Milwaukee, WI
Sam Stair arrest is part of a bigger landlord issue, Milwaukee officials say
Watch surveillance footage of federal raid at S2 Real Estate office.
Federal agents arrested 18 people this week in a drug conspiracy case, including Sam Stair, the owner of S2 Real Estate, and his business manager.
Footage courtesy of U.S. Petro, editing by Angelica Edwards/ The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Milwaukee elected officials say the recent arrest and charging of a Milwaukee landlord in a sprawling drug case showed the city needs to take problematic landlords and the tenants who report them more seriously.
Sam Stair, 52, owner of S2 Real Estate Group, was arrested by federal agents early on April 22 and charged with multiple drug charges stemming from renting houses to be used for drug trafficking. In the week since the arrest, elected officials and community groups responded with alarm and said it showed a need for more to be done against problematic landlords.
“I’m angry. I’m disappointed,” said Ald. Jose Perez, who represents parts of the city’s south side and is president of the Common Council. “We want these properties to be caught sooner.”
Stair owns and manages over 150 properties, which have over 500 units and are mainly concentrated on the city’s south side. The charges against him and 17 others suggest a wide-ranging operation where Stair would lease homes that would be used by drug dealers either as stash houses, for storing drugs, or as trap houses, for selling drugs to dealers, according to a 176-page criminal complaint.
Stair, whose properties are the frequent subject of tenant complaints, is accused of earning over $1.5 million as part of this operation, which included using these dealers to manage his properties, including finding those addicted to drugs to rent the units to, according to court documents.
The case has been under investigation since May 2024.
Stair’s arrest and the charges against him have been pointed to by community members and organizations as a clear example of a gap in the city’s safety. On April 26, the public safety organization Common Ground pointed to it when promoting a plan for improving safety on the city’s South Side.
In a statement, the group said “negligent landlords” like Stair are hurting Milwaukee neighborhoods “in order to maximize their profits.”
“The victimization of these neighborhoods is systemic,” said Jack Eckblad, Milwaukee County District 4 Supervisor, who endorsed the safety plan. “It erodes trust in institutions like the police, like the fire department.”
At that event, Danyell Austin, a tenant of Stair’s, told the Journal Sentinel she and other tenants are left uncertain of how to move forward or whether to continue paying rent. Austin rents a commercial storefront from Stair’s company S2 Real Estate Group on West Greenfield Avenue and South Layton Boulevard.
Community Advocates, a nonprofit that helps low-income families meet their basic needs, recommends that tenants hold on to traditional rent payments, like checks, until further notice. However, if tenants are able to pay through their online portal, they should continue to do so, as that is typically more secure, said Shawanna Lindenberg, the organization’s housing department manager.
Austin has reported myriad concerns with the company to the council member in her district, JoCasta Zamarripa, mainly relating to unresolved maintenance issues which she continues to struggle with to this day.
In an interview prior to Stair’s arrest, Zamarripa told the Journal Sentinel she had received messages from a few constituents but was unaware of the severity of tenant complaints or Stair’s business model.
Austin said she’s not surprised that the city hadn’t acted against Stair before his arrest.
“He acts like he was untouchable,” Austin said. “He’s likeable, he has the money behind him, he knows that most people don’t have the financial stability to fight against him in court if it really comes to it.”
Stair is not the first Milwaukee landlord charged for drug dealing. In 2017, Kenneth D. Churchill III pleaded guilty to a charge of distributing heroin.
He was a significantly less prolific landlord than Stair. Churchill operated 12 properties and half had a designation as drug houses, the Journal Sentinel reported at the time.
Stair’s arrest and prior incidents like Churchill’s show the need for more coordination between the city and more attention to residents’ concerns, Perez said.
“I don’t think we’re making the connection with some of the complaints we have in the neighborhood with an enterprise similar to what we’ve seen in the news – a drug enterprise,” he said.
Stair’s arrest gives the city the opportunity to build off that momentum and hold other problematic landlords accountable, said Milwaukee County District 14 Supervisor Caroline Gomez-Tom, who represents parts of the city’s south side.
While many were unaware of Stair’s actions, Gomez-Tom said tenants were reporting concerns and deserved to be listened to.
“Sometimes, unfortunately, its falls to deaf ears. Either they’re reporting it to police or they’re reporting it to elected officials,” Gomez-Tom said. “The need is there for stronger responses to even the smallest concerns. If one person is reporting it, many other people are seeing it.”
