Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Milwaukee is the largest city within the state of Wisconsin and 22nd-largest in the United States. The city is the county seat of Milwaukee County and is located on the southwestern shore of Lake Michigan. As of the 2005 U.S. Census estimate, Milwaukee had a population of 578,887. The city is the main cultural and economic center of the Milwaukee–Racine-Waukesha metropolitan area with a population of 1,753,355.

The first Europeans to pass through the area were French missionaries and fur traders. In 1818, Frenchman Solomon Juneau settled in the area, and in 1846 Juneau's town combined with two neighboring towns to incorporate as the City of Milwaukee. Large numbers of German and other immigrants helped increase the city's population during the 1840s and the following decades.

Milwaukee residents are known as Milwaukeeans. Milwaukee is known as "The City of Festivals" for its great number of ethnic and musical festivals, the largest of which is Summerfest. It has also been called "Brew City," due to Milwaukee having been home to several major breweries throughout its history.

Like other historically industrial northern cities, Milwaukee has taken steps over the past few years to reshape its image, in large part by reviving its downtown. In the past decade, new additions to downtown have included a Riverwalk, the Midwest Airlines Center, an internationally renowned addition to the Milwaukee Art Museum, as well as the major renovations to the Milwaukee Auditorium and U.S. Cellular Arena.

CC Image
Milwaukee Art Museum, new wing (2001) designed by Santiago Calatrava.

History

Pre-1800

The Milwaukee area was originally inhabited by the Fox, Mascouten, Potawatomi, and Winnebago Indian tribes. French missionaries and traders first passed through the area in the late 1600s and 1700s.

The first white fur trader to settle in Milwaukee was French Canadian Jacques Vieau, who established a fur trading post near the Menomonee River in 1795. The post was on the Chicago-Green Bay trail, located where Mitchell Park is today. Vieau married the granddaughter of an Indian chief and had at least twelve children. Vieau's daughter, Josetta, would later marry Solomon Juneau.

1800 to 1849

Milwaukee has three "founding fathers", of whom Frenchman Solomon Juneau came to the area first, in 1818. Juneau, who was Vieau's son-in-law, bought out Vieau's fur trading business, and in 1833 founded a town on the east side of the Milwaukee River. Juneau's Side, or Juneau Town, as it was variously known, began attracting more settlers.

Byron Kilbourn was Juneau's equivalent on the west side of the Milwaukee River. In competition with Juneau, he established Kilbourntown west of the Milwaukee River, and made sure that the streets running toward the river did not join with those on the east side. This accounts for the large number of crooked bridges that still exist in Milwaukee today. Further, Kilbourn distributed maps of the area which only showed Kilbourntown, implying that Juneautown did not exist. Anyone who saw the map would think the east side of the river was uninhabited and thus undesirable.

The third prominent builder was George H. Walker. He claimed land to the south of the Milwaukee River, along with Juneau Town where he built a log house in 1834. This area grew and became known as Walker's Point.

By the 1840s the three towns had grown to such an extent that in 1846 they combined to incorporate as the City of Milwaukee. Solomon Juneau became Milwaukee's first mayor. A great number of German immigrants had helped increase the city's population during the 1840s and continued to migrate to the area during the following decades. Milwaukee has even been called "Deutsches Athen" (German Athens), and at one point there were more German speakers than English speakers in the city.

In the mid 1800s Milwaukee earned its nickname "Cream City". The nickname refers to the large amount of unique cream colored bricks that came out of the Menomonee Valley and were used in building construction. At its peak, Milwaukee was producing 15 million bricks a year, with ⅓ going out of the state.

1850 to 1900

During the middle and late 19th century, Wisconsin and the Milwaukee area became the final destination of some German refugees fleeing the Revolution of 1848. Most were middle class or professionals and In Wisconsin they found the freedoms they sought. The city was heavily Democratic and was reluctant to support the draft laws during the U.S. Civil War.

