James B. Nelson

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

The Milwaukee Bucks on Friday dedicated the media center at Fiserv Forum in honor of Don Walker, a Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reporter who died in 2015.

Walker had covered the early stages of the creation of the $524 million arena, which opened in August.

At the ceremony attended by Walker's family, friends and fellow journalists, Bucks President Peter Feigin saluted Walker's professionalism and fairness.

"We owe Don and his family a debt of gratitude that can never be expressed," Feigin said.

Walker's widow, Sue, said her husband was not only a fine journalist but also a great mentor who "had a lot of heart."

Journal Sentinel Editor George Stanley said Walker "earned respect through truthful, fair reporting."

"He built a web of sources around his beat so that whenever something happened, he knew it," Stanley said. "And he didn't do this by becoming too chummy or cozying up to people in a superficial way — he built honest working relationships."

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After Walker's death, a group of journalists established the Don Walker Memorial Scholarship administered by the nonprofit Milwaukee Press Club Endowment. To date, three students, from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and Marquette University, have received scholarships.