Shepherd Express - February 2026

FEBRAURY 2026 NEXT ISSUE ON STANDS

MARCH 4, 2026

Romantic Dining CELEBRATE VALENTINE'S DAY THE MILWAUKEE WAY!

PAGES 26 - 39

WINTER SPORTS AND

BRONZEVILLE CENTER

PAGE 40

DIRECTOR INTERVIEW PAGE 20

ACTIVITIES IN WISCONSIN

FOR THE ARTS EXECUTIVE

WAS D&D BORN

IN LAKE GENEVA?

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FEBRUARY 2026 | 3

NEWS 06 Trump's Sordid Relationships with Girls and Women

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09 This Modern World 10 Communities Around the U.S. Push Back Against AI Data Center Expansion 16 Lakeeta Watts: Birth Work in Underserved Communities — Hero of the Month 19 February Crossword SPONSORED BY

20 Interview with Ra Joy, Executive Director of the Bronzeville Center for the Arts — MKE SPEAKS: Conversations with Milwaukeeans

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FOOD & DRINK 26 What Makes a Great Romantic Restaurant?

32 It Doesn't Get More Milwaukee Than This! Lakefront Brewery Fish Fry Food Review 36 Champagne with a Capital C — Beverages

SPECIAL SECTION 40 ‘Faster, Higher, Stronger’ with Winter Sports and Activities in Wisconsin

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SPONSORED BY

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44 Milwaukee Admirals And Their Fans Are Simply One Big Family SPONSORED BY

CULTURE 48 Was Dungeons & Dragons Born in Lake Geneva?

52 This Month in Milwaukee

LIFESTYLE 56 Caretaker No More — Ask Ally 58 A Heart Once Closed May Never Reopen — Out of my Mind

HEAR ME OUT 60 Turning 50; Feeling Fabulous — Dear Ruthie SPONSORED BY

62 The Latest Chapter of Black History Includes Us All — My LGBTQ POV SPONSORED BY

63 February Crossword Answers

32 AT SHEPHERD EXPRESS, WE ARE COMMITTED TO ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY AND RESPONSIBLE PRACTICES. OUR PUBLICATION IS PRINTED ON PAPER THAT IS CERTIFIED BY THE FOREST STEWARDSHIP COUNCIL (FSC), SUSTAINABLE FORESTRY INITIATIVE (SFI), AND THE AMERICAN TREE FARM SYSTEM (ASTFS), ENSURING IT COMES FROM RESPONSIBLY MANAGED FORESTS. IN ADDITION TO OUR ECO-FRIENDLY PAPER, WE UTILIZE INKS THAT INCORPORATE RENEWABLE RESOURCES SUCH AS SOYBEAN OIL, LINSEED OIL, CASTOR OIL, TALL OIL ROSIN, AND GUM ROSIN. THESE CHOICES REFLECT OUR DEDICATION TO REDUCING OUR ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT AND PROMOTING A GREENER FUTURE. MOREOVER, OUR DEDICATION TO SUSTAINABILITY EXTENDS TO THE END OF THE PUBLICATION'S LIFECYCLE. OUR PRINTED MATERIALS ARE DESIGNED TO BE RECYCLABLE, ALLOWING READERS TO PARTICIPATE IN THE CIRCULAR ECONOMY AND PLAY A PART IN PRESERVING THE ENVIRONMENT.

ART FOR ART'S SAKE 66 From the City that Always Sweeps

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Cover: Tom & Alison enjoying the atmosphere at The Pasta Tree Restaurant & Wine Bar - Photo by Tim Czerniakowski.

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40 PUBLISHER & EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: Louis Fortis (louis@shepex.com) MANAGING EDITOR: David Luhrssen (dluhrssen@shepex.com) GENERAL MANAGER: Peggy Debnam (peggy@shepex.com) MEDIA SALES MANAGER: Jackie Butzler (jackie@shepex.com) SENIOR MEDIA CONSULTANTS: Bridgette Ard (bridgette@shepex.com) Chuck Hill (chuck@shepex.com) MEDIA CONSULTANTS: Jennifer Jepson (jennifer@shepex.com) IN MEMORY OF DUSTI FERGUSON (OCTOBER 18, 1971 – NOVEMBER 20, 2007 WEB COORDINATOR: Caroline Dannecker (caroline@shepex.com) DIGITAL STRATEGIST: Sophia Hamdan (sophia@shepex.com) STAFF WRITER & CIRCULATION COORDINATOR: Blaine Schultz (blaine@shepex.com) STAFF WRITER: Ben Slowey (ben@shepex.com) LAYOUT AND DESIGN: Timothy Czerniakowski

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FEBRUARY 2026 | 5

NEWS

Trump’s Sordid Relationships with Girls and Women

BY E. G. NADEAU (CARTOON BY LUC NADEAU)

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his is the eighth in a series of monthly articles on corruption during Donald Trump’s second term in office.

This article focuses on Trump's attitudes and behavior toward girls and women.

Disparaging beliefs about, and abusive behavior toward, any group—women, racial and ethnic groups, people of different religious beliefs or sexual orientations, etc.—have no place in a democratic society and, therefore, have a corrupting influence on that society. Trump’s misogyny is, thus, one of many corrupt characteristics of his administration.

Who and what shaped Donald Trump as a child and as a man?

Trump was a self-centered bully as a child and continues to be as an adult. Those egocentric, domineering characteristics morphed him into the sexually obsessed misogynist he became as an adolescent and continues to be as president. Let’s track the chronology of his “development.”

PARENTS Mary Anne Trump was Donald’s mother, but she played a minor role in his upbringing. When Donald was two, she almost died giving birth to Robert, Donald’s younger brother, and had follow-up health complications. Thus, Donald's primary parent was his father, Fred, a hard-driving real estate developer with little time for, or interest in, playing that role to a young child.

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According to David Axelrod in an April 2024 issue of The Atlantic, “Donald Trump’s biographers all seem to agree that he didn’t get a lot of love from his father. But what Fred Trump did impart to his son was an indelible lesson: There are two kinds of people in the world—killers and losers—and like his father, Donald had to be a killer.

“In Fred Trump’s dark vision, all of life was a jungle in which the strong survive and prosper and the weak fall away.

The killers take what they want, however they need to take it. Rules? Norms? Laws? Institutions? They’re for suckers.

The only unpardonable sin in Trumpworld is the failure to act in your own self-interest.”

Fred’s behavior toward women also provided lessons to his son. In his book Lost Tycoon: The Many Lives of Donald J. Trump, published in January 1993, Harry Hurt wrote that “Fred was nicknamed “King of Miami Beach” for his rampant philandering in South Florida back in the day.”

SCHOOL YEARS According to a PBS article published in September 2020, Trump was a bully as a child, so much so that his father shipped him off to an all-boys military high school to provide a disciplined environment for him. His bullying traits continued at the school, but he also developed a reputation as a “ladies’ man” because he often brought pretty girls to school social events. “At Fordham, Donald Trump was seen as an athletic, opinionated, and socially somewhat distant student who got "C+" average grades.”

Evidence board background by GettyImages/AndreyPopov.

Thumbtack by GettyImages/elohimchik.

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NEWS

Trump transferred from Fordham to The Wharton School of Economics, part of the University of Pennsylvania, where he was generally seen as “an inconsistent student, more interested in real estate than academics, who often skipped classes and study groups to work in New York, never making the Dean's List despite later claims he graduated first in his class.”

Several contestants from the Miss Teen USA and Miss USA pageants co-owned by Trump from 1996 to 2015 claimed he walked into their dressing rooms while they were changing, a time when many of them were minors.

EARLY ADULT WORK AND SOCIAL LIFE

Porn star Stormy Daniels and former Playboy Playmate of the Year Karen McDougall are two adult trysters that we know about. In terms of female minors, we may never learn Trump’s sexual history with them.

Trump began working full-time for his father’s real estate business, Trump Management, in 1968, initially focusing on collecting rent and making repairs in Queens before taking over leadership in 1971, moving to Manhattan, and eventually renaming the business the Trump Organization.

In the early 1970s, Trump became a member of Le Club, an exclusive restaurant and club in midtown Manhattan, where he rubbed shoulders with New York’s elites and their women friends. This marked the beginning of Trump’s decades-long, intimate involvement in New York’s and Florida’s social club scenes.

FIVE AND A HALF DECADES OF SEXUAL OBSESSION, MISCONDUCT AND COVERUPS In trying to understand Trump’s sex life in the 1970s through the present, it is important to recognize that he has played a variety of different roles.

1. Trump used and uses attractive girls and women as “arm candy,” to display his masculinity by the beauty of the women he dated and is seen with.

This was true as the perceived “ladies’ man” during his military school days. It continues to be true in his social club events in New York and New Jersey, Florida and now, Washington DC. 2. He was a social climber, using women as some of the rungs on his ladder to fame and fortune.

Trump married three women widely considered to be beautiful—Ivana, Marla Maples and Melania. Ivana and Melania in particular were and are smart, “transactional” partners who have furthered his career.

3. He was a sexual predator, definitely of women and, perhaps, of underage girls as well.

By his own admission in the “Hollywood Access” tape (“I don't even wait. And when you're a star, they let you do it.

You can do anything. ... Grab 'em by the pussy. You can do anything.”), he sexually assaulted adult women, and, based on evidence from his long relationship with Jeffrey Epstein, may have done the same to underage girls.

4. He saw himself as an obsessive connoisseur of the bodies of beautiful girls and women.

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5. He was also willing to buy sex from adult women, and perhaps from underage girls.

6. He was and is a somewhat successful denier of the above activities.

Of all the accusations of sexual impropriety made against him, he has lost only two civil lawsuits related to sexual abuse. According to a Wikipedia article, American author E. Jean Carroll filed two related civil lawsuits against Trump for sexual abuse and defamation in 2019 and 2022. The two suits resulted in a total of $88.3 million in damages awarded to Carroll. Both cases are under appeal.

As reported by Wikipedia in a different article, “Trump was charged with 34 felony counts of falsifying business records to conceal payments made to the pornographic film actress Stormy Daniels as hush money to buy her silence over a sexual encounter between them; with costs related to the transaction included, the payments totaled $420,000 . . . Trump was convicted on all counts on May 30, 2024, becoming the first U.S. president to be convicted of a felony. Following a series of delays and Trump's 2024 presidential election victory, he was sentenced to an unconditional discharge on January 10, 2025. He is appealing his conviction.”

CONCLUSION This article provides a brief overview of major lowlights leading to Trump’s current egomaniacal and sexually perverted worldview and behavior. His misogyny has been a dominant characteristic during most of his life and has probably scarred the lives of dozens, if not hundreds, of girls and women. As the so-called “leader of the free world” his degradation of women is a degradation of the entire concept of what it means to be free and equal in a democratic society. This is a fundamental corruption of the most basic tenets of democracy.

E.G. Nadeau is co-director of the Cooperative Society Project, dedicated to the idea that humanity may be on the verge of a new era of cooperation, democracy, equitable distribution of resources and a sustainable relationship with nature. He has Ph.D. in sociology.

FEBRUARY 2026 | 9

NEWS

Data center image by GettyImages/Andrey Semenov.

Red X by GettyImages/Mironov Konstantin.

Communities Around the U.S. Push Back Against AI Data Center Expansion

BY ALEFIYA PRESSWALA, PROJECT CENSORED, SHEPHERD EXPRESS MEDIA PARTNER

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here are more than 5,400 data centers in the United States, accounting for nearly 50 percent of the world’s estimated 11,000–12,000 data centers.

