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The turmoil that enveloped Wisconsin politics since spring is over, at least for now.

Protests roiled the Wisconsin state capitol in Madison this winter.

Two Democratic state senators hung on to their seats in yesterday’s recall elections, leaving Republicans in control of state government. The senators, Jim Holperin of Conover, and Bob Wirch of Pleasant Prairie, defeated Republican challengers.

The votes were last involving six state senate seats over the past two weeks. The recall elections came in the wake of Wisconsin’s controversial new law, pushed by its Republican Gov., Scott Walker, that strictly limits collective bargaining rights for state employees.

Republicans hold a 17-16 margin in the state senate, and have a majority in the state house as well as the governor’s chair.

An estimated $37 million was spent on ads during the recall campaigns, which followed a court challenge to the new law. Holperin and Wirch were among 14 Democrats who left Wisconsin rather than vote on the collective bargaining proposal.

In last week’s elections, Democrats gained two seats previously held by Republicans, but weren’t able wrest control of the state senate.

However,  the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, “The narrower majority would make it tougher to win approval of controversial legislation, such as stricter abortion restrictions or tougher penalties for illegal immigrants.”

But it noted that Republicans this year have already achieved many of the top goals that they have pursued for years. “In addition to the collective bargaining changes, they approved significant cuts in state aid to schools and local governments; some tax cuts; the carrying of concealed weapons; requiring photo ID at the polls starting next year; and eliminating all taxpayer funding for political campaigns.”

Read Changing Gears’ Wisconsin coverage here.

Now that it’s over, what do you think Wisconsin says about the political climate in our region? Post your comments below.

Our Changing Gears team has been looking at how the Midwest is adapting to new economic realities. But that can mean sticking to what you know best. From Cleveland, David C. Barnett takes us to Pierre’s Ice Cream Company, where a mix of old family values and new technology has helped it stay in business for 80 years.

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America was ice-cream crazy in 1927. It was the Roaring ‘20s, and a high-calorie dessert fit in with the age of excess so well that band leader Fred Waring celebrated with a hit song with “I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream” lyrics still familiar today.

Ray Kralik of Pierre's

Five years later, the music of Depression-era America was much more somber. But a Cleveland businessman named Alex Basset figured it was the perfect time to open a business that catered to the public’s need for an indulgence, albeit an affordable one. It would be something to help them forget hard times, an ice cream shop.

He called it “Pierre’s.”

“I am told it was a fabricated, dreamed-up name to go along with the reputation that the original founder wanted, which was for French ice cream and real high-quality, gourmet ice cream,” said Shelley Roth, whose father, Sol, bought the business from Basset in 1960.

Roth says Pierre’s stuck to that founding philosophy, selling a high-class product that didn’t put too much strain on working-class wallets. But Pierre’s hasn’t been afraid to be flexible and innovate.

“When you focus on what has helped us survive through good and bad times, I think, in many ways it’s because we keep up with technology,” she said.

The (fake) spilled sherbet that greets Pierre's visitors

Blobs of mint ice cream with the unlikely name “Moose Tracks” plop into a line of pint containers in Pierre’s new 35,000 square-foot facility, which allows the company to produce eight times its previous capacity. In the midst of computer-controlled machinery stands Ray Kralik, the company’s decidedly old-school supervisor.

He started working at Pierre’s when he was 16. That was 39 years ago. He’s kind of link that guy at the hardware store who mixes customized gallons of paint, adding gallons of flavors to stainless-steel tanks of churning cream while following long-established guidelines that he long ago committed to memory.

Last Christmas, Pierre’s named a flavor in honor of Ray Kralik – “Ray’s Rootbeer Float” – to celebrate his nearly forty years of institutional memory.

“Ever since I started, I was treated good by Sol Roth, Shelley Roth,” Kralik said. “It’s like a family.”

But some “family” members left last year. Eight full-time and three part-time workers were cut, trimming the company workforce to 85. Sometimes, as Pierre’s learned, job loss is the price of greater technological efficiency. That and a lousy economy.

Between population loss and the rising costs of ingredients, Shelley Roth said Pierre’s local profit

Shelley Roth, whose family owns Pierre's

margins have been battered in recent years. The company is counting on the new facility to expand capacity and reach outside the region, which means going up against the big boys.

“This past recession has been the most difficult,” she said. “Because we compete with many of the global conglomerates that now really own most of the brands in the supermarkets, it’s very competitive. But, we still persevere, because we stick to our values.”

Even in the modern era, when the competition is between companies that are featuring new concoctions with flavors such as “French Toast,” “Strawberry Basil” and “Riesling Poached Pear,” Pierre’s “bread and butter” is good old French Vanilla. Roth says the company is currently in discussions with food industry officials in other countries who are interested in importing American ice cream – American ice cream, with a French name.

Three stories making news across the Midwest today:

Layoffs or Liftoff? That’s the question the Chicago Tribune poses today about the ramifications of Google’s purchase of Libertyville, Ill.-based Motorola Mobility. Earlier this year, the state of Illinois bestowed $117 million in incentives upon the company in order to keep its 3,300 jobs. Monday’s announcement has stoked fears that Google could move some or all of the jobs to California, but it has also brought some hopes that the company could invest more dollars in Illinois. Crain’s Chicago Business takes a look at the situation here.

New Prius Plug-in Gets 107 MPG. President Obama recently announced new fuel economy standards that require cars to get 54.5 miles per gallon by 2025. But the new Toyota Prius may get double that. A 107-mpg hybrid Prius will debut at an auto show in Frankfurt, Germany next month, according to AOL Autos. The plug-in relies on gas and battery power. It is expected to challenge the Chevy Volt and Nissan Leaf when it reaches the U.S. market in early 2012. Toyota, which has operations in Michigan, Indiana, Ontario and elsewhere, can use some good news. It has had a difficult year, with the auto industry slowdown, the tsunami and earthquake in Japan, and the lingering impact of its quality problems.

