The Daily Reporter articles from November 2006

The Daily Reporter archives from November 2006

Mequon-based Northern Environmental Technologies Inc. acquires Ashland firm.
November 1, 2006... Byline: Joe Grundle In an effort to enhance its presence in northern Wisconsin, Mequon-based Northern Environmental Technologies Inc. acquired an engineering firm in Ashland. Northern Environmental, an environmental and engineering...

Reich Tool & Design to expand Menomonee Falls.
November 1, 2006... Byline: Sean Ryan Reich Tool & Design Inc. will receive an estimated $6 million in state industrial revenue bond allocations Tuesday for its 52,000-square-foot expansion in Menomonee Falls. "We need to make sure our state's...

State tourism grants awarded in northern Wisconcin counties.
November 1, 2006... Byline: Joe Grundle Several northern Wisconsin counties received state tourism grants for outdoor recreational activities. The Price County Department of Tourism was awarded a $9,000 Joint Effort Marketing grant to promote canoeing and...

University of Wisconsin-Waukesha to expand its engineering program to four years.
November 2, 2006... Byline: Joe Grundle If the University of Wisconsin-Waukesha's engineering program grows as preliminarily planned, it would prompt a move to a custom-built home. UW-Waukesha Dean Patrick Schmitt announced Monday that he wants to expand...

Wisconsin's Right to Cure Act goes into effect.
November 2, 2006... Byline: Paul Snyder Lawyers handling contract disputes could find a bit of time on their hands soon. Wisconsin's Right to Cure Act went into effect Oct. 1 and established a process for resolving defect disputes between contractors and...

Aurora rezoning OK'd by Oconomowoc Common Council.
November 3, 2006... Byline: Sean Ryan The Oconomowoc Common Council's unanimous decision to rezone a site in the neighboring town of Summit for Aurora's hospital project kicked off a new round of government review. After the 7-0 vote on Halloween,...

Bayshore shopping center in Glendale opens.
November 3, 2006... Byline: Joe Grundle National developer Steiner + Associates, along with state and local officials, opened its much-anticipated Bayshore shopping center in Glendale to massive crowds Thursday morning. The redeveloped 45-acre town center...

Wisconsin-based J. Bauer Trucking to expand.
November 6, 2006... Byline: Joe Grundle A Taylor County trucking company will embark on a $1.7 million expansion. J. Bauer Trucking Inc. of Medford transports goods for a variety of manufacturers and industries. The company - established in 1973 - plans to...

Menomonee Falls-based Burton & Mayer plans $6.8M expansion.
November 6, 2006... Byline: Paul Snyder Department of Commerce Secretary Mary P. Burke announced Friday that Burton & Mayer Inc., Menomonee Falls, will receive an Industrial Revenue Bond allocation totaling $1.5 million to help the company expand. The...

Steve Chamberlin resigns as president of Milwaukee-based CG Schmidt Inc.
November 6, 2006... Byline: Paul Snyder Steve Chamberlin, the president of Milwaukee-based CG Schmidt Inc. for the past 20 years, has resigned from his position to explore other career opportunities. Chamberlin handed in his letter of resignation last week,...

Wisconsin-based Ideal Builders Inc. serves as general contractor in major renovation.
November 7, 2006... Byline: The Daily Reporter Staff Ideal Builders Inc., Madison, is serving as the general contractor on an interior and exterior renovation of Don's Home Furniture in Madison. The 31,000-square-foot facility will become the store's flagship...

Oregon-based Consolidated Construction Co. Inc. to build upscale hotel in Appleton.
November 7, 2006... Byline: Joe Grundle A fledgling, upscale hotel chain is coming to the Fox Valley. On Nov. 1, Appleton-based general contractor Consolidated Construction Co. Inc. announced it would start building a four-story, 73,579-square-foot Cambria...

Wisconsin Urban Design Commission approves $25M Midvale Plaza development in Madison.
November 7, 2006... Byline: Paul Snyder The paperwork is in the mail, the demolition equipment is revving up, and Joe Krupp says equipment should be in the ground by December for his $25 million Midvale Plaza development in Madison. The Madison developer had...

