The Daily Reporter articles from April 2008

The Daily Reporter archives from April 2008

Green Bay Builders Exchange Inc. sees New Age writing on the screen.
April 1, 2008... Byline: Sean Ryan In the past, contractors only wanted paper plans. In the future, they might only want digital documents. But for now they want both. The Green Bay Builders Exchange Inc. is seeking a leader to move it -- gently...

New day dawns for troubled neighborhood in south side of Madison.
April 1, 2008... Byline: Paul Snyder Redeveloping the south side of Madison will come at a price to the city, but it shouldn't make life unaffordable for residents, officials say. In the last three years, the city invested to improve some of the south...

Inside Jobtrac.
April 1, 2008... Green Bay/Erect Pre-engineered Steel Building Project: Erect a pre-engineered steel building for a manufacturing facility, Green Bay Bids due: April 25 Owner: ETM, Green Bay Scope: In general, work consists of erection of a...

Wisconsin school district sits on property purchase.
April 2, 2008... Byline: Paul Snyder As its school district grows, Evansville likely will need land to expand. The longer it waits to buy that land, the more expensive it will be. But the district still isn't buying. The Evansville Community School...

Inside Jobtrac.
April 2, 2008... West Allis/Senior Housing Project: Construct a 200-unit senior housing project called Heritage West Allis on a six-acre site in West Allis Phase: Trade Balance, including all trades except rough carpentry, elevators, plumbing,...

Lead paint law looms for construction industry.
April 2, 2008... Byline: Daily Reporter Staff Report New lead paint rules, and the cost of following them, could drum up more business for home-renovation contractors. Or they could increase bills to the point that homeowners either renovate their...

Milwaukee City Hall hits home stretch.
April 2, 2008... Byline: Sean Ryan Milwaukee could fix the northern tower of its City Hall now or wait a decade, erect the scaffolds again and then do the job. Waiting would cost more in the long run because the building is surrounded by scaffolds that...

Developer bets house on green community in Wisconsin.
April 2, 2008... Byline: Paul Snyder Julie Henley is putting it all on the line for Savannah Village, a green community development in Onalaska. She said she's risking the more than $10 million price tag for the project, her budding career as a lead...

Metropolitan Builders Association director uses her head to encourage cooperation.
April 3, 2008... Byline: Sean Ryan Chellee Siewert is putting her psychology degree to use as she leads the Metropolitan Builders Association in its efforts to counter the negative perception of the housing market. Siewert, who took over as the MBA's...

Ailing La Crosse schools in Wisconsin only see partial remedy.
April 3, 2008... Byline: Paul Snyder Voters in the La Crosse School District on Tuesday opted to bandage the city's schools. But district officials say that will do little to stop the bleeding. And it could worsen the wound when it comes to competing...

It's back to the drawing board for development in and near the town and city of Verona.
April 4, 2008... Byline: Paul Snyder Developing land in and near the town and city of Verona is likely to remain a challenge. One official says that's as it should be. "Hopefully it will always be that tough," said Bruce Sylvester, the city's director...

Inside Jobtrac.
April 4, 2008... Menomonie/University Building Renovation and Addition Project: Jarvis Hall Science Wing renovation and addition at the University of Wisconsin-Stout, Menomonie Phase: Construction bids for the 78,000-gross-square-foot, three-story...

Baraboo riverfront development plan flows smoothly.
April 4, 2008... Byline: Paul Snyder Baraboo should soon have the land it needs to launch a major redevelopment project along the Baraboo River. The next move is determining how much money it needs to remediate the land and get the project under way. ...

Inside Jobtrac.
April 7, 2008... Janesville/Credit Union Renovations and Addition Project: Addition and renovations at Parker Credit Union, Janesville Bids due: May 1 Architect: Woods-Associates Inc., Milwaukee Construction Manager/General Contractor: BCI,...

Preservation proves pricey for Wisconsin developer.
April 7, 2008... Byline: Sean Ryan Fred and Madeline Henry will lose money by selling 23 acres in Mequon's Donges Bay Gorge to a land trust instead of developing four houses there. But they say that's OK. Two bald eagles live on the waterfront...

Road work sets road block to Madison retailers.
April 7, 2008... Byline: Paul Snyder Road crews are scheduled to arrive at one of Madison's busiest intersections this morning to start a four-month reconstruction project that will make summer shopping in the area tricky to say the least. "It's going...

Silt-stuffed lake in Wisconsin faces some steep dredging costs.
April 7, 2008... Byline: Paul Snyder Evansville's Lake Leota is turning into a swamp thanks to nature, high dredging costs and mixed feelings in the community. "The price to restore it could be a sticker shock to some taxpayers, and there are plenty of...

