Billionaire owner of Menard's....

[Zookeeper]

donates almost exclusively to Republicans. Granted, he seems a bit frugal considering he is (according to Forbes): Richest person in Wisconsin, #51 on the list of Richest Americans and #136 on the World's Richest People list. Here are the numbers from
Open Secrets:

-Menard, Inc. is owned by John R. Menard
-$10,000 to the RNC, 10/00
-$10,000 to the RNC, 8/00
-$2,000 to Bush, 6/03
-$1,000 to Mark Green,3/04
-$2,000 to Norm Coleman (R-MN), 4/02
-$2,000 to Norm Coleman, 5/02
-$500 to Gil Gutknecht, (R-MN)7/00
-$500 to Richard Shelby (R-Alabama, Mr. Flat Tax), 6/03
-$500 to D. Stenberg (Nebraska Att.General, anti-choice)2003
-Soft money contributions: 0% to Democrats; $10,000 RNC, 10/00

To his credit, he has donated $3,000 since 2000 to Ron Kind, a Democrat in western Wisconsin.

I also came across an interesting article in Forbes:

"Menard is so hands-on that in 1997...he personally carted bags of chromium and arsenic-tainted incinerator ash home from a company plant in his pick-up truck and them put them out with his household trash. He and Menard, Inc. paid $1.15 million in fines."
<snip>
"...An ex-manager of a Menards store, now suing for age-discrimination, had a contract containing such provisions as a 60% cut in pay should his store be unionized...and dozens of fines for "performance infractions," e.g., $5 if employee's lunchboxes weren't inspected when they left."

He is also at odds with the IRS over tax fraud.

http://www.forbes.com/free_forbes/2003/1006/048.html

He still may be the lesser of two evils if the choice is Menards or Home Depot. And I know that my local Ace Hardware also contributes exclusively to Republicans, so.....:shrug:

(Hello, from Minnesota!)

[ProudToBeLiberal]

1. theres always lowe nt

[Zookeeper]

4. It looks like we only have one Lowes...

(or is it "Lowe?") in MN and it's not in my area. Are they less Rethuglican than Home Depot?

[ClassWarrior]

5. They're building a Lowes (with an "s")...

...at the old Capitol Court location in Milwaukee, which is also the site of a WalMart. Now normally I don't care for WalMart's Mom-and-Pop-bustin' ways, but in this case, Sam & Company have brought some real good to a lower-income neighborhood that up until recently had very few retail options.

Damn. Life, going and being all shades of grey again...

NGU.

[LTR]

9. I shop at that Wal-Mart on occasion

It's the closest one to my house, and I sometimes have to go there to find things I can't find elsewhere.

The neighborhood is improving drastically since Capitol Court came down. It was once a good mall, but really fell apart since the area around it started to decay. Capitol Court in 2000, just prior to its demise, was a scary place. The few people still wandering around in there were a bit creepy. The surrounding businesses were fading fast.

The whole area has really changed, with a 'Main Street'-style retail strip, a Pick n' Save grocery, Wal-Mart, Culvers and now Lowes, not to mention there's still a lot of space left to develop. Magic Johnson owns the developer of much of the area, and he's been successful at turning around some decrepit areas. Hell, they even put a Starbucks in there! All in all, not a bad area anymore. And I hope it has a positive effect on the residential real estate around there. Perhaps mobs of city employees should all move in instead of clinging to the very outer reaches of Milwaukee's city limits.

All in all, nice to see some good employment/retail options in Midtown. Next, we'll see what happens up around another demolished mall, Northridge, which will feature a new (ta da!) Menards.

[Oreo]

2. So what's the deal

with the girl with the huge safety glasses? The old guy went away...she came... the old guy came back...and now neither of them!!

And does anybody else sing the banjo music from the commercials when they pass a menards or is it just me?

Coming from the East coast to Mpls 5 years ago, I had never heard of Menards so most of you won't understand.... be happy that you dont!
Just realized this is the WI Board... hello neighbors! My wife is from Madison...love it there.

At least they're both better than that damn warner-stellians lady!

[theshadow]

3. At least Ace is locally owned.

The stores join for the inventory, like True Value. Menard is an unpleasant person who has a lot of clout in Eau Claire and uses it.

[sybylla]

6. What about Fleet Farm and Farm and Fleet?

I know nothing about who owns them. Does anyone know if they are a decent alternative.

I was thrilled that a Menards came to my town because it brought the Fleet Farm prices into a decent range. But having a choice of the two, though they don't sell exactly the same materials, I'd like to determine which is better.

[Zookeeper]

7. Good question.

The closest Fleet Farm to me is a half-hour drive, so I'm not that familar with them. I have noticed from their ads that they sell guns, which makes me less inclined to go out of my way to shop there.

[TheMightyFavog]

8. Fleet.... Farm..... Must.. Pull.. Over... and.. Stop.....

Must... Buy... Hydraulic... Valve.. For... Log... Splitter...

This is my father every time he goes with us down to Green Bay.

[Poiuyt]

10. Mills Fleet Farm is owned by a man in Appleton - Stu Mills

Actually, I think his sons run it now. I'm pretty sure they are staunch Republicans...I don't know about the sons.

[sybylla]

11. Thanks, I suspected that.

It seems that in certain business markets there are no progressive alternatives. The only solution seems to be to avoid spending money at all, which I'm working on as well.

[Sabriel]

14. Looks like repubs, according to Newsmeat

http://www.newsmeat.com/fec/bystate_detail.php?city=APPLETON&st=WI&last=mills

[AllyCat]

15. There is also Blaine's Farm and Fleet

Owned by a different faction of the family or a former business partner...can't remember the whole story on that. Anyone know who owns Blaine's?

[theshadow]

16. It's Stu and his brother as far as I know.

I've been dealing with them for several years regarding a planned expansion in West Bend. These are people who are used to having their way.

Biggest problem I have with them is that they drum up public support to pressure local government to give them a pass on zoning and other codes. They claim they support farmers and families. Truth is, their company doesn't support anything around here: they refused to donate to the new county fair park, sponsor a Little League team, support the softball park, etc. They even wouldn't let the kids sell candy bars in front of their store for Little League. Our small businesses, service clubs and individual donors carried the burden of these things, while the Mills family counted their pennies.

[mark414]

12. people in eau claire hate him

i'm from milwaukee, but i have a couple friends who went to school in eau claire, and went to high school with a girl who grew up there...her parents hate the motherfucker and apparently so do a lot of people.

not sure why...

[theshadow]

17. Because he's not a nice person.

I've dealt with some local officials in Eau Claire who describe a man with a lot of power and money, and uses both as he pleases. But take heart: last September a judge ruled that he owes the IRS $9 million in penalties and interest. He might still win on appeal, though.

[geekgrrl]

13. the "save big money at Menards" jingle was enough to turn me off...

thanks for the info... I might not be spending much money, but what I have I would prefer to support pro-union and not pro-repug businesses!!

[fudge stripe cookays]

18. Good info for our boycott pages.

Thanks!
FSC