Milwaukee, WI
Milwaukee shoppers frustrated by grocery prices as election year nears
Wisconsinites share their thoughts on recent grocery prices
Wisconsinites share their thoughts on recent grocery prices and how it’s effecting their daily shopping habbits.
Adriana Maldonado is a yoga therapist in Wauwatosa with two children at home and three who are grown up that she tries to help with groceries. She has a one-word description for the economy.
“Awful.”
Maldonado said she’s had to pick up extra work to pay bills and other expenses.
“I also bartend at Gibraltar’s, and I also drive for Veyo, which picks up medical patients,” Maldonado said. “And whatever odds and ends I can do, I will do.”
Maldonado added she has cut back on some spending.
“I had to get rid of car insurance for a little while and then I just picked up a cheaper (policy),” Maldonado said. “I cut back on any eating out.”
Maldonado said her faith in the political system and in politicians is broken.
“This is just playing a game on humans,” Maldonado said of the political process.
Maldonado said she encourages people to shop at small local businesses.
“Stop shopping at large companies, come to more local places, put money back into our community,” Maldonado said. “It makes more sense. If we continue to shop the big (stores) we’re going to lose people. There’s so many businesses closing right now, it’s so sad.”
Maldonado is in the sweet spot for one of the most consequential discussions happening across the country: How is the country doing economically? Is daily life affordable? Are we facing sticker shock at the grocery store?
And the enduring political question: Are we better off today than the last time we voted?
President Donald Trump says the Golden Age is upon us, complaints about affordability are a hoax, and any concerns are the fault of the Biden administration combined with the Federal Reserve’s refusal to slash interest rates.
Countering that perspective:
- National consumer sentiment sits near all-time lows, according to the University of Michigan’s monthly survey. The latest survey released Dec. 5 found sentiment improved slightly from November but remained 28 percentage points below December 2024 levels. “Consumers see modest improvements from November on a few dimensions, but the overall tenor of views is broadly somber, as consumers continue to cite the burden of high prices,” University of Michigan Surveys of Consumers Director Joanne Hsu said.
- The U.S. job market is showing signs of slowing, adding just 64,000 jobs in November, according to the most recent employment report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The unemployment rate rose to 4.6%, the highest in four years. Preliminary data for October 2025 released Dec. 16 showed a loss of 105,000 jobs that month, largely driven by layoffs of federal workers.
- The Urban Institute reported in October that Americans are struggling to afford essentials like food, childcare and housing. Nearly four in five Americans believe the U.S. economy will not improve in the year ahead.
- The U.S. job market has been stagnant in recent months, and paycheck growth has been falling steadily for more than three years.
- Consumers never adjusted to the supply chain chaos and dramatic rise in prices during the COVID pandemic. Many of those prices never came down. “The price level changed so much because we had such high inflation for a couple of years there and you’re continuing to add inflation to an already high price level … people haven’t had time to adjust to that,” said Dominic Ceci, chief investing officer for Johnson Financial Group. “In the last five years, we’ve had more inflation than we did in a long time. If you think about prices in 2020, pre-pandemic versus now, it’s a huge difference. It’s a whiplash effect.”
Marquette Poll indicates widespread pessimism
According to the most recent Marquette Law School Poll, 47% of those surveyed in early November said their groceries have “gone up a lot,” and 28% said groceries have “gone up a little.”
In the same poll, people were asked to predict if the cost of living would increase, decrease or stay the same in the next 12 months. Two-thirds said they expect the cost of living to go up.
Historically, the party in power performs poorly in midterm elections. That means Republicans and Trump are running short on time to change people’s minds, according to Marquette Law School Poll director Charles Franklin.
“He is now suffering from this widespread perception, and especially with swing voters, these policies aren’t helping inflation, they’re really exacerbating it,” Franklin said. “That’s tied to tariffs but also other things.”
The widespread frustration with the economy helped Democratic candidates in New York, Virginia, New Jersey and Miami win races in 2025.
“Politicians need to react to that,” Ceci said of voters’ feelings on the economy. “There’s some stuff they can do. There’s tax policy. There’s all kinds of things, but is it realistic that any of that gets done or gets done effectively? Probably not. You really need all of the people to come together to agree to pass bills and make things happen.”
People coming together is not exactly a hallmark of today’s politics.
Milwaukee resident Blanca Rivera, a former parent educator with Bay View Community Center, said food in particular has gotten more expensive. She has three children, and two of them have already moved out or contribute financially to her household.
Even with fewer people to feed, Rivera said she’s spending around $400 per week on food for her family.
“The same amount of money that we spend now for only us three, it’s the same amount of money I used to spend for four to six people before,” said Rivera, who sometimes also shops for other relatives.