May 5, 1886 was the day of the Bay View Massacre in which striking steelworkers who were marching toward a mill in the Bay View section of Milwaukee were intercepted by a squad of National Guardsmen who, under orders from the Wisconsin Governor, fired point blank into the strikers, killing seven.

1900 to 1960

During the first half of the twentieth century, Milwaukee was a center of the socialist movement in the United States. Fromn their base in the German community, especially among brewry workers, socialists elected three socialist mayors during this time: Emil Seidel (1910-1912), Daniel Hoan (1916-1940), and Frank Zeidler (1948-1960), and was the only major city in the country to have done so. Often referred to as "sewer socialists," the Milwaukee socialists were characterized by their practical approach to government and labor. These practices emphasized cleaning up neighborhoods and factories with new sanitation systems, city owned water and power systems as well as improved education systems.

A large Polish population arrived 1900-1914, attracted by unskilled jobs in the city's fast-growing industrial base.

A small, but burgeoning community of African-Americans emigrated from the south formed a community that would come to be known as Bronzeville. This area (near Old World Third Street and Martin Luther King Drive) soon became known as a "Harlem of the Midwest" for its jazz clubs and juke joints which attracted both local and nationally renowned musicians. Bronzeville's signifigance began to fall off as the heart of Milwaukee's Black community shifted north following World War II; and urban renewal, plus the building of a major expressway through its heart destroyed the geographic continuity of the district. However, the area has been experiencing something of a revival within the past few years as it has seen the arrival of several new businesses, condos, coffee shops and small night clubs which seek to recapture the prominence the area once had.

1960 to the present

Milwaukee attracted postwar immigrants from Ireland, Germany, Hungary, Poland and other central European nations. Milwaukee became one of the 15 largest cities in the nation, and by the mid-1960s, its population reached nearly 750,000. Starting in the late 1960s, like many cities in the "rust belt," Milwaukee saw its population start to decline due to various factors, including the loss of high paying unionized blue collar jobs and the move to better housing in the suburbs. However, in recent years the city began to make strides in improving its economy, neighborhoods, and image, resulting in the revitalization of neighborhoods such as the Third Ward, the East Side, and more recently, Bay View, along with attracting new businesses to its downtown area. The city continues to make plans for increasing its future revitalization through various projects. Largely due to its efforts to preserve its history, in 2006 Milwaukee was named one of the "Dozen Distinctive Destinations" by the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

Milwaukee's name

Milwaukee received its name from the Indian word Millioke which means "The Good Land", or "Gathering place by the water." Another interpretation is "beautiful or pleasant lands". Early explorers called the Milwaukee River and surrounding lands various names: Melleorki, Milwacky, Mahn-a-waukie, Milwarck, and Milwaucki. For many years, printed records gave the name as "Milwaukie". A Short History of Milwaukee, by William George Bruce, gives the story of Milwaukee's final name:

"[O]ne day during the thirties of the last century a newspaper calmly changed the name to Milwaukee, and Milwaukee it has remained until this day."

Geography and climate

Milwaukee lies along the shores and bluffs of Lake Michigan at the confluence of three rivers: the Menomonee, the Kinnickinnic and the Milwaukee. Smaller rivers, such as the Root River and Lincoln Creek also run throughout the city. Milwaukee's terrain is relatively flat, except for steep bluffs that begin about one half mile north and four miles south of the downtown. These bluffs give it a topographic quality distinct from that of Chicago.

The city has a total area of 251.0 square km (96.9 square miles). 248.8 km² (96.1 square miles) of it is land and 2.2 km² (0.9 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 0.88% water.

Cityscape

The city runs largely on the grid system, although in the far northwest and southwest corners of the city, the grid pattern gives way to a more suburban-style streetscape. North-south streets are numbered, and east-west streets are named. The north-south numbering line is along the Menomonee River (east of Hawley Road) and Fairview Avenue/Golfview Parkway (west of Hawley Road), with the east-west numbering line defined along 1st Street (north of Oklahoma Avenue) and Chase/Howell Avenue (south of Oklahoma Avenue).

