The Business Journal-Milwaukee articles from May 1995

The Business Journal-Milwaukee archives from May 1995

After a year of hot activity, manufacturers play it cool. (Milwaukee)
May 27, 1995... After sweating through more than a year of overheated activity, Milwaukee-area manufacturers are starting to feel the first signs of a cooldown. A decrease in new orders has begun to hit home for some manufacturers, especially those...

City fund to take equities plunge. (Milwaukee)
May 27, 1995... Milwaukee Common Council president John Kalwitz plans to introduce legislation in the next two weeks that would allow the city's pension fund to invest more aggressively, potentially saving Milwaukee taxpayers millions of dollars annually....

Pettit Center bailout plan stalled. (Pettit National Ice Center)
May 27, 1995... Thin ice The Pettit National Ice Center is not generating enough money to repay the $9.2 million in state bonds issued to build the facility. Breakdown of revenue and expenses (year ended 6/30/94) Activity ...

Helping businesses to write right. (business writing)
May 27, 1995... Instructor saw opportunity in business' clumsy wordsmithing It's a primitive urge, in Lori Falk's view. "People want to look intelligent in their writing," Falk said. But that doesn't always happen - especially in business writing....

Room for more Waukesha rooms? (lodging development)
May 27, 1995... Developers think so - they're pitching projects from Waukesha to Oconomowoc Don't look now, but metropolitan Milwaukee is about to extend another 14 miles west. That's one way to read the recent surge in lodging development proposals...

Singing Milwaukee's praises, purposefully. (Greater Milwaukee Convention and Visitors Bureau Pres./CEO William Hanbury)
May 27, 1995... If you gave William Hanbury a tent, people would pray. There's not an evangelist on the circuit who persuades harder than he does. Spend a few minutes with him and you'll bear witness. But it's not the Lord he's praising; it's Milwaukee....

Group of local executives plans $20 million downtown hotel. (Milwaukee)
May 27, 1995... A group of Milwaukee minority business executives is trying to put together a deal to build a $20 million, 12-story, 225-room hotel in downtown Milwaukee. Underground Railroad Ltd., which was formed in January 1994 to develop a downtown...

Conventional wisdom hails Marc-Hilton affiliation. (Milwaukee Hilton hotel)
May 27, 1995... The Hilton may heist room nights from downtown properties, but it may help lure conventions, too The Marc Plaza may be a household name in the Milwaukee area, but it means nothing to people in Miami, San Francisco or anywhere else on the...

Banks continue scoring drive, but glory days may be fading. (Milwaukee)
May 27, 1995... If local banks played football, they would be the Green Bay Packers and these would be their glory years. Arguably, the 47 Milwaukee-area banks have never recorded stronger loan growth, cleaner loan quality and higher profitability at one...

Menards, movie theater booked for Falls location. (Dial Realty Corp.; Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin)
May 27, 1995... An Omaha, Neb., developer that has done three retail projects in Waukesha County is proposing a large commercial development in Menomonee Falls that would include an eight-screen movie theater and a 144,000-square-foot Menards Cashway Lumber...

Dial-a-dilemma: the future of communications vs. the old days. (telephone companies)
May 27, 1995... Phone companies torn between a push for high-tech advances and the pull for simpler service Managers at Wisconsin's 86 independent telephone companies concede that they're caught in the middle. As flashy technologies like interactive video...

Riding Grand Geneva's coattails, Lake Geneva market perks up. (Grand Geneva Resort and Spa)
May 27, 1995... The Grand Geneva Resort and Spa appears to be stimulating what had become a lackluster Lake Geneva-area resort economy. Before The Marcus Corp. reopened the moribund Americana Lake Geneva Resort in the town of Lyons a year ago as Grand...

Baird's Chicago foray: good timing or a risky move? (Robert W. Baird and Company Inc.)
May 27, 1995... Robert W. Baird & Co. Inc.'s investment banking foray into Chicago has stumbled onto serendipity. In the past year, Milwaukee's largest investment brokerage put together a team of investment bankers that is combing greater Chicago for merger...

Arts agency may be pummeled in state budget bout. (Wisconsin Arts Board)
May 27, 1995... Arts Board funding, fate in question, but arts groups, backers hope agency can go the distance The Wisconsin Arts Board, charged with ensuring the vitality of the arts in the state, looked none too strong after the first round of the state...