To save money, Rivera has cut back on trips to see family members in El Salvador. She used to visit at least two or three times per year, but her budget now only allows for one.
“When you want to go over there, you don’t want to go empty handed. You wanted to bring something” for relatives, Rivera said. “I used to bring seven luggage bags – now I bring two.”
Rivera is also reducing personal care-related expenses to save more money for her family’s more basic needs.
“Before, I used to go and do my nails, my hair, maybe go to buy a nice perfume,” she said. “Now, I’ve got to wait three, four months to do my hair.”
The Journal Sentinel went shopping last year. And then went back.
President Trump said prices would start falling shortly after he took office in January 2025, and in recent months said his administration is bringing down some prices and slowing inflation.
But lower prices have not been seen in Milwaukee area grocery stores.
In August 2024, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel collected the price of a basket of groceries at five Milwaukee-area stores: Walmart, Pick ‘n Save, Target, Festival Foods and Woodman’s.
On Dec. 2, 2025, the Journal Sentinel returned to the same stores to compare how prices changed over the past 16 months. Totals were collected using the same list of common staple items across all five stores. Name brand items were purchased; some stores offer house brands that would significantly bring down prices.
The full grocery list was:
- Almond Milk: 64 ounces
- 100% whole wheat bread: 24-ounce loaf
- Bacon: one pound
- Bananas
- Beef: one pound, 80% lean, not certified Angus
- Butter: one pound
- Cheerios: 8.9-ounce box
- Cheez-its: 12.4-ounce box
- Eggs: one dozen
- Flour: five pounds
- Green beans (canned)
- Strawberry jelly/jam: 18 ounces
- Iceberg lettuce: one head
- Milk: one gallon
- Oranges
- Paper towel: two-roll package
- Peanut butter: 18 ounces
- Toilet paper: six pack
At Walmart, 401 E. Capitol Drive in Milwaukee, the cost was $63.84 in August 2024, and $69.31 on Dec. 2 2025, up around 8.6%. Walmart remains the cheapest of the five stores.
At Woodman’s, 8131 S. Howell Ave. in Oak Creek, the cost was $61.38 in 2024 and $69.80 on Dec. 2, an increase of 13.7%.
At Festival Foods, 11111 W. Greenfield Ave., in West Allis, the cost was $85.62 in 2024 and $94.58 on Dec. 2, an increase of 10.5%.
At Target, 2950 S. Chase Ave., in Milwaukee, the cost was $69.88 in 2024 and $70.21 on Dec. 2, an increase of 0.5%. However, this Target does not carry a name-brand bag of flour, the house brand was substituted, likely lowering the overall cost.
Finally, at Pick ‘n Save, 605 E. Lyon St. in Milwaukee, the price was $83.18 in 2024 and $81.53 on Dec. 2. That’s a decrease of 2%.
Substituting store-brand alternatives for name-brand grocery items does offer some savings for customers. For example, Pick ‘n Save’s store-brand grocery list cost $57.33 in December.
Some items fluctuated wildly in price since August 2024. A bird flu epidemic drove national egg prices to more than $6 per dozen in March 2025. Prices have dropped significantly since then, but the national average price of a dozen eggs in September 2025 remained above August 2024 levels.
The cost of a dozen Grade A large eggs at the five Milwaukee-area stores ranged from $1.97 to $2.49 on Dec. 2.
Is the affordability issue overblown?
Chris Dare was at the Milwaukee Public Market with his son Jake and noticed that meat prices were higher than at their butcher shop back home in Oshkosh.
Still, both wondered if the broad reaction to elevated prices wasn’t a bit exaggerated.
“I don’t think it’s as bad as people are making it sound,” Chris Dare said. “The disappointing thing for me was COVID was an open door for prices to go up, with somewhat legitimate reasons, but of course when those reasons went away, prices didn’t go back down, which we knew was going to happen.”
His son Jake believes candidates will “weaponize” prices in upcoming elections.
“The cost of living and the cost of buying things, the purchasing power of the wages you make is going to affect politics,” Jake Dare said. “After the elections come and go, I think it’ll flatten back out again and you’ll have two years of, probably, steady increases … it’s cyclical, any time the elections come around.”
Both father and son think about how prices impact them when they go to the polls, and they encourage other voters to research candidates and vote based on what impacts them personally.
“I don’t think anybody wants to admit it,” Chris Dare said, but “let’s be realistic, I’m voting 100% selfishly how things affect me.”
Chris and Jake consider themselves conservative, but question what Trump could do in the near-term to lower prices.
“And unfortunately I don’t think any president has that much immediate control over the economy,” Chris Dare said. “As much as you’d like to have somebody march in and suddenly things turn around. … it doesn’t happen that quickly on the economy side.”
