A hospital bed. That was the only thing that could stop Dominique Paul Noth from doing a review.

An ice storm tried a couple of years ago, coming to Milwaukee the same night as a dance recital. It failed. When he could no longer drive and gave up his license, one of his children would take him, or he’d Uber to a performance. That was his level of dedication.

Then, one month before his passing, Noth, stuck in a hospital bed and hooked up to an oxygen tank, acquiesced, calling his editor to inform him he would not be able to review Agatha Christie’s “And Then There Were None.” For the first time in his 60 years as an arts critic in Milwaukee, the show would go on without him.

“He was not happy about it,” his son Vincent said.

“It’s something I don’t think I’ve ever seen him do before,” added Paul, the third oldest Noth’s nine children.

Noth, who influenced Milwaukee’s discussion of culture and the arts for close to six decades, died on June 26 at 84 years old. He had advanced chronic obstructive pulmonary disease complicated by heart failure.

Conceived while his parents were escaping the Nazis in France, Noth was born in New York in 1942. He moved to Milwaukee as a teenager and went to Marquette University, where he fell in love with the arts.

Noth graduated in 1963, and worked in New York for three years before being hired by the Milwaukee Journal, where he worked in a variety of positions for three decades. Starting as a copy editor, he soon made a switch to news writing before becoming a film and drama critic.

He kept rising, becoming an arts and senior features editor, working on the publication’s beloved Green Sheet in the 1970’s. Noth stayed at the newspaper long enough to serve as the first online news producer for the merged Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

In the 1970’s and 80’s, he also taught a film course at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. After leaving the Journal Sentinel, he served as editor-in-chief of The Milwaukee Labor Press for a decade before becoming a contributing theater and culture critic for Urban Milwaukee.

Noth’s writing earned numerous honors, including nine gold medals from The Milwaukee Press Club for Best Critic. Never afraid to ruffle feathers with searing reviews, Noth said “the force fizzled” in “Star Wars: Return of the Jedi.” He even briefly got himself banned from reviewing a Skylight Theater show in 1974 because of past rhetoric.

“He approached Milwaukee as if it was New York, L.A., Chicago,” said Jeannie Gaffigan, Noth’s oldest daughter. “He really always believed in Milwaukee, and always believed in the arts in Milwaukee.”

His access to subjects often set him apart. Once, when Cary Grant was getting into a taxi to go to the airport, Noth followed the actor into the cab to secure an exclusive interview. He also got a one-on-one with Steven Spielberg by talking his way past security after the filmmaker spurned other media.

Noth juggled working tirelessly with raising a family, and often involved them in his jobs. He would take his children to exclusive, private screenings and even more exclusive interviews. His kids attended his UWM classes, and sat in the Milwaukee Journal offices while he typed his reviews.

He also loved to cook and bake, making everything from scratch.

“I have no idea how he did as much as he did,” son Paul said. “He was able to accomplish a lot.”

This month’s column comes to you from the People’s Pride event at Powderhorn Park, where the temperature wasn’t the only thing that was hot. I spoke with five Pridegoers about personal style evolution, where they find inspiration, and what the Twin Cities is doing right about fashion. 

Ana Evenson

How would you describe your personal style?

Thrifty and funky.

Where do you find style inspiration?

Pinterest, TikTok, friends, random people.

Where do you like to shop?

The Goodwill bins, Depop—I’m on Depop a lot—and garage sales.

What are the Twin Cities doing right in the style scene?

The creativity and people who think outside of the box. I will see stuff I haven’t seen on social media anywhere, so I think it’s really cool that people come up with their own stuff.

Has your style changed over the years? How?

Yes! I used to live in rural Wisconsin, where I was one of the only queer women there. I think that [lately] I have been more open about expressing my sexuality and gender and experimenting not only dressing hyper-feminine but masculine in some ways, too. I think that’s how it’s changed. 

What’s your go-to outfit when you feel like you have nothing to wear?

I think my comfort outfits are the ones I share with my partner. We have collective baggy sweaters that we both use, so I think those. 

How do you dress up an outfit?

I love pins, so popping some pins on. I’ve been really into ties so I’ll wear a tie over a T-shirt. Also accessories, like rings, necklaces, putting things in my hair and stuff like that. 

Tell me about your outfit today.

My partner and I have a collection of bandanas. We have pretty much every color in the rainbow, so I like to color coordinate a lot for monochrome moments. The shirt is from Etsy. The [shorts] are from Depop. I just got them because they’re kind of in style and thought they were cute. Rings are mostly thrifted, like this amethyst one which is my birthstone. I got one from a local queer market too. Glasses are from EyeBuyDirect; they have a lot of really great frames there. Socks are from my parents. And the shoes are also from Depop, I think. They have little butterflies on them which I thought was really cute. 

