The Daily Reporter articles from October 2006

The Daily Reporter archives from October 2006

Owners of Pragmatic Construction wanted to bring 'green' building into mainstream.
October 2, 2006... Byline: Paul Snyder You never know when ideas are going to hit, but Juli Kaufmann puts a lot of importance on what she calls the "Ah ha! moment." For Kaufmann, that moment came sitting around a campfire with Steve Servais and Nikolai Usack...

Madison-based Mortenson Investment Group gets back in Todd Drive game.
October 3, 2006... Byline: Paul Snyder And just like that, Mortenson Investment Group is back in line to shape up Todd Drive in Madison. Just three months after the firm announced it was abandoning its $22 million Landmark Gate project for the area, it was...

Extreme Makeover visits Dundee.
October 3, 2006... Byline: Sean Ryan Matthew Koepke didn't live long enough to see Monarch Homes fulfill his dream of building a new home for his four kids and wife, Christine. He wanted to fix up the aging Koepke family house, which his great...

Funding requested for Thompson State Park in Marinette County.
October 3, 2006... Byline: Joe Grundle A state park established in Marinette County six years ago could finally see some funding for proposed improvements next year. In its biennial budget request of more than $1.1 billion for 2007-09, the Department of...

Funding requested for Wisconsin's Thompson State Park.
October 3, 2006... Byline: Joe Grundle A state park established in Marinette County six years ago could finally see some funding for proposed improvements next year. In its biennial budget request of more than $1.1 billion for 2007-09, the Department of...

Mortenson Investment Group gets back in Todd Drive project in Madison.
October 3, 2006... Byline: Paul Snyder And just like that, Mortenson Investment Group is back in line to shape up Todd Drive in Madison. Just three months after the firm announced it was abandoning its $22 million Landmark Gate project for the area, it was...

Madeleine Albright addresses students on global economy at Univ. of WI-Milwaukee.
October 4, 2006... Byline: Joe Grundle Well known for being the first woman secretary of state in the United States, Madeleine Albright also was the last person in the 20th century and first in the 21st to hold the job. That distinction puts Albright at the...

Road to the Future looks to lower transportation spending in WI.
October 4, 2006... Byline: Sean Ryan The state Road to the Future Committee met Tuesday to consider ways to lower state transportation spending through better engineering, local cost-sharing and improved efficiency. The meeting opened up a new phase in the...

WI Gov. Doyle touts renewable energy plan.
October 4, 2006... Byline: Paul Snyder Gov. Jim Doyle toured Elkhorn Industries in Superior Monday and used the platform to discuss his new $450 million public/private initiative to develop renewable energy in the state. "Here in Wisconsin, we're doing our...

Thelen Sand & Gravel proposes 1,240-house subdivision.
October 5, 2006... Byline: Joe Grundle Residential growth in most southeastern Wisconsin towns and villages seemed inevitable in the last 20 or so years. But the village of Twin Lakes in Kenosha County is facing an unusual decision on what to do with land...

Ground's broken on Wisconsin's largest ethanol plant.
October 5, 2006... Byline: Paul Snyder Ground was broken in Jefferson Wednesday on what will soon become the largest ethanol production facility in Wisconsin. Upon completion, the Renew Energy ethanol plant will produce 130 million gallons of ethanol per...

Sanitary sewers are being fixed in southeastern Wisconsin.
October 5, 2006... Byline: Sean Ryan The 29 governments in southeastern Wisconsin that agreed to fix their sanitary sewers to avoid state charges for the 2004 overflows are by and large complying with the settlement agreement. "There's been a lot of forward...

90 homes planned for depressed area in Milwaukee.
October 6, 2006... Byline: Sean Ryan The Legacy project bringing up to 90 new houses to vacant blocks near West North Avenue in Milwaukee will bring wealth back to a neighborhood that lost it generations ago. "We're seeing development here that we have not...

Wisconsin's West Bend Art Museum to expand.
October 6, 2006... Byline: Paul Snyder Art needs space, and the West Bend Art Museum is looking to get more of it. Tom Lidtke, the museum's executive director, said that plans are under way for a museum expansion. An option the museum might pursue is simply...

