The Daily Reporter articles from August 2007

The Daily Reporter archives from August 2007

It's not easy being lean in Wisconsin.
August 1, 2007... Byline: Joe Grundle Part three in a four-part series With so much of Wisconsin's economy riding on successful manufacturers, the state is pushing efficient processes that help companies compete globally. Lean manufacturing, which...

Gas line rupture in Keil interrupts service.
August 1, 2007... Byline: Paul Snyder Keil residents can rest assured that they have gas again. An underground gas line at the intersection of St. Paul and Fourth streets was ruptured by city crews Monday afternoon, prompting the Wisconsin Public...

TIF for downtown Milwaukee project denied.
August 1, 2007... Byline: Sean Ryan The Milwaukee Common Council on Tuesday rejected a tax incremental financing request for a downtown office building, with two aldermen asking the Department of City Development for a more clear TIF policy. However,...

Wisconsin Transportation Builders Association: State user fees among lowest.
August 1, 2007... Byline: Joe Grundle According to the Wisconsin Transportation Builders Association, the state's taxes and user fees for motorists are the lowest in the Midwest. The WTBA also claims passenger vehicle registration fees would remain the...

TIF law revisions proposed by Wisconsin legislators.
August 2, 2007... Byline: Sean Ryan State legislators are proposing another alteration to the state's tax incremental financing law intended to give municipalities more flexibility in using the economic-development tool. The proposal would allow...

Despite manufacturing contraction, Bucyrus is booming.
August 2, 2007... Byline: Joe Grundle Final part of the series Has Wisconsin's construction market in manufacturing evaporated with the latter industry's competitive struggles since 2000? If so, don't tell it to Milwaukee general contractor C.G....

Waukesha-based ATC chooses two options for transmission line.
August 2, 2007... Byline: Paul Snyder And then there were two. The American Transmission Company Wednesday announced that it had finalized its two route options for the 345 kV transmission line they want to run from Rockdale to West Middleton -- a...

Aurora Health Care and Advanced Healthcare acquisition to deliver new $150M hospital.
August 3, 2007... Byline: Sean Ryan Aurora Health Care has acquired Advanced Healthcare and the two will build a new estimated $150 million hospital in Grafton with about 80 or 90 beds. "We firmly believe that the best and most cost-effective way to...

Wisconsin court rules $250M wind farm development may proceed.
August 3, 2007... Byline: Joe Grundle A Chicago wind farm developer can build a $250 million wind farm near the Horicon Marsh, the Wisconsin 2nd District Court of Appeals ruled July 25. A three-judge panel affirmed Dodge County Circuit Court Judge John...

Milwaukee-based The Marcus Center for the Performing Arts to develop Water Street parking lot.
August 3, 2007... Byline: Sean Ryan The Marcus Center for the Performing Arts in Milwaukee on Thursday sent out an open call for redevelopment proposals for its parking lot on North Water Street. The center's spent the past two years negotiating...

Juvenile center opens in Madison.
August 6, 2007... Byline: Paul Snyder Jim Moeser says that to appreciate just how amazing the new Dane County Juvenile Detention Center is, you'd have had to have seen the old one. "You'd understand in about a second," said Moeser, the administrator of...

West Bend receives brownfield relief from state of Wisconsin.
August 6, 2007... Byline: Paul Snyder Gov. Jim Doyle announced $500,000 for the city of West Bend to help redevelop a 4-acre brownfield site as a new office complex. "Cleaning up brownfields is about more than just renewing damaged or vacant land,"...

Wisconsin Department of Transportation Secretary Busalacchi: 'Jigsaw puzzle is all coming together'.
August 6, 2007... Byline: Joe Grundle Wisconsin Department of Transportation Secretary Frank Busalacchi stopped by the State Fair Friday morning to answer questions on the $810 million Marquette Interchange project, scheduled for completion in November...

Wisconsin's exports to China grow.
August 7, 2007... Byline: Joe Grundle China's entrance into the global market opened plenty of doors to U.S. businesses, and Wisconsin has seized the opportunity more than most states. The United States-China Business Council Inc. released an analysis...

Mandel buys Fifth Ward properties.
August 7, 2007... Byline: Sean Ryan Milwaukee developer Mandel Group Inc. purchased six buildings in the city's Fifth Ward neighborhood but hasn't announced any specific plans for their redevelopment. We have been looking for the right acquisition in...

Milwaukee developer Mandel Group Inc. buys Fifth Ward Properties.
August 7, 2007... Byline: Sean Ryan Milwaukee developer Mandel Group Inc. purchased six buildings in the city's Fifth Ward neighborhood but hasn't announced any specific plans for their redevelopment. "We have been looking for the right acquisition in...

