AFTERNOON EDITION

Wisconsin’s anti-Scott Walker crowd will release the final count on its recall petition against the governor on Tuesday. There is apparently no question they have the 540,000 signatures required. The AP story is saying: “But a problem looms for Democrats: They still don't know who would run against him. Recall organizers say they have gathered far more than the 540,208 signatures required to force the election against both Walker and GOP Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch, and will submit their petitions Tuesday. Walker has meanwhile dominated the state's airwaves with ads defending his agenda, including the law enacted last year that ended nearly all collective bargaining rights for most public workers and spurred the recall effort in the first place. He's also crisscrossed the country raising millions of dollars, taking full advantage of both the conservative rock star persona built as he put Wisconsin at the center of the national labor rights debate and a quirk in state law allowing those targeted for recall to ignore normal contribution limits until an election date is set. Walker reported in mid-December that he'd already raised $5.1 million, with about half of that coming from out of state. He received $250,000 alone from Bob Perry, the Texas conservative who was one of the main financial backers behind the Swift Boat Veterans ads that attacked Sen. John Kerry during the 2004 presidential campaign.

Democrats and union leaders insist they're not concerned about not having someone actively running against Walker and trying to match his fundraising. In fact, they say it was part of their strategy.” Unfortunately, you can’t swear in  “Anybody but …"

Everybody wants more cowbell, except the Oshkosh cops. Jeff Collier at TheNorthwestern.com reports: “Oshkosh Police Department officers arrested [a] 26-year-old Appleton man after he decided to give an officer more cowbell after the officer requested the group of Recall Walker demonstrators gathered in the 1800 block of Oshkosh Avenue Thursday afternoon to stay quiet and avoid blocking a restaurant’s driveway. OPD spokesman Officer Joe Nichols said officers responded after restaurant customers called to complain the demonstrators had blocked access to the driveway at 4:20 p.m. Thursday. The man continued to shake the cowbell in the officer’s face in spite of his requests to not make excessive noise. When the officer attempted to take the cowbell, the Appleton man pushed the officer twice. Nichols said the officer ‘directed’ the man to the ground and requested assistance.”

Rose French at the Strib has updated her story on Archbishop John Nienstedt warning priests under his supervision to avoid any “dissent” on his support of the state’s anti-gay marriage amendment position: “In other early signs of the fervent campaign the church intends to wage for the amendment, which will be on every ballot in the state this fall, Nienstedt is appointing priests and married couples to visit archdiocesan high schools to talk about marriage. He has directed parishes to form committees to work for passage of the amendment. He also has warned a priest that he may be stripped of his ministry if he continues to disagree ‘with the church's teaching on marriage.’ In a recent letter to priests and deacons, Nienstedt laid out why he believes it's important that the marriage amendment pass: ‘The endgame of those who oppose the marriage amendment that we support is not just to secure certain benefits for a particular minority, but, I believe, to eliminate the need for marriage altogether.' " Whoa!

Here’s your reason to move to beautiful Superior. Don Walker of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel writes: “A Maine-based aircraft company announced Monday it is moving its headquarters to Superior, creating up to 600 new jobs. Gov. Scott Walker made the announcement that Kestrel Aircraft Corp., a new aircraft manufacturer, will establish its manufacturing and headquarters in Superior. ... Kestrel's decision to move to Wisconsin came after the involvement of the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC) and the Wisconsin Housing and Economic Develop Authority (WHEDA), in consultation with local officials. ... Repayment of the WEDC loan and eligibility for the tax credits are based on Kestrel's capital investment, worker training and job creation. ... The company's headquarters are currently in Brunswick, Maine. The company plans production of a 6- to 8-seat single-engine, turboprop plane that will be used for business and pleasure.” They’ll be ramping up burger production at The Anchor …

Still more from Wisconsin ... and also in the Journal-Sentinel. Larry Sanders reports on a plan for a second daily Twin Cities-to-Chicago Amtrak run. “If a second daily round trip were added between Chicago and the Twin Cities, it would have to be state-supported, because Congress has ordered Amtrak to find outside funding for any new service, said Marc Magliari, an Amtrak spokesman in Chicago. More frequent service would make trains more convenient for short trips between Milwaukee and the Twin Cities, or from either metro area to a destination such as Wisconsin Dells, Magliari said. A feasibility study would estimate costs, benefits and ridership of expanded Chicago-to-Twin Cities service, said Praveena Pidaparthi, Minnesota's passenger rail planning director, and Ron Adams, Wisconsin rail chief. Minnesota and Wisconsin would evenly split the $60,000 cost of the six-month study by Amtrak staff, starting within the next two months, Pidaparthi said. Wisconsin is working to come up with its share, Adams said.”  This is separate from the high-speed train proposals.