LaCrosse. (proxy report excerpts)(Company Profile)
May 27, 1995... NASDAQ - BOOT LaCrosse Footwear Inc. produces protective footwear for the sporting, occupational and recreational markets. It markets its products primarily under the brand names of LaCrosse and Danner. The company employs about 1,600...

Demographics. (tabular data only)(Market Facts: Wisconsin)
May 27, 1995... [TABULAR DATA OMITTED] [TABULAR DATA OMITTED] County population projections, age 65 and over (by thousands) County 1995 2000 2010 2020 Kenosha 17.93 8.58 ...

Retail. (tabular data only)(Market Facts: Wisconsin)
May 27, 1995... [TABULAR DATA OMITTED] [TABULAR DATA OMITTED] [TABULAR DATA OMITTED] Retail sales activity, selected metropolitan areas, 1994 Percent change from the same period in 1993 1st 2nd 3rd...

Tourism.(Market Facts: Wisconsin)
May 27, 1995... [TABULAR DATA OMITTED] Attendance at selected area sporting/cultural events and facilities 1994 1993 1992 Milwaukee Brewers 1,268,397 1,688,080...

Real estate. (tabular data only)(Market Facts: Wisconsin)
May 27, 1995... Metropolitan Milwaukee(*) industrial vacancy rates County 1992 1994 1995 Milwaukee 7.5% 7.1% 5.3% Ozaukee 5.2% ...

Children & families.(Market Facts: Wisconsin)
May 27, 1995... [TABULAR DATA OMITTED] [TABULAR DATA OMITTED] County marriages and divorces, 1993 County Marriages Divorces Kenosha 1,002 476...

Taxation. (tabular data only)(Market Facts: Wisconsin)
May 27, 1995... Property tax rates for Milwaukee and selected municipalities (rates per $100,000) 1995 net value % change Municipality County tax rate from 1994 ...

Education. (tabular data only)(Market Facts: Wisconsin)
May 27, 1995... Graduation rates, selected school districts 1992-1993 Graduation School districts rate West Bend (Washington)(*) ...

Media & communications.(Market Facts: Wisconsin)
May 27, 1995... [TABULAR DATA OMITTED] [TABULAR DATA OMITTED] Cable television subscribers, six-county area System 1995 1994 1. Century Cable Television 45,000 ...

Financial services. (tabular data only)(Market Facts: Wisconsin)
May 27, 1995... [TABULAR DATA OMITTED] [TABULAR DATA OMITTED] [TABULAR DATA OMITTED] Thrift performance, United States (in thousands) 1994 % change 1993 Total assets $777,814,140...

Economy. (tabular data only)(Market Facts: Wisconsin)
May 27, 1995... [TABULAR DATA OMITTED] Cost of living values(*) in selected locations Location Annual cost Chicago ...

Employment. (tabular data only)(Market Facts: Wisconsin)
May 27, 1995... [TABULAR DATA OMITTED] [TABULAR DATA OMITTED] Annual unemployment rates, by county, 1992-1994 (in thousands) Area 1992 1993 1994 Kenosha Civilian labor force ...

Environment.(Market Facts: Wisconsin)
May 27, 1995... [TABULAR DATA OMITTED] Quarterly airborne lead averages (by Milwaukee-area monitoring site) 700 block of West Wells Street, Milwaukee Year Jan.-March April-June July-Sept. Oct.-Dec. ...

Health care.(Market Facts: Wisconsin)
May 27, 1995... Combined HMO enrollment(*) as a percentage of state population Rank State % of population % of population 1994 1993 1 Massachusetts ...

A familiar tune. (Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra's labor problems; new Exec. Dir. Steven Ovitsky)
May 20, 1995... Symphony's new chief has played similar parts before When the Minnesota Orchestra's musicians went on strike in October 1994, one of them produced a facetious "Top 10" list of reasons for the strike. Steven Ovitsky, the orchestra's vice...

Struggling Southgate lands anchor. (Southgate Mall Shopping Center get lease agreement with Media Play)
May 20, 1995... Southgate Mall Shopping Center, which has struggled to find a major tenant since losing two anchors more than a year ago, finally has one - and is looking for more. The owner of the 445,090-square-foot Milwaukee mall, 3333 S. 27th St., has...

