The Daily Reporter articles from March 2005

The Daily Reporter archives from March 2005

$60 million ethanol plant planned for city of Milton.
March 1, 2005... Byline: Jeremy Harrell United Cooperative is preparing to reap the bounty of the Rock County corn harvest with a $60 million ethanol plant. The 20,000-member cooperative, based in Beaver Dam, reached a development agreement with the...

Ho-Chunk Nation opposing Wisconsin's casino agreement with two Chippewa tribes.
March 1, 2005... Byline: Sean Ryan The Bad River and St. Croix Chippewa tribes have made a lot of friends around Beloit, but the Ho-Chunk Nation isn't one of them. In 1999, the two Chippewa tribes, in partnership with developer Kurt Carlson, first...

Wisc. Senate Health Committee considering hospital construction moratorium.
March 2, 2005... Byline: Jeremy Harrell Depending on who's talking, a temporary halt to new hospital construction would be an elixir for rising health-care costs, or it would stifle competition and drive up prices. On one side, business leaders and...

Milwaukee Dept. of City Development Commissioner says 'There's no better time to be in Milwaukee'.
March 2, 2005... Byline: Sean Ryan Milwaukee Department of City Development Commissioner Rocky Marcoux talked for a half hour without pausing to take a breath. His Tuesday speech to the Rotary Club of Milwaukee was a breakneck rundown of recent...

City of Ashland considering project-labor agreement ordinance.
March 3, 2005... Byline: Jeremy Harrell Fears of dampened competition and higher taxes could kill a bid by Ashland to become Wisconsin's first city with a project-labor agreement ordinance. The proposal, backed by Mayor Fred Schnook and construction...

Town of Delavan working with Wisconsin to revive pond-dredging project.
March 3, 2005... Byline: Sean Ryan The town of Delavan is working with the state to revive a pond-dredging project it started last year without the proper permits. The Department of Justice is investigating the instance while the town and Department of...

Southeastern Wisc. Reg. Planning Comm. recertified by Federal Highway Admin., with admonition.
March 4, 2005... Byline: Sean Ryan The Federal Highway Administration Tuesday recertified the Southeastern Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission and gave it marching orders to work cooperatively with its critics. The planning commission undergoes FHWA...

Amendment to Wisconsin Constitution would block budget transfers.
March 7, 2005... Byline: Sean Ryan Two state legislators want to amend the state constitution to block the transfer of money from segregated accounts, including the transportation budget. "If it is passed, the governor will no longer be able to raid...

WI State Building Comm. plans to increase investment in state building projects.
March 8, 2005... Byline: Jeremy Harrell Unlike two years ago, state government plans to increase its investment in state building projects. The State Building Commission on Monday began deliberating a two-year, $1.07 billion construction program. The...

Janesville-based J.P. Cullen awarded two Univ. of Wisconsin projects.
March 8, 2005... Byline: Sean Ryan J.P. Cullen & Sons landed two University of Wisconsin projects: a Milwaukee biological lab renovation and 390-bed La Crosse dormitory. Cullen's two contracts amount to about $14.5 million of work for the...

Study: Kenosha casino would cost city of Milwaukee.
March 9, 2005... Byline: Sean Ryan Milwaukee released a study Tuesday outlining the economic hit the city would take if the Menominee builds a casino in Kenosha. "We're not going to make a decision on whether we support a Kenosha casino or not,"...

WI construction industry blocks proposal to allow reverse auctions for local govt. projects.
March 9, 2005... Byline: Jeremy Harrell In the last week, the construction industry successfully beat back a proposal to allow reverse auctions for local government building projects. A state Assembly committee had scheduled a Wednesday vote on the...

American Society of Civil Engineers: Nation's highways hit end of the road.
March 10, 2005... Byline: Sean Ryan Nothing lasts forever, not even freeways. Next year, the country will hit the 50-year anniversary of the 1956 Highway Act that funded the construction of the nation's freeway system. The golden anniversary will be...

Wisconsin's State Building Commission nears debt limit.
March 10, 2005... Byline: Jeremy Harrell It didn't take long for the State Building Commission to exceed its previous borrowing level. Before deliberations began this week on the two-year capital budget, the Division of State Facilities shaved nearly...

Environmental groups oppose Wisconsin Dept. of Transportation's airport expansion plan.
March 11, 2005... Byline: Jeremy Harrell Environmentalists and the state Department of Transportation are squaring off over a plan to expand the West Bend airport. On Monday, the Wisconsin Wetlands Association, joined by the state's most prominent...

Wisconsin Senate clears financial hurdle for utilities.
March 14, 2005... Byline: Jeremy Harrell Utilities could build power plants more cheaply and with greater financial certainty under a bill that's quickly moving through the state Legislature. The proposal, which Thursday sailed through the Senate, 32-0,...

Milwaukee City Hall bids higher than estimate.
March 14, 2005... Byline: Sean Ryan Milwaukee officials Friday didn't know how they were going to handle the City Hall reconstruction after bids came in $26.7 million over the estimated cost. The city Public Works Department received two bids for the...

Ground breaks on $40M Milwaukee housing development.
March 15, 2005... Byline: Sean Ryan New Land Enterprises Monday broke ground on a $40 million Milwaukee housing development with confidence that the downtown residential market will remain strong. "Sales have been strong across the board, and we...

Challenge to We Energies' Oak Creek permit denied.
March 15, 2005... Byline: Jeremy Harrell We Energies on Friday cleared one of several regulatory hurdles in its quest to build a $2.15 billion power plant in Oak Creek. The utility called last week's Dane Circuit Court decision a "significant step...

