The majority of Wisconsin businesses are owned by aging baby boomers who will retire sometime over the next 20 years. What then? The cover story of the print edition of this week's Small Business Times is headlined, "What's your exit strategy?" This special report explores the process of determining the best options for transferring the ownership of companies. SBT will conduct a special M&A Forum for business owners who have not yet devised their plans for "The Next Stage" of their companies. Sign up now to attend the forum.

Affiliated Computer Services Inc. of Dallas, Texas, today announced that it has acquired Bowers & Associates Inc., a Franklin-based provider of care and productivity management services and health care data analytics, for $8 million, plus contingent payments based on future financial performance.
Bowers' trailing 12 months of revenue was approximately $6 million, and the acquisition will be funded by ACS with cash on hand. Bowers currently provides care management services and analytic tools to government and commercial organizations whose employees are covered beneficiaries of health insurance plans. Bowers manages care for approximately 225,000 plan members.
All of Bowers' employees will be retained by ACS, which is a Fortune 500 company.
The ACS Informed Health solutions provide physicians, pharmacists, payers and patients with access to clinical and claims information from a variety of previously unconnected sources, to enable them to make smarter decisions about health care treatment.
"ACS is already a leading provider in the emerging health information exchange market. Bowers will broaden the capabilities of our government healthcare business to include the delivery of best-in-class, accredited care management services for high-risk beneficiaries," said Christopher Deelsnyder, ACS senior vice president and managing director government health care solutions. "ACS clients will benefit from our enhanced ability to help them provide the highest quality of care."
"Leveraging ACS' platform will allow us to pursue large-scale implementations and provide deeper value to our customers," said Tim Bowers, chief executive officer of Bowers & Associates. "The combination of these two skills brings to the healthcare market a unique, flexible offering that can be tailored to meet the client's specific health management needs."
Bowers was a winner of an SBT IQ Award for innovation in 2007.

Milwaukee County Executive candidates Scott Walker and Lena Taylor engaged in their first political debate Thursday and will square off again on Friday, March 7.
The candidates cordially discussed their views on several issues Thursday, including the county's finances, crime, mental health care delivery, unfunded state mandates, transportation and workforce development.
Walker defended his record as county executive on fiscal responsibility. He said public safety was his top priority, and he noted how the Milwaukee County Sheriff's Department has created a lawn enforcement stronghold on Lincoln Memorial Drive, which had problems in the past.
"If you can't feel safe … Nothing else matters," Walker said. "For me, public safety is priority No. 1."
Taylor, the challenger, implied that Walker was behaving like "an ostrich with its head in the sand" and was not doing enough to partner with other levels of government, including the City of Milwaukee, the State of Wisconsin and the congressional delegation.
The debate was held at the Italian Community Center by the Public Policy Forum and the Milwaukee Press Club.
Walker and Taylor will debate attain on Friday, March 7, from 7:30 to 9 a.m., at the University Club of Milwaukee, 924 E. Wells St.
That debate will be presented by the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce (MMAC) and the Human Resource Management Association (HRMA) of Southeastern Wisconsin.
The forum will be moderated by Jeff Mayers, president of WisPolitics.com, a media partner of SBT.
The fee to attend the event is $25 for members of the MMAC and the HRMA and $35 for non-members.
Contact the MMAC to register online for the event or call Debra Jordan at (414) 287-4127.
To help shape the discussion, send suggested debate topics to djordan@mmac.org.

Near south side Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett and the Department of City Development announced two additional workshops for the public to brainstorm and plan for future development in the city's near south side neighborhoods.
The workshops are part of the Near South Side Comprehensive Area Plan, one of 13 area plans underway to cover all 99 square miles of the City of Milwaukee.
"Public input is critical to identifying future growth opportunities and development plans for our neighborhoods," said Mayor Tom Barrett. "Our comprehensive plans have guided much of the growth and renaissance that you're seeing in the Menomonee Valley, Fond Du Lac and North and Third Ward areas of Milwaukee.”
The Near South Side Comprehensive Area Plan will cover 6.3 square miles extending from the edge of the Menomonee Valley on the north, to the Union Pacific Railroad near Cleveland Avenue on the South, West Milwaukee's city limits on the west, and roughly the Kinnickinnic River on the east. The area includes the neighborhoods of Walker's Point, Clock Tower Acres, Historic Mitchell Street, Lincoln Village, Clarke Square, Forest Home Hills, Muskego Way, Silver City and Burnham Park. 
The near south side, which is predominantly Hispanic (56 percent), is one of the fastest-growing neighborhoods of Milwaukee, according to a market study. For more on the market study and all area plans for Milwaukee, visit www.mkedcd.org.
The south side workshops will take place: Tuesday, Feb. 26, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., at Comedy Sportz, 420 S. First St. (focusing on Walker's Point/Fifth Ward); and Wednesday, Feb. 27, from 6 to 8 p.m., at the United Community Center Auditorium, 1007 S. Eighth St.

