Top Stories June 27th

Shareholders Approve Quad Graphics and World Color Press Merger

6/27/10 - Quad Graphics and World Color Press are one step closer to finalzing their merger.  Quad obtained their shareholders approval on Thursday and World Press saw 91-percent of their shareholders approve the merger on Friday. Quad – the nation’s largest privately-held commercial printer and one of Dodge County’s biggest employers – will now go public and be traded on the stock market. The combined operation will have 30-thousand employees. World Color C-E-O Mark Angelson said when the merger was first announced in January that there would not be layoffs in areas that do not overlap – unless they were planning to be made anyway. Angelson said the printing industry is consolidating, and the new deal is meant to combine and highlight the best of both firms. Quad C-E-O Joel Quadracci said at the time that he sees the printing industry as a key component of a much bigger world that also includes digital displays. He says marketers want to use every possible medium to reach their audience. The purchase price is said to be around one-point-three billion dollars. The transaction remains subject to customary closing conditions and approval from the Quebec Superior Court, which will hold a hearing June 28. Quadracci is expected to ring The Opening Bell on the New York Stock Exchange July 7th.

Rain Continues Across the State

6/27/10 - Another round of storms dumped more rain on the state this morning and windy conditions caused some damage. Beaver Dam got about a half-inch during an hour stretch this morning bringing its total for the past week to around 2-inches. At Milford in northern Jefferson County they got just less than an inch this morning but in the past seven days they’ve got 7.7-inches which has led to flooding concerns on the Crawfish River.

Dairy Brunch Moved to Fair Grounds

6/27/10 - The Dodge County Dairy brunch has moved. Scheduled to be at a farm in Iron Ridge the storms that came through Friday night forced organizers to move the event to the Dodge County Fairgrounds. Officials say nothing will change other than the location. The menu for today includes scrambled eggs with ham and cheese, pancakes, an assortment of cheeses, milk, juice and ice cream sundaes. They’ll start serving at 9am and won’t quit until 12:30pm or until everyone is fed. The cost for those 12 and older is $7, ages 5 to 11 is $3, and under that is free.

Child Injured After Getting Pinned by Vehicle

6/27/10 - A young child was injured after getting pinned between a vehicle and a wall in the town of Beaver Dam yesterday. It happened on Jackson Road just after 1pm. Authorities say a vehicle slipped out of gear and pinned the 3-year-old boy against a retaining wall. The child was eventually flown to a hospital in Madison. The incident has been determined to be accidental in nature.

Farnham Street Construction Could Be Delayed in Columbus

6/27/10 - There could be a delay in the proposed re-construction of Farnham Street in Columbus. Residents were hoping to see a resurfacing of the busy southeastern gateway street. However, only one bid was received past week …and that bid was $25 thousand dollars over budget. The street rehabilitation and utility repair will be the subject of a July 6th Public Hearing in Columbus. The initial R-F-P estimated July 12th as a starting date. However, with project costs starting nearly $25 thousand dollars over budget, construction could be delayed.

Hennington Gets Warm Sendoff

6/27/10 - St. Jerome’s Catholic Church and the Columbus community will be loosing a spiritual leader next month. An auditorium full of Columbus area folks gave Pastor Bruce Hennington a warm send off last night. With a program that included brats and ballet many parishioners and friends gathered to see the veteran priest celebrate his retirement. The Ballet troupe, made up of male ushers and volunteers from the parish performed a dance in their “tutu outfits” to the delight of Father Bruce and a packed auditorium. During his 42 years in the Priesthood, Father Hennington served in many posts in Madison and Columbus. His work included working in the legal area for the Madison Diocese. He noted in his final remarks that he has felt very much “at home” with his Columbus parish “family” for the past ten years. Hennington also served as Chaplin for the Columbus Fire Department and was active in Ecumenical groups in the area. In fact, he received a certificate naming him an honorary “Associate Minister” from Faith Lutheran Church as one of the many going away gifts at the program. Starting early in July Father Bruce will be traveling around the country in his motor home…something like in the John Steinbeck novel “Travels with Charley.”

Obama Will Visit Racine on Wednesday

6/27/10 - President Barack Obama's Wednesday visit to Wisconsin will be held at Racine Memorial Hall. The President will hold a town hall meeting on the economy. The event is free and open to everyone, but tickets will be required. You can get them at the Festival Hall Tuesday, starting at 10 a.m. and going on until the tickets run out. Each person can pick up two tickets. The president's last visit to the state was last November when he came here to talk about education reform.

Milwaukee Officer Injured in Shooting

6/27/10 - A Milwaukee police officer has been shot and wounded during a traffic stop Friday night. Milwaukee police report the shooting happened as officers responded to a report of gunfire in the area. The wounded officer's partner returned fire, critically wounding the accused shooter. The two officers reportedly pulled over a car that matched the description of a vehicle involved in the gunfire report. The driver of that car jumped carrying an assault rifle and opened fire. The 34 year old officer is recovering at a Milwaukee hospital.

Explosion Injures Two at Foundry in Milwaukee

6/27/10 - Two workers at Appleton Electric foundry in South Milwaukee were injured in an early morning explosion yesterday. The plant and several nearby homes were evacuated. Fire officials report a dozen departments responded to the fire which involved several buildings. They say the situation was very dangerous because putting water in the wrong place at a foundry fire can cause another explosion. Investigators say the blast happened during one of the company's routine processes. The condition of the two injured workers was not released.

Fourth of July Travel Expected to be Up from Last Year

6/27/10 - The number of 4th of July travelers in Wisconsin is expected to jump almost 20-percent from last year, or 695,000 motorists. AAA-Wisconsin spokeswoman Beth Mosher says this is just above the travel group’s national predictions, and says the increase is due to steady gas prices -- which are at roughly two dollars, 80 cents a gallon. Mosher also says the economy is really starting to turn around from last year. AAA expects most of the state’s travelers will visit classic Wisconsin destinations, such as up north, around Lake Michigan, and of course, the Wisconsin Dells.

Supervisor Comment Goes Viral

6/27/10 - Milwaukee County Supervisor Peggy West says she misspoke, but it may be too late. Her loose grasp of geography has gone viral on the Internet. As she was supporting a suggested boycott of doing business with Arizona, West said that state did not share a border with Mexico. It does. The Thursday meeting was taped by Milwaukee's WTMJ-TV Channel 4. West said she would have to look at the question in more detail if supervisors were talking about Texas, a state that also shares a border with Mexico. She then said she supported the boycott because Arizona is, "a ways removed from the border." Talk show hosts like Limbaugh and O'Reilly had a field day Friday, ridiculing her comments.