Milwaukee, WI

Milwaukee shoppers frustrated by grocery prices as election year nears

Published

1 week ago

December 29, 2025

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Milwaukee shoppers frustrated by grocery prices as election year nears

Voters in Wisconsin are frustrated with high prices, which could impact the 2026 midterm elections.
Financial experts suggest that prices, which have risen significantly since 2020, are unlikely to decrease.
Many shoppers are cutting back on expenses like food, travel, and personal care to cope with the rising cost of living.
A recent poll found that 75% of Wisconsin residents surveyed said their grocery costs have gone up.

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

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Milwaukee, WI

Pregnant Milwaukee mom of 3-year-old dead after arson fire, police say

Published

7 hours ago

January 6, 2026

Press Room

Pregnant Milwaukee mom of 3-year-old dead after arson fire, police say

A 22-year-old pregnant Milwaukee woman was found dead in a house fire that was intentionally set, leaving behind a 3-year-old daughter.

The family of Gladys Johnson is heartbroken at their loss. Her death occurred 33 years almost to the day that her brothers died in a fire.

Gladys Johnson was discovered by her mother, Michelle Johnson, following a fire at their residence in the 2800 block of North 26th Street on Jan. 5.

The Milwaukee Police Department said a 21-year-old man has been arrested for arson. Police said the man intentionally brandished a firearm and then started a house on fire.

The man who was arrested is the father of Johnson’s daughter and unborn child, according to Josie Johnson-Smith, Gladys Johnson’s aunt.

Police said Gladys Johnson’s cause of death is officially undetermined and under investigation, but the Milwaukee County Medical Examiner’s Office ruled the death a homicide.

“He took my niece’s life,” Johnson-Smith said. “He threatened to kill her before. That’s why she ended up back with her mom.”

The Journal Sentinel does not typically name suspects unless they’ve been formally charged with a crime.

Gladys Johnson was five months pregnant with a baby boy, according to Johnson-Smith. “She was so happy, teaching her daughter that she was going to be a big sister,” Johnson-Smith said.

Fire-related death reopens old wounds

Gladys Johnson’s death reopens old wounds for her mother, who lost two sons in a bar fire in Milwaukee in 1992.

Milwaukee Journal reporting from the time recalls Terrance Bizzle-Johnson, 4, and Antonio Bizzle-Johnson, 2, being found dead on New Year’s Eve 1992 from smoke inhalation after a fire broke out at a family tavern on the north side of the city.

The Journal’s article details a harrowing rescue attempt by family members, including by Josie Johnson-Smith and Michelle Johnson.

Gladys Johnson was the ‘light in our family’

Gladys Johnson was named after her late grandmother.

“She was the most loving person you ever wanted to meet,” Johnson-Smith said. “Her spirit was a light. If you were in a bad mood, she would cheer you up. She was the light in our family.

“Her daughter is 3 years old and can talk, spell, and say her ABCs. She was a good mom.

“We’re just so devastated right now. He’s seemed like a nice man. So many young women have passed away with domestic situations and it’s just overwhelming.

“The only thing I’d ask the community, to the young women out there that are going through situations similar to my niece, speak out. Don’t be ashamed. You have to tell somebody.”

Gladys’ Johnson’s family started a GoFundMe fundraiser to help cover funeral expenses.

Where to find help for domestic violence

Victim advocates can help with safety planning. Calls to advocates are confidential and do not involve law enforcement.

The National Domestic Violence Hotline is 800-799-7233.
The National Sexual Assault Hotline is 800-656-4673.
End Domestic Abuse Wisconsin has a statewide directory of resources at endabusewi.org/get-help.
Wisconsin Coalition Against Sexual Assault has a statewide directory of resources at wcasa.org/survivors/service-providers.
The Sojourner Family Peace Center in Milwaukee operates a 24-hour confidential hotline at 414-933-2722.
The Milwaukee Women’s Center offers a 24-hour crisis line at 414-671-6140.
We Are Here Milwaukee provides information on culturally specific organizations at weareheremke.org.
Kids Matter Inc. provides free legal services and specialized assistance to individuals caring for children impacted by domestic violence and homicide. Kids Matter can be reached at 414-344-1220 and offers free online resources at kidsmatterinc.org.

