In time for the spring semester, Marquette University’s new Wellness + Helfaer Recreation Facility officially opened its doors to students on Monday.
The rebuilt 195,000-square-foot facility, located at 525 N. 16th St. in Milwaukee, used to be the Helfaer Tennis Stadium and Recreation Center.
It now houses health, wellness and recreation services that were previously provided in various locations across the campus. The counseling center, campus recreation, the Marquette University Medical Clinic and the Center for Student Wellness and Health Promotion are now all located inside the facility.
The university announced in 2021 that an anonymous alumni couple launched a $10 million giving challenge to unite Marquette’s health, wellness and recreation services at the facility. Construction on the project began in December 2022.
“We are excited that the time has finally come to unveil the new Wellness + Helfaer Recreation facility to our students and campus community,” Marquette University president Kimo Ah Yun said. “Wellness + Helfaer Recreation provides a destination on campus that supports the physical and mental health needs of the Marquette community. Our goal is for this facility to foster community, inclusiveness and engagement, and break down stigmas and barriers to get the care they need.”
The new facility provides a 25% increase in recreational space and “nearly doubles the wellness and medical space previously offered on campus,” according to the news release.
The third and fourth floors of the facility’s 30,000-square-foot wellness tower are named the “LOVELLSTRONG Center for Student Well-Being.” The name recognizes Michael Lovell and his wife Amy Lovell for their work to address mental health in Milwaukee and across the region.
The recreation component of the facility features:
Four regulation-size basketball courts
Two multi-purpose courts
Four tennis courts
Two group exercise studios
A spin studio
A six-lane, 25-yard swimming pool
A 1/8 mile running truck overlooking the lobby, basketball courts and multipurpose courts.
The LOVELLStrong Center for Student Well-Being includes gathering spaces, spaces for large-group counseling, private counseling offices, a meditation room and a group activity center as part of the wellness program. The counseling center, which is housed inside the LOVELStrong Center for Student Well-Being, has additional spaces for large-group counseling, private offices, a “zen den” and quiet spaces.
Milwaukee Film has named Susan Santha Kerns as its next executive director, the nonprofit announced on Monday.
Milwaukee Film produces the Milwaukee Film Festival each year and operates the Oriental Theatre and the Downer Theatre. Kerns will succeed Anne Reed effective Feb. 3. Reed will retire following the leadership transition.
Kerns is currently an associate professor of cinema and television arts, as well as associate provost for faculty research and development and Columbia College Chicago. She served as the education director at Milwaukee Film from 2011 to 2013. She is the co-director and co-founder of the Chicago Feminist Film Festival. Kerns, a Milwaukee resident, has supported Milwaukee’s local arts scene through her service on Action! Wisconsin’s steering committee.
“Dr. Kerns’ extensive experience was an important factor in her selection,” said Lacey Sadoff, board chair of Milwaukee Film. “Given her rich background in all aspects of our work, we are confident that Susan’s leadership will continue to grow Milwaukee Film’s local and national significance as a film organization.”
Under Reed’s leadership, “Milwaukee Film undertook critical financial restructuring after several recent challenges,” according to the news release. Milwaukee Film’s federal 990 tax form for 2023 reported a deficit of over $2.5 million. The nonprofit’s 990 for 2022 reported a deficit of over $1.78 million.
“I am so pleased to return to retirement knowing that Milwaukee Film is in such strong and experienced hands,” Reed said. “I can’t wait to see the growth and evolution of Milwaukee Film in the years to come.”
Kerns said she’s honored to take on her new role.
“Milwaukee Film is a key part of why I love this city so much, and I’m eager to continue bringing audiences the absolute best film screening experiences in our gorgeous theaters,” Kerns said. “I also take seriously my commitment to local filmmakers. I am eager to highlight their work and help grow the prestige of our terrific filmmaking community.”
Services stay strong while sentiment and valuation show weakness. There is opportunity as fear fades but if the markets don’t broaden out soon, we could see a significant decline.
Each week, members of the Annex Wealth Management team answer your questions about investing, money and the economy. This week Annex Wealth Management’s Matthew Morzy, MBA, CFP and Fred Coleman, CFP® answer your questions on:
Passenger traffic at Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport improved in 2024, with a 6% year-over-year increase from January through November, but traffic levels dipped during the later part of the year and remain below pre-pandemic levels.
