By Brian E. Clark
RISING
Badger State manufacturing
The growing competitiveness of Wisconsin and other Midwest
manufacturers was featured in a recent two-part series on the “NewsHour
with Jim Lehrer.” Both segments were shot in Milwaukee and featured
interviews with area manufacturing leaders including: Tim Sullivan,
CEO, Bucyrus; Matt Levatich, vice president, parts & accessories,
Harley-Davidson; and Terry Hansen, president of Ultra Tool and
Manufacturing.
The stories highlight a resurgence of Milwaukee manufacturing and the
ability of U.S.-based supply chains to compete globally. Footage also
was shot at Milwaukee’s Bradley Technical High School to underscore the
critical need to promote manufacturing careers to young people.
Wisconsin Manufacturing Extension Partnership, which focuses on making
suppliers faster, more flexible and efficient, helped coordinate the
programs. WMEP Executive Director Mike Klonsinski said the segments
illustrate how Wisconsin’s $47.2 billion industrial economy is
succeeding, despite intense global competition.
To see the Midwest Manufacturers Bid to Stay Competitive program, go
to:
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/business/july-dec07/globalization_11-28.html
To see the Rust Belt Rebound (includes interviews with Harley Davidson
and Ultra Tools) program, go to:
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/business/july-dec07/globalization_11-29.html
MIXED
Southwest hog operations
Big hog operations continue to create controversy in picturesque
southwest Wisconsin.
While 200 people showed up in Crawford County for a meeting on a 2,900
hog operation last week, Citizens for Responsible Government (CRG)
announced it was filing several Freedom of Information Act requests
with Vernon County as part of an investigation into how that county
board handled votes on a 2,500 hog operation last August.
CRG is looking for the possibility of “collusion” on the part of
supervisors in their handling of the confinement animal operation
(CAFO) moratorium and siting ordinances that were considered because of
the hog operation. The group has asked for all correspondence,
including deleted emails, dealing with the CAFO ordinance.
Some supervisors have said they use personal computers and don’t keep
e-mails. Vernon County Corporation Counsel Greg Lunde said the county
will comply with the request, including personal e-mails. Lunde said it
could cost up to $3,500 to access the e-mails and the county would ask
to be paid before it releases any records.
FALLING
We Energies
Milwaukee-based We Energies may have suffered a setback when an
administrative law judge with the Division of Hearings and Appeals
ruled that the state Department of Natural Resources will have to take
another look at the cooling system the utility wants to use for its
$2.3 billion Oak Creek power plant.
DNR officials say the judge is requiring the agency to reissue or
modify the permit for a nearly 2-mile-long water intake pipe at Oak
Creek that would in water to cool the plant and then return it to Lake
Michigan. And a spokeswoman for the environmental group Clean Wisconsin
said the ruling probably means the end of the water intake pipe, saving
aquatic life. The pipe would draw in more than 1 billion gallons of
water a day.
But We Energies officials stress the judge didn’t order a halt to the
construction of the pipe, which is nearly complete. They said they’ll
submit more details to the DNR supporting the intake pipe. We Energies
and the DNR can appeal the judge’s ruling. Spokesmen for the utility
and the DNR said they are considering their options.