Wisconsin struggles to solve carbon dioxide equation.
April 8, 2008... Byline: Sean Ryan Utilities are zeroing in on ways to remove carbon dioxide from coal-fired power plant emissions to comply with global-warming regulations. Now Wisconsin needs to find a place to store the pollutant. Nuclear plant...

Wisconsin tests water for wet wind farms.
April 8, 2008... Byline: Sean Ryan Lake Michigan might give Wisconsin the edge it needs when competing with other states for wind farm developments. The state goes head-to-head with other states for wind farms, just as it does for manufacturing plants...

Milwaukee contractors find roadkill removal kicking.
April 8, 2008... Byline: Sean Ryan Wolverine Creek Farms faced competition for the first time in 10 years for Milwaukee's dead-animal collection contract but undercut its opponent's bid by half. Floyd Hinz, owner of Wolverine Creek, collected and...

Wisconsin Department of Transportation clings to interstate expansion.
April 9, 2008... Byline: Sean Ryan The state did not modify the most controversial portions of its Interstate 94 reconstruction project, despite receiving more negative than positive feedback. The final environmental impact statement the state released...

Renovations to Tenney Park in Madison to include shelters.
April 9, 2008... Byline: Paul Snyder Many residents living near Tenney Park liked seeing the Madison Parks Division include park shelter renovations on its list of long-term plans. They just weren't happy to hear how long it would take for the...

Onalaska TIF request tanks twice.
April 10, 2008... Byline: Paul Snyder With no city money to support it, a $35 million mixed-use development for Onalaska could be a dead deal. "We're pursuing our options right now. That's all I'm going to say," said Tim Van Eijl, a principal of...

Diocese raises money to build new cathedral in downtown Madison.
April 10, 2008... Byline: Paul Snyder Madison development officials said they are content with prime downtown real estate sitting vacant if the alternative is the burnt-out remains of St. Raphael's Cathedral. "As long as the area's re-graded, re-seeded...

Wisconsin Department of Transportation disregards contractors' OSHA records.
April 10, 2008... Byline: Sean Ryan The Wisconsin Department of Transportation doesn't review contractors' safety violation records when qualifying them for contracts. That means the 36 Occupational Safety and Health Administration citations Dorner...

Milwaukee eyes storm water to spark growth.
April 10, 2008... Byline: Sean Ryan Milwaukee will worry about storm water in the 30th Street Industrial Corridor so developers won't have to. And if storm water isn't on a developer's checklist, land becomes more appealing, said Benjamin Benninghoff, a...

Onalaska returns to riverfront venture.
April 11, 2008... Byline: Paul Snyder Days after erasing a mixed-use development plan, city officials in Onalaska are turning their attention to some old scribbles on their drawing board. After 14 years of talk, the city is blowing the chalk dust off...

Explosion in Oconomowoc pushes WisDOT toward safety reviews.
April 11, 2008... Byline: Sean Ryan The Wisconsin Department of Transportation and city of Oconomowoc might soon review contractors' safety records before hiring them. Donald J. Miller, WisDOT project development director, said after the April 2...

Catching a breeze by land in Magnolia.
April 11, 2008... Byline: Paul Snyder A combination of setback rules might blow EcoEnergy Engineering LLC's wind farm plan right out of Magnolia. The Elgin, Ill.-based company wants to build a 100-megawatt project that could cover anywhere from 7,000 to...

Catching a breeze by sea.
April 11, 2008... Byline: Sean Ryan Apprenticeship instructor Mike Merbach saw row after row of wind turbines towering over the North Sea. He said it made him think of the jobs his electrical apprentices at Fox Valley Technical College could get...

New library at top of Farmington's wish list.
April 14, 2008... Byline: Paul Snyder The town of Farmington wants a new library, but unless residents open their own wallets for the project, the city might have to retool an old garage space instead. "New would be good," said La Crosse County...

Wauwatosa and Milwaukee vie for University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee campus.
April 14, 2008... Byline: Sean Ryan As Milwaukee 7 pushes southeastern Wisconsin cities to just get along, a research campus project is inciting a tug of war between Milwaukee and Wauwatosa. Both cities want the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee's...

Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority credits support Allied Drive rehab.
April 15, 2008... Byline: Paul Snyder and Sean Ryan The revitalization of Madison's Allied Drive neighborhood should be in full swing by year's end. The Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority announced its grants for the year Monday,...

Vacant lots empty City of Milwaukee and contractor's pockets.
April 15, 2008... Byline: Sean Ryan Let the bidder beware, warned Milwaukee's Department of Public Works when offering two vacant-lot maintenance contracts. The contracts to mow lawns and shovel snow at city-owned vacant housing properties demand...

