Milwaukee, WI
Second lead screening clinic held for Milwaukee Public Schools students
Older Milwaukee homes at higher risk for lead exposure
Lead is a dangerous neurotoxin often found in older Milwaukee homes painted with lead-based paint or lead pipes. Children are especially vulnerable.
Lou Saldivar, Wochit
It was no coincidence that Terresa Linton and her 9-year-old son were among the first to step foot in the May 7 lead screening clinic at Milwaukee’s North Division High School.
Her son, Thailand Hodges, attends Brown Street Academy — one of the two most recent Milwaukee Public Schools buildings that will close so lead hazards can be addressed.
When the school closes May 12, students and staff will move to Andrew S. Douglas Middle School.
Linton, 39, of Milwaukee said she had been nervous walking into the clinic but breathed a sigh of relief when the test results came back within minutes showing her son didn’t have elevated levels of the toxic metal in his blood.
“Everyone should get their children tested and … make sure that they’re safe,” she said.
Screenings hope to identify children with concerning lead levels
The afternoon clinic was the second held by Milwaukee Public Schools, Sixteenth Street Community Health Centers, Children’s Wisconsin and the City of Milwaukee Health Department as the district contends with deteriorating facilities that pose a risk to its students.
The clinic had the capacity to screen 300 children.
The first lead screening clinic, which was held in March, found “a very small number” of the approximately 250 children tested had elevated levels of the toxic metal in their blood.
Even as more children have been getting tested, including at their pediatricians’ offices, the fact that few children are testing positive has not put health officials’ minds at ease.
“The children that are in most need of screening often have the most barriers to getting screened, often low-income families,” said Milwaukee Health Department Deputy Commissioner for Environmental Health Tyler Weber.
That’s why various clinics, including these two, have been held and why city health officials are encouraging the school district to hold screening clinics at specific schools, he said.
The health department also is readying a team of health workers to deploy to areas with low screening rates to ensure the children hardest to reach get tested, Milwaukee Health Commissioner Mike Totoraitis told a meeting of the city’s Board of Health on May 7.
Some of the MPS students identified as having lead poisoning are older than 6 years old, the age when children stop getting tested for lead under city recommendations. He encouraged parents of MPS students to get their children and teens tested, no matter their age.
“When we start looking at older children, we’re going to find lead-poisoned kids,” he said.
‘Small amount of lead … has ramifications that affect everyone’
Outside the screening clinic, a group of about 15 had gathered to call for changes.
Among them was Kat Cisar, whose twin first-graders attend Trowbridge Street School of Great Lakes Studies in Bay View. The school reopened in March after being closed for nearly two weeks to address lead issues.
She said she was happy that children were getting tested but that the approach of responding to lead-poisoned children also put the youngest Milwaukeeans on the “front lines.”
She urged thinking about the city’s lead issue not as an individual problem but as a collective public health issue.
“My kids might be fine, but that’s not acceptable to me if other kids aren’t, because we all grow up together,” she said. “They are all going to grow up together. They’re going to be adults together, and if they have negative impacts from even a small amount of lead that has ramifications that affect everyone.”
Lead action plan will continue to grow
Totoraitis expressed confidence in the MPS lead action plan released last week after the protesters called for changes.
He called the plan a “living document that is continuing to grow” and said he appreciated input on it.
Totoraitis addressed a central concern raised by the protesters that the school district’s lead action plan was more reactive than proactive, saying that, at this juncture, the focus is on bringing the school district back into compliance after years of degradation.
“Ideally, we would love to get ahead of potential poisonings, not just in the school buildings but in homes and daycares, everywhere across the city,” he said.
Once the district is in compliance, he said, officials will look to continue the discussion about the investments the city needs to ensure safe and healthy housing.
Alison Dirr can be reached at adirr@jrn.com.
Sarah Volpenhein can be reached at svolpenhei@gannett.com or at 414-607-2159.
A street takeover was held at the intersection of South14th and West Burnham streets
On June 8, a street takeover was held at South 14th and West Burnham streets. Hundreds congregated at the intersection to watch cars squeal tires or do donuts.
The Milwaukee Common Council on Sept. 23 unanimously passed new legislation addressing street takeovers, including fines for those who attend them.
The legislation states that no person should knowingly be present at a street takeover, which are gatherings in the public roadway as participating vehicles do burnouts and donuts. The events happen suddenly, with organizers turning to private messaging apps, and one event can be attended by hundreds.
Any person at a street takeover is now subject to a fine between $300 and $1,000, according to the legislation.
- Spectators: $500 to $1,000 fine
- Operators or organizers: $400 to $1,000 fine
- Passengers: $300 to $1,000 fine
Those who attend more than one in the same year will receive a minimum $1,000 fine. And the municipal court can impose community service related to traffic safety and default of payment could result in jail time, the legislation states.
The legislation defines a “spectator” as someone knowingly present for the purpose of viewing, encouraging, recording or otherwise attending a street takeover. This includes people filming or livestreaming the event on social media.
In recent weeks, Mayor Cavalier Johnson and Common Council members signaled an intent to pass legislation as police reported responding to hundreds of takeovers this year. The mayor’s office said Sept. 23 that he plans to sign the legislation.
Ald. Marina Dimitrijevic said at the Common Council meeting that she wanted to be “careful” that this legislation will not result in enforcement for “pop-up, organic gatherings” that she sees in her district, which includes Bay View, sometimes surrounding political actions.
“We should be able to go in our streets and voice our support or discontent with anything. That is quite different than what (we) … seek to stop,” she said. “I feel we have a delicate balance here to stop this poor behavior but still allow … open free speech at any time.”
Street takeovers returned to the forefront over Labor Day weekend, when police received about 15 calls related to them. Those took place throughout the city, including downtown, and police arrested three people. The department also issued 26 citations and towed six vehicles.