Looking ahead, 2025 will be a big year for the airport with two major projects expected to begin: a 337,000-square-foot air cargo facility planned by Dallas-based real estate investment and development company Crow Holdings, and a new international terminal to replace the dormant E Concourse. The projects, each costing about $80 million, could result in a major increase in air cargo and international passenger traffic at the airport.
BizTimes Milwaukee editor Andrew Weiland recently met with Milwaukee County airport director Brian Dranzik to discuss the big projects planned at Mitchell International and ongoing efforts to attract more passenger flights to more destinations from MKE. Following are portions of that conversation.
BizTimes: Passenger traffic at Mitchell has improved, but remains below pre-pandemic levels. What’s holding back the airport from returning to pre-2020 activity? Hotels have seen a post-pandemic recovery of leisure travel, but not business travel. Is that affecting the airport as well?
Brian Dranzik
Dranzik: “I think that’s one piece of it. When it comes to the passenger side, I think that’s the biggest piece. When we came out of the pandemic there was a rush to travel. I think that’s kind of leveling back off again. And, in the second half, really fourth quarter, of 2024, not just here but across the country, a bit of schedule softening by the airlines. There’s a few other things going on within the industry, related to that as well, that are some headwinds for the industry. The delivery of aircraft is one. There’s still a bit of a staffing shortage in certain places, whether it’s pilots in some cases or crew members in others. There’s still some industry elements that need to be overcome in order to really fully get back. And so, as we’re now four or five years beyond the pandemic, I think last year we’re really looking at as a true reset. Because everything from here is going to be market or condition related. Boeing strike last year for example. That put a slowdown in the industry in terms of (new airplane) delivers, which were already delayed.”
How do you see the next year or upcoming years going for passenger traffic?
“I think because of what we saw in the fourth quarter of 2024, which softened a bit, I think that’s going to (continue during) the start of 2025 and possibly through mid-year of 2025. I don’t know if we’re going to see the growth that we saw last year. Last year we saw it very much at the front part of the year and then it tapered off towards the end. I’m hoping for some level of stability of where we are and maybe some incremental growth here and there, some city adds here and there, like towards the end of last year Southwest announced daily nonstop service to Austin (Texas), that will start in March. I’d like to see frankly in some cases with some of the airlines a little more service to the cities that they’re serving. If it’s two flights a day to a certain city we’d like to see that at three flights or four flights. Things like that. Part of it is increasing the number of cities served but it’s also increasing the cities served with more volume or more capacity. Those are the things that we’re in constant conversations with the airlines. This is the time of year when we start refreshing those conversations for what the ’25 outlook looks like and beyond.”
Any other developments coming up with new routes or additions to existing routes, other than the service to Austin that you mentioned?
“Just after Christmas, Sun Country started their fairly large seasonal push of international and domestic routes. So, they’re serving Cancun (Mexico), Punta Cana (Dominican Republic) and Montego Bay (Jamaica). They’ve also beefed up their service to places like Phoenix, Fort Myers, the warm destination routes, on a seasonal basis. That’s another kind of under the radar good news story, because by them coming in and offering them as scheduled service and having two aircraft dedicated to Milwaukee, that’s to me a good sign of them looking at the market and seeing positive things. So those are the areas that we can hopefully grow from, you would hope. Hopefully as they operate in the market and see how the market reacts, hopefully that relays some positive confidence that this is a good market to invest in.”
For a long time you have pushed the local community to ‘Fly MKE’ and not drive down to Chicago to fly out of O’Hare, saying that doing so is essentially ‘connecting by car.’ Is that still a focus? Do you feel you’ve made progress there?
“We’ve made some good progress in terms of awareness for at least the local community to understand that’s one of the biggest and most impactful ways that the community can demonstrate its support for the airport and things of that nature. I get that it doesn’t always work for people on an individual basis. By and large that is one of the big things that airlines are going to be looking at when they are looking at making decisions. It’s a challenge. We’re in kind of a unique environment. There’s a few comparable markets like this in the U.S., but not many, where we’re kind of in competition with another city, a much larger city, with a much larger network. So, it’s not only the conversations we are having with the public more or less to say fly MKE, fly the hometown airport because it does matter when airlines are looking at where people are coming from and where tickets are purchased from. It’s also the conversation we are having with the airlines to understand that we have enough market presence to stand alone and be competitive. And I think we can offer a bit of a relief valve (for Chicago). I think it’s one of the things that’s emerging on the cargo front for the project we have going on there. But I think it can also be seen that way on the passenger side. If you’re trying to push all of this traffic into a heavily constrained environment like Chicago, where there’s not enough gates, how about balancing that out? If you look at it as a region then there’s maybe a possibility to balance that out and have some of those flights operate out of Milwaukee. We see northern Illinois traffic. We hear from businesses in northern Illinois that they’re telling some of their staff, ‘Hey if you can get a flight into Milwaukee it’s much more convenient.’”
