Wisconsin
Wisconsin Democrats Engage Black Voters in Milwaukee with Roundtable Discussion – Milwaukee Courier Weekly Newspaper
Kwabena Nixon, DNC Chairman Jaime Harrison and Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley (Photo/Karen Stokes)
By Karen Stokes
Wisconsin Democrats continue efforts to gain support among Black voters with a roundtable discussion Saturday in Milwaukee.
Wisconsin Democrats hosted Black Men Chats with DNC Chair Jaime Harrison, Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley and WNOV On the Porch Radio Host Kwabena Nixon.
“It’s called Black Men Chat. It’s directed to Black issues and how we can really help the community best,” said Key Jennings, Coalitions Manager for the Democratic Party of Wisconsin.
“These are conversations about Black men. We are going out to vote for the presidential election. What happens in DC does affect us but it’s nothing like what affects you here on 5th and Burleigh. There are some Black men that have no idea that this event is going down because they’re disenfranchised. There are young men that don’t know how to plug in,” Nixon said.
When asked why we should vote, the Black men identified challenges they face, such as economic opportunities, upward mobility, representation in positions of power, racial profiling, access to capital, mental health issues, trauma, racism, lack of hope, access to resources, and home ownership.
Jaime Harrison and David Crowley (Photo/Karen Stokes)
DNC Chair Jaime Harrison, the first Black chairperson selected by a president, shared a personal story to explain his dedication to the work he does.
Raised by his grandparents in South Carolina, his grandmother had an 8th-grade education, she picked cotton and cleaned houses and his grandfather had a 4th-grade education.
“They taught me the value of hard work. My grandfather taught me to protect my name,” Harrison said.
When Harrison was in 6th grade, his grandparents lost their home to fraud, and his grandfather lost his job. Harrison felt helpless and realized that bad credit is the barrier to the American dream. He promised to one day buy them a house. He later attended Yale, supported by a community businessman who helped him get a loan. Harrison graduated, attended Georgetown for law school, and bought his grandparents a house in 2004.
Kwabena Nixon (Photo/Karen Stokes)
“I do this work for my grandparents,” Harrison said.
“There’s power in vulnerability, there’s power in building a connection and you have the opportunity to learn something so deep about a person it allows you to fight even harder for that person,” Crowley acknowledged.
Crowley shared his story. He’s the youngest person and first African American to be elected Milwaukee County Executive.
“I grew up on 23rd and Burleigh, 22nd and Brown, 24th and Lloyd, 29th and Walnut, and 34th and Good Hope. My story is about housing insecurity, mental health and drug addiction because that’s where I come from. When I think about my story, it’s also a story of resilience. So why do I do this? I believe God put me in this position,” Crowley said.
“My father was a master electrician, my mother was a Jane-of-all-trades, and they did everything they could to take care of us, but mental health and drug addiction were detrimental to them,” Crowley explained. “They eventually got clean, but we lost our homes. We moved every year from ages 15 to 24. MPS was my stability. When I was a junior in high school, I got involved with Urban Underground, which taught me how to love myself and my community. I wanted to give back to the same community that saved my life.”
Key Jennings, Democratic Party of Wisconsin (Photo/Karen Stokes)
Crowley has been in this seat under both Trump and Biden and highlights the differences. He admits he would have never seen the investment in housing under Trump. There were over 15,000 families in their homes prevented from eviction under Biden. Milwaukee has been able to invest in more single family homes being built in the city because of President Biden. He believes there’s no way it would be done under Trump.
Nixon stated that there’s a concern about the apathy of young people voting and questioned if they should vote for Biden.
There is also a concern that Democrats need to market their successes better to the American people. Their message is being drowned out by the spectacle of Trump’s conviction.
Harrison shared examples of the differences between the two candidates.
“The stark difference is one person is actually speaking to the future of this country and who we can become. The other wants to live in the past.
