As southeastern Wisconsin prepares for the construction of high-tech manufacturing complex Foxconn Technology Group, a new study shows the area has a skilled workforce but lacks in startups and venture capital among other areas tied to economic innovation.
According to a story in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Thursday, the study compares metro Milwaukee— defined as Milwaukee, Waukesha, Washington and Ozaukee counties—with ten other midsize metropolitan areas including Kansas City and Minneapolis.
Milwaukee’s shortcomings significantly outnumber the positive findings in the study. The area has a sluggish rate of business formation. Since 2006, Milwaukee has ranked second or third to last in startup activity among the ten cities in the study.
The results were presented Thursday at a luncheon with leaders from the public and private sector participating in a discussion.
The study was done by the Public Policy Forum, a 104-year-old nonpartisan research organization.
Chicago sues Equifax
The city of Chicago has sued Equifax seeking restitution for more than a million Chicagoans whose sensitive data might have been stolen as part of the widespread breach, according to a story Thursday in the Chicago Tribune.
According to the story, the lawsuit was filed Thursday in Cook County Circuit Court and alleges Equifax violated the city’s consumer fraud ordinance and state laws.
The story says Equifax did a poor job of protecting sensitive data from hackers and by not alerting the public more quickly when the break was discovered.
More than a million Chicagoans might have been victimized.
Numerous lawsuits have been filed against the Atlanta-based company Equifax, which has said 143 million consumers might have been affected during a data breach from mid-May through July.
San Francisco and Massachusetts filed suit earlier this month. Construction could begin as early as next year.
CenturyLink debuts “Price for Life” in Denver
CenturyLink rolled out its “Price for Life” service in Denver on Wednesday that promises to never raise the price of internet plans if a customer sticks with the same plan and doesn’t change a home address, according to a story Wednesday in the Denver Post.
According to the story, this includes 1 gigabit-per-second speeds, which is $85 a month. In Colorado, nearly 700,000 homes and business users can access the top speed.
Price for Life is part of a move to simplify rates so customers aren’t guessing how much internet costs.
What else happened…
Colorado
Your dog is big business – Denver Post
Illinois
Caterpillar CEO’s plan is starting to pay off – Chicago Tribune
Iowa
Des Moines International Airport lands direct flight to San Francisco – The Des Moines Register
T-Mobile aquires iWireless – The Gazette
Minnesota
Battling bias, women entrepreneurs cash in with fake male partner – StarTribune.com
Target will pay all workers $15 by 2020 – TCBmag.com
Missouri
BioGenerator wins $300,000 federal grant – St. Louis Post Dispatch
Digital Sandbox adds two startups to Independence program – StartlandNews.com
Food delivery service UberEATS launches in Kansas City – StartlandNews.com
Ohio
Amazon to build second distribution center near Cleveland – The Columbus Dispatch
Wisconsin
State board to consider $3 billion for Foxconn – Journal Sentinel
Momentum Art Tech: Murals, spray paint and a business plan – Wisconsin State Journal