Milwaukee, WI
Milwaukee businesses cash in on March Madness weekend
MILWAUKEE — Even though Marquette University and the University of Wisconsin are no longer in the NCAA tournament, downtown Milwaukee hasn’t missed a beat.
Local businesses say this has been one of the best weekends of the year so far — thanks to March Madness.
Visitors like Elliott Rushing and Kelsey Richleff from Kentucky bought Sunday game tickets with hopes their home team would make it to the second round in Milwaukee on Sunday.
They’re one of the expected 19,000 visitors to pass through over the weekend.
“Wisconsin and Kentucky have similar attributes,” said Rushing. “It’s a little rainy, but Milwaukee is a cool downtown.”
Kaylee Staral
The businesses and locals downtown take pride in showing off Wisconsin in the national spotlight.
Check out: Milwaukee business cash in on March Madness weekend
Businesses get surge from games at Fiserv Forum
“They come here for the beer and the brats,” Ryan Pellinger, bar manager at the Brat House, a popular spot steps away from Fiserv Forum, smiled.
Pellinger and bartender Christian Bradley said they’ve seen waves of fans pouring in since the tournament began from near and far.
“Games on Friday were great — we had so many people in town,” Pellinger said. “It’s been a steady weekend, and we’ve all made good money.”
Kaylee Staral
According to VISIT Milwaukee, the influx of fans is expected to generate an estimated $3.4 million in economic impact for the city.
That momentum was felt down the street at Doc’s Commerce Smokehouse, where general manager Jimmy Hall said it’s been busier than he expected.
“Three 18-hour days in a row is not that bad,” Hall laughed.
“It was much more than we expected — and much more than the Bucks have done for us in the past. The economic impact, even for just a two- to three-day burst like this, is amazing.”
Kaylee Staral
Despite both the Golden Eagles and the Badgers exiting the tournament early, business owners hope the excitement and memories created by fans from across the country will stick around long after the final buzzer.
“We’re in Wisconsin, I know that much,” Richleff smiled.
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MILWAUKEE – Forecast from FOX6 Meteorologist Lisa Michaels
Frosty Monday morning with temps in the teens inland to low 20s near the lake.
Mostly sunny to sunny skies on Monday. Highs in the mid-40s inland, upper 30s near the lake.
A total lunar eclipse will happen Tuesday morning, total eclipse from 5-6am. It may be tough to see due to increasing clouds.
Increasing clouds on Tuesday with highs in the low 40s. Chance of rain and storms possible Wednesday through Friday with warming temperatures.
Today: 39 Lake. Mostly sunny.
High: 44°
Wind: SE 5-10
Tonight: Partly cloudy this evening, mostly clear overnight.
Low: 27°
Wind: SE 5
Tuesday: 39 Lake. Mostly cloudy.
High: 43°
Wind: E 5-10
Wednesday:41 Lake. Chance for scattered showers and t-storms.
AM Low: 32° High: 45°
Wind: E 5-10
Thursday: 39 Lake. Mostly cloudy. Chance storms.
AM Low: 37° High: 42°
Wind: NE 5-10
Friday: Chance for showers and t-storms Warmer. Warming at night.
AM Low: 37° High: 57°
Wind: SE 5-15
Saturday: Mostly cloudy with AM rain showers. Blustery with falling afternoon temperatures.
AM Low: 47° High: 53°
Wind: NE 5-10
6-day planner
FOX6 Weather Extras
Local perspective:
Meanwhile, FOX6Now.com offers a variety of extremely useful weather tools to help you navigate the stormy season. They include the following:
FOX6 Storm Center app
FOX LOCAL Mobile app
FOX Weather app
FOX Weather
Big picture view:
Maps and radar
We have a host of maps and radars on the FOX6 Weather page that are updating regularly — to provide you the most accurate assessment of the weather. From a county-by-county view to the Midwest regional radar and a national view — it’s all there.
School and business closings
When the weather gets a little dicey, schools and businesses may shut down. Monitor the latest list of closings, cancellations, and delays reported in southeast Wisconsin.
FOX6 Weather Experts in social media
Community members and city leaders celebrated the opening of four new community-powered fridges on the North Side of Milwaukee. A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held on Friday, Feb. 27, at Metcalfe Park Community Bridges, 3624 W. North Ave., to mark the occasion.
The effort to fight food scarcity by opening community-powered fridges comes after several grocery stores closed in the area, creating a food desert.
District 15 Ald. Russell W. Stamper II, who saw several grocery stores in his district close over the past few years, served as the event’s emcee.
“We could either complain about the problem, or we could come together to find a solution,” Stamper said.
In July 2025, a Pick ‘n Save on the North Side closed, prompting the opening of a community-powered fridge at Tricklebee Café in the Sherman Park and Uptown area. Since then, several other grocery stores have closed in the area.
This led Stamper, FEED MKE, Metcalfe Park Community Bridges and One MKE to open four more community-powered fridges.
Christie Melby-Gibbons, executive director of Tricklebee Café, talked about the organization’s community-powered fridge. About a week ago, the fridge was empty for the first time since its launch, so staff turned to their online community for support.
“Within 20 minutes, a woman came in with bags of food and filled the fridge for less than $100,” Melby-Gibbons said.
The community-powered fridge network is run by residents on a take-what-you-need, leave-what-you-can model. Taking a grassroots approach to solving food insecurity in the area, community members provide fresh produce and other healthy food options to ensure that their neighbors have access to nutritious foods.
“Everybody deserves to eat. I can’t go to sleep at night knowing my neighbors are hungry,” said Melody McCurtis, deputy director of Metcalfe Park Community Bridges.
Here’s a list of all the community-powered fridges:
Metcalfe Park Community Bridges
3624 W. North Ave.
Rooted & Rising- Washington Park
3940 W. Lisbon Ave.
Sherman Park Community Association
3526 W. Fond du Lac Ave.
Dominican Center
2470 W. Locust St.
Tricklebee Café
4424 W. North Ave.
Jonathan Aguilar is a visual journalist at Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service who is supported through a partnership between CatchLight Local and Report for America.
This article first appeared on Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
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