“Under the Trump administration most of all of the PPP loans went to big banks; it did not go to the community banks,” Harrison said. “Small Black barber shops, beauticians, grocery stores needed loans but didn’t get them until Joe Biden got in the White House and Democrats had control of the House and Senate. From the PPP loans under Trump, there were 1700 loans for small Black businesses $592 million, under Biden 4781 loans, $1.4 billion. Also, Child poverty was cut in half the first year of the Biden Administration because of the tax child credit.”
Harrison said Biden could have stopped with the American Rescue Plan, but then came the Infrastructure Law, with the largest infrastructure bill since Eisenhower, $1.2 trillion. In Wisconsin, $6 billion to projects in the state for the first time. In addition, Biden has forgiven $157 million in student loans.
Crowley added that Democrats are not going to win this election without Black women and men showing up to vote.
A new Marquette Law School Poll national survey of registered voters reported May 23, 2024 finds President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump are tied with 50% each in a two-candidate matchup.
Wisconsin is now considered a critical swing state ahead of the 2024 presidential election.
Manuel Franco claims his $768 million Powerball jackpot
Manuel Franco, 24, of West Allis was revealed Tuesday as the winner of the $768.4 million Powerball jackpot.
Mark Hoffman, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
The Wisconsin Lottery offers multiple draw games for those aiming to win big.
Here’s a look at July 11, 2026, results for each game:
Winning Powerball numbers from July 11 drawing
08-10-14-45-59, Powerball: 05, Power Play: 2
Check Powerball payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Pick 3 numbers from July 11 drawing
Midday: 2-3-2
Evening: 4-0-0
Check Pick 3 payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Pick 4 numbers from July 11 drawing
Midday: 6-3-0-0
Evening: 0-9-6-7
Check Pick 4 payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning All or Nothing numbers from July 11 drawing
Midday: 02-08-09-12-13-15-17-18-20-21-22
Evening: 01-04-05-08-10-15-17-18-19-21-22
Check All or Nothing payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Badger 5 numbers from July 11 drawing
06-15-16-19-22
Check Badger 5 payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning SuperCash numbers from July 11 drawing
09-12-17-19-22-31, Doubler: N
Check SuperCash payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Megabucks numbers from July 11 drawing
06-08-19-27-30-41
Check Megabucks payouts and previous drawings here.
Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results
Are you a winner? Here’s how to claim your lottery prize
- Prizes up to $599: Can be claimed at any Wisconsin Lottery retailer.
- Prizes from $600 to $199,999: Can be claimed in person at a Lottery Office. By mail, send the signed ticket and a completed claim form available on the Wisconsin Lottery claim page to: Prizes, PO Box 777 Madison, WI 53774.
- Prizes of $200,000 or more: Must be claimed in person at the Madison Lottery office. Call the Lottery office prior to your visit: 608-261-4916.
Can Wisconsin lottery winners remain anonymous?
No, according to the Wisconsin Lottery. Due to the state’s open records laws, the lottery must, upon request, release the name and city of the winner. Other information about the winner is released only with the winner’s consent.
When are the Wisconsin Lottery drawings held?
- Powerball: 9:59 p.m. CT on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday.
- Mega Millions: 10:00 p.m. CT on Tuesday and Friday.
- Super Cash: 9:00 p.m. CT daily.
- Pick 3 (Day): 1:30 p.m. CT daily.
- Pick 3 (Evening): 9:00 p.m. CT daily.
- Pick 4 (Day): 1:30 p.m. CT daily.
- Pick 4 (Evening): 9:00 p.m. CT daily.
- All or Nothing (Day): 1:30 p.m. CT daily.
- All or Nothing (Evening): 9 p.m. CT daily.
- Megabucks: 9:00 p.m. CT on Wednesday and Saturday.
- Badger 5: 9:00 p.m. CT daily.
That lucky feeling: Peek at the past week’s winning numbers.
