WEST DES MOINES, Iowa-- Scott Walker tried to introduce himself to Iowa Republicans Thursday as so many would-be presidential candidates often do _ one of their own. More broadly, the rising GOP figure prescribed what he characterized as a Midwestern approach to politics and the way for Republicans, back-to-back White House losers, to win again.
YORK, Pa.-- The Bon-Ton Stores Inc. narrowed its fiscal first-quarter loss on fewer markdowns and improved revenue at its chain of department stores. The company posted a loss of $26.6 million, or $1.41 per share, for the quarter that ended May 4.
LOS ANGELES-- The incoming mayor of Los Angeles was able to defeat a fellow Democrat by depicting her as a pawn of utility union bosses in a city long friendly to labor, an outcome expected to echo beyond California as unions nationwide face threats to their clout.
*Corn acreage reductions possible in some areas of Midwest. CHICAGO, May 23- Rainfall over the next week to 10 days in parts of the Midwest will delay late corn seedings and possibly cause a shift from corn to soybean acreage, an agricultural meteorologist said on Thursday.
MADISON, Wis.-- A wide-reaching change that would allow the state to sell off properties ranging from prisons and power plants to University of Wisconsin dormitories and state highways is up for approval before the Legislature's budget committee.
MADISON, Wis.-- The percentage of children in Wisconsin public schools who come from families poor enough to receive free and reduced-priced lunches has increased for the ninth year in a row. There are nearly 359,000 students in Wisconsin in the programs.
CHICAGO, May 20- Caterpillar Inc said late on Monday that it would resume contract talks with the union representing about 800 Milwaukee workers who make specialized mining machinery.
*No movement seen in Congress on budget talks. WASHINGTON, May 20- The U.S. government added $306 billion in new debt during a four-month suspension of the federal borrowing limit, the Treasury Department said on Monday, but there was no sign on Capitol Hill of any movement toward a budget compromise.
MADISON, Wis.-- Wisconsin employers, including hospitals, nursing homes and other health care agencies, could no longer require workers to get flu shots under a bill pending in the Legislature.
And a spate of scandals, involving the Internal Revenue Service, security for the U.S. mission in Benghazi and the seizure of phone records from the Associated Press news agency, has distracted Congress and the White House. But, he said, "the chances that this Congress does anything useful, which were already low, are even lower."
CHICAGO-- United States Cellular Corp., the sixth-largest cellphone carrier in the country, on Friday closed on the sale of some of its Midwestern markets to No. 3 Sprint Nextel Corp. and announced that it's handing over the proceeds to shareholders through a special dividend.
WASHINGTON, May 17- Unemployment rates dropped in 43 out of the 50 U.S. states and in the District of Columbia in April from a year before, according to Labor Department data released on Friday. A handful of states, including Illinois, Delaware, Indiana, Wisconsin, Mississippi and New Hampshire saw their jobless rates rise over the year.
MADISON, Wis.-- Prosecutors announced Thursday they won't file charges against loggers whose equipment apparently started a massive wildfire in northwestern Wisconsin, concluding there was no criminal intent or negligence.
"Signs of moderation in farmland value gains emerged," the bank said of its district, which includes most of Iowa, Wisconsin, Michigan and northern Illinois and Indiana. " The land price trends mirror what was reported on Wednesday by the Kansas City and St Louis Federal reserve banks for the first quarter.
Ron Kind and Tom Petri put forward a crop insurance reform plan Wednesday that they say will save the federal government $11 billion over the next 10 years. Kind, a Democrat, and Petri, a Republican, announced their plan as work continued in Congress on a new farm bill.
MILWAUKEE-- ID and security products maker Brady Corp. said Thursday its fiscal third-quarter net income plunged 85 percent, pulled down by hefty loss from discontinued operations and sending its shares tumbling before the morning's opening bell.
WASHINGTON-- Congressional Republicans and Democrats on Wednesday challenged Attorney General Eric Holder over the Justice Department's handling of the investigation of national security leaks and its failure to talk to The Associated Press before issuing subpoenas for the news service's telephone records.