The merger bug has been hitting the supermarket aisle for several years now, and it continued Wednesday as Kroger announced it would buy midwest grocery chain Roundy’s – the owner of Pick ‘n Save – for a cool $800 million. [More]
midwest
Ranch Lovers Rejoice: There’s Now A Restaurant Devoted To The Creamy Condiment
By 6.24.15
Saying Americans love ranch dressing is like saying humans need oxygen to live. I mean, we’re dumping that creamy condiment on everything. To see how far the obsession with the sauce has come, one only needs to look at a new restaurant opening in St. Louis. [More]
The Mall Of America Is About To Double In Size
By 7.2.13
Does the Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota need to get bigger? It’s only the biggest mall in the country, so of course it does! The mall just broke ground on a $250 million addition that adds 50 stores, an atrium, an office tower, a luxury hotel, and a massive and fancy “food hall” to replace the current food court. The owners ultimately plan $2.5 billion in additions in the coming decade, adding one new thing per year. [More]
Apple: The Midwestern United States Is Too Humid For The iMac
By 12.18.12
Apple’s 27″ iMac is not a cheap computer. That model currently starts at $1,800. So customers who found a smoky gray residue inside their screens were disappointed when Apple turned around and told non-smoking customers that the issues are obviously their own fault. Reader Jason, for example, was told that his screen smudged itself because it’s too humid where he lives. Does he live in the tropics? Florida, maybe? No, he lived in Ohio when his iMac troubles started. And the problem recurred after he moved to Chicago, just down the street from the city’s flagship Apple Store. [More]
Midwest Airlines To Take Frontier Name, Still Offer Cookies
By 4.13.10
Since they both were acquired by the same holding company last year, it’s been an inevitability that both Midwest Airlines and Frontier would eventually end up flying under the same brand, but it remained to be seen whether one would fold into the other or there would be a completely new name. That mystery ended this morning with Republic announcing that, as of today, Midwest will now be part of the Frontier family. [More]
Illinois And Wisconsin Do Not Mess Around When It Comes To Drinkin'
By 3.5.10
Say what you will about the heart of the Midwest,
it’s certainly not hard to find a bar. Geography blog FloatingSheep
took a look a the bar-to-grocery store ratio in different parts of
the country and it became immediately apparent that Illinois and
Wisconsin (and part of Iowa) team up to form the beer belly of
America.
Got Solar Panels? Utility Wants To Charge You For Not Using Their Energy
By 7.26.09
Midwest utility Xcel Energy wants to charge anyone using solar panels a monthly fee for sustainably generating their own energy. According to company spokesman Tom Henley, “We just don’t think it’s fair that customers that don’t have solar panels on their homes should subsidize these solar panel customers any further.” Huh?
All Airports Should Have A Recombobulation Area Like The One In Milwaukee
By 11.26.08
Today is a travel day for millions of Americans, so we thought we’d focus on the positive. Here’s a good idea that needs to catch on. Milwaukee’s Mitchell International Airport has a sign after their TSA check point that reads “Recombobulation Area.”
Oil! Airlines Issue Open Letter Asking You To Help Them Lobby Congress
By 7.10.08
In a letter signed by 12 CEOs, the US air travel industry has called upon you, their customers, to help them lobby congress. What’s the problem that they need help solving? Oil speculation. Read the letter inside.
Midwest Airlines CEO Takes 40% Pay Cut
By 7.3.08
CEO Timothy Hoeksema will accept a pay cut of 40% as Midwest Airlines attempts to cut costs. From The Business Journal of Milwaukee:
AT&T Data Outages Hit Midwest, AT&T Says Nothing
By 1.31.08
Rick in Chicago wrote to us this morning to let us know that he hasn’t been able to access AT&T’s 3G network all day. So far, AT&T has told him nothing, nor have they made an announcement: “text messaging still seems to work, so they could send out a text message to let people know ,” he IMs us. He got confirmation that it was the network and not his company-issued phone from his company’s tech department. This blog says it’s 3G and Edge, while this blog says its UMTS that’s down and disabling Treos and Blackberries.
A Big List Of Airline and Airport "Tarmac Stranding" Policies
By 9.28.07
We’ve been looking over the Department of Transportation’s spiffy new report about “tarmac strandings” (or “long on-board delays” as their now being called,) and have located some pretty interesting stuff.
Bring On The Deep-Fried Oreos, Indiana State Fair Goes Trans-Fat Free
By 8.21.07
The change is only the latest in a string of bans on artificial trans fats. Tied to health problems including heart disease, they have been banished by national restaurant chains, snack brands and New York City, which forbids restaurants to use them in food preparation.
Should Macy's Require Employees To Wear Black?
By 7.24.07
Starting this September, all Macy’s employees will be required to wear black clothes to work. The dress code, which is designed to help customers identify apparently-elusive sales associates, is already in effect in east coast stores, but will be expanded to the 113 stores composing the midwest division. While consumer behavior specialists rave about the change, union officials have filed a grievance against Macy’s for requiring workers to purchase new clothes. Do employee uniforms improve your shopping experience? Tell us after the jump.
Midwest Airlines Has Good Customer Service
By 5.24.07
Midwest airlines has topped a Travel & Leisure magazine survey of airline customer service, according to MSN Money.
Midwest scored 75.64 in the 2007 World’s Best Service readers’ poll in the magazine’s June issue. Readers evaluated airlines’ customer service and in-flight service.
The runners-up were JetBlue, Hawaiian Airlines, Southwest, and Sun Country Airlines. Hooray for good customer service!
Menards Strongarms Small Lumber Suppliers?
By 1.5.07
Does home-improvement store Mernards use unfair business practices to stiff small lumber suppliers? According to a reader email they do, or at least did 15 years ago.
