, McCurtis said, to get more people to sign up for filtration systems. She said they will get the filters on April 18 and teach people how to use them shortly after.
The Source: FOX6 News interviewed people at Saturday’s lead filter giveaway, and referenced prior coverage of Milwaukee Public Schools lead hazards, for information in this report.
MILWAUKEE – From speeding cars and burnouts to fireworks and huge crowds, city leaders say they are tired of what’s being called “street takeovers” happening around Milwaukee.
What we know:
The Milwaukee Police Department told the Milwaukee Common Council on Thursday, May 22, they’ll be doing what’s called directed patrol missions. They want to see street takeovers stop and hold people accountable.
Leaders say these street takeovers are causing mayhem on the roads. The organized reckless driving meet-ups draw huge crowds as cars do burnouts.
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The events are often fueled by social media.
What they’re saying:
“As a city, we cannot tolerate this. We can’t normalize this,” Common Council President Ald. José Pérez said. “Fireworks were going off. Spectators cheering as if it were a playoff game.”
On Thursday, the Common Council Public Safety Committee took on the issue, saying businesses and residents are frustrated by what they see as a lack of consequences for those involved.
“There’s not a place that this has not touched over the last couple of years,” Assistant Chief Craig Sarnow said. “So this is a challenge.”
Dig deeper:
For MPD’s directed patrol missions, five teams will be dedicated to the north side and five to the south side, along with two tow trucks to crack down on the takeovers and those involved.
MPD created a map of 52 locations where these takeovers are happening.
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“We’re hoping to make an example of someone that’s engaging in this so we can say to the public this will not be tolerated,” Capt. Phillip Simmert said.
Officials are trying to put the brakes on bad behavior and the chaos that goes along with it.
What you can do:
Officials said if you see street takeovers happening, call the police and report them so they can send officers there.
The Source: The information in this post was collected and produced by FOX6 News.
MILWAUKEE – An inmate died at the Milwaukee County Jail on Wednesday, May 21.
Medical emergency
What we know:
The Milwaukee County Sheriff’s Office said a 33-year-old man experienced a medical emergency Wednesday evening around 7:41 p.m.
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Around 7:41 p.m., the MCSO said a correctional officer conducting a housing unit inspection was alerted by an occupant that his cellmate appeared to be unconscious and in medical distress. The officer declared a medical emergency.
Multiple officers and supervisors then responded and began lifesaving measures, including two Narcan deployments.
Dig deeper:
At about 7:51 p.m., emergency personnel from the Milwaukee Fire Department arrived and continued lifesaving measures.
The man was pronounced deceased at 8:19 p.m.
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The MCSO said the man was booked into custody in late November on a single felony charge of possession of methamphetamine.
What’s next:
The Waukesha County Sheriff’s Office is investigating the in-custody death.
The Source: The Milwaukee County Sheriff’s Office provided information.
MILWAUKEE – Officials with the WaterStone Bank Air & Water Show held a news conference on Wednesday, May 21 where they will announce the entire updated 2025 schedule of performers, as well as other new event details & information, including info on the 2025 Navy Blue Angels.
Headlined by the U.S. Navy Blue Angels and U.S. Air Force F-22 Raptor Demo Teams, the 2025 Bank Air & Water Show will announce several new performers that have never flown the skies over the Milwaukee lakefront.
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In addition, they will have announcements about the all-new Robby Allen Water Show, and also details about the new lineup of vendors that will be at the Air & Water Show this year, providing event attendees with a great selection of food and beverage options!
The Source: The information in this post was provided by the WaterStone Bank Air & Water Show.
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