Summer job program in Milwaukee tidies up parks.
August 7, 2007... Byline: Joe Grundle High school student Kendrick Limmitt wants to be a builder. Limmitt's interest in construction got a boost this summer while working for the Milwaukee Conservation Leadership Corps, a summer job program for 15- to...

Milwaukee County faces taxes vs. services debate.
August 7, 2007... Byline: Sean Ryan With Milwaukee County facing at least $12 million worth of cuts for the 2008 budget, it's again time for its officials to ponder the delicate balance of what residents want, versus what they're willing to pay for. ...

Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisc. establishes Dairyland office.
August 8, 2007... Byline: Sean Ryan The Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin has set up an office in the Dairyland Greyhound Park to oversee its plans to redevelop the track into an $808 million casino. "It's only fitting that the project's Kenosha...

Fed funding could lead to partial reimbursement to Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District.
August 8, 2007... Byline: Sean Ryan The U.S. House of Representatives approved funding for a study that could lead to the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District getting partially reimbursed for an $84 million flood-control project. The district has...

Madison Mayor Cieslewicz, ATC say politics not at play.
August 8, 2007... Byline: Paul Snyder While "playing politics" with a $200 million, 345-kV transmission line is a game neither Madison Mayor Dave Cieslewicz nor the American Transmission Company say they want to play, the fact of the matter is that...

I-94 work opportunities outlined by Wisc. Department of Transportation.
August 9, 2007... Byline: Sean Ryan The Wisconsin Department of Transportation is holding an event in Kenosha on Aug. 18 to outline worker training opportunities on the upcoming reconstruction of Interstate 94. "When the I-94 North South Corridor...

Minnesota officials ready to rebuild bridge.
August 9, 2007... Byline: Joe Grundle Minnesota's Interstate 35W bridge shockingly collapsed into the Mississippi River on Aug. 1, but the state's Department of Transportation shook off any potential paralysis quickly. Statements of qualification from...

Gulfstream Aerospace Corp. in Appleton receives training grant.
August 9, 2007... Byline: Joe Grundle Fox Valley Technical College received a $129,000 grant Monday to provide training to 1,000 area workers, including 700 from Gulfstream Aerospace Corp. in Appleton. FVTC will provide 70 eight-hour training sessions...

International Union of Operating Engineers Local 139 in Wisc. pickets PCB cleanup contractor.
August 9, 2007... Byline: Paul Snyder Thad Steinke isn't understating the picket he's organized in DePere. "We're on the ground, we're in the water, and believe me -- if I had a helicopter, we'd be in the air too," he said. Steinke is the...

Menomonee Valley development touted.
August 9, 2007... Byline: Sean Ryan The redevelopment of the Menomonee Valley is still gaining momentum. The Menomonee Valley Partners on Wednesday pitched a tent in the valley's industrial park where developers marketed their industrial properties,...

Janesville considers pedestrian tunnel.
August 10, 2007... Byline: Joe Grundle Janesville elementary students could one day have the following commuter-like exchange. Student one: "You hopping on the bus today?" Student two: "No, it's nice out; I think I'll take the tunnel." Gov. Jim...

Clean Hands ordinance passed by Milwaukee Common Council.
August 10, 2007... Byline: Sean Ryan Milwaukee Alderman Robert Bauman's been working on his Clean Hands ordinance since he was inaugurated in 2004. The ordinance would require developers seeking a zoning change for a project to file reports saying...

Inside Jobtrac.
August 13, 2007... WAUKESHA/Retail development PROJECT: The Shoppes at Fox River retail development DEVELOPER: Opus North, Milwaukee SCOPE: Plan is for a 400,000- to 500,000-square-foot complex with a large hardware store and another big box...

Sun Prairie, Wisconsin, readies for school referendum.
August 13, 2007... Byline: Paul Snyder David Stackhouse is amazed at what information Sun Prairie residents seem to process. "We've been working with reports projecting growth in our schools that are five years old now," the Sun Prairie School Board...

Milwaukee County's wish list costs $163M.
August 14, 2007... Byline: Sean Ryan Milwaukee County's requested 2008 capital budget shows how diverse the county's duties are. The parks want $112,848 for baseball fields and $356,700 for basketball courts. The zoo requested $150,000 to put a new roof...

Madison Water Utility manager under fire.
August 14, 2007... Byline: Paul Snyder David Denig-Chakroff is finding out what life is like under the microscope. The general manager of the Madison Water Utility now has his contract with the city under review by Madison Mayor Dave Cieslewicz,...

