A May 2 service has been scheduled for political reporter Dan Bice, who worked for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel for 33 years and died on April 21, 2026 from complications due to esophageal cancer on his 62nd birthday.
A piece about Bice’s life appeared online at jsonline.com the same day he died. According to the story:
Bice’s death generated an outpouring of praise from politicians on both sides of the aisle as well as journalists who knew him well.
“Dan was fearless and fierce, a relentless reporter who wrote with clarity and precision. He knew how to cultivate sources and chase a story,” said Greg Borowski, executive editor of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel who is also a member of the Wisconsin Newspaper Association’s board of directors. “He thought nothing of driving five hours to stick a notebook in the governor’s face, willing to ask any question – and take the blowback that came with it. His loss is a blow to the community, the profession and especially for our team here.”
A native of West Virginia, Bice started his Wisconsin career in the Madison bureau of the Milwaukee Sentinel and then the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel after the two papers merged in 1995.
A few years later, the paper’s leadership wanted a new watchdog column and tapped Bice and Cary Spivak, a business reporter, to write it. The pair, nicknamed the “Spice Boys,” earned national awards and scored countless scoops, including one that ended the political career of former Milwaukee Mayor John O. Norquist.
“The two of us working together, it was kind of the odd couple,” Spivak said. “He’s West Virginia, I’m Chicago ‘burbs. But we got along good. We had no sets of rules on how to do stuff, we would just argue it out, but we both had similar news judgment.”
Bice later went on to author his own column, “No Quarter,” where he wrote about scandals from all sides of the political spectrum. He always responded to readers with a mix of humor and humility, especially his critics, who flooded his email inbox and online chats.
Bice never stopped reporting the news, breaking many stories in his column — distinguishing himself among Wisconsin’s press corps with his relentless coverage of Milwaukee County prosecutors’ “John Doe” investigations into Scott Walker’s time as Milwaukee County executive and as governor.
“As someone at a different outlet at the time, it was impossible to keep up with him,” said Mary Spicuzza, who joined the Journal Sentinel in 2015 after covering politics at the Wisconsin State Journal.
In recent years, he covered the record-breaking state Supreme Court race between Susan Crawford and Brad Schimel, the arrest and resulting court case of former Milwaukee Circuit Judge Hannah Dugan, and the campaign of gubernatorial hopeful Bill Berrien, who ended his political run after Bice reported on his online activity.
“There were times when I liked what he wrote, and there were other times that I didn’t like it at all,” former Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker said. “It probably was a good sign he was pursuing the role of the journalist, which was without regard to politics or other bias, just exposing things that needed to be exposed.”
Democratic Gov. Tony Evers, a survivor of esophageal cancer, reached out to Bice after learning of his diagnosis in the fall, to let him know he didn’t have to go it alone.
“Much can be said about Dan, his career, and his contributions,” Evers said. “I’ll remember him for how he lived, approached his work, and how he fought until the end — unflappable, relentless, and indefatigable.”
At a retirement celebration for Spivak last summer, Bice gave one of many speeches in his friend’s honor, but later told a colleague he left out the last thing he wanted to thank Spivak for – carrying the column for months while Bice navigated a family crisis – because he feared he would not be able to finish without tears.
Bice grew up in a household steeped in religious fundamentalism. He earned undergraduate degrees in ancient Greek and English at Bryan College, a small Christian college in Tennessee, and a master’s degree in social science from the University of Chicago. His college experience shaped him and started to change his career path.
“Parts of my faith started falling apart. I don’t think it ever fell apart completely,” Bice said during a Rotary event last year. “But you know, when you start reading texts in the original language, things aren’t quite as they seem sometimes.”
Bice started in journalism when he landed one of the coveted 15 positions at The Poynter Institute — out of 350-plus applicants — and started reporting at the St. Petersburg Times in 1986.
In an early sign of his single-mindedness on a story, Bice recalled that had raced back to the newsroom with the latest from a meeting about a potential baseball stadium development. His mind completely occupied with the story, he didn’t see a red light and hit another car, which then hit a house.
After his time in St. Petersburg, Bice returned to West Virginia, where he covered state politics – including the indictment of 10 state lawmakers over five years – before coming to Wisconsin. He interviewed at both papers, the Journal and Sentinel.
The Journal offered him a job writing feature stories. The Sentinel offered him a position covering the governor’s office. He chose the Sentinel. An editor at the Journal sent him a note telling him he had made the “worst career decision” of his life.
“I still have the letter,” Bice said.
Daniel Bice is survived by his wife, Jessica Hodgson; his father, David Bice, and his wife, Alice; his siblings, Penny Bice, Cheryl Bice, Jeffrey Bice and his wife, Roberta, Richard Bice and his wife, Sandra Sim; and his children, Zachary Bice and his wife, Alex, Sophie Bice and her husband, Ben Teich, and Raney Bice, as well as numerous nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his mother, Patty Adkins.
Services will be held on May 2, 2026, at St. Matthew’s Evangelical Lutheran Church located at 1615 N. Wauwatosa Ave. in Wauwatosa. Visitation is from 10 a.m.-12 p.m., and the memorial service is at 12 p.m. with a luncheon to follow.
In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to one of the following organizations. For those interested in contributing to the ongoing mission of journalism, please make a memorial contribution in Dan’s name to the nonprofit Milwaukee Press Club Endowment which has the mission of promoting the advancement of journalism excellence; the American Cancer Society; or St. Matthew’s Evangelical Lutheran Church.
