Boat companies say Milwaukee River through downtown to be shut down during RNC

The Milwaukee River will be closed downtown during the Republican National Convention in July, three boat companies said they had been told by the U.S. Secret Service.

"They did let everybody know ― captains, boat captains, people working on the river ― that the rivers are going to be closed through downtown during the RNC," said Beth Handle, owner of Milwaukee Kayak Company.

Matt Weber, owner of Cream City Boats LLC, said he had learned from the U.S. Secret Service that the river would be "shut down for the RNC completely to all recreational and commercial traffic. ... I don't have more details currently but this is unfortunately true."

Lindsay Schwegler, the director of operations for Edelweiss Cruises and Boat Tours, confirmed the news, adding that the company was "disappointed."

"Although we understand the need for the security parameters, we're obviously disappointed in the fact that we will have a loss of business," Schwegler told the Journal Sentinel. "And our employees will have a loss of income for that week."

The RNC will take place just west of the river from July 15-18. The presidential nominating convention will be held at Fiserv Forum, the UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena and the Baird Center.

The security footprint released in February includes the stretch of the river from about Cherry Street on the north to Clybourn Street on the south.

The Secret Service in a statement said that restrictions would be in place, but did not specify what those would be.

"Following a comprehensive threat assessment, the U.S. Secret Service has determined that some restrictions on commercial and recreational boat traffic on the Milwaukee River will be necessary in order to ensure the safety of the city and convention," the statement said. "The Secret Service and our partners have been working directly with businesses that operate on the Milwaukee River in an effort to minimize the impact the security plan will have on their operations, while still ensuring the highest level of security."

The Secret Service added that it was "still in the process of determining what these restrictions will look like, and will share them with the public as soon as they are finalized."

Fox 6 first reported the river's closure.

In an effort to minimize losses, Edelweiss is planning to send its largest boat, the Harbor Lady, to Port Washington and operate tours and charter cruises there with the help of Visit Port Washington.

"The thing that (is unfortunate) is we won't be able to showcase Milwaukee. And we love Milwaukee," Schwegler told the Journal Sentinel in February in anticipation of the river closure.

Edelweiss was told it will be able to use a couple of their boats as "floating venues," she said.

"The RNC did tell us as well, that although we can't travel on the river, we're allowed to rent the boats as like floating venues," Schwegler said. "So essentially, a delegation could rent the boat as either a home base for an entire day, or just for individual luncheon or dinner events. But we wouldn't be able to leave the dock."

She added, "Our biggest concern is the loss of income for our hourly employees."

Handle said that her company was lucky because, even though people won't be allowed to kayak through downtown, they will be able to kayak elsewhere on the Menomonee and Kinnickinnic rivers.

"People just won't be able to paddle through downtown," Handle said. "I'm not going to put a negative spin on it, there's really nothing we can do."

Alison Dirr can be reached at adirr@jrn.com. Mary Spicuzza can be reached at mary.spicuzza@jrn.com.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Milwaukee River downtown to be shut down during RNC, boat companies say