Has that grown? How is that Illinois business doing?
“It’s growing, it’s stable. It’s something that we continually message on because it’s just a big challenge to get people to think differently about that. But it’s a lot easier now with the I-94 corridor, with the way it’s been improved (widened to four lanes in each direction). If you’re living in those northern Illinois counties, I would think it’s in some cases easier to get here than places like O’Hare. You’re still offsetting the issue of more direct flights, more options and things like that, but when it works for people, we see it. When you see people walking through here with Cubs jerseys and Bears jerseys, you know you’re pulling that traffic.”
You said we could be a relief valve to Chicago. How receptive are the airlines to that idea, if they can’t get into O’Hare, do they look here?
“It’s a challenge, to be honest. You have to change the mindset of people that really, it’s not in their backyard. (Other than United, which is based in Chicago) you’ve got to convince someone in Atlanta or Dallas or somewhere that this is an option. Those are the things we just try to continually keep messaging on and try to get that to sink in at some point.”
You mentioned at the beginning that you have a lot going on here with projects. What do you have coming up?
“Two of the biggest ones that have been out there now for a little while is the cargo development project that will transform the (former 440th Airlift Wing base) site on the airfield to a modern cargo facility that can accommodate five 747-sized aircraft at one time, that we’re doing in conjunction with Crow Development. We should be able to kick that project off this year and get that going. We went after a grant to help do some runway work, which was approved by our board, and now we are making applications to the FAA to get some federal support on that. The developer will pay the local share for us. But it helps offset some of the costs of the development. As that project has matured, we’re getting more and more interest from the cargo community, which is exciting. It’s good to see that’s got some really good possibility to be a place where Wisconsin businesses can utilize the service hopefully at some point in time, not having to go through the issues that they have to go through out of Chicago, which is a very difficult and constrained environment for cargo.”
Rendering of the South Cargo Logistics Hub planned at Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport.
There are some airports, I think of Rockford (Illinois) in particular that has really built itself up as a major cargo airport. The anticipation is this project will significantly increase your cargo shipping here, correct?
“Yeah. It took Rockford a long time to get to the place they are (3.1 billion pounds of air cargo in 2023 compared to 129.7 million at MKE). They’ve done a really good job. I think where we have a little bit of a leg up, all of the airfield infrastructure is already in place. We have a 24-7 tower. We have instrument landing system capacity here. There’s not things that have to be put in structurally or infrastructure-wise to accommodate. We need the facility. That’s basically what we need. Everything else is in place. So, I think we can hit the ground running a little bit better in that regard. And just being along the I-94 corridor just lends itself a little bit better I think to advance the progress of a project like this perhaps quicker than what it took in Rockford where it took some time to really build out the infrastructure, build out the footprint of the airport and accommodate those things.”
A rendering of the South Cargo Logistics Hub.
Do you think you can do the level of cargo shipping that they do (in Rockford)?
“I think so. When you’re talking about the ability to accommodate five 747s at one time, that’s a pretty substantial footprint. We’re certainly hopeful that it takes off from there. Then we could look at other areas to provide for additional growth. It’s a challenging industry to break into. You’ve got the business transacting the cargo need of moving goods, you’ve got the transportation provider, you’ve got the forwarder-the intermediary. You’ve got these three entities to kind of try to pull together and get on the same page. Hopefully when we get this project up and running, we can demonstrate that it can be successful, it will show others fairly quickly that, OK, we can jump into this. That’s our goal, that’s our hope.”
Site plan for the South Cargo Logistics Hub planned at Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport.
You mentioned some of the cargo shippers are showing interest already. Who would that be?
“Some domestic and some international. Some international, it could be forwarders, it could be carriers, it could be a combination of some of those.”
Can you name specific names?
“I can’t. Because nobody has really committed. It’s just general interest. All of those elements have to come together. The reception has been good. The conversations have been good. We just need it to gel, we need it to solidify.”
You think that project will begin this year?
“We believe it will begin this year. It’s probably about a year and a half build-out.”
What else? You said there were two big projects this year.
