WSAU News

NEWS BLOG (WSAU) A small yellow slip of paper was slipped inside my front door at home. It was at my feet when I came home from work.

Church plant.

A group of people from my neighborhood want to start a new church for the neighborhoods near downtown Wausau. If you’d like to be a part of it, an email address was provided.

The first question that entered my mind was ‘why’? Within walking distance of my home there are many churches. Pick your denomination; Catholic, Lutheran, Methodist, Anglican, Scientologist, United Church of Christ, Universalist-Unitarian, Presbyterian – you name it, we’ve got it. And many of the old downtown churches are heritage congregations with older buildings that are too big for the congregations they serve. Do we need another church?

The answer is maybe.

If there are sufficient numbers of people who’s religious faith and practices aren’t covered by existing churches, by all means they should start their own church. This new ‘church planting’ group says their beliefs are in the infallibility of scripture. I’m not enough of a theologian to know whether that is an irreconcilable conflict with the many churches that are already in our area. I agree with FDR when he outlined his ‘four freedoms’ in his 1941 State of the Union address. The freedom to worship is absolute, “each according to the dictates of their own conscience.” By all means, start a new church if the existing ones don’t meet your needs.

This is foreign to me. The only religious label I wear willingly is “Christian” – a follower of Christ. Other labels are attached to the churches I attend; I’m less willing to have them attached to me. I attend a Methodist church, where I am a registered member of the congregation. As a matter of definition, I’m a Methodist. But I’ve attended and been a member of a U.C.C. church, a Baptist church, and I was a regular attendee of a multi-denominational worship service in college. I feel a closeness to the Catholic church because of a friendship I’d developed with a priest many years ago. I doubt God cares about the smaller points, which are mostly differences in worship styles, which distinguish one church from another. Even if a church is categorically wrong on a matter of doctrine, which is an area that I’m not qualified to judge, I imagine the Almighty would be forgiving of congregational mistakes and would take joy in what is done right. If God has an immeasurable capacity to forgive the repentant, surely that extends to churches as well.

I’m open to persuasion as to whether a new church is needed.

However, I do have a concern. That will be the topic of tomorrow’s blog.

Chris Conley
Operations Manager, Midwest Communications-Wausau
5.16.12

NEWS BLOG (WSAU) The owner of a gas station gets to keep only 10-cents for every gallon of gas they sell. It’s 7-cents if you pay with a credit card, where the merchant has to pay some of the cost for processing the transaction. And, from that small revenue stream, the gas station owner must replenish their stock (i.e. buy more fuel to refill their storage tanks.)

For a gas station owner, the money isn’t in selling gas. The profit margin is much higher on the convenience-store items or on auto service and repairs.

That’s why it’s unconscionable for the people in Plover to rip off the BP station that accidentally mis-programmed its gas pumps. Mid-grade gasoline was being dispensed for 37-cents a gallon – instead of the intended price of $3.79. The gas station made a mistake. Should the price for an accident be such a massive financial hit?

Consider this: at a 10-cents-a-gallon profit margin, the gas station needs to sell 34-gallons just to break even for every one-gallon that was pumped at the mistaken price. If you have a mid-sized car like mine and filled up with 16-gallons, the gas station needs to sell 544-gallons at the regular price before they’re made whole. If just a-dozen drivers took part in this rip-off, the station would have to pump an entire tanker-truck-full at no profit before they’d make up the loss.

One farmer commented, “If I knew about it, I’d bring all my farm trucks down there to fill up.” Really? Suppose that same farmer’s corn was accidentally credited to their account at $41 a bushel instead of the real price of $416. Oh well, it’s a mistake, right? Should the farmer simply be expected to absorb all the agricultural overhead of bringing the crop to market because of a mistake? Should the profit from the rest of their acreage be lost?

I have a suggestion for drivers in Plover who took advantage of the situation. Go back to the BP today. Give a $50 bill to the person behind the register and tell them, “I’m ashamed of what I did, and I’m sorry.”

Let’s see if anyone does it.