Milwaukee advocacy groups gear up to help affordable housing efforts in other Wisconsin communities.
November 7, 2006... Byline: Sean Ryan The Milwaukee advocacy groups that helped city aldermen draft a $2.5 million affordable-housing proposal are gearing up to make similar efforts in other communities. We've got a whole second phase in mind, said Marcus...

Milwaukee affordable-housing developers say trust fund is more flexible than gov't subsidies.
November 7, 2006... Byline: Sean Ryan Milwaukee affordable-housing developers said the proposed trust fund would give them more flexibility than current government subsidies. Last week, the city's budget committee approved borrowing $2.5 million - half...

Wisconsin's Department of Commerce awards Brooklyn authority to review new construction plans.
November 8, 2006... Byline: Paul Snyder Department of Commerce Secretary Mary P. Burke announced Monday that the department has delegated the town of Brooklyn the authority to provide limited review of new construction, additions and alterations services as...

The South Side Business Club of Milwaukee Inc. names Alderman Terry Witkowski 2006 Man of the Year.
November 8, 2006... Byline: Sean Ryan The South Side Business Club of Milwaukee Inc. named Alderman Terry Witkowski as its 2006 Man of the Year. I am truly honored to receive this prestigious award, Witkowski said in a printed statement released Monday. I'm...

Xcel explores renewable alternatives.
November 8, 2006... Byline: Paul Snyder The upper Midwest needs power, but not necessarily a plant. Xcel Energy had been looking into options of building a coal-fired base-load power plant and some potential locations to meet growing energy needs for its...

Xcel Energy explores renewable alternatives to meet growing energy needs in the Midwest.
November 8, 2006... Byline: Paul Snyder The upper Midwest needs power, but not necessarily a plant. Xcel Energy had been looking into options of building a coal-fired base-load power plant and some potential locations to meet growing energy needs for its...

Milwaukee City Hall minority contracting numbers improve.
November 8, 2006... Byline: Sean Ryan The minority-hiring and emerging-business contracting numbers on Milwaukee's City Hall project continued to improve between April and July. The October project monitor's report, released this week, announced that general...

Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District buys 90 acres of conservation easement in Mequon.
November 8, 2006... Byline: Joe Grundle While voters packed the polls on Election Day, the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District quietly reached a milestone. With its purchase of a 90-acre conservation easement in Mequon, the MMSD passed the 1,000-acre...

Milwaukee job training program targets 'underrepresented' youth.
November 8, 2006... Byline: Sean Ryan A team including Milwaukee County's building trades unions and Gilbane Building Co. will put a class of roughly 20 students through pre-apprenticeship training early next year. "Our goal is to help create job...

Developer pulls out of Uptown Brass project in Kenosha.
November 9, 2006... Byline: Joe Grundle Developers occasionally pull out of big projects but rarely this late in the game. The Uptown Brass Center redevelopment in Kenosha was moving along swimmingly with two of its four major developments completed or...

Waukesha-based Ruekert/Mielke, Plunkett Raysich in Milwaukee team up.
November 9, 2006... Byline: Paul Snyder Sometimes the mark of a good organization is not only its ability to identify its weak spots but its ability to fortify them too. And that's part of the mindset behind Plunkett Raysich Architects, Milwaukee, ...

Panel in Milwaukee OKs housing trust fund rules.
November 9, 2006... Byline: Sean Ryan Milwaukee's Zoning, Neighborhoods and Development Committee meeting turned a little celebratory Wednesday as rules to govern a proposed affordable-housing trust fund gained unanimous approval. If this is the only...

City of Verona, Wisconsin, plans for major growth.
November 10, 2006... Byline: Paul Snyder Verona's hit a bit of a growth spurt. With Epic Systems building a campus for more than 2,000 employees in the city, and a new library, baseball complex, restaurant and Walgreen's all having opened their doors in the...

Wisconsin industry leaders weigh in on election results.
November 10, 2006... Byline: Joe Grundle While Tuesday's election's shift of power made waves across the country, Wisconsin contractor and business organizations weighed in on state results. Many were intrigued by the seemingly contradictory results for...