It is crossed by Interstates 43 and 94, which come together downtown at the Marquette Interchange, which is currently under an extensive construction project set to be completed in 2008. The cost of the reconstruction will be around $810 million. The Interstate 894 bypass runs through portions of the city's southwest side, and Interstate 794 comes out of the Marquette interchange eastbound, bends south along the lakefront and crosses the harbor over the Hoan Bridge, then ends near the Bay View neighborhood and becomes the Lake Parkway.

Climate

Milwaukee's location in the Midwest means that it often has rapidly changing weather, and the city experiences the full range of the seasons throughout the year. The warmest month of the year is July, when the average high temperature is 79°F (26°C), with overnight low temperatures averaging 62°F (17°C). January is the coldest month, with high temperatures averaging 26°F (-4°C), with the overnight low temperatures around 11°F (-12°C).

Milwaukee's proximity to Lake Michigan causes a convection current to form mid-afternoon, resulting in the so-called lake effect, causing the temperatures to be warmer in the winter than regions farther from the lake, and cooler in the summer. "Cooler by the lake" is practically boilerplate language for local meteorologists during the spring and summer. Also, more snow falls in Milwaukee than surrounding areas, due to the lake. The lake causes the relative humidity in the summer that is far higher than that of comparable cities at the same latitude, meaning that it feels hotter than the actual temperature.

Milwaukee's all-time record high temperature is 105°F (41°C) set on July 17, 1995. The coldest temperature ever experienced by the city was -26°F (-32°C) on both January 17, 1982 and February 4, 1996. The 1982 event, also known as Cold Sunday, featured temperatures as low as -40°F (-40°C) in some of the suburbs as little as 10 miles (16km) to the north of Milwaukee, although the city itself did not approach such cold temperatures.

In Milwaukee, the wettest month is August, due to frequent thunderstorms. These can at times be dangerous and damaging, bringing hail and high winds. In rare instances, it can bring a tornado to the more inland parts of the city. However, almost all summer rainfall in the city is brought by these storms. In spring and fall, longer events of prolonged, lighter rain bring most of the precipitation. Snow commonly falls in the city from early November until the middle of March, although it has been recorded as early as September 23, and as late as May 31. The city receives an average of 47.0 inches (1.19m) of snow in winter, but this number is highly variable. In 2000, 49.5 inches (1.26m) of snow fell solely in the month of December.

Environmental organization SustainLane ranked Milwaukee along with Mesa, Arizona, the least likely to suffer natural disasters, in a study of 50 U.S. cities measuring the risk of a natural disaster striking the city. The study used the possibilities of "hurricanes, major flooding, catastrophic hail, tornado super-outbreaks, and earthquakes" as criteria.

Demographics

City of Milwaukee
Census year	Population
1850	20,061
1860	45,246
1870	71,440
1880	115,587
1890	204,468
1900	285,315
1910	373,857
1920	457,147
1930	578,249
1940	587,472
1950	637,392
1960	741,324
1970	717,099
1980	636,212
1990	628,088
2000	596,974
2005	578,887

Population

As of the census estimate of 2005, there are 578,887 people residing in Milwaukee. As of 2000, there were 232,188 households, and 135,133 families residing in the city. The population density is 2,399.5/km² (6,214.3 per square mile). There are 249,225 housing units at an average density of 1,001.7/km² (2,594.4 per square mile).

There are 232,188 households out of which 30.5% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 32.2% are married couples living together, 21.1% have a female householder with no husband present, and 41.8% are non-families. 33.5% of all households are made up of individuals and 9.5% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.50 and the average family size is 3.25.

In the city the population is spread out with 28.6% under the age of 18, 12.2% from 18 to 24, 30.2% from 25 to 44, 18.1% from 45 to 64, and 10.9% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 31 years. For every 100 females there are 91.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 87.2 males.

The median income for a household in the city is $32,216, and the median income for a family is $37,879. Males have a median income of $32,244 versus $26,013 for females. The per capita income for the city is $16,181. 21.3% of the population and 17.4% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 31.6% of those under the age of 18 and 11.0% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.