Chris Conley
Operations Manager, Midwest Communications-Wausau
5.15.12

NEWS BLOG (WSAU)   It was late on a summer afternoon as I looked out the train window Amtrak’s southbound Silver Meteor bound for Miami. In the dimming daylight the train was slowing to a stop at the Rocky Mount, North Carolina station. As in many smaller communities, the old train station was in the center of town.

Downtown looked quiet; a little dreary. There were some vacant storefronts. A handful of passengers got on. The train whistle blew, and we were off again. A few miles down the tracks was the big Wal Mart parking lot, full of cars.

I’d seen the same thing a stop earlier in Petersberg, Virginia… I’d see it again further down the line in Salisbury.

I say this not to criticize Wal Mart. I shop there. And I appreciate the low prices. I even like the convenience of being able to shop for groceries in a super-center where I buy other hard-goods. (I certainly don’t write out of job-related self-interest. Wal Mart spends almost no money on local radio; they are a network-only sponsor. If anything, they’re a tough competitor to many smaller, local businesses who are sponsors.)

But Wal Mart often gets an unfair shake when they appear in front of local city councils and zoning boards. Conditions are put on them that would never be considered for other businesses. It’s happening in Merrill. A group of local citizens have all kinds of conditions for a proposed super-center there, including that Wal Mart find a buyer for their old store before opening a new one.

Wal Mart should be subject to the same approval criteria as anyone else who wants to set up shop in a community. No more, no less. Some of the discussion in Merrill is completely legitimate – like whether the new store will face west on Highway 64, or whether it will be built north-south. Those kinds of site-plan reviews are regularly subject to zoning modification. Traffic impact on nearby roads and intersections is also a legitimate area for discussion. But Wal Mart has a long history of facing other, unreasonable demands when it comes into a community. In many cities Wal Mart gets saddled with unique environmental requirements, special size-of-store considerations, unreasonably large parking lot and run-off rules, and sometimes even limits on what they can-and-can’t sell (ie, a ‘carve out’ to protect other merchants in town). Merrill should resist those temptations.

There are two things to remember in the Wal Mart debate. First, if you believe people vote with their dollars, then Wal Mart is very popular. No one has to shop there. Consumers have the freedom to shop at a smaller store that offers better service, or pick a specialty retailer with a different product line. Second, Wal Mart sometimes bites back.Marylandpassed a law specifically targeting Wal Mart, forcing them to provide more generous health-care for their employees. (The law had specific requirements for companies with x-number of employees and y-amount of retail sales – Wal Mart was the only company in the state that qualified.) Instead a new distribution center went to Virginia, and the company slowed its growth in Maryland to stay below the threshold. A community loses when a big retailer, a big employer, throws up its hands and says ‘it’s just not worth it to do business here.’.

 
Chris Conley
Operations Manager-Midwest Communications,Wausau
5.14.2012

NEWS BLOG (WSAU) There’s video footage of Governor Scott Walker telling a campaign contributor that he’ll use a ‘divide and conquer’ strategy against unions. The unions should be angry – in part – because that’s exactly what happened. Big labor backed Kathleen Falk, and she got swamped in last week’s recall primary. Union leaders now have to get behind Tom Barrett, who state labor leaders urged (demanded, actually) stay out of the race. Barrett ran, in part, because defiance is a part of his personality. His stance is ‘nobody tells me what to do.’

AFSCME and WEAC had promised huge amounts of political advertising and support for Falk. A day after the primary, neither union would make any advertising or spending commitments to Barrett.

Unions are aware of the biggest Barrett vulnerability: he used the tools Scott Walker gave him in Act 10 to balance Milwaukee’s budget. As a city leader, union relations with Milwaukee city halls are luke-warm. Falk was bought and paid for; Barrett is more of a free-wheeler. Labor is divided indeed.

The debate that the Walker comments should spark is this: ‘Should Wisconsin be a right-to-work state?’

There will be many opinions about it. And the four weeks before a recall election isn’t the time to settle the issue.

But, consider two points:

First, there are some companies that will simply refuse to relocate to states that aren’t right-to-work. Almost universally companies that move out of Wisconsin go to right-to-work states. 23 states are right to work – and they’ve seen better economic growth than those that aren’t. Think Texas, North Carolina, Louisiana, Florida.

