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• Routes reviewed for Wisconsin high speed rail
• Snowmobile death toll down so far; more state briefs

Transportation officials in Wisconsin and Minnesota are considering over a dozen possible routes for high speed rail service from Madison to the Twin Cities.

Daniel Krom of the Minnesota Department of Transportation said he met with Wisconsin officials to look at "13 or 14 potential alignments." They plan to narrow the list to three or four, and then choose a final route to submit to federal officials by this summer.

Wisconsin has received federal stimulus cash to extend the Amtrak line from Milwaukee to Madison, and $1 million was approved to study the best route west of Madison.

Officials in La Crosse and Winona, Minn., want the line to follow Amtrak's Empire Builder train that's currently in their communities.

But an aide to Congressman David Obey, D-Wausau, said more Wisconsinites would be served if the train went up to Eau Claire and west from there.

Those who support the La Crosse and Winona route are trying to get as many officials on their side as possible.

Plans are to hold a summit meeting in La Crosse March 18. Wisconsin DOT Secretary Frank Busalacchi will be the keynote speaker, and DOT officials from both Wisconsin and Minnesota plan to attend.

At least 16 people have died in Wisconsin snowmobile crashes this winter - three fewer than on this date a year ago.

The two most recent victims died in far northern Wisconsin. Both mishaps occurred Friday.

Vilas County authorities said Dustin Thomas, 26, Bloomingdale, Ill., died after his snowmobile hit a tree in Boulder Junction, and in Forest County, Gordon Gregory, 65, Greenville, died after his machine hit a tree near Wabeno.

The state's death toll is seven fewer than last winter's total of 23.

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Wisconsin company will build research ship

A Wisconsin ship builder won a $123 million contract to build a research ship for the University of Alaska.

Marinette Marine will make the 250 ft. "Alaska Region Research Vessel" to operate in the Arctic Sea. Federal stimulus dollars helped the university and the National Science Foundation pay for construction of the vessel. It should be ready to go in 2013.

The research vessel will carry more than 500 researchers and students at a time.

This project means more consistent work at the Wisconsin company, filling the production gap between the existing work on the Littoral Combat Ship and a possible future Navy contract.

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Two walk out of prison with fake paperwork

Authorities are trying to determine how two inmates escaped from the state prison in Stanley last month by showing false paperwork to staff members.

The two men were back in custody a day or two later. Police Chief Roy Frederickson told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel there was no evidence that state workers helped with the release.

Others told columnist Dan Bice the inmates might have gotten help from friends or relatives on the outside.

State corrections' officials won't say who the inmates are or what they're in prison for. But one reportedly had up to 50 years left on his sentence.

Fredrickson said another inmate spoke up about the escapes, and the two were nabbed when they reported to their probation agents.

The chief is conducting a criminal investigation, which he said will be completed in a couple weeks, depending on how much cooperation he gets from the inmates. Until it's finished, corrections and prison union officials said they won't comment further.

Corrections spokeswoman Melissa Roberts refused to say whether prison employees could be punished for not recognizing the false paperwork the inmates presented.

The state bought Stanley Correction Institution in northwest Wisconsin in 2001 from a private firm. It has 1,500 inmates and 400 employees.

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Carp summit is today

The Asian carp summit will be held today (Monday) at the White House.

Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle and other Midwest governors will meet with a host of federal officials. Their goal is to keep the bloated carp out of the Great Lakes.

A typical Asian carp can eat 40% of its weight each day in native plants and fish. The American Sport-fishing Association calls it a major threat to its $7 billion a year industry.

Some experts, including UW-Stevens Point professor Mike Hansen, say the carp is not made to dominate the deepest, coldest parts of the Great Lakes. Still, said Hansen, they could cause problems in some areas.

Wisconsin is part of a lawsuit that seeks to make Chicago reverse the flow of its sewage. If that happens, Lake Michigan would no longer be linked to the Mississippi River, where anglers wear protective gear in some places to avoid being injured by the jumping Asian carp.

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EdVest posts good earnings

Parents who have money in Wisconsin's college savings program made more than expected last year.

All 12 investment options in the EdVest program had gains ranging from .03% in the conservative Wells Fargo Money Market Fund to 79% in Legg Mason's aggressive portfolio.

Acting EdVest director Marty Olle said all but one of the 12 options out-performed their benchmarks, and the only one that didn't meet its goal, the Vanguard Stock Index portfolio, came close.

Meanwhile, more parents kept taking advantage of EdVest for tax-free college savings. New accounts rose by 2.7% to just over 250,000. Total assets in EdVest and the smaller Tomorrow's Scholar program were $2.2 billion as of Jan. 1. That's up 30% from a year ago.

A national rating service said EdVest had the 25th strongest one-year performance among 52 college savings programs as of Sept. 30. Over the last three years, EdVest ranked 13th among 43 U.S. programs.

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Panel tries again to prove UW pay is too low

A new panel will try to convince legislators that salaries for University of Wisconsin employees need to be raised.

UW-System President Kevin Reilly said the UW has not been too successful in showing that salaries are too low compared to other schools.

Now Reilly has formed a panel that will look more closely at salaries and benefits and show which positions are underpaid and which are not.

Board of Regents member Michael Spector and retired Kimberly-Clark executive Kathi Seifert will co-chair that panel, which is called the Competitive University Workforce Commission.