MILWAUKEE – Milwaukee Public Schools on Friday said it has reached a “Memorandum of Understanding” agreement with the city’s police department to implement a school resource officers program.

Act 12, a bipartisan shared revenue bill, required Wisconsin’s largest school district to get school resources officers back in the building by January 2024. Nine months later, progress is being made. 

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“MPS is ready to implement a School Resource Officer (SRO) program as soon as officers are available,” the school district said in a statement. “MPS has taken Act 12 very seriously from the beginning, engaging with city partners to build a sustainable SRO program.”

The Memorandum of Understanding with the Milwaukee Police Department was reached earlier this week, MPS said. The agreement facilitates implementation of a school resource officer program to comply with Act 12. However, the district gave no timeline for when officers would actually set foot in buildings again. MPS ended its last contract with police in 2020.

Milwaukee Police Department Administration Building (MPD)

“MPS looks forward to working with MPD to begin the process to select and train officers who are committed to improving relationships among schools, law enforcement, youth, and the greater community,” the district’s statement added.

MPS said it has been in communication with Mayor Cavalier Johnson and MPD Chief Jeffrey Norman and will remain in talks.

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“The district has already met with the mayor and police chief and will continue to collaborate with stakeholders. MPS is committed to reaching a consensus that will support the successful implementation of Act 12 in a manner that is sustainable and mutually beneficial,” the statement said.

Johnson, a lead negotiator of Act 12, said he supports bringing school resource officers back. Act 12 requires MPS to add 25 school resource officers. 

MILWAUKEE — One of Milwaukee’s most beloved dogs has left us. The Milwaukee Brewers announced Thursday that Hank the Ballpark Pup has passed away.

“Hank was truly loved by our family and we are so grateful for the ten years we had with him,” said Brewers Chief Operating Officer Marti Wronski. “Hank seemed to know that he was rescued by the entire Brewers family and he never met a fan – or really any human – he didn’t love. We are heartbroken to be without him but are grateful for the joy he brought to so many and the spotlight he helped shine on animal rescue.”

The legend of Hank began in February of 2014, when he wandered into the Brewers’ Arizona Spring Training complex as a stray.

Hank spent his days at the complex throughout that spring, participating in team activities – everything from workouts on the diamond, to doing meet and greets with fans at games.

Watch: Brewers announce Hank the Ballpark Pup has passed away:

Hank the Ballpark Pup dies

After Spring Training, Hank was adopted by the Wronski family.

“For the past 10 years, he lived a comfortable life at his forever home in Wisconsin, cared for by a loving family,” a news release says.

The Brewers are encouraging donations to the Wisconsin Humane Society or MADACC for those who wish to honor Hank’s life.

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Symone Woolridge is leaving WTMJ-TV (Channel 4) after more than two years as a news anchor “to pursue other opportunities and spend time with her family,” the station reported on its website.

“It’s not about how long you’ve been somewhere or how long you’ve known someone, it’s about how that person or place has made you feel,” Woolridge said in the story on Channel 4’s website. “Milwaukee and TMJ4 has made me feel so loved and cared for and I’m forever grateful.”

Woolridge joined Channel 4 in March 2022 as anchor of the station’s noon and 4 p.m. weekday newscasts. In August of that year, she and Tom Durian were named co-anchors of Channel 4’s weekday morning newscast, as Milwaukee’s NBC affiliate shifted Susan Kim to early evening news anchor slots and former morning co-anchor Vince Vitrano left to host the morning show on WTMJ-AM (620).

Woolridge, an Evanston, Illinois, native who still has family in the Chicago area, came to Milwaukee from WREG-TV in Memphis, Tennessee, where she was the breaking news anchor on that station’s morning newscasts. Before joining WREG in 2018, she worked at stations in Tupelo, Mississippi, and Carterville, Illinois.

According to the story on Channel 4’s website, Woolridge’s last day at the station will be Nov. 8.