Secondly, if someone doesn’t want to join a union at work, should they have to? Yes, they would get benefits that are negotiated on their behalf without contributing to union coffers. On the other hand, there is a Constitutional right to freedom of association. If you don’t wish to associate with a union, should that cost you a job opportunity?

Governor Walker says specifically he is not going to push an agenda to make Wisconsin a right-to-work state. It’s too explosive an issue for a governor facing recall. Should he?

Chris Conley
Operations Manager, Midwest Communications-Wausau
5.11.12

NEWS BLOG (WSAU) ‘Where The Wild Things Are’ is a scary book for kids. A young boy goes to bed wearing a monster costume. He dreams that he’s in the jungle surrounded by other, bigger monsters. This is not the Charlie Brown and Winnie The Pooh books that most kids were familiar with in 1963.

The writer – Maurice Sendak – died earlier this week. He was a remarkable children’s author. He was 83.

His stories was dark, but were also full of lessons.

‘Pierre, The Boy Who Doesn’t Care’ gets eaten by a lion. ‘One Was Johnny’ is a young boy who has to fight of burglars and wild animals while learning his alphabet. ‘Seven Little Monsters’ is more intense than Wild Things, and was eventually developed into a full-blown children’s TV show. ‘Lets Be Enemies’ is a children’s story about hatred and bigotry that, like real life, deals more with grudging acceptance rather than giving kids a clean, transformative ending.

Who would have thought that there’d be laughter and song and joy in these themes?

A decade later, singer-songwriter Carol King set some of his books to music. The result was a completely delightful 1975 children’s cartoon ‘Really Rosie’. Rosie is a plucky Jewish kid from Brooklyn who dreams of being a movie star. She recruits the kids from her neighborhood to play part in her screenplay. They act out scenes from Sendak’s Nutshell Kids books. Sure, there are dark moments, like when a thunderstorm forces Rosie and her friends into a dank basement, but ultimately imagination wins out over fear.

I have a personal connection to some of Sendak’s characters. He wrote of the ‘Avenue P kids,’ near the Brooklyn neighborhood he grew up in. 25 years later, that was my neighborhood. I played in the park at the corner of Avenue P and East 5th Street where Sendak’s characters hung out. Rosie’s imaginary stoop where she acts out herHollywood dreams would have been a few blocks from my grandmother’s house.

Sendak’s 11-year-old Rosie can’t figure out how to end her “life’s story movie”, so she improvises a simple upbeat song to her younger brother ‘Chicken Soup With Rice’. It’s such a sunny little song; it’s a shame more kids don’t know it today. In the end, rays of sunshine illuminate the work of a sometimes-dark children’s author – and we get to smile on thoughtful stories that illuminate young minds.

Chris Conley
Operations Manager-Midwest Communications,Wausau
5.10.12

NEWS BLOG (WSAU) A good way to predict election results is to look at which candidate has the harder case to make. Tom Barrett potentially has the harder case to make – depending on whether Scott Walker can box him in.

Walker, whose recall is a national race that will be watched by conservatives around the county, should have access to the best campaign advice available and will be well-funded. I think his strategy will be right.

Barrett will open his campaign by saying he will ‘heal Wisconsin’ and ‘end our state’s civil war’. That sounds good on a bumper sticker and in a stump-speech. The race will hinge Walker’s response to those applause-lines.

“How will the state be healed if my 1-million-or-so supporters are told their votes from last November didn’t count?” will be a good Walker parry. It could be followed up with a warning that Barrett himself could also face a recall for the first controversial thing he does – like, perhaps, trying to restore collective bargaining for state workers. Walker should make the case that people are far more likely to be bitter and angry if their guy is ousted from office.

When Walker goes on the offensive, he could get traction on any of these points:

Tom Barrett balanced Milwaukee’s budget using the very tools that Walker gave to cities, counties, and school districts through changes in state labor law.

