READ MORE OF OUR 2024 YEAR IN REVIEW STORIES
A Scar in Time
BY JOHN GURDA
One of my favorite recurring stories in our print magazine is the back page – every month John Gurda, Milwaukee’s preeminent historian – treats us with a short essay about a striking photo from Milwaukee’s past. But this issue, we had the chance to get more personal with John in this longform feature. He shared the story of a troubled young man he worked with in the ’70s at Journey House, a Near South Side youth center. The story is touching, compelling and heartbreaking, as John recounts trying to help this kid get on the right path. I found it one of the most moving pieces we published this year. – Archer Parquette, Managing Editor
Sewage Boss
BY ARCHER PARQUETTE
Our intrepid managing editor braved the stink and ventured to Jones Island to tell the story of an overlooked civic leader who’s changed the game for sewage treatment. Excellent reporting and clear, compelling writing about a complex system made this one a top story for me. Who knew wastewater management would make for such a fun, insightful read? – Evan Musil, Arts & Culture Editor
Mo Zhou Is Flipping the Narrative of ‘Madama Butterfly’ on its Head
BY CARMELLA D’ACQUISTO
This story is about how director Mo Zhou took the opera Madama Butterfly and reimagined it for this performance by the Florentine Opera. In the story, Zhou talks about how she flipped this story that’s written for the Western male gaze to be instead about a woman actively fighting for a path to safety in 1946, right after the atomic bombing of Nagasaki. It’s truly fascinating how shifting the setting of the opera in this way changed the whole meaning of the show – without having to change a word of the opera itself. – Brianna Schubert, Digital Editor
5 Must-Try Milwaukee Taco Trucks
BY ANN CHRISTENSON
I’m going to be gauche and name one of my own stories — the taco truck roundup from June Summer Guide. But this is not to praise my writing ability. Just for all-around crave-ability, that story came pretty seamlessly together — and was part of a dining section that effectively synced our foodways and summer. Boy, that taco piece was a fun one to report (which means eat!). – Ann Christenson, Dining Editor
Baptism of Fire
BY ARCHER PARQUETTE
Archer’s coverage of Aaron Lipski and the MFD had me on the edge of my seat. You don’t realize the sheer volume these firefighters are tasked with, the sacrifices they make, and the mental burden they carry long after they’ve gone home for the day (if at all). Lipski’s bull-strong personality and passionate advocacy for his team is inspiring. The Chief says it how it is, when it needs to be said and when no one else will. He invests in the well-being of his people and helps them through hard times. – Sophie Yufa, Editorial Designer
Why Is There Underwear in My Fortune Cookie?
BY ADAM ROGAN
This is one of those stories where you can’t help but look at the headline and go, “Wait, what?” And okay, yes, it’s not actual underwear in his fortune cookie (that would be a little insane, the cookie would have to be massive!), it’s still really weird to crack open your cookie expecting a fortune and instead getting… wait I don’t want to spoil the story. Just go read it. It’s a fun one! – Brianna Schubert, Digital Editor
I reject the premise and am giving you a bunch of stories I enjoyed this year. – Chris Drosner, Executive Editor
First is the Michail Takach’s piece on Les Petites Bon Bons, the gonzo group of Sunset Strip socialites born from the gay rights movement here in Milwaukee. Editing with Michail to bring this story to our readers was a highlight of my professional year – a year that had many!
Another was interviewing – well, really, facilitating a conversation between – Milwaukee ball coaches Doc Rivers and Shaka Smart. I hope readers found the conversation about leading young men, their Marquette connection and hoops in Milwaukee as compelling as I did.
Another personal highlight was the dive bars package I edited. Sometimes this job is work, and sometimes it’s thinking about dive bars for months. (Yes, there was a lot of “research.”) It also gave me the opportunity to put into words a subject I’ve been thinking about peripherally for most of my life – why bars (good ones, at least) feel so much like home. You can read that essay here.
And then there was Archer Parquette’s story back in January about Happy Days’ Milwaukee connections. This was our editor Carole Nicksin’s idea, and I’ll admit I was skeptical of the premise, but Archer’s reporting brought together a story with a lot of insight about the ’50s, the ’70s and today.
Oh, and Archer’s Bean Swag opus.