Milwaukee still faces a shrinking population, and other problems, such as crime, racial tension, poverty, and a precarious school system, presenting a serious challenge to the city. Although the crime rate is down since the early 1990s, the issues of urban crime and police corruption are still at the forefront, frequently appearing on the front page of local newspapers. Milwaukee is often referred to as "one of the most segregated cities in the United States," and accusations of police brutality and racial profiling are common. Many considered the hiring of the first black Chief of Police, Arthur Jones, to be a turning point for Milwaukee, noting that crime in 2004 was at its lowest in nearly 15 years. However, critics accused Jones of ineffectiveness, eventually leading to his resignation.

Race and ethnicity

In the 2000 census, over a third (38 percent) of Milwaukeeans reported that they were of German descent. Other large population groups include Polish (12.7%), Irish (10%), English (5.1%), Italian (4.4%), French (3.9%), and Hispanic origin totaled 6.3%. According to the 2004 Census Estimate, the racial makeup of the city is 46.7% White, 39.5% African American, 0.8% Native American, 3.6% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 7.3% from other races, and 2.1% from two or more races. 13.3% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race. Within the Milwaukee region, race is frequently a contentious issue, and the city is frequently cited as hypersegregated or even as "the most segregated city in America", although the latter is a very controversial contention. It is certainly more nearly accurate at present to say that the metropolitan area, rather than the city itself, is hypersegregated.

Religion

In 2000, the American Religion Data Archive reported Milwaukee's religious composition as 58% Catholic, 23% Lutheran, 3% Methodist and 2.5% Jewish. The remaining 13.5% are largely members of protestant denominations or members of various Eastern Orthodox churches. Milwaukee is home to the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Milwaukee, the Episcopal Diocese of Milwaukee, the Greater Milwaukee Synod of the ELCA and the headquarters of the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod. The School Sisters of the Third Order of St Francis have their mother house in Milwaukee and several other religious orders have a significant presence in the area, including the Jesuits and Franciscans.

Transportation

Interstate 94 comes north from Chicago to enter Milwaukee and continues west to Madison. Interstate 43 enters Milwaukee from the southwest and continues north to Green Bay. Milwaukee has two branch interstate highways, Interstate 894 and Interstate 794. I-894 extends from the western suburbs to the southern suburbs, bypassing downtown. I-794 extends east from the Marquette Interchange to Lake Michigan before turning south over the Hoan Bridge toward the airport, turning into Highway 794 along the way.

Milwaukee is also served by three US highways. U.S. Route 18 provides a link from downtown to points west. U.S. Route 41 and U.S. Route 45 both provide north-south freeway transportation on the western side of the city.

The Milwaukee County Transit System provides a bus transit system. The city is also served by the Hiawatha Amtrak express service between Milwaukee and Chicago. In addition, Milwaukee is home to two airports, General Mitchell International Airport on the southern edge of the city, and the smaller Timmerman Field on the north side.

A tram system known as the Milwaukee Connector was proposed, but the mayor vetoed the bill over problems of cost and availability. Metra is also being proposed for an expansion from Kenosha up to Milwaukee. Such a plan would be designed to help ease commutes from the southern suburbs and exurbs into the city. It is still only in the preliminary engineering stage.

Economy

Most people associate Milwaukee with beer, since it was once the home to four of the world's largest breweries (Schlitz, Blatz, Pabst, and Miller), and was also the number one beer producing city in the world for many years. Despite the decline in its position as the world's leading beer producer after the closure of three of those breweries, its one remaining major brewery, Miller Brewing Company, remains a key employer by employing over 1,700 of the city's workers. Due to Miller's solid position as the second-largest beer-maker in the U.S., as well as a flourishing microbrewing scene, the city remains known as a beer town even though brewing only represents a fraction of its economy.

Twenty-two percent of Milwaukee's workforce is involved in manufacturing, second only to San Jose, California and far higher than the national average of 16.5%. Service and managerial jobs are the fastest growing segments of the Milwaukee economy, and healthcare makes up 27% of all service jobs in the city.