Stair appeared in federal court on April 22 and remains in custody. He is due back in court for a detention hearing on April 27.
David Clarey is a public safety reporter at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. He can be reached at: dclarey@gannett.com.
Alyssa Salcedo covers Silver City, Layton Park and Burnham Park for the Journal Sentinel’s Neighborhood Dispatch. Contact: asalcedo@usatodayco.com.
Neighborhood Dispatch reporting is supported by Zilber Family Foundation, Bader Philanthropies, Journal Foundation, Northwestern Mutual Foundation, Greater Milwaukee Foundation, and reader contributions to the Journal Sentinel Community-Funded Journalism Project. Journal Sentinel editors maintain full editorial control over all content. To support this work, visit jsonline.com/support. Checks can be addressed to Local Media Foundation (memo: “JS Community Journalism”) and mailed to P.O. Box 85015, Chicago, IL 60689.
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New Berlin West, Pius XI Catholic speak after relay title victories
Pius XI Catholic and New Berlin West each won WIAA Division 2 state relay track titles. Hear from both squads after their victories.
LA CROSSE – The 2026 WIAA state girls track and field season concluded Saturday, June 6 with the state meet at Veterans Memorial Complex on the campus of the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse.
The event schedule was altered due to lightning and rain toward the end of competition Friday that resulted in some Division 2 and 3 events, along with the wheelchair shot-put competitions, pushing to Saturday.
Here’s a recap of Day 2 action, including 15 state champions crowned from the Milwaukee area. Arrowhead also won its third straight Division 1 state team title in dominating fashion, becoming the first team since Milwaukee Bradley Tech from 2009-11 to three-peat in the state’s biggest division.
Arrowhead’s trio of Bott, Eicher and Schroeder bring home four titles and relay win
Before the Myrhum Invitational in May, Arrowhead boys track and field coach Chris Herriot said this version of the girls team might be the best unit in program history.
Four individual titles and a relay title later, and Herriot may have been correct in his analysis of the back-to-back-to-back D1 state team champion.
Arrowhead’s charge to 70 points was sparked by its talented trident of Avery Bott, Payton Eicher and Elise Schroeder. Bott captured the 400 meters after finishing second as a junior. Eicher won the long and triple jump double, while Schroeder shattered the D1 pole vault state meet record of 12 feet 9 inches by going 13-6 for her third straight title. Eicher and Schroeder added a relay title and 10 more team points with fellow seniors Josie Bularz and Giselle Huggett in the 400 relay(46.52 seconds).
“It’s really exciting,” Eicher said. “We’ve been running relays together since freshman year, so, like, getting to this point where we’re still, we’re able to be so confident in our abilities that we can just have fun with it and feel relaxed and do our best.”
It was a bittersweet day for the Warhawks in a final adieu to the program for its core group of seniors.
“It’s been a year of gratitude,” Huggett said. “Standing on the line, it felt like we were all sad. I was crying at the starting line. We’ve just been through it all together as a team. We were second in the 4×1 last year and winning it after last year for us was really special.”
Brookfield Central’s Rinkam does the sprint double despite scary tumble
One of the weekend’s biggest gasps from the crowd at Roger Harring Stadium came at the end of the D1 100 final that saw Brookfield Central junior Kyenret Rinkam repeat as champion. Rinkam became the first back-to-back champion in the event since Dezerea Bryant from Milwaukee Bradley Tech in 2010 and 2011.
But Rinkam took a hard stumble across the finish line that made many worry for a moment. Despite some cuts to her left shoulder and skin coming off her chin, Rinkam rolled over without missing a beat into her arms raised to signal the repeat had been completed. She got bandaged up, won the 200 final and also helped the Lancers make the podium in the 1,600 relay final with a fifth-place finish.
“It was really cool,” Rinkam said with a giant smile on the win despite the fall.
“But I don’t think I realize … I didn’t notice my shoulder was all banged up, so someone just told me, ‘Kenny, your shoulder!’ I was like, ‘Oh my gosh!’ It was a lot worse than I thought it was. It’s definitely a little sore. The top layer of my skin isn’t there, so it’s not the greatest situation, but overall, the muscles are perfectly fine.”
Dominican’s Knautz ends career with three medals
Dominican senior sprinter Sydney Knautz’s mentality heading into her final day with the Knights program was simple: run to win.
The UW-Parkside commit broke the D3 100 meet record in the preliminary heats and then broke her own record to win the final in 11.94 in a dead heat with Madison Country’s Batteh Doumbya.
