Milwaukee, WI
OPINION: Cost of living topic of Oct. 15 Main Street Agenda town hall meeting in Milwaukee
A Main Street Agenda town hall meeting on inflation to be held Tuesday, Oct. 15, from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Clinton Rose Senior Center, 3045 N. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive
UW Survey identifies issues voters most worried about this election
Opinion: The Main Street Agenda is a 2024 election year project to provide voters with information and conversations about issues they care most about.
Inflation may be over, but the cost of living has increased significantly, and everything, including food, utilities, housing, healthcare, and insurance, has become more expensive.
Wisconsinites recently ranked inflation as their top concern heading into the Nov. 5 election, which is not surprising because inflation affects everyone, regardless of their economic status. How are higher prices impacting you and your family? What questions do you have about inflation? We want to hear from you.
I will be emceeing a Main Street Agenda town hall meeting on inflation on Tuesday, Oct. 15, from 6 to 8 p.m. The event will be held at the Clinton Rose Senior Center, 3045 N. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive.
REGISTER HERE FOR FREE EVENT: Milwaukee Main Street Agenda town hall meeting
During the presidential debate, Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump made addressing inflation a crucial part of their presidential campaigns.
In a swing state like Wisconsin – where its largest city, Milwaukee, has one of the highest poverty rates in the country – the candidate who can best articulate their plan for addressing inflation could win the state and become the next president of the United States.
Panelists include experts on inflation, Milwaukee community activists
The panel includes:
- Dynasty Caesar, Senior Organizer for the Redress Movement in Milwaukee.
- Menzie Chinn, Professor at the La Follette School of Public Affairs and Department of Economics at UW-Madison. His research examines economic developments within and between countries.
- J. Michael Collins, Professor at the La Follette School of Public Affairs and School of Human Ecology at UW-Madison. He studies consumer decision-making, including credit, savings, and investment.
- Melody McCurtis, Deputy Director & lead Organizer of Metcalfe Park Community Bridges, a resident-led organization in the Metcalfe Park neighborhood on Milwaukee’s Northside.
While the panel discusses how they view inflation, the public will also have a chance to express how inflation impacts them and what changes they have had to make to get by.
Main Street Agenda focuses on issues Wisconsinites care most about
The Main Street Agenda is here to help the public navigate these times and to provide space for honest dialogue about a topic that impacts everyone.
Since January, the Journal Sentinel Idea’s Lab has been publishing op-eds on topics from faculty at the La Follette School of Public Affairs at UW-Madison, our partners in the Main Street Agenda. The top issues include inflation, gun violence, health care, crime, income/wealth distribution, and climate change.
On Oct. 15, a panel of policy experts will illuminate major inflation-related public policy issues.
REGISTER HERE FOR FREE EVENT: Milwaukee Main Street Agenda town hall meeting
This event is part of the Main Street Agenda, a 2024 election project designed to focus on the issues Wisconsin voters care most about heading into the Nov. 5 election. This town hall meeting will focus on inflation policy and how pocket-book issues impact people’s voting behavior. The Main Street agenda emphasizes civil conversations.
This event is free and open to the public. A complimentary buffet dinner will be available during the event.
Reach James E. Causey at jcausey@jrn.com; follow him on X @jecausey.
Milwaukee, WI
Squire Robinson leads a new generation of Milwaukee artists with his distinctly bold style
In a cavernous attic studio stands Squire Robinson.
Next to him on the ground is an unfinished painting of his. Hung above him are numerous paintings that he’s finished in the past year.
The walls are filled with works of art, crafted by the various artists who also call 100% MKE, a nonprofit arts studio and workspace at 217 N. Broadway, home.
Robinson’s art doesn’t just stand among them – it stands out.
Maybe it’s the saturated reds that prevail in each of his pieces.
Maybe it’s the bold strokes that create the even bolder figures that call his paintings home.
Either way, Robinson’s art has a tangible effect for those with the eyes to see.