Under Barrett’s leadership, Milwaukee’s unemployment rate has lagged behind the rest of the state. Wisconsin’s overall jobs outlook would be much better if Milwaukee merely kept up with the rest of Wisconsin.

Walker could ask whether Wisconsinites are comfortable with the Milwaukeeization of the rest of the state. Milwaukee has nothing in common with the rest of Wisconsin, and most people believe our largest city has more in common with Illinois than places like Green Bay, Wausau, LaCrosse, and Oshkosh.

The recall is interesting because I can’t say for certain how it will end. Walker defeated Barrett by 5-points in the general election – a solid margin. I think Walker will hold onto his base. Barrett will try to close the gap not be flipping Walker voters, which I think is unlikely, but by getting bigger turnout among those who are dissatisfied. I’m not sure how that will work out. Walker, who faced no real primary opposition, won a GOP primary where 645,000 ballots were cast. Barrett won a high-energy primary were 667,000 voters went to the polls. If turnout measures enthusiasm, this will be a very close race indeed.

Chris Conley
Operations Manager, Midwest Communications-Wausau
5.9.12

NEWS BLOG (WSAU) Wisconsin’s primaries will remain open contests until they yield a result that’s a complete travesty. The only possibility for such an outcome is if Governor Walker somehow loses the GOP primary to fake candidate Arthur Kohl-Riggs. Having a sitting governor lose his party’s line on the ballot to an interloper would spark enough outrage to change the rules. That won’t happen today.

The other possible result, that Kathleen Falk rallies to beat Tom Barrett will be ambiguous. There will be some republicans who will cross over to vote for Falk, believing her to be the weaker opponent for Walker. But Falk has enough democrat and labor support that the result would be spun as legitimate. It’s no different than how Hillary Clinton won the New Hampshire presidential primary in 2008. There’s little question that she squeaked out a narrow victory thanks to GOP women and out-of-state college students who voted for her. Neither group should have been casting ballots to decide a Democratic Party contest to begin with. But Hillary had enough regular support within her own party that the narrow victory was seen as a comeback not a theft.

Later in 2008 Rush Limbaugh gave us Operation Chaos – where listeners in open primary states would get daily updates on who to vote for in open democratic primaries. In was very good radio. The ratings soared. It was also highly cynical politics. It could have been the spark that closed open primaries.

Democrats should choose democratic candidates. Republicans should choose republican candidates. Independents should wait until the general elections – or join the political party of their choice. Some day sufficiently-tampered-with primaries will show everyone the way it should be. Today won’t be that day. But it’s coming.

Chris Conley
Operations Manager, Midwest Communications-Wausau
5.8.12

NEWS BLOG (WSAU) When we started the our commentary segment on the WSAU Wisconsin Morning News (M-F after the 7:30a news), we weren’t sure if the new feature would find an audience. This was the time slot where listeners heard Paul Harvey for decades on WSAU. And, as I’ve said over and over again, Paul Harvey is a once-in-a-lifetime talent. This is no replacement for him.

Our local commentaries began out of necessity. The ratings in the 7am hour went down in the six-months after Paul Harvey’s death. We were having trouble keeping sponsors who advertised only during his featured broadcasts.

I’m happy to report that in the three years since his death, the 7am hour of the WSAU Wisconsin Morning News is now our most-listened-to hour, and our morning commentaries are the station’s most-popular feature. This daily news blog, which is the usual source material for my on-air commentaries, remains one of the most-viewed parts of wsau.com. I never would have thought so many people would be interested in the words I write and the thoughts I share.

At the Wisconsin Broadcasters Association awards last Saturday night, my WSAU commentary on the closing of the Brokaw Paper Mill won first place.

The Midwest Communications broadcast group in Central Wisconsin is always well represented during the broadcast-awards season. An investigative report by WSAU News Director Matt Lehman into the Tony Lehman affair won first place for investigative reporting at the prestigious Midwest Broadcast Journaism competition. The WBA also gave Matt Lehman a second-place award for breaking news coverage during the Mosinee gunman standoff, and an honorable mention award to WSAU’s Tom King for his morning sports reports. Our colleagues at WTAQ in Green Bay, which whom we share many on-line and on-air news resources, were winners in multiple news categories.