Milwaukee is headquarters to six Fortune 1000 manufacturers and six Fortune 1000 service companies. Among these are Briggs & Stratton, Harley-Davidson, Johnson Controls, Manpower Inc., Marshall & Ilsley, Northwestern Mutual, Rockwell Automation, Roundy's Supermarkets, Metavante, Kohl's, and Wisconsin Energy. The Milwaukee area ranked number five in the nation when measuring the number of Fortune 500 companies as a share of the population, just behind the number four Minneapolis-St. Paul region. Milwaukee also has a large number of financial service firms, particularly those specializing in mutual funds and transaction processing systems, and a disproportionate number of publishing and printing companies, including Quad/Graphics. Milwaukee is also the headquarters of the Koss Corporation and Master Lock.

Culture and sports

Museums

Milwaukee's most visually prominent cultural attraction is the Milwaukee Art Museum, especially its new $100 million wing designed by Santiago Calatrava in his first American commission. The museum includes a "brise soleil," a moving sunscreen that quite literally unfolds like the wing of a bird. Milwaukee is also home to the America's Black Holocaust Museum. Founded by lynching survivor James Cameron, the museum features exhibits which chronicle the injustices suffered throughout history by people of African descent in the United States. The Milwaukee Public Museum, Discovery World Museum, Betty Brinn Children's Museum, Mitchell Park Horticultural Conservatory and Milwaukee County Zoo are also notable public attractions.

Performing arts

Milwaukee is home to the Florentine Opera, the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, the Milwaukee Ballet, Milwaukee Repertory Theatre, Milwaukee Shakespeare, Skylight Opera Theatre, First Stage Children's Theater, Milwaukee Youth Theatre, and a number of other arts organizations including the Pioneer Drum and Bugle Corps. Additionally, Milwaukee is home to artistic performance venues such as the Marcus Center for the Performing Arts, Pabst Theater, The Rave/Eagles Ballroom, Riverside Theatre, and Milwaukee Theatre. The Milwaukee Youth Arts Center, a first-of-its-kind Arts-in-education facility, is a national model.

Festivals

Milwaukee, "A Great Place on a Great Lake" has also advertised itself as the "City of Festivals," emphasizing an annual lakefront fair called Summerfest. Listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the largest music festival in the world, Summerfest attracts around 900,000 visitors a year to its twelve stages.

Along with Summerfest, Milwaukee is home to a variety of ethnic and themed festivals throughout the summer. Held primarily on the lakefront Summerfest grounds, these festivals span several days (typically Friday plus the weekend) and celebrate Milwaukee's history and diversity. In a typical season, the 'Fests are kicked off by PrideFest in early June and are concluded with Indian Summer in early September. Polish, Greek, French, Italian, German, African-American, Arab, Irish, Native American and Mexican heritages are celebrated throughout the summer.

The Greater Milwaukee Convention & Visitors Bureau published a schedule of major events in 2006.

Music

Milwaukee has a long history of musical activity. The first organized musical society, called "Milwaukee Beethoven Society" formed in 1843, three years before the city was incorporated. This was later replaced with the Milwaukee Musical Society.

The large concentrations of German immigrants contributed to the musical character of the city. Saengerbund festivals were held regularly. Also notable is the founding of the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music in 1899.

More recently, Milwaukee has a vibrant history of rock, blues, punk, ska, industrial music, goth and pop music bands. A range of musicians have called Milwaukee home, including Hildegarde, Woody Herman, Liberace, saxophonist Warren Wiegratz, blues giant Hubert Sumlin, the BoDeans, Violent Femmes, Citizen King, The Gufs, The Promise Ring, Little Blue Crunchy Things, Eric Bénet, Speech (rapper) from the band Arrested Development (hip hop group), Al Jarreau and Oil Tasters, among others. Local hip-hop acts include Black Elephant, Rusty Ps, Taste Emcees and Def Harmonic. Coo Coo Cal gave Milwaukee a national foothold in the hip-hop market with his hit single "My Projects", as did Rico Love with his signing to Usher's US Records as well as writing various R&B songs. Beer City Records, a local punk rock label, is home to DRI and Millions of Dead Cops. Venues such as Pabst Theater, Marcus Amphitheater and The Rave frequently bring internationally-known and critically acclaimed acts to Milwaukee.