U.S. Small Business Administration Web site offers compliance info.
October 6, 2006... Byline: Sean Ryan A new and improved federal government Web site is offering businesses information on how to comply with the regulations of almost 100 different agencies. The U.S. Small Business Administration created the Web site in...

Brown County sausage maker gets loan for expansion.
October 9, 2006... Byline: Joe Grundle A Brown County sausage manufacturer received a $1 million state loan Wednesday for its $13 million expansion project. The Department of Commerce awarded Salm Partners LLC the Community Development Block Grant-Economic...

Metropolitan Milwaukee Assn. of Commerce unveils regional economic plan.
October 9, 2006... Byline: Joe Grundle Business leaders throughout southeastern Wisconsin convened Friday to present a plan for regional economic development in 2007-09. The Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce unveiled its newest Blueprint for...

Brookfield Lakes buildings in Milwaukee sold.
October 9, 2006... Byline: Paul Snyder Hammes Company announced that it sold 12 buildings and 41 acres of conservancy land in its Brookfield Lakes Corporate Center to Newport Beach, Calif.-based CORE Realty Holdings LLC for about $80 million. The sale will...

Ethanol rides Wisconsin's railroads.
October 10, 2006... Byline: Sean Ryan With state ethanol production on the rise, producers and railroads are preparing to do more business together. Wisconsin and Southern Railroad Co., which operates 600 miles of track in 22 southern Wisconsin counties,...

Madison to reorganize planning department.
October 10, 2006... Byline: Paul Snyder Some significant changes are in store for Madison's Department of Planning and Development. Madison Mayor Dave Cieslewicz announced Thursday that the department was going to be reorganized to enhance and streamline a...

Menard Inc.'s decision further divides candidates in Wisconsin.
October 11, 2006... Byline: Paul Snyder The announcement that Wisconsin was not only going to lose Menards manufacturing and distribution facilities in Eau Claire but the nearly 900 jobs that came with it hasn't fallen on the friendliest of ears. Republican...

Green Bay-based WPS Resources Corp., Peoples Energy to merge.(Company overview)
October 11, 2006... Byline: Joe Grundle WPS Resources Corp. of Green Bay and Peoples Energy Corp. of Chicago expect to finalize a merger early next year. On Monday, the two energy companies announced the organizational structure for the proposed combined...

WasteCap Wisconsin to honor sustainable builders.
October 11, 2006... Byline: Sean Ryan WasteCap Wisconsin will hold its first awards show Thursday night to generate some friendly networking and call attention to members who push the envelope of sustainable construction. "Certainly, it kind of raises...

Neighborhood organization in Wisconsin town fights Payday loan store.
October 12, 2006... Byline: Joe Grundle If you feel like you can't turn around anymore without seeing a new payday loan store, it might not be a coincidence. According to Jeff Greipp, a board member for the Washington Highlands Association, a Wauwatosa...

Public Service Commission of Wisconsin backs federal funding for second rail line.
October 12, 2006... Byline: Sean Ryan Two state agencies are backing a railroad company's plan to get a $2.3 billion federal loan to build a railroad line linking a huge coal mine in Wyoming to Minnesota. Wisconsin's coal-burning power plants get 90 percent...

National Labor Relations Board expands definition of supervisor.
October 13, 2006... Byline: Joe Grundle An Oct. 3 decision by the National Labor Relations Board redefined how workers would qualify as "supervisors" and therefore be ineligible for union protections. The question is whether employees with some supervisory...

Danisco USA Inc. breaks ground on research building in Madison.
October 16, 2006... Byline: Joe Grundle Food ingredient manufacturer Danisco USA Inc. broke ground Thursday on an expansion project in Madison. The new research and development facility will be 18,000 square feet in size, twice as large as the existing space....

Alternatives to transmission lines across Dane County sought.
October 16, 2006... Byline: Paul Snyder The Sierra Club is petitioning the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin to open an investigation that will assess all reasonable alternatives to building massive transmission lines across Dane County. "Instead of just...