“Run to win,” Knautz said. “I wanted to come out here and win. I’ve dreamed of being here and winning a state title for so long. This was amazing.”
Knautz came within 0.04 of a second of Mishicot’s Juliana Doerner in another epic battle to the line in the 200. But three medals, including a sixth-place medal in the 400 relay with Laylah Bly, Alaya Scott and Flynn Martin-Burd Aronin, capped a strong showing.
“I wouldn’t be here without my coaches,” Knautz said. “They’ve always had the belief in me to do great things and I wouldn’t be here without them. They push me to be great.”
New Berlin West three-peats as D2 800 relay champ
Death, taxes and New Berlin West winning relay titles.
For the third straight year, the Vikings won the D2 800 relay, breaking their meet record with a time of 1:40.25. They became the first school since Catholic Memorial from 2016-18 to three-peat in the 800 in any division.
“We’ve ran together for the past four years, we’ve broken this record together three times,” Caroline Gerovac said. “I’m grateful for every second, every moment. I’m really gonna miss this group.”
Gerovac, along with Aubrey Lane and Ashley Babcock, have been the foundation of the team during their three-year dominance. The faces have changed three times with the graduating Natalie Leupi, sophomore Raquel Gerovac and freshman Harmony Billups joining the quartet this season, but the beat goes on.
The Vikings added one more relay title for good measure, storming through the staggered start in Lane 1 to bring home another gold medal in the 1,600 with Caroline’s sister Raquel joining the team with Babcock and Lane.
“Being with three seniors, I just put my heart into it and get behind them and do whatever they can do,” Billups said. “I just try my best to keep up with them.”
Pius XI Catholic rolls to 400 relay title with senior-less lineup
No seniors, no problem for Pius XI Catholic’s 400 relay unit.
Pius’ group of TyJah Horton, Samara Crowley, Nyomi Seals-Presti and Alanna Loyd couldn’t dethrone New Berlin West in the 800 final, but a crown resides on their heads after setting a meet record in the D2 400 relay final in 47.76.
“Really practicing hard and keeping our stamina up to do these relays back-to-back like this,” Horton said on what’s been the secret to their success.
“We check up on each other and make sure we’re all good. We’re really going for it all,” Seals-Presti added.
The group has two juniors in Seals-Presti and Loyd, but with sophomore Horton and a freshman in Crowley, the sky’s the limit fmoving into next season.
“The flow of the relay, the communication with everybody, that plays such a crucial role,” Loyd said. “If there’s bad communication, it’s not gonna go how you want it to go. But if the communication’s good with us, it’s going to be smooth every single time.”
Whitefish Bay’s McCabe overcomes stress fracture to win 3,200 title
Missing six weeks with a stress fracture in your foot isn’t the most ideal way to start your high school athletic career, but for Whitefish Bay freshman Karstin McCabe, she’s not just any other freshman.
It took some recovery time, patience and belief she could return from the foot injury to a high level, and that setback set up for a true comeback. Not only did McCabe return from the injury to finish third in the D1 state cross-country meet this past fall, she’s now a state track champion after cruising to a 3,200 title in her first appearance in La Crosse.
“A really big tool that I used was an anti-gravity treadmill,” McCabe said about the recovery process. “I feel like I learned a lot of things from that and I learned a lot of things about myself and what my body can and cannot do. It was a really big learning experience for me.”
McCabe had been one of the top 3,200 runners in the state all season and proved it in the final, racing to a time of 10:24.22, almost 13 seconds ahead of second place.
“I felt super happy,” McCabe said when she stepped to the top step on the podium. “I was thinking back at all those times I was in the boot during cross-country season and just dreaming about times like this. I was really, really happy about it.”
Other Milwaukee-area champions
Slinger freshman Lucy Rate had a wonderful debut at state, capturing titles in the 100 and 400 wheelchair events. Rate was a one-woman show, capturing the wheelchair division’s runner-up trophy with 31 points across four events.
Mukwonago’s 800 relay of Rileigh Black, Libby Gnewuch, Emma Craig and Laela Presendofer won the D1 title in 1:39.39, leading a 1-2-3 finish for the area with Arrowhead in second (1:40.52) and Germantown third (1:41.504). Presendofer took home three medals to conclude her career with a third in the 100 and a fourth in the 200.