Feeling lucky? WI man wins $768 million Powerball jackpot **
WI Lottery history: Top 10 Powerball and Mega Million jackpots
This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a Wisconsin editor. You can send feedback using this form.
Which Central Wisconsin high school girls soccer standout is most worthy of being called 2026 MVP for the area? You can be the judge right here.
Choose from a field of first-team and second-team all-conference honorees on the field across the Marshfield, Stevens Point, Wausau and Wisconsin Rapids areas.
Cast your vote for the local soccer star you feel is most deserving of the nod until the poll closes on Friday, July 17 at noon. Refresh the page if the poll does not populate.
MORE LOCAL COVERAGE:
Contact or send game stats/info to Sports Reporter Alfred Smith III at alfred.smith@usatodayco.com. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @AlfredS_III.
Scores of camping chairs and event tents surrounded the basketball courts at Elver Park on Madison’s west side on a day in late June. The smell of carne asada rode a light breeze as basketballs arced through the air against the backdrop of thick summer clouds.
The crowd was gathered for Quiotepec en Wisconsin, a basketball tournament hosted annually for more than 10 years.
Event organizer Guillermo Martinez Melgar said while participating teams tend to be from the Midwest, some come from as far as California. The thing that connects them all, he said, is their shared roots in Oaxaca, Mexico.
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A total of 14 men’s and 6 women’s teams appeared in the tournament. Over 100 players from Madison, Milwaukee, Green Bay, Arcadia, Sparta, Minneapolis and Chicago traveled to Madison to compete for cash prizes.
Representing Oaxaca in Madison
Angelica Navarro Gomez is the captain of Madison-based team Las Alebrijes, which has played together for three years.
“It started off with one of our friends, Itzel and her sister,” she said. “There were no girls playing [in the tournament], and she decided ‘Hey, how about we make a team?’”
Las Alebrijes had never played basketball before, but saw it as an opportunity to grow.
“We just never looked back,” Navarro Gomez said.
Her sister, Marisela Gomez Castellano, said Oaxaqueños are known within Mexico for their special interest in basketball.
The region hosts a decades-old tournament called La Copa Benito Juárez, named after Mexico’s first indigenous president. That tournament attracts teams from across Oaxaca and the Mexican diaspora in the United States.
“I think there is a lot of pride in representing where you are from,” she said in Spanish.
Gomez Castellano said playing basketball in Oaxaca is tied to the community’s indigenous identity.
Soccer is widely accepted as the favorite sport in Mexico. The country has hosted the World Cup more than any other nation in the tournament’s 100-year history. But in the Sierra Norte region of Mexico, basketball is the unchallenged favorite.
In the 1930s, Mexican president Lázaro Cárdenas introduced basketball as a method of folding the indigenous communities that resided in the mountainous region into Mexico’s wider national identity. Basketball has smaller courts than soccer, which are easier to build in the region’s terrain. While Cárdenas’ vision did not come to fruition — most indigenous communities remain isolated — basketball became a tradition and a part of indigenous identity itself.
Indigenous identity is still represented through the sport today. Las Alebrijes named themselves after the sculptures of mythical creatures that artisans carve in Oaxaca.
Tournament continues despite fear of immigration enforcement
While the community feels pride in bringing their customs to Madison, she said this year felt different.
“Right now, it looks a little empty with everything going on with immigration,” she said in Spanish. “People didn’t want to come because they were afraid of not knowing what could happen.”
Increased enforcement by ICE across the country and in Wisconsin is driving Latinos to be more cautious about how they show up in the community. Gomez Castellano said it has driven the community to have more “underground” and “low key” gatherings.
“So [at the tournament] you see the absence of the crowd, the absence of the community,” she said in Spanish. “And though we have some people here, you don’t feel the same energy and vibe as when everyone is present.”
Despite being “a little scared,” Gomez Castellano and organizers decided to publicize the Quiotepec tournament.
