Milwaukee, WI
Trump Reveals What He Really(Maybe) Said About Milwaukee
Donald Trump appeared on Fox News Thursday in an attempt to clarify comments he reportedly made about Milwaukee in a closed-door meeting with Republican members of Congress on Capitol Hill earlier that day.
During the controversial appearance—Trump’s first since his supporters took over the Capitol complex on Jan. 6, 2021—the former president is said to have called Milwaukee, who will host this summer’s Republican National Convention, a “horrible city.” The comments were first reported by Punchbowl News’ Jake Sherman.
The subsequent fallout saw Wisconsin Republican members of Congress offer differing versions of events, including Rep. Bryan Steil (R-WI), who initially claimed Trump didn’t make the comment at all, but then fell in line with Rep. Glenn Grothman (R-WI) and Rep. Scott Fitzgerald (R-WI), who clarified to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that Trump was discussing the crime rate and election integrity in Milwaukee.
The Wisconsin GOP eventually echoed Trump spokesperson and former Trump administration official Steven Cheung, who described the report as “total bullshit” in an X post. “He never said it like how it’s been falsely characterized as. He was talking about how terrible crime and voter fraud are,” he said.
However, “Trump absolutely said it—undoubtedly,” Sherman posted in response. “People hear what they want. This is familiar to all who have covered Trump or Trump-adjacent stories for the last 10 or so years.”
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) later told Sean Hannity on Fox News that he “didn’t hear it and I was sitting right next to him.”
Then, appearing on Fox News himself, Trump spoke with reporter Aishah Hasnie, who asked the former president to “nip this in the bud and clarify what you meant.”
Trump retorted that, “It was very clear what I meant. I said, ‘We’re very concerned with crime,’” adding that while he loves Milwaukee and has great friends in the city, “it’s as you know, the crime numbers are terrible. We have to be very careful.”
Trump added he was “referring to also the election, the the ballots, the, the way it went down, it was very bad in Milwaukee. Very, very bad. And the people understand that and they agree with me. Everybody agrees.”
Trump beat Hillary Clinton, taking the state in 2016 by approximately 22,000 votes. It was downhill from there, with Democrats winning the Wisconsin governorship in 2018, and Biden’s 2020 victory which saw the president 21,000 votes ahead.
Fox News Senior Congressional Correspondent Chad Pergram posted Trump’s entire remarks to Hasnie on X.
Trump continued, labelling Thursday’s story as “a fake story that came out” and began targeting “Democrat-run cities”–just like Milwaukee.
“Milwaukee has a problem with crime, as do most Democrat run cities. Most Democrat-run cities, almost all of them have problems. But they also have a problem with votes. And election integrity. And that’s what we want to make sure we get straight.”
Milwaukee, WI
Want to be a lifeguard? Another Milwaukee County Parks free training session begins next week
‘Meadow’ installation blooms at Milwaukee Art Museum
Created by the duo DRIFT, the ‘Meadow’ installation blooms likes wildflowers on an unpredictable schedule at Milwaukee Art Museum.
Milwaukee Art Museum
Milwaukee County Park’s second free lifeguard training session begins next week.
There’s been an ongoing lifeguard shortage, which was greatly exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic. As a result, the county has not been able to open all of its summer swimming facilities since 2019, a Milwaukee County Parks official told the Journal Sentinel last May.
However, there was an uptick last year. In May, the Journal Sentinel reported county lifeguard staff increased to 136, up 36% from 2023.
Want to get involved this summer? Here’s what to know about lifeguard training in Milwaukee County:
When are the lifeguard training sessions?
The first session was earlier this month.
According to the department’s website, there will be three free training sessions through April. Recruits must pass the mandatory exam at the end of their designated session in order to move on to an emergency medical responder course.
Sessions for the emergency medical responder course will be available beginning in early June.
Here is the training schedule:
Session 2
Location: Pulaski Pool, 2701 S. 16th St.
Date: Feb. 4 to Feb. 20 on Tuesday and Thursday
Time: 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Exam Date: Saturday, Feb. 22 at 7 a.m.
Session 3
Location: Noyes Pool, 8235 W. Good Hope Road
Date: Feb. 25 to March 13 on Tuesday and Thursday
Time: 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Exam Date: Saturday, March 15 at 7 a.m.