West Bend West senior Rylee Faehling had been the top 300 hurdler in the state all season and she capped her career with a state title. Faehling went 42 seconds flat in the D1 event, her third medal of the day after finishing third in the 100 hurdles and running the anchor leg on the Spartans’ fifth-place 800 relay team.
Other area athletes with podium finishes
- Grafton’s team of Callie Faust, Abby Barthelemy, Emily Sewell and Cali Tagliapietra finished third in the D2 3,200 relay in 9:20.01. University School’s quartet of Ksenija Marich, Anastasia Marich, Cate Kohli and Ainsley Polston finished fourth in 9:34.27. Sewell, Barthelemy, Tagliapietra and Melanie Morgan also finished second in the 1,600 relay in 3:57.41.
- Slinger’s 3,200 relay team of Stella Gruendemann, Piper Schuster, Ava Dziedzic and Olivia Helmle finished as runner-up in D1 in 9:06.30, just over two seconds behind Menomonie (9:04.13).
- Sussex Hamilton’s Macy Price completed the podium in the D1 100 hurdles in sixth in 14.71 (14.708) seconds. Price added a second hurdles medal with a time of 44.27 in the 300 to take third.
- Pius XI Catholic’s TyJah Horton finished fifth in the D2 100 in 12.434 seconds. Horton, Samara Crowley, Alanna Loyd and Nyomi Seals-Presti also finished second in the 800 relay in 1:41.48. Loyd finished sixth in the 200 final in 25.28. Pius senior Mya Gencuski finished third in the pole vault at 12 feet even.
- Five of the top six finishers in the D1 100 came from the area. Mukwonago’s Laela Presendofer took third (11.83), Arrowhead’s Payton her took fourth (11.827), Kettle Moraine’s Caitlin Blawat was fifth (11.97) and Arrowhead’s Avery Bott was sixth (11.98). Bott also finished third in the 200 in 24.10. Presendofer finished fourth in 24.29, while Blawat was fifth in 24.40.
- New Berlin West sophomore Raquel Gerovac finished fifth in the D2 800 in 2:16.75. She also ran the third leg on West’s title-winning 1,600 relay. Gerovac’s relay teammates Ashley Babcock went third-fastest in the 200 final in 24.52, while Aubrey Lane was fifth with in 24.93.
- Brookfield Central junior Ava Mohns finished fifth in the D1 discus with a best throw of 133-5.
- Catholic Memorial’s quartet of Evelyn Melzer, Kayla Campione, Julia Nicholas and Samantha Sarner took fifth in the D2 1,600 relay in 3:59.73.
- Five of the six podium places belonged to Milwaukee-area teams in the D1 1,600 relay won by Stevens Point as Waukesha West (3:52.39) took second, Germantown came back to take third (3:52.77), Pewaukee finished fourth (3:52.91), Brookfield Central took fifth (3:55.00) and Brookfield East grabbed the final podium spot in sixth (3:55.64).
Top 10 team finishers across each division
Division 1: 1. Arrowhead 70, 2. Neenah 42, 3. Appleton North 38, 4. Menomonie 30, 5. Oshkosh West 29, 6. Mukwonago 28, 7. Slinger 27, 8. Holmen 26, 9. West Bend West 25, T-10. Brookfield Central 21, Germantown 21.
Division 2: 1. Bloomer 56, 2. Kettle Moraine Lutheran 37, 3. Xavier 36, T-4. Osecola 35, New Berlin West 35, T-6. Pius XI Catholic 34, Hayward, 8. Mount Horeb, 33.5, 9. Berlin 27, 10. Edgewood 21.
Division 3: 1. Ladysmith 34.5, 2. Assumption 34, T-3. Cameron 33, Cochrane-Fountain City 33, 5. Deerfield 27, 6. Kickapoo/La Farge 24, 7. Randolph-Cambria-Friesland 23, 8. St. Mary Catholic 22, 9. Dominican 21, 10. Mishicot 20.5.
Wheelchair: 1. Sun Prairie East 52, 2. Slinger 31, T-3. Viroqua 24, Greenwood 34, T-5. Chippewa Falls 6, Brookfield East 6, 7. Wauwatosa East 5, 8. Kenosha St. Joseph 3.
MILWAUKEE — On Saturday night at American Family Field, nearly every seat was filled, but the crowd wasn’t there for the Milwaukee Brewers.
Thousands of fans packed the ballpark as Banana Ball, the fast-paced baseball and entertainment phenomenon popularized by the Savannah Bananas, brought its traveling show to Milwaukee.