Lakes Michigan and Huron losing water.
March 16, 2005... Byline: Sean Ryan For some unknown reason, Lake Michigan is losing more water a day than any community would need to draw out of it. Lakes Michigan and Huron, which form a single connected body of water even though they are considered...

Wisconsin lawmaker proposes uniform bidding threshold.
March 16, 2005... Byline: Jeremy Harrell State government would relax competitive bidding requirements on small projects under a bill that's now making its way through the state Legislature. The proposal, sponsored by Rep. Mark Gottlieb, R-Port...

Plans for Wisconsin Institute of Discovery unveiled.
March 17, 2005... Byline: Jeremy Harrell Gov. Jim Doyle and University of Wisconsin officials made a final push Wednesday to secure money for a $375 million research building in Madison. The State Building Commission on Friday will decide the fate of...

Milwaukee clears second phase of Canal Street project.
March 17, 2005... Byline: Sean Ryan Milwaukee cleared the second phase of the Canal Street reconstruction Wednesday after discovering it didn't need to negotiate with the Miller Park stadium district. The Public Works Department had to put the project...

Commentary: Wisconsin builders' input needed on planning ordinances.
March 17, 2005... Byline: Matt Moroney The laws and regulations governing the housing industry at the local level have been very dynamic lately. In order to comply with the Smart Growth law and changes in state regulations, many communities are amending...

Waukesha County Exec. Dan Finley: 'Who owns the water?'.
March 22, 2005... Byline: Sean Ryan Facing a water shortage, Waukesha County Executive Dan Finley sees only poison in his cup. "Pick your poison," he said. "None of these solutions are easy. If there was an easy solution, we'd be doing it now." ...

Milwaukee Emerging Business Enterprise sets goals on PabstCity.
March 23, 2005... Byline: Sean Ryan The city of Milwaukee is working closely with WisPark LLC to make sure PabstCity meets its emerging business and local worker requirements. "We are not looking at any waivers for this project because we will make the...

WisPark LLC, Milwaukee Building Trades Council still negotiating project labor agreement.
March 24, 2005... Byline: Sean Ryan WisPark LLC and the Milwaukee Building Trades Council are negotiating a project labor agreement for the PabstCity redevelopment in Milwaukee. The bargaining session has lasted years, said WisPark Director of Urban...

Gov. Doyle opposes hospital building ban.
March 24, 2005... Byline: Jeremy Harrell Any bill limiting hospital construction would have a hard time making it past Gov. Jim Doyle's desk. Speaking to a Milwaukee-area business group on Tuesday, Doyle said placing a moratorium on new hospital...

Brownsville-based Michels Corp. to pick up Racine-based Cape jobs.
March 25, 2005... Byline: Jeremy Harrell It didn't take long for Michels Corp. to step into the road-building space vacated by James Cape & Sons Co., Racine. The Brownsville-based Michels announced Thursday that it would enter the concrete-paving...

Dane County's spring election campaigns focusing in on transportation and development.
March 25, 2005... Byline: Sean Ryan Dane County's spring election campaigns are honing in on transportation and development issues. "We are the county that's growing by the greatest number of people a decade," said County Executive Kathleen Falk....

Wisconsin governor looks to boost business investment, jobs through tax credits.
March 28, 2005... Byline: Jeremy Harrell Gov. Jim Doyle's administration made a bid last week to boost job training and business development through a refreshed round of tax credits. Appearing at a manufacturing company in Green Bay on Thursday, Doyle...

U.S. Dept. of Labor issues new regulation requiring employers to post military workers' rights.
March 28, 2005... Byline: John Finerty On March 10, the Department of Labor issued a new regulation that requires employers to post a notice describing an employee's rights, benefits and obligations under the Uniformed Services Employment and Re-employment...

Wisconsin Supreme Court to hear coal-plant arguments.
March 29, 2005... Byline: Sean Ryan The three-year dispute over the Elm Road power plant will culminate in a roughly two-hour state Supreme Court hearing Wednesday. "You can expect it to be a lot of trying to get as much out as possible in that amount...

New Richmond school's in sight, but site isn't.
March 29, 2005... Byline: Jeremy Harrell New Richmond school officials are hurdling a final obstacle in their pursuit of a successful $54 million referendum next week. Until a few weeks ago, the path to the finish line appeared relatively clear. The New...

Milwaukee Alderman Robert Bauman's construction background comes in handy.
March 30, 2005... Byline: Sean Ryan Among his different occupations, Milwaukee Alderman Robert Bauman has held onto his sidewalk superintendent post the longest. When he worked in Chicago City Hall during the early '70s, Bauman spent his lunch hours...

Sales-tax exemption on agenda for Wisconsin Legislature.
March 30, 2005... Byline: Jeremy Harrell For once, a slow building market and tighter municipal budgets could work in the construction industry's favor. The state Legislature on Wednesday will take up a proposal to exempt the state sales tax that...

Wisconsin Public Service Commission, We Energies argue the case for coal before Wisc. Supreme Court.
March 31, 2005... Byline: Jeremy Harrell The state's largest utility company and government energy regulators made a final attempt Wednesday to revive the biggest construction project in Wisconsin history. Before a packed state Supreme Court chamber, We...

Owner of Ambassador Hotel plays important role in building's rehab.
March 31, 2005... Byline: Sean Ryan Rick Wiegand wasn't counting on getting obsessed with the Ambassador Hotel when he bought it 10 years ago. But the place got to him, and now he's hooked. What started as a plan to help clean up the neighborhood has...