Below is an excerpt from the most recent edition of WisBusiness Tuesday Trends.
The full version of this weekly look at the state of Wisconsin business is available for free to anyone who signs up for the Tuesday Trends mailing list.
The full product includes several items in each of the rising, mixed and falling categories plus a look at upcoming business events across the state.
To get the full version of Tuesday Trends in your inbox every week, sign up now for the free mailing list. (If the preceding link does not work for you, simply send an e-mail to trends@wisbusiness.com with “Subscribe to trends” in the subject line.)
WisBusiness also publishes a summary of state business news sent to paid subscribers every weekday.
Sign up for a free two-week trial of WisBusiness subscriber products.
RISING
Badger State Games: Less than six months after the Wisconsin Sports Development Corp. announced plans to shut down the semiannual Badger State Games, the games’ winter event beats the initial expectations of the Wausau/Central Wisconsin Convention and Visitors Bureau, which acquired the games in October. According to preliminary reports, some 1,400 athletes participated in eight events during the last three weeks. Though the games were pared down from the 15 winter events held in 2011, the competition averaged 175 athletes per event this year — up from 147 per event last year. The games were a big test of the bureau’s new Sports Authority, which utilized room tax contributions from local municipalities to fund the event.
MIXED
Sand mine regulation: The Department of Natural Resources has rejected a request from a group of citizens to craft new regulations for controversial sand mining practices — but that doesn’t mean the agency doesn’t have concerns. Wisconsin has become a hub for the mining of frac sand, which is used in drilling for natural gas. But accompanying health concerns sparked a request for new air pollution guidelines for the practice. DNR Deputy Secretary Matt Moroney writes that current regulations cover the mines and downplays the affect of short-term exposure to the dust. Officials with Clean Wisconsin counter that existing regulations aren’t good enough to alleviate concerns over frac sand dust. The mining’s impact on wildlife, however, is getting the department’s attention. DNR officials express concern that mining companies haven’t been upfront about their intentions for populations of Karner blue butterflies, an endangered species whose Wisconsin habitats often overlap sand deposits. And they note that killing the butterflies without a permit violates federal law.
FALLING
Sub-Zero: The Madison-based maker of stoves and refrigerators announces it’s shutting down production at a plant on the city’s southwest side, affecting 75 permanent employees and 25 temporary workers at the end of June. While the bulk of Sub-Zero/Wolf production will continue at a facility in nearby Fitchburg, the Madison facility’s operations will be shifted to a new plant near Phoenix. Company officials blamed changing business circumstances for the decision, but union officials said the announcement wasn’t a surprise. Union leaders say they’re hopeful some workers can be absorbed at the Fitchburg plant.
