Milwaukee, WI

Milwaukee School Board calls special election to replace Aisha Carr

Published

2 years ago

May 7, 2024

Milwaukee School Board calls special election to replace Aisha Carr

Milwaukee School Board members on Tuesday ordered a special election Nov. 5 to replace board member Aisha Carr, who resigned last Wednesday.

The winner of that election will serve for the remainder of Carr’s term, which is up in April of next year.

If more than two candidates run for Carr’s seat, requiring a primary election, the primary would take place Aug. 13. Candidates need to file paperwork by June 1.

Darryl Jackson was the only board member to vote against ordering the special election. Noting that the new board member’s term would be short, he said it “doesn’t make sense to have another person.”

While other school boards are allowed to appoint board members to fill vacancies, Milwaukee is an exception under state statute and must hold a special election to fill a vacancy, Milwaukee Assistant City Attorney Jordan Schettle said.

Carr’s resignation letter did not include an explanation for why she was resigning. She hasn’t replied to interview requests from the Journal Sentinel.

As previously reported, Carr’s resignation came after questions were raised about Carr’s residency and comments she made about planting a recording device in the district superintendent’s office:

Carr was subject of investigation by District Attorney’s office

Records unsealed in April showed the Milwaukee County District Attorney’s office in January was investigating whether Carr had lied about living in the district she represents. The office has not answered questions from the Journal Sentinel about whether that investigation is ongoing. Online circuit court records do not show any misconduct charges filed against Carr.

Carr, who had shared publicly that she did not live in District 4 while she was campaigning for the north side board seat in 2021, said she was going to move to the district before she got sworn in. She told the Journal Sentinel last month that she had done nothing illegal or unethical.

“As previously stated, I have and continue to reside in my district,” she said.

The unsealed search warrant showed the District Attorney’s office had obtained Carr’s cellphone GPS records to determine where she had been spending time. In asking for the warrant, an investigator for the District Attorney’s office said Carr had “filed numerous documents” with MPS listing an address he believed would be shown to be false, noting that utility and voting records appeared to indicate she was living outside District 4 until last year.

It’s a Class I felony for public officials to intentionally falsify records, carrying a maximum penalty of 18 months in prison and two years of extended supervision.

Carr could have also been subject of MPS board investigation

Separately, Carr told the Journal Sentinel ahead of a April 18 meeting that she believed she was the subject of a misconduct complaint that was reviewed privately by the school board that night. The nature of that complaint has not been made public.

School board members said they were unable to share what happened in that closed-session meeting. Board members had the option to initiate an investigation into the alleged misconduct, which could result in a vote to censure or remove a board member.

Carr had told the Journal Sentinel she expected that the complaints were likely about her because of disagreements she has had with other board members and administrators. Carr has been critical of MPS leadership and opposed the April 2 referendum that raised the district’s taxing authority.

Dozens of supporters of Carr packed that board meeting April 18. Residents cheered for Carr throughout the evening, with some speakers saying they would work to vote out any board members who tried to boot Carr from the board.

Carr was recorded saying she planted a recording device

Earlier this year, a recorded conversation surfaced online in which Carr could be heard telling a former Milwaukee Public Schools administrator that she had planted a recording device in MPS Superintendent Keith Posley’s office.

Carr told the Journal Sentinel that she did not plant a recording device but had made the false statement to the former administrator to determine whether she was trustworthy.

Source link

Click to comment

Milwaukee, WI

Four new community-powered fridges open on Milwaukee’s North Side

Published

9 hours ago

March 1, 2026

Press Room

Four new community-powered fridges open on Milwaukee’s North Side

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.

Ald. Russell W. Stamper, II, emceed the ribbon cutting ceremony for the grand opening of four new community-powered fridges.

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.

People fill up the community-powered fridge with fresh produce.

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, talks about opening the first community-powered fridge at her cafe.

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.

Danell Cross (right), executive director at Metcalfe Park Community Bridges, Metcalfe Park resident Farina Brooks (left), and other attendees applaud during the ribbon-cutting ceremony.

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.

Residents line up to fill the community-powered fridge with fresh produce.

“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.

Source link

Milwaukee, WI

At the Bar

Published

21 hours ago

March 1, 2026

Press Room

The bar can be “the place” where memories are made, friendships blossom, and stories live forever. This episode of Real Stories MKE features stories from Dasha Kelly, Kristia Wildflower, Shep Crumrine, and Katelyn Nye. Real Stories MKE is hosted by Kim Shine and Joel Dresang with support from producer Jasmine Gonzalez and audio engineer Sam Woods.

Source link

Milwaukee, WI

Pat Murphy Hints Brewers Landed Star Infielder in Caleb Durbin Trade

Published

1 day ago

February 28, 2026

Press Room

Pat Murphy Hints Brewers Landed Star Infielder in Caleb Durbin Trade

The Milwaukee Brewers were one of the more active teams in the league this offseason and it was one of the more shocking storylines to follow all winter.

They opted to trade Freddy Peralta to the New York Mets, which was a blockbuster deal, but it was expected. Peralta was on an expiring contract, and the Brewers were unlikely to be able to land a long-term deal with him. Milwaukee would much rather have control of Brandon Sproat and Jett Williams for the next five to seven years rather than a singular year of Peralta.

But they also traded Isaac Collins to the Kansas City Royals and Caleb Durbin to the Boston Red Sox. The Collins deal was a head scratcher, but the Durbin deal was the most shocking move of Milwaukee’s offseason.

If you like our content, choose Sports Illustrated as a preferred source on Google.

The Brewers traded Durbin and two other infielders to Boston in exchange for Kyle Harrison, David Hamilton, and Shane Drohan. Harrison is the biggest addition of the trade. Drohan has already flashed dominant potential this spring. Hamilton, who struggled last season, seemingly has the full belief of Brewers manager Pat Murphy.

David Hamilton could soon become a star for the Brewers

Milwaukee Brewers infielder David Hamilton fields a grounder during spring training workouts Monday, February 16, 2026, at American Family Fields of Phoenix in Phoenix, Arizona. | Dave Kallmann / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

“He’s got so much ability in there, and he’s got experience, and he might be a utility player but I think he can be really good for us. I think he can take his offensive game to a whole other level,” Murphy said when talking about Hamilton, per Brewers beat writer Adam McCalvy.

Last season, Hamilton slashed .198/.257/.333 with a .590 OPS and a 63 OPS+. It was his third year in the big leagues and his second full year at the level and he’s yet to post an OPS+ over 100. But he’s still been worth 3.6 WAR over the last two years because of his defense and baserunning. The issue has been his bat. Even when he hit .248 in 2024, his OPS was under .700.

But Murphy seemingly believes Hamilton could take the next step at the plate, which would set him up to be a very good platoon infielder and versatile bat. He has the chance to quietly develop into a star with the Brewers if he can get his OPS over .700 and closer to .750. Obviously, this isn’t going to be easy, but Murphy seems to believe he’s closer to this breakout than many fans assume.

Source link