Milwaukee, WI
Significant moments of 2025 as seen by Milwaukee Journal Sentinel staff
A year is made of moments. Some of them are significant, and the world turns its eyes to what’s happening in Wisconsin. Big moments like the NFL Draft in Green Bay, August’s historic flooding, Brewers in the playoffs, a Milwaukee County judge charged with obstruction. But a year is made of quieter moments, too. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel’s visuals staff documented life in Wisconsin in 2025. Throughout the year, their travels across Wisconsin brought national attention to local stories, showcased life and culture of the state, and revealed moments that connect us to each other.
Only in Wisconsin do cows get spa treatment for a photo shoot in an image captured by photographer Mark Hoffman. Scott Ash documented the most exciting day of the year for many a 17-year-old: prom. Sports reporter Dave Kallmann’s still image of speed skaters captures motion. Mike De Sisti perfectly (and creepily) frames 9-year-old Carlos Cannon in his Halloween costume.
And even in moments of chaos, an image can save a quiet moment. Angela Peterson photographed Sheena Scarbrough being comforted after her daughter’s killer was found guilty. Jovanny Hernandez followed stories of immigration throughout the year, including Judge Hannah Dugan’s obstruction charges and Yessenia Ruano’s decision to return to El Salvador after exhausting options in Milwaukee.
This is a curated selection of images chosen for their impact, artistry and ability to represent Wisconsin’s rich cultural diversity. Within this collection, you’ll find photographs that are historic, artistic and ones that simply make you smile. They demonstrate the staff’s skill and dedication in presenting an authentic perspective on life in Wisconsin.
Angela Peterson
This is my favorite photo of 2025 because of the raw emotion of these young men embracing each other after ending a group therapy session. They are part of Bridge to Brighter, an organization that offers housing and life skills to young men who are aging out of the foster care system. On this evening, reporter Bridge Fogerty and I were observing a listening session. The men, between the ages 18-24, spoke candidly about the hardships of growing up without a family. And we heard the pain in their voices as they shared experiences about living with strangers. We were touched by their shared bond and how they created their own family within the program.
− Angela Peterson
Mike De Sisti
Looking back forces me to realize just how much ground I’ve covered photographically in 2025. From the community’s reaction to the loss of beloved Brewers’ broadcaster Bob Uecker and the nonstop fascination with the newly graffitied lakeshore landmark Deep Thought, to the deportation of a schoolteacher with U.S.-born children and the tornadoes that tore through small Dodge County communities. It’s been a year.
But when I’m asked to pick a single favorite image, I keep coming back to my firefly.
It’s a photo I’d wanted for years. I’ve taken wide, long-exposure shots of the night sky and captured fireflies by stacking multiple images, but I’d never managed to catch one solitary bug lighting up. My attention span probably matches theirs. After six or seven minutes of waiting, I’d usually give up.
But on this warm July evening, I was in the backyard with my daughters, trying to coax our indoor cat, Emily, out of her carrier. As we sat there with treats in hand, waiting her out, darkness settled in and out came the fireflies.
I grabbed my camera. After a few minutes of chasing one around the yard, it finally settled on a blade of grass. I waited. It flashed a burst of green bioluminescent light, I fired off a couple frames, and it flew away.
“Got it!” I yelled, as my kids, either uninterested or simply used to me doing this, barely looked up. But it made my night.
Maybe even my year.
− Mike DeSisti
Mark Hoffman
This photo of Milwaukee Brewers catcher William Contreras (24) warming up before their National League Championship Series game against the Los Angeles Dodgers captures his work ethic. The graphic nature of the images works for me. It’s something you will not see on television. It’s a quiet moment. Capturing moments that would otherwise slip between the cracks is what makes still photojournalism work.
− Mark Hoffman
Jovanny Hernandez
An image of a young Ojibwe spearer captures a quiet moment in which a young man learns the traditions of his ancestors. Spearfishing is part of a long continuum of cultural knowledge, identity and the expression of treaty rights. A mark in Wisconsin’s history, from the controversial Walleye Wars to a new generation learning these skills.
This image captures the enduring connection between people, nature and history. I am honored to have been welcomed into the lives of the Lac du Flambeau Ojibwe Nation to document the importance of these relationships for future generations.
− Jovanny Hernandez
Scott Ash
I have been blessed to photograph many events and gatherings throughout my career. Once in a great while, I’ll be fortunate to capture a moment that transports the viewer back in time. A nostalgic reminder of childhood, family and community.
− Scott Ash
Hannah Schroeder
I have spent the majority of the past five months, since I started at the Journal Sentinel, covering the historic flooding in August that devastated the community and its aftermath. Up until this point, I would have chosen a flooding photo as my top photo of the year due to the impact on the community.
However, I recently moved from a small town in New England and studied in rural Ohio, both of which have informed my perspective as a community photojournalist. My favorite moments tend to be intimate, emotional moments that unfold at community events and in day-to-day life. Documenting notable moments around the city and state, like this image at St. Rita Church in West Allis, brings me pride as a journalist. I spoke with countless community members at this final church service who were raised, baptized and married in this church. You could already feel the community’s loss long before the church closed its doors. Though my image, I hope to convey the difficult emotions of the congregation on this day.
− Hannah Schroeder
Angelica Edwards
I made this image while working on a story with Alyssa Salcedo, where we shadowed students at Notre Dame School of Milwaukee’s boys’ and girls’ middle school campuses volunteering in their communities.After photographing a group of boys assembling winter clothes kits at St. Vincent de Paul on West Madison Street, I went over to School Sisters of St. Francis Sacred Heart Retirement Community in Burnham Park. That’s where I met the eighth-grade girls helping seniors with a coloring activity, which involved rolling a die and coloring in a section of a turkey with the color corresponding to the die number.
I went from table to table, observing the girls’ lead a coloring activity, and converse with the seniors. I noticed eighth-grader Tairy Ramirez coloring with 88-year-old Sister Catherine Ollmann and was drawn to their laughter and made a couple of images of them interacting with each other. I selected this photo because I love the endearing moment shared between them and feel like it captures the energy and excitement shared by all of the students and sisters in the room.
− Angelica Edwards
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.
FREE DOWNLOAD: Get breaking news alerts in the FOX LOCAL Mobile app for iOS or Android
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.”
SIGN UP TODAY: Get daily headlines, breaking news emails from FOX6 News
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.
Check out the new and improved FOX Sports app
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.
FREE DOWNLOAD: Get breaking news alerts in the FOX LOCAL Mobile app for iOS or Android
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.”
-
Maryland5 minutes agoMaryland Lottery Powerball, Pick 3 results for April 18, 2026
-
Michigan11 minutes agoQ&A: Jocelyn Benson on her tenure as Michigan’s secretary of state
-
Massachusetts17 minutes agoPolice shoot and kill man armed with knife in Lexington, DA says
-
Minnesota23 minutes agoBoldy, Eriksson Ek help Wild cruise past Stars in Game 1 of Western 1st Round | NHL.com
-
Mississippi29 minutes agoGeorge County High School senior killed in Highway 26 crash, MHP says
-
Missouri35 minutes ago
Missouri Lottery Powerball, Pick 3 winning numbers for April 18, 2026
-
Montana41 minutes ago
Montana Lottery Powerball, Lotto America results for April 18, 2026
-
Nebraska47 minutes agoGallery: Huskers Run-Rule No. 12 USC to Take Series