Wisconsin won’t name businesses with COVID-19 cases

July 7, 2020 11:11 am Leave a comment

The Wisconsin Department of Health Services is retreating from its original plans to name businesses and other places where there have been at least two confirmed cases of the coronavirus after businesses groups and Republican lawmakers came out as opposed to the idea.

Tagged with: Chris Kapenga coronavirus Gov. Tony Evers Jim Steineke Wisconsin Department of Health Services Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce

Field hospital in West Allis, costing more than $15 million, unneeded so far but still seen as a wise precaution

July 7, 2020 10:06 am Leave a comment

Brian Nord, a member of Local 161 of the North Central States Regional Council of Carpenters and employee of Riley construction, works recently on a treatment unit at the recently built COVID-19 overflow center built at State Fair Park in West Allis. (Photo courtesy of Local 161)

The field hospital built at a cost of more than $15 million in West Allis to handle a possible overflow of COVID-19 patients was always likened to an insurance policy.

Tagged with: coronavirus West Allis

Small-business aid went beyond hard-hit companies, data show

July 6, 2020 3:41 pm Leave a comment

The government identified roughly 650,000 mostly small businesses and nonprofits on Monday that received taxpayer money from a program that not only most likely helped prevent the job market meltdown from growing worse but also benefited some politically connected firms.

Tagged with: Payroll Protection Program stimulus

Milwaukee evictions up 26% in June

July 6, 2020 2:53 pm Leave a comment

Milwaukee County landlords filed nearly 1,500 eviction actions in June, an increase of 26% from last year, as the COVID-19 pandemic tightens the squeeze on renters.

Tagged with: City of Milwaukee evictions

Vos company receives $150K-$350K in coronavirus loans

July 6, 2020 12:45 pm 1 Comment

Wisconsin Assembly Republican Speaker Robin Vos' popcorn company received as much as hundreds of thousands of dollars through a federal small business lending program intended to support the economy during the coronavirus pandemic, according to data released Monday.

Tagged with: Payroll Protection Program Robin Vos stimulus

Houdini-inspired sculpture returns to Appleton

July 6, 2020 11:31 am Leave a comment

The well-known sculpture "Metamorphosis,” which once adorned Houdini Plaza, is moved to a trail head along the Fox River at the south end of Appleton’s Lawe Street bridge on June 29. (Wm. Glasheen/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin/The Post-Crescent via AP)

The "Metamorphosis" sculpture that disappeared from Houdini Plaza a decade ago has reappeared at a plaza along the Fox River at the south end of the Lawe Street bridge.

Tagged with: Appleton The Boldt Co.

Q&A: The nuts and bolts of the Paycheck Protection Program

July 6, 2020 11:21 am Leave a comment

A price sign is displayed on June 25 at a retail store as a store employee wears a mask while working in Niles, Illinois. Small businesses can still get help from the government’s coronavirus relief plan after Congress extended the Paycheck Protection Program until Aug. 8. The program, which had been scheduled to expire last week, still has more than $130 billion left after giving out more than 4.8 million loans since its April 3 start. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh, File)

Small businesses can still get help from the government's coronavirus-relief plan after Congress extended the Paycheck Protection Program until Aug. 8.

Tagged with: coronavirus Payroll Protection Program stimulus

Judge orders Dakota Access pipeline shut down pending review

July 6, 2020 10:07 am Leave a comment

Morton County Sheriff's Department, law enforcement and protesters clash in November 2016 near the site of the Dakota Access pipeline in Cannon Ball, North Dakota A federal judge sided on Monday with the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and ordered the Dakota Access pipeline to shut down until more environmental review is done. (Morton County Sheriff's Department via AP, File)

A federal judge on Monday sided with the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and ordered the Dakota Access pipeline to shut down until the completion of further environmental review.

Tagged with: Dakota Access pipeline Environment