Wisconsin Department of Commerce seeks minority businesses for awards.
August 14, 2007... Byline: Paul Snyder The Bureau of Minority Business Development of the Wisconsin Department of Commerce is calling for minority businesses to apply for recognition as 2007's minority business of the year. High-performing businesses...

Milwaukee-based CG Schmidt Inc. seeking nominees for Ovation Award.
August 14, 2007... Byline: Paul Snyder Milwaukee-based CG Schmidt Inc. is accepting nominations for the 2007 CG Schmidt Ovation Award for Corporate Support. The award, designed to inspire giving in small and medium-sized businesses, honors smaller,...

Quality of Ackerville drinking water questioned.
August 14, 2007... Byline: Joe Grundle Residents in Washington County's unincorporated community of Ackerville have expressed concern over their drinking water quality, citing leakage from a local landfill. In addition to discolored water with unpleasing...

Streetcar in Madison no longer named desire.
August 15, 2007... Byline: Paul Snyder There shall be no further talk of a streetcar system in Madison. Well, maybe just a little more -- one final Streetcar Study Committee meeting will be held to finalize its report, but it will then be disbanded....

Milwaukee home remodeler faces theft by contractor charges.
August 15, 2007... Byline: Joe Grundle The owner of the now defunct Milwaukee home remodeler Generon LLC is charged with three felony counts of theft by contractor - two in Racine County and one in Milwaukee County. The state also charged Alexandr...

Mitchell Street in Milwaukee to be reborn.
August 15, 2007... Byline: Sean Ryan The city of Milwaukee is looking to restore West Mitchell Street to its historic grandeur with a proposed $3.1 million tax incremental financing district. "It's like a step forward into the past, Mitchell Street has...

Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District cleanup plan OK'd.
August 15, 2007... Byline: Joe Grundle The U.S Environmental Protection Agency approved a cleanup plan Friday for Milwaukee County parks and school properties contaminated with PCBs. The Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District submitted the cleanup and...

Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources won't recap Polk Landfill.
August 16, 2007... Byline: Joe Grundle The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources does not plan on recapping the Polk Landfill or replacing all potable wells in Ackerville as recommended by hyrdogeologist John Thresher, a DNR official said. The Daily...

State of Wisconsin foreclosure rates continue to climb.
August 16, 2007... Byline: Paul Snyder ForeclosuresWI.com, a Web site providing Wisconsin foreclosure resources and statistics, released data Tuesday showing that state foreclosure rates remain at escalated levels. After rising 34 percent in 2006,...

Edge condos in Milwaukee get $30M cleanup grant.
August 16, 2007... Byline: Sean Ryan The state is giving a $150,000 brownfields cleanup grant to the developers of the $30 million Edge Condominiums in Milwaukee's Beerline district. "Cleaning up brownfields is about more than just renewing damaged or...

Powerade Iceport in Cudahy plans officially end.
August 16, 2007... Byline: Paul Snyder Plans for the Powerade Iceport in Cudahy went cold a long time ago, but relations between the city and the project's developer, Mequon-based developer Sportsites LLC, warmed a little Tuesday. Both parties signed a...

J.H. Findorff & Son Inc.'s Madison office hit by lightning.
August 16, 2007... Byline: Paul Snyder Despite what Frank Sinatra once sang, phone calls in the wee small hours of the morning typically aren't the most settling things. Dan Petersen, vice president of finance for Madison-based J.H. Findorff & Son Inc.,...

The Energizer: Wisconsin building produces 115 percent of the energy it's using.
August 17, 2007... Byline: Joe Grundle Since opening in May, the Aldo Leopold Legacy Center's first two electric utility statements came with checks of $350 and $500. The 9,000-square-foot building - which houses the Aldo Leopold Foundation staff...

Connecting Construction Contractors in Wisconsin conference slated.(Conference news)
August 17, 2007... Byline: Joe Grundle Contractors interested in earning government contracts should attend the Connecting Construction Contractors in Wisconsin conference on Oct. 30 in Waukesha. The inaugural C3W conference will offer opportunities to...

Milwaukee-based general contractor Jansen Group undergoes leadership shift.
August 17, 2007... Byline: Joe Grundle Milwaukee-based general contractor Jansen Group promoted Chief Financial and Operating Officer Brian Kraus to president and CEO this week. Former president, CEO and chairman of the board Tom Miotke will continue to...

Wisconsin's use of tax incremental financing continues to grow.
August 17, 2007... Byline: Sean Ryan Wisconsin's use of tax incremental financing continues to grow as state legislators pursue ways to give municipalities more flexibility in using the economic-development tool. The number of districts has been growing...