Session 4
Location: Pulaski Pool, 2701 S. 16th St.
Date: March 31 to April 18 on Monday and Wednesday
Time: 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Exam Date: Saturday, April 19 at 7 a.m.
How can I sign up for lifeguard training?
You can sign up for lifeguard training here.
Is there an age requirement to be a lifeguard?
Yes. To qualify for training, you must be at least 15 years old and must be 16 years old by your hire date, according to the Milwaukee County Parks website.
What other qualifications must Milwaukee County lifeguards meet?
Aside from the age requirement, those interested in being lifeguards must be able to swim 100 meters in one minute 45 seconds or less and be “in good physical condition,” according to the department’s website.
How much do lifeguards get paid?
Lifeguards in Milwaukee County get paid $17.13 an hour, according to the Milwaukee County Parks website.
For more information on becoming a lifeguard in Milwaukee County:
You can find more information on becoming a lifeguard on the Milwaukee County Parks website here.
Claire Reid and Vanessa Swales contributed to this report.
Milwaukee, WI
Nation's Report Card data; MPS shows troubling 'proficiency' levels
MILWAUKEE – Most students in Milwaukee are not proficient in math or reading, based on a new national report released Wednesday, Jan. 29.
The new study says Milwaukee Public School’s scores are some of the nation’s worst.
MPS’ failing report card
What we know:
The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), often called The Nation’s Report Card, came out Wednesday, Jan. 29. It’s given every two years, measuring the academic performance of students throughout the country.
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The numbers are troubling across the nation and in Milwaukee, the low levels of “proficiency” continue a trend that spans decades.
The NAEP shows troubling “proficiency” levels inside MPS.
In math, 12% of fourth graders and 8% of eighth graders are at or above that benchmark.
In reading, it’s 9% of fourth graders and 15% of eighth graders.
Education professor responds
What they’re saying:
Gabriel Velez is an associate professor of education at Marquette University. He said what stands out most is the fact MPS really isn’t improving in each of the four categories.
“I don’t think it’s surprising,” Velez said. “I think we can hold Milwaukee to a standard of saying like, we should be doing better, and we should be seeing improvement on this, and we can, because look at other places that are.”
But why isn’t MPS seeing that improvement?
Velez points to a number of factors that create instability in the district.
He referenced housing and food insecurities, but also everything that’s happened with the district alone, like paperwork problems and the ongoing search for a superintendent.
“I think that’s why that leadership, that vision into the future is going to be really critical to, sort of speak, get that house in order,” Velez said.
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Velez also points to attendance. The latest available data from the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction shows 50% of all MPS students are considered “chronically absentee,” meaning they attended less than 90% of their school days.
“I work with different programs and folks in MPS who are doing really great work,” he said. “But if students aren’t coming into school, you know, they can’t access them. They can’t provide them with this service or work with them in this way to help support their development.”
The Source: The National Assessment of Educational Progress’ data contributed to this report.
Milwaukee, WI
Downtown high-rise starts construction soon. It’s leasing parking at a city-owned garage
The developer of a planned downtown Milwaukee apartment high-rise is to lease parking stalls at a nearby city-owned structure.
Construction is to begin this spring on The Edison, a 32-story, 378-unit tower overlooking the Milwaukee River at 1005 N. Edison St.
Madison-based Neutral, its developer, plans to include 7,000 square feet of commercial space and a parking structure with up to 288 spaces.
A Neutral affiliate, The Edison SPE LLC, would lease 100 spaces of supplemental parking at the city-owned parking garage at 1024 N. Water St.
The Edison SPE would pay a monthly fee of just under $130 for each stall.
That’s under a five-year lease recommended for approval by the Common Council’s Public Works Committee on Wednesday. The full council is to review the proposed lease at its Feb. 11 meeting.
The lease would likely take effect in October 2027, when The Edison is projected to open, said Jordan Schettle, assistant city attorney.
That city-owned parking structure, with 1,550 stalls, is adjacent to the 1000 North Water office tower, which is owned separately.
It operated at around 90% capacity before the Covid-19 pandemic, but the rise of remote work has since dropped that to around 60%.
Tom Daykin can be emailed at tdaykin@jrn.com and followed on Instagram, Bluesky, X and Facebook.
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