What style trends do you really like or dislike right now?

I feel like I will hate certain things but then I will see certain people wearing them and go, ‘Never mind, it’s just me that can’t work it.’ 

What advice do you have for dressing without fear?

I had anxiety picking my outfit out today. But you go to the place and there’s someone else that’s going to be dressing as cool as you or cooler than you. So it’s like, no one is going to remember what you wore the next day unless you want them to. I would just say to go for that. There have been outfits I’ve worn in the past that I would probably never wear today, but I’m glad I tried it because it made me more comfortable to wear something else in the future. 

Gillian Mueller, James E-T, Aya Lee

How would you describe your personal style?

E-T: Recently it’s been fruity cowboy. 

Lee: A somewhat hardcore eclectic but fun springtime girl. 

Mueller: I would say kind of a softer eclectic, movement based. 

Where do you find style inspiration? 

Lee: Pinterest is always your friend. I think a lot of the time just going shopping and looking at everything helps. I shop a lot and I try on a lot of things, all the time. I love finding and figuring out outfits for specific events. That helps me curate a theme in my mind and figure out what is going to be the most dynamic for the environment, like what’s worth moving in but also what’s exciting and fun. 

E-T: I love my phone; I’m on her all the time. Instagram and me are really tight and I see a lot of workwear, vintage clothes. If I have the energy I’ll go through a Goodwill and dig through it all. I like Japanese designers and designs, too, like Issey Miyake. 

Mueller: I’m shopping constantly, but I think for me a lot of it is just internal. I like to just see how it would look on me. But I’m also always looking at every outfit around me like, ‘Oh, I haven’t thought about putting that together!’ 

What are the Twin Cities doing right in the style scene?

Lee: I think queer people like to have fun with their fashion here. I have loved finding ways to be naked and not be naked at the same time. In Minneapolis, where we are actively making the most of the summertime, a lot of our events have this heavy emphasis on showing out with a visual aspect of our outfits. And it’s hot as fuck, which we don’t experience a lot. So I think it’s fun to experiment with what it means to wear clothes that are interesting but also not wearing clothes at all. 

Mueller: I love that there’s every single possible kind of person here so there’s so much going on all of the time. You can see every brand of outfit. 

E-T: I feel like there’s so many different subcultures that thrive here that it’s hard to have a generalized through line between those and speak to Minneapolis’s style in a broader sense. But maybe one thing is there’s a lack of pretentiousness that lives here that is exciting. I would love to see more people wearing niche Japanese designers that I like. I love the punk scene here. In the Powderhorn area specifically, there’s a lot of people leaning into simplicity but also things that are worn, lived in, and have history to them. 

Tell me about your outfit today.

E-T: Fruity cowboy is the vibe. A friend of mine works in a vintage shop and they have a lot of vintage polos and they cropped this one. I was really excited when I saw it and spent a little more than I would have liked on it. Then some Levi’s and boots. 

Lee: Today I’m wearing my NikeSKIMS Rifts [shoes], some shorts I bought for a music festival last year–they’re very tiny–and this flowy piece that I’m pretty sure is a swimsuit coverup with a bikini top under it that I got from Turnstyle. I wanted to go for something that has some sort of edge to it but I’m also venturing out with colors for the summer. I usually wear black. I don’t usually do pink so I’m getting into making colors feel a little more edgy for me. When I wear things that aren’t dark, I feel out of place or not intimidating enough. So I substituted the dark colors for attaching chains to my top and having these drop down [lace straps] from my shorts and dark shoes. And the bag with some heavy hardware. I’m just trying to harden [the outfit] up a bit while still looking sweet. 

Mueller: I feel like I’m on an opposite journey right now from a lot of color to adding more basics. I haven’t owned a pair of jean shorts in probably over five years, so we’re making a huge debut today. I will say it is too much fabric touching my skin, but I’m brave and I’m strong. I like basics, they’re fun. I’m not wearing all of my rings today but I think when the outfit is toned down it makes the jewelry pop more which is really fun.  

Connor Myrick

How would you describe your personal style?

If I’m trying to choose an outfit or giving someone advice, I’ll be like, “What feels more playful or fun?” Sometimes I’ll go for a classic look for an event. I like a vest; I think they’re funky. 

Where do you find style inspiration?

Pinterest is always a great one. People-watching at an event like this is a perfect [way to find inspiration]. You see art or you see something cool and it’s like, “I’m going to steal that.” I’ll tell all my friends that I saw someone else wearing that at a festival, but now this is my idea because I made my own piece. 

Where do you like to shop?

