February 12, 2012

Green Bay Blizzard will fold without investment help

Bob Landsee explains current state of the Blizzard

Bob LandseeIf the Green Bay Blizzard can find two new investors, they’ll likely be one of the teams to compete in the new AF1 league next season.

The indoor football team has until Oct. 10 to find the two investors, who collectively must kick in roughly $300,000 to make it a go.  Bob Landsee, who is the Blizzard head coach and part owner, made the announcement at a news conference in Green Bay this morning.

The Blizzard hasn’t submitted an application for inclusion in the AF1 because of questions surrounding the team’s investors.

Audio: MP3 Bob Landsee explains current state of the Blizzard.

The current ownership of the Blizzard consists of three groups.  There’s a Wausau group, a Green Bay group (including former Packers player and Blizzard coach Brian Noble and Landsee), as well as former NFL quarterback Dave Krieg. [Read more...]

Signing up for swine flu shots

Today is the first day health providers can begin applying for the H1N1 vaccines. For the last couple of weeks the state of Wisconsin has been certifying public health agencies to be recipients of the upcoming H1N1 flu vaccines.  Health Services Department spokesman Seth Boffeli says 60,000 doses of the 3.4 million distributed will come to Wisconsin in the first week of shipment. Boffeli says they are working to determine the best use of the first run of vaccines.

AUDIO: Seth Bofelli (MP3 :14)

The vaccines ship the first week of August. The CDC is recommending certain groups be vaccinated first including school-aged children, pregnant women and people with underlying health conditions.

Chandra Lynn-WIBA contributed to this report

Communicating about Chinese classes

Chinese classes will now be voluntary in two of Janesville’s elementary schools after concerns were voiced by parents and teachers about the required language classes. It was a mixed reaction to the mandate at a school board meeting Tuesday.

AUDIO: Community reacts (MP3 :26)

Although the school board previously approved the program in July, members say they didn’t know Chinese was mandatory for certain grades.

Director of Instruction Donna Behn says she contacted principals about the mandatory initiative last summer but says with staffing cuts, including a school secretary and curriculum coordinator, the notice didn’t get its proper attention.

“I was trying to put too many balls in the air and I dropped one,” says Behn.

The board voted Tuesday 5-to-2 with one abstention to change the classes from mandatory to voluntary. Administrators have two weeks to decide how best to implement it.

Contributed by Beth Wheelock-WCLO

Opposition to utility bills going up

The state Public Service Commission held public hearings simultaneously both Tuesday afternoon and evening Madison, Appleton, Milwaukee and Racine. The heard from a lot of folks complaining about We Energies rate hike request in a down economy. Senior citizen Beverly Lehman in Appleton has to pay her monthly bill plus what she still owes from last winter out of her social security calling it “a sacrifice.”

 

Racine’s Jim Bell spoke against the proposed increase saying his company Conway Freight made cuts to survive and get back to profitability.

AUDIO: Jim Bell (MP3 :18)

The utility’s claims the requested rate hike of 7-percent is because of declining power sales, new plant, higher transmission and rising employee pension costs.

Technical glitches in the phone conferencing will lead to another public hearing at a later date.

Contributed by Tom Karkow-WRJN

Tauscher works out for Chiefs

Mark TauscherAccording to the website profootballtalk.com, the Kansas City Chiefs have worked out former Green Bay Packers tackle Mark Tauscher on Tuesday.

Tauscher is returning from surgery on his left knee after suffering an ACL injury last December.  Tauscher (pictured) wasn’t expected to return until October.

Packers general manager Ted Thompson this summer said he wouldn’t rule out re-signing Tauscher, but there’s been no indication that the Packers are currently interested in Tauscher.