Shifting into entrepreneurial gear. (Mobile Bike Repair)
May 20, 1995... Grass-roots approach keeps mobile bike repair business rolling Gary Boulanger doesn't have a ponytail. He's married, has two kids and dresses professionally but in a casual, bike-jockey sort of way. So he'd like to ask just one question:...

As rates slide, mortgage business awakens. (interest rates)
May 20, 1995... Hurray! It may be a mediocre year. A modest market may not sound like much to most people. But it sounds sweet to mortgage lenders, who are rising from the ashes of a moribund six months of business. "The early part of the year was not...

Pushing print's parameters, without pretense. (Mandel Co.)(Focus: Printing & Graphics)
May 20, 1995... If Emanuel Mandel were to return to the Milwaukee printing firm he founded 103 years ago, there's not much he'd recognize. About the only things that connect the Mandel Co. of 1892 and the Mandel Co. of today are family and a tradition of...

Tax revenue falls just short, but MECCA project a go. (taxes to help pay for the contruction of the Wisconsin Center)
May 20, 1995... The taxes enacted to help pay for construction of the Wisconsin Center in downtown Milwaukee fell about $110,000 short of the state's goal in first-quarter 1995. The three taxes - a 2 percent hotel room tax, a 3 percent car rental tax and a...

Aurora to move offices to Crivello shopping center. (Aurora Health Care Inc.; Milwaukee, Wisconsin)
May 20, 1995... Aurora Health Care has agreed to lease 40,000 square feet at the Forest Home Centre - a big boost for the struggling south side Milwaukee shopping center lost and regained by Milwaukee developer Frank Crivello. Aurora, a Milwaukee health care...

Earnings chug ahead, but slowdown may be next destination. (Milwaukee, Wisconsin-area publicly traded corporations)
May 20, 1995... Most publicly traded corporations in the Milwaukee area were too busy soaring in the first quarter to even see a soft landing ahead. But analysts predict that signs of an economic slowdown later this year are likely to close in on many...

County officials relieved with changes on relief plan. (Milwaukee County, Wisconsin; medical block grant relief program)
May 20, 1995... Milwaukee County officials are "very satisfied" with a key legislative committee's vote to create a medical relief block grant program for counties. Lynn Sprangers, a spokeswoman for Milwaukee County Executive Tom Ament, said county...

Small businesses want, cheaper better health coverage: survey. (Wisconsin)
May 20, 1995... Most small businesses in Wisconsin that don't offer health benefits to their employees say they don't because insurance costs too much. But at the same time, many employers also say they don't like the state's low-cost basic benefits plan...

In wake of papers' merger, publishers wade in. (Milwaukee, Wisconsin)
May 20, 1995... In a move reminiscent of the movie "Citizen Kane," Jason Galeener printed an editorial pledge on the front page of The Milwaukee Forum's premiere edition. "The mission of this paper is not to tell the readers what to think about the news,...

Fortis subsidiary to target new health care markets. (Fortis Inc. subsidiary Integrated Health Partnerships)
May 20, 1995... Milwaukee-based Fortis Healthcare, a division of Fortis Inc., has launched a subsidiary to build HMOs and PPOs in markets that so far have only tasted managed care. The new division, called Integrated Health Partnerships, will team up with...

Looking to play the bond market? Remember, it's not a game. (interview with Reinhart and Mahoney Capital Management Sr. VP Jeffrey Bryden)(Interview)
May 20, 1995... Unlike most people, Jeffrey Bryden enjoys tests. Bryden sidestepped the exotic part of the derivatives market and its acute volatility because the securities never withstood his tests for duration and return. "Because it falls down as a...

Humana Inc. (Proxy Report Excerpts) (Company Profile)
May 20, 1995... New York - HUM Humana Inc. provides managed health care services to more than 2 million members, primarily though the operation of health maintenance organizations and preferred provider organizations. Humana purchased CareNetwork Inc.,...

Be it ever not humble enough. (lack of low-cost housing affects job growth in Wisconsin)
May 13, 1995... Could lack of low-cost housing defuse Hartford's job boom? As Werner Wolpert's Cadillac swings around the road circling the Hartford Industrial Park, he points out a recent plant expansion at Steel Craft Corp. It's vet another symbol of...