Congratulations to all of this year’s winners.

Chris Conley
Operations Manager- Midwest Communications, Wausau
5.7.12

NEWS BLOG (WSAU) George Will has, unintentionally, written a simply beautiful pro-life op-ed column. (read it here: http://tinyurl.com/7gv5c6p )

Will is marking the 40th birthday of his son. Jon Will has Down syndrome. He’s already lived a longer, fuller life than most people with this disease. In 1972 when Jon was born most Down syndrome babies were institutionalized immediately, where the lack of stimulation, individual care, and parental love inevitably led to worse outcomes.

I’d heard this story from a local minister. A family that had been members of his church for many years had two sons. The minister watched both boys grow up from children into adulthood. The older boy turned into a handsome young man. He went to a good college, got a good job, and because a successful businessman. He’d also become shallow, materialistic and self-centered. In short, he wasn’t a nice person. His younger brother had Down syndrome. He would never go to college, would require a lifetime of care from his parents, and would never be successful by any conventional yardstick. Yet he grew into a kind, gentle, loving person. His disease left him simple and innocent. He was naturally trusting and friendly. People saw in him many of the characteristics they’d lacked in their own lives. Others felt richer for knowing him.

With modern prenatal testing, Down syndrome babies no longer come as a surprise. Expectant parents know months in advance. The mother is always asked if she wants to abort the pregnancy. 90-percent say ‘yes’.

Read the story of Jon Will. This type of person is being routinely snuffed out. Surely this life, all life, has immeasurable value.

Chris Conley
Operations Manager, Midwest Communications-Wausau
5.4.12

NEWS BLOG (WSAU) Let’s face it, the Olympic-style whitewater kayak course in Wausau could have been built in dozens of other cities. There are many places with fast-moving rivers with low levels of boat traffic that could have been picked as alternate sites.

Plain and simple, this was a pork-barrel project. David Obey brought home the bacon to the largest city in his congressional district. We were politically connected. Other fine river communities weren’t.

This is pork that worked out well for our area. Several times a year Wausau Whitewater hosts regional and national competitions. Athletes and spectators come from all over. They are a boost to our economy, staying in hotels and eating in our restaurants. If someone was going to get this kind of facility, we should be glad it’s us. One community’s tourism and economic development project looks a lot like federal largess to everyone else.

Now consider the new Wausau Curling Center that’s being built on Kent Street near the old Holtz-Krause landfill. This project is different – in a good way. The $3-million to build the largest curling facility in the country has been raised privately. Local curling enthusiasts are building their own ice palace. And they had the foresight to build big, knowing they they’ll get to host national and international events.

Wausau gets an undeserved benefit from the private money that’s being spent. Just like with the whitewater course, hotel rooms will be filled and restaurants will do a brisk business. Only this is a piggy-backing comes on the backs of someone else’s buck. The city has agreed to make some infrastructure improvements near the site. They’ll help pave an entranceway to make sure there’s a good drive-up and ample parking. There will be some help getting utilities to the building site.

If the era of earmarks is over, this is the prototype for public-private development partnerships. A private group saw the need, developed the plan, and raised the money. The government – realizing that there is pubic benefit to this project – provided the value added to make a good idea a great one. Curlers from all over the world will come to Wausau because of this facility. It will literally put Wausau on the map for followers of this sport. Wausau leaders are right to kick in the extra money to make sure the city puts its best foot forward.

Chris Conley
Operations Manager, Midwest Communications-Wausau
5.3.12 

(WSAU) We’re less than a week away from a 4-way democratic recall primary. The winner – most likely Tom Barrett or Kathleen Falk – will have about $100,000 in their campaign coffers. They’ll compete against Scott Walker, who’s raised $12-million since January and still has $5-million on-hand.

There’s no way for the democrat nominee to fundraise over a 4-week campaign. Every day must be devoted to campaigning, not to raising money. Whoever Scott Walker’s opponent is – all their money will come from PACs and the unions. Much of Walker’s money has been raised from out-of-state interests.

