Wisconsin's Weekend Morning News
An Energy Price Increase and More Racing Action Coming to Milwaukee
It's time to check in with Rich Kirchen from the Milwaukee Business Journal, and boy, it has been a busy week for you, Rich. You know, we were getting ready for the holiday weekend, so we had to work our tails off. Mm-hmm. Well, we had that heat spell earlier this week. That too. And that air conditioner mine was running like crazy, and I think a lot of people can certainly identify with that, but what concerns me is the story that you had about wheat energies increasing rates say it isn't so. Well, they did file in April for a rate increase, which would start in 2025, 6 to 8 percent range for gas and electric. One of the things they say they need the additional funds for is to increase their infrastructure to build some new lines, provide some service that the company says will support economic development in the region. So there you have it. Their expenses keep going up. They're also spending a lot of money on renewable resources, putting in more solar sources and more wind power, especially solar in recent years. So when will we see evening off, or maybe even a lowering of rates, or is that just a pipe dream? I don't know that that's part of the discussion at the moment, because the fact is that they're going to be investing, they're going to continue investing hundreds of millions, if not billions of dollars in the coming years, because of the increasing demand for electricity with still more electric vehicles, even though that's slowing down some. But then a huge project underway in Mount Pleasant for Microsoft with their data centers, which is going to become, over the next couple of years, actually the largest single customer of wheat energies. Well, then hopefully they'll raise their rates in that arc. Well, Microsoft did file with the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin last week, testimony saying that they would pay their own way for new lines. But Citizens Utility Board, which is a consumer advocacy group, says they'll be watching that because yes, it could trickle down to folks like us. Let's hope not. All right. A lot of people are excited this weekend about the Milwaukee mile and the Indy cars that have been there, but you also had a story about how the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series is not going to come back to the Milwaukee mile next year. What happened? Yes. Well, I'm going to be out at the mile this afternoon, so I'm excited about that. And yeah, the thing is that in order for the Milwaukee mile to get the Indy cars back for the first time in almost a decade, they had to give Indy car preference for dates. And next year's Indy car date, which is actually going to be the week before Labor Day is when the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series wanted to be here and State Fair Park, the owner of Milwaukee mile said, "Sorry, I can't do it," which is not, you know, the NASCAR Craftsman Truck folks wanted to come back. So at least for next year, not going to happen. Sounds like there's still going to be a lot of excitement at the Milwaukee mile. Oh, for sure. Now, what about Coles, one of our favorite businesses here in Wisconsin? Their sales have decreased, but they're not looking bad, are they? Well, their sales went down about 4% versus a year ago. And that's disappointing for the executives who are leading the company right now because they've been hoping to turn things around. That being said, they have figured out ways to increase profits. Profits were up a little bit in the latest quarter, which is literally the bottom line for the company and investors, but he had the long-term concerns continue. Macy's just reported and they actually were doing worse compared to a year ago than Coles. So the department store space continues to struggle. The good news is, as we discussed the last time Coles was a topic on this program, dresses. They're expanding. I know you were really, you were really excited about the dresses coming to the front of the store. You were very excited as well. Yeah, so they launched this concept of more dresses and in a prominent spot in the store when you walk in and they're expanding that to all of their stores. They started out with just some of the stores and the news is, it's going to be in all of the Coles stores. So it must be working. Yes. You know, another thing that happened this summer and we talked about it here on this show and a lot of people were excited. It was at Villa Terrace where they had the laser light show on the lakefront. A lot of people went to that and Villa Terrace now, some people said it's been here a long time but will it continue to be a museum in Milwaukee? Yeah, well, it's actually owned by Milwaukee County and that's the tricky part. There's a nonprofit group that runs not only Villa Terrace but also Charles Ellis Art Museum on the east side on Prospect. And Milwaukee County's been looking at the fact that it costs some money for the county to run these things and should the county actually be in charge. So they've been basically put out requests for proposals to see who might want to take those over. They received proposals from Bartolotta Restaurants and Dynamic Events which is an event company in Milwaukee. Friends of Villa Terrace would like to maintain it as a public museum with public gardens and event space. So the County Parks and Culture Committee is going to look at this issue this coming week and we'll see what happens next. Fabulous place for a party or wedding. Absolutely. It's one of the best if you're up on the outer plaza there, the porch so to speak. Yeah, you have a great view of the lakefront and then the garden below. Yeah, we need to treasure that space. There's no question about that. All right. Now, a lot of people like their fried chicken. KFC is going to be closing some restaurants. How close are they to right here in the greater Milwaukee area? Yeah, most of them. They're a franchisor that's based elsewhere, I think, in Dallas. Anyway, EYM Group, they're closing locations around the country because they have not been able to reach an agreement with KFC as a franchisee and it happens to affect locations in Wisconsin. The closest one to Metro Milwaukee is in Watertown. The others are further outstate so it's not like the KFCs in Metro Milwaukee will be closing down. They'll get your extra crispy. You know what? I love their coleslaw. Nobody makes coleslaw like KFC. All right. Finally, let's talk about something everybody loves and that's the Packers. How valuable are they? Well, you know, the Packers, you can't put a price on the value of the Packers in Wisconsin, right? It's a way of life. It's part of our culture. But according to Forbes magazine, the valuation of the Packers, if the Packers were for sale, which they aren't now and never will be, is $5.6 billion and that's $1 billion more than a year ago, which makes them the 13th most valuable NFL franchise. So actually the Dallas Cowboys are worth $10 billion according to Forbes. Well, that's because they have those cheerleaders. Hey, no comments, Rich Kirchand, it is always great to have you here. Have a great Labor Day. Thanks.