As more companies invest in artificial intelligence (AI) and incorporate it into their business models, there has been a push across the country to build even more data centers for AI infrastructure. According to a report authored by the professional services network PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), “overall global data center investment was $250 billion in 2023 and is projected to quadruple to $1 trillion by 2027.”

Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI, once said: “AI will probably most likely lead to the end of the world, but in the meantime, there’ll be great companies.” While these centers benefit the companies building them, they have detrimental impacts on surrounding communities and the environment.

Some corporate media outlets have reported on the issue, but most of the pushback—and much of the coverage—is from independent, grassroots community organizations, nonprofits, and citizen scientists and journalists.

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WHAT IS AN AI DATA CENTER? Generally defined, an AI data center is a specialized physical facility that houses the infrastructure required to train and deliver AI services. Because AI systems are so complex and require a lot of energy, they need to have “high-performance computing capabilities,” as well as large amounts of storage, high-speed memory, and a cooling method.

In fact, an AI data center requires so much energy that a regular data center (used solely for powering the internet, cloud services and other digital functions) not designed for AI would collapse under the workload of an AI data center.

According to IBM, there are two main types of AI data centers: hyperscale and colocation. Hyperscale data centers are huge (typically 10,000 square feet or larger) and are built, operated, and owned by large cloud service providers and tech companies (e.g., Google, Amazon, Microsoft, Meta). Hyperscale data centers are specifically designed for large, high-intensity AI workloads, such as training large language models.

Binary text by GettyImages/Jelena83 .

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NEWS

By contrast, colocation data centers are smaller, shared spaces where multiple businesses can rent space to store their own servers and equipment via contracts that may last a couple of months or even years.

center hubs because of lower costs and high connectivity to other places (like California’s connectivity to Asia with undersea cables through the Pacific, or Chicago’s technological connection to both the East and West coasts).

WHERE ARE THESE CENTERS?

ENVIRONMENTAL AND ECONOMIC IMPACTS

Companies that want to construct large data centers target areas with inexpensive real estate and weaker local governments, near large bodies of water.

Companies looking to build data centers often receive tax breaks from state and local governments looking to attract large tech investors. For example, a 2025 CNBC study found that a Microsoft data center in Illinois received $38 million in specific sales tax exemptions. Another Microsoft data center in Washington state received $333 million in sales tax exemptions between 2015 and 2023.

As noted, all AI data centers require cooling systems to function. Most AI data centers use liquid cooling, meaning they use water (instead of just air) to remove heat from AI chips. This may mean that the water is placed directly on cold plates on the AI chips, or that the chips/ servers in the center are placed in a dielectric fluid that absorbs the heat. According to the Environmental and Energy Study Institute:

The nonprofit organization FracTracker Alliance has created a map that shows locations of currently operating data centers in the United States and proposals for new ones.

The yellow dots on the map, which represent proposed data centers, appear frequently in Virginia, Georgia, and Pennsylvania, and in other rural areas in Utah and Texas.

Virginia currently houses the most data centers in the United States, specifically in Ashburn, Virginia’s “Data Center Valley.” Texas is becoming a key state for data centers, and cities in Arizona, Illinois, Ohio, Georgia, California and Oregon are other strong contenders for data

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A medium-sized data center can consume up to roughly 110 million gallons of water per year for cooling purposes, equivalent to the annual water usage of approximately 1,000 households. Larger data centers can each “drink” up to 5 million gallons per day, or about 1.8 billion annually, usage equivalent to a town of 10,000 to 50,000 people.

Together, the nation’s 5,426 data centers consume billions of gallons of water annually. One report estimated that U.S. data centers consume 449 million gallons of water per day and 163.7 billion gallons annually (as of 2021). A 2016 report found that fewer than one-third of data center operators track water consumption. Water consumption is expected to continue increasing as data centers grow in number, size, and complexity.

Image of data center by GettyImages/claffra.

Binary text by GettyImages/Jelena83 .

The water that AI data centers use can come from multiple sources, including surface and groundwater, piped sources like municipal water, and/or “purified reclaimed water.”

There are also concerns about noise pollution, caused by hums and buzzes from server fans, HVAC systems, and other equipment used within the data center. Noise pollution disrupts wildlife by interrupting communication, altering animal behaviors, forcing wildlife to leave their habitats, and generally interfering with the balance of a given ecosystem. Additionally, noise pollution can affect water and soil quality and human health, often triggering stress or sleep disruption.

Companies and institutions that want to build data centers claim that these centers will create more job opportunities in the communities where they are building. However, while there may be jobs in data center construction, there are not many permanent positions. A 2017 report from the US Chamber of Commerce found that, on average, a data center employs 1,688 workers during the construction phase, but once it is running, it only provides 157 permanent jobs. But the larger economic impact of these centers lies in their electricity consumption. In 2025 alone, the tech industry is expected to spend $475 billion on data centers.

Currently, data centers account for 4 percent of the country’s electricity demand, but that number is expected to triple within the next three years.

A recent study published by MediaJustice shows that communities in the South are disproportionately affected by rising electricity prices, with rural farming communities and communities of color impacted the most. In South Carolina, for example, “data centers will account for 65 percent to 70 percent of all new energy usage in the state.” Along with the amount of electricity that data centers require, the energy they use frequently causes power outages, highly impacting the rural communities where these centers are often based.

In addition to this, the CNBC study mentioned earlier found that “42 states provide full or partial sales tax exemptions to data centers or have no state sales tax at all. Of those, 37 have passed legislation specifically granting sales tax exemptions for data centers, and 16 of those states have granted nearly $6 billion in exemptions over the past five years.” The analysis calls these state tax breaks a “losing proposition for taxpayers.”

Greg LeRoy, executive director of Good Jobs First, a nonprofit research group that tracks corporate subsidies and advocates for transparency and accountability in economic development, told CNBC, “When tax breaks don’t pay for themselves, only two things can happen: Either public services are reduced in quality, or everybody’s taxes go up in other ways.”

THE CASE OF LANSING, NEW YORK Terawulf, a Maryland-based technology company, has proposed converting an old coal power plant on Cayuga Lake in Lansing, New York, into a large-scale AI data center.

The company originally gained revenues from Bitcoin mining operations in New York and Pennsylvania.

Lansing is a rural town in Tompkins County, just north of Ithaca, which is more urban (and home to Cornell University).

Lansing’s municipal government and its population are smaller than Ithaca’s, which is likely why Terawulf targeted Lansing. Ithaca is also the base for many environmental nonprofits and a politically active community.

Critics of the data center have shown up at Lansing town board meetings, citing environmental concerns, including noise pollution and the proposed use of Cayuga Lake water for cooling. Much of the investigative reporting on the proposed data center has been conducted by local outlets, such as the Ithaca Voice and Ithaca Times, and other independent investigative organizations.

Hunterbrook Media, which calls itself a “new type of newsroom,” publishes investigative studies without requiring readers to pay to subscribe to access them.

In August 2024, they published a report on Terawulf that exposed issues with the company’s claims of sustainability and energy efficiency. Grizzly Research, which publishes research on publicly traded companies, authored a report in August 2024 in which they concluded, among other findings, that “TeraWulf is in the business of selling stock while enriching insiders and not in the business of becoming a legitimate crypto miner.” These studies have been cited

by Tompkins County residents to argue that Terawulf’s presence in their community will not benefit them.

Residents have also created an Instagram account with the handle @no_datacenter_flx, on which they share important information and updates about the AI data center proposal, including town board meeting times and summaries.

Their bio reads: “A grassroots movement to advocate against the AI data center that’s planned to be built in Lansing, NY. Protect our lake, protect our people!”

The people who run this account have most recently been posting a week-long mini-series highlighting the reasons why they oppose an AI data center in Lansing, citing environmental concerns, public health risks, and delays to the US’s transition to clean energy. These posts are extremely detailed and well-researched, showing how community journalists and concerned citizens are at the forefront of the fight against AI data centers. The social media account has been an essential—if ironic, since social media apps rely on data centers to function—tool for many Tompkins County citizens in understanding the issue and joining a movement.

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NEWS

HOW OTHER COMMUNITIES ARE FIGHTING BACK As the number and scale of data centers across the country expands, so too does pushback against them. A report from Data Center Watch found that in the second quarter of 2025 alone, opposition to data centers rose 125 percent.

According to the report, “an estimated $98 billion in projects were blocked or delayed, more than the total for all previous quarters since 2023.” The report continues: Community opposition continues to grow, with 53 active groups across 17 states targeting 30 data center projects in Q2 alone, bringing the total to 188 groups nationwide.

During this period, 66% of the tracked protested projects were blocked or delayed. As development expands and media attention intensifies, local groups are learning from one another. Petitions, public hearings, and grassroots organizing are reshaping approval processes—especially in Indiana and Georgia.

In Michigan, residents of Saline Township are protesting a $7 billion data center project called Stargate, which is backed by politicians and major figures in the tech world, including Sam Altman (CEO of OpenAI). This project would be one of the largest data centers in the country. OpenAI and Oracle would use this new Michigan data center to house their infrastructure. Residents claim that the companies were not transparent with their plans to build in their town.

More than a hundred people gathered at the state Capitol on December 16, 2025, to protest data center proposals across the state.

The Earth Island Institute writes about resistance in Tucson, Arizona, where a proposal for “Project Blue,” put forth

by Beale Infrastructure, would take millions of gallons of drinking water from the desert for cooling purposes.

Residents consistently attended town board meetings and wrote numerous emails and op-eds in local newspapers. “I feel like I learned more about Project Blue from the public than the city,” said city councilman Rocque Perez, revealing how concerned citizens take it upon themselves to communicate with each other and fill local news deserts. The Guardian reported that “on 6 August, in an unscheduled vote, council members unanimously decided to discontinue discussions with Beale, each sharing short speeches revealing sharp opposition to Project Blue.

Tucsonans packing the council chambers cheered and celebrated; Beale executives, appearing stunned, were booed as they left.” Project Blue no longer.

Across the country, local community members are showing up to their town board meetings to actively oppose the construction of data centers and demand more from their governments.

The rapid expansion of AI data centers is often framed as the natural next step in technological growth, but the consequences and impacts of these centers reveal a larger, more complicated story. While these facilities may generate billions of dollars in profit for tech corporations and fuel the advancement of AI systems across the globe, they also impose enormous and detrimental environmental and financial burdens on the communities in which they are built.

AI data centers are not being built for the public good when they increase electricity bills, cause power outages, and consume massive amounts of water in vulnerable, rural areas.

But, at the same time, a growing wave of resistance against the construction of these data centers shows that communities are not powerless. From Arizona to New York, residents, environmental organizations, nonprofits, and journalists are demanding that companies be held accountable and be more transparent about construction plans and negative impacts on communities. The continued blockage of $98 billion worth of AI data center projects is proof that taking informed action, showing up to board meetings, organizing, and engaging with one’s community can actually influence government decisions.

As AI continues to shape the global economy and affect our daily lives, decisions about the construction of the centers that house these systems need to be made with the long-term benefit of the public in mind, not behind closed doors where corporations can continue to exploit natural resources and other public goods.

Description: As AI continues to shape the global economy and affect our daily lives, decisions about the construction of the centers that house these systems need to be made with the long-term benefit of the public in mind, not behind closed doors.

According to the independent outlet Truthout, more than 230 state and local environmental groups joined together on December 8, 2025, to send a letter to Congress demanding a national moratorium on the construction of new data centers. Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) also called for a national moratorium earlier in December.

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Illustration of AI by GettyImages/MooseD.