So – what do supporters get for their money? Unions that ‘invest’ in Barrett or Falk ultimately won’t get what they paid for. Even if the recall is successful it’s inconceivable that Act 10 will be repealed. The best unions could hope for is a friendly face on the other side of the negotiating table when state contacts are being negotiated. The new governor might issue some union-friendly executive orders. All of those are temporary wins which will be rolled back the next time a friend-of-labor isn’t in office. The framework that boxes state unions in will stay in place. What’s really at stake for the recall supporters is a warning – to future leaders that if they mess with organized labor they could be driven from office.

Scott Walker’s supporters are investing in something different. Two things, actually. First, they see an importance in the appearance that the conservative tide is still rising nationally. The perception will be that the momentum from the 2010 midterm elections is officially over if Walker is forced from office. They are also investing in Walker’s second term. Walker would be invincible in 2014 if he wins the recall. Barrett would certainly not get a third bite at the apple. Falk would never be able to replicate the big-labor money and activism that she’ll have in June. She may not be her party’s nominee two years from now. Even if she is,Walker’s hand will be stronger, not weaker, for running the same race a second time. The more-likely outcome is Walker’s opponent would be someone who’s not on the radar now, or, perhaps a recruited Russ Feingold.

So, what are the stakes in the June 5 recall? The here-and-now direction of the state, and, a big political advantage two years from now.

Chris Conley
Operations Manager,Midwest Communications-Wausau
5.2.12.

NEWS BLOG (WSAU) A panel of state appeals court judges made a mistake in the Weston prayer-death ruling today. The court was asked to decide two issues: whether Dale and Leilani Neumann received effective legal representation during their trials, and whether the juries that convicted them received proper instructions on Wisconsin’s faith-healing statue.

The clear answer on both of those questions is “yes” and “yes”. Instead, the court forwarded the entire case to the state Supreme Court.

In 2008 the Nuemann’s opted to pray over their daughter Kara instead of taking her to a doctor. She wasted away and died from a treatable cause of juvenile diabetes. Her parents didn’t even know what ailed her, having refused all medical care including a diagnosis. At trial both parents had a strong legal defense. They were given opportunities to testify about their faith and their belief in God’s healing power. Their lawyers cited Wisconsin’s faith-healing statute in closing arguments. Judge Vincent Howard explained the law to the juries during instructions.

The appeals court Tuesday should have upheld the 2nd degree reckless homicide convictions. There are no grounds for a new trial.

The juries, two separate panels that sat for two separate trials, were each presented with a difficult balancing act. On the one hand, Wisconsin law allows people to refuse medical treatment and put their health in the hands of their faith. On the other, parents also have a duty to protect and care for their children. The stumper in this case is resolving the conflict between the two. Jurors put more weight on parents’ responsibilities to their children, and returned guilty verdicts. Those judgments, made by Dale and Leilani Neumann’s peers in the community acting on behalf of the People of Wisconsin, should stand. I wish the verdict was affirmed, unambiguously, by the appeals court.

But I’m not regretful that the state Supreme Court will hear the case. They have a role to play. They should clarify the faith healing law as it pertains to the parent-child relationship. Adults have an unquestioned right under state law to pray for healing and to decline medical care. Young Kara Neumann, only 13 at the time of her death, in theory, had a similar right to decline medical treatment. But in her final days, when she was too sick to decide for herself and likely lacked the mental clarity to make those choices, her parents decided for her. That's beyond the boundaries of the faith healing law. This is the line the Supreme Court should draw.

Parents impose their religious beliefs on their children all the time… ask any kid who trudged off to Catechism, or the young Jewish boys who practice their Hebrew before bar-mitzvah. Kara Neumann’s parents imposed their religious beliefs on their dying daughter. At trial, Dale Neumann conceded he’d considered taking his daughter to the hospital. Friends and neighbors who saw their daughter were horrified and urged the parents to reconsider. What if, as she slipped into unconsciousness for the final time, young Kara’s prayer was for the healing hands of a doctor? We will never know. The high court should address that possibility.

Chris Conley
Operations Manager, Midwest Communications-Wausau
5.1.2012