Hi everyone, I run near-weekly board game nights at the Festival Foods grocery store in West Allis, WI for the purpose of fostering community, keeping our minds sharp by learning new games, and defeating loneliness in a fun way. I've also recently branched out into organizing dinners for the group (we go Dutch, though, to be clear), which you can still join even if you don't care for board games.

You are all welcome, even if you don't live in West Allis! For those who prefer it, I also duplicate all events on FB for users' convenience: https://www.facebook.com/groups/westallisboardgames

We normally get a minimum of 4-7 attendees every single time. The headcount has never gone higher than 14. The food court can take 24 people if it were to be totally crammed; I counted the seats!

Milwaukee Film Festival 2025 runs from April 24 until May 8. This year’s Festival will feature about 200 short and feature-length documentary and fiction films.

The Mama Tried Motorcycle Show should be great. I'm going to Flat-out Friday tomorrow.

I grew up hearing his commentary on Brewer's games... Possibly one of the few sportscasters I can actually name...

From the Article:

On Monday, Riverwest coffee shop The Daily Bird, 818 E. Center St., announced it was closing its doors. “We have made the difficult decision to close our doors starting tomorrow, 11/04/2024,” read a social media post. “While we hope to reopen as soon [as] possible, we’re unsure of when that will be.”

Well, “when that will be” turns out to be two days. On Wednesday, The Daily Bird announced it will reopen on Thursday.

“WE’RE BACK WE’RE BACK WE’RE BACK,” reads a new social media post. “Tomorrow, 11/07/2024, we’re reopening! We can’t wait to welcome you back! Thank you for your patience and support while we took a little break. Stoked to see y’alls face again!”

The post goes on to explain that “100% of bumper sticker sales will be going to recoup lost wages.” Also, likely in response to various comment sections: “The cafe is still yellow, we’re still not Fuel, and we’re still going to be closing at 2 p.m.”

From the Article:

The Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously on Thursday to approve a budget amendment that provides key funding for a plan to save, renovate and expand the Mitchell Park Horticultural Conservatory Domes.

The amendment codifies a financial commitment of $30 million to be paid over six years with a future start date to be determined. The funding is not included in the 2025 county budget.

You can read about the details of the Domes Reimagined plan – a partnership between the Friends of the Domes, Milwaukee County Parks and Madison-based real estate developer The Alexander Company – in this article.

The $134 million plan – which would restore the threatened Domes, build an addition and add amenities like a children’s garden, cafe, expanded gift shop and nature learning center – was presented to the board in September and th board’s Finance Committee unanimously approved the budget amendment at its October meeting, sending the matter to the full

From the Article:

Brewing giant Molson Coors, the parent company of Miller Brewing Company, confirmed Wednesday it will shutter its 10th Street Brewery near downtown Milwaukee and the historic Leinenkugel’s brewery in Chippewa Falls.

The closures are a cost-cutting move for the publicly-traded company, which reported a quarterly net sales decrease of 7.8% and a 39.1% drop in quarterly income to $331 million.

They also come as the brewing giant is about to end a long-time brewing agreement with Pabst.

“Following the end of a large contract brewing agreement and amid an ongoing canning line investment project at our Milwaukee brewery, we’ve made the decision to close two of our smaller brewing operations in Wisconsin and centralize statewide production at our main site in Milwaukee,” said Chief Supply Chain Officer Brian Erhardt in a statement. “While never easy, these choices are made with much thought and consideration to position Molson Coors for continued success in Wiscon

From the Article:

City of Milwaukee officials are ready for the city to take center stage in the 2024 election.

With Wisconsin viewed as a pivotal swing state, Milwaukee could deliver the decisive votes to decide the state’s winner. Meanwhile, the Republican National Committee filed a lawsuit Monday morning against the city for what it alleges is improperly restricting observer access to polling places (detailed in a subsequent article).

Milwaukee, as it has in several past elections, is expected to finish processing and report its absentee ballots after midnight. Given the size of the Democratic-leaning city and its use of a centralized absentee-counting facility, the city’s absentee reporting will likely give a major late-night boost to Kamala Harris.

As they attempted to do in 2020 amidst a sea of conspiracy theories about ballot printing, late-night dumps and machine manipulation, city officials are attempting to explain to the public how the process works proactively. T

From the Article:

We know who Brett Favre and Buzz Aldrin will vote for on November 5. We know who Liz Cheney and Cardi B will vote for on November 5. But who will Milwaukee’s homegrown power-walking and oft-shirtless superhero, the Milverine, vote for on November 5?

According to his Instagram account, Milverine is voting for Kamala Harris.

“Princess and me both endorse this message,” reads the caption to a Thursday night post of a pro-Harris sidewalk stencil. (Princess is Milverine’s dog.)

From the Article:

It will be easy to roll up to your polling place in Milwaukee on election day.

