A New Berlin voter is raising concerns about a mailer sent by the city explaining a $3 million public safety referendum on the November ballot, saying he believes the flyer goes beyond informing voters and instead encourages them to support the measure.

They shouldnt be doing it. They should not be doing this, Joe Mikolajczak said.

Mikolajczak brought the mailer to TMJ4 and said he believes the information presented by the city favors passage of the referendum.

I believe it is a pro pamphlet to vote for the referendum, Mikolajczak said.

The $3 million referendum asks voters to allow the city to increase its tax levy to hire additional police officers and firefighters. If approved, the owner of a $400,000 home would pay about $166 more per year in property taxes.

TMJ4 spoke with other New Berlin voters who received the flyer and found differing opinions about its message.

When asked whether the flyer influenced their vote, one voter simply said, No.

Another said, No, I think it just informed.

But another voter saw it differently. When asked whether the mailer appeared to be trying to influence voters, the person responded, Oh sure. Absolutely.

TMJ4 reached out to the City of New Berlin about the concerns.

The city said it sent two flyers to inform residents about the November 3 ballot question, including why the City is requesting additional Police and Fire staffing, the proposed staffing additions, the estimated property tax impact, and what a Yes or No vote would mean. The mailings focused on explaining the referendum question approved by the Common Council, including what voters are being asked to decide, the proposed funding, its intended uses, and the operational needs that led to the staffing request.

The city maintains the mailers were intended to provide factual information to residents.

TMJ4 also asked political attorney Michael Maistelman to review the pamphlet. Maistelman has represented Gov. Tony Evers and former Gov. Jim Doyle and represented Tim Russell, who worked for Scott Walker during the John Doe.

The government has every right to educate the voter, to inform the voter, Maistelman said.

But he said there can be a line between informing voters about a ballot question and encouraging them to vote a particular way.

My concern is if it looks at it as a whole, if the emphasis is to encourage someone to vote a certain way, then that is a problem, Maistelman said.

The city disagrees that its mailers crossed that line, maintaining that the materials were designed to provide residents with factual information about the referendum.

Maistelman said a citizen who believes a violation occurred can file a complaint with the Wisconsin Elections Commission and ask the agency to review it.

Residents who have concerns about an election-related issue can contact the Wisconsin Elections Commission directly.

The commission can be reached by phone at 608-266-8005, toll-free at 866-VOTE-WIS (866-868-3947) or by email at Elections@wi.gov. Its office is at 201 W. Washington Ave., 2nd Floor, Madison, WI 53707, and regular office hours are Monday through Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m

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We all love a stadium giveaway, right? Well, one Brewers fans takes that love to a whole new level.

Jake Paulson has collected all of the Brewers stadium giveaway bobbleheads since 2001. That's 330 bobbleheads. What's more, he's gotten 326 of them autographed and authenticated. He's missing just four signatures. Paulson has bobbleheads and autographs of everyone from Hank Aaron to Bob Uecker to Robin Yount to Jackson Chourio.

"I don't really know what it is about them. They just look cool," Paulson said.

He even has 13 bobbleheads (signed too) of the '82 World Series team in pinstripes and in blue.

Just connect so much as fans and as a city and as a state to that '82 team," Paulson said.

His collection started slow in 2005. One bobblehead here and there. But then the collection bug bit him. He tries to go to every game there's a bobblehead giveaway. Otherwise, he buys the bobblehead online and finds a way to get it signed by that player.

Now, there are some that are signed by some players that have passed away, too, so unless somebody has them out there, it's going to be harder. If somebody wanted to try to replicate this, that would be hard.

Watch the story to see more of the Brewers bobblehead collection...

I met Jake Paulson last year. Since then, his collection has grown by about a dozen signatures and bobbleheads.

So I needed some Yelich's. I needed one Uecker. Then the 2026 ones, I did get all those signed now.

Having 330 bobbleheads takes up a lot of space. He's running out of area on his wall to display them. So what happens when the team comes out with new bobbleheads?

Honey, we won't need to buy a new house yet," Paulson said. "But I think we can expand for a while. But I just have to build some more shelves.

Since the Brewers made bobbleheads to commemorate the '82 World Series team, there's a chance they make some for this season's team, too.

The Brewers will have no problem picking bobblehead poses and giveaways next year. They probably have too many to choose from.

A new season means new bobbleheads and more autographs. The collection is never truly finished, and Paulson is okay with that. Onto the next season! Paulson chronicles his collection on his website Milwaukee Brewers Bobbleheads.

Paulson isn't the only one in Wisconsin that is an avid collector. There are a number of people around the state with giant collections. The world's largest Smurf collection is in Ripon. The largest Winnie the Pooh collection is in Waukesha. One of, if not the biggest, collections of Indiana Jones memorabilia is in Sheboygan. In Cedarburg, there is a guy who has collected autographs from almost every single person to ever play for the Brewers. (Know someone else with a sizeable collection? Reach out to james.groh@tmj4.com)While Paulson's collection isn't going to set a world record, the fun is that it's never complete. A new season means new bobbleheads.