Wisconsin's firsts are many: A timeline.
August 20, 2007... Byline: Joe Grundle Samuel Johnson, grandson of the S.C. Johnson founder, said in a 2000 Associated Press story: "People don't always appreciate change the same way I do or perhaps our family does. In many ways, the status quo is an enemy...

Madison's Beauty in the Beast.
August 21, 2007... Byline: Paul Snyder Earlier this summer, a brief exchange took place on Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. in Madison that takes place countless times each year. Heck, each week. A man was identifying the prominent buildings up and down the...

TIF for Mitchell Street in Milwaukee may be expanded.
August 21, 2007... Byline: Sean Ryan Milwaukee Alderman James Witkowiak said he's almost ready to guarantee that the city will expand the proposed tax incremental financing district for Mitchell Street sometime in the future. The $3.1 million TIF...

Milwaukee School of Engineering receives high rankings.
August 21, 2007... Byline: Joe Grundle The Milwaukee School of Engineering was once again ranked among the country's top engineering universities by U.S. News and World Report. It also earned Top 5 recognition for one specific degree program. MSOE...

Wisconsin building codes get hearing.
August 22, 2007... Byline: Paul Snyder Perhaps everyone saw it, but no one managed to mention the irony of a discussion on building safety codes in a grossly overcrowded Assembly Hearing Room at the Capitol Tuesday. Firefighters, Department of Commerce...

Resource center for recycled materials launched in Madison.
August 22, 2007... Byline: Joe Grundle The University of Wisconsin-Madison's College of Engineering has launched the Recycled Materials Resource Center to develop waste reuses in the construction industry. In particular, the RMRC will focus on applying...

Zilber donates $30M to Marquette Univ. law school in Milwaukee.
August 22, 2007... Byline: Sean Ryan After developing real estate in Milwaukee for 58 years, Joseph Zilber on Tuesday gave something back to his hometown -- $50 million. "We are no longer the city we once were," Zilber told a gathering at Marquette...

Wis. DOT reports Mother Nature's taking its toll on roads.
August 23, 2007... Byline: Paul Snyder Gary Knickerbocker isn't about to start making comparisons, but he received a long distance phone call Wednesday morning that shocked him. "A lady from New Orleans called wanting to know if and where she could make...

IPic plans entertainment venues at Bayshore Mall in Milwaukee.
August 23, 2007... Byline: Sean Ryan Florida-based developer IPic Entertainment is designing its planned movie theater, restaurant and bowling alley in Bayshore Mall to appeal to an adult crowd. The movies will be off-limits to anyone under 21 starting...

Oshkosh-based Fluor Bros. Construction Co. Inc. fined for discharge violations.
August 23, 2007... Byline: Joe Grundle Fluor Bros. Construction Co. Inc. must pay the state $40,000 for violating water pollution discharge laws. The Oshkosh-based general contractor was charged by the Department of Justice for failing to abide by...

HVAC failure closes Wisconsin Historical Museum.
August 23, 2007... Byline: Joe Grundle The Wisconsin Historical Museum closed Wednesday after an equipment failure in its heating, ventilating and air conditioning system. The estimated cost to fix the downtown Madison museum's HVAC system is $20,000,...

4th District COA rules non-journeymen fire sprinkler contractors not allowed to take on apprentices.
August 23, 2007... Byline: Joe Grundle Fire sprinkler contractors who aren't journeymen are not allowed to take on apprentices, according to a recent court ruling. The Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development had part of its apprenticeship hiring...

$849 million in work planned for Highway 41 in northeastern Wisconsin.
August 24, 2007... Byline: Joe Grundle There is no shortage of major state road projects on the horizon. Among the largest scheduled is the expansion of U.S. Highway 41 in northeastern Wisconsin, where the Winnebago County section alone carries an...

Monona Terrace in Madison gets LEED certification.
August 24, 2007... Byline: Paul Snyder Jim Hess says that sometimes it pays to listen to your staff. The director of the Monona Terrace in Madison was approached about two years ago by his staff about the possibility of turning the building into a...

Airport projects receive funding from Wisconsin Department of Transportation.
August 27, 2007... Byline: Joe Grundle Gov. Jim Doyle approved projects at five airports totaling $5.36 million, the Wisconsin Department of Transportation announced. The largest of the bunch is $4 million for three projects at Dane County Regional...

City of Middleton to expand airport.
August 27, 2007... Byline: Paul Snyder The city of Middleton has proposed a plan to expand the city airport just two years after an expansion that included a new terminal building and hangars along with a lengthened runway. The city's proposal includes...

