DETROIT (FOX 2) – They spent years, some made it their career, risking it all to protect our country. On Wednesday, other people stepped up to serve veterans in their time of need.

It is all made possible through a partnership, providing veterans with special coats and more, and the special event just so happens to fall on World Kindness Day.

A little kindness can go a long way.

“We saved lives, that’s all we did was save lives. I thank god I was in the army,” said US Army Veteran Daniel Lennon. 

Veterans flocked to the Detroit VA Hospital on Wednesday to pick up a coat built to handle the cold winter months ahead.

“I think, unfortunately, we have a lot of veterans who sleep on the street, fought for our country, yet they came back to America, and they have nowhere to go, and they don’t have any clothes on their backs, and they have to come here to get a coat for the winter,” said US Navy Veteran Latuaska Carr.

The non-profit ‘Empowerment Plan’ gave out 100 of their ‘Empwr’ coats, geared towards combating homelessness.

“So what’s unfortunate is that our veterans make up a high population or high percentage of the un-housed population, and we want to help them as much as we can in any way we can,” said plan director Lauren Knill. “What’s really wonderful is our coat is disability accessible and so our veterans who are disabled who may be in a wheelchair, our coat features Velcro and other features that can help them get in and out of it much easier. And if they are in a wheelchair, they can still slide that bag over their feet and toes.” 

‘Empowerment Plan’ teamed up with the Detroit VA and the Detroit Pistons to dress vets for the winter ahead. 
They said this mission is all about raising homelessness awareness.

“Unfortunately, working in the homeless program, we see a lot of frostbite, a lot of subzero temperatures and so making sure these coats are appropriate for them to have,” said Chief of the Veterans Community Resource and Referral Center Beth Baker Callen. “They are having lunch today, they’re enjoying themselves. Different t-shirt giveaways, pendant giveaways. Mainly, we want to make sure that our veterans in those categories are supported.” 

That strong support is exactly what veterans felt, as they picked up a warm new coat and a bite to eat.

“I’m very appreciative, very appreciative,” said US Army Veteran James Holden. “Anything that they do for us veterans, I appreciate it.”
 

The UW-Milwaukee Panthers dropped their second straight road game to a mid-major in ugly fashion, this one a 76-62 setback at Longwood on Wednesday night in Farmville, Virginia.

But coach Bart Lundy isn’t pressing the panic button. Not even close.

“I really believe that we’re fine. We’re better than fine,” said Lundy, whose team also lost at Northern Iowa, 87-68, on Nov. 7. “We’re in such a better place than we were a year ago, it’s not close. These are good teams. You get down a little, you make some mistakes and these aren’t games you’re going to win.

“Things have got to be tighter, and you’ve got to make shots.”

Box score: Longwood 76, UW-Milwaukee 62

The Panthers had their backs against the wall before they even took the court with senior guard Erik Pratt not making the trip.

UWM responded poorly, enduring a horrid shooting night (35.9%), committing 20 turnovers and being more than doubled up at the free throw line in trailing nearly wire to wire.

Kentrell Pullian had 19 points and six rebounds and AJ McKee 16 points, with no other Panthers player managing more than six.

Things won’t get any easier for UWM, either, as it next plays at Duquesne on Nov. 19 before finally returning to its home court.

Here are four takeaways from the loss.

Where was Erik Pratt?

While he has yet to hit a three-pointer this season, the 6-foot-5 Pratt is nevertheless the Panthers’ most reliable perimeter shooter.

But after averaging 23 minutes in starting UWM’s first two games, Pratt was conspicuous by his absence Wednesday.

“He did not make the trip and he’s taken a leave from the team for personal reasons,” Lundy explained. “When you look at the stat sheet, the shooting category, yeah, that’s what people are going to say (that Pratt will be tough to replace). Well, Erik is a shot maker, but there’s other guys that do other things.

“Next man up, and we’ll adapt and adjust. And I think this team will be just fine.”

Lundy also said that it’s looking like junior forward Danilo Jovanovich, a Whitnall High School graduate, might be looking at a redshirt season as he continues to deal with a torn elbow ligament suffered in a preseason scrimmage.