Shoppers want specifics from candidates on solutions
Karen and Lee Veldboom live in the city of Waukesha and have learned to be more selective when at the grocery store.
“We don’t buy beef,” Karen Veldboom said, adding that her family has cut back on sweets and other treats as well. “Everything is so volatile right now, you kind of go with what it is.”
Both believe prices and the economy will play a role in how people vote in 2026. And both yearn for the days of more civility and less anger.
“We lean conservative but there’s so much craziness going on now, you don’t even know who to support,” Lee Veldboom said. “You can’t go two days in a row without hearing something totally outrageous.”
Heather Wiese from Pewaukee has taken up thrift shopping since doing it with her daughter in 2020.
It’s a good way for her to save money and support smaller businesses, she said.
But it’s a different feeling at the grocery store.
“Prices are high, holy moly,” Wiese said. “The price of beef is way up. The price of everything is way up.”
Wiese doesn’t expect the issue of affordability to go away anytime soon.
“People really can’t afford a lot of stuff right now,” Wiese said.
What she doesn’t want to hear is a lot of rhetoric without specifics.
“I would like more details,” Wiese said. “I don’t think on day one everything is going to go down.”
Despite promises, they certainly haven’t in the past.
The grocery bill is just one of many factors affecting households each month. Here’s the price of other common household expenses as of Dec. 16, 2025, compared to a year ago:
- Gas, Milwaukee- Waukesha metro average: $2.499
- Utility Bill, Typical We Energies customer: $135.94 per month
- 30-Year Fixed Mortgage Rate, U.S. average: 6.22%
- Rent, Milwaukee average: $1,250
MILWAUKEE – A Milwaukee man, previously named one of Wisconsin’s Most Wanted, has been sentenced to prison for shooting and killing his cousin in 2020.
In court
What we know:
A Milwaukee County jury found 39-year-old Brandon Gladney guilty of first-degree reckless homicide and possession of a firm by a felon earlier this year.
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Judge Michelle Havas sentenced Gladney to 29 years in prison on Friday, April 17. He was granted credit for more than a year’s time served and further sentenced to 14 years of extended supervision.
Arrested in Arizona after years on the run, court records show Gladney has also been ordered to pay the Milwaukee County District Attorney’s Office more than $1,800 for extradition costs.
Homicide investigation
The backstory:
The shooting happened in May 2020. Investigators said Gladney was captured on video apparently arguing with the victim, his cousin, outside a Milwaukee convenience store near 21st and Meinecke.
“It’s all on video, and it’s devastating for that family,” the marshal on the case told FOX6 when Gladney was profiled on Wisconsin’s Most Wanted. “You have a family member that shot and killed another family member.”
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Prosecutors said Gladney walked away but then returned with a gun pointed directly at the victim and shot him. The victim died from his gunshot wounds at a nearby hospital. Multiple bullet casings were found at the scene.
Gladney went on the run for years. He was arrested in Arizona in January 2023, years after he was charged.
The Source: FOX6 News referenced information from the U.S. Marshals Service, Wisconsin Circuit Court and prior coverage.
Brice Turang slides to home plate to score during a game between the Miami Marlins and the Milwaukee Brewers on April 17. (Photo by Chris Arjoon/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
MIAMI – Garrett Mitchell went 2 for 4 with three RBIs including a two-run double in the 10th inning and the Milwaukee Brewers beat the Miami Marlins 7-5 on Friday night.
By the numbers:
Miami’s Calvin Faucher (1-2) entered a 4-all game in the 10th and walked Gary Sánchez with Brice Turang on second. Jake Bauers hit a single to load the bases.
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Luis Rengifo reached first on a throwing error by second baseman Xavier Edwards, allowing Turang to score. Mitchell followed with his double.
The Marlins scored one run in the bottom of the 10th when Jakob Marsee came home on Trevor Megill’s wild pitch. Megill settled in for his fourth save.
Coleman Crow, who made his debut on the mound for the Brewers, threw 77 pitches over 5 1/3 innings. He threw four strikeouts, gave up two earned runs and a walk.
The right-hander was 2-0 with a 4.07 ERA in two starts with the Brewers’ Triple-A affiliate in Nashville. He missed part of the 2023 season and all of 2024 after undergoing Tommy John surgery.
The Brewers scored three runs in the fourth inning. With the bases loaded, Mitchell hit an RBI single, Bauers scored on a forceout at first and Rengifo scored on a throwing error by catcher Agustín Ramírez.
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Miami’s Otto Lopez hit a triple to center field in the fourth and scored on a sacrifice fly by Owen Caissie. Lopez hit a two-run homer in the sixth to pull Miami within 4-3 and Ramírez doubled in the eighth to tie the game at four.