Milwaukee is also home to a thriving club scene booking regular international DJs such as Richie Hawtin, LTJ Bukem, Mark Farina, Derrick Carter and others. In the early 1990s, the city was home to a vibrant rave scene, especially fostering hardcore techno, thanks to Drop Bass; but the scene moved south to Chicago. Milwaukee is also a center of the breakcore scene with labels such as Addict Records and Zod Records.

Sports

Throughout the sports world, Milwaukee is perhaps best known for its tradition of tailgating (partying from parked automobiles) before Brewers baseball games. Reflecting its working class heritage, the city has a rich history of involvement in professional and nonprofessional sports, going back to the 19th century. Currently, its major sports teams include:

Club	Sport	Founded	Current League	Stadium
Milwaukee Brewers	Baseball	1969	Major League Baseball	Miller Park
Milwaukee Bucks	Basketball	1968	National Basketball Association	Bradley Center
Milwaukee Admirals	Hockey	1970	American Hockey League	Bradley Center
Milwaukee Wave	Indoor soccer	1984	Major Indoor Soccer League	U.S. Cellular Arena

Previously, numerous other teams have played in Milwaukee, including:

Club	Sport	Played from	League	Stadium
Cream Citys	Baseball	1878	National League
Milwaukee Unions	Baseball	1884	Union Association
Milwaukee Brewers	Baseball	1888-1901	American League	Lloyd Street Grounds
Milwaukee Brewers (1891)	Baseball	1891	American Association (19th century)
Milwaukee Brewers	Baseball	1902-1952	American Association	Borchert Field
Milwaukee Badgers	Football	1922-1926	NFL
Milwaukee Bears	Baseball	1923	Negro National League	Borchert Field
Milwaukee Chiefs	Football	1940-1941	American Football League
Milwaukee Hawks	Basketball	1951-1955	NBA	Milwaukee Arena
Milwaukee Braves	Baseball	1953-1965	MLB	Milwaukee County Stadium
Milwaukee Does	Basketball	1978-1980	WBL	MECCA Arena (now U.S. Cellular Arena)
Milwaukee Mustangs	Arena football	1994-2001	Arena Football League	Bradley Center
Milwaukee Rampage	Soccer	1994-2002	USL First Division
Milwaukee Wave United	Soccer	2003-2004	USL First Division

The early 20th century Milwaukee Brewers's time in the American League predates the league's evolution into a major league, going back to the 19th century to its predecessors, the Western Association and Western League. The minor league Milwaukee Brewers minor league|Milwaukee Brewers was not directly connected to the older team. In fact, there was concern at the time about the prospect of both teams simultaneously playing in 1901 or 1902. It should also be noted that the 19th century baseball teams in Milwaukee were interchangebly referred to as the Cream Citys, Milwaukee Brewers, Milwaukee Greys or Milwaukee Unions.[2] This was common during the time as most teams did not have official names and rather adopted names which reporters assigned to them. The table lists the most common name used for each particular team.

The Milwaukee Braves won the National League pennant in 1957 and 1958, and won the World Series in 1957. The Brewers made their first post-season appearance in 1981 and won the American League pennant in 1982.

The Green Bay Packers played a portion of their home schedule in Milwaukee on a regular basis since in the 1930's in the following locations:

• Borchert Field, 1933
• Wisconsin State Fair Park, 1934-51
• Marquette Stadium, 1952
• Milwaukee County Stadium, 1953-1994

The first Milwaukee game was played on December 3, 1922, against the Racine Legion; the last on December 18, 1994, against the Atlanta Falcons. The 1939 Championship between the Packers and the New York Giants was played at State Fair Park. The Packers won, 27-0. A 1931 championship against the Portsmouth Spartans was also scheduled for Milwaukee, but was called off.

