U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood and Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle today announced $46.5 million in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds for work to continue on the state’s high-speed rail system.
Doyle and LaHood spoke today in Watertown, where a new high-speed rail station will be constructed at the site of a former grocery store..
“Because of the vision and investment of President Obama and Secretary LaHood, Watertown, Madison, Milwaukee and all of Wisconsin will see the tremendous economic benefits of high speed passenger rail,” Doyle said. “In the next two and a half years, over 5,500 construction workers, engineers, machine operators and others will be working hard to make track improvements, build train stations, and improve the roads around these tracks.  You are going to start seeing a lot of hard hats and neon vests around here and that is good news for everyone in this state.”
“President Obama’s bold vision for high-speed rail is a game-changer for transportation in Wisconsin and the United States,” LaHood said. “This undertaking is not only creating good jobs and reinvigorating our manufacturing base, it’s also going to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels.”
Doyle and LaHood were joined at today’s announcement by Wisconsin Transportation Secretary Frank Busalacchi, Watertown Mayor Ron Krueger and Madison Mayor Dave Cieslewicz.
Under the grant agreement, the Wisconsin Department of Transportation will complete preliminary engineering and final design work, conduct program management activities and complete environmental management plans for the Milwaukee to Madison high-speed rail corridor, including work for the Watertown and Madison stations.
Construction of the rail segment between Madison and Milwaukee will begin this year.  By 2013, people will be able to ride in modern, Wisconsin-made train cars from Madison and Milwaukee to Chicago and beyond.
In January, Doyle announced Wisconsin will receive $823 million in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds to build high-speed rail service to connect its centers of commerce and create thousands of jobs.  Wisconsin is receiving $810 million to build high-speed passenger rail service between Milwaukee and Madison, $12 million to improve service between Chicago and Milwaukee, and $1 million to make final determinations on a route between Wisconsin and the Twin Cities - the next step toward connecting Chicago, Milwaukee and Madison with the Twin Cities.
Wisconsin has already received a $5.7 million Recovery Act grant, which was the first installment of the $823 million. Those funds were for environmental assessments of planned new stations between Milwaukee and Madison.
Editor’s note: BizTimes will have more about the political ramifications of today’s announcement in the MKEpolitics bulletin later this afternoon.

The number of Americans applying for initial state unemployment insurance benefits fell 11,000 to 457,000 in the week ended July 24, the U.S. Labor Department reported today.
The four-week average of initial claims - a better gauge of employment trends than the volatile weekly number - fell 4,500 to 452,500, reaching its lowest level since May.
The number of Wisconsin residents filing for first-time unemployment insurance claims fell to 12,492 last week, the lowest weekly total since the week of May 29.
The total of first-time filers in Wisconsin dropped from 14,483 in the previous week and from 18,510 a year ago. The total number of weekly claims for unemployment in Wisconsin dropped to 115,611 from 123,553 in the previous week and 157,530 a year earlier.
Wisconsin’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for June was 7.9 percent, which was better than the national rate of 9.5 percent.

Wisconsin Energy Corp. today reported second quarter net income of $88.7 million, or 75 cents per share, up from $63.7 million, or 54 cents per share, in the same period a year ago.
The Milwaukee-based parent company of We Energies reported quarterly operating revenues of $890 million, up from $835.7 million a year earlier.
Wisconsin Energy's second quarter performance was helped by a return to more normal weather and additional income from the company's Power the Future plan. Reported income from the Power the Future assets increased by 11 cents a share, driven by a $1.2 billion investment in the new Oak Creek generating unit. The unit began commercial service in February 2010.
Residential electricity use rose by 1.7 percent from the second quarter a year ago. Consumption of electricity by large commercial and industrial customers grew by 14.3 percent, while use of electricity by small commercial and industrial customers increased by 4.7 percent.
"We're clearly seeing growth in the region, and over the past three months, stronger economic activity has been evident across virtually every sector of our customer base," said Gale Klappa, Wisconsin Energy's chairman, president and chief executive officer. "Our Power the Future investments - adding modern, efficient capacity to our generating fleet - are providing real benefits to our customers and our stockholders. Our revised earnings guidance for 2010 is in the range of $3.70 to $3.75 a share from continuing operations.”