“The other one is the E Concourse renovation.”
Shuttered Concourse E at Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport
That’s the new international terminal project, right?
“Right. So that’s taking that facility, removing the current one and replacing it with a modern, two-gate facility that can accommodate international and domestic passenger traffic. Right now what we have is a disconnected facility off the main terminal. Our traffic right now for international, the vast majority of it is vacation-based and seasonal. What you get with that in a lot of cases is a bit of a nontraditional traveler who hasn’t been used to using the airport. So, they depart from a gate on the C or D concourse on the main terminal, they come back to the international arrival building, which is not connected to the main terminal, not connected to the parking garage. It creates a situation where they are now deplaning at that facility and then off into the street. Not good on the passenger side, equally not good operationally for the airlines (because after deplaning at the international arrival building the aircraft has to move back over to a gate at the C or D concourse).”
“(The international arrival building) it’s a building that was built in 1975 and doesn’t even really fully accommodate a full aircraft full of people at one time. So, it’s very limited. The new buildout will allow us to have two operational gates at the same time, it has that great separation for international arrivals which is pretty much what you have when traveling internationally for that customs clearance process to occur. But then you could turn that aircraft around and fly it out domestically. So, they don’t have to push off and go to another gate or things like that. It will help modernize that process and get it to a place that then we can be competitive for greater international traffic in the future.”
Do you think this will help you attract additional international service?
“We hope so. It gives us the ability to do that. Right now with what we have today I would say it wouldn’t happen just because of how difficult it is to operate with the facilities that we have. So, this at least gives us the possibility to do that. I think what we will see probably is growth in closer-in international travel, still the vacation-type destinations and things like that and as things evolve in the international travel side of things to places like Europe. We basically know from a market standpoint out of this area we are sending about three planeloads of individuals a day to Europe (through layovers). So, if that’s concentrated through a destination like London or Amsterdam or something like that, that is something (that’s possible).”
I know there has been talks for years of somehow trying to convince, maybe with an incentive, like other markets have done, to attract an airline to offer a nonstop European flight from Milwaukee. Is there any talk of that going on?
“Not until the facilities are in place. We’re always having a conversation with airlines. It comes down to their equipment and things of that nature. There’s newer aircraft coming online that are getting better and better in terms of range. There’s different aircraft sizing that could help our cause, that can make a longer haul with less capacity. Otherwise, you’re looking at a 300-plus person capacity aircraft. You have to fill that plane in the shadows of a place like Chicago where they already have a large concentration of service. It’s an uphill battle for sure, but without the facilities you’re not going to have it.”
Are there any other projects that you are planning down the line?
“We’ve got a few things coming out of our master plan from a few years ago. We are looking at a redevelopment of the northeast corner of the airfield, which is closer to Cudahy, that area, which we believe we can improve the business and general aviation footprint up there.”
Rite-Hite is building a hangar there right now, correct?
“Yeah, so (hoping to attract more of) those types of users. More and more business users are going to a larger-sized aircraft than what the hangars around the airfield can support. So, there’s some looking at investing in sizing of hangars that can support Gulfstream aircraft for example, and things of that nature. And I think it’s hopefully a benefit for the business community because of how easy it is to get from downtown to that area. You can be from downtown to your aircraft in 10 or 15 minutes. You can be wheels up in 20, 25, 30 minutes from being in the downtown area. So, I think there’s some potential there. We’re going to be putting that out for a development RFP fairly soon in the first or second quarter of this year.”
The Greater Milwaukee Committee is a nonprofit, private sector civic organization that works to support efforts to improve the quality of life and prosperity of the community. Formed in the 1940s, its members include leaders in business, labor, education, philanthropy and nonprofit community development.
Anderson will succeed current GMC board chair Peggy Kelsey, whose term ends in February. Kelsey is executive vice president, general counsel, corporate secretary and compliance officer at WEC Energy Group.
Anderson has served as a member of the GMC board since 2018.
“I am honored and excited to accept the role of the GMC’s board chair. The organization’s new strategic plan presents an opportunity to help solve many of Milwaukee’s most pressing challenges,” Anderson said. “We have already seen much progress within our four strategic pillars (fiscal strength, education, public safety, and infrastructure), and I look forward to helping catapult this momentum for the good of the GMC and Milwaukee.”