The Milwaukee suburb of West Allis is home to the Milwaukee Mile auto racing facility, the oldest active auto race track in the United States, located on the Wisconsin State Fair Park|Wisconsin State Fair Grounds. Also near the Fair Grounds is the Pettit National Ice Center, a U.S. Olympic Team training facility.

Education

Higher education in Milwaukee is dominated by the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee on the East Side and Marquette University, located near downtown. Milwaukee is also served by Alverno College, Cardinal Stritch University, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee Area Technical College, Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design, Milwaukee School of Engineering, Mount Mary College, and Wisconsin Lutheran College, collectively giving the city a full-time, degree seeking college student population exceeding approximately 70,000. Thus, Milwaukee has the largest student population in the state of Wisconsin.

Milwaukee maintains Milwaukee Public Schools, the largest school district in Wisconsin and one of the largest in the nation. As of 2006, it has an enrollment of 95,600 students and employs 6,100 full-time and substitute teachers in 223 schools. Milwaukee Public Schools operate as magnet schools, with individualized specialty areas for interests in academics, or the arts. Golda Meir School, Milwaukee School of Languages, Milwaukee High School of the Arts, and Lynde & Harry Bradley Technology and Trade School are just some examples of the magnet schools in Milwaukee. In addition to its public schools, Milwaukee is home to a large number of parochial schools, including over two dozen private high schools and hundreds of private middle and elementary schools.

The district has a reputation for a poorly performing student body and efforts have been underway for years to reform the school system. School District officials note declining funding as a catalyst to problems in the district.

The school choice program, started with the support of former governor Tommy Thompson has given many Milwaukee students the opportunity to study at parochial and other private schools free of cost, although the program remains the topic of considerable controversy; and the inevitable fraudulent operators have moved in. A definitive solution to the education issue is still forthcoming, but progress is being made. One step of progress is noted in that school graduation rates have improved slightly over recent years.

Of persons aged 25 and above, 84.5% have a high school diploma, and 27% have a Bachelor's degree or higher. (2000) See also: List of High Schools in Milwaukee County

Media

Milwaukee's leading newspaper is the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. The most prominent weekly is Shepherd Express, a free publication. Other local newspapers, city guides and magazines with large distributions include Milwaukee Magazine and MKE (magazine), and The Onion. OnMilwaukee.com is an online magazine providing news and events.

Milwaukee is well served by local television and radio. Milwaukee's major network television affiliates are WTMJ 4 (NBC), WITI 6 (Fox), WISN 12 (ABC), WVTV 18 (CW), WCGV 24 (MyTV), and WDJT 58 (CBS). WMLW 41 is a popular independent commercial station in Milwaukee largely due to its coverage of local collegiate sports teams. Spanish language programming is on WYTU-LP 63 (Telemundo). Milwaukee's public broadcasting stations are WMVS 10 and WMVT 36.

There are numerous radio stations throughout Milwaukee and the surrounding area.

Colloquialisms

• One well-known colloquialism common to Milwaukee and the surrounding area is the word "bubbler," which refers to a drinking fountain. [3]
• It is also common for people to refer to ATMs as a "Tyme Machine," referring to the former name of the dominant debit card/ATM network in Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, TYME ("Take Your Money Everywhere"). Although the TYME network was taken over and renamed by Pulse in 2004, the phrase remains in common use.
• A major road in Milwaukee County is Highway 100, sometimes referred to as "Highway a-hundred", or "the strip."
• Common colloquailisms for Milwaukee itself are "Cream City" (referring to the color of brick used for many of the city's buildings) and "Brew City" (referring to the city's beer brewing heritage and current world headquarters of Miller Brewing Co.). "Mil Town" is also used frequently. [4]
• While much of the Great Lakes region refers to soft drinks as "pop," Milwaukee (and surrounding areas) prefer the term "soda". [5]
• Nike's Air Force One sneakers are often referred to by Milwaukeeans (especially young blacks) as "dookies." [6]