Dockless electric scooter provider Lime and bike-sharing nonprofit Bublr Bikes will both provide free rides on Nov. 5.

It’s part of a longstanding practice from both entities. Lime reports having provided more than 90,000 free or “low-cost” rides on election days in more than 12 countries. Bublr has made free rides available for several years on election day.

Lime riders will be able to get up to two free rides to or from a polling police by using the code “VOTE2024” in the Lime smartphone application. The offer is already in effect to promote early voting.

Because Bublr operates a dock-based system, its free rides are a bit more wide open. The first 30 minutes of any ride are free on election day. Individuals can take advantage of the offer by downloading the BCycle app, creating a Bublr Bikes account and checking out a bike. Those with questions can call 414-931-1121. The fr

From the Article:

Early in his construction career, Ryan Olson was on a site near Minneapolis. An old farmhouse stood in the path of the crew’s project. He took the controls of a 40-ton excavator. A couple swings of the bucket later, it was game over for the farmhouse, and game on for Olson’s new career path.

“It kind of piqued my curiosity and my interest in wrecking things,” he says. “I got my first opportunity to destroy something with a medium-sized piece of equipment, and I was hooked.”

Fast forward 26 years and Olson has the impressive title of senior director of demolition, operations and business development for Veit, a 96-year-old Minnesota company. In recent years Veit has expanded operations to Wisconsin and become the go-to as Milwaukee’s appetite for destruction has grown.

These are no humdrum buildings but places that formed core memories for legions of Milwaukeeans: the Bradley Center, former home of the Bucks; McCormick Hall, the beer-can shaped dormitory

From the Article:

The Universities of Wisconsin system is getting ready to launch its search for a new chancellor at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee as Mark Mone prepares to step down from his role next year.

Board of Regents President Amy Bogost said at the board's Sept. 26 meeting that members of a search and screen committee to identify Mone’s successor are expected to be announced in early to mid-October. The Milwaukee Business Journal reached out to the UW System for additional information; no further details regarding the committee were provided.

The composition of the committee is one of the early steps in the UW System’s search for a chancellor.

The committee will include at least three regents who are part of a special regent committee in charge of the selection process for a replacement, as well as five non-regent members who must include at least two faculty representatives, one staff representative from the institution, one student and one community and/or

From the Article:

A critical section of the Oak Leaf Trail running along the Root River Line has been temporarily closed.

The trail runs underneath Highway 100 in Wauwatosa, offering bicyclists and pedestrians a safe crossing underneath the six-lane state trunk highway.

Milwaukee County Parks closed the trail under Highway 100 to perform maintenance on a bridge, but the closure was recently extended into the “foreseeable future” as engineering crews “inspect and repair structural concerns” along the bridge.

There’s a metal cover over the bridge, but Parks doesn’t want Oak Leaf Trail users crossing the bridge right now “out of an abundance of caution,” Peter Bratt, director of skilled trades and operations told Urban Milwaukee.

Parks has suggested a detour on its interactive Oak Leaf Trail map, with trail users crossing Highway 100 along W. Watertown Plank Road.

The Root River Line, which is now cut off at Highway 100, runs north and south through the southwestern quart

From the Article:

Urban Ecology Center in Riverside Park has partnered with Two Birds Event Group to operate its new 300-person Prairie Springs on Park event hall, 1420 E. Park Pl., that’s part of the $8.2 million Riverland Project.

You can read more about the project, including an in-depth look at the history of the cream city brick former industrial building that is being renovated into the hall, in this Urban Spelunking article.

“We are thrilled to partner with Two Birds to bring the Urban Ecology Center's vision for Prairie Springs on Park to life in the spring of 2025,” says UEC Executive Director Jen Hense.

“We admire Ramsey (Renno), Tyler (Curran) and their team's approach to creating memorable spaces and events across Milwaukee and look forward to working together."

Two Birds operates The Ivy House, The Starling and The Society venues as well as a number of events-related businesses. It recently announced another riverside events space called The Rivulet.

From the Article:

The first indoor pickleball facility in the city of South Milwaukee's could open in October after the Common Council approved the transformation of a former team soccer venue.

The plan to bring the $2.5 million Premier Pickleball Center to 305 N. Chicago Ave. will come after conditions imposed by the Common Council have been met, according to Patrick Brever, city administrator for South Milwaukee.

"I think the applicant has expressed agreement and understanding of the conditions imposed by our Plan Commission and Common Council. The applicant has what they need to move forward in order to open," Brever said.

Franklin businessman Guriqbal Sra owns the property. R.H. Chou & Associates will serve as the architect and designer for the project.

The facility has been planned to feature 12 pickleball courts inside the 40,000-square-foot space. The building would also include an event space, a 100-seat restaurant opened daily and a 10-piece gym and locker rooms,