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Barron County Judge rejects Tavern League challenge to Gov. Evers health order

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A Barron County judge has denied a request by the Tavern League to put a stop to Governor Tony Evers order limiting the number of people that can be inside a business or establishment. 

The League filed that lawsuit last week and got a temporary restraining order after a complaint that the order unfairly targets bars and taverns. 

However, Judge James Babler rejected both that lawsuit and the original restraining order, saying that there was no evidence of harm on the part of the Tavern League or the people who filed the lawsuit. 

Evers responded today to the news, saying “This critically important ruling will help us prevent the spread of this virus by restoring limits on public gatherings. This crisis is urgent. Wisconsinites, stay home. Limit travel and going to gatherings, and please wear a face covering whenever you have to go out.”

WEDC denies tax credits to Foxconn for 2019

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State trade officials say Foxconn will not be getting any tax breaks, for work done in 2019. The Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation announced on Monday that Foxconn had failed to meet its contracted goals for qualifying for those state aids.

The original contract, touted by President Donald Trump and then Governor Scott Walker, would have given the Taiwanese tech firm $4 billion to build a top of the line LCD plant in southeast Wisconsin.

Since then the company has repeatedly scaled back its plans, and WEDC Secretary Melissa Hughes said the company won’t see any more funding unless they come back to renegotiate a contract with the state, the Journal Sentinel reports.

According WEDC, Foxconn has hired only 281 people eligible for tax credits and has made only $300 million in capital expenditures, not fulfilling the goals set out in the contract signed by Foxconn and the state.

The Journal Sentinel reports that in April, Foxconn stated publicly that it had hired enough workers to be eligible for tax credits.

Facebook set to ban all political advertising after election day

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Facebook is continuing to take steps to limit the sort of content it allows on its platform, and says it will stop allowing political advertising once the election season is over.

Madison College marketing professor Steve Noll says these actions might be too little too late for the company as it looks at an uncertain future after the election.

“I really hope that you know Facebook can do the right thing, that history is going to be able to look back on them 30 years from now and show that they are on the right side of history, but I don’t know. I’m really not necessarily seeing that that’s their behavior.”

Facebook has come under fire for allowing false and misleading ads on its platform, and has only recently started kicking dangerous groups like Q-Anon and Holocaust deniers.

Noll says it seems like Facebook wants the clout for banning ads, while still taking political money. 

“These political ads cost money to run and Facebook shareholders want that revenue. It’s a very complicated problem of dancing the fine line between ethics and the bottom line for shareholders.”

Noll says it’s a good first step, but that the company needs to tread carefully in the months ahead as talks start to brew over breaking up big tech firms.

Audit finds fewer than one percent of calls for UI benefits were answered

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More than 93 percent of phone calls to the Department of Workforce Development for unemployment insurance claims went unanswered during the first 3-1/2 months of the coronavirus pandemic.

The nonpartisan Legislative Audit Bureau Friday released its review of the Unemployment Insurance call centers.

The audit found that from March 15, 2020, through June 30, 2020, 38.3 million of the 41.1 million total phone calls to the call centers were blocked or received busy signals.

That means only about one in every 200 calls placed the Department of Workforce Development’s call centers during the period were ever answered.

From April 6 through August 22 only 6.6 percent of initial claims were filed by individuals who telephoned the call centers.

“The spike in calls and initial claims that preceded the Governor’s shutdown was a clear forecast of the tsunami of calls and claims that DWD should have absolutely been able to expect when the stay-at-home order was issued,” said state Representative Samantha Kerkman (R-Salem Lakes), the co-chair of the legislature’s Joint Audit Committee, in a press release.

The release of the audit comes just one week after DWD Secretary Caleb Frostman resigned, at the request of Governor Tony Evers.

“DWD continues to work to overcome the unique challenges presented throughout the COVID-19 pandemic and is committed to continuous improvement to better serve Wisconsin residents,” said DWD Transition Director Amy Pechacek in a statement. “We appreciate the Legislative Audit Bureau’s review and recommendations provided through this audit, which will improve the transparency and oversight of UI operations both during and after this public health emergency.”

Tommy Bartlett Show in Wisconsin Dells closes permanently

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A perennial Wisconsin Dells attraction is closing down, permanently.

The owners of the Tommy Bartlett Show say the ski show is not coming back next year. President Tom Diehl says that the loss of revenues from being closed for the 2020 season makes it impossible to reopen for 2021.

The move will not affect the year round Exploratory Museum in the Dells.

The ski show had been in operation since 1953.

