Tuesday, April 15, 2025
DRC selected to participate in Main Street America program
Caroline Neal
RACINE — Downtown Racine Corporation has been selected to participate in a program aimed at helping local communities establish systems for healthy development.
The Unlocking Capital on Main Street Program is the result of a partnership between Main Street America, an organization dedicated to strengthening communities through preservation-based economic development, and the Center for Community Investment.
It’s goal to help local downtowns implement CCI’s Capital Absorption Framework, which helps communities strengthen investment strategies to achieve long-term goals.
DRC is one of six communities in the country selected for the program.
Main Street America selected the statewide groups in Virginia and Wisconsin as Coordinating Programs. From there, six local organizations in cities with populations between 30,000 and 500,000 were selected as sub-grantees.
Others participants in Wisconsin include Downtown West Allis Inc. and On Broadway Inc. in Green Bay.
Each local group will have access to workshops, grant money and technical assistance.
DRC Executive Director Kelly Kruse said the Capital Absorption Framework will help ensure that investments align with community priorities, which include attracting and retaining high-quality retail stores and grocery or food stores, continuing to support local businesses, and promoting economic development that does not displace current residents or businesses.
“By taking control of our investment narrative, we can prevent unwanted or misaligned development and instead focus on initiatives that reflect the needs of those who live, work and invest here,” Kruse said.
DRC will utilize the program to develop “a pipeline of investable commercial and mixed-use projects focused on filling vacant storefronts and converting underused upper floors into residential units,” according to Main Street America.
As part of the program, DRC will have access to in-person and virtual workshops to help communities seek and deploy investment capital.
The first training, Kruse said, is in May.
“Most of all, I hope to strengthen our systems so we can work more efficiently with partners, stakeholders, and funders, ensuring that the great work already being done in our district is not only sustained — but amplified,” she said.
The framework also will allow DRC to achieve its long-term goals by offering “tools and guidance for developing a shared vision, building an investable project pipeline, and improving the policies and systems that support lasting impact,” she said.
According to Kruse, those goals include stimulating economic development, preserving historic buildings, creating a pedestrian-friendly downtown, modernizing the parking system and expanding year-round programming.
“As a small nonprofit, this structured approach will allow us to scale our impact, coordinate stakeholders more effectively, and unlock funding that directly supports our downtown vision,” Kruse said.
More casino gambling is coming to Wisconsin-Illinois border. Kenosha casino bid pending.
Cary Spivak
In early 1988, the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act was enacted by Congress, a bill that opened the door for legal Indian casinos. Prior to the passage of the law, numerous tribes owned casinos, although there were questions about their legality. In the early 1990s, Wisconsin tribal governments signed compact agreements outlining rules and regulations for operating Indian casinos.
In recent years, there's been a flurry of new casino development at the Illinois-Wisconsin border. And the Menominee tribe in February expressed new optimism that its long-sought Kenosha County casino might win federal approval under the Trump administration.
The tribe has been seeking approval for the project for about 30 years.
An off-reservation casino must also be approved by the state where it will be located since governors have unilateral authority to veto an off-reservation tribal gambling hall.
The Ho-Chunk tribe is planning to open a casino in Beloit next year — a move that would place it in direct competition with an existing casino in nearby Rockford, Illinois. And in Milwaukee, there has been expanded gambling opportunities at the Potawatomi casino near downtown.
Here's what to know about the recent casino developments in the region:
How long has there been legal casino gambling near the Illinois-Wisconsin border?
The Hard Rock Casino opened in Rockford in August 2024, while efforts by the Menominee tribe to open a casino in Kenosha goes back three decades and are still continuing. In 2015, then-Gov. Scott Walker used his unilateral veto power to kill the proposed Kenosha casino.
The Potawatomi tribe has been running a casino in Milwaukee's Menominee Valley for more than 30 years.
Do casinos near the Illinois-Wisconsin border make much money?
The Potawatomi casino in Milwaukee won about $430 million from gamblers in the 12-month period that ended June 30, 2024, according to Journal Sentinel calculations based on government records. Monthly reports are not available for the tribe's casino.
On the Illinois side, the American Place Casino in Waukegan won nearly $11 million from gamblers in March and the Hard Rock Casino in Rockford won more than $13 million in the month, reports show.
How many casinos are operating near the state line today?
Just two — for now.
The American Place Casino in Waukegan is a temporary casino with about 1,000 video gaming machines, 50 table games and sportsbook. A permanent casino is scheduled to open next year.
The Hard Rock Casino in Rockford houses about 1,300 slots, 50 table games and a sportsbook.
Are there plans to build any more casinos near the state line?
The Menominee tribe's latest Kenosha effort calls for it to team up with Hard Rock International. The casino would include 1,500 slot machines and about 50 table games.
The facility would be located on about 60 acres on the east and west sides of 122nd Avenue in Kenosha. The Village of Bristol in 2022 agreed to sell the land to Hard Rock for more than $15 million.
The proposal is pending before the federal government. It must also win approval from the governor.
In Beloit, the Ho-Chunk tribe is building a $500 million casino near Interstate 90. The casino is expected to have about 1,500 slot machines, 44 table games. Plans call for it to open next years.
Both tribes are planning to have hotels and other amenities near their new casinos.
Does a person have to go to a casino to play a slot machine in Illinois?
No. Video slot machines are as easy to find in Illinois as cheese in Wisconsin.
There are about 45,000 video gaming, or slot machines, in Illinois. You could find the games in all types of venues, including gas stations, bars and restaurants.
Although the machines are illegal in Wisconsin, it is not unusual to find slots in numerous locations, including taverns and restaurants.
Contact Cary Spivak at (414) 550-0070 or cspivak@jrn.com. Follow him on Twitter at @cspivak.
Brett Favre's rise and fall is focus of Netflix upcoming sports documentary series
Christopher Kuhagen
Former Green Bay Packers quarterback Brett Favre has a legacy that puts him among the greatest of all time on the football field.
Off the field, including in his post-playing days, his legacy is much more complicated and controversial.
Netflix, in partnership with sports media company Front Office Sports, will chronicle the rise and fall of the football legend in "The Fall of Favre."
The one-hour feature, as part of Netflix's "Untold" sports documentary series, will air on the streaming service May 20.
The feature will discuss the harassment allegations levied against Favre during his one season with the New York Jets by a team host as well as the welfare scandal that he has been embroiled in over the last several years.
Front Office Sports said the feature showcases "the womanizing, hard-partying QB whose secrets were fiercely protected in provincial Green Bay."
Favre spent 16 years with the Packers, where he won three MVPs and led the team to the Super Bowl after the 1996 season.
When Favre played for the Jets after his run in Green Bay, team host Jenn Sterger alleged he harassed her in 2008. The NFL found that Favre didn't violate its workplace conduct policy, though the quarterback admitted to sending Sterger voicemails.
Favre, who retired from the NFL after the 2010 season, has also been linked to a fraud scheme in his home state of Mississippi that dates several years. State funds totaling $77 million for needy families were allegedly used to pay for other projects, including those that Favre advocated for, like a volleyball facility at Southern Mississippi.
Favre hasn't been charged with a crime and has denied any wrongdoing.
He has said in the past that his name has been "unjustly smeared in the media." In 2023, Favre sued sports TV personalities Shannon Sharpe and Pat McAfee for defamation, as well as Mississippi State Auditor Shad White.
Mississippi also sued Favre in a civil case that sought to recover misspent welfare money.
Favre, according to Netflix and Front Office Sports, declined to be interviewed for the feature.
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