New Holstein school addition planned in Wisconsin.
October 16, 2006... Byline: Joe Grundle With voter approval for construction projects becoming increasingly difficult to obtain, the decision facing overcrowding school districts is whether to build new or renovate. The New Holstein School District -- which...

Citizens for Responsible Government mounts recall election in Hartford.
October 16, 2006... Byline: Sean Ryan The city of Hartford printed 800 ballots for the 2,388 people who are registered to vote in Tuesday's recall election. "Is that too many or not enough?" City Clerk Lori Hetzel said. "I don't know." The Hartford Citizens...

Hearing set in Milwaukee on North 76th Street work.
October 17, 2006... Byline: Sean Ryan The Wisconsin Department of Transportation is holding a meeting on Oct. 24 in Milwaukee to share information about the reconstruction of North 76th Street between Florist Avenue and County Line Road. The department is...

Ruvin Development to move Gipfel Union Brewery in Milwaukee.
October 17, 2006... Byline: Sean Ryan Having secured approval from the Milwaukee County Board, Ruvin Development is preparing to pick up and move the 1853 Gipfel Union Brewery to its Sidney Hih property before December. The Milwaukee County Board on Sept. 28...

Village of Blue Mounds can review building plans.
October 17, 2006... Byline: Paul Snyder Department of Commerce Secretary Mary Burke announced Monday that the department had delegated authority to the village of Blue Mounds in Dane County to provide commercial building alteration review services, as well as...

Old Garver Feed Mill in Madison to get new life.
October 17, 2006... Byline: Paul Snyder The old Garver Feed Mill in Madison is celebrating its 100th birthday this month. And nobody's saying it looks good for its age. While still maintaining a sizeable presence on the city's east side, a large field...

Oshkosh's Waterfront project proposed.
October 17, 2006... Byline: Joe Grundle A familiar face has new plans for an old site. Former Gov. Tommy Thompson heads a development group that wants to oversee The Waterfront, a mixed-use development on the Fox River in downtown Oshkosh with residential...

R.W. Miller & Sons Inc, WI Attorney General Lautenschlager settle lawsuit.
October 17, 2006... Byline: Joe Grundle A Lake Geneva road builder agreed to restore groundwater quality in Walworth County and pay penalties totaling $40,000 for violating its state-issued storm-water pollution control permit. R.W. Miller & Sons Inc, a...

Task force on minority contracting in Wisconsin to meet.
October 17, 2006... Byline: Sean Ryan Gov. Jim Doyle's Business Opportunity Advisory Commission plans to meet next week to begin its task of increasing the number of state contracts going to minority-owned companies. Many people in the community have asked...

Nine Wisconsin businesses receive state aid.
October 18, 2006... Byline: Joe Grundle Nine Wisconsin businesses received either state tax credits or grants to develop technology projects, Gov. Jim Doyle announced Monday. Seven small companies qualified for investor tax credits under the Department of...

EPA proposed Marina Cliffs cleanup plan in South Milwaukee.
October 18, 2006... Byline: Paul Snyder The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region 5 announced a proposal Wednesday for a final cleanup plan for residential areas on the former Northwestern Barrel property in South Milwaukee. The site includes two...

Two environmental groups create big-box 'tool kit'.
October 18, 2006... Byline: Paul Snyder Residents concerned about having their communities steamrolled by big-box developments just got a little bit of clout on their side. The Sierra Club's John Muir Chapter has teamed with Midwest Environmental...

Franklin-based Carma Laboratories has expansion plans.
October 18, 2006... Byline: Sean Ryan Carma Laboratories, the Franklin-based maker of Carmex lip balm, plans to double its business over the next three years. What started out as a product that Alfred Woelbing invented, produced, packaged and sold out of...

Franklin-based Carma Laboratories: A humble beginning.
October 18, 2006... Byline: Sean Ryan Carma Laboratories Inc. founder Alfred Woelbing lived the American Dream. He used his own ingenuity to invent Carmex lip balm in the late 1930s and built a small, successful business around it. The Franklin company now...