FEBRUARY 2026 | 15

NEWS HERO OF THE MONTH

Lakeeta Watts: Birth Work in Underserved Communities

BY BEN SLOWEY

Photo of Dr. Lakeeta Watts by Dr. Lakeeta Watts

A

s a mother of five children, Dr. Lakeeta Watts has made it her mission to provide the services and resources to birthing mothers she did not have herself. Watts wears many hats in the birth work field, being a certified community health worker, full spectrum holistic doula, lactation specialist and student midwife. She is also founder of Essentially Empowered Inc, a nonprofit organization providing trauma-informed perinatal and mental health services to folks of all ages.

“For anyone having a baby, you’ll never forget that experience,” Watts says. “Some people grieve the experiences that they didn’t have, or they remember and carry the trauma from those experiences into their next pregnancy.”

As a full spectrum holistic doula, Watts’ practice covers all aspects of perinatal care. Her Essentially Empowered team has 10 active doulas servicing counties across Southeast Wisconsin, caring for birthing mothers for up to a year postpartum. With their postpartum home, mothers have access to doulas or nurses around the clock as they heal. Educational workshops for both mothers and fathers are offered as well.

WORKING WITH MOMS Watts elaborates, “We work with moms who are either trying to get pregnant, or from the very beginning of their pregnancy to whatever that birth outcome might be, whether they choose to have an abortion or if they have a miscarriage or stillborn baby—we support them through all of that. Dads can experience paternal postpartum depression, and we don’t want to leave them out of the conversation.”

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She adds, “We educate clients on the different labor positions that they can be in, or on their birth rights and that they can refuse certain things. When we educate the community on these things, they know how to advocate for themselves.”

With her colleague Dr. Shanice Baquet, Watts has also established Aja Healing and Masika Health Wellness Clinic , a nonprofit mobile clinic, to improve perinatal and wellness access to underserved communities. The clinic combines functional medical programs and perinatal services with holistic modalities like energy and bodywork therapies, herbal remedies, ayurveda and IV hydration. In partnership with Nurse Teresita Simmons, Watts runs a prenatal care coordination agency for doulas to have sustainable income outside of grants.

HEALTH DISPARITIES Born and raised in Milwaukee, Watts has witnessed and experienced firsthand the disparities in Black and Brown communities regarding perinatal care and education.

“We get treated differently than some white moms,” she notes. “We see a lack of education around what a healthy pregnancy should look like, as well as what a healthy outcome should look like.”

Watts shares, “My first two births were very traumatic experiences. I was asking for things I felt were being overlooked, and because of that, I started thinking about how other moms have felt.”

Her first child, her oldest son, was born prematurely and spent time in the NICU (Neonatal Intensive Care Unit). “I was freaked out because nobody was explaining anything to me until I was in the moment,” Watts remembers.

Patterned background by GettyImages/Ingfaphoto.

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NEWS HERO OF THE MONTH

“I wasn’t taught about breastfeeding at the time and didn’t know the benefits of breast milk.”

PROVIDING RESOURCES Upon having her second child, her oldest daughter, Watts paid more attention to the care she received as a young mother. “I wanted to get more into community work,” she continues. Watts started her birth work career as a prenatal and childcare coordinator. “I realized how impactful it was to be able to follow a mom during pregnancy, give her resources, provide education and see her flourish and feel confident in carrying her baby.”

She became a doula in 2018 on scholarship from Doulaing the Doula with Dr. Amy Gilliland. As she continued to serve mothers, Watts created a curriculum known as the TRUST Plan to train new doulas, which she continues to follow today. The plan gives mothers a safe space to release or process maternal trauma.

“If they’re first-time moms and still nervous, we’ll provide them that space as well,” Watts mentions. “There’s a disservice with perinatal care in postpartum when the birthing person will have the baby and they go home, but then they don’t see their provider for six weeks. After those six weeks are up, they don’t go back until they need to, and sometimes that’s a year later. With that, we’ve noticed gaps around catching postpartum depression or pre-eclampsia.”

ESSENTIALLY EMPOWERED Watts started Essentially Empowered, Inc. after tragedy struck her family. “On September 4, 2016, my oldest son was hit by a truck,” she explains. “He was 10 at the time, and my other children saw it. We got them into therapy, but two weeks later, my sister went missing.”

Facing multiple hardships at once, Watts’ family ended up getting cut off from therapy services from missing too many visits. This prompted her to start her own group serving youth and adults who have experienced or witnessed trauma, which evolved into the nonprofit organization in 2020. When teen mothers began frequently attending group meetings at the library, Watts incorporated her doula work and perinatal services into Essentially Empowered, Inc. Dr. Watts has continued her trajectory in birth work in becoming a Lactation Specialist and Formula Feeding Counselor, plus she is currently a student midwife apprenticing under Sabrina Foulks-Thomas. To get in touch with Essentially Empowered Inc, contact essentiallyempowered@outlook.com. For the mobile clinic, visit https://www.ajaandmasika.com/contact.

Ben Slowey is a Staff Writer for the Shepherd Express.

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Patterned background by GettyImages/Ingfaphoto.

FEBRUARY 2026 | 19

NEWS MKE SPEAKS: CONVERSATIONS WITH MILWAUKEEANS

Bronzeville Center for the Arts Takes Shape Under New Executive Director, Ra Joy “BLACK CULTURE HAS PROFOUNDLY SHAPED AMERICAN CULTURE.”

BY TOM JENZ

L

ong before Black history was written into textbooks or debated in classrooms, it was sung, painted, danced, woven, spoken and shouted. Art has never been a side note in the Black experience, but rather a survival tool, a form of resistance. For Black people, art provided a way of remembering when Black culture was under threat.

Through the strength of spirituals sung in fields and church houses, enslaved people carried coded messages of grief and hope from one generation to the next. In America, during Reconstruction and Jim Crow, blues musicians turned everyday suffering into testimony, shaping a shared language of endurance. Music continued that lineage. Nina Simone and James Brown fused art with defiance, while later artists like Public Enemy and Kendrick Lamar transformed hip-hop into a living historical record of life on the streets.

On canvas and in galleries, artists such as Faith Ringgold and Kehinde Wiley reimagined who belongs in the frame of American art. In the Harlem Renaissance, writers and painters like Langston Hughes, Zora Neale Hurston and Jacob Lawrence insisted through words and art that Black life was intellectual and worthy of permanence. In literature and the spoken word from James Baldwin to Amanda Gorman, language itself became a connecting bridge across generations.

On stage and screen, actors from Paul Robeson to Sidney Poitier to Denzel Washington challenged narrow roles and expanded the emotional vocabulary of Black life.

Then, there were film directors, Gordon Parks and Spike Lee. In this Black History Month of 2026, Milwaukee’s Bronzeville Center for the Arts (BCA) is carrying on this long tradition.

Still in the development process, the BCA is bringing to inception an African American art museum in Milwaukee’s Bronzeville community on the corner of North Avenue and Martin Luther King Drive.

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I wanted the details, and met with the new executive director, Ra Joy, and the BCA board vice chair, Della Wells, at Gallery 507, the BCA headquarters, (507 W. North Ave.) near the future site of the BCA museum. Joy recently served at the National Endowment for the Arts in the Biden-Harris Administration. Wells, a long time Milwaukee resident, is a nationally known folk artist.

Ra, you are known nationally in the arts field.

The BCA recently hired you as executive director.

Tell me about where you grew up, your parents, neighborhoods, schools and advanced education.

R.J.: I was born and raised in Evanston, Illinois. My father was a graphic artist, and he created wonderful works of art with his bare hands. He inspired me to get more involved in the arts. I attended Evanston Township High School and was captain of the football team. I went to Southern Illinois University, played football and participated in AmeriCorps, kind of a domestic peace corps. This motivated me to come back home to Illinois and get involved in community work.

I understand you later got involved working for an Illinois congressman.

R.J.: Yes, I was a staffer for a congressman from the Illinois 9th congressional district. The 9th district has always been a big supporter of the arts and the National Endowment for the Arts. I focused on arts policy. Working in Congress is five miles wide and one inch deep because you have to know a little bit about a ton of topics. Eventually, I left that job to get into a deeper topic, the arts. I became the executive director of the Illinois Arts Alliance, the lobbying arm for the Illinois cultural sector. I represented theaters, museums, symphonies, dance companies, and cultural institutions.

I stayed in that job for eight years.

That had to be an interesting experience for you.

R.J.: Very good experience. In fact, I recently served as chief of staff and senior adviser for the National Endowment for the Arts in the four-year Joe Biden era.

Header Photo: Artist Della Wells & BCA Director Ra Joy by Tom Jenz.

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NEWS MKE SPEAKS: CONVERSATIONS WITH MILWAUKEEANS

The big part of my job was trying to convince decision makers that the arts mattered and are a public policy asset.

Some viewed the arts as incredibly valuable. Others did not. I also tried to get the NEA to partner with the other government agencies. For example, using art therapy to help heal military veterans. We also used the arts to help get the word out regarding vaccinations. And we worked to get the arts involved in education, public health, and the public parks.

And now in your new job, you can focus on the arts at more of a local level through the BCA. R.J.: That is why I took this job.

Della Wells, what exactly is the Bronzeville Center for the Arts (BCA)?

D.W.: Let me first tell you how the BCA got started. I made a Facebook post in 2019 to explain what the arts are in general and what Milwaukee and Wisconsin artists are doing. I made more posts, and then one of my art patrons suggested we need a museum to honor Black art.

We set up a meeting with me, the patron, Black artist Mutope Johnson, Black animator Jon Brown and Milwaukee attorney Terri Boxer. We concluded that the museum should have exhibits but also should include the education of young people about careers in the arts. That would include all careers in the arts: museum directors, curators, historians, graphic artists, arts writers and critics. This kind of work is not talked about enough in the arts community, especially the Black community. We also wanted to have a research library about African American art in the new BCA museum.

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My dream is that one of the children who visit the BCA Museum will someday be the director.

R.J.: One reason why I took this job is we have as our vicechair, the artist, Della Wells, who is helping realize this ambitious dream. There are other reasons: To be a part of transforming an entire city block into an internationally acclaimed hub for Black art and culture. The goal of creating and sustaining the BCA, a world class institution devoted to the beauty of African American art. Creating a global platform to feature artists of African descent. And to inspire future generations. The BCA will be a Milwaukee community asset and a cultural anchor woven into the Bronzeville community.

As BCA’s executive director, what are your responsibilities?

R.J.: First and foremost, it’s to build support for the creation of the new museum. Generate the resources to make it happen. And shape and refine our vision for the future.

I also intend to build awareness of Gallery 507 where we are now meeting. It’s kind of an appetizer for the entree, the BCA Museum. We have a full slate of programs and exhibits at Gallery 507 for 2026.

I understand that you will lead planning, design, and community engagement efforts for the BCA. How is that going so far?

R.J.: I am incredibly encouraged. Two things for me are important. One: lead by listening to local artists and local leaders. Two: emphasize an ecosystem approach, developing a diverse interconnected network of artists, curators, collectors and professionals.

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NEWS MKE SPEAKS: CONVERSATIONS WITH MILWAUKEEANS

Happening in Milwaukee?

R.J.: In Milwaukee certainly, but regionally and nationally, and eventually internationally. I have already met with the Milwaukee Art Museum, the Wisconsin Arts Board, Imagine MKE, Create Wisconsin, the Chipstone Foundation, Visit Milwaukee and Mayor Johnson.

A year or two ago, I met with some leaders of the BCA project. At that time, the BCA had received a $25 million gift from an anonymous source and a $5 million grant from Governor Evers and the state.

But you need a lot more money to complete the BCA museum, not to mention running it. Does your job include fundraising?