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Milwaukee, WI

Don Richards, the former Milwaukee District 9 alderman, dies at 89

Published

19 hours ago

January 6, 2026

Press Room

Don Richards, the former Milwaukee District 9 alderman, dies at 89

Former Milwaukee Common Council member Don Richards died on Dec. 26 at age 89.

Richards served on the Milwaukee Common Council between 1988 and 2004, representing District 9 on the city’s north and northwest sides until his retirement due to health reasons, according to his obituary.

During his tenure at the city, Richards was a member of the Judiciary and Legislation Committee, Zoning, Neighborhoods and Development Committee, as well as the Housing Authority and City Records Committee.

Although the two had a brief overlap in city government, former Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett, who was first elected in 2004, recalled Richards as “always smiling and always caring.”

“He was a wonderful man. A very Christian man who cared deeply about the community and the people who live here,” Barrett told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

Before becoming a city alderman, Richards participated in the citywide marches protesting a lack of open housing legislation in the city in the 1960s and was a priest in the Milwaukee Archdiocese for almost two decades, starting in 1963. He earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the St. Francis Seminary and Catholic University in Washington, D.C.

Following his time on the Common Council, Richards began to teach local government classes at Alverno College. He also worked as an economic development specialist with the Northwest Side Community Development Corporation, his obituary said.

Richards is survived by his brother, Bob (Joanne), and was preceded in death by his wife, Doloros; his parents, Gregor and Rose Richards; and his brothers, Jim Richards and Ed Richards, according to his obit.

A visitation is planned at 10 a.m. Jan 8 until his funeral Mass at 11 a.m. at Alvina of Milwaukee Chapel, 9301 N. 76th Street.

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Milwaukee, WI

Teen passenger dies in fiery crash after fleeing driver crashes into Milwaukee roundabout

Published

1 day ago

January 5, 2026

Press Room

Teen passenger dies in fiery crash after fleeing driver crashes into Milwaukee roundabout

MILWAUKEE — A police chase that began in West Milwaukee on Sunday morning ended in a fiery crash on Milwaukee’s south side, killing 18-year-old Izack Zavala.

The Medical Examiner’s Office identified Zavala as the passenger who died in the one-car crash at 37th and Mitchell streets. His family said he was a 2025 Milwaukee Public Schools Alexander Hamilton High School graduate who loved soccer and would do anything to help his loved ones.

Provided by family

Izack Zavala

The West Milwaukee Police Department said officers attempted to pull over the driver for a traffic violation near Miller Park Way and Lincoln Avenue, but the driver fled and crossed into Milwaukee.

Roundabout at 37th and Mitchell.png — Roundabout at 37th and Mitchell

About a mile later, police say the fleeing driver hit a roundabout, lost control, and crashed into a tree, ejecting both the driver and passenger.

“If they were trying to avoid one of those, and with the weather being cold and slick, and you hit a patch of ice, and you’re gone. You’re done,” Barbie, who witnessed the aftermath, said.

The loud crash woke up neighbors like Barbie in the middle of the night.

Watch: Teen passenger dies in fiery crash after fleeing driver crashes into Milwaukee roundabout

Teen passenger dies in fiery crash after fleeing driver crashes into Milwaukee roundabout

“Like thunder struck the building. The entire building shook. It was insane,” Barbie said.

Looking out her kitchen window, Barbie saw the devastating scene unfold.

“The whole thing just lit up like a torch,” she said.

Car on fire.png — Car on fire after crash

A day after the flames were extinguished, crash debris still surrounded the tree and Barbie’s backyard.

“The car was right there in the center,” she said.

Zavala’s family said his cousin was driving the vehicle. The 19-year-old driver was taken to the hospital with serious injuries.

Barbie, who has witnessed crashes before, said seeing this one up close was different.

“I’ve seen plenty of crashes, had people that I care about die in crashes, but to see it up close is something different. I feel bad for the kid’s family,” she said.

The witness hopes the tragedy serves as a warning to others who might consider fleeing police.

“I feel for their family, and I wish to God that that wouldn’t have happened, obviously, but there comes a point, ‘what were you doing’, you know?” Barbie said. “I just think that people need to think before they do, and that’s just not a thing anymore.”

TMJ4 asked the West Milwaukee Police Department if it plans to refer charges for the 19-year-old driver who remains seriously injured at the hospital. The department declined to comment, saying it’s still an active investigation.

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