Milwaukee, WI

Thousands in Milwaukee join ‘No Kings’ rally to make voices heard

Published

3 months ago

October 20, 2025

Thousands in Milwaukee join ‘No Kings’ rally to make voices heard

Saturday, Oct. 18 was the second No Kings rally of the year, protesting President Trump and his policies. An estimated seven million people participated in over 2,500 rallies across the globe. In Milwaukee, thousands packed Milwaukee’s Cathedral Square Park, including Tequila Matthew.

“We should not have to worry about walking down our streets as U.S. citizens,” Matthew says. “You should not have to be scared to take your kids to school. You should not be scared to go to church. That’s not what this country was built on.”

Tequila Matthew (center) and her family

Local organizers estimated more than 15,000 people came out in Milwaukee. The crowd included families, veterans, people supporting abortion access, LGBTQ+ rights and immigrant safety.

“We are more powerful in numbers,” says Milwaukee’s Daisey Velazquez. “What the government is doing currently is not OK. I’m a child of immigrants. And stuff that’s happening right now with our immigration is not OK.”

Velazquez is an MPS teacher who has family in Chicago. On the block where her family lives, there have been ICE and DHS raids. While Velazquez says her family members weren’t stopped, the legalized racial profiling has been horrific.

Considering how urgent the danger is for her family, she was skeptical about the No Kings rally before coming out.

“Sometimes a protest just feels like empty words and being very honest,” she says. “However, I do think that it lets the country see, the government see that their actions are not going unnoticed. Seeing their state sanctioned violence is not going unnoticed. Like we’re here and we’re standing up for what we believe in because they are hurting people directly.”

Daisey Velazquez with her sister Julie — Daisey Velazquez and sister Julie

Organizers of the Milwaukee event started the day with an Org Fair, or a chance for people to get familiar with organizations doing work in the area that opposes Trump and his policies. It also invited local leaders to speak at the event.

“I think it’s important to make sure that we’re resisting at every opportunity,” says Angela Lang, executive director of BLOC, Black Leaders Organizing for Communities. “And folks are eager to come together to show that display of power. And so I was really excited to ask to be here today.”

In her speech, Lang urged people to think nationally and act locally, and consider how some of these issues like surveillance or police militarization are already affecting people in Milwaukee.

“I joke around and say everyone has a role in the movement, whether you’re my therapist or you’re the yoga instructor helping us all breathe through it,” says Lang. “So I really always want to see protests like this inspire folks to take more action, whether it’s facial recognition technology or it’s the city budget and how we’re allocating and investing in our communities. All of this is a way for us to get involved.”

Protestors at Milwaukee's second 'No Kings' rally — Protestors at Milwaukee’s second ‘No Kings’ rally

President Trump denied claims of being a king but later posted multiple AI-generated videos mocking the event. Meanwhile, the No Kings organizers have a public virtual event scheduled for Tuesday, Oct. 21 night.

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Milwaukee, WI

Sherman Park Grocery at risk of closing; serves Milwaukee food desert

Published

7 hours ago

January 7, 2026

Press Room

Sherman Park Grocery at risk of closing; serves Milwaukee food desert

MILWAUKEE – A grocery store on Milwaukee’s north side needs your help, or they could close. The Sherman Park Grocery store serves one of 13 federally recognized food deserts in Milwaukee.

What we know:

The grocery store serves one of the most underserved areas of Milwaukee. But in order to stay open, the store owner, Moe Wince, says he needs help.

The store is dealing with a multitude of obstacles – including paying monthly bills, increased food prices, and flood damage.

Sherman Park Grocery Store says it’s the only Black-owned grocery store in the state and serves one of 13 food deserts in Milwaukee.

Food deserts are areas with low income households and poor access to grocery stores.

Sherman Park Grocery Store

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What they’re saying:

“We can’t sustain ourselves. If things do not change, or we don’t start collaborating and getting somebody or an organization or nonprofit or philanthropy group stepping up and saying ‘Mo, this is what it looks like for us, and we want to maintain your store, we want to make sure you sustain yourselves, not just tomorrow, but long term,’” said Mo Wince, Sherman Park Grocery owner.

The store says their goal is to help provide healthier food options to the area.

In an effort to keep their doors open, Sherman Park Grocery is reaching out for help to anyone – including state government, local non-profits, businesses and volunteers.

The Source: This post was produced by FOX6 News.

NewsMilwaukee

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Milwaukee, WI

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

Published

19 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

1 day 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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