The General Motors plant in Janesville has now been sitting idle for a year, but life hasn’t come to a screeching halt in the city. Janesville Gazette business editor Jim Leute says there were many predictions that the city would become a ghost town after the auto manufacturer left, but those have not come to pass yet. In fact, he says there are signs of a slow economic recovery. [Read more...]
Man dies after falling through ice
December 23, 2009 By
One person is dead, after falling through the ice on Madison’s Lake Monona.
It happened near a boat launch on the lake just before four on Tuesday afternoon. Authorities say the man was ice sailing and fell through the thin ice, into open water.
Cold water rescue teams were called in, but the victim was in the water for well over a half hour before being pulled out. He was pronounced dead about two hours later at UW Hospital after resuscitation efforts failed.
The name of the victim has not yet been released.
Contributed by WIBA.
Report looks at Wisconsin health care costs
December 23, 2009 By
A new report suggests the quality and price of health care coverage varies greatly across Wisconsin.
The study from Citizen Action of Wisconsin looked largely at the cost of health insurance in the Badger State. Executive Director Robert Kraig says the report shows a 19-percent gap in prices between the major metro areas.
Wausau, Stevens Point, Eau Claire, and La Crosse are among the cities with the highest cost of care. Madison remains the lowest cost metro area.
Kraig says many areas also saw a high rate of inflation over the last year, with a statewide average rate of nine-percent. Some areas saw costs increase by as much as 11-percent, while others only saw a three-percent hike.
The study also ranked the quality of care in metro areas and compared that to the primary types of providers in those regions. Kraig says areas with a heavy concentration of for-profit insurance companies received the lowest ratings, while areas with regional provider-driven plans had a much higher level of quality.
Kraig says the findings point to the need for health care reform on the national and state levels.
AUDIO: Andrew Beckett reports (1:07)
