Viewpoints

Last year my husband and I enrolled in a philosophy course at St. Petersburg College. Though there was quite an age gap between our classmates and us. It was a captivating and most enjoyable experience.

The sheriff rode into town the other day to speak to a combined meeting of my three TEC groups.

In Aesop’s fable, a grasshopper enjoys a carefree summer, while an indefatigable ant stockpiles food for the cold months ahead. When winter arrives, the famished grasshopper asks for help, only to be rebuked by the ant for his past indolence.

The Wisconsin economy is expanding at a somewhat sluggish pace and has struggled to gather any sustained momentum given declining factory activity, according to the State Monitor report released by BMO Capital Markets Economics.

New Berlin-based Nassco Inc. has acquired of Messner Inc. of Madison.
Messner began in 1941as the Refrigeration Equipment Co.

Blackthorne Partners Ltd., a Mequon-based private equity firm, announced it has acquired Berlon Industries, a Hustisford-based manufacturer of buckets and attachments for skid loaders, telehandlers and compact utility tractors.

U.S. Bancorp Fund Services LLC (USBFS), a Milwaukee-based subsidiary of U.S. Bancorp, announced it has agreed to acquire AIS Fund Administration (AIS), a provider of fund administration and related services to alternative investment managers.

Racine-based Johnson Outdoors Inc. announced it has closed on its acquisition of Jetboil Inc., the world's No. 1 brand of outdoor cooking systems.

Neenah-based Legacy Private Trust Company announced that Paul Kasriel, retired senior vice president and chief economist at Northern Trust Bank, has joined Legacy as a senior economic and investment advisor and consultant.

Cleveland, Ohio-based Cohen Fund Audit Services, which opened a Milwaukee office in September, has decided to make Milwaukee one of its hubs.