Watch the story to see more rare and unique Brewers bobbleheads...

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When the confetti and streamers fell at American Family Field after the Milwaukee Brewers clinched the pennant, longtime beer vendor Ryan Strnad of Mukwonago knew the moment he and his coworkers had been waiting for was finally here.

The Brewers making the World Series, we were almost waiting for it, Strnad said.

For Strnad and a group of vendors from Waukesha and Milwaukee counties, the World Series means more than watching their favorite team play on baseball's biggest stage: they will be working it.

Strnad has been a vendor for more than three decades. Fellow beer vendor Dave Koller, from Slinger, has been doing the job for about two decades, while bartender and volunteer Nicole Morris joined the crew more recently.

Their years working at the stadium may vary, but their connection to the Brewers does not.

I am incredibly excited, Koller said. I have been a Brewers fan my whole life, back when my dad took me to County Stadium. Just a huge fan.

That love of the Brewers is part of what brought the group to work at the stadium in the first place.

But working a Brewers game is much different from sitting in the stands and watching one.

Koller said he has tracked how far he walks during a game and averages about six miles. For vendors like Strnad, those miles can also include carrying dozens of pounds of beer up and down the stadium steps.

My workout now consists of lugging that 45 pounds of beer up and down the lower seats of the stadium, Strnad said.

The physical demands, combined with the number of people expected at the World Series, are enough to convince Morris to experience these games from home.

I just love the people. I like being around the people, but this is too much, Morris said. I am going to support from home.

Strnad and Koller, however, plan to be back on the job.

They admit they feel the physical toll of the work more than they once did, but they expect the aches and pains to fade into the background once the games begin.

Koller will have a particularly good view.

My area is right by behind the Brewers dugout, so I will be down there all game, he said.

For Strnad, the possibility of witnessing a Brewers championship while working inside American Family Field makes the long days and heavy lifting worth it.

We would be not in the seats; we would be behind the scenes, so to speak, when that happy moment happens, or when we hope that happy moment happens and all of Milwaukee is celebrating, Strnad said.

Strnad and Koller plan to work the World Series games at American Family Field. They're also signed up to work the Brewers' watch parties at the stadium when the team is playing on the road.

After decades of serving fans from the aisles, they may finally get to watch Brewers history happen while they're on the clock.

This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.

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A big hole in a New Berlin neighborhood is causing concerns, as neighbors say all the work appears to have stopped on it. The hole is off of 124th and Ohio Drive, just down the street from Hoover Elementary School.

Neighbors reached out to TMJ4 saying they are fed up with this giant hole that has been dug up for about two months. They say it's basically been left.

"Right there it is dangerous," Carla Brees said.

"Somebody could very easily drive in there," Joe Mikolajczak said.

The hole is about 10 feet deep, and there's water in it. Neighbors say it's already caused their school bus to stop coming down their street. But what neighbors are worried about is what isn't happening.

"I haven't noticed any construction workers," Amanda Trinko said.

With no workers, neighbors say the fencing and the barrels often get knocked over.

"They all kept falling in the excavation," Mikolajczak said.

In the last few weeks, people say they have called police because they are so concerned. The fencing and the barrels can be seen in the hole.

"It is pretty dangerous when there are no lights here. And there is nothing there these barrels keep falling over," Mikolajczak said.

I reached out to the city and asked for an on-camera interview, which they said they couldn't accommodate. They gave me a statement saying that during the work they found the utilities were different than what was planned, and that they have to order a different sized storm sewer pipe. The city says the work should start up again later this week.

But neighbors are worried and fed up.

"Hopefully they can have it done before winter," Trinko said.

"Finish the project you started and don't leave unsafe conditions for kids," Trinko said.

The city says it plans to get paving done by mid-November on the project but only if the weather holds.

This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.

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Construction is underway at Bass Bay Brewhouse in Muskego, 10 months after a fire burned the beloved restaurant to the ground. Construction crews started work Friday on the new building. For owner Ryan Oschmann, it isn't just a restaurant being rebuilt it is his family's legacy.'

"We are excited to be moving forward. It is nice to finally see something happen," Ryan Oschmann said.

The Oschmann family's connection to the property spans decades.

"My grandparents originally building almost 70 years ago. My parents coming in having their spin on it. My partner Andy, my mom and I in 2015," Oschmann said.

The family home has also been attached to the building.

"I was born and raised here, my sister was born and raised here. My Dad's family came here when he was 8. My mom has been here since she was in her mid-20s," Oschmann said. "It has meant more than a building with four walls to my family for, forever."

Oschmann shared renderings of the new restaurant showing exactly what the new space will look like. The new building will end up slightly smaller than the original, though the banquet hall will be a little bigger.

"We are ending up a bit smaller than before. The banquet hall is a little bit bigger," Oschmann said. "The goal was to try to pay homage to what it was."

This summer, Bass Bay made a temporary return to the community as a beer garden. The Bass Bay Beer Garden will remain open until Oct. 25. The new restaurant is expected to open in the summer of 2027.

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