Is the proposed Great Lakes Water Compact Good for Waukesha County? The Waukesha County Chamber of Commerce will host a forum to discuss that issue on Thursday, Feb. 28, at 7:30 a.m. at the County Springs Hotel.
The soon-to-be considered compact will determine Waukesha's future water options.
The speakers at the forum will include: Peter McAvoy, vice president for environmental health at the Sixteenth Street Community Health Center in Milwaukee; Matt Moroney, executive director of the Metropolitan Builders Association; Waukesha Mayor Larry Nelson; and Waukesha County Executive Dan Vrakas.
RSVPs are requested for the free event by contacting the WCCC at (262) 542-4249 or pwallner@waukesha.org.
An additional forum discussion on the subject, "The Issues and Science behind the Pending Great Lakes Water Compact," will take place Wednesday, March 5, at Discovery World on Milwaukee's lakefront.

RKB Enterprises LLC in Sturtevant will receive a Blight Elimination and Brownfield Redevelopment (BEBR) grant of $325,000 from the Wisconsin Department of Commerce to help remediate a 13-acre site and create 25 new full-time jobs.
RKB is redeveloping the site, which contains an 180,000-square-foot industrial building. The state funds will be used for projects such as additional site investigation and waste water sludge removal. R&B Grinding Company Inc. and Angel Lithographing plan to lease space in the rehabilitated building.
The total project cost is $1.9 million.
"Vacant lands hold great potential for new growth and vitality," said Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle said. "These grants are an excellent way to help grow businesses, create jobs, and energize communities.”
Commerce's BEBR Program provides grant funds to municipalities, local development corporations and the private sector to support assessment, remediation and return of contaminated lands to productive use. Brownfields are abandoned, idle, or underused industrial or commercial properties where redevelopment is hindered by real or perceived contamination. 
For more information about the Brownfields Program, contact Jason Scott at the DOC at (608) 261-7714.

Waukesha State Bank announced it has elected Douglas Hastad and Barbara Weeks Thompson to its board of directors.
Hastad is the president of Carroll College in Waukesha.
Thompson is the president and chief executive officer of The Roberts Group Inc., a Waukesha-based company she founded in 1981 as one of the nation's first full-service advertising agencies dedicated to health care marketing.
In addition to adding two new members, the bank announced that Beverly Chappie, former executive director of the Christoph Memorial YWCA, will serve as an honorary member of the board after actively serving as a director for the last 25 years.
Waukesha State Bank's board roster also includes: Carl Geraldson, secretary-treasurer, Precision Gears Inc.; John Pugh, senior vice president, Waukesha State Bank (retired); Kenneth Riesch, president, R&R Insurance Services Inc.; Daniel Shepard, executive vice president, Waukesha State Bank; Fred Stier, president, Stier Construction Inc.; Dawn Tabat, chief operations officer, Generac Power Systems Inc.; Don Taylor, vice president, Waukesha State Bank; Ty Taylor, president and CEO, Waukesha State Bank; and Ford Titus, president/CEO of ProHealth Care Inc.

Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle has requested federal disaster assistance for 13 southwest and southeastern Wisconsin counties for a major winter storm that hit the area Feb. 5-7.
The counties named in the request are: Dane, Dodge, Green, Jefferson, Kenosha, Lafayette, Milwaukee, Ozaukee, Racine, Rock, Walworth, Washington and Waukesha.
The counties incurred record or near-record snowfalls of 12 to 19 inches on those dates. To receive federal emergency snow assistance, a location must have received a record or near record snowfall.
"This winter has been unusually difficult and has strained many crews who have worked long days and nights to keep the roads clear and safe," Doyle said. "The storm that hit Wisconsin on Feb. 5-7 was among our worst, and it really hit many local budgets hard.  I am requesting federal assistance to help provide relief to our local governments who have incurred much of these costs.”
Doyle is requesting the assistance to pay part of the cost for emergency protective measures, including state and local government operations to protect public health and safety, such as plowing and salting and efforts to prevent damage to public or private property.
Under a declaration, FEMA would provide reimbursement to local and state agencies for 75 percent of the total eligible costs of equipment, contracts and personnel overtime related to the emergency protective measures used to deal with the snow.

