French cyclocross champion, elite field roll into Planet Bike Cup (JSOnline.com)

Big-time cyclocross racing, with the top riders in the world, returns to Angell Park in Sun Prairie on Saturday and Sunday.

For a second year, the Planet Bike Cup will be part of the Greenware U.S. Gran Prix of Cyclocross, and the clang of cowbells will replace the roar of engines in the park outside of Madison. The elite women will race at 1:45 p.m. on both Saturday and Sunday, with the elite men taking the start line at 3 p.m.

The group of top-level riders registered to chase valuable UCI points is led by Francis Mourey, a five-time French national champion. He already has enjoyed a successful visit to the states, scoring wins at the Starcrossed/Rad Racing GP UCI-double and the CrossVegas race earlier this week.

Velo News reports that the top Europeans on hand to challenge Mourey include Swiss national champion Christian Heule (Gippingen-Champion System), former German national champion Rene Birekenfeld (Harvesterhude) and Belgian Tim Van Nuffel (Van Goethem-Prorace).

The best of the U.S. will be representing the stars and stripes: four-time USGP overall winner Ryan Trebon (Kona-FSA), European-based Jonathan Page (Planet Bike), three-time Canadian national champion Geoff Kabush (Maxxis-Rocky Mountain), and the powerhouse Cannondale-Cyclocrossworld.com team of national champion Tim Johnson, CrossVegas standout Jamey Driscoll, and Jeremy Powers, who took a commanding win at the opening Planet Bike event last year.

In the women’s ranks, Velo News predicts a battle between Luna teammates Amy Dombroski and Georgia Gould, who finished second and fourth at Cross Vegas, as well as Cal Giant-Specialized rider Meredith Miller, Sue Butler (Hudz Subaru) and Mo Bruno Roy (Bob’s Red Mill-Seven).

Click here for the full story in Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel.

The Wisconsin Cheeseman Announces Grand Reopening of Company Store in Sun Prairie (Press Release)

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Date: September 10, 2010

Contact: Lindsey Decker
608-837-5166 ext 364

Photos: Available upon request

SUN PRAIRIE, Wis. – The Wisconsin Cheeseman Company Store is celebrating its Grand Reopening on Thursday, September 16, 2010 through Sunday, September 19, 2010. “The store has been completely remodeled to give it a contemporary look and make it significantly more appealing to shop. In an effort to connect with our community and broaden our in-store offerings, we’ve also increased our product line to include locally-sourced cheeses, ice creams and meats,” said Mike Repp, Vice President of Operations.

The event will include:

• A ribbon cutting ceremony with Mayor Joe of Sun Prairie @ 1:00 pm on 9/17/10
• Remote broadcast with Jonathan Suttin from 105.5 Triple M @ noon on 9/17/10
• Discounts on in-store products
• Games and prizes such as: Badger tickets for October 16th against Ohio State a personalized jersey signed by Mark Tauscher of the Green Bay Packers
• Cheese tastings led by Fromagination, ice cream samples from Sassy Cow Creamery and 2011 Artisan Cheesemaker calendars on sale by the Wisconsin Cheese Originals.

For more information on The Wisconsin Cheeseman, contact: Lindsey Decker, Marketing Communications Manager, phone 608.837.5166 ext. 364, or visit http://www.wisconsincheeseman.com/.

UW Business Best Practices & Emerging Technologies Conference - Sept. 30th, 8:30-4:30 at Monona Terrace

Organized by the UW E-Business Consortium, and co-sponsored by WMEP, this conference is Wisconsin's premiere event for business and technology executives. It features outstanding experts and visionary executives from Google, GE Healthcare, Newell Rubbermaid, Rockwell Automation, Whirlpool and more. Learn the latest trends and actionable best practices from parallel full-day tracks in:

• Supply Chain Management
• Marketing and Customer Experience
• IT Strategy & Information Security

Click here for additional information or to register.

Click here for information on the UW E-Business Consortium.

