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Discussion from MMSD Executive Director Kevin Shafer, to spark fruitful discussion and greater understanding of the work that goes on to make the Milwaukee region a better place to liveDear Santa, I hope you won't think I'm greedy, but I would like to add 352,827,081 more things to my list this year. Actually, it's one big present with a lot of parts for all my neighbors here in the Milwaukee area to help protect homes, businesses, our rivers and Lake Michigan when Mother Nature doesn't play nice. Santa, we've had some big storms here in recent years that caused millions of dollars in flood damage. Some people lost their homes.To make things better, we have a plan here at MMSD that is all about green and cost effective solutions for solving problems. You see, Santa, we've …
"Uh oh. The cat just came out of the basement and it's wet.” I'll never forget those words or the person who said them in July 2010. His name is John Jankowski, a dedicated MMSD employee of 31 years. John uttered this statement in the middle of the night as we were on the phone together trying to manage the deep tunnel response to a now infamous storm that caused widespread flooding. This phone call was like so many others we've shared over the nine years since I became Executive Director of MMSD. That's right; every major storm that's hit the Milwaukee area – no matter what time of day, …