The Bradley Center Sports & Entertainment Corp. today announced it has partnered with The Bonham Group of Greenwood Village, Colo., to explore new sponsorships, including potential naming opportunities, for the Milwaukee building.
Bradley Center president and chief executive officer Steve Costello said the ongoing and increasing need to generate additional revenue requires that the Bradley Center consider all of its options.  Costello added that the building will continue to honor the late Jane Bradley Pettit, who donated more than $90 million for its construction in the late 1980s, and her father, the late Harry Bradley.
 "The Bradley Center is a gift to the people of Wisconsin by one of its most beloved benefactors, and we will continue to ensure that Mrs. Pettit's generosity and civic spirit live on in a prominent and respectful way," Costello said. "This was an incredibly difficult decision for our board and leadership team, many of whom knew Mrs. Pettit and know her family now. Nonetheless, the changing economic realities of the sports and entertainment industry require that we explore all available options to help preserve Mrs. Pettit's gift and keep the Bradley Center a vibrant part of a thriving downtown."
Bradley Center board member Michael Hart led a board task force to review sponsorship ideas.
"Absent anyone else funding a new facility, the Bradley Center will continue to be the focus point for downtown entertainment for years to come," Hart said. "As such, we need to explore all possibilities. The Bradley Center is the people's building. We've hosted more than 31 million people for hockey, concerts, basketball, family shows, special sports events, community gatherings and more over the past two decades, and our board and staff have the responsibility to do all we can to ensure the next two decades are just as successful."
The Bradley Center is the third-oldest active NBA arena. It also is one of only six NBA facilities without a corporate name.
"The Bonham Group is in a strong position to help us identify new sponsorships that will help us continue to support our tenants, attract the top touring shows and continue to honor and fulfill Mrs. Pettit's dream of having this building as the jewel of our community and an engine for positive economic development," Costello said.
Bradley Center board chairman Ulice Payne Jr. said, "We've already done a lot, but we need to do more. We must expand our horizons and continue to look for new opportunities to extend the life of the Bradley Center and ensure it remains viable for future generations.  We look forward to working with The Bonham Group and to ensuring the Bradley Center remains a dynamic testament to Jane Bradley Pettit's vision for the future."

John Toussaint has resigned as president and chief executive officer of Appleton-based ThedaCare Inc. and will lead the new ThedaCare Center for Creating Value in Healthcare, an organization dedicated to finding ways to reduce health care costs for providers, businesses and individuals. The program will be based in the Fox Cities. Read more in SBT's daily roundup of headlines from newspapers across the state at www.biztimes.com.

Marquette University recently hosted a forum on health care reform in Wisconsin. To view a photographic slideshow of the event, visit the latest edition of SBT Around Town.

Mimma Megna, owner of Mimma's Café, is bullish on Brady Street. Read more in the latest edition of SBT's Just A Minute.

Busy readers of the BizTimes Daily can get a jumpstart on the weekend ahead by reading the OnMilwaukee.com Weekend Preview. OnMilwaukee.com is a media partner of Small Business Times.

Nurse and consultant Connie Roethel provides some inspiration for busy business people to stay true to their resolutions to get and stay physically fit in today's Milwaukee Biz Blog.

The BizTimes Stock Index lost 1.22 points to close at 151.85 Thursday, and local stocks plummeted again in early morning trading today. The largest local decliners this morning were Bucyrus International Inc. (down $2.10 to $99.900 and Manpower Inc. (down $1.46 to $55.63). The largest local advancers this morning were Fiserv Inc. (up 48 cents to $51.51) and Harley-Davidson Inc. up 40 cents to $37.93). The BizTimes Stock Index was created by Small Business Times and is monitored by North Shore Bank. The index, which measures the stock values of publicly held companies based in southeastern Wisconsin, is updated daily and can be viewed at www.biztimes.com.