“Sometimes the most important piece of art is that you feel. His art makes you feel,” Richard Badger Jr. said. Badger, who goes by the artist name Coyote Rich, is also an artist in residence at 100% MKE.
Robinson first fell in love with art through his grandfather, who painted signs for corner stores. Early memories of drawing contests with his grandfather enchanted Squire into the art world.
Later, Robinson drew comics and superhero characters, foreshadowing the powerful figures he paints today.
“My style has always been there, it’s just evolution, it grows and changes,” Robinson said.
Robinson, a 2024 graduate of the Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design, has always had a certain fascination with Renaissance-era paintings.
Yet despite his appreciation of the style, something was missing.
“I appreciated the technique and skill, but I just couldn’t really relate to it,” Robinson said.
For him, the lack of diversity made the style feel distant.
Black culture in art
Now, Robinson’s style flows through the powerful Black people he paints.
“I took some of that flavor and remixed it to something that is more me,” Robinson said. “My inspiration comes from Black culture, music and my dreams.”
Robinson’s own personality is vehemently present in each of his pieces.
“His art has a very strong personality behind it,” said Nelle Speerschneider, a co-founding board member of 100% MKE.
By the end of a lengthy creative process, Robinson’s pieces are saturated with color and shapes that make viewers stop and stare. For Robinson, that’s the goal.
“To me, good art is when you can just stare at it and sit with it and think,” Robinson said. “If you see my work and walk right past it, then I didn’t do something right.”
Music and the flow state
Robinson said when he is met with a blank canvas, he doesn’t begin with a person or a setting; he starts with the mood. Then, with the help of music, he lets his art flow.
“I don’t try to contain the style, it’s just all me,” Robinson said.
Music is a big deal for Robinson. So much so that he can’t paint without it. Robinson’s taste in music, from classical and jazz to his love for Kendrick Lamar, seeps into his art.
“Squire’s art makes me feel like music,” Badger said.
Robinson said music helps him loosen up and get out of a funk.
“It helps me escape and enter that flow state,” Robinson said.
He said music supports his ethereal creative process.
“Sometimes when I paint, I feel like I’m being guided by something higher than me,” Robinson said.
Milwaukee made
As a young figure in the Milwaukee art scene, Robinson wears the city on his sleeve.
“Growing up in Milwaukee made me hard in the sense of staying true to myself,” Robinson said.
At 100% MKE, Robinson offers a unique voice. “It’s nice to have his youthful and urban take in the studio,” Speerschneider said.
Badger said young artists like Robinson are vital for pushing the scene forward.
“They’re the driving force of what Milwaukee looks and feels like,” he said.
Future goals
Going forward, Robinson wants to become an art therapist, someone who uses the medium of art to process emotional challenges.
“Art has always been a way to self-express and get my own feelings out,” Robinson said. “That’s why the tone of my paintings matters the most, because those feelings are what I’m trying to evoke.”
As for his art career, Robinson says his finest work is yet to come.
“I haven’t created my best one yet.”
Jonathan Aguilar is a visual journalist at Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service who is supported through a partnership between CatchLight Local and Report for America.
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Milwaukee, WI
Post From Community: Laughing Liberally Milwaukee | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
The Brewers drafted 20 players over the course of 20 rounds in the 2026 MLB Draft, including first-round shortstop Trey Ebel, second-round outfielder Sawyer Strosnider, Wilmot Union HS (Wisconsin) shortstop Chance Ruby, and CC Sabathia’s son, first baseman Carsten Sabathia III. The team now has until 4 p.m. CT on July 27 to sign each draft pick. We’ll keep track of the signees below.
Milwaukee’s total signing bonus pool is $8,042,900, which can be allocated as the team chooses (i.e., slot bonuses are not the guaranteed signing value). Rounds 11-20 automatically have $150,000 allocated to the slot — money given to these picks only counts toward the bonus pool if they exceed $150,000. Teams that exceed their bonus pool face financial penalties, with higher thresholds resulting in the loss of future picks.
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Squire Robinson leads a new generation of Milwaukee artists with his distinctly bold style
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