Business on lower dropout age: incomplete. (Wisconsin Legislature recommendation)
May 13, 1995... If a 16-year-old doesn't want to be in school, let him drop out and get a job. That, in a nutshell, is what state law would allow if a recommendation by the state Legislature's Joint Finance Committee stays in the 1995-97 state budget....

Olympia may heed Clarion's call. (Olympia Resort and Conference Center; Clarion Hotel)
May 13, 1995... Hotel chain eyes Oconomowoc resort An hotel executive with Choice Hotels International is part of an investment group that reportedly is near an agreement to purchase Olympia Resort & Conference Center in Oconomowoc. Two sources close to...

Topping off a new role: entrepreneur. (Moose Lodge ownerNancy Masterson)
May 13, 1995... Home life, husband's company help flavor specialty food firm For 23 years, Nancy Masterson relished the role of corporate wife and mega-mom. Conventions to attend. Guests to host. Kids to taxi to sports events. "I was so busy, I didn't...

A long road to urban redevelopment. (Wisconsin)(Focus: Environmental Issues)
May 13, 1995... State law's in place, but for real land reclamation to occur, federal 'overlay' needed It's been exactly one year since Wisconsin Act 453 took effect. Called the Land Recycling Law, Act 453 was intended to promote development of contaminated...

Nurturing a noise pollution abatement niche. (Timber Holdings Ltd.)(Focus: Environmental Issues)
May 13, 1995... In the Middle Ages, construction of walled cities was an everyday sort of thing. Often, it was the only way for a community to keep evil forces at bay. These days, cities are again being entombed behind great walls, although it's not the...

When solicitation shifts from industry to individuals. (fundraising for environmental causes)(Focus: Environmental Issues)
May 13, 1995... Will we underwrite policies that'd force us to carpool? Ride the bus? Own fewer cars? Jury still out Environmental groups face an oft-sticky situation when raising money: asking individuals for donations to fund advocacy that could end up...

On the menu: drive-through pasta, pizza? (Fazoli's plan to open 10 fast-food Italian restaurants in Milwaukee, Wisconsin)
May 13, 1995... Fazoli's, a Lexington, Ky., chain, is planning to open as many as 10 fast-food Italian restaurants with drive-through service in the Milwaukee area. Fazoli's, a subsidiary of Seed Restaurant Group, is negotiating to acquire sites in Muskego,...

Electric industry group wants merger probed. (Wisconsin Energy Corp.; Northern States Power Co.)
May 13, 1995... Some members of a committee reviewing Wisconsin's electric utility industry want to investigate the planned merger of Wisconsin Energy Corp. and Northern States Power Co. But the group's chairman, state Public Service Commissioner Scott...

Hitting the highway? Harley RV unit faces August deadline. (Harley-Davidson Inc.; Holiday Rambler Corp.; 1995)
May 13, 1995... A sales brochure for Holiday Rambler's high-end recreational vehicles suggests that, for buyers, "luxury is just around the corner." But Holiday Rambler's future with Milwaukee-based corporate parent Harley-Davidson Inc. may follow a more...

For some, Great Lakes Initiative offers little 'guidance.' (Environmental Protection Industry)(Focus: Environmental Issues)
May 13, 1995... With little fanfare, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in March released its "guidance" document on the Great Lakes Initiative, which establishes uniform water-quality standards for the entire Great Lakes ecosystem. In the agency's...

Heart of the mattress: retailers learn to reduce, reuse, outcycle.(Focus: Environmental Issues)
May 13, 1995... Finally, some good environmental snooze. In what may be the first private venture of its kind in Wisconsin, Verlo Mattress Co. runs a subsidiary to recycle used bedding. With six Milwaukee-area stores, Whitewater-based Verlo's National...

Banks, thrifts agree: both wary of insurance plan. (deposit insurance)
May 13, 1995... A federal government plan to resolve the disparity in deposit insurance has all the expected components. And, as expected, bankers hate it, thrift officials question it and bureaucrats, who may receive a five-year job extension, love it....

Despite selloffs, Marcus says it has appetite for restaurants. (Marcus Corp.)
May 13, 1995... Company officials insist it's just a coincidence: The Marcus Corp. is not trying to get out of the restaurant business. But it's hard not to have that impression after the Milwaukee restaurant, hotel and theater operator recently revealed...