Madison looks to share wealth of poverty.
April 15, 2008... Byline: Paul Snyder Madison wants to merge its housing program with Dane County's to create diversity in the region's schools and spread affordable housing throughout the area. Madison's neighbors are skeptical. "I don't know that...

Museum of Wisconsin Art's priceless painting puzzles movers.
April 15, 2008... Byline: Sean Ryan Tony Rajer puts his hands on his hips, looks up at the 1,000-pound painting and tries to remember how he hung it in 1976. He was searching his memory for clues as to how Carl von Marr's 14-by-26-foot "The Flagellants"...

New Evansville fire station fights full-time trend.
April 15, 2008... Byline: Paul Snyder Evansville's new fire station could keep full-time firefighting at bay if Fire Chief Mike Halvensleben gets his way. "Our department is volunteer-based and paid on-call," he said. "The thought here is that this (the...

Weighty work of moving a huge painting at Museum of Wisconsin Art gets done without a scrape.
April 16, 2008... Byline: Sean Ryan After spending hours wondering how a huge painting was hung on the wall, the team at the Museum of Wisconsin Art in West Bend found the video from 1976. The excited crew gathered around the television and watched as...

High bids put squeeze on University of Wisconsin-La Crosse project.
April 16, 2008... Byline: Paul Snyder The University of Wisconsin-La Crosse has until Friday to find more than $2 million if it wants to build its $17.9 million stadium this year. The state opened bids Thursday for the estimated $13.8 million first...

Madison might turn page for library.
April 16, 2008... Byline: Paul Snyder If public/private developments save taxpayers money and make good use of prime land, Madison officials are willing to talk. "I think it's the wave of the future," said George Twigg, spokesman for Madison Mayor Dave...

Milwaukee branch of NAACP awards construction trades passing grades.
April 16, 2008... Byline: Sean Ryan Byron Johnson, a senior at Milwaukee's Community High School, is headed to the seminary, but he wants his classmates to consider construction careers. No other industry goes so far to roll out the carpet for Milwaukee...

One developer reaching for Sheboygan Area School District land does not mean done deal.
April 17, 2008... Byline: Paul Snyder There's only one developer reaching for Sheboygan Area School District land, but that doesn't mean the School Board is simply going to hand it over. Sheboygan-based Jos. Schmitt & Sons Construction Co. Inc. is the...

Milwaukee-based Great Lakes Distillery brews more than suds.
April 17, 2008... Byline: Sean Ryan Guy Rehorst spent 20 months working through government permits to get Great Lakes Distillery off the ground in 2004. Now he's working his way through a few more to expand into a new facility across town. By founding...

Dane County's North Mendota Parkway job stalls at the starting line.
April 17, 2008... Byline: Paul Snyder It took seven years for Dane County officials to get three lines on a map representing the North Mendota Parkway idea. That might be the end of the road for the next 10 years. Representatives from the Madison...

Wis. Department of Transportation: Safety is job No. 1 post explosion.
April 18, 2008... Byline: Paul Snyder Work rebuilding Wisconsin Avenue in Oconomowoc will resume Monday following an April 2 explosion. Wisconsin Department of Transportation officials said they have a plan to make sure the rest of the job goes...

Public works referendum petition perplexes City Hall.
April 22, 2008... Byline: Sean Ryan Arlene Knauer's petition seeking a 2008 public works referendum targets Manitowoc's borrowing, but it's the projects that could suffer. Knauer's campaign is furrowing brows all over City Hall as officials consider...

U of Wisconsin-La Crosse looks to students for stadium cash.
April 22, 2008... Byline: Paul Snyder University of Wisconsin-La Crosse Chancellor Joe Gow won't yet commit to building a new stadium on campus this year. "I want it in writing that the (UW-La Crosse Foundation) will cover any shortfalls from collecting...

Wisconsin state board stymies pig farm project.
April 23, 2008... Byline: Sean Ryan A state board regulating livestock facilities filed its first official ruling when it rejected Crawford County's approval of Roth Feeder Pig Inc.'s expansion project. Now, the board will deal with the first challenge...

Offices tread on residential Bassett District in Madison.
April 23, 2008... Byline: Paul Snyder Madison officials won't let a group of neighbors sway the city into rubber-stamping office building construction in the residential Bassett District. Madison-based Urban Land Interests proposed two, three-story...

Beloit charter schools feel pinch as programs grow.
April 23, 2008... Byline: Paul Snyder Charter schools in Beloit's Eclipse Center are running out of room. Add in competition with traditional schools, and the fledgling programs might be pushed into a corner. The School District of Beloit last year set...