R.J.: Yes. We will be having a capital campaign in the near distant future. To date, we’ve raised over $30 million.

The actual construction costs are about $55 million.

We will also need to raise funds to sustain the BCA after its completion. We are counting on significant support from the private sector and nonprofit foundations. We’ve brought in national experts from prominent museums and institutions to learn about curatorial affairs and collections.

D.H.: An important part of all this is the Milwaukee community, the residents. I live on the East Side and grew up here. People ask me about the BCA. They are paying attention.

Della, we are meeting here in Gallery 507, the BCA headquarters. What happens in this space?

D.W.: This is a maker’s space, gift shops, offices for personnel, and an art gallery. We feature exhibits where people come in and view the art.

R.J.: Art and African diaspora happens here, a space for artists to flex their creative muscles.

D.W.: We also have a recent partnership with Sculpture Milwaukee.

I would be remiss if I didn’t get your thoughts on how art has influenced Black History Month every February.

D.W.: Black people have always made art. Art is not just Eurocentric. Black art includes painting, music, writing, theater and dance. And we should learn from art history because it defines the times. People don’t think of art as part of the world economy. Any form of art will attract people to spend money. People go out to dinner, buy a new outfit, travel to an exhibit.

R.J.: Black history has been American history. Black culture has profoundly shaped American culture. If you look over all the artistic genres from the visual and performing arts to food, fashion, film, literature and music, African artists have played a pivotal role in shaping our nation.

During Black History month and all year long, the BCA is committed to celebrating and uplifting the work of artists of African descent and their contributions to our world’s cultural tapestry. Locally in Milwaukee in 2026, the BCA and Gallery 507 will be providing deeper access to Bronzeville’s historical significance and Black creativity and imagination.

Tom Jenz is a Milwaukee writer and photographer and author of the Central City Stories column at shepherdexpress.com.

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FOOD & DRINK

What Makes a Great Romantic Res Restaurant?

BY HAZEL WHEATON

H

ere's the secret about the most romantic restaurant meals: The restaurant is a setting, not a destination.

Whatever the occasion—a longed-for first date, a proposal, an anniversary, a special birthday or a date night— the purpose of the visit is to make a personal connection, and the setting should encourage that connection rather than elbowing its way in for attention. The atmosphere should be quiet and serene, with music pitched to accompany conversation rather than overwhelm it.

The lighting should be soft and warm, because we all look our best by candlelight! The service should be attentive without being intrusive. The food should be satisfying and delicious but not overdone; how romantic can we feel when we're stuffed, bloated, and about to collapse into a food coma?

Refined, elegant food wins out over all-you-can eat bargains.

The restaurant should do nothing that creates friction, whether in the menu or the table settings or the service.

Everything should be designed to make the diners feel pampered and special.

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Photos courtesy of The Bartolotta Restaurants.

Gold border by GettyImages/Erinkwok.

Gold pattern by GettyImages/Olga Kazmina.

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FOOD & DRINK

With all that said, it's no surprise that Bartolotta's Lake Park Bistro won the title of Milwaukee's most romantic restaurant of 2025 according to Shepherd Express readers. Runners up in the category were Milwaukee Chophouse, Sala Modern Sicilian, the Packing House and newcomer Purslane—all excellent choices for a date night, but Lake Park Bistro's ace in the hole is the stunning view from its bank of windows overlooking Lake Michigan and its location nestled in the landmark Lake Park. Booking a visit to confirm the swoonworthiness of the venue, my dining companion and I took a corner table by those windows. (If you really want to pull out the stops for a special evening, time your meal with the sunset hour. Not something we could manage during the shortest days of the year, but the snow on the lighted treelined pathways below had its own charm.)

The menu at Lake Park is classically French, beautifully executed, rich with flavor without being weighty or dense, and every detail correct.

The dishes leaned into the sensuality of good eating, with luxurious textures and layered flavors, from the velvety ultratraditional Soupe à l'Oignon (French Onion Soup) to the final treat of a dessert soufflé, which was like eating a chocolate cloud and went perfectly with a rich, bitter espresso.

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Photos courtesy of The Bartolotta Restaurants.

Gold pattern by GettyImages/Olga Kazmina.

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FOOD & DRINK

For entrees, we both opted for fowl—the Poulet à la Crème, roasted chicken in a cream sauce, and a seasonal special of Confit de Canard (duck confit), served over a bed of braised lentils with a cassis duck sauce. Our knowledgeable server helped me choose just the right wine to partner with the duck (the French-only wine menu runs to 24 pages). While we waited for our entrees, we were entertained by watching a show—a whole roasted Dover sole being expertly filleted for the couple at the next table over. All the food was excellent, but the highlight for me was the Oeuf Mollet avec Champignons appetizer—a soft-boiled egg, mysteriously breaded and fried, and served over a bed of lettuce, with a layer of beautifully cooked wild mushrooms at the bottom.

We ordered a la carte to take advantage of the whole menu, but there is also an Haute Bistro menu, offering three options for each of four courses. If you're going for a full four-course meal, it will save money but will limit your choices. A night out at Lake Park Bistro is not inexpensive, but the complex, technically sophisticated dishes (the delicate touch needed to peel, bread and fry a soft-boiled egg doesn't come without lots of practice!) justify the asking price.

Lake Park Bistro 3133 E. Newberry Boulevard (414) 962-6300, www.bartolottas.com/lake-park-bistro Appetizers: $14–32 Entrees: $36–68 Desserts: $15-18 Four-course Haute Bistro menu: $75 Hours: Monday–Sunday: 5–9 p.m.; Sunday brunch: 10 a.m.–2 p.m.

Hazel Wheaton is a Milwaukee writer and the Shepherd Express magazine’s regular dining critic.

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Photos courtesy of The Bartolotta Restaurants.

Gold pattern by GettyImages/Olga Kazmina.

FEBRUARY 2026 | 31

FOOD & DRINK

It Doesn’t Get More Milwaukee Than This!

BY HAZEL WHEATON

O

ne of Wisconsin's most strongly held traditions originally came from the union of religious observance and the freshwater lakes and was given a final nudge by the availability (or lack thereof) of alcohol. Early Catholic immigrants who settled in Wisconsin from Poland and Germany refrained from eating meat on Fridays, in observance of the crucifixion. Luckily for them, the freshwater lakes teemed with tasty alternatives, including walleye, perch and bluegill. The superabundance of fish led to taverns offering fish to accompany their beers—sometimes even as a free extra. With the arrival of prohibition in 1920, those taverns leaned into the fish half of the beer-and-fish combo to keep their businesses alive while the beer part was illegal.

In 1966, the Catholic restriction on meat on Fridays was limited to Lent, but by that time, the Friday fish fry had become a marker of regional identity more than of alignment with a specific religious belief.

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For 2025, Shepherd Express readers named Lakefront Brewery as the host of the best Friday Fish Fry, a title the venue has won repeatedly over the last two decades—in the years it didn't win, it was a finalist. Impressive in a city where you'd be hard pressed to find a restaurant that doesn't offer a Friday Fish Fry, and where great choices are legion.

The other strong finalists this year were Kegel’s Inn, Layman Brewing and The Packing House. Beyond restaurants, there are fish fries at schools, community halls and churches (shout out to the truly excellent offerings at St. Sebastian's in Washington Heights). Everyone has their opinions on what makes a fish fry great—the type of fish, beer batter vs. breading, marble rye vs. pumpernickel, fries vs. potato pancakes—and debates rage ad infinitum. (Fair notice, I'm a bluegill aficionado.)

Photos by Hazel Wheaton.

Wood texture by GettyImages/eugenesergeev.

GettyImages/Martin Ferriz.

Photo Seafood of illustrations water by GettyImages/avtk.

by GettyImages/Adehoidar. Photo of rope by GettyImages/vjotov.

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FOOD & DRINK

How does Lakefront maintain their Fish Fry supremacy in such a competitive landscape? It goes beyond the high quality of the food: Lakefront leans into the ritual of the thing. I visited with friends for the Lakefront experience.

With high ceilings and cream city brick walls, Craftsman stained-glass hanging lights, an in-house polka band and the giant beer mug from the old Milwaukee Brewers Stadium, it was an occasion as much as a meal. As one member of the party put it, “It doesn't get more Milwaukee than this.”

There's a designated counter to handle take-out traffic, and plenty of space around the bar, where the brewery's full lineup is available on tap, including seasonals and hardto-find selections. The beer hall is extremely family friendly: As we were getting our coats on, the dance floor was filling up with seven-and-unders dancing to their own beat while the band was on a break. Between the echoing acoustics and the live music, conversation could be difficult, but the evening was a blast. For a signature Milwaukee experience, Lakefront is hard to beat, as its winning record shows.

For the six of us, we ordered the Fish Fry Family Pack, a family dinner with all the sides that promises to feed 4-5 people, assured we could order add-ons if we needed to.

It was clear as the food started to arrive that we wouldn't need to. The bread board offered three different breads— marble rye, sourdough baguette, and a deliciously dense beer bread—with three kinds of butter—plain, a sweet honey butter and an herb butter. The cheese curds completely justified their reputation (Lakefront also won the Best Fried Cheese Curds title this year). The sides all delivered on quality—a traditional coleslaw that stuck with the “why mess with perfection” theory, potato pancakes and a mountain of nicely seasoned French fries. Tucked in among the platters were little cups of fresh tartar sauce and richly spiced cinnamon applesauce. For the fish, we'd opted for the walleye; it was fresh and flavorful with a crisp breaded crust and a tender flake. My one complaint about the menu is the lack of choice—fish options are either walleye or cod, with no combinations.

Lakefront Brewery Beer Hall

We booked a table for 5:30, the latest slot for reservations.

After that, it's first-come, first serve, and there was a line waiting by the time we finished our meal.

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1872 North Commerce Street (414) 372-8800, www.lakefrontbrewery.com Appetizers: $7–14 Sandwiches: $12–15 Entrees: $13–24 Fish Fry Family Pack: 10-piece Cod, $105; 8-piece Walleye, $132 Hours: Monday–Thursday: 3–9 p.m.; Friday–Saturday: 11 a.m.–9 p.m.; Sunday 11 a.m.–5 p.m.

Hazel Wheaton is a Milwaukee writer and the Shepherd Express magazine’s regular dining critic.

Photos by Hazel Wheaton.

FEBRUARY 2026 | 35

FOOD & DRINK BEVERAGES

Champagne with a Capital C

BY GAETANO MARANGELLI

V

alentine’s Day is upon you. You want to celebrate the fruits of your passion with your beloved. You want to prove your love. The sensuous way to the heart of amour—yours and theirs—is through a bottle of Champagne.

Specifically, a bottle of Grower Champagne. Champagne with a capital C. We throw the name Champagne around carelessly, but its appellation deserves our respect. All Champagne is sparkling wine, but not all sparkling wine is Champagne.

Champagne with a capital C defines a wine region in the northeast of France. Champagne with a capital C defines three grapes—chardonnay, pinot noir and pinot Meunier— which grow on distinctively chalky soils with origins in ancient seabeds.

Grower Champagnes root themselves in their local villages, their small vineyards, their inherited parcels.

They value organic and biodynamic agriculture. They are intimate with how their land speaks through its vines.

They don’t eradicate the characteristics of vintages.

They embrace them. Every bottle of Grower Champagne breathes the life of its terroir.

All Champagne from every Champagne winegrower is made using méthode traditionnelle or méthode champenoise.

