Whitefish Bay’s Local Blog

Author: WFBBuzz

  • The Light at the End of the I-43 Construction Tunnel Is Finally (Actually) Here

    The Light at the End of the I-43 Construction Tunnel Is Finally (Actually) Here

    If you’ve driven I-43 north of Milwaukee over the past several years, you know the drill: lane shifts, orange barrels, and the slow crawl of what felt like a never-ending construction project. The I-43 North-South project spans 14 miles of Interstate modernization and expansion between Glendale and Grafton, and for most of that stretch, the work is done. Finished. In the rearview mirror.

    Except, of course, for that one nagging section.

    True WFB neighbors who have driven between Silver Spring and Bender Road recently know that stretch never quite got its finishing touches. No noise barriers. Just open freeway and all the sound that comes with it. Our Glendale neighbors have been absorbing that for a while now, and if you’ve checked the DOT’s project website lately, you’d be forgiven for assuming the project is wrapped up. The last update posted there dates back to April 2025.

    It hasn’t wrapped up. But it’s about to.

    According to the DOT’s public relations lead for the project, construction on the Silver Spring to Bender Road section is set to begin the week of May 4th. That means the TRUE long-awaited completion of the last unfinished piece of this massive project is finally on the horizon.

    Better late than never, but it does beg the question, which would be worse – traffic noise without the barriers for the houses along that stretch or pickleball noise for our neighbors around Klode ;-)?

  • Familiar Faces Return to the North Shore Conference: What Realignment Means for Whitefish Bay

    Familiar Faces Return to the North Shore Conference: What Realignment Means for Whitefish Bay

    The North Shore Conference is entering yet another chapter of change. The WIAA Board of Control’s March meeting brought fresh realignment decisions that will reshape the conference’s membership — and for Whitefish Bay High School, the shifts mean a new-look league with some familiar neighbors returning and one longtime rival heading out the door. The changes will affect our state champion girls/boys basketball teams, state champion boys soccer team, and all other non-football sports.

    The Board approved a plan that brings Menomonee Falls and Germantown into the North Shore Conference from the Greater Metro Conference, while sending Grafton the other direction out of the NSC and into the recently formed Glacier Trails Conference. Those moves are set to take effect for the 2027-28 school year.

    For Whitefish Bay, the changes restore a connection with Germantown that has recent history, as Germantown moved from the old NSC to the Greater Metro in 2017. Menomonee Falls was briefly a NSC member once before, moving over from the Braveland Conference in 1993 before leaving in 1997.

    When all the moves are finalized, the North Shore will be an eight team conference comprising Cedarburg, Germantown, Hartford, Homestead, Menomonee Falls, Nicolet, Slinger, and Whitefish Bay.

    The loss of Grafton is the notable departure from Whitefish Bay’s perspective. Grafton has been a consistent NSC rival across multiple sports dating back to 1980, but its move to the Glacier Trails Conference aligns it with other similar sized Northern Milwaukee area programs.

  • Updated Ordinance Allows 5 AM Business Openings on Silver Spring

    Updated Ordinance Allows 5 AM Business Openings on Silver Spring

    Early risers rejoice! The village board unanimously passed an update to an existing ordinance that will now allow businesses along Silver Spring to open as early as 5:00 a.m., down from the current 6:00 a.m. limit. The catch? They’ll need a conditional use permit from the plan commission first.

    The permit approach gives the village flexibility to weigh concerns like noise or activity on a case-by-case basis, and to deny requests that could negatively affect the neighborhood. Permits are business-specific, and the ordinance only covers operating hours.

    This isn’t entirely new ground. Exercise facilities already had an early-hours exception, and the village indicated it’s open to similar requests from other businesses down the road, as long as the broader community isn’t impacted.

    The Starbucks located at the corner of Silver Spring and Santa Monica requested the change, so we expect them to follow through with applying for a permit first, though it would be surprising if Stone Creek or others didn’t follow suit as well.

    We can only hope that this change will finally bring a new bank or two to that stretch of Silver Spring.