Modine Manufacturing Co. today reported fiscal first quarter net income of $3.1 million, or 7 cents per share, which was a vast improvement from a net loss of $14.5 million, or 45 cents per share, in the same period a year ago.
The Racine-based company’s quarterly net sales grew to $345.2 million from $253.6 million a year earlier.
The company’s sales were driven primarily by a recovery within the agricultural and mining markets in North and South America and the North American Class 8 commercial vehicle market, as well as higher exports from premium automotive customers in Europe.
"Our company's strong first quarter fiscal 2011 performance reflects the significant progress we have made over the previous year," said Modine president and chief executive officer Thomas Burke. "With the higher sales, we are clearly seeing the benefits of an increase in operating leverage, which drove our improved gross margin and contributed to net earnings during the quarter. Sales improved dramatically as a number of our markets, notably the off-highway and commercial vehicle markets in North and South America and the premium automotive market in Europe, continued to strengthen. Based on the strong first quarter results and improved visibility with respect to our customers' production plans, we are raising our fiscal 2011 sales guidance to a year-over-year increase of approximately 16 to 20 percent.”
Looking forward, Burke said, “The trends we see provide us further confidence that we are on track to attain our mid-term goal of an 11 to 12 percent return on average capital employed by the end of fiscal 2013. When I look beyond 2013, we remain very excited about the growth drivers in the business, which include the need for reduced emissions, greater fuel efficiency and higher building energy efficiency standards. We believe we are well positioned to capitalize on these drivers with our advantaged product portfolio and next-generation thermal management technologies to support our customers around the globe."

Dresser Waukesha, a manufacturer of natural gas engines, has added a fourth model to its 275GL Series of gas compression engines.
The new 12-cylinder 12V275GL+, like its 16-cylinder counterpart, is a high-performance model with low nitrogen oxide (NOx) capability and a strong power rating.
Like other 275GL Series engines, the new 12V275GL+ is designed to simplify and improve packaging, operation and service. It is equipped with an enhanced version of Dresser Waukesha's ESM(R) engine control system to optimize engine performance and maximize uptime. The 12V275GL+ also features a hydroelastic damper that reduces service costs by eliminating the need for damper fluid sampling.
"The 12V275GL+ is the newest engine in the Waukesha product lineup that is designed to address current and future emissions concerns while still providing the higher power and application flexibility our customers have come to expect," said Lloyd Beauchamp, vice president-gas compression sales for Dresser Waukesha.

TDS Telecommunications Corp. is now offering managedUC, a Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) managed service utilizing the Cisco Unified Communications (UC) 500 system for small business.
The Cisco UC 500 system is designed especially for small businesses with locations that have up to 100 employees. Madison-based TDS is able to offer managedUC to businesses located throughout the United States, within and beyond its normal service boundaries.
“We’re pleased to offer this solution to our customers. It’s a perfect fit,” says Tom Canfield, vice president of commercial marketing and product development for TDS. “Cisco is the world-wide leader in data networking and VoIP products. Offering the Cisco UC 500 system reflects a significant commitment and investment by TDS in Cisco. It will enable us to offer voice and data solutions, on the customer's network, allowing us to meet their communication needs for years to come.”
With the new service offering, TDS is helping small businesses function more like Fortune 500 companies, without the expense, Canfield said.
“Businesses will discover they’re able to quickly access and act on information at any time, anywhere, on a variety of devices,” Canfield said. “Whether working from the office, home, or remotely, employees’ work is performed over a highly-secure connection. It means employees can do their job more effectively and efficiently, which just might be the key to out pacing the competition.”

The stock market is on pace to lose ground for the second consecutive day.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average began the day with a rally but then faded as the noon hour approached, slipping by more than 80 points.
The largest local decliners in the BizTimes Stock Index this morning were Kohl’s Corp. (down $1.03 to $46.87) and Wisconsin Energy Corp. (down $1.00 to $54.36). The largest local advancers this morning were Modine Manufacturing Co. (up $1.13 to $10.06) and Weyco Group Inc. (up 11 cents to $24.90).

A northern Wisconsin real estate investment company fighting to avoid bankruptcy has surrendered ownership of five Wausau-area apartment complexes to M&I Bank to avoid foreclosure. Shedding the buildings wasn't the first choice for Eliason Inc., but it became necessary as part of an effort to downsize and repay loans. Read more in today’s edition of the BizTimes Wisconsin Morning Headlines bulletin.

According to new data produced by the Business Health Care Group, (BHCG), self-funded member organizations of the group saw a decrease in health care costs of 5.4 percent per health plan member when compared to 2005 base-year costs. Read more in this week's BizTimes Bubbler.

Chippewa Falls-based Cray Inc. sells its supercomputers for $550,000 to $150 million. Cray also helps to enhance Wisconsin’s reputation as a preferred destination for high-tech companies, according to Tom Still, author of today’s Milwaukee Biz Blog.