After harvest, Champagne winegrowers crush and ferment their grapes, which yield a base wine. They bottle the base wine with a mix of yeast and sugar, a liqueur de tirage, which triggers a secondary fermentation—a bottle fermentation—

Champagne with a capital C defines a codified methodology of making sparkling wine. The big, famous, corporate Champagne houses purchase grapes from hundreds of growers across the wine region. They bottle their Champagne to render a consistent style, like a beverage from a factory.

which makes the wine bubbly. The winegrowers age their bubbly wine on its lees—the dead and dying sedimentary yeast in the bottles—which impart aromas and flavors to the Champagne. Winegrowers then turn and tilt the bottles, settling sediment in their necks, a practice called riddling, or remuage. The practice of disgorgement, or dégorgement, ejects the sediment out of the bottles.

Grower Champagne is Champagne made by winegrowers who grow their own grapes, vinify their own wine, and bottle the wine they make under their own label. These winegrowers are referred to as Récoltant-Manipulants.

They identify themselves on their labels with the initials RM.

Winegrowers may then top off the bottles with a mix of wine and cane sugar, a dosage or a liqueur d'expédition. Grower Champagnes favor low or zero dosage, which allows the character of their vineyards to speak with clarity.

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Illustration by Gabriel Termuehlen.

Paper texture by GettyImages/banjongseal324.

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FOOD & DRINK BEVERAGES

CHAMPAGNE

Grower Champagnes offer intimacy with parcels of land, tracts of vines, vintages of grapes, and the people who bottle their juice. If you’d like to splurge for your passion on Valentine’s Day, visit an independent wine merchant who knows your palate and ask them to recommend a Grower Champagne for you.

NOT CHAMPAGNE An Extensive but not Exhaustive List of the Kinds of Sparkling Wines Which Aren’t Champagne. Do not call any of these kinds of sparkling wines by the name of Champagne. Champagne is a kind of sparkling wine exclusively from a wine region in the northeast of France.

The name of that region is Champagne.

• Prosecco (Italy) • Cava (Spain)

• Cap Classique (South Africa) • Clairette de Die (France, but not Champagne) • Txakoli (Basque Country) • Mousseux (France, but not Champagne) • Any English Sparkling Wine • Any American Sparkling Wine

Gaetano Marangelli is a sommelier and playwright. He was managing director of a wine import and distribution company in New York and beverage director for restaurants and retailers in New York and Chicago before moving to Wauwatosa.

• Crémant (France, but not Champagne) • Sekt (Germany & Austria) • Franciacorta (Italy) • Asti & Moscato d’Asti (Italy) • Lambrusco (Italy) • Pét-Nat (Pétillant Naturel)

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Illustration by Gabriel Termuehlen.

Paper texture by GettyImages/banjongseal324. Map by GettyImages/Roberto Scandola.

FEBRUARY 2026 | 39

SPECIAL SPORTS SPOTLIGHT | SPONSORED BY POTAWATOMI SPORTSBOOK

‘Faster, Higher, Stronger’ with Winter Sports and Activities in Wisconsin

BY CAROLINE DANNECKER

Photo courtesy of the Pettit National Ice Center.

E

very four years, the Winter Olympics—hosted this year by the cities of Milan and Cortino in northern Italy—serve as a great reminder that Milwaukee’s snow days and freezing temperatures can also mean fun and thrills. Eight sports with 15 disciplines will be featured at the Olympics this month. Many of them can be played in Wisconsin along with other winter fun. Now is the time to take the leap and enjoy all that winter has to offer around Milwaukee.

ALPINE SKIING To enjoy Alpine skiing in person, you will have to go a bit outside the city, but there are several ski resorts and parks within reasonable distance for a day trip including Little Switzerland, Alpine Valley Resort and Crystal Ridge.

Lessons are available for beginners and experienced skiers of all ages at both resorts.

CROSS-COUNTRY SKIING The are two disciplines of cross-country skiing: free and classic (done on tracks). Four Wisconsinites—Kevin Bolger, Deedra Irwin, Ben Loomis and Paul Schommer—will be competing in various events. All Milwaukee County Parks allow cross-country skiing; Brown Deer Park and Whitnall Park offer groomed trails. Skis are available to rent at Whitnall Park. A short drive away, the Lapham Peak Unit in the Kettle Moraine State Forest offers ski rentals and 17 miles of skiable trails with manmade snow on part of the trail system (which includes tracks).

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CURLING Four Wisconsinites are competing in wheelchair curling: Laura Dwyer, Steve Emt, Dan Rose and Matt Thums at the Winter Paralympics. Scottish immigrants brought curling to Milwaukee in the 1840s, playing on frozen rivers.

Today, there are four curling clubs in the area. The nearest is the Wauwatosa Curling Club in Hart Park where curling is played seasonally October-March. Watch a match— called a bonspiel—or learn to play with one of the club’s Try Curlingsessions (for adults). Become a member to continue training and join a beginner’s league.

FIGURE SKATING It is a misconception that learning to figure skate is only for children. Wilson Ice Arena and Pettit National Ice Center offer figure skating lessons for youth and adults which will teach you how to jump, spin and dazzle your friends. Just looking for fun? Red Arrow Park, the Pettit and Wilson Ice Arena offer skate rentals and free skate opportunities for anyone to get out on the ice.

ICE HOCKEY Wisconsinite Liam Cunningham will be competing in sled hockey at the Winter Paralympics. Milwaukee has great hockey culture, including sled hockey, with leagues for all ages. Catch a Milwaukee Admirals game at the Panther Arena. Want to learn? Take lessons at the Pettit or join the Novice Adult Coed Hockey League at the Eble & Naga-Waukee Park Ice Arenas in Waukesha.

Image of Ice by GettyImages/AlexandrBognat.

FEBRUARY 2026 | 41

SPECIAL SPORTS SPOTLIGHT | SPONSORED BY POTAWATOMI SPORTSBOOK SNOWBOARDING WAUWATOSA CURLING CLUB

While there are no snowboarding slopes or courses with rails or pipes located in Milwaukee, most Wisconsin ski resorts offer both along with classes and equipment rentals. For teens looking to learn, Milwaukee Recreation offers a ski and snowboarding club which provides lessons and transport to Wilmot Mountain Ski Resort.

SNOWSHOEING While not an Olympic event, snowshoeing is a great way to enjoy Milwaukee’s winter beauty with a hike on one of the public snowshoe trails at Whitnall or Brown Deer Park. The Urban Ecology Center offers snowshoe lessons and guided walks throughout winter. Snowshoes are available for rent at Whitnall Park and the MKE Outdoor Indoor Exchange.

WINTER BIKING Photo courtesy of the Wauwatosa Curling Club.

SPEED SKATING The Pettit National Ice Center is one of only six long track ovals in the United States and an official Olympic training site. On the long track, speed skaters can reach speeds of over 35mph. If you already have the basics of ice skating down, the Pettit offers speed skating classes for youth and adults to teach you the thrill of speed.

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Fat tire biking isn’t a Winter Olympic event—yet—but is growing in popularity. Fat tires are designed to enable easy biking over snow and ice. Many parks and forests with mountain biking trails in summer have groomed fat bike trails in winter like the Kettle Moraine State Forest.

Wheel and Sprocket’s Franklin location offers fat bike rentals for the adventurous.

Caroline Dannecker is Web Coordinator for the Shepherd Express.

FEBRUARY 2026 | 43

SPECIAL SPORTS SPOTLIGHT | SPONSORED BY POTAWATOMI SPORTSBOOK

MILWAUKEE ADMIRALS AND THEIR FANS ARE SIMPLY ONE BIG FAMILY BY: GREGORY HARUTUNIAN

T

here is an amusing symmetry to watch an ice hockey game indoors, while the cold wind and snow swirl outside the building. It’s even a neater trick when up to 6,000 people bond into an extended family for several hours. This is what the Milwaukee Admirals minor league hockey team and their fans are doing, even beyond the season.

It’s face-paced, competitive, and being done on a shoe supported by a centered blade of steel. Of course, this cuts into the ice surface and regularly brings out the “Skeleton Crew,” a group with an amazing choreography, comparable to ballet, to scoop up the shavings without running into each other.

Initially organized as an independent team in 1970, the Admirals have been part of the American Hockey League for the last quarter-century. The historic UMW Panther Arena, where the 36-home game schedule is played over six months, just seems like the perfect place. The Bucks even celebrated their 1971 NBA Championship here. There were also concerts by Led Zeppelin and Jethro Tull in 1973.

The festive atmosphere, when the play stops, is hard to match: a remote-controlled zeppelin flies around the arena dropping coupons on the crowd; audience participation games on the scoreboard; and between period antics that are surreal. This evening’s opponent was the Chicago Wolves, bringing a great rivalry and an inherent aggression.

“The Panther Arena is just an intimate place, not a bad seat in the house…the staff, administration, team, and the fans feel like a family,” said Charlie Larson, the team’s vicepresident of communications. “It’s heart-warming from a staff perspective. These are hockey people that see each other regularly, get to know each other, make friends.”

For the uninitiated, ice hockey is similar to soccer rules with opposing goals, blue lines, center lines, face-off circles, offside calls, penalty infractions, tempers flaring…basically, a hockey team tries to put the puck in the opposing net on a roughly 200-foot long ice surface, and a soccer team runs for miles on a field doing the same thing kicking a ball.

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“We keep coming back to the Admirals games every time, it’s a lot of fun, the action on the ice, and the between period things keep us entertained, “said Cory Sepanski, who travels with his wife, from Kenosha. “This is our first year as partial season ticket holders. I love hockey.”

Even the people directing aisle traffic, love being there.

“I’ve worked as an usher for 19 years at the Bradley Center, and 6 years here,” said Harriet Nuetzel-Nelson. “I find it to be an exciting game and a job I love doing. I love the crowds and the people…it’s never a dull moment!”

Just then, as she spoke between periods, a lucky fan got “slingshotted,” from one end of the ice to the other, like a bowling ball into ten placards arranged like bowling pins.

Photos by Gregory Harutunian.

Ice Pattern Background by GettyImages/Julie Deshaies.

FEBRUARY 2026 | 45

SPECIAL SPORTS SPOTLIGHT | SPONSORED BY POTAWATOMI SPORTSBOOK

There are three periods lasting twenty minutes in each game. Whenever the P.A. announcement comes, “There is one minute remaining in the period,” the crowd says in unison, “Thank you!”

A Milwaukee broadcast legend like Eddie Doucette and Bob Uecker, is Aaron Sims, the “Voice of the Admirals” for 21 years. Currently on WOKY (920 AM), his stories are just as interesting as his “in-game play-by-play.”

“It’s a great ownership, I have a good relationship with the players…I most enjoy the newer players since they have interesting stories, like we all do,” Sims said.

“One memory is when we had a Romanian player, who explained the difference between communism and capitalism to me, and what it did to his family’s business.

“The opportunity to meet people, and the players, is just fascinating stuff,” he said. “I look forward to it, and it really keeps things fresh.”

Defenseman and team captain, Kevin Gravel, is also thrilled.

“I’ve been around hockey a long time, this is my 12th year, you kind of just learn to stay in the moment, and enjoy it,” he said. “Other guys kind of tell you, it goes so fast… don’t get me wrong, you got to find enjoyment in the grind,

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working through the good and the bad with your teammates.

“I grew up about three hours north of Milwaukee, in the Upper Peninsula, so I’m very familiar with the city,” Gravel said.

“Both of my children were born here, we have family in all the time, and I’ve played a lot of places. In my opinion, Milwaukee ranks right up there, a great fit, and I’ve been blessed to be able to play in a city like this one.”