PiPress sports columnist Tom Powers thinks the Vikings stadium muddle needs the impetus of a threat from somewhere: “Experience tells us that these things always come to a slow boil. Then all hell eventually breaks loose. It just seems as if we're having a hard time getting to that boil. For example, we don't know where House Speaker Kurt Zellers stands on the issue. Heck, we don't even know where he is. So far, his official position has been to duck out the back door. Meanwhile, we've got Rep. Phyllis Kahn of Minneapolis demonstrating an astonishing lack of knowledge about the situation by suggesting that the Vikings owners sell shares to the public. Yes, hang on, the NFL will change its bylaws tomorrow. Hello? There's about as much chance of selling Vikings shares to the public as there is of selling shares of Phyllis Kahn to the public. With so many lawmakers on both sides of the aisle either ducking the issue or clueless, it's hard to envision anything happening either way. ... what we need is an overt threat, something that at least gets those on-the-fence legislators to state a position. They need to say yea or nay because a shrug is not acceptable policy. Then we would at least have an idea of which way the wind is blowing.” How about the threat of trapping the governor, Zellers, Kahn and a rabid Vikings fan in an elevator until something breaks loose?

Well, there will still be a “Cutest Puppy” contest … Paul Walsh’s Strib story says: “Lack of snow has forced cancellation of the John Beargrease Sled Dog Marathon, scheduled to begin Jan. 29 on Minnesota's North Shore, officials announced late Monday morning. ... Other race week events remain unchanged. They included a gala and silent auction on Jan. 27 at the Greysolon Ballroom, followed by the ‘Cutest Puppy’ contest on Jan. 28 at Fitger's restaurant in Duluth. The Beargrease was canceled in 2007, after a lack of snow near Duluth forced the race to move its starting line first to Two Harbors and then to Grand Portage, before being abondoned completely.”

OMG! Changes at The Galleria! Janet Moore of the Strib reports: “Big changes at the Galleria, Edina's upscale shopping mall. First, furniture retailer Arhaus will open a 15,000 square foot store this fall to anchor the mall's east end. In addition, Marmi, a retailer of European-influenced shoes, will open a 1,980-square-foot store in late summer. Locally owned Allure Intimate Apparel will unveil a flagship boutique this spring. Allure, owned by husband-and-wife entrepreneurs Peter and Peg O'Malley, features brands such as Aubade, LeMystere and Chantelle, as well as sleep and lounge wear.” Thank god I still have options for lounge wear.

At Power Line, Scott Johnson re-posts a very somber and respectful piece (from 2005) on the thinking of Martin Luther King. Really. Quoting several paragraphs from King letters, Johnson says, “Why did King presume to come from Atlanta to Birmingham? King writes:

I am in Birmingham because injustice is here. Just as the eighth century prophets left their little villages and carried their “thus saith the Lord” far beyond the boundaries of their home towns; and just as the Apostle Paul left his little village of Tarsus and carried the gospel of Jesus Christ to practically every hamlet and city of the Graeco-Roman world, I too am compelled to carry the gospel of freedom beyond my particular home town. Like Paul, I must constantly respond to the Macedonian call for aid.

"King’s prophetic call must have been both a source of strength and of concern. His strength was manifest; he rarely let his concern show. Perfection is not a condition of the prophet’s call, and King was both imperfect and aware of his imperfections. His unbending strength is all the more remarkable. It is difficult to comprehend that King was only 39 years old at the time of his assassination in Memphis on April 4, 1968, or that the prospect of his death weighed so heavily on his mind. He seems too young to have accomplished so much, or to have maintained his judgment under such trying circumstances. The magnitude of his own trials must have had a deep impact on him.”