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State warns against shady cryptocurrency sales

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Wisconsin is joining a multi state effort to crack down on shady cryptocurrency sales.

They’re called Initial Coin Offerings, and many of them have turned out to be scams. Those are “investment opportunities” where the makers of a cryptocurrency offer shares, much like a stock sale.

Department of Financial Institutions spokesman George Althoff says the problem is it’s only speculation and if something goes wrong, your money won’t be coming back. “Your money is gone, and because these are not regulated currencies, your chances of getting your investment back are slim to none.”

Althoff says the old adage about “if it sounds too good to be true” is something you should really consider with cryptocurrency. “You want to make sure the investment is on the up and up, so please do your homework.”

“Fraudulent activity involving ICOs and cryptocurrency-related investment products is a significant threat to Main Street investors in Wisconsin,” said Leslie Van Buskirk, Administrator of DFI’s Division of Securities. “Crypto-criminals need to know that DFI is committed to swiftly and effectively protecting investors from schemes and scams involving these products.”

Van Buskirk says the multi state “Operation Cryptosweep” investigated 70 ICOs and is prosecuting 34 cases in connection with those investigations.

Foxconn taps Hammes as lead developer

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Foxconn has picked a company to lead development at it’s Wisconsin campus. A press release from Foxconn Technology Group named Hammes Company as master planner for the Wisconn Valley Science and Technology Park in Racine County.

Founder and managing partner John Hammes is Governor Scott Walker‘s campaign finance chairman for his reelection effort, and held the same job during the GOP governor’s unsuccessful presidential campaign in 2015. Hammes has been a big campaign contributor to Republicans.

He’s a part owner of the NBA’s Milwaukee Bucks and owner of the Northwoods League’s Lakeshore Chinooks.

Hammes Company will serve as Foxconn’s lead partner in planning infrastructure and other development in Racine County.

Foxconn announces ‘Smart City, Smart Future’ competition

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Foxconn Technology Group will put up $1 million in awards and grants over the next three years, to Wisconsin college students who take part in its “Smart City, Smart Future” competition. Foxconn exec Alan Young said the contest will help identify innovativations in energy, mobility, public policy, and technology.

“We’re doing this because we want to seek out the best ideas, for building smart, connected systems and cities,” Young said.

More details will be announced in August at UW Parkside in Kenosha. Foxconn plans to build a $10 billion facility in Mount Pleasant. The plant could employ up 13,000 people in the manufacture of liquid crystal display screens.

 

Walker announces Foxconn contracts

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Governor Scott Walker touted the future Foxconn holds for Wisconsin students, during a stop in Racine on Monday. “There are students in school right now . . . precisely because they want to work at Foxconn and Foxconn related companies.

Walker was at CNH/CASE Industrial to announce that Foxconn has chosen 28 companies to build its factory complex in Racine County, 27 of them based in Wisconsin.

Foxconn said the contracts are worth $100 million, and will create 800 direct and indirect jobs.

Fairbanks Morse lands defense contracts

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Beloit-based Fairbanks Morse scores some big jobs, including a $17.3 million contract servicing U.S. Navy ships.

The multi-year contract which covers all vessels serviced by Military Sealift Command that have Fairbanks-Morse engines is one of the largest contracts from the U.S. Navy in the company’s history.

Fairbanks Morse was also awarded a contract from the Royal Saudi Navy to deliver eight diesel engines to power four frigates. The engines will begin to be manufactured in early 2019 with delivery scheduled for 2020.

The company headquartered on White Avenue in Beloit has been providing diesel engines for the U.S. Coast Guard and Navy for more than 70 years.

WCLO

Website says millennial home buyers like Appleton

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The Appleton area is the top housing market in the country for millennials. According to Realtor.com, 57 percent of home sales are to people in that age group, and that’s the highest percentage nationwide.

Appleton Mayor Tim Hanna says it’s evidence that the city is moving in the right direction. Millennials are interested in homes that can be remodeled. Hanna says that’s good, because they’re looking for homes in established neighborhoods.

Other midwestern hot spots, according to the website, are Des Moines at number 2, Duluth at number 5, and Kalamazoo at number 8.

Mayor Hannah says the city’s focus on supporting the arts really stands out, and draws people. He says when you add in the music scene, the city has a certain vibe that’s attractive to millennials.

WHBY

Company official says Foxconn work to begin soon

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A top Foxconn executive says the company is ready to begin construction on its factory complex in Racine County. “In the next two or three days, you will hear the news that the actual construction of our site in Racine County will begin,” Louis Woo said Wednesday.

Woo said 90 percent of the contractors hired to build the campus are from Wisconsin, and ten percent of them are from Racine County. Woo took part in a panel discussion with Vice President Mike Pence in Milwaukee Wednesday.

Foxconn plans to build a $10 billion facility in Mount Pleasant. The plant could employ up 13,000 people in the manufacture of liquid crystal display screens.

Also on Wednesday, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources approved allowing the City of Racine to divert Lake Michigan water to Mount Pleasant for the Foxconn facility,

Foxconn says it’s been issued air permits for Racine County plant

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Foxconn Technology Group says the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources has issued air permits need for its $10 billion display manufacturing campus planned for Racine County.

That’s according to a press release issued Tuesday by the Taiwanese company.

Foxconn is pleased that the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WDNR) has issued air permits that are needed for the state-of-the-art advanced display manufacturing campus that we are building in Racine County.  Issuance of these permits allows our planning efforts to continue to move forward, and we are excited to see the project make important progress.  The recent public consultation on the permits allowed the public to offer comments, and we were pleased at the strong show of support for our project. 

The Taiwanese electronics giant plans to build the manufacturing facility in Mount Pleasant. It’s contract with the state is the result of a $3 billion dollar incentive package. Foxconn would have to create 13,000 jobs to get the full incentive.

UnityPoint Health sends notice of possible information breach

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Around 16,000 patients are receiving notices that their personal and health information may have compromised in a cybersecurity attack on UnityPoint Health.

According to a public notice from UnityPoint Health – which has locations in Iowa, Illinois and Wisconsin – the phishing attack was discovered in February. UnityPoint officials say they took immediate action to secure email accounts affected by the breach, but impacted individuals should review their account statements for possible fraudulent activity.

You can learn if their emails were affected by the breach by calling UnityPoint Health at 855-331-3612.

Radio Iowa

Bon-Ton stores to enter liquidation after bankruptcy sale

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Efforts to save the parent company of Boston Store and Younkers have run out.

The Bon-Ton company has announced that two liquidators were the winning bidders at a bankruptcy auction that was held Monday and Tuesday. Great American Group and Tiger Capital Group are buying the assets for $775 million. A previous bid from a number of mall owners was rejected by a bankruptcy judge for not being a fair or qualified offer.

In a letter to its employees, Bon-Ton officials say the liquidation would take anywhere from ten to twelve weeks. “Bon-Ton will move forward in a constructive manner to ensure an orderly wind-down of operations that minimizes the impact of this development on our associates, customers, vendors and the communities we serve.”

The liquidation would would affect all Younkers and Boston Store locations remaining in Wisconsin and also close down the Milwaukee headquarters of the company. Those closures will put over 2,200 people out of a job.