1410 WIZM

No one wants to meet a grumpy snow plow driver on the road. Or get manhandled by a disgruntled jailer. Or get snapped at by a snarly 911 operator. But on the job morale for public workers could be an issue in some parts of Wisconsin.  Because, says La Crosse county administrator Steve O'Malley, some county executives and administrators around the state will have near complete control over employee working conditions once governor Walker's controversial collective bargaining law takes effect.   O'Malley says morale of employees was one of his considerations in seeking contract extensions for eight of the county's public unions. County board workers overwhelmingly approved the two year extensions last week.

This is supposed to be the biggest time of year. For basketball brackets. And vasectomies. Urologists say vasectomies spike by 50% at the beginning of the division one college basketball tournament. Actually, there's several times of year when elective surgery scheduling jumps, says Matt Kabliska, surgery administrator at Gundersen Lutheran, especially during Christmas vacation. 

 

And, yes, Kabliska says, scheduled surgeries have gone up a bit this month. He's not sure if that's necessarily related to college basketball.

It's early in the project stages and it has already ruffled some feathers........

American Transmission Company has plans for a high-voltage transmission line in western Wisconsin that would address electric system reliability issues locally and in the Midwest, provide economic savings and support renewable energy policy. The area, from the LaCrosse area to northern Dane County, is being considered as a possible corridor for the approximately 150-mile line.

Sarah Justice says negative comments like the ones they heard last week in Lafarge.......are needed ones as they try to find 2 lines over a 3700 mile area in which to place the high voltage lines.

The Badger Coulee Transmission Line, if approved by state regulators, would not be in service until 2018; in fact, ATC said it does not expect to file an application for the line until 2013. Informational meetings began in fall 2010. A second round of open houses will be held this summer.

Between health insurance and retirements, the Lacrosse School District looks to save about $3.7 million next year. But reductions in state aid to the tune of $4.9 million are coming as well. So the outcome Superintendent Jerry Kember?A one million dollar hole.

 

But Kember says that million dollars may not stay around for awhile. There are a couple of solutions according to Kember.There are some funds in coffers that have yet to be used.

 

Kember also says that the savings in benefits are a one time tool........and the district won't be in that situation a year from now as reducing budgets is a one time deal and the district will be in a budget cutting mode once again