Larson noted that playing in MKE has its advantages and a place in the hockey world, with the Nashville Predators being their National Hockey League affiliate. “We play in the American Hockley League, which is the best in the world,” he said. “Players that are on our roster play here, and go on to Nashville.

“Look at those NHL teams…our best players are dotted with them, our best players are on their teams in that league,” Larson said. “Our owner, Jon Greenburg, stresses to all our personnel that ‘you are family,’ and wants to keep that feeling. It shows with a place that is fun, cost-effective and reasonably priced, and friendly. You are family.”

For more information on the Milwaukee Admirals, go to their website (milwaukeeadmirals.com).

Photos by Gregory Harutunian.

FEBRUARY 2026 | 47

CULTURE

Was Dungeons & Dragons Born in Lake Geneva?

BY BEN SLOWEY

W

hile Lake Geneva is regionally known as a resort town full of cute shops, pristine waters and lush gardens, it is also significant as the birthplace of the massivelypopular fantasy tabletop role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons (D&D).

In the early 1970s, avid gamers Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson together developed an immersive simulation where players could create their own characters, customize their abilities and explore with one another as they pursue quests, encounter challenges and find enchanted artifacts as a Dungeon Master narrates the story.

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Since debuting on the market in 1974, D&D has amassed a devoted following over the last 50 years, with the number of players today in the tens of millions.

D&D revolutionized tabletop gaming and inspired generations of subsequent games, with expansions and revised editions continuing to cultivate new adventures for people of all ages.

In preserving its D&D legacy, Lake Geneva is peppered with landmarks all over town that commemorate significant events in D&D history, house memorabilia or pay respect to the game’s co-founder Gary Gygax.

His birthday, July 27, was officially proclaimed Gary Gygax Day in 2023.

When visiting such landmarks, perhaps the most appropriate to see first would be where it all started. Situated at 330 W. Center St., the unassuming corner house was where Gygax and his family lived in the 1960s and ‘70s. A front porch window displays a card detailing information about the family as well as Gygax’s early gaming projects up to when D&D was officially published.

Tours of the house as well as actual D&D sessions can be scheduled via the Birthplace of DND website.

Photos by Ben Slowey, Dice background by GettyImages/Wirestock.

FEBRUARY 2026 | 49

CULTURE Gen Con is now the largest tabletop gaming convention in the country with an estimated 72,000 attendees in 2025.

GARY CON COMING While Gen Con has long since left town, another gaming convention, Gary Con, takes place in Lake Geneva annually in March and specifically focuses on D&D. This year’s Gary Con will be March 19-22 at Grand Geneva Resort & Spa (7036 Grand Geneva Way). For tickets, visit the official Gary Con website.

BOARD GAME BIRTHPLACE Around the corner from the house is Geneva Lake Museum (255 Mill St.), which features the room-sized exhibit “The Wizard of Lake Geneva.” filled with all sorts of D&D lore, art, maps and manuals. Here, visitors can learn about Gygax’s life and follow a timeline of the game’s development, as well as learn about other games by Gygax’s original company TSR, Inc. Various D&D products are available for sale in the museum gift shop.

Several public memorials for Gygax have been erected around Lake Geneva. Near the fountain at The Riviera (812 Wrigley Drive is a brick dedicated to Gygax, featuring an illustration of the D&D dice. Down the street, a dedicated park bench can be found at Elm Park on the 1200 block of W. Main St. On the north outskirts

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of town, Gygax is interred at Oak Hill Cemetery (1101 Cemetery Road) with his grave lovingly adorned with D&D figurines as well as a wooden walking stick. To find his grave, immediately turn right upon entering, then take the first left and look for it on the right side of the road.

Next stop is Horticultural Hall (330 Broad St.), where Gygax organized the first Gen Con in 1968 before his D&D days. The private event venue is open for D&D-related activities during the annual Dragon Days Fantasy Festival held in fall. Gen Con was hosted at nearby American Legion Post 24 for several years before being moved to Kenosha’s UW-Parkside, then to Milwaukee in 1985 and hosted there until relocating to Indianapolis in 2003, where it has been held since.

Another landmark resides within the Lake Geneva Public Library (918 W Main St.), Appendix N Alcove, which archives dozens of books that inspired D&D, complete with a comfy armchair to sit and read. The Dungeon Hobby Shop Museum, which housed a vast collection of vintage D&D memorabilia and was TSR headquarters at one point, closed its doors in 2024.

While some have come and gone, more D&D-related points of interest are planned for the future. The Gygax Memorial Fund is currently working to dedicate a more prominent memorial to Gygax at Elm Park in the form of a bronze statue of him seated at a stone table, looking upon a map of his castle dungeon. Additionally, an interactive, fantasy-themed dinner attraction known as The Griffin & Gargoyle is slated to open its doors soon.

Ben Slowey is a Staff Writer at Shepherd Express.

Photos by Ben Slowey, Dice background by GettyImages/Wirestock.

FEBRUARY 2026 | 51

CULTURE

This Month in Milwaukee

15 Things to Do in February

BY SOPHIA HAMDAN, DAVID LUHRSSEN, PAUL MASTERSON, BLAINE SCHULTZ AND JULIA WATT

THROUGH FEBRUARY 8

THROUGH APRIL 26

FEBRUARY 9

Amadeus q Skylight Music Theatre The legend of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s demise at the hands of his rival, the scheming Antonio Salieri, is more “inspired” than “based” on a true story.

Nevertheless, the idea already circulated in the literature of Alexander Pushkin and the music of Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov.

In the last century, it was adapted

by Peter Shaffer as the Tony-winning play and a film by Milos Forman. Karen Estrada directs Skylight’s production of Shaffer’s play with music director Janna Ernst.

Dave Clay’s Industrial Atmospheres Grohmann Museum Milwaukee native Dave Clay is an artist, software architect, engineer and musician working in a variety of media including digital collage, metal, largescale interactive sculpture and painting.

Says Grohmann Museum director James Kieselburg, “His work is a perfect fit for the Grohmann—industrial interiors with an otherworldly look, like they could have been pulled from Omni or some other sci-fi magazine.”

BASIC: Chris Forsyth, Douglas McCombs, Mikel Patrick Avery Cactus Club New York guitarist Robert Quine gained notoriety playing with Richard Hell and the Voidoids and on Lou Reed’s album The Blue Mask. Quine and Fred Maher later recorded Basic, a homemade project that shoots arrows through electric Miles Davis, minimalism, droning blues and psychedelia. The record was largely ignored. Enter Chris Forsyth, who has performed at Milwaukee Psych Fest.

Over the pandemic the guitarist and Nick Millevoi bonded over a mutual appreciation of the Quine/Maher album.

BASIC, Forsyth’s collective trio with Mikel Patrick Avery (percussion and electronics) and Millevoi (baritone guitar and drum machine) takes inspiration from the namesake album.

THROUGH FEBRUARY 8 I Am My Own Wife p Milwaukee Chamber Theatre Doug Wright’s one-actor play I Am My Own Wife is directed by Alexander Coddington and features Jonathan Riker.

The Pulitzer Prize-winning play explores the life of Charlotte von Mahlsdorf, a trans antiques collector and fixture of the East Berlin queer scene, who has endured both the Nazi and Communist regimes.

Her story is of queer survival at almost any price.

FEBRUARY 6 Group of the Altos w/ Astral Hand and Exitstatements X-Ray Arcade Group of the Altos moves beyond genres and musical boundaries. At times the sprawling group may number a dozen members—strings, horns, bass, guitar, drums, keyboards and vocals.

The interplay might evolve from intense to glacial. The group has been described as post-rock, which is usually a shorthand compliment for pleasant frustration at adequately describing their sound.

FEBRUARY 6-7 3rd St. Vintage Market Over 22 vendors will participate in this year’s 3rd St. Vintage Market on Friday, Feb. 6 from 12 to 7 p.m. and Saturday, Feb. 7 from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. at 3rd St. Market Hall. Support local sellers and shop for unique vintage clothing, bags, vinyl, media and more while exploring downtown Milwaukee. Learn more about the event at allgoodsmke.com.

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FEBRUARY 10-MARCH 22 McNeal Milwaukee Repertory Theater (Herro-Franke Studio Theater) Raised in Milwaukee, Ayad Akhtar earned a Pulitzer Prize for his 2012 play Disgraced. Since then, the Pakistani American won additional prizes for work that addresses assimilation, immigration, identity and the nation’s corrupt economy. His latest, the darkly comedic Broadway hit McNeal, concerns “art and ambition in the age of AI.” The play received a high-tech production last year at the Lincoln Center.

Header: I Am My Own Wife - Photo courtesy of Milwaukee Chamber Theatre.

Amadeus logo - Courtesy of Skylight Music Theatre.

FEBRUARY 2026 | 53

CULTURE

FEBRUARY 11-MARCH 8

FEBRUARY 16

FEBRUARY 27

Swing State Next Act Theatre Rebecca Gilman is no stranger to Milwaukee theatergoers; her plays have been performed at Milwaukee Chamber Theatre and Renaissance Theaterworks.

Her latest, Swing State, is a comedy set in rural Wisconsin where an out-of-state energy company buys farmland and threatens the community that lives there.

The Chicago Tribune called it “the best play since COVID to tap into our divided nation.”

Backlash Presidents with Julia R. Azari & Lilly Goren Boswell Book Company Julia R. Azari (Assistant Chair of Political Science, Marquette University) visits Boswell Books with Lilly Goren (professor of political science & global studies, Carrol University) to discuss Azari’s book, Backlash Presidents. Join in conversation on the diametrically opposed Trump and Obama administrations, and how the Trump regime’s reactionary nature follows in the footsteps of previous “backlash” administrations, such as Andrew Johnson to Abraham Lincoln and Richard Nixon to Lyndon B. Johnson.

6:30 p.m.

Jazz at the Lincoln Center Presents: Great American Crooners Marcus Performing Arts Center Crooning was made possible by technology with microphones that allowed an emotionally intimate style of singing that relied on nuance rather than great gulping projection came into use. A new style of singing was born.

The Lincoln Center’s vocal trio promises an evening of Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett and the young man who followed in their steps in the late ‘50s, Bobby Darin.

FEBRUARY 13 CJ Chenier & The Red Hot Louisiana Band Shank Hall Clayton Joseph Chenier is Creole music royalty. His father, the legendary Clifton Chenier was a trailblazer in the style of music we know today as zydeco and was the first Creole musician to be recognized with a Grammy Award.

Raised in this indigenous American culture with its own distinctive language, cuisine and music, C.J. delivers soulful vocals along with jaw-dropping masterful accordion-driven rock, zydeco and blues.

As the cliché goes, if you are not moving— check your pulse.

FEBRUARY 13-14 Avant Garden of Love (2nd Edition) Present Music (Jan Serr Studio) For their Valentine’s concert, “AvantGarden of Love,” Present Music offers a world premiere by Cory Dargel.

The classically trained composer’s recent albums easily cross over into synth pop, including Other People’s Love Songs set to 13 lyrics commissioned from real-life couples. His world premiere commission from PM, true love not pretend, was achieved in part with the aid of AI.

FEBRUARY 20-MARCH 22 Peter Pan and Wendy First Stage Disney called it Peter Pan, but Edwardian novelist-playwright J.M. Barrie called his play by the long, self-explanatory title, Peter Pan, or The Boy Who Wouldn’t Grow Up. When he turned it into a novel, he retitled it Peter and Wendy, a meditation on the inevitability of leaving childhood behind with Wendy as the protagonist. First Stage’s Jeff Frank’s adaptation promises a whimsical journey to the fantasy island of Neverland.

