EAU CLAIRE, Wis. (WEAU) – Small business owners in western Wisconsin had the chance to grow and network today.

The Wisconsin Small Business Academy took place at 11 places around the state, including at the Pablo Center.

It’s a four-day event that wrapped up with a half-day program this morning.

Organizers said the program focuses on providing the region’s entrepreneurs an opportunity to connect with financial and technical resource providers.

“For small businesses, knowing your resources is really going to help them succeed, because oftentimes starting a small business is really stressful, challenging and there’s a lot of things you don’t know, so that’s where knowing your resources is really valuable,” said Harlie Juedes, Interim Director of the Small Business Development Center.

Organizers said around 50 people attended today’s in-person session and there are more virtual sessions throughout the week.

You can learn more about the academy here.

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If you’re not willing to pay Pfister prices, you’re not going to get a Pfister-quality hotel.

And that, GOP sources say, is why the Wisconsin delegation to the Republican National Convention almost ended up staying in Racine.

The state party confirmed to WisPolitics that Wisconsin delegates are now slated to stay in the just-reopened Hampton Inn & Suites in downtown Milwaukee for the July 15-18 convention. The party was otherwise mum on how the delegation ended up there.

But multiple GOP sources told WisPolitics the hotel odyssey was a result of what the Wisconsin delegation was willing to pay for its hotel.

According to the sources:

*The RNC assigns hotels to delegations by a price structure. Every delegation is asked what it is willing to pay for its rooms, which are covered by the delegates themselves, and then states are slotted accordingly. None of the top hotels in downtown Milwaukee were going for less than $550 a night, and the Wisconsin delegation’s original price point was well below that.

*There aren’t enough hotels in Milwaukee to host all the delegates, media and others who will be in Milwaukee for the convention, as well as the national committee meetings the week before. That resulted in the RNC slating Wisconsin to stay in Racine before someone objected to the optics of the home-state delegation staying outside the host city.

*The next step was the Hampton Inn, which has faced financial troubles over the past five years. It closed last year and was transferred to its lender last year in lieu of foreclosure, but recently opened again. The Wisconsin delegation will be there for the convention, about six blocks away from the Fiserv Forum.   

Follow convention-related news at Convention Corridor.

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MILWAUKEE — A 29-year-old Milwaukee man is now charged for a deadly crash into a county bus.

Prosecutors said Danny Romero was speeding on April 20 before slamming into the side of a bus at 35th and Wisconsin.

His passenger, Michael Captain, 31 was killed. Another passenger in the SUV was critically hurt.

7 people on the bus were also treated for injuries.
Investigators said the car was stolen, and Romero never had a valid driver’s license.

The crash at 35th and Wisconsin came just under 48 hours after another Milwaukee Police said another car traveling more than 100 miles per hour on Capitol Drive hit a Milwaukee County Transit bus at North 35th Street. The driver of the car was killed.

Jaime Walls, Michael’s aunt, says he was a father who enjoyed making people laugh.

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“He had a heart of gold, and he really would give his shirt off of his back for you. I know a lot of people say that, but it was true,” Walls said.

Romero is scheduled to appear in court on May 7 for a preliminary hearing, according to court records. His bond has been set at $100,000.

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