Hmong Wisconsin Chamber of Commerce starts business fund.
November 10, 2006... Byline: Sean Ryan The Hmong Wisconsin Chamber of Commerce is setting up a $500,000 fund in cooperation with the city of Milwaukee and state government to give loans to small Hmong businesses. Minority business owners, including those...

Wisconsin landlords fined over lead-based paint.
November 10, 2006... Byline: Paul Snyder U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region 5 announced Tuesday that it settled with David and Monica Stern for allegedly failing to warn tenants of an apartment building that their homes may contain lead-based...

Attorneys offer advice on getting construction projects approved.
November 10, 2006... Byline: Sean Ryan The attorneys at DeWitt, Ross & Stevens noticed that the construction projects they were working on had one thing in common. They all faced opposition of some sort while seeking government approval, whether it was...

Contractors say subcontractors database is a scam.
November 13, 2006... Byline: Paul Snyder J.H. Findorff & Son Inc. isn't recommending any subcontractors cough up their $385, no matter what anyone else says. The Madison-based contractor was taken by surprise earlier this month when Milwaukee-based Uihlein...

Janesville schools to get $71M update.
November 13, 2006... Byline: Joe Grundle Janesville School District voters passed the largest referendum in state history Tuesday at $70.8 million. The money will be directed toward remodeling and expanding both Janesville high schools, Parker and Craig. I had...

First4Bid responds to state contractors in Wisconsin.
November 14, 2006... Byline: Paul Snyder Construction Communications President Lance Kamin said any misunderstanding about First4Bid.com is just that, and it's easily remedied. Kamin denied Monday that the company's First4Bid.com Web site is any kind ...

Candidates gear up for 2008 presidential race.
November 14, 2006... Byline: Hope Yen Republican Sen. John McCain edged closer to a 2008 White House run, Democrat Russ Feingold took himself out and Sen. Barack Obama said he's still weighing whether to enter the wide-open race to succeed President...

Milwaukee's economic development efforts unorganized.
November 14, 2006... Byline: Joe Grundle The city of Milwaukee isn't cheap when it comes to spending on economic development. It may be disjointed, unaccountable and unbalanced, possibly, but not cheap, according to a report released this week by the...

Walker vetoes Milwaukee County Board budget.
November 15, 2006... Byline: Sean Ryan Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker Tuesday vetoed the entire 2007 budget the County Board passed with a veto-proof 14-5 vote last week. The County Board budget goes too far in raising taxes, does little to...

Dane County buys parkland.
November 15, 2006... Byline: Paul Snyder Dane County Executive Kathleen Falk announced Friday a recently negotiated land purchase agreement that will add recreational space to Donald Park as well as preserving the parkland and a nearby historic farm....

WisDOT: Wisconsin's public transit systems among best.
November 15, 2006... Byline: Joe Grundle As gas prices have come back down to earth, public transportation in the state has returned to the backburner as a topic of conversation. But according to the Wisconsin Department of Transportation, Wisconsin's ...

ULINE doubling size of distribution center in Pleasant Prairie.
November 15, 2006... Byline: Joe Grundle ULINE Inc. is planning to double the size of its distribution center in Pleasant Prairie. ULINE, a leading distributor of shipping, industrial and packing materials to businesses throughout the country, is currently...

Mayor Tom Barrett defends Milwaukee's economic development efforts.
November 16, 2006... Byline: Sean Ryan After the Public Policy Forum released a report criticizing Milwaukee's job-creation and economic-development efforts, Mayor Tom Barrett fired back with a mass e-mail saying the city has impacted the creation of...

American Red Cross in Madison gets addition.
November 16, 2006... Byline: Paul Snyder Sandra Lampman says that while 30 to 45 minutes doesn't constitute an eternity, it can certainly feel like one. After all, the chief mission of the American Red Cross is to provide disaster services, and most...

Franklin's undergoing development boom.
November 16, 2006... Byline: Joe Grundle The Milwaukee suburbs are no strangers to growth. But no suburb is growing as much and as quickly right now as Franklin, so much so that the city hired its first director of city development, Doug Wheaton, in August...