Abner Uribe (1-0) earned his first win of the season, coming on in the ninth inning.
Marlins third baseman Graham Pauley left the game in the seventh inning with right oblique discomfort after spinning out of the way of a pitch.
What’s next:
The Brewers and Marlins continue their 3-game series on Saturday, with Brandon Woodruff (1-0, 4.36 ERA) taking the mound for Milwaukee and Sandy Alcantara (2-1, 2.67) for Miami.
The Source: The Associated Press provided this report.
Michigan wins the national championship over UConn
Michigan beats UConn to win the national championship and we break down how they did it and where both programs go from here.
Loyalty is a word you rarely hear anymore when it comes to college sports.
Amare Hereford is an exception.
The night before he was able to put pen to paper and make his commitment to the UW-Milwaukee men’s basketball team official earlier this week, the Beloit Memorial standout was invited for an on-campus visit with the Wisconsin Badgers.
Hereford did his due diligence. What player wouldn’t have in his position?
“Me being an 18-year-old kid, my first high major [visit], I just decided to go check it out,” Hereford said.
UW put on the full-court press in an attempt to lock down the Wisconsin “Mr. Basketball” finalist.
“They offered me a scholarship,” Hereford said. “It all happened so fast. It was all within a day.”
Hereford went home, processed the situation with his family and came to a decision.
He would honor his commitment to the Panthers, with his signature cementing the deal and UWM announcing the news Thursday, April 16.
“No, it wasn’t really hard to turn down,” Hereford said, referring to UW’s offer. “I love every school and I appreciate every school that reaches out to me. But I’m going to choose a school that I have a great relationship with, with all the coaching staff, and that’s been thinking highly of me and recruited me for the longest time. And that was the Panthers.
“Wisconsin is a great school, of course. But I’m going to the school that has been with me for the longest time.”
The 6-foot-2, 175-pound Hereford is a huge addition for a Panthers squad that, like so many other programs due to transfer portal madness, is in the midst of rebuilding its roster for the 2026-2027 season almost from scratch.
“Amare will be a star here at Milwaukee,” coach Bart Lundy said. “He will be a fan favorite from the beginning. He is a complete basketball player but probably has as good of an ability to score as I’ve seen in any high school player. He is a great student and a great worker and completely fits our culture.
“We are so excited that he will represent the city of Milwaukee and the state and especially his hometown of Beloit.”
Indeed, Hereford put the ball through the net for Beloit Memorial at a prodigious rate, averaging 37.5 points per game – tops in the state – as a senior. He finished as the school’s all-time leading scorer with 2,493 points in four years.
Hereford also poured in 49 points in his final high school game, a WIAA sectional semifinal loss to Verona last month.
Hereford was tough to guard going to the basket as his 60.7% shooting this past season indicates, but he also shot a terrific 45% from from 3-point range (81 for 180) and capitalized on all the contact he drew to the tune of 83% accuracy at the free-throw line.
More than just a scorer, though, Hereford also finished with team-leading averages of 8.5 rebounds, 5.3 assists and 3.9 steals per game.
“My playing style fits the way [the Panthers] play – they get up and down, play fast,” Hereford said. “Coach Lundy said he definitely sees me running [point guard], having the ball in my hands, playing the same way I did in high school, finding teammates, getting to the rim and scoring at all three levels.”
Defense is typically where newcomers experience the biggest growing pains, learning the all-out effort it takes to guard at a high level on every possession.
Hereford, however, indicates he’s more than just a scorer.
“I love playing defense,” he said. “Hitting the gaps, getting steals and different things like that, being active with my hands a lot. I’m definitely looking forward to getting pushed defensively and picking up the ball full court, on-ball pressure in the half court.”
Hereford took his visit to UWM in mid-March, after the season had been completed, but saw enough games on TV to cement his opinion of the challenge ahead.
“The Horizon League is amazing,” he said. “There’s a lot of guards who play the same way I play, like to get up and down, play fast. That’s why I love Coach Lundy and the Panthers and the rest of the staff. They let guys be themselves. They play fast, get up and down, play together as one.
“They let everybody touch the ball and be themselves.”
Before Wisconsin entered the picture, Hereford said he’d narrowed his school choices to UWM and San Diego, where Whitefish Bay Dominican product and former Iowa State assistant JR Blount has taken over as head coach.
Now, Hereford projects as an important piece in the Panthers’ rebuilding process.
“Coach Lundy and the staff, they believe in me heavy. And I just want to prove them right,” Hereford said. “I want them to see that I can come in and make a huge impact right away for the team and in the Horizon League.
“I’m definitely going to come in and compete for my minutes. And obviously, I want to stay there.
“So, definitely looking forward to coming in and earning my spot.”
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