Wisconsin Early Stage Symposium Set for Nov. 10-11th (Wisconsin Technology Council)

The Wisconsin Early Stage Symposium will be held Nov 10-11, at Monona Terrace Community and Convention Center in Madison. This conference is designed to help entrepreneurs learn how to pursue private equity - and to prepare them for regional and national venture conferences. Early-stage companies from Wisconsin and the Upper Midwest will be professionally "coached" by venture and service professionals, as well as veteran company executives with stories to tell. Conference highlights include:

• The annual "Elevator Pitch Olympics" for very early stage companies
• Separate investor-oriented tracks for angel-ready companies and beyond that are seeking private equity capital
• A workshop for entrepreneurs to learn and practice their pitch to investors
• A "First Look Forum" for presenting selected pre-commercial, campus-based discoveries
• An invitation-only event for investors hosted by the Wisconsin Angel Network
• A Nov. 10 reception celebrating early stage companies
• A workshop for companies that may seek SBIR grants

Major speakers with messages of interest to Wisconsin investors, entrepreneurs and others in the tech-based economy. Returning by popular demand: Bill Joos of Go-to-Market Consulting.

To apply to present, click here.

To sponsor, click here.

To register, click here.

Crown Operations of Sun Prairie sold to California firm (Madison.com)

Crown Operations International, a Sun Prairie company involved in making energy-efficient window glass, has been purchased by Southwall Technologies of Palo Alto, Calif., for $3.3 million.

Crown, at 347 Business Park Drive in the Sun Prairie Business Park, was founded in 1988 and has 14 employees. Privately owned by founder Marshall Krone, the sale was effective Monday.

“It’s business as usual; the plant didn’t skip a beat,” said Crown president Curtis Liposcak.

Crown applies energy-saving films to a plastic layer that can then be sandwiched between two sheets of glass, creating windows that reflect heat and block ultraviolet rays.

Liposcak said the plant will stay open, and all the workers will keep their jobs. “A lot of the glass lamination that occurs in North America is east of the Mississippi River,” he said. “There’s a good likelihood that we could even expand our head count in the coming quarters.”

Southwall, founded in 1979, makes films and energy-saving glass for homes, commercial buildings and vehicles and has about 160 employees worldwide. Its shares are publicly traded on the over-the-counter bulletin board.

Sources:
Milwaukee Business Journal
Wisconsin State Journal

Frontier Communications Bringing Service To Sun Prairie Area (Channel3000.com)

Photo: Frontier Communications CEO Maggie Wilderotter and Mayor Joe Chase at the Sun Prairie office of Frontier Communications.

Frontier Communications has set up an office in Sun Prairie to begin offering broadband to rural communities looking for a faster Internet connection.

For some living in rural communities, dial-up Internet service is the only option.

The Sun Prairie library's 40 computers allow people free Internet access. Librarian Debbie Bird said that two years ago, users logged less than 50,000 sessions. But Bird said the library has seen an increase in demand.

"We had almost 79,000 sessions, that's either on the computers or on Wi-Fi. This is a free opportunity to use a computer; all you need is a library card," Bird said. "A lot of people still don't have Internet in their homes."

The library services several rural communities, but it isn't the only one taking notice of an increased demand for Internet access, WISC-TV reported.

"Many customers that don't have access to broadband absolutely want it. We hear from them all the time," said Maggie Wilderotter, CEO of Frontier Communications.

In July, Frontier Communications took over service in several areas previously owned by Verizon. Wilderotter said the company is excited to offer broadband Internet access to communities around the state, including Sun Prairie.

"One of our priorities here in Wisconsin is to expand broadband very rapidly, and our goal is to get to 85 percent of all consumer households in the next two to three years," Wilderotter said.

Frontier Communications said it will begin offering service to rural communities in central Wisconsin beginning in October. It said it is planning to expand to the rest of the state over the next few years.

Source: http://www.channel3000.com/technology/24848199/detail.html