Peggy Kelsey
“The GMC board is thrilled to welcome Dave as the new chair. He has a vast understanding of our strategic priorities through his commitment and service as a long-time GMC board member.” Kelsey said. “Dave is an enthusiastic leader with deep connections throughout the entire community. His desire to achieve is apparent in his career at BMO and long history of board service throughout Milwaukee. I have no doubt the GMC and the Milwaukee community will benefit from his service and leadership.”
Madison-based development firm Neutral announced last week that it closed on $133 million in bank financing for its downtown Milwaukee apartment tower, The Edison.
The closing sets up a 2025 construction start on the 30-story tower, which would be the tallest mass-timber high-rise in the state and deliver 378 apartments to the riverfront site at 1005 N. Edison St.
On a mission to build environmentally sustainable buildings, Neutral has looked outside conventional thinking for development practices.
BizTimes recently spoke with Neutral’s chief product officer Daniel Glaessl about how that mission materialized at The Edison.
BizTimes: What is the unit mix and the thought behind it?
Glaessl: “It’s focused on one-beds and some two-beds and studios. It’s focused on smaller units, and that’s not a random decision, it’s based on very extensive market research. Those types of units are what we feel will be most successful in the market from a leasing perspective.”
Daniel Glaessl
What are your thoughts on the depth of the luxury apartment market in downtown Milwaukee as The Couture and 333 Water have had slower lease-ups than previous luxury towers?
“I generally don’t use the term luxury. Maybe I have a wrong association with this, but luxury for me is the stuff they build in Manhattan that’s like $6,000 a square foot. I think we are building market rate, and we are building market rate with the strong sustainability focus.
“The building is passive house and on the trajectory to be Living Building Challenge certified. The reason I’m saying this in this context is that the sustainability certifications, they actually have a very significant impact on the user, so in terms of clean air, water usage, electricity usage. A portion of the sort of lifestyle we are generating in the building is kind of a byproduct of our sustainability strategy, so you could say that creates a luxury product, I would just say it creates a market rate, sustainability focused product.
“In terms of the absorption we have done extensive market studies, including third party studies, so we are certain that the units we are putting on the market in 2027 can be absorbed. The other projects like 333 Water, Ascent and other projects will be fully stabilized by then.”
What was the reasoning for increasing the building’s height twice since first proposed in 2021?
“Development economics, basically. The most straightforward example is an elevator has a certain capacity, and you need two elevators anyway for code reasons. So with two elevators you can serve a building of 20 stories, and you can build a serve a building of 30 stories. If you divide the cost of the elevator by the number of units, with the number of elevators not increasing you can see that basically, per unit, the elevator gets cheaper. And this kind of development economics applies to a lot of the building infrastructure as well like heating and cooling.”
Can you talk about the journey to finance the project?
“It was a complicated market. This post pandemic environment, both on the procurement side and the financing side, interest rates are significantly higher than they used to be, so that certainly didn’t make it easier for us to get the project underwritten and to put a architectural concept together that is feasible.
“Again, we have additional requirements in our company based on our sustainability-focused approach. So we are very, very happy that we were able to close this financing last week without sacrificing the mass timber aspect, without sacrificing the sustainability certifications, but it was certainly a tough road.”
How do you balance sustainability and making a project financially viable?
“Investors are predominantly looking at the returns, and the returns are somewhat a function of our cost. The sustainability comes at a premium, but we actually feel that sustainability strategies provide a better product, better user experience. These things are inherently linked.”
Rendering from Neutral
How did financing this project compare to financing your two projects in downtown Madison?
“It’s the same team. So we have Bank OZK, who is the construction lender on Baker’s place, and it’s Pearlmark, who is the mezzanine lender on Baker’s place. The relationships we have built over the years with that team were instrumental in closing The Edison.”
Neutral held a lot of investor meetings for the project over the months and pretty widely circulated invitations to people that don’t typically invest in real estate, sources have told BizTimes. Why did you take that approach and was it successful?
“For the equity portion of the financing, we are trying to go beyond typical real estate financing strategies. A portion of the equity comes from us, the partners of the company, a portion comes from trusted investors, but then a portion comes from the community. We are approaching the community with the mailers, and we’re doing it because it’s successful. It’s a significant percentage of the equity stack that we’re able to procure with that strategy.
“What I really like about that is that it gives people who typically don’t benefit from the real estate development in their city a chance to participate. It’s somewhat the counter strategy to gentrification. So it’s basically allowing the neighborhood to participate in the development that happens right in their front yard. Next to The Edison is a small condo complex, and we actually had some people from there also approaching us. I mean, that’s a relatively small number, of course, but it’s a really nice case study.”
