“Be Heard”: Milwaukee’s Earn And Learn Program

 

Listen: Yesterday, at Manpower Inc.’s downtown headquarters along the Milwaukee river, 300 teens gathered to kick off the first day of the rest of their summer. They observed a short program, followed by an orientation session for the jobs they received from the Milwaukee City’s Earn and Learn Program. Some looked eager, some sleepy, some nervous, [...]

“Neighborhood Project”: One Last Time From Johnsons Park

Listen: Over the last two months, I’ve had a chance to hone my one-minute explanation of the Neighborhood Project. I’d start, “Milwaukee is a city of neighborhoods…” and continue, “… many of these neighborhoods fly under the typical media radar…” and finally, with understated bravado, I’d crescendo “…  we’re attempting to tell the stories of solved [...]

“Neighborhood Project”: Looking Back at Lincoln Village

Listen: Each Neighborhood Project piece was a process — hunt for stories, schedule interviews, gather audio, sort through the tape, construct the narrative, fine tune, write an intro/outro, and last but not least, the music. We paid painstaking attention to finding the right music; it had to fit the overall sound of the station, but more [...]

“Neighborhood Project”: Sherman Park Wrap Up

Listen: 40,000 People. 10,000 Housing Units. North Avenue on the South Side, Capitol Drive on the North Side, from 60th Street east to 30th and 38th streets. Sherman Park. How does one tell the story of a massive residential neighborhood that stretches over the heart of Milwaukee? By population, it would be the 16th biggest city [...]

“Neighborhood Project”: Silver City, Grand Finale

Listen:  During the two months of the Neighborhood Project, each neighborhood took a turn as my favorite — as we rummaged around for the ideal story, its pieces would snap together immediately, a complete, colorful narrative, nearly readymade. On other occasions, the stories were maddeningly elusive. Oftentimes, the story we wanted to tell seemed so simple, [...]

“Neighborhood Project”: Week Two, 21st Century Old World Urban Living in Lincoln Village

Listen: Pictured above is Tadeusz Kosciuszko, Lincoln Village’s least talkative resident. Talk about being stiff — our interview went terribly. However, I managed to find some of the animate and animated residents of Lincoln Village, who gave me a snapshot of who you might meet in their neighborhood.
First, we hear from Barbara Nelson, who has for [...]

“Neighborhood Project”: Week Two, A Morning At Sherman Perk

Listen: In the interest of full disclosure, I should tell you that we actually spent two mornings at Sherman Perk… but what mornings they were. We caught the steady stream of Sherman Park residents coming and going, some rushing to work or school, some taking time to listen to music and chat at the counter. Everybody seemed [...]