I don’t shop as much anymore but clothing swaps, thrift sales, and community events are great. I generally have enough clothes that I can do something else with [a piece of clothing] so I have definitely reduced how much I shop. 

What’s your go-to outfit when you feel like you have nothing to wear?

In the winter I’ll do a crewneck and a good pair of jeans. Having two pairs of jeans that you can rotate through never hurts. In summer it’s tank tops. Summer is hot, so it’s sun’s out guns out. I think in the winter it’s so focused on layering and nailing that so, in summer, it’s nice to counterbalance that and wear what I couldn’t wear in winter. 

What are the Twin Cities doing right in the style scene?

Honestly, I think it’s pretty good. I see a lot of people with clothes that they have made their own, either ripping or embellishing in some ways. I think that is the most, or best, glimpse of someone’s personal style that we could ever see. 

Tell me about your outfit today.

The Chaco [sandals] I got when I was a guide so I got them for free. These have been with me for a while; they’re great outdoors shoes. My shorts are from South Carolina years and years ago but they’ve traveled with me everywhere. They’re my go-to and my semi-cargo short. The vest is actually thrifted at a vintage shop in London on Notting Hill. It was in the back of this tall closet. I didn’t need new clothes, but when in Europe! 

What advice do you have for someone who wants to dress true to their style but is hesitant?

Wear it around the house when you’re alone. That’s how I started wearing crop tops and tank tops in general. They started as my workout clothes, then my around the house clothes, which helped because I try to dress very comfortably. 

This time last year, we were debating Anthony Richardson vs. Daniel Jones. Now we’re debating whether or not Jones is worth $50 million per year. Coming off a breakout season, Jones would be a safe bet to stay hot in 2026, but a torn Achilles muddies the waters for his second season in Indianapolis.

2025 Indianapolis Colts Stats (Rank)

Points per game: 27.4 (8th)
Total yards per game: 345.9 (9th)
Plays per game: 59.9 (19th)
Dropbacks per game: 37.9 (19th)
Dropback EPA per play: 0.1 (11th)
Designed rush attempts per game: 25.4 (20th)
Rush EPA per play: 0.05 (1st)

Make or break year for Shane Steichen and Co.

Shane Steichen and the Colts entered the 2025 season at a crossroads. The team desperately wanted Richardson to be a thing, but Jones had different plans. He decisively won that camp battle and never looked back. Jones was putting up career efficiency numbers midway through the season and Steichen looked like a lock to make the playoffs for the first time in three seasons as the Colts’ boss. The Colts were at 7-1, but even before Jones suffered his season-ending Achilles injury, cracks in the facade were beginning to form. His efficiency dropped in his final five games and the Colts lost four of those contests. Things got so bad after Jones went down that Phillip Rivers was drawn out of retirement for “one last job” that went as well as it does in the movies. The late-season collapse left Steichen out of the playoffs for the third time in three tries. The Colts bet the house on this iteration of the roster when they brought back Jones and Alec Pierce on pricey deals. It’s now or never for Steichen and his staff.

▶ Passing Game

QB: Daniel Jones, Riley Leonard, Anthony Richardson
WR: Alec Pierce, Ashton Dulin
WR: Josh Downs, Anthony Gould
WR: Nick Westbrook-Ikhine, Deion Burks
TE: Tyler Warren, Mo Alie-Cox

We’ll get to Jones’ midseason slump in a minute, but viewing his Colts debut as a whole, he was wildly impressive. Jones ranked top-10 in both EPA per play and completion percent over expected. Pro Football Focus charted him with top-10 rates of both accurate and accurate plus throws. Add in five rushing touchdowns and Jones was on pace to finish as the QB8 by points per game before exiting Week 14 early. This, however, isn’t the complete story. Jones turned the ball over a staggering five times in Week 9 versus the Steelers. He stemmed the bleeding on bad plays over the next few weeks but still struggled in most efficiency metrics. Four of his five worst games by EPA per play came from Week 9 to Week 14. Jones went from averaging .344 EPA per play over his first eight games to -.03 over his final five. The big shift was his inability to handle pressure. Jones threw six touchdowns and had a 9.8 percent pressure-to-sack rate in his early-season split. Those numbers dropped to one score and a 22 percent P2S when defenses got to him from Week 9 onward. Jones has never been particularly good under pressure, so maybe it shouldn’t be a surprise that his numbers came crashing back to earth. Even if that aspect of his game is here to stay, it’s also hard to deny how efficient he was to start the season. All signs point to Jones being ready for Week 1, and fantasy managers are only being asked to pay a QB25 pricetag to find out who the real Daniel Jones is.