Ball security took a major step backwards

After lacking a true point guard in each of Lundy’s first two years at UWM, he landed a battle-tested senior floor general in transfer Themus Fulks.

He’d dished out nine assists with just one turnover in an average of 28 minutes in his two starts entering Wednesday but took a major step back with five apiece against Longwood.

The giveaways were contagious, too, as UWM committed 20 in 40 minutes that led directly to 24 points for the opposition.

That can’t happen any night – let alone on the road against an opponent loaded up with talented transfers.

“They were really tough defensively,” Lundy said. “They were physical and (the game) was allowed to kind of be played that way. We made some mistakes, too. Of our four of five charges, I’d say four were legitimate. We’ve got to make better decisions.”

Shooting needs work

UWM shot 29.7% (11 for 37) from beyond the arc in its first two games.

It followed up with a 4-for-24 performance (16.7%) against Longwood with Pullian (1 for 7), McKee (1 for 5), John Lovelace Jr. (1 for 3) and Esyah Pippa-White (1 for 1) accounting for the meager number of makes.

The outcome could have been much worse for the Panthers were it not for a similarly poor shooting night by the Lancers (4 for 16 from three, 39.3% overall for the game).

“I don’t think we’re the greatest shooting team, but I think we’re a good shooting team,” said Lundy. “We watch it every day. We make shots every day (in practice). I think it’s just a matter of time. Getting beat on the road and getting down a little bit makes you press. I think we’ve got to see some success, see some balls go in, and a lot of that will take care of itself.

“But we got pretty good shots. We really played hard.”

UWM also went to the line just 20 times and knocked down 12 while Longwood hit 28 of 40, including 9 of 13 over the final 2 minutes 50 seconds.

The game swung on one second-half sequence

UWM was gathering momentum midway through the second half and after Pullian’s three-point make had pulled to within 47-42.

After forcing a pair of three-point misses on the other end, the ball ended up in the hands of junior forward Jamichael Stillwell, who missed a wide-open bunny that could have made it a one-possession game.

Longwood corralled the ball, hurried it back down and converted on a monster slam dunk by Elijah Tucker. UWM responded by turning it over on its possession, Michael Christmas knocked down a pair of free throws on the other end and just like that the deficit had lengthened back out to 51-42 with 9:11 remaining.

“I thought there were a couple of those (sequences) where we really got close and had really good opportunities,” Lundy said. “We’re going to watch this film and see a lot of missed opportunities.”

MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) – The Minneapolis City Council will vote on a controversial measure on Thursday that has drawn ire from the business community.

The proposal, which would create a Labor Standards Board, would task a 15-member panel with making recommendations to the city council and mayor about wages, benefits, working conditions and other regulations.

What we know

The appointed panel would consist of representatives for employees, businesses and workplace experts. It would cost taxpayers $150,000 per year, which would pay for the salary of a coordinator.

While supporters said the effort would give workers a voice, business owners feared it would create costly hurdles.

“We really don’t know what to expect,” said David Benowitz, president of Craft and Crew Hospitality, which owns two restaurants in Minneapolis. “I fear that the little profits we do make in Minneapolis aren’t going to be there anymore, and we may have to reconsider how we’re operating.”

Other business owners echoed a similar sentiment at a news conference on Tuesday.

“The city council simply is not listening,” said Jared Brewington.

But supporters said the proposal would involve several stakeholders.

What city leaders are saying

“It’s more of a democratic process than it is a top-down mandate,” said Ward 7 Council Member Katie Cashman, one of the measure’s three co-sponsors. “I get it. That industry has very slim margins. It is a really tough industry to be in. They have struggled so much from the pandemic and are still trying to come back….”

The proposal is co-sponsored by Council Members Aisha Chughtai, Aurin Chowdhury and Katie Cashman.

In a statement on Wednesday, Mayor Jacob Frey’s office said: “The mayor has long supported a Labor Standards Board that is balanced, but the council’s proposal is not. This lack of balance has led the business community to pull out and not participate. This doesn’t work. The mayor’s position is simple: get participation from both business and labor and pass a balanced board that can benefit good governance.”