Milwaukee police previously told the Common Council the police task force responsible for the takeovers was paused Labor Day weekend to deal with violent crime on Water Street.
30th annual Milwaukee zoo bike ride
Nearly 700 cyclists rode through the Milwaukee County Zoo before opening hours for the Ride on the Wild Side fundraiser on Sunday, Sept. 14.
MILWAUKEE – Hundreds of riders pedaled through the Milwaukee County Zoo on Sunday morning, Sept. 14, for the Zoological Society of Milwaukee’s 30th annual Ride on the Wild Side.
What we know:
Organizers said nearly 700 cyclists participated, including some who took on a special 30-mile ride to mark the 30th year of the event. The big draw: a chance to ride bikes inside the zoo before it opened to the public.
“This is the one time a year you can come with your two wheels or four wheels, if you needed training wheels,” said Katie Krecklow with the Zoological Society of Milwaukee. “We have some brave souls today that decided to do a 30 mile ride today to celebrate 30 years.”
FREE DOWNLOAD: Get breaking news alerts in the FOX LOCAL Mobile app for iOS or Android
Families described the early-morning ride as a unique experience, with animals just beginning to emerge into their exhibits.
“I think being early in the morning and you just see it from a different perspective – the animals are just coming out,” said Heather Anderson, who attended with her family.
In addition to the bike rides, participants enjoyed activities, like face painting, an obstacle course, and, of course, plenty of animal sightings.
Local perspective:
“Getting to see all the animals when they are coming out and the baby monkeys,” said Claire Anderson. “A lot of animals, like peacocks, like to walk around, and bears and elephants.”
These true stars of the show fuel the heart of the event.
SIGN UP TODAY: Get daily headlines, breaking news emails from FOX6 News
“We love supporting the zoo,” Heather Anderson said. “We live close and we come often through the year and we take part in their summer camps and family programs.”
Why you should care:
This year’s event raised more than $50,000, money that will go toward supporting zoo operations, conservation efforts, and the society’s mission of teaching children empathy for animals.
“The Zoological Society is the nonprofit partner of the Milwaukee County Zoo, so we take on a lot of the fundraising to try to help the zoo do what they do best, which is care for the animals,” Krecklow said.
The Source: The information in this post was collected and produced by FOX6 News.
MILWAUKEE – The last of six men charged in what Milwaukee County prosecutors described as a prostitution ring pleaded no contest and was fined on Friday.
Pleas and sentencings
In Court:
Court records show 56-year-old Christopher Riegg, an investment banker, pleaded no contest to three misdemeanor counts of disorderly conduct. He was fined $1,500.
FREE DOWNLOAD: Get breaking news alerts in the FOX6 News app for iOS or Android
Prosecutors initially charged all six men with misdemeanor pandering solicitation. One of the six, 55-year-old Travis Schwantes, was charged with additional crimes.
Schwantes, a former public defender who once ran for a judgeship, pleaded guilty to one felony and two misdemeanors in August. He was sentenced to 45 days in jail, two years of probation and ordered to complete 100 hours of community service.
Court records show 60-year-old William Green, a former attorney, pleaded guilty to pandering solicitation and was sentenced to nine months of probation in June.
In July, 51-year-old Milwaukee firefighter David Ornstein pleaded guilty to three misdemeanor counts of disorderly conduct and was fined $600. George Easton, a 77-year-old retired municipal judge, pleaded guilty to two such counts and was fined $1,000 in May.
Leroy Stewart, a funeral director in Oak Creek, pleaded no contest to three misdemeanor counts of disorderly conduct. The 54-year-old was fined $1,200 in April.
The backstory:
Hundreds of pages of search warrants were unsealed last December, and FOX6 News learned the investigation into the prostitution ring began years earlier.
The scope of what investigators uncovered included accusations of extortion. It centered on an apartment building at 29th and Kilbourn in Milwaukee.
SIGN UP TODAY: Get daily headlines, breaking news emails from FOX6 News
Dig deeper:
A woman, Roya Sedghi, was charged in fall 2023 with keeping a place of prostitution. Court records said she billed herself as the “Iranian Princess.” Records show Sedghi registered “Iranian Princess Fetish Services LLC” with the state in March 2022.
Court records show it all began to unravel a month later when a woman came forward to investigators in Dodge County, detailing what happened, and with whom, in that apartment building.
Sedghi pleaded guilty in October 2024 to keeping a place of prostitution. She was sentenced to one year in prison and three years of extended supervision.
The Source: FOX6 News referenced documents filed in Milwaukee County Circuit Court, as well as Wisconsin Circuit Court records, for this story.
West Virginia eatery among Yelp’s “outrageous outdoor dining spots”
Special Olympics Wyoming seeking volunteers for state fall tournament
Ripple Highlights Transatlantic Initiative as Blueprint for Global Crypto Regulation
Dividend Stability and Regional Strength: The Case for Truist Financial (TFC)
Donald Trump Fitness: Can His Golf Workouts Replace the Gym? Explore Trump’s Golf Exercise Routine and Health Benefits
Why Marjorie Taylor Greene was ‘kicked out’ of the Freedom Caucus according to Rep. Buck
Colorado Rockies game no. 116 thread: Zac Gallen vs José Ureña
See it: Tesla crashes into Columbus convention center at 70 mph
Fox News Politics: Georgia the whole day through
Death of missing Oregon girl found in stream ruled homicide
Read the Letter to the Inspectors General
GOP senator blasts Schumer, Dems as 'forcing' shutdown while demanding price tag report
Palestine as a state – what would that actually look like?
Farage refuses to criticise Trump over paracetamol despite health experts dismissing autism claims