ABC documentary focuses on Waukesha's water woes.
October 19, 2006... Byline: Sean Ryan The United Church of Christ is including Waukesha's search for a new water supply in its hour-long Troubled Waters documentary. I hope it presents the Waukesha situation and gives everybody an idea of what we're...

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ranks fuel-efficient cars.
October 19, 2006... Byline: Joe Grundle The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency released Tuesday a list of 2007's most fuel-efficient cars. Among the top of the list are several hybrids, including a sports utility vehicle but also six gas-only vehicles....

Evansville buildings being restored.
October 19, 2006... Byline: Paul Snyder All that will be missing, says Melissa Destree, are the dresses. Destree, who heads up Destree Design in Madison, said she is thrilled to be working on the historical renovation of the Eager Block building in...

Racine, Wisconsin, hosts its first-ever film festival.
October 19, 2006... Byline: Joe Grundle Blood will be shed, guts spilled, corpses mutilated. And, no, we're not talking about another haunted house here. Instead, the Racine Arts Council is trying to capitalize on this year's Halloween holiday season in a...

2025: University of Wisconsin-Madison will be transformed.
October 23, 2006... Byline: Joe Grundle University of Wisconsin-Madison alumni might not recognize their old stomping grounds in 20 years. As multistory structures replace quaint single-story buildings, the 933-acre campus could eventually resemble downtown...

$8M justice center in Monroe approved.
October 23, 2006... Byline: Paul Snyder William Morgan says that 15 blocks in Monroe means only a three-minute car ride. So after the Green County Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday to build an $8.2 million justice center on Monroe's east side to...

Milwaukee's redevelopment authority approves TIF for Brewery Project.
October 23, 2006... Byline: Sean Ryan Milwaukee's redevelopment authority on Thursday voted 5-1 for a $28.7 million tax incremental financing district for Joseph Zilber's plan to redevelop the Pabst Brewery. "It's the first step in a process, and...

Wisconsin construction firms announce staffing changes: October 23, 2006.
October 24, 2006... Byline: Daily Reporter Staff Earth Tech Inc.Earth Tech Inc., a business unit of Tyco International Ltd. and a global provider of consulting, engineering and construction services, has named Lawrence E. Annen as director, private sector...

Dane County airport improvements approved.
October 24, 2006... Byline: Joe Grundle Nearly $6 million worth of improvements has been approved for Dane County Regional Airport, Wisconsin's second largest airport. Gov. Jim Doyle approved just more than $1 million in state funds for two improvement...

EPA fines Allenton-based Allcast Inc.
October 24, 2006... Byline: Joe Grundle Allenton-based Allcast Inc. agreed to pay a $37,500 fine for clean-air violations at one of its aluminum production facilities. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Allcast failed to comply with...

Kenosha business park planned.
October 24, 2006... Byline: Daily Reporter Staff Chicago-based First Industrial Realty Trust Inc. announced Friday its acquisition of a 70-acre land site in Kenosha. The site will accommodate up to 980,000 square feet of buildings at 88th Avenue and...

WI's affirmative action panel's makeup called 'unbalanced'.
October 24, 2006... Byline: Joe Grundle A state committee directed to review affirmative action policies is under fire from some legislators for being too heavily stacked against the policies. The Wisconsin Joint Legislative Council's special committee on...

Senior resource center in Wisconsin gets funding.
October 24, 2006... Byline: Paul Snyder Building more resource centers for seniors and the disabled could keep a lot more elderly people throughout Wisconsin in their homes. And that's precisely the point, says Gov. Jim Doyle. Doyle announced Wednesday that...

Housing for mentally ill in the city of Milwaukee backed.
October 24, 2006... Byline: Sean Ryan Ten Milwaukee County supervisors are proposing the county borrow $1 million next year to fund grants for affordable housing projects for the mentally ill in the city of Milwaukee. "We're not looking to put a whole lot of...

State of WI gives Waukesha-based KeyBridge Development Group grant.
October 25, 2006... Byline: Joe Grundle It's a good idea to straighten up the house before inviting the in-laws over for dinner. In a similar fashion, contaminated ground needs a good scrubbing before it can accommodate a major new development....