“I think we’re trying to resist and we’re trying our best,” she said.
For Gomez Castellano, resisting looked like showing up and participating, in spite of what could happen.
“I think that’s also beautiful and inspiring to see that regardless of all the fear and the violence that our community is facing, they’re still showing up and being positive about it,” she said.
Guillermo Martinez Melgar, the event organizer, said he hopes that the culture he and his community built will continue to grow.
“I would like it if there were more of these events throughout the year,” he said in Spanish. “I invite anyone to step up and host more events like this.”
After being sent to the losers’ bracket, Madison’s Las Alebrijes climbed back into the regular bracket to defeat Quitotepec Minnesota and become women’s champions. Milwaukee’s Sierra Mixe took first place in the men’s bracket.
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Speaker 1
It’s time for Wisconsin life. As people across the globe tune in to cheer on their country’s soccer team in the World Cup this summer, one Wisconsin community is competing in a different kind of tournament. Members of Madison’s Mexican-American community recently came together for an annual basketball tournament that celebrates their indigenous roots. Reporter Jonas Tijerino has more.
Speaker 2
Scores of camping chairs and event tents surround the basketball courts at Elver Park on Madison’s west side. The smell of carne asado rides a light breeze as basketballs arc through the air against the backdrop of thick summer clouds. This is Kyotepec in Wisconsin. A basketball tournament hosted annually for more than 10 years. That’s Guillermo Martinez Melgar, one of the event’s organizers. He says while participating teams tend to be from the Midwest and sometimes as far as California, the thing that connects them all is their shared roots in Oaxaca, Mexico.
Speaker 3
Somos paisanos que radicamos in este bonito de Madison.
Speaker 2
Angélica Navarro Gomez is the captain of Madison-based team Las Alebrijges. They’ve been playing together for three years.
Speaker 4
Yeah, um it started off with the fr um one of our friends, Ixel, and her sister. There was no girls playing and she decided like hey how about we make a team And she made the offer and we decided, you know what, like let’s give it a shot. We never play basketball so we decided, hey, there’s Let’s just give it a give it an opportunity and see we can grow from there and we just never look back.
Speaker 2
Her sister Marisela Gomez Castellano says oaxaqueños are known within Mexico for their special interest in basketball The region hosts a decades-old tournament called La Copa Benito Juárez, named after Mexico’s first indigenous president. That tournament attracts teams from across Oaxaca and the Mexican diaspora in the United States. Gomez Castellano says playing basketball in Oaxaca is tied to the community’s indigenous identity. And while the community feels pride in bringing their customs to Madison, she says this year feels different. is driving Latinos to be more cautious about how they show up in the community.
Speaker 5
Gatherings and communities are just like going back to what it was before, like more underground, more like local, more low-key. And so yeah, it was like we did publicize the whole tournament but we also were, you know, a little scared like would this br you know attract other non people that we don’t want, you know, and so then um but yeah. But so far I think we’re trying our business and we’re doing our best.
Speaker 2
For Gomez Castellano, resisting looks like showing up and participating in communities in spite of what could happen.
Speaker 5
And I think that’s also beautiful and inspiring to see that regardless of all the fear, the Como the agr the violence that our community is facing, they’re still showing up and being positive about it and and I think that’s really inspiring.
Speaker 2
After six games, Madison’s Las Alebrijges defeated Kiotepec, Minnesota to become women’s champions. Milwaukee’s Sierra Mije took first place in the men’s bracket.
Speaker 1
Jonas Tijerino brought us that story about the Quiotepec in Wisconsin basketball tournament. Wisconsin Life is a co-production of Wisconsin Public Radio and PBS Wisconsin in partnership with Wisconsin Humanities. Additional support comes from Lowell and Mary Peterson of Appleton
“Wisconsin Life” is a co-production of Wisconsin Public Radio and PBS Wisconsin. The project celebrates what makes the state unique through the diverse stories of its people, places, history and culture.
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