Current:Home > MarketsFormer US Sen. Herb Kohl remembered for his love of Wisconsin, Milwaukee Bucks -Wealth Pursuit Network
Former US Sen. Herb Kohl remembered for his love of Wisconsin, Milwaukee Bucks
View
Date:2025-04-12 02:19:25
MILWAUKEE (AP) — Former U.S. senator and owner of the Milwaukee Bucks Herb Kohl was remembered Friday for his love of both the city where he grew up and the state of Wisconsin at a memorial service attended by sports, political and business leaders.
Kohl, 88, died Dec. 27 after a brief illness.
Speakers, including former President Barack Obama’s strategist David Axelrod, joked that the spotlight-shunning Kohl had ordered up a snowstorm to dampen attendance at his own memorial held at the Fiserv Forum where the Bucks play.
“I’m not here to mourn Herb,” Axelrod said. “I am here to celebrate this extraordinary life and to say how grateful I am that he was part of my life.”
Former Major League Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig spoke of his lifelong friendship with Kohl. The two met as 6-year-olds in grade school in Milwaukee and met weekly for lunch up until his death. Selig talked of Kohl’s devotion to Milwaukee, most famously demonstrated by his purchase of the Bucks franchise in 1985 to keep it from leaving the city.
“His only goal was to keep the Bucks in Milwaukee and he sacrificed willingly to do so,” Selig said.
Kohl sold the Bucks in 2014 and contributed $100 million toward construction of Fiserv Forum. In 2018, the Bucks won their first NBA title since 1971.
Kohl’s nephew, Dan Kohl, said his uncle had a knack for remembering not only the names of Kohl’s employees but their spouses and children as well. Over his 24 years as a senator, Kohl never boasted about his accomplishments, Dan Kohl said.
Kohl’s greatest legacy will be the scholarships he gave to teachers and children across the state, which were just some of his numerous philanthropic efforts, Dan Kohl said.
Kohl never married or had kids, but Dan Kohl said that dozens of his relatives from across the country and from Canada and Israel came to Milwaukee for the memorial.
Other attendees included U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin, U.S. Rep. Gwen Moore, Gov. Tony Evers, Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Rebecca Dallet, state Rep. Greta Neubauer, Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley and Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson.
Kohl served in the Senate from 1988 to 2012 and was succeeded by Baldwin.
veryGood! (12796)
Related
- Current, future North Carolina governor’s challenge of power
- No Matter Who Wins, the US Exits the Paris Climate Accord the Day After the Election
- Endometriosis, a painful and often overlooked disease, gets attention in a new film
- Solar Job Growth Hits Record High, Shows Economic Power of Clean Energy, Group Says
- Are Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp down? Meta says most issues resolved after outages
- RHONJ Reunion Teaser: Teresa Giudice Declares She's Officially Done With Melissa Gorga
- Montana Republicans are third state legislators to receive letters with mysterious white powder
- 3 dead, 5 wounded in Kansas City, Missouri, shooting
- Google unveils a quantum chip. Could it help unlock the universe's deepest secrets?
- Senate 2020: In Mississippi, a Surprisingly Close Race For a Trump-Tied Promoter of Fossil Fuels
Ranking
- The Best Stocking Stuffers Under $25
- China, India to Reach Climate Goals Years Early, as U.S. Likely to Fall Far Short
- Human remains found in California mountain area where actor Julian Sands went missing
- Raiders' Davante Adams assault charge for shoving photographer dismissed
- Juan Soto to be introduced by Mets at Citi Field after striking record $765 million, 15
- Jana Kramer Recalls Releasing Years of Shame After Mike Caussin Divorce
- New York AG: Exxon Climate Fraud Investigation Nearing End
- Tom Brokaw's Never Give Up: A prairie family history, and a personal credo
Recommendation
Will the 'Yellowstone' finale be the last episode? What we know about Season 6, spinoffs
On a Melting Planet, More Precisely Tracking the Decline of Ice
Sea squirts and 'skeeters in our science news roundup
Al Roker Makes Sunny Return to Today Show 3 Weeks After Knee Surgery
Stamford Road collision sends motorcyclist flying; driver arrested
Startup aims to make lab-grown human eggs, transforming options for creating families
Sister Wives' Kody and Janelle Brown Reunite for Daughter Savannah's Graduation After Breakup
Unchecked Global Warming Could Collapse Whole Ecosystems, Maybe Within 10 Years