FEBRUARY 20-21 Tchaikovsky’s Sleeping Beauty Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky became ballet’s most esteemed composer, and the sheer beauty of his music transcends the demands of dancers and the stories they enact. Some have called The Sleeping Beauty his best work for ballet.

Britain’s Alpesh Chauhan, music director of the Birmingham Opera Company, will conduct the MSO.

FEBRUARY 27 The Best of Steve Martin & Martin Short w/ The Steep Canyon Rangers and Jeff Babko Miller High Life Theatre Comedians Steve Martin and Martin Short met on the set of the movie Three Amigos and began touring together in 2015; since 2021 they have starred in the television series "Only Murders in the Building". As a musician Martin has long played banjo as part of his standup; in 2009 he toured with bluegrass band The Steep Canyon Rangers. In “The Best of Steve Martin & Martin Short,” the duo’s humor is often subversive, but always a joyous self-deprecating romp from two comedy masters driven to make each other laugh as much as the audience.

The rapid-fire pace with little setup and big punch lines work as they mock Hollywood and the fickle nature of celebrity. The comedy soars when they lovingly and relentlessly roast each other.

MCNEAL FIRST REHEARSAL

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The company of The Lehman Trilogy at First Rehearsal Photo by Nicholas Lin.

FEBRUARY 2026 | 55

LIFESTYLE ASK ALLY

Dear Ally,

I’ve been a care taker my whole life (siblings, parents and friends.)

I’m finally able to retire early and am excited about the next chapter in my life. Finally, I can learn how to take care of myself, for a change. I can’t wait! To my surprise, I was named the Power of Attorney for my 95-yearold aunt. I’m relieved that her care is financially covered, but I’m not taking the news well.

My aunt lives in an assisted living near me and suffers from dementia.

She’s generally delightful, but with her memory loss, the visits are becoming more and more exhausting. I need to repeat myself over and over again.

Because of this, I find myself going to see her less. Other relatives stay away completely.

Dear Caretaker No More, First of all, congratulations on a welldeserved retirement. I’m confident that you will whole heartedly enjoy your second half of life.

I’m reading between the lines here, but it seems that you feel that you’ve reached your breaking point and can’t possibly take care of someone else.

Especially in your “golden years.”

Divine Timing is really something, isn’t it? My understanding is that your dilemma is: how do I respect the ability to finally take care of myself while I take care of my aunt?

The good news is that she’s already in an assisted living and has funds to stay there. This facility will hopefully have caring staff and a medical team that will oversee her health and check in on her on a daily basis. They will also make sure she’s eating three meals a day. That’s a huge burden taken off of your shoulders. Your responsibility will be to take care of her finances and provide some social interaction, love and support.

I know a little about dementia, because I too, have an aunt with that same brain disease and am happy to share some of my insights.

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I’ve taken care of others my whole life. I don’t want to be selfish, but I am beginning to resent her, even though I know it’s not her fault. I feel guilty for feeling this way, but don’t know what to do? Can you help?

Caretaker No More

I would advise you to develop a positive relationship with one or two members of the care team. In this way, you will have an ally to alert you to any potential health risks for your aunt.

That afternoon, I realized that I could expose my aunt to different visual experiences and most likely, she’d enjoy the real-time beauty of that moment. I could too.

As you know, there are many different types of dementia, but they are all progressive. There are some medications that might slow the progression down, but the disease will get worse over time.

What does your aunt enjoy? Music?

Art? Sports? Find experiences that she might like and take her to those venues.

She’ll have fun and you will too.

What continually amazes me, however, is that the person afflicted with this disease can be totally present in the moment. They have mastered the art of mindfulness effortlessly. Let me give you an example.

Before her illness, my aunt enjoyed all kinds of art, especially watercolors.

One afternoon, I took her to a coffee shop in Brookfield that was located in an old train station. It’s very cute with suitcases outside of every booth. The coffee’s good too.

Through the windows of this coffee shop, the owners stream a continual video of different, colorful train scenes.

My aunt became fully immersed in this visual display. We stayed there for hours. Pure delight. We didn’t have to talk. We could just watch. She was totally at peace.

Your aunt will savour the time with you and the experience. You will be sharing the moment together. It’s a win-win.

Because of this, the exhaustion and resentment level will dramatically decrease.

Since you’ll be having fun with your aunt, it’s safe to say that your mood will improve as well. Hopefully, this will ease your mind and positively impact your new life in retirement.

Best of luck to you as you navigate these changes in your life.

Here for you,

Ally

Send your questions to AskAlly@shepex.com.

FEBRUARY 2026 | 57

LIFESTYLE OUT OF MY MIND

A Heart Once Closed May Never Reopen

BY PHILIP CHARD

L

ibby let herself into Jeff's apartment. She remembered where he hid the spare key. She stepped quietly through the darkness into the bedroom where he lay soundly sleeping. She paused to look at him, to feel her heart flutter and to reconsider her decision.

“I love you. I've been afraid to let you know, but I can't hide anymore. I love you,” she said all in one breath, and then waited through the long, taut pause.

It's a big risk, she thought, but I have to tell him the truth.

She curled around him, pressing her lips against his, trying to say with her body what she feared her words failed to convey. But he gently pushed her away.

Although the two of them spent many happy times together over the preceding months, they remained simply good friends, except in Libby's heart. Secretly, she had grown to love her platonic companion but kept her feelings hidden.

She watched closely for any indication he felt the same.

Sometimes she thought she saw signs he might love her as well, in his smile, his eyes, his laughter. But she was far from certain.

After much deliberation, Libby decided to drop the pretense, to bare her heart, to take the ultimate emotional risk, to openly love. She lay down beside Jeff and slowly encircled him, spooning their bodies. He awoke quietly, almost as if he expected her to be there.

AFRAID TO SAY ‘I LOVE YOU’ “Libby, what is it? What's wrong?” Jeff asked.

“Jeff, I have something important to tell you.” She paused to let him become oriented.

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“Libby . . . “ Jeff began, but she didn't let him finish.

“Libby, you're my good friend and I love you that way, but I can’t be more for you,” he said with all the compassion he could muster.

EMOTIONAL AGONY Libby looked into his apologetic eyes and felt an emotional wrenching more painful than any physical agony she ever endured. And then she viscerally felt her heart close, like a once open hand contracted into a tightly clenched fist.

“When I walked out of Jeff's apartment that night, I left some part of me behind. After twenty years, it's still back there somewhere,” Libby told me at our first visit.

Today, she is a distant echo of the romantic, hopeful girl who threw herself on love's mercy and lived to regret it.

Age has not ravaged her. She still displays a fresh beauty that caught the eye of many men, including her husband of fifteen years. But her beauty is an emotional cosmetic, hiding deep scars.

“Since that night with Jeff, I've never let myself be truly vulnerable with anyone, not even my husband. My heart does not open wide anymore,” she said with wistful sorrow.

“It seems a part of you died that night, and you are still in mourning,” I suggested. “You're not alone although you may feel that way. The world is full of people who embraced someone with an open heart only to fall back emotionally wounded.”

Images of the emotionally scarred clients I've seen drifted through my mind: children abused by parents, lovers spurned or deceived, family members betrayed, friends rejected, and all the rest. All these persons possessed hearts once open but now tightly shut.

“That night with Jeff was the first and last time I let down all my defenses. It isn't that I don't want to open my heart again. I just can't take the risk,” Libby explained.

In the face of life's sharp jabs, many of us watch the open vulnerability of youth give way to some manner of emotional vigilance. The window to one's heart grows narrower and, for some like Libby, may even be boarded up.

When nobody can get in, there is more safety but also more despair. Some of us close up like a flower on a cold night, afraid to unfold in a new day's warmth for fear of another frost.

Now, Libby’s heart is safe from everything, except loneliness.

And loneliness can be the hardest frost of all.

Philip Chard is a psychotherapist and author with a focus on lasting behavior change, emotional healing and adaptation to health challenges. For more, visit philipchard.com.

LIFE’S SHARP JABS I found myself wanting to counter her grim perspective, perhaps by saying there are safe people who won't betray one's vulnerability, that she simply made an error in judgment, that the next time might prove different.

But then I thought of my own hurts and rejections and how they compelled me to hide my heart from all but a few wonderful people.

Photo of Rose by GettyImages/skynetphoto.

Illustration of Rose by GettyImages/Naddiya.

FEBRUARY 2026 | 59

HEAR ME OUT DEAR RUTHIE | SPONSORED BY UW CREDIT UNION

TURNING 50; FEELING FABULOUS DEAR RUTHIE, I’m 49 and feel completely invisible—at work, socially, everywhere. Is this just what it feels like to get older?

HELP,

Mister Cellophane

DEAR MISTER, Invisible? Honey, please. You didn’t become invisible—you became selective. Society stops fawning over you around this age because you’re no longer easily impressed or controlled. If you feel unseen, it’s time to remind folks who you are. Speak up in meetings. Wear the jeans that make you feel hot. Make eye contact like you know secrets. Aging isn’t disappearance—it’s editing, and trust me, the final cut is fierce.

DEAR RUTHIE, My body is betraying me at 48. It’s changing so fast, and I hate it. Everything is softer, slower and makes noises it didn’t before. I can’t stand it! Any advice as I barrel toward old age?

HELP!

Sister Sludge DEAR SIS, Your body isn’t betraying you—it’s telling the truth.

Those snaps, crackles and pops are sounds of experience.

You don’t need to shrink, hide or punish yourself. You need better bras, better shoes and good lighting. Your body has survived stress, joy, grief, late nights and fad diets—it deserves gratitude, not criticism. Always remember, sugar booger, confidence at this stage is hotter than six-pack abs!

XXOO

Ruthie Have a question for Ruthie? Want to share an event with her? Contact Ruthie at dearruthie@shepex.com.

Follow her on social media, too!

Facebook: Dear Ruthie | Instagram: RuthieKeester | Twitter: @DearRuthie

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DEAR RUTHIE BROUGHT TO YOU BY

Ruthie's Social Calendar FEBRUARY 1 SCREENING OF SELENA AT ORIENTAL THEATRE (2230 N. FARWELL AVE.): Celebrate the dazzling but tragically short life of diva and songbird Selena during this 4 p.m. viewing of the longtime favorite film.

FEBRUARY 5 QUEER WRITERS WORKSHOP AT MKE LGBT COMMUNITY CENTER (315 W. COURT ST.): Whether you’re an aspiring writer or a published pro, you’re sure to hone your skills during this motivating workshop. Writing and sharing exercises as well as free-writing sessions ensure that the 6-8 p.m. event will spark creativity. Email jmehnert@mkelgbt.org for details.

FEBRUARY 8 CLOSING NIGHT AMADEUS AT SKYLIGHT MUSIC THEATRE (158 N. BROADWAY): Artistic passion and desire for fame collide during this nail-biting play that features two of the world’s most complicated composers. Relish the sounds of the chamber orchestra on stage, highlighting this wonderful story. Reserve your tickets at www.skylightmusictheatre.org.

FEBRUARY 14 MOTOR MAYHEM WITH PRIDE RIDES WI AT HARBOR ROOM (117 E. GREENFIELD AVE.): A benefit for MADACC, this noon to 4 p.m. bash puts a daytime spin on cupid’s holiday. Take your chance in numerous raffles, enjoy drink specials, Jell-o shots, friendly faces and more as the city’s LGBTQ+ bike group hosts the daytime fun.

BEDTIME STORIES 2: SLUMBER & SLAY AT ATELIER BY ELLIESTYLED (1900 SHERIDAN ROAD, HIGHLAND PARK, IL): Celebrate Valentine’s Day with this adult pajama party! The devilish night includes tongue-incheek entertainment, drag queens, dancing, games, adult stories and overall mischief. See www.eventbrite.com for tickets to the grown-up slumber party.

