KENOSHA, Wis. (AP) - Gov. Scott Walker still hasn’t decided whether to approve a proposed off-reservation casino in Kenosha, but that hasn’t stopped the team leading the project from launching a website for prospective job seekers.
The Menominee Nation and Hard Rock said Friday that they created the website to prepare for the “likelihood of approval.”
“While negotiations continue on the proposed project, the Menominee and Hard Rock project team believe it is necessary to begin preparations for a gubernatorial approval,” the tribe and Hard Rock said in a statement. “Eventually, up to 3,000 new associates could be employed at the Kenosha facility; therefore, business steps are being taken to prepare for the facility opening.”
Visitors to the website can register and learn about opportunities in areas such as hotel and casino management, food service and security.
Walker has until Feb. 19 to make a decision on the casino. The Forest County Potawatomi are pushing him to quash it because they fear it would cut into their Milwaukee profits.
The $800 million casino and hotel complex would be built at the former Dairyland Greyhound Park. The casino team says the project would create 10,000 new jobs and involve $1.6 billion in construction investment.
The governor has said his team is working to make sure a Kenosha casino wouldn’t violate compacts with other states.
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EAU CLAIRE, Wis. (AP) - Agricultural officials are projecting an 11 percent increase in the size of Wisconsin’s corn harvest this year, a prediction that has farmers worried prices will drop too low for them to make a profit.
State projections call for corn yields of 162 bushels per acre, an increase of 16 bushels per acre from last year, the Eau Claire Leader-Telegram reported (https://bit.ly/1nTwA0lhttps://bit.ly/1nTwA0l ).
Chippewa Falls farmer Randy Woodruff, a member of the Wisconsin Corn Promotion Board, said farmers are preparing by trying to keep their costs down.
“Corn prices could drop below the cost of production, and that’s going to cause a few problems,” he said. He predicted that low corn prices will persist for several years, and that farmers will be more likely to diversify into other crops such as soybeans.
A bountiful crop could mean corn prices of $3.50 per bushel, about half of the 2012 price, Woodruff said.
While that could mean financial pain for some farmers, many have some sort of forward contracting that has them locked into a better price.
Richard Halopka, an agriculture agent in Clark County, noted that if prices are too low, farmers don’t have to sell right away.
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LA CROSSE, Wis. (AP) - A La Crosse man already accused of molesting a 4-year-old now faces a new charge after police found at least 49 images child pornography on his hard drive.
A La Crosse Tribune report (https://bit.ly/1m2A7hjhttps://bit.ly/1m2A7hj ) says the photos depict 14 different girls, all believed to be about 9 years old or younger.
The suspect was charged in June with four felonies, including first-degree sexual assault of a child under the age of 13. The Associated Press isn’t identifying him to protect the identity of the child.
The 39-year-old man stood mute to the charges in July. The court entered not-guilty pleas on his behalf.
He was charged Friday a new count of possession of child pornography. He remains jailed on a $75,000 cash bond, and is scheduled to stand trial in March.
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Information from: La Crosse Tribune, https://www.lacrossetribune.comhttps://www.lacrossetribune.com
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DURAND, Wis. (AP) - Authorities in western Wisconsin say a trench wall collapsed in Pepin County, killing a 56-year-old man and a 2-year-old boy.
An Eau Claire Leader-Telegram report (https://bit.ly/1qSYzjVhttps://bit.ly/1qSYzjV ) says the sheriff’s office responded to a call Saturday about 9:40 a.m.
They rushed to a property in the town of Waterville. They and other emergency officials were able to dig the bodies free but they couldn’t revive the victims.
The victims’ names haven’t been released.
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Information from: Leader-Telegram, https://www.leadertelegram.com/https://www.leadertelegram.com/
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