West Bend Clinic tabs Jackson site. (Wisconsin)
May 13, 1995... West Bend Clinic plans to break ground in June on a $1.7 million clinic in the village of Jackson's business development park at Highway 60 and Highway 45. The village Plan Commission has approved the clinic's site plan, but clinic officials...

Businesses mixed on recycling funds for property tax relief. (Wisconsin's recycling surcharge program)(Focus: Environmental Issues)
May 13, 1995... Wisconsin's recycling surcharge program has generated so much revenue that there's plenty of money left to spend elsewhere. But where should the state spend it? Should the state spend it? For something that isn't recycling-related? Gov....

Salt Lake City chain puts new offer on Merle Harmon's table. (Utah; Rentrac Corp.; Merle Harmon's Fan Fair stores)
May 13, 1995... The parent company of a Salt Lake City sporting goods chain has renewed its attempt to purchase the assets of two Elm Grove corporations that run 25 Merle Harmon's Fan Fair stores. Rentrac Corp., Portland, Ore., has offered about $3 million...

Land's End Inc. (Proxy Report Excerpts)(Company Profile)
May 13, 1995... DIRECT MERCHANTS New York - LE Lands' End Inc. is an international direct merchant of casual clothing for men, women and children; accessories; domestics; shoes; and soft luggage. The company's products are offered through monthly...

Route to Avenue: a two-way Wells. (Marquette University's Avenue Commons plan; West Wells Street; Milwaukee, Wisconsin)
May 6, 1995... But city official oppose switch An unexpected roadblock to Marquette University's Avenue Commons plan may be cleared by a bid to allow two-way traffic on West Wells Street near the campus. Eventual approval of a two-way Wells Street would...

Generating a mega-merger: over coffee, brewing a $6 billion utility deal. (merger of Wisconsin Energy Corp. and Northern States Power Co.)
May 6, 1995... As James Howard tells it, the largest utility merger in U.S. history began with a friendly conversation over coffee. "Dick Abdoo (Wisconsin Energy Corp. chairman and president) and I have known each other a long time," said Howard, chairman...

Keeping the largest-ever utility deal insulated. (merger of Wisconsin Energy Corp. and Northern States Power Co.)
May 6, 1995... How do you keep a major merger under wraps? Quite well - at least for Wisconsin Energy Corp. and Northern States Power Co. Despite nearly four months of talks, meetings, and exchanges of letters and documents, the outside world didn't...

Crafting balance between art, commerce. (Mequon, Wisconsin artist Susan Falkman's artwork selected for the design of Diamond Awards)
May 6, 1995... For Mequon sculptor, Diamond Award gig a 'celebratory' act For the committee assigned to select a piece of art that symbolized women and minorities breaking through the glass ceiling, it was an easy choice. Of the eight artists who...

Thompson: an export report card. (Wisconsin Gov. Tommy G. Thompson)(Focus: International Business)
May 6, 1995... Global forces fuel state export boom as much as, if not more than, the governor does On a 1988 state trade mission to South Korea, Gov. Tommy Thompson and about 15 Wisconsin businesspeople sat down with five South Korean diplomats for a...

Zen and the art of global video networking. (GEMS-TV Sr. Producer Jennifer Panawash)(Focus: International Business)
May 6, 1995... Hollywood would have a tough time making sense out of Jennifer Panawash. Panawash is senior producer for GEMS-TV, the broadcast arm of GE Medical Systems, Pewaukee. She's also president-elect of the Milwaukee Chapter of International...

Holiday Inn Express planned for Delafield. (Wisconsin)
May 6, 1995... A partnership headed by a Madison hotel developer has reached an agreement to build a $3 million, 100-room Holiday Inn Express at the bustling intersection of Interstate 94 and Highway 83 in Delafield. Dan Neviaser of Madison said he has an...

Off the sale block, Crown Cork plant lures big tenant. (Crown Cork and Seal Company Inc.)
May 6, 1995... The former Crown Cork & Seal Co. plant in Glendale has been vacant for years, while real estate brokers have sought a buyer for the 650,000-square-foot building. Unable to find a buyer willing to pay its $6 million price tag, the...