‘Forbes’ 400 – Menard is wealthiest in Wisconsin, Faulkner the biggest gainer

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While many working families and small businesses in Wisconsin continue to struggle, others in the state are doing quite well.

Forbes annual survey of America’s 400 wealthiest includes eight from Wisconsin. Home improvement magnate John Menard Junior leads the list here, with a fortune of $14.2 billion. Kohler Company chairman and CEO Herbert Kohler Junior and his family have a net worth of $8.3 billion.

ABC Supply Company founder and chair Diane Hendricks has a net worth of $7 billion. Rounding out Wisconsin’s wealthiest, Epic Systems medical software founder Judy Faulkner, three heirs of the S.C. Johnson fortune, and Cargill heir James Cargill II.

According to the Forbes ranking, Faulkner is among the 15 biggest gainers. Her wealth grew by 1.7 billion, increasing her fortune to 5.5 billion.

Faulkner founded Epic in her basement in 1979, first joining the Forbes 400 in 2012 at number 285 and now ranking 115th on the list topped by Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos with a net with of 179 billion.
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Civil engineers give Wisconsin infrastructure a ‘C’ grade

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Wisconsin’s infrastructure has received a mediocre grade. The Wisconsin Section of the American Society of Civil Engineers 2020 Report Card gives the state an overall grade of ‘C’ – or mediocre – in 13 categories of infrastructure.

Water and energy infrastructure systems have received significant investments but roads and transit received the lowest grades in the report, each earning a ‘D+.’

Those roads cost drivers 6 billion dollars annually from vehicle wear and tear, wasted fuel due to congestion and costs of crashes.

The full report can be found at infrastructurereportcard.org/state-item/wisconsin/

Seehafer News/WOMT

Be on the look out for scam ‘missed delivery’ messages, says BBB

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The Better Business Bureau is warning of an increase in fake and fraudulent delivery service messages.

BBB Wisconsin president Jim Temmer says they’ve gotten reports of scammers sending out fake messages implying that you’ve missed a package, or that your shipment has been delayed. Those links will take you to a phony website that will just collect data from you. 

“They’re looking for personal information, they’re looking for phone numbers, they might even be looking for bank accounts.” 

They won’t stop with just your username and password, Temmer says. 

“And you click on that and it’ll take you to a screen, and then they’ll say ‘we have to verify it’s you’ so that sounds legitimate. ‘Please give us your name, address.’ They might ask you those questions like ‘what’s your mother’s maiden name?’  ‘What street did you grow up on?’ All those things that you use for real legitimate accounts as security.”

The issue is those sorts of questions can also be used to break into your other online accounts by attempting to change your password.

Temmer says they’ve seen scammers leave phony ‘missed delivery’ notes on doors to get people to call in to a phony number. 

“They might just say ‘What are the times you’re not going to be home? We won’t deliver.’ Now you just told the scammer when you’re not going to be home, so are they going to come home at that point and break in your house? Who knows but you’re giving out information to crooks, which you shouldn’t be.”

If you get a message about a missed or mishandled delivery, call the service provider directly with a trusted number to find out what’s going on. 

Senator Baldwin pushes for fresh pandemic funding for small businesses

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Senator Tammy Baldwin says she wants to restart small business in Wisconsin with more federal funding to keep them afloat during the pandemic. 

Baldwin says the legislation would step in where the P P P and other pandemic funding has fallen away. “The RESTART Act is bipartisan legislation that answers the calls of the restaurants, gyms, hotels, retailers, concert venues and other businesses impacted by this economic crisis.”

Baldwin says the Trump Administration dropped the ball, and that help needs to come quickly to save small businesses. 

“President Trump let the Paycheck Protection Program expire, leaving many small businesses without a lifeline. We must take action now and provide more resources to the hardest hit small businesses in Wisconsin.”

The bill is currently backed by both Republican and Democrat senators. The Senate is also scheduled to come back into session later this month to consider legislation.

Central Wisconsin Airport gets 16 million dollars to upgrade runways

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Central Wisconsin Airport in Mosinee is getting 16 million dollars to repair and replace one of its runways.

Airport Director Brian Grefe says there’s no question the runway has reached the end of its life span, as some of the pavement dates back to when the airport opened in 1969.

“Maintenance expenses on this runway have been increasing year-over-year just with that pavement deteriorating and in still needing to meet FAA safety standards.”

Grefe says those improvements will mean long-term stability for the facility.

“Ensure that we maintain a facility that operates 24/7. And that type of reliability of something that airlines really value and look towards.”

CWA services wide sections of central and northern Wisconsin, and is on a priority list of airports that are getting FAA funding.

 

WSAU