Wisconsin Historical Museum in Madison reopens after HVAC failure.
August 27, 2007... Byline: Joe Grundle The Wisconsin Historical Museum in Madison reopened to the public at 9 a.m. Friday after closing for two days to repair its heating, ventilating and air conditioning system. Contractors repaired a leaking coil in...

$100M casino, hotel planned for village of Bowler in Shawano County.
August 27, 2007... Byline: Joe Grundle A new $100 million casino and hotel is coming to the village of Bowler in Shawano County. The Stockbridge-Munsee Tribe announced Friday that construction would start immediately on a 300,000-square-foot complex that...

Wisconsin Fresh Start program offers troubled youths just that.
August 27, 2007... Byline: Sean Ryan Funding is tight for training programs that take young dropouts and felons and give them a new shot at life through education and construction training. How tight is it? The YouthBuild Racine Project, which shattered...

Milwaukee Alderman Bohl wants to spend more on street repairs.
August 28, 2007... Byline: Sean Ryan Milwaukee Alderman Jim Bohl renewed his call to send more resources to street maintenance and repair after a comptroller's report said the city's falling behind on reconstructing streets. "Over the past two decades,...

Stoughton Road project's getting off the ground.
August 28, 2007... Byline: Paul Snyder Suffice to say, Judy Compton is well versed on hits of the 1960s. "They say that to everything there is a season, and basically it's the time of the season," she said. But the Madison alderwoman is discussing...

Franklin eyes commercial growth.
August 28, 2007... Byline: Joe Grundle Franklin is looking into extending sewer service further southwest. Doing so would open the door for even more potential development in what is already one of the state's fastest-growing cities in terms of...

General Manager of the Madison Water Utility, city part ways.
August 29, 2007... Byline: Paul Snyder David Denig-Chakroff, general manager of the Madison Water Utility, will step down from his position on Sept. 21. Madison Mayor Dave Cieslewicz issued a statement Monday saying that he and Denig-Chakroff had reached...

Bayfield County to open new health center.
August 29, 2007... Byline: Joe Grundle The county - one of the poorest in the nation - will receive a $600,000 grant in September from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services for the new center, which will be eligible to receive ongoing financial...

Recent floods keeping some roads in Wisconsin closed over Labor Day weekend.
August 29, 2007... Byline: Joe Grundle For many, Labor Day means road trips, and despite the recent heavy rains and flooding across the state, vacationers will take to the streets en masse this weekend. The Wisconsin Department of Transportation is...

Zoo Interchange planning funds in budget in Wisconsin.
August 29, 2007... Byline: Sean Ryan During the 2005 budget deliberations, Republican Sen. Ted Kanavas went to the mat with Democrats over the reconstruction of the Zoo Interchange. This time around, at least according to the Department of...

City of Wauwatosa tightens payday loan store ordinance.
August 30, 2007... Byline: Joe Grundle The city of Wauwatosa passed an ordinance restricting where and how convenient cash businesses, such as check cashing and payday loan stores, can operate. The ordinance bans the stores within 250 feet of a...

Consruction industry objects to stricter licensing requirements in Wisconsin.
August 30, 2007... Byline: Paul Snyder Construction officials sat through a long afternoon with the Senate Committee on Labor, Elections and Urban Affairs Tuesday to discuss new legislation dealing with the licensing and regulation of thermal system...

King Commons II gets off the ground in Milwaukee.
August 30, 2007... Byline: Sean Ryan The Martin Luther King Economic Development Corp. started the second phase of its partnership with the city of Milwaukee and Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority. Having completed the King Commons...

Flood victims express differing views on reconstruction.
August 31, 2007... Gays Mill (AP) - Officials heard a variety of views from local residents as more than 100 villagers turned out for a community meeting on their preferences for reconstruction in the wake of this month's flooding. Some said Wednesday they...

Madison-based Alexander Company's Novation Campus will be Southdale anchor.
August 31, 2007... Byline: Paul Snyder There's nothing short-term about the Madison-based Alexander Company's Novation Campus on the city's south side in the Southdale neighborhood. The campus, which already holds four buildings and has two more on the...

Economic needs outlined at Wisconsin conference.
August 31, 2007... Byline: Joe Grundle More than 120 northeastern Wisconsin business and government leaders listened to various regional economic development strategies Wednesday at a conference held in Appleton by the Washington, D.C.-based Public Forum...

United Community Center in Milwaukee unveils early childhood center.
August 31, 2007... Byline: Sean Ryan Standing in the new classroom for three-year-olds at the United Community Center in Milwaukee, state Superintendent Elizabeth Burmaster said multilingualism is going to an important job skill in this century. Most of...