Dane County plan preserves parks.
October 25, 2006... Byline: Paul Snyder Preserving the green space in the fastest-growing county in Wisconsin isn't cheap. Fortunately, Dane County has a bit saved up. County leaders have earmarked $7.1 million in the upcoming budget on land acquisition...

Oconomowoc to hold $50M referendum.
October 25, 2006... Byline: Paul Snyder Oconomowoc hasn't exactly been a stranger to growth in the past few years. Having attracted a number of newcomers, thanks, in part, to the Pabst Farms development, a number of small neighborhoods and communities have...

Federal housing dollars received for Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS.
October 25, 2006... Byline: Sean Ryan State government estimates the number of Wisconsin residents with HIV or AIDS by counting the cases reported since 1983 and subtracting the deaths. Of the 9,423 people diagnosed since 1983, 3,544 have died. The AIDS...

Developers in Wisconsin win first round in open-meetings case.
October 26, 2006... Byline: Joe Grundle Despite a recent court ruling in favor of the Beaver Dam Area Development Corp., economic development groups statewide could still wind up subject to open meetings law. In addition to appealing the ruling in the Beaver...

Transportation Development Assn. of WI issues go beyond 'next week's elections'.
October 26, 2006... Byline: Paul Snyder There was one noticeable absence in the roster of speakers at the Transportation Development Association of Wisconsin's 2006 Annual Meeting in Madison Thursday: any politician. "We've got a lot of work to do for the...

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency may relax rules for ethanol plants.
October 27, 2006... Byline: Sean Ryan The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is sifting through comments it received about its proposal to change the permitting standards for ethanol plants looking to expand. "It is a deliberative process where we just...

Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District Commission budget approved.
October 31, 2006... Byline: Sean Ryan The Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District Commission on Monday approved a 2007 budget with a 3 percent tax levy increase. They're responsible budgets that respect the checkbooks of our customers without...

Milwaukee-based Capitol Stamping gets tax credits.
October 31, 2006... Byline: Joe Grundle The Department of Commerce handed out more Community Development Zone tax credits Friday, this time to Milwaukee metal manufacturer Capitol Stamping Corp. Capitol Stamping received $144,000 in CDZ tax credits for a...

CEO of Associated General Contractors of Greater Milwaukee named to Transit NOW board.
October 31, 2006... Byline: Paul Snyder The Kenosha-Racine-Milwaukee commuter rail project just got another new proponent. Mike Fabishak, chief executive officer for the Associated General Contractors of Greater Milwaukee, was appointed last week to serve...

Wauwatosa, Wisconsin, to get 200-room hotel.
October 31, 2006... Byline: Sean Ryan The Kalotti brothers, who last year sold the Howard Johnson in downtown Milwaukee, are building a 200-room Crowne Plaza Hotel in Wauwatosa. "The city of Wauwatosa has the premier shopping mall, it has the Milwaukee...

Milwaukee-based Ogden & Co. forms construction division.
October 31, 2006... Byline: Joe Grundle A longtime Milwaukee real estate firm is trying its hand at construction. Ogden & Co. Inc. announced the opening of its new commercial construction division on Friday. The Ogden Construction Group LLC will focus on...

Marquette University extends Bradley Center lease.
October 31, 2006... Byline: Daily Reporter Staff The Bradley Center will remain the place to catch Marquette University Golden Eagles men's basketball games through 2011. The team will enjoy some fresh digs as well. Under an agreement signed this week,...

City of Cudahy to restrict payday loan stores.
October 31, 2006... Byline: Joe Grundle The city of Cudahy joined Wauwatosa in passing a moratorium on new payday loan stores. The Cudahy Common Council voted 4-1 to pass the moratorium, which applies to check-cashing, payday loan, car title and other...

Two manufacturers receive tax credits from state of Wisconsin.
October 31, 2006... Byline: Daily Reporter Staff Two manufacturing companies recently received a total of $250,000 in state tax credits. Prairie Industries Inc., a contract-packaging and converting services provider in Prairie du Chien, was awarded $174,000...