As long as Jones retains his deep ball, Alec Pierce will be happy. The veteran wideout posted a breakout season in 2025 with 1,007 yards on a paltry 47 grabs. He scored seven times and led the league in yards per reception for the second season in a row. Despite the career year, Pierce’s role as a modest-volume deep threat didn’t change. He simply hit more home runs than the previous season. It was the first 1,000-yard season for a player with an aDOT over 20 since the turn of the century. There have only been five 20+ aDOT seasons accompanied by even 700 yards over that timeframe. Naturally, Pierce’s 2024 is another one of the five. Though it’s possible Pierce keeps up his league-leading efficiency for a third straight season, he is already doing something almost no receiver in my lifetime has. Realistically, he will need to earn more intermediate and short targets to hit four digits again. With foot surgery sidelining him for the entire offseason and potentially most of training camp, it’s hard to imagine his role changing much in 2026.

With Michael Pittman gone, the Colts now need a new player to step up as their top option for easy-button targets. At receiver, Josh Downs is almost the only option. Downs looked like a player worth running the entire passing game through in 2024. He was targeted on a monstrous 28 percent of his routes and, while not an every-down player, still took the field for 75 percent of the passing plays. That player vanished in 2025. Downs posted a pedestrian .22 targets per route while the Colts cut his route rate to 67 percent. This can, in part, be explained by a series of injuries. Downs missed much of training camp with a hamstring issue. He eventually sat out one game with a concussion and was listed on the injury report with hip, knee, and ankle issues throughout the year. As of late June, the Colts’ primary WR3 option is between Ashton Dulin and Nick Westbrook-Ikhine. As long as they don’t add a free agent before camp, it’s going to be hard to get Downs off the field this year.

While Downs appears to be the best bet to lead the receiver room in targets, Tyler Warren, coming off a dominant rookie season, should pace the team in opportunities overall. Warren already led the Colts in targets last year at 112, one more than Pittman. His 76 grabs go down as the fourth-most for a rookie tight end in league history. As expected, Warren was used primarily as an underneath option and he excelled in that role. He earned seven yards after the catch per reception on catches shorter than 10 yards downfield. That ranked sixth among all tight ends. He was the only tight end who ranked top-20 in YAC on short throws while also seeing more than 70 of these targets. He had 81 such opportunities. Warren’s ability to consistently churn out YAC despite defenses knowing where he’s going to be targeted was his calling card in college and it translates to the NFL right away. Warren is unsurprisingly going off draft boards as the TE4, but there’s nearly a 20-pick gap between him and Colston Loveland as the TE3.

▶ Running Game

RB: Jonathan Taylor, Seth McGowan, DJ Giddens
OL (L-R): Bernhard Raimann, Quenton Nelson, Tanor Bortolini, Matt Gonclaves, Jalen Travis

Much like the passing attack, you can’t talk about Indy’s ground game without looking at the splits with and without Jones. Jonathan Taylor was pushing for a legendary season with nearly 24 PPR points per game and a 2,000 scrimmage yard pace when his quarterback was healthy. Jones gets hurt and he posts 13.3 PPR points per game in the final month of the season, sinking most of the regular-season juggernauts he had built for fantasy managers.

Taylor averaged 1.5 yards before contact per carry and 3.9 after contact with Jones active. Those marks fell to 1.1 and 2.1 post-Jones. On the season, ESPN charted the Colts’ line with the seventh-best run block win rate. If the Colts can return to form through the air and the line continues to play well, Taylor won’t have any issues paying off his RB3 overall cost.

There isn’t much of note going on in this backfield behind Taylor. The team spent all summer last year hyping rookie backup DJ Giddens, only to keep him on the bench for most of the season. Ameer Abdullah occasionally relieved Taylor on passing downs but is now with the Jags. That leaves the RB2 job up for grabs, but Giddens isn’t being handed the keys. The Colts drafted Seth McGowan in the seventh round. McGowan brings a similar profile to Giddens. At 6’/223, Giddens has the size of a workhorse running back and did a little bit of everything in college, even if he isn’t a special runner or receiver. This will be a crucial camp battle for Zero RB drafters to watch.

▶ 2026 Indianapolis Colts Win Total

DraftKings Over/Under: 7.5

Pick: Under (+115)

The Colts enter the 2026 season teeming with upside, but they’re also tremendously fragile. Their quarterback is coming off a torn Achilles. Even before that, his efficiency was grinding to a halt for a few weeks. Their No. 1 receiver underwent offseason ankle surgery and is targeting a return late in training camp. This isn’t to say they are guaranteed to hit the under, only that they are a team with a high ceiling and a staggering floor. If you want to bet the over, you may be better off doing so by taking them to make the playoffs (+170) or win the division outright (+380).