MILWAUKEE – Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport will have thousands of first-time visitors walking through its terminals as they arrive for the 2024 Republican National Convention.

They will arrive by plane load, from California to the Carolinas, on jet airliners and private planes. The airport is the first chance Milwaukee will have to impress.

“It’s very important to us,” airport director Brian Dranzik said. “We want to showcase the airport as the first impression for people coming in from where they’re coming in”

Dranzik has now prepared for two national political conventions.

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“We’ve been very thoughtful over the past couple of years of what this experience is going to be like for people,” he said. “We were prepping like this for the DNC in 2020.”

This time, though, people are really coming. And the airport will be ready in ways we can and cannot see.

“One of the things we did a few weeks ago is recapped the entire terminal space, which took about a week and a half to complete,” he said. “Also things like runway safety, making sure the airfield is in good condition. We’re going to suspend some of our work activity. Work will conclude before the even and start up again.”

In terms of air traffic volume, the RNC will make Milwaukee’s airport just a tad busier than it would be during a normal spring break week. It’s more than equipped to handle commercial traffic.

A bigger challenge is handling the scores of private planes coming to Milwaukee, sometimes on short notice. 

“We’re trying to get information from them as to what that private air traffic looks like, but the problem with that is that they don’t have to notify us until 24 hours before they arrive, but they’ll be shutting down two runways,” Dranzik said.

The signage is already up, reminding visitors about the event. A Dunkin’ Donuts will be open just in time to greet them.

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Perhaps the first test of readiness will be how things go at baggage claim.

“That’s our conversation with the airlines because they’re the ones pulling the bags off and making sure they’re getting back to the causal system,” Dranzik said. “I’m not expecting too may issues that way.”

To learn more on how to handle the mass departures on the two days following the convention, Mitchell officials reached out to the airport in Louisville which handles such crowds each year on the day after the Kentucky Derby. 

It’s all hands on deck until the last plane leaves, and the two days following the convention will be the busiest.

“When people are leaving, that’s equivalent to a Super Bowl scenario,” Dranzik said. “Everyone’s gonna want to get out at pretty much the same time.”

Dranzik is confident the airport’s final impression will be as impressive as its first.

It’s festival season here in Milwaukee. With events happening nearly everyday, there are a lot of opportunities to get outside into the community and hear some live, local music.

Matt Wild is the co-founder of Milwaukee Record. Every month, he creates a list of some of the best, new releases from local musicians called the Milwaukee Music Roundup. Here is this month’s list:

Roll On Mary by Valley Fox

Currents by Shorelining

Spider Towns by Old Pup

Wild Cat by The Quilz

Parts of central and southern Wisconsin are forecast to receive the heaviest amounts of rain on Tuesday as a system is expected to dump up to 2 inches of rain in parts of the state.

That’s according to the latest forecast from the National Weather Service that shows the most significant rainfall southwest of the Madison area, in Dodgeville and Darlington. Milwaukee and other parts of southeastern Wisconsin are not expected to receive as much rain, with the forecast between .1-1.25 inch of rain for Milwaukee.

“You could see some heavy rain with that stuff, not necessarily for the Milwaukee area, but the areas west of the I-90 corridor,” said Kevin Wagner, a meteorologist at the Milwaukee office of the NWS.

Heavy rainfall and potential localized flooding in some areas is the main concern with the system, but Wagner said that wind gusts could be high as well. Those concerns are more likely southwest of Madison and into Iowa, he said.

Milwaukee should see scattered showers through the morning, before a brief lull in the midday, Wagner said. Around 5 p.m., rainfall is expected to return in central Wisconsin and gradually move towards Milwaukee.

Rain should return in heavier amounts to southeast Wisconsin with thunderstorm potential at night.

The NWS has also issued a high swim risk along the lakeshore line, between Sheboygan and Kenosha, through Tuesday evening. A high swim risk indicates that currents can be strong and that waves could be three to five feet tall or higher.

The alert says to “stay out of the water and away from dangerous areas like piers and break walls.”

Fourth of July forecast

The forecast for the Fourth of July is showing chances of rain in the Milwaukee area, but it may not ruin most of the day’s activities, Wagner said.

However, the rainfall is expected to have the highest chances later in the night and into Friday morning. That means that most of the holiday should be dry, he said.

“The trends have been pushing those rain chances back, so better chances for rain are going to be as early as Thursday evening and the better chance into Thursday night into Friday morning,” he said.

Wagner said there will likely be persistent showers on Friday.

Read mores about the July 4 forecast here.