FEBRUARY 15 GALANTINES DRAG BINGO AT HOT HOUSE TAVERN (N88W16631 APPLETON AVE., MENOMONEE FALLS): Grab your besties and head to this popular pub for an afternoon of laughs, food, cocktails, prizes and more. Glamour girl Dita Von hosts the 1 p.m. bingo (doors open at 11:30 a.m.), and a great time is sure to be had by all.

FEBRUARY 17 & 18 BLUEMAN GROUP: BLUEVOLUTION WORLD TOUR AT MILLER HIGH LIFE THEATRE (510 W. KILBOURN AVE.): The colorful trio brings a unique brand of excitement to Cream City with this stop on their national tour.

Two shows make it easy for you to attend when you nab seats via www. millerhighlifetheatre.com.

FEBRUARY 21 WINTER WITCH MARKET AT SIERRA MOON (213 W WISCONSIN AVE., PEWAUKEE): This seasonal gathering brings together witches, mystics and curious souls to celebrate the magic of winter.

The unique crystal shop hosts a marketplace, spiritual services and workshops from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

FEBRUARY 28 BLACK GIRL THERAPY 2 AT WILSON THEATER/VOGEL HALL MARCUS PERFORMING ARTS CENTER (929 N. WATER ST.): Tre Floyd Productions serves up this incredible night of theater sure to be a highlight of your month. What happens when six strangers enter a group therapy session together? Reserve your tickets to the one-night-only event and find out! See www.marcuscenter.org for more.

FEBRUARY 2026 | 61

HEAR ME OUT | SPONSORED BY UW CREDIT UNION

BLACK HISTORY MONTH 2026: THE LATEST CHAPTER OF BLACK HISTORY INCLUDES US ALL

BY PAUL MASTERSON

B

lack History Month 2026 takes place at a particularly grotesque moment in our national narrative. Just a year ago, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day, January 20, a day that traditionally celebrates the birth of the country’s leading Black activist, coincided with Inauguration Day.

National Cryptologic Museum covered images of women and people of color that were part of its Hall of Honor display. The Smithsonian and the National Gallery also curtailed their Diversity, Equity and Inclusion programs.

That very day, the new president issued Executive Order 14151 entitled “Ending Radical and Wasteful DEI (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion) Programs and Preferencing.”

It was followed by a statement issued by the Defense Intelligence Agency declaring Dr. King’s Birthday, Black History Month, Pride Month, Women’s History Month, Holocaust Day and Days of Remembrance, as well as other celebrations or months of awareness of the country’s Hispanic, Asian, American Pacific Islander, the Disabled and Indigenous communities would not be officially recognized.

This opening salvo in the regime’s war on people of color, women and LGBTQs would mark a new chapter of not Black history, but of our common history.

In an effort to support the notion held by certain Republicans that Black people were better off under slavery and segregation, the 1863 photo entitled Scourged Back, showing a Black slave with his back covered in crisscrossed scars from a lifetime of horrendous lashings, has been removed from a National Park display. Recently, the American Battle Monuments Commission removed panels honoring Black soldiers were from a U.S. military cemetery in the Netherlands. The NFL, once committed to DEI, removed the “End Racism” end zone stencils at the Superdome for the 2025 Super Bowl.

Over the course of the past year, a whitewashing of Black achievement has been taking place with extraordinary and relentless speed. In an orgy of ethnic cleansing across the spectrum of government agencies, Black representation became the target. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Charles O. Brown, Jr, who is black, was sacked during Black History Month of 2025.

Other Black military heroes had their stories expunged from government websites.

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WHITEWASHING HISTORY

More recently, the original designs for the special issue semiquincentennial coins intended to “reflect America’s journey and ideals of liberty” that included commemoratives celebrating Abolitionism, Suffrage and Civil Rights have been scrapped. The new coins feature the Mayflower Compact, the Revolutionary War, the U.S. Constitution and the Gettysburg Address. According to the U.S. Mint, the new designs celebrate “American history and the birth of our great nation.”

Hand collage by GettyImages/wildpixel.

Rainbow by GettyImages/Rosemary Gerardy.

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HEAR ME OUT | SPONSORED BY UW CREDIT UNION

The effort claims to establish “merit, character and ability” criteria in hiring and education by forbidding preferential treatment to individuals based on race, sex, color, ethnicity or national origin.

Ironically dubbed the “Equality Amendment,” its true intent seems to reassert white supremacist notions harkening back to Jim Crow-era segregation that deferred preferential treatment to whites only.

Coincidently or intentionally, that statement harkens to D.W. Griffith’s infamous film, The Birth of a Nation, which glorified the birth of the Ku Klux Klan and has been deemed by some critics as “the most reprehensibly racist film in Hollywood history.”

RETURN TO SEGREGATION? Just weeks ago, a Louisiana school district celebrated the current administration’s ending of a 1967 desegregation order claiming that worries over segregation were no longer necessary. In New Hampshire, according to the Boston Globe, Republican Kirstin Noble, chairwoman of the state house education policy and administration committee, advocated for segregated schools in leaked Signal chat texts.

Not surprisingly, here in Wisconsin, DEI has long been under attack. Leading the charge has been State Assembly Speaker Robin Vos who has called it “indoctrination” despite the very idea of diversity, equity and inclusion being essentially declared in our nation’s founding tenet of “All Men are Created Equal.” Nevertheless, the state assembly has passed a “second consideration,” moving forward AJR102, a proposed constitutional amendment to ban DEI programs within state and local government.

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Dr. King’s legacy and Black history are intricately intertwined not only with Black liberation but also with the broader struggle for civil rights and equality of other oppressed populations including LGBTQs, women, indigenous people and other people of color.

Milwaukee’s Lloyd Barbee, civil rights activist and state legislator, not only fought successfully fought to end segregation in Milwaukee Public Schools but also laid the groundwork for the nation’s first LGBTQ anti-discrimination law, the Wisconsin Fair Employment Act passed in 1982.

When I interviewed Lula Reams, founder of Lesbians of Color, Milwaukee’s first lesbian organization, she mentioned one of the group’s events, a Martin Luther King Jr. Day Dance, stressing its inclusive embrace of all people. This was in the 1990s when the Civil Rights movement and the Stonewall Uprising were still a relatively recent memory. It is also worth mentioning that Milwaukee’s PrideFest provided essential logistical support for the 2020 March with Pride for #BlackLivesMatter led by Montell Infiniti Ross. Despite the Covid pandemic, that effort brought thousands to the streets in common cause.

Sadly today, while there are MLK-dedicated events elsewhere, I’ve noticed a lack of any such recognition in the LGBTQ community. To be sure, an LGBTQ-sponsored MLK Day Dance is at best a distant memory. In fact, this year, of all years, amidst all the chaos and the blatant regime attacks on minority populations, the date for January 20 remained blank on the calendars of our community organizations. Perhaps, like certain media and corporations, they may be cowering in fear of further retribution if they tread on the thin ice of appearing to endorse DEI. Still, the cuts of federal funding to our LGBTQ organizations and the advance of anti-transgender bills AB 311 and AB 400 in the Wisconsin State Assembly portend even more dire things to come, MLK Dance or not.

As I have written so often over the years, solidarity is the best form of resistance. Our common cause demands it.

We are all targets.

Paul Masterson is an LGBTQ activist and writer and has served on the boards of the Milwaukee Gay Arts Center, Milwaukee Pride, GAMMA and other organizations.

FEBRUARY 2026 | 65

ART FOR ART'S SAKE

From The City

That Always Sweeps

BY ART KUMBALEK

I

’m Art Kumbalek and man oh manischewitz what a world, ain’a? So how’s your 2026 going so far, what with its fading new-year smell? Seems kind of like the previously used year? Yeah, me too, what the fock

Cripes, February, already? Didn’t we already have one of these furshglinner months like only a year ago?

Jeez louise, I’m thinking perhaps the best thing I can say about February is that the second month of the year signals we’ve only got a couple, three more months of winterish schmutz around these parts.

But hallelujah, this edition of a lord’s 2026, the month lasts but 28 days instead of the interminable extra gloomy day number 29 we get with the occasionable so-called bullshine Leap Year, praise be.

But within these frigid crappy days, it’s a cram-packed month, you betcha: What with your Valentine’s Day, your Super Bowl football Super multi-million dollar advertising Sunday (so that you learn which kind of bag of snack chips you ought to buy based on the suspect opinion of a B-list celebrity and/or retired athletic star), your Presidents’ Day (a big favorite of mine on account that there’s no mail delivery, thus pushing forward by a day the inevitable query from some kind of health “provider” as to where is their dough from out of my pocketbook for “services”); and for certain religious-cult members, there’s the Ash Wednesday— the kick-start to the Lenten Season when it is so prescribed that one foregoes this-or-that so as to mimic Jesus alone in some kind of desert for 40 days and 40 nights with nothing for sustenance than to suck on his loincloth, or something like that.

Anyways, I was hobbling out and about the street just other day and some passerby says to me, “Hey Artie, writing those essays must be good therapy, ain’a?” And I was then reminded of a little story: A women goes to her psychiatrist ‘cause she’s having big problems with the sex life, wouldn’t you know.

The psychiatrist asks lots of questions but wasn’t getting a clear picture of her problems. So, finally he asks, “Do you ever watch your husband’s face while you are having sex?”

And she says, “Well, yes, I did once.” The psychiatrist asked her how he looked and she said, “Very angry.”

66 | SHEPHERD EXPRESS

The psychiatrist felt a breakthrough was imminent: “Interesting. We must look into this further. You say that you have only seen your husband’s face once during sex, which seems unusual. How did it occur that you saw his face that time?” And she says, “He was looking through the window.” Ba-ding!

Yeah yeah, so word on the street is that Artie is his own therapist, how ’bout that. I’m all for it. If true, by cutting out the middle man, I figure I’m saving myself maybe about a $200 bucks an hour; so the drinks are on me. And as a therapist, one thing I know is that we can all use an extra pat on the back. Actually, I got a better idea. More than an extra pat on the back, we could all use an extra Benjamin or three in the wallet, what the fock.

Hold on, I got an even better idea. How ’bout, say, you go see one of these psychiatric guys for a little shrink rap, and at the end of the session he gives you a crisp couple Franklins instead of the other way around—“Hey doc, gosh. Thanks for the dough. I'm feeling better about myself already.” And isn’t that the point?

Fock if I know, but I sometimes do wonder what things would be like these days if there had been an outbreak of the psychology racket in the olden days. Say back in the year 27 or something, they pull Jesus in for a psych session: “Well, Mr. Christ, to me it looks like we’re dealing with a pattern of self-destructive behavior here. I’d say you were clinically depressed but that hasn’t been invented yet. This savior thing. It’s a grand idea, but practically speaking, what about the future? Do you actually see yourself doing this at 40, 50, 60? And you say one thing, but then do another. ‘Love thy neighbor,’ fine. But then you go bust up the neighbor’s money-changing temple. What I’d like to do is see you weekly for the long-term. Who is your health care provider, Mr. Christ?”

And as always, what with the Valentine’s Day folie à deux right ’round the corner, I wish you’s all good luck and god speed with your love and romance. And as tradition here at “Art’s Sake” dictates, let me remind you what the famous Greek philosopher Anonymous said about that: “The ideal relationship can only be achieved when one partner is blind, and the other is deaf,” ’cause I’m Art Kumbalek and I told you so.

Header photo by GettyImages/Mariia Vitkovska.