GLANCE AT YESTERYEAR COMMENTARY

Sovereign Apartments This Feb. 18, 1930 photo shows the Art Deco-style Sovereign Apartments, now at 1820 W. Wisconsin Ave., during construction. With 142 units, the building was Milwaukee’s largest apartment building constructed before World War II. Today, the building has an assessed value of more than $6.2 million.

— Image courtesy of the Milwaukee Public Library VOLUME 25, NUMBER 23 | MAR 16, 2020 126 N. Jefferson St., Suite 403, Milwaukee, WI 53202-6120 PHONE: 414-277-8181 FAX: 414-277-8191 WEBSITE: www.biztimes.com CIRCULATION: 414-336-7100 | circulation@biztimes.com ADVERTISING: 414-336-7112 | advertising@biztimes.com EDITORIAL: 414-336-7120 | andrew.weiland@biztimes.com REPRINTS: 414-336-7100 | reprints@biztimes.com

PUBLISHER / OWNER Dan Meyer dan.meyer@biztimes.com DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS Mary Ernst mary.ernst@biztimes.com COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT / OWNER Kate Meyer kate.meyer@biztimes.com

EDITORIAL EDITOR Andrew Weiland andrew.weiland@biztimes.com ASSOCIATE EDITOR Lauren Anderson lauren.anderson@biztimes.com ASSOCIATE EDITOR Arthur Thomas arthur.thomas@biztimes.com REPORTER Brandon Anderegg brandon.anderegg@biztimes.com REPORTER Maredithe Meyer maredithe.meyer@biztimes.com REPORTER Alex Zank alex.zank@biztimes.com

Independent & Locally Owned — Founded 1995 —

SALES & MARKETING DIRECTOR OF SALES Linda Crawford linda.crawford@biztimes.com ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE Paddy Kieckhefer paddy.kieckhefer@biztimes.com ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE Molly Lawrence molly.lawrence@biztimes.com ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE Maggie Pinnt maggie.pinnt@biztimes.com ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE Christie Ubl christie.ubl@biztimes.com INSIDE SALES ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE Dylan Dobson dylan.dobson@biztimes.com SALES ADMINISTRATOR Meggan Hau meggan.hau@biztimes.com

ADMINISTRATION ADMINISTRATIVE COORDINATOR Sue Herzog sue.herzog@biztimes.com

PRODUCTION & DESIGN GRAPHIC DESIGNER Alex Schneider alex.schneider@biztimes.com ART DIRECTOR Shelly Tabor shelly.tabor@biztimes.com

COMMENTARY

Milwaukee strong

FOR MANY YEARS the Miller brewery has been the heart and soul of Milwaukee.

An iconic company, making the Brew City’s signature product, for 165 years. It has sponsored and supported many community organizations and institutions, including Miller Park, home of the Brewers.

Now part of Molson Coors, the company has 1,300 employees in Milwaukee. Last fall it announced plans to restructure and move hundreds of additional jobs here. Many of us work, have worked or know someone who works or has worked at the Miller (now Molson Coors) brewery in Milwaukee.

The company’s strong ties to this community only made the devastating news of a mass shooting there even more painful.

Six people died in the incident, including the gunman, according to police.

The victims were young and old, city-dwellers and suburbanites. They were fathers, husbands and grandfathers. Dana Walk, 57, of

40 / BizTimes Milwaukee MARCH 16, 2020 Delafield, was an avid fisherman and a die-hard Packer fan. Gennady Levshetz, 61, of Mequon, was a proud grandfather. Trevor Wetselaar, 33, of Milwaukee, had served in the U.S. Navy where he operated a nuclear reactor on board a submarine. Dale Hudson, 60, of Waukesha, loved hunting and fishing. Jesus Valle Jr., 33, of Milwaukee, was described as a loving family man.

They were so much like any of us. Then they went to work one day, and didn’t get to return home to their families.

It will take time for employees, friends, family members and the community to grieve and process this tragedy. It has been wonderful to see so many rally around the families of the victims to support them in various ways.

There is still much we don’t know about what happened on that horrible day at the brewery, and police continue to investigate and are urging the public to “wait for the facts of the investigation to be released rather than speculating and generating a false narrative…” But the incident has brought attention to one of Milwaukee’s biggest problems: segregation and racial inequality. Rumors have persisted that the actions of the suspect (an African American man) were racially motivated. But Milwaukee Police say “neither race nor racism has been identified as a factor in this incident.” However, Molson Coors acknowledged the suspect had experienced racial harassment at work. In 2015, a noose was found on his locker. An investigation by WDJT-TV Channel 58 found 21 discrimination complaints filed with the state’s Department of Workforce Development Equal Rights Division against the company over six years, though none involved the suspect. “There’s no two ways about it,” Molson Coors spokesman Marty Maloney said. “We have more work to do. Fostering an inclusive and welcoming workplace is something every organization has to work towards each day, and we aren’t going to shy away from our responsibility to take a deep look at our own culture.”

In the wake of this terrible tragedy, hopefully the company and our community grow closer and stronger, together. n

ANDREW WEILAND EDITOR P / 414-336-7120 E / andrew.weiland@biztimes.com T / @AndrewWeiland