Were there any other ways you tried to attract atypical real estate investors?
“We partnered with Charles Schwab, so people with a Charles Schwab account, they can buy shares directly in the process without going through any complicated process of a separate investment. It also makes investment of the projects much, much easier.
“In terms of process, it makes it similar to almost investing in a REIT, which is a much more simple experience. Typically, investing in a private real estate deal requires you working with legal documents, going through a longer paperwork process.”
Speakers at BizTimes Media’s annual Economic Trends event will provide insights to help attendees understand what’s happening in the ever-shifting high tech landscape and how to take advantage of the opportunities that it presents.
The event will be held on Thursday, Jan. 23, from 7 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. at the Italian Community Center in Milwaukee. Click here to register.
The rapidly evolving space of artificial intelligence has received growing interest, investment and scrutiny.
With all the hype surrounding AI’s future and what it might mean for society, Kedziora has a few ideas for what’s to come – including the emergence of agentic systems and integration into daily life. When looking to the future of AI, Kedziora said he speculates there may be a “plateauing” of large language models. Large language models like OpenAI’s Chat GPT or Meta’s Llama require a tremendous amount of data in order to learn and improve.
“There’s a reason why this AI stuff is happening now and didn’t happen 30 years ago,” Kedziora said. “The reason it’s happening now is because the internet kind of digitized all this information and made it accessible. So, you can have somebody web scrape and collect a billion documents, and you have Google’s attempt to digitize books and that sort of thing. It renders those things available for consumption by an AI model so that it can learn.”
Mara Lord
Meanwhile, Wisconsin’s federal designation as a biohealth tech hub will catalyze an industry that’s already seeing noteworthy growth and potentially create a new stronghold for a region that’s been traditionally associated with manufacturing, according to Lord, who is helping spearhead the effort.
Last July, Wisconsin officially received $49 million in funding from the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration as part of the federal Tech Hubs program. Wisconsin’s tech hub, focused on the biohealth industry, is working on six interconnected regional projects using the federal funding, ranging from the launch of several mobile screening centers to the creation of a health care data hub. A consortium of 15 private and public partners, including the Wauwatosa-based Medical College of Wisconsin, is helping move all six projects forward.
“Wisconsin’s bio health industry is already growing at a faster rate than other industries in Wisconsin,” said Lord. “That’s in regard to jobs, supply chain, and even wages. That’s what we’re leveraging, that existing strength.”
Jobs in Wisconsin’s biohealth industry grew 10.6% between 2018 and 2021, according to data from BioForward Wisconsin. Biohealth had a direct economic impact of $22 billion in Wisconsin in 2023. Biohealth employees have also increased their wages by nearly 25% since 2018, outpacing the national average of 19% during the same time period, according to BioForward Wisconsin. Altogether, the state’s biohealth industry supports more than 141,000 jobs.
One hope is that Wisconsin’s federal tech hub designation will continue to attract new businesses, both large and small, to the state. That’s already happening, said Lord, as big names, like Eli Lilly and Company, have recently announced investments in Wisconsin.
“We are taking note of the companies that want to be engaged in this,” said Lord. “I recently had a conversation with another biotech company in Washington state, and we’re talking about relocating to Wisconsin. There is a reputational component to being a biohealth tech hub.”
Following the main program, there will be three breakout sessions:
Waukesha State Bank is proud to announce the promotion of Tyler Kern to vice president – investment officer. He will continue to oversee the bank’s investment portfolio, managing its liquidity and sensitivity to interest rate and market risks.
Engineering, planning and design firm GRAEF announced Monday that Brent Pitcher will become the company’s next chief operating officer in May.
Pitcher joined GRAEF in 2000 as an engineer and has since held a variety of leadership roles. He was named an associate of the firm in 2005, principal in 2007, elected to GRAEF’s board of directors in 2012 and currently leads the company’s infrastructure group in Milwaukee.
“GRAEF has been an integral part of my professional life for over two decades,” Pitcher said. “I look forward to building on the incredible legacy of leadership established by Ken Grebe and working closely with the entire team to drive GRAEF’s continued success, innovation, and impact in the communities we serve.”
Pitcher will succeed Grebe, who plans to retire. Grebe began at GRAEF in 1983 and served as COO since 2012.