Madison budget includes $80M for new projects.
November 17, 2006... Byline: Paul Snyder The Madison City Council is finishing up its hearings on the proposed 2007 city budget and gave some new city projects a helpful boost at its meeting Wednesday night. The council approved a sizeable $82.6 million...

Wisconsin Public Service Corp. challenges payments to cities.
November 17, 2006... Byline: Joe Grundle The Wisconsin Public Service Corp. agrees it should pay to relocate utility lines for safety's sake. But the WPSC draws the line when it comes to relocating lines for the sake of economic development. That's what...

Milwaukee City Hall contractors play match-maker.
November 17, 2006... Byline: Sean Ryan From afar, Milwaukee's City Hall looks all squared away but, like a person's face, its imperfections become more obvious the closer one looks. From across the street, the 1896 building's brick walls look uniform in...

Top Job.
November 20, 2006... Kewaskum/School auditorium Project: A new 315-seat auditorium for the Kewaskum School District. Overall Cost Estimate: $1.8 million Owner: Kewaskum School District Design/Build Firm: Quasius Construction Inc., Sheboygan Scope: Project involves...

Expect the unexpected when predicting what baby boomers will want in terms of future construction.
November 20, 2006... Byline: Paul Snyder There's an old adage that goes, The only certainty is uncertainty. While it's a universally applicable phrase, it's also decidedly prevalent in the construction industry. Any number of X factors -- weather, ...

Beware news by official decree.
November 20, 2006... Byline: Paul K. McMasters When government officials assume that the power to make the news confers the right to define, distribute or dictate the news, they threaten to fling the democratic process into a tailspin. Yet, too often we...

Ocean Spray Cranberries Inc. to build $50M plant in Wisconsin Rapids.
November 21, 2006... Byline: Paul Snyder While maybe not completely serendipitous, Ocean Spray's decision to build a $50 million plant in Wisconsin Rapids is the product of at least one happy coincidence. Ocean Spray needs Craisins, and cranberries were a...

Bumpy roads ahead for Milwaukee?
November 21, 2006... Byline: Sean Ryan Under a proposal six Milwaukee aldermen are supporting, citizens could ask the city to install speed humps and other devices in their neighborhood to make drivers slow down. "It's basically passive law enforcement,"...

Milwaukee Common Council approves BID near airport.
November 21, 2006... Byline: Sean Ryan A new business improvement district is gearing up near General Mitchell International Airport after the Milwaukee Common Council unanimously approved it on Oct. 24. I am really pleased that a forward-looking group of...

Tighter pay-day loan restrictions proposed in Milwaukee.
November 21, 2006... Byline: Sean Ryan Milwaukee Alderman James Bohl is looking to close the loopholes pay-day loan agencies could slip through in the 2004 legislation he authored intending to stamp them out. I'm hoping these institutions start looking at...

WI Department of Natural Resources requested EIS on pipeline.
November 22, 2006... Byline: Joe Grundle The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources wanted opinions on a company's plan to expand an oil pipeline crossing the heart of the state, and it got them. Last week, four conservation groups filed comments with the...

Citizens Allied for Sane Highways questions WisDOT budget.
November 22, 2006... Byline: Paul Snyder With a new state biennial budget on the horizon, both political leaders and Wisconsin residents are starting to voice their concerns over where state money will be going through 2009. The state Department of...

Public Service Commission of WI sets hearings on wind turbine farms.
November 22, 2006... Byline: Sean Ryan The Public Service Commission of Wisconsin is holding public hearings about We Energies' request to build a 10,600-acre wind turbine farm in Calumet and Marshfield. It will hold a public hearing in Calumet Town Hall...

Milwaukee-based CRG Network wants Hartford's Web site use reviewed.
November 22, 2006... Byline: Sean Ryan The CRG Network asked three state agencies to look into whether an audio file posted on Hartford's Web site before its October recall election violated campaign laws. The Web link was posted on the morning of Oct....

Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett announces budget vetoes.
November 27, 2006... Byline: Sean Ryan Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett announced his 2007 budget vetoes Tuesday, cutting nine firefighter positions that would cost $608,120. Barrett also proposed that half of the savings from cutting the firefighter ...

Rural development loans awarded.
November 27, 2006... Byline: Joe Grundle The state distributed nearly $100,000 in rural economic development loans to two businesses, Gov. Jim Doyle announced. A&D Machine Inc. of Redgranite and Trempealeau County-based Universal Truck Equipment Inc. each...

Kenosha casino EIS to be reviewed.
November 27, 2006... Byline: Paul Snyder The Menominee Tribe announced that the final environmental impact statement for the tribe's proposed Kenosha entertainment center and casino was sent to the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs headquarters in...

Neenah-based Miron Construction Co. Inc. holiday food drive sets record.
November 27, 2006... Byline: Paul Snyder It's interesting how a little competition can change everything. For 16 years, Neenah-based Miron Construction Co. Inc. held a holiday food drive before Thanksgiving, which Miron's Nancy DeBruin said was nice but...

Residents in Mishicot oppose wind turbine plan.
November 28, 2006... Byline: Joe Grundle Not in my back yard. A familiar phrase used by those who object to such developments as Wal-Mart or payday loan stores appears to apply to wind turbines as well. Manitowoc County granted a Hubertus-based investor...

Milwaukee inner-city incomes drop by 1.9 percent.
November 28, 2006... Byline: Sean Ryan Income levels dropped at a relatively steep level in Milwaukee's inner city between 2004 and 2005 but increased at an even swifter rate in the surrounding areas during the same period, according to a new report....

Sharon, Wisconsin, to be site of ethanol plant.
November 28, 2006... Byline: Paul Snyder The sun was shining in more ways than one on Sharon Friday. Global Renewable LLC said it plans to build a $195 million plant in the village that is expected to produce between 105 million and 120 million gallons of...

New Berlin's request for water opposed.
November 28, 2006... Byline: Joe Grundle The city of New Berlin's request for Great Lakes water did not go unnoticed, and a coalition of conservation groups has filed its objections with the Department of Natural Resources, which is handling New...

Milwaukee to establish TIF policy.
November 29, 2006... Byline: Sean Ryan Milwaukee aldermen plan to begin working with city planners next year to set a formal policy dictating what the city will require from developers receiving tax incremental financing. "We do recognize a void in the...

Sturgeon Bay bridge work under way.
November 29, 2006... Byline: Joe Grundle The city of Sturgeon Bay will see an improvement in downtown traffic without losing a part of its history under a Wisconsin Department of Transportation bridge project currently under way. WisDOT began constructing...

Cherokee Marsh near Madison to be preserved.
November 30, 2006... Byline: Paul Snyder The last thing Madison needs is a kidney ailment. Both environmental groups and city officials know it, so the Board of Estimates' approval Monday of the city's tentative agreement with Cherokee Park Inc. to preserve...

Kanavas named to WI State Building Commission.
November 30, 2006... Byline: Paul Snyder Senate Republican Leader Scott Fitzgerald, R-Juneau, announced Tuesday the appointment of Sen. Ted Kanavas, R-Brookfield, to the State Building Commission. "With a $1.6 billion deficit and critical state needs, which...

Sturgeon Bay bridge work under way.
November 30, 2006... Byline: Joe Grundle The city of Sturgeon Bay will see an improvement in downtown traffic without losing a part of its history under a Wisconsin Department of Transportation bridge project currently under way. WisDOT began constructing...

WI Department of Transportation: Road construction reduces crashes.
November 30, 2006... Byline: Joe Grundle The Road to the Future Committee will have to determine where the line between safety and spending should be drawn. In a 12-page memo dated Oct. 17, the Legislative Fiscal Bureau explained the Wisconsin Department...

WI biofuel companies receive fed money.
November 30, 2006... Byline: Joe Grundle It appears all the election-season rhetoric on Wisconsin becoming a leader in biofuel technology was not a bunch of hot air. According to the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection, ...