News

Nothing soothes airshow disappointment like a Photoshop metaphor.

The Chippewa Valley Airshow will be without one of its biggest acts for their 2013 installment, scheduled for September 7-8. The US Navy Blue Angels announced Monday night that, due to budget uncertainties and its impact on military participation for upcoming shows they, will not be participating in any shows for the remainder of the 2013 season.  Many are disappointed in this decision, among them Matt Hill who is the Scout Executive for the Chippewa Valley Council of the Boy Scouts. “We would like to thank our entire Airshow Committee for all the hard work they had already put in to make this year’s show a success,” replied Hill. The future of the Chippewa Valley airshow currently remains up in the air with the Executive Committee planning to meet and come to a final decision on April 30. 

Kohler: supporting Sconnie arts, one flush at a time.

Good news for those Wisconsinites who have an affinity for the arts and bathroom fixtures: the head of The Kohler Co., Herbert Kohler, happens to be a well-noted supporter of the arts. The Kohler Co. is based in eastern Wisconsin and has formed a fantastic reputation for selling kitchen and toilet fixtures throughout the years – to the tune of $3 billion. But also, the lavatory giant’s Kohler Foundation has given countless grants to art programs around that state, and that has landed them on a recent Top 10 Most Generous Families list in Town & Country magazine.

The concept of riding a pedal pub (or party bike, pedal crawler, cycle pub, beer bike, or bierbike, if you prefer) about town has been around for a while now. These pedal powered vehicles can hold up to twelve people, plus one driver doing all of the steering and stopping. Pedal pubs are popular in Germany and other European countries, but remain less popular here in the States due to strict open container laws.

In order to increase the success of the pedal pub business, Republican State  Representative Jeff Stone has introduced a bill that would allow Wisconsin municipalities to make the decision as to whether it is legal or not to drink while riding a pedal pub. This bill was introduced after a Milwaukee pedal pub company called Pedal Tavern began having legal issues over patrons drinking while riding. Owner Derek Collins argued that his pedal pub business has “drawn 50,000 riders over the last three years that have spent money on hotels, restaurants and other Milwaukee attractions.” To anyone worried about the driver drinking, the bill has an answer for that as well; the drivers would be required to keep their alcohol blood content at .02 or below at all times.