The event featured the Party Animals and Loco Beach Coconuts, two teams in the six-team Banana Ball Championship League.
For many fans, the attraction goes beyond baseball.
“It’s the music, the dancing, and a lot of things for families,” said Sue Liegeois of Muskego, who attended with family members visiting from Michigan.
Liegeois said she became a fan after watching on TikTok and then attending a Banana Ball event in Franklin in 2023.
“The first time I went, I was hooked,” she said.
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Banana Ball has built a national following through viral social media content and its fan-focused approach to the game.
The Milwaukee stop also featured local connections on the field.
Brady Kais, a southeastern Wisconsin native and pitcher for the Party Animals, said playing in front of family and friends at a major league ballpark was a special experience.
“It’s unbelievable being able to see my friends, family — everybody I’ve seen throughout my whole life,” Kais said.
Kais attended Greendale High School and later pitched for the Lake Country DockHounds in Oconomowoc before joining the Banana Ball tour.
“Growing up, Banana Ball wasn’t a thing, so I definitely never thought this would be something I’d be a part of,” Kais said. “But once I saw it, I knew I needed to be involved.”
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On the opposing side, Loco Beach Coconuts catcher Erik Ostberg also has ties to southeastern Wisconsin.
Ostberg spent two seasons with the Milwaukee Milkmen before joining Banana Ball and said his time in the area helped shape his career.
“The people here are great. A lot of the people here helped build me up, and I’m very thankful for the Milkmen and Milwaukee,” Ostberg said.
The event also drew young baseball players eager to see the unique version of the game in person.
“It inspires little kids to have fun and follow their dreams,” said Nelson Damrow of the Concordia Lakeshore Jr. Chinooks baseball team.
For longtime fans like Helen Evans, who traveled from South Carolina, sharing the experience with newcomers is part of the appeal.
“To share this with people who’ve never been able to experience it is almost as good as going to the game yourself,” Evans said.
The Loco Beach Coconuts defeated the Party Animals on Saturday night. The teams return to the ballpark Sunday for a second sold-out game
Differences between a tornado watch vs. warning, how to stay safe
These best practices from FEMA and the CDC will give you your best chance of surviving a tornado strike.
Lou Saldivar, Wochit
After its driest May on record, Milwaukee just got hit with its heaviest day of rain since early April.
Between morning showers and evening storms, Milwaukee logged 1.42 inches on rain on June 5, according to the National Weather Service Milwaukee. That’s Milwaukee’s most precipitation in a day since April 2 and nearly four times what fell in the city for the entire month of May, which received a total of just 0.36 inch.
The rain fell as part of a statewide weather pattern on June 5, as severe weather alerts launched the weekend for several counties in south-central Wisconsin. Tornado warnings were issued in Green Lake, Dodge, Fond du Lac and Columbia counties with the final warning expiring at 10:30 p.m.
Andrew Quigley, a meteorologist at the NWS Milwaukee/Sullivan office, said there were no confirmed tornadoes in south-central Wisconsin yesterday. However, there was some severe weather inthe western half of the state.
In Juneau County, the NWS received reports of 60 mile-per-hour winds and damage to barns, said Jeff Boyne, a meteorologist at the NWS La Crosse office. There was also a report of a tornado in Buffalo County, though the NWS has not yet confirmed it.
How much rain did the Milwaukee area get on June 5?
Quigley said southern Waukesha County and southern Milwaukee County turned in the day’s highest totals with anywhere from 1 inch to 1.5 inches of rain, on average. Other suburbs in the Milwaukee area averaged from a half inch to 0.9 inch of precipitation.
“[It’s] some beneficial rain,” Quigley said. “I know some were probably going to be looking for a little bit more than that, but it’s a good start.”
The National Weather Service has a volunteer monitoring system for rainfall, which is updated each morning. Here are southeastern Wisconsin’s rainfall amounts in the 24-hour period as of 9:30 a.m. June 6.
- Lake Geneva: 0.44 inch
- Wauwatosa: 0.69 inch
- Menomonee Falls: 0.69 inch
- Mequon: 0.52 inch
- Waukesha: 0.71 inch
- Jefferson: 0.72 inch
- Oregon: 0.87 inch
- Burlington: 0.92 inch
- Racine: 1.06 inches
- Greendale: 1.37 inches
- South Milwaukee: 1.44 inches
- Cudahy: 1.72 inches
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