Here & Now; 843

May 7, 2010

Here and Now, obey retires, One of the most powerful members of Congress announced that he would not seek re-election in the fall. Wausau Democrat and Chair of the House Appropriations Committee David Obey announced Wednesday that he was 'bone tired.' The hard charging progressive has represented Wisconsin's 7th District since 1969. Here and Now reporter Art Hackett talked with Obey via satellite from Washington. dairy farming, milk prices, Wisconsin dairy farmers and their recessionary plight that saw milk prices in the tank? The break even mark for dairy farmers is typically about 15-dollars per 100 pounds of milk they sell. Prices were up to 20 dollars per hundredweight in 2008 before sinking below $10 last year. They're now back to about 14-dollars. We checked in with one Dane County dairyman Pat O'Brien -- who just a year ago worried he'd have to sell off cows to stay above water. This spring things are looking up. But just a little. beloit unemployment, beloit jobs, Federal labor department reports employment increased by 290 thousand jobs in April. That figure is well above projections. Beloit's unemployment rate at 18-point two percent. The highest in the state. Putting that in perspective: Flint Michigan's number is 16-point-three. Here and Now Producer Art Hackett went to Beloit to ask one basic question: Why? Here's his report. job market for college grads, Leslie Kohlberg, the Director of the UW Career Advisor services at UW-Madison. She?ll be talking about the state of the job market(s) for this years college grads.