Wisconsin's storm water requirements clog city budgets.
April 24, 2008... Byline: Sean Ryan Shorewood Hills does not have room for a storm-water retention pond even though it would be the easiest and cheapest way to meet state mandates. The state requires municipalities keep storm-water runoff out of sewers...

Group of Beloit-area business leaders wants playground's shell rebuilt.
April 24, 2008... Byline: Paul Snyder Beloit 2020 wants a new look for Turtle Island Playground in Riverside Park by spring 2009, but the group won't do much without the money. It also needs to know how much money to get. "The struggle is between...

Blast leaves Dorner's state work in limbo.
April 24, 2008... Byline: Sean Ryan The Wisconsin Department of Transportation will wait for investigation results from an April 2 Oconomowoc explosion before deciding if Dorner Inc. can bid on projects for another year. WisDOT won't process Dorner's...

Wisconsin village boots historical society from home.
April 24, 2008... Byline: Paul Snyder The village of Mount Horeb warned its historical society this day would come, and now it's kicking the group out of Village Hall. "We're out of office space," said Village Administrator Larry Bierke. "We need the...

Blast leaves Dorner Inc.'s work for state of Wisconsin in limbo.
April 24, 2008... Byline: Sean Ryan The Wisconsin Department of Transportation will wait for investigation results from an April 2 Oconomowoc explosion before deciding if Dorner Inc. can bid on projects for another year. WisDOT won't process Dorner's...

Mortgage Lenders: Let's make a deal.
April 25, 2008... Byline: Sean Ryan Mortgage lenders are desperate to swing deals with homeowners to avoid the costs and trouble tied to home foreclosure. It seems Washington Mutual didn't see itself as desperate enough to cut any slack to Marcell...

Pipes put Waukesha job in peril.
April 25, 2008... Byline: Sean Ryan Dan Szczap's challenge to run water and sewer service to a 29-acre property in the town of Waukesha illustrates how difficult it is to find easily developed land, he said. Szczap, land development manager for...

No breather in sight for building projects in Wisconsin.
April 25, 2008... Byline: Paul Snyder The University of Wisconsin-La Crosse recognizes that construction cost inflation can kill projects, but that won't keep it from thinking big. The university last week barely found the money for the first phase of...

Brownsville-based Michels Corp. balks at lawsuit.
April 28, 2008... Byline: Sean Ryan Watertown Plank Road probably would have collapsed if Michels Corp. completed its flood-control project based on Elm Grove's bid package, said company engineer Ryan Murphy. The village sued the Brownsville-based...

Milwaukee tries forceful entry at Tower site.
April 28, 2008... Byline: Sean Ryan The Redevelopment Authority of the City of Milwaukee wants to run environmental tests at the old Tower Automotive site, and the city is asking a judge to force the issue. The request is Milwaukee's latest move in the...

Ice rink at Oregon Community Sports Arena smoothes out cracks.
April 28, 2008... Byline: Paul Snyder Brainstorming how to pay for the Oregon Community Sports Arena left the project on thin ice for more than four years. "If it weren't for the village," said OCSA board member Ed Hefty, "this thing would've been up...

South Milwaukee Yacht Club anxious to dump dredged dirt.
April 29, 2008... Byline: Sean Ryan The parking lot of the South Milwaukee Yacht Club is poised to become a really big sandbox if the 2,000 cubic yards of sand aren't carted away soon. The public hearing about the club's plan to give its dredged...

Jackson community center project skips bidding.
April 29, 2008... Byline: Sean Ryan The village of Jackson focused on design/build when selecting a contractor for a $2.6 million community center because the budget was tight and time was short. Jackson sent requests for proposals to 18 contractors and...

Green Bay residents call for cap in island debate.
April 29, 2008... Byline: Paul Snyder Green Bay residents want the 55-acre PCB dump on Renard Isle in their bay to be safe. The city's plans to build a park on top of it can wait, they said. "Frankly, the whole island should be emptied and...

Mississippi River flood dooms promising crops.
April 29, 2008... Byline: Chris Talbott Redwood, MS -- Farmers here are experiencing water torture as they wait for the flooded Mississippi River to recede so they can salvage what's left of what might have been the best season in memory. The muddy...

Wisconsn city argues debt beats higher taxes.
April 30, 2008... Byline: Sean Ryan Manitowoc Alderman Justin Nickels understands the city has too much debt, but eliminating its 2008 public works projects isn't the solution, he said. Instead of cutting the entire $9.1 million in 2008 bonding, the...