“Serving as GRAEF’s COO has been the honor of a lifetime,” Grebe said. “I’m proud of what we’ve accomplished together and grateful for the incredible team I’ve had the privilege to work with. (Pitcher’s) appointment as COO ensures that GRAEF is in excellent hands moving forward. I know he will continue to lead with the same integrity and passion that have been hallmarks of our firm.”
An affiliate of Milwaukee-based law firm Michael Best & Friedrich LLP, the business consulting, government relations and public affairs group announced Prange’s hire Monday in a news release.
Previously, Prange led “engagement efforts across local, regional, state, and national stakeholders” for the MKE 2024 Host Committee, which was responsible for producing the convention, including fundraising, booking venues and hotels, recruiting volunteers and connecting local businesses with convention-related business opportunities.
Filings with the Federal Elections Commission show the host committee raised roughly $92 million to put on the four-day political convention, which took place in downtown Milwaukee from July 15-18. That figure far surpassed the group’s initial fundraising target of $68 million. Additionally, the host committee helped usher in what’s expected to surpass $200 million in economic impact to the region.
“Milwaukee, the state of Wisconsin, and the nation benefitted from Alison’s strong, successful leadership of the MKE 2024 Host Committee,” said Michael Best managing partner, David Krutz.“We look forward to the immediate impact she will make on the direction of Michael Best Strategies and the firm’s ability to deliver tailored, results-driven solutions to our clients’ needs.”
In the years leading up to her two-year stint with the RNC host committee, Prange, a UW-Madison alum, held upper-level roles at several nonprofit organizations, including director of government relations and then director or major gifts and corporate relations for the American Cancer Society; president of the Henry Vilas Zoological Society in Madison; and vice president of external relations for Ballotpedia. She is also principal of Delafield-based Resolute Consulting LLC, according to LinkedIn.
“I am thrilled to join Michael Best Strategies and to be entrusted to guide a storied firm known for its commitment to delivering exceptional results for clients,” said Prange. “Working alongside the talented teams, I am committed to driving strategic development and operational excellence as we navigate clients through the evolving landscapes of business consulting, government relations, and public affairs.”
Also on Monday, Michael Best Strategies announced that Tory Sendek will take the lead of firm’s Washington D.C.-based Federal Government Relations practice. Sendek has served since 2018 as a managing director for the board of advisors in D.C., overseeing the bipartisan board, leading business development and client initiatives, as well as political engagements.
“We are excited to welcome Alison and Tory to our leadership team,” said Reince Priebus, chairman of the board of advisors at Michael Best Strategies. “Their exceptional skills in leadership and lengthy track records of successful operational oversight make them the ideal leaders to help guide our firm and Federal Government Relations practice into the future.”
Priebus served alongside Prange as chairman of the RNC’s host committee.
A mail-in ballot election was recently conducted by the National Labor Relation Board. Five employees sent in ballots, which were counted last Friday. Workers voted to unionize with a 4 to 1 margin, according to MASH.
“This win is a testament to the power of unity and collective action,” said Leonela Alejandro, a barista at Fairgrounds. “We are excited to have our voices recognized and look forward to working together to create an even better workplace.”
Fairgrounds workers requested recognition of their union on Nov. 20, 2024, backed by signatures on union authorization and membership cards from six of the seven employees at the Milwaukee cafe. The six employees signed a letter to Fairgrounds ownership and corporate leadership to request recognition.
Fairgrounds leadership did not respond to the request for recognition and filed with the NLRB to conduct a union election, according to MASH.
Most employees did not initially receive a ballot from the NLRB because of inaccurate addresses provided by Fairgrounds ownership, according to MASH. The five employees who did receive ballots made inquires themselves to the NLRB.
“From baristas and bartenders to cooks and cleaners, hospitality workers in Milwaukee want unions,” said Peter Rickman, president and business manager at MASH. “Only through a union contract can the workers on whose labor this industry is built secure a living wage, rights on the job, fair and decent hours, a seat at the table on workplace policies, and accountability for their employers. Despite employer opposition and NLRB processes that can make unionizing difficult, Fairgrounds workers showed us all how hospitality workers can win by sticking together to win their union.”
Chicago-based Fairgrounds Coffee operates a Milwaukee shop at 916 E. State St. in the Yankee Hill neighborhood. The location opened in late 2019.
Fairgrounds offers a rotating selection of craft espressos, cold brew coffees and teas from businesses across the country, including Milwaukee’s own Colectivo Coffee and Rishi Tea.
