More than $137 million spent in recalls, nearly $81M in Walker race
Wisconsin – 7/26/2012 Candidates, special interest groups and political committees spent more than $137 million on the historic wave of 15 recalls over the last two years, the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign said Wednesday. Of that amount, nearly $81 million targeted the failed attempt to recall Republican Gov. Scott Walker. It more than doubled the record-setting $37.4 million spent for a statewide office in the 2010 governor’s race…
State, regional home sales up 19 percent in June
Wisconsin – 7/26/2012 Home sales in June were up 19.3 percent in Wisconsin, compared to June of 2011, and home sales in the state were up 20.6 percent in the first half of the year, according to a new report from the Wisconsin Realtors Association…
State report lauds ‘Buy Local’ grants; they’ve since been eliminated
Wisconsin – 7/26/2012 The state agriculture department is out with a new report touting the success of its Buy Local, Buy Wisconsin grants program — a business development initiative that has since been eliminated by the Walker administration. The report says that $625,000 invested from 2008 to 2010 resulted in more than $4 million in new sales of Wisconsin food products..
.Madison No. 1 for young adults, says Kiplinger
Madison – 7/26/2012 A top-notch university, a thriving sports scene, low unemployment and lots of bars. No wonder Madison scores well in a new ranking of best places for young adults. Kiplingers Personal Finance on Wednesday released its list of the best locations for people in the various stages of life — from young adults to retirees. The places were ranked according to cost of living, income growth, population share for each age group, crime rate, health care, public schools, community services and cultural resources….
10,000 construction jobs lost in Wisconsin
Wisconsin – 7/26/2012 A new report says Wisconsin lost more than 10,000 construction jobs in the last year. The Associated General Contractors of America says the state’s construction employment dropped about 11 percent from June 2011 to June 2012. Only Alaska is worse with a 20 percent job loss in the construction industry. The trade group’s chief economist, Ken Simonson, says private sector demand for buildings is up in most states, but single-family home building is spotty and public investments in construction are shrinking…
National – 7/26/2012 Companies cut back on orders for long-lasting U.S. factory goods last month, outside volatile aircraft and other transportation equipment. The decline suggests businesses are losing confidence in the economy….
$3.7M facelift for Fish Hatchery complete
Fitchburg – 7/25/2012 The $3.7 million facelift that began this spring on Fish Hatchery Road/County Highway D is complete on schedule, with all four lanes open beginning Friday, Dane County Executive Joe Parisi announced today. Needed upgrades will help increase safety for motorists, cyclists, and pedestrians, and improve aesthetics on the major county route..
Rural Wisconsinites express concern about sand mines
Wisconsin – 7/26/2012 The only issue western Wisconsin people care about are sand mines, the woman told me. They love them or they hate them. At fairs and festivals across western Wisconsin I frequently hear about mining of sand from the hills of the driftless area. The rolling hills along the Mississippi River contain 500-million-year-old sand with the perfect hardness and shape for hydraulic fracture mining. Every day hundreds of rail cars leave for North Dakota, Pennsylvania and Texas filled with bluff country sand worth about $20,000 a rail car at the drilling site. Industry experts say the only thing limiting the exodus of Wisconsin sand is the availability of rail cars…
Wisconsin frac sand sites double
Wisconsin – 7/26/2012 Tucked behind a hill in rural Trempealeau County, farmland undergoes an industrial transformation. Outside this city of 1,300, Preferred Sands turns Wisconsins sandy soil into a hot commodity. A wall of green trees opens to a vast expanse of sand buzzing with activity. Excavators mine and conveyors carry the sand from towering stockpiles up into the processing plant. Every week, this facility ships 7,500 tons of sand by rail to oil and gas fields in Texas, North Dakota and Pennsylvania….
Why do ATC towers have so many designs?
Madison Area – 7/26/2012 Driving along the Beltline, it would be hard not to notice the towering transmission structures that have sprouted over the last few months. But why, within a short stretch between Fish Hatchery Road and Todd Drive, did American Transmission Co. choose to erect structures with several different designs, some with two or three arms facing the highway, others with a y frame, and some that are more basic poles? Each pole is designed for its specific location, said ATC spokeswoman Kaya Freiman. We were, basically, threading a needle through the Beltline area….
Dick Strong helped bring Kohl’s to Woodland Prime
Menomonee Falls – 7/26/2012 Kohl’s Corp.’s decision to develop a $250 million corporate campus at Woodland Prime office park, in Menomonee Falls, occurred in part because Woodland Prime’s developer, Richard Strong, was willing to sell the land at a discounted price. That’s according to Randy Newman, village president. In remarks at a Village Board meeting Friday, Newman included Strong among those who deserve credit for helping Menomonee Falls land the Kohl’s development….
Milwaukee touts its water resources at Chicago conference
Milwaukee – 7/26/2012 Milwaukee may see itself at times as the second city to the second city, but events in the past week have revealed that Milwaukee has taken a leadership role over Chicago on a crucial economic opportunity: efforts to grow investment and jobs in water technology…
Meijer files plan for Grafton store
Grafton – 7/25/2012 Meijer Inc. has filed a proposal to develop a combined supermarket and discount store in Grafton, while it continues to pursue zoning permission for its proposed Franklin store. The proposal for the Grafton store, with just under 200,000 square feet, is to be reviewed Tuesday by the village Plan Commission, said Brian Randall, an attorney for the Grand Rapids, Mich.-based retailer….
Foreign investments to boost Buell motorcycle production
East Troy – 7/26/2012 Erik Buell Racing LLC of East Troy will receive $20 million in new investments that will help the company expand production of EBR brand sport motorcycles and create about 200 new jobs….