Gentex Announces Michigan Expansion. Automotive parts maker Gentex Corp. said today it will invest $160 million over five years to add facilities in Western Michigan. The expansion is expected to bring as many as 1,100 new jobs in Zeeland and Holland Township. A tax credit provided by the Michigan Economic Growth Authority of $2.4 million over three years helped Western Michigan win the jobs over a competing site in Alabama, according to the Holland Sentinel.

It’s been a tumultuous and expensive year for Wisconsin politics, and it comes to a conclusion today, at least at the polls. Two Democratic state senators face recall elections today, in the wake of the state’s new law that sharply limits public employee collective bargaining rights.

Associated Press photo

Republicans are assured of keeping control of state government, where they hold the governor’s seat and majorities in both the state senate and the assembly. But they could widen their one-seat state senate lead by upsets. Read more from the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel.

Last week, Republicans took four of six senate seats that were part of the recall effort, with Democrats claiming two victories. In all, the campaign to unseat state senators has cost an estimated $37 million.

The Wisconsin recall effort has attracted national attention as states in the Great Lakes and elsewhere grapple with tight budgets. It followed dramatic weeks of protests in Madison over Gov. Scott Walker’s effort to pass a law severely limiting public employees’ collective bargaining rights. The Democrats facing recalls today were among 14 senators who left the state, rather than vote on the legislation.

Walker, who was elected last November, could face his own recall effort by Democrats next year.

Check out Changing Gears’ continuing coverage of the Wisconsin political situation and the efforts by lawmakers across the region to affecting public employees.

News from the Youngstown Business Incubator…

Normally we just don’t get all that excited when someone approaches us to help launch an iPhone app. They most often do not create the big new jobs number we are looking to achieve.

But, sitting through a PowerPoint presentation recently for a new iPhone and iPod Touch app called Toaster Pop, imagined and designed by Connor Zamary, well…we were left completely speechless.

Particularly when the last slide appeared:

“If you want more information, my Dad said you have to sign an NDA.”

You see, Connor is all of seven years old. And he is simply amazing.

If you want to see what kids are capable of these days, visit www.toasterpop.com, now selling in the Apple App Store.

Man, I really need to get myself back in school. I suddenly can’t compete with a seven year old.

This kid’s already had downloads from Kuwait, Indonesia and Malaysia!

Source: elevenwarriors.com

There’s major technology news for our region, with the announcement by Google that it is buying Libertyville, Ill.-based Motorola Mobility for $12.5 billion in cash. Google said it would pay $40 per share, a 63 percent premium, based on the company’s Friday closing price on the New York Stock Exchange.

On Monday, shares of Motorola Mobility jumped as much as 59 percent, Reuters reported.

A Motorola Android Phone (Courtesy of Motorola)

Mountain View, Calif.-based Google, which has offices around the Midwest, has been collaborating with Motorola Mobility for some time on its Android-operating system cell phones.

Crain’s Chicago Business billed the buy as a win for both companies, saying that Google gets more than 17,000 Motorola patents to solidify the Android software. Key Motorola Mobility shareholder/billionaire investor Carl Icahn called it a “great outcome for all shareholders”.

Still, the announcement came as a surprise to the local tech community, Wailin Wong of the Chicago Tribune reported. In May, after reportedly considering a move to California, Motorola Mobility accepted $117 million in incentives over 10 years from the state of Illinois to stay and retain about 3,000 jobs.

A spokeswoman for Gov. Pat Quinn said the state expects Google keep workers here in Illinois, rather than move them to California. She told Crain’s via email,

“We welcome Google’s expanded presence in Illinois, and would expect that Google will live up to the agreements that Motorola Mobility made to the state, which includes keeping its corporate headquarters here, along with thousands of high-tech jobs and hundreds of millions of dollars in private investment.”

The big question — how many of these jobs will stay in Illinois – has yet to be answered.

All kinds of ideas are being floated to jump start the economy — jobs programs, tax credits, incentives for big companies to invest. But small businesses also play a big part in the Midwest economy.

Leduc Blueberries in Paw Paw, MI.

What kind of support would help small businesses be successful? Are more incubators the answer? Have you been helped by one?

We’d love to hear your stories and thoughts about surviving as a small business. Take our survey, and share your advice for other companies in getting through the recession.

Three stories making news across the Midwest today:

1. Google acquires Motorola. Google will buy cell-phone maker Motorola Mobility, according to our partner station WBEZ, in a deal worth $12.5 billion in cash. The companies say the deal has been approved by both boards. Good will pay $40 per share for Schaumberg, Ill.-based Motorola, a 63 percent premium on Friday’s closing price. PC Magazine writes today that, for Google, the deal is about acquiring patent rights as much as it is about Motorola’s hardware, such as the Android properties.

2. Fannie Mae violates own policy. Foreclosure rates across the Great Lakes have fallen dramatically in the past year according to recent data, but rates may have remained artificially high because of Fannie Mae foreclosure practices now under scrutiny. The Detroit Free Press reported Sunday the mortgage giant had violated its own policy by forcing banks to foreclose on delinquent homeowners, even as the banks were trying to help borrowers save their houses under the federal Home Affordable Modification Program.

3. Deal to weaken SB5? Officials from two organizations formed to oppose Ohio’s collective bargaining bill secretly met with lawmakers and discussed a possible deal to weaken the controversial legislation. The Columbus Dispatch reports the talks included a potential compromise that included the cancellation of a November referendum on the bill known as SB5. Though no deal was agreed upon, The Dispatch wrote a “framework had emerged to repeal Senate Bill 5 in exchange for union concessions.”

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