Observers: Thompson-Baldwin race among most negative in country; Wind advisories in effect for seven Wisconsin counties; more briefs

Talk about it

Wisconsin’s U.S. Senate campaign is at a fever pitch as voters are being asked to believe new TV ads that both candidates say are misleading.

The ad tracking firm of CMAG says the Wisconsin Senate race is among the most negative in the country.

And UW-La Crosse Professor Joe Heim said Tommy Thompson and Tammy Baldwin should start running positive ads that appeal to voters.

Otherwise, he said, “Whoever wins that race, are you going to think better of them afterward?”

On Monday House Democrat Baldwin put out an ad criticizing former governor Thompson for buying stock in companies that do business with Iran. Thompson insists he never wanted such stock and has sold it.

Meanwhile, a new Thompson ad said Baldwin rejected funds to supply body armor for U.S. troops. But independent experts told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that Thompson’s claim is incorrect. They said the ad was based on a peace fund that Baldwin supported.

Baldwin’s camp said the congresswoman voted against a 2003 defense spending package because it did not do enough to protect U.S. troops.

Also, state Democratic Party Chairman Mike Tate said Thompson should resign from his corporate board positions before next Tuesday’s elections. He said Thompson got $126,000 in stock this month for being on the board of CR Bard, the medical device maker that paid $184 million last year to resolve hundreds of lawsuits.

Thompson calls it a side issue that Democrats are using to distract voters.

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Wind advisories in effect for seven Wisconsin counties

The National Weather Service expanded its wind advisories in eastern Wisconsin overnight as the impact of Superstorm Sandy is being felt.

Wind advisories are now in effect until 7 p.m. today in Kenosha, Racine, Milwaukee, Ozaukee, Sheboygan, Manitowoc and Kewaunee counties and until 10 a.m. Wednesday in Door County. Those places are expected to have sustained winds of 25 to 35 mph with gusts up to 50 mph.

The Weather Service says the strongest winds will occur this afternoon and will begin to diminish late today except at the northern tip of the Door Peninsula, where strong winds can be expected until tomorrow morning.

Crowds looked on in Milwaukee last night as the waves got bigger on Lake Michigan. Police are urging folks to stay away from those areas today as the waves could get up to 18 feet.

Officials in Pleasant Prairie, south of Kenosha, have urged residents of 265 waterfront homes to voluntarily evacuate by 8 a.m. today.

Generac of Waukesha, a maker of backup electric generators, says it’s been swamped by orders from the East Coast where Sandy hit landfall last night with winds of 80 mph.

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State’s biggest company posts fiscal-quarter losses

Wisconsin’s largest company lost money from July through September, partially due to an economic slowdown in Europe.

Johnson Controls of suburban Milwaukee reports a loss of $8 million in the final quarter of its fiscal year, compared to the same time in 2011 when Johnson made $234 million. Earnings dropped by one cent a share.

The Glendale company reported fewer sales in its temperature-control business for large buildings as well as the car seats and related products it makes. Sales from its power solutions division were unchanged.

Total revenues dropped about 4% to $10.4 billion.

Last week, Johnson Controls said it would consolidate factories and cut an unspecified number of jobs. The firm said yearly earnings would be steady to slightly higher, but its earnings in the next quarter will be down significantly from a year ago.

Johnson Controls is the only Fortune 100 company in Wisconsin. It’s the world’s biggest supplier of auto batteries and car seats, and it’s a major supplier of heating and air conditioning controls for businesses.

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Presidential candidates cancel Wisconsin rallies

While President Obama focuses on Superstorm Sandy, former President Bill Clinton is pinch-hitting on the campaign trail.

Clinton is beginning a swing through the Upper Midwest today in neighboring Minnesota, with appearances at t University of Minnesota campuses in Minneapolis and Duluth.

The former president is also scheduled to visit Wisconsin, but the times and locations have not been released yet. Clinton is also scheduled to visit Iowa, Colorado, Ohio, Virginia and New Hampshire.

Obama was planning to speak in Green Bay tonight, but the appearance was canceled so he could be at the White House to handle the storm response.

Republican Mitt Romney also called off a campaign rally in West Allis last night, and he’s canceling today’s schedule out of respect to those dealing with Sandy.

Romney’s running mate, Paul Ryan, is still scheduled to make appearances in Wisconsin tomorrow before spending Halloween night with his kids in Janesville.

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Wardens free buck, and its antlers, from soccer net

Two state conservation wardens freed a deer that was trapped in a soccer net in La Crosse.

Baseball players at Viterbo University saw the buck inside a soccer goal as they were walking to practice Saturday.

Officials said the deer jumped over a fence to get onto the soccer field, but the animal spent Friday night trapped after its antlers got stuck in the netting.

Department of Natural Resources wardens Ed McCann and Tyler Strelow zip-tied McCann’s knife to a stick and cut through the net while staying a safe distance away from the deer.

The buck then ran to a fence but was too tired to jump over it. The wardens allowed bystanders to open a gate on the fence so the deer could be freed.

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Family admits to placing ‘voter fraud’ billboards

The owner of a consulting firm for business mergers now admits that he paid for anonymous billboards in Wisconsin and Ohio that warned about the penalties for voter fraud.

Stephen and Nancy Einhorn came forward Monday after the liberal group One Wisconsin Now said the Einhorn Family Foundation was the one that placed dozens of billboards in mostly low-income neighborhoods.

The signs said “Voter Fraud is a Felony.”

Democrats and civil rights groups said the ads were meant to suppress turnout in next Tuesday’s elections.

In a statement issued by a Chicago public relations firm, the Einhorns said they placed the billboards as a “public service” because they wanted to help make sure the presidential contest is decided by “legally registered voters.”

Einhorn and his son Daniel run the merger consulting firm of Einhorn and Associates in Wauwatosa and manage venture capital funds.

One Wisconsin Now was among the groups criticizing the billboards owner, Clear Channel Outdoor, for allowing the anonymous signs. Clear Channel ordered them removed last week, saying they violated the company’s policy against taking anonymous political ads.

About 85 billboards were posted in the Milwaukee area, some in suburban Waukesha and Washington counties. The Einhorns took out 30 billboards each in Cleveland and Columbus, Ohio.

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Hunt is on for huge pumpkin thief

Authorities have been looking for a person who stole a 360-pound pumpkin from a restaurant near Merrill.

The owner of Gail’s Place told Lincoln County sheriff’s deputies that the large pumpkin might have been taken early Sunday. It was valued at $300.

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Azana spa plans to open again Dec. 1

The spa in Brookfield where Radcliffe Haughton shot his estranged wife and six others tentatively plans to re-open Dec. 1.

The Azana Salon and Spa said on its Facebook page that it’s doing some rebuilding work, and it hopes to be ready in just over a month.

In the meantime, owner Tami Gemmell said the spa wants to stay connected to its customers by letting them make appointments and order gift cards.

The spa has been closed since Oct. 21 when Haughton killed his estranged wife and two other women and wounded four other women before taking his own life.

Gemmell said the community’s love and support have been heartwarming, and they’ve received lots of donations to the Azana Victim’s Fund. She wrote, “We are so thankful.”

Tags: state news, u.s. senate, elections, wisconsin