The Journal Times from Racine, Wisconsin • 12

ly A Jounal Times, Sunday, March 28,1976 -1 tftftclnn, Wl. 9 w'' i xsi i7. i a i i Dipiess theloitrnal! jlctes 4 aiies risen r-i if. i. rtr.

i i If ft 'J i 7 -4 ViH 1 1 I 1 4 -War Lj 1 III Hl for 'no-fault' lournal Times Photo by Arthur P. Haas Stocking a shelf at mart was G. Willie Wiedemann, 1639 Perry Ave. ance companies provide cost more. The companies say they lost more than $4 billion on policies in 1975, with half the loss coming from auto policies.

1 Another problem is that auto repair costs are rising even faster than the Consumer Price Index. More fhan half the price of yourremiums goes for property damage coverage and most states do not include this, kind of coverage under no-fault. A third problem is more basic. It involves the structure and concept of no-fault itself. By ttta Atsociatnl Pres While, the Senate prepares to act on a federal no-fault insurance bill, officials in states which passed similar laws the last five years are trying to cope with unexpected problems that are causing higher premiums for motorists.

When no-fault was introduced, supporters said the program would mean lower Insurance rates. Decreases were mandated in many states. Now, premiums are rising up more than 20 per cent last year in some areas. And the increases are wiping out earlier savings. One problem is inflation.

The services that the insur irhursd mart will opem ay marts come in four sizes, Harry B. Cunningham, then depending on the market area Kresge's general vice presi- dent, was assigned to spend 40,000, 60,000, 84,000 and $104.8 million profit on sales of $5.54 billion the year be-r fore. "More than 90 per cent" of the 1975 profit was generat- ed by the mart division, and 89.7 per cent of sales.i Kresge's said. The confpany still has a Kresge variety store here, at i Elmwood Plaza, and a Jupiter limited-line discount store Downtown at 430 Main St. The company began converting variety stores with slipping' profits to Jupiter stores in-.

1961. was then told to bring in enough deals to assure a minimum of 50 new marts every year for the next 10 years, a goal that was doubled in 1970. The company opened 130 marts In 1975. Of the 948 now operating, 846 are in the United States, 75 in Canada and 27 in Australia. Kresge's home offices are at Troy, Mich.

The company recently reportedprofits of $200.8 million on sales of $6.8 billion for the fiscal year ended Jan. 28, nearly double the At first glance-, no-fault seems relatively simple. A motorist who is insured under no-fault and has an accident, collects benefits from his own insurance company, 'no matter who is to blame. The aim of this system is to speed up claims for ouMf-pocket expenses such as medical bills. The second goal of no-fault auto insurance is to cut costs by reducing the number of lawsuits.

No-fault legislation, therefore, generally restricts an accident victim's' right to sue for damages. Just about everyone seems to agree that some sort of no-fault 'system is a good idea. The main opposition to most nofault comes from the Association of Trial Lawyers of America which is against limitations on an individual's right to take his case to court. There are arguments, however, about what kind of no-fault plan is best and whether it should be enacted at the state or federal level. Estimates of the impact of a federal no-fault law on premiums vary according to assumptions about what states would do in complying with the legislation.

No one knows, for example, what sort of limit would be put on survivors' benefits in the case of death. Allstate Insurance the nation's second largest auto insurer, estimates that a federal no-fault bill would mean an increase in premiums. State Farm Insurance the largest auto Insurer, says federal no-fault would mean a decrease. By David Pfankuchen Journal Timm Staff S.S. Kresge mart discount department store division opened its first store 14 years ago, in 1962 In a Detroit suburb.

Today, there are 948 mart stores in operation, a total that will rise by at least one this week. The 84,000 square-foot mart at the southwest corner "of Ohio Street and Byrd Avenue will open Thursday. In addition to general merchandise, apparel and furnishings departments, the store has a lumber and home improvements department, an automotive center an enclosed garden shop and a snack bar. Construction of the building began last June on a timetable that called for a pre-East-er opening. That schedule has obviously been met.

Manager Richard M. Jan-sen said the store will have about 160 employes 120 full time, 40 part-time. The 14-acre site has parking for about 700 cars. to leave 1957 and 1958 studying future consumer needs and investigating all methods of retailing. When he became president in 1959, Cunningham began laying the groundwork for Kresge's entry into a new field discount department stores, a business which at the time was unproven and not highly regarded by many observers of general merchandise retailing.

The Kresge real estate department's initial assignment was the acquisition of 60 mart sites. When the first mart opened March 1, 1962 in suburban Detroit, there were firm commitments for 32 others involving a financial obligation of more than $80 million. Shortly after the first stores opened, Kresge's said, "it became obvious that management's concept was via-, ble. Public acceptance was overwhelming." The real estate department 90,000 square feet. At 84,000 feet, the Racine unit is of the size most commonly built.

The Kenosha mart, which opened in 1973, is the same size. It does not have a lumber and home improvements department. S.S. Kresge is the nation's third largest retailer, ranking behind Sears, Roebuck and J.C. Penney.

The company's remarkable sales and profit growth of recent years has been generated by the mart division, which traces its beginnings to management decisions made in the late 1950s. Founded by Sebastian S. Kresge in 1899 with a single dime store, at Detroit, the company by 1912 was operating the second largest group of variety stores. For close to half a century, it was among the most successful retail' businesses. But the nature of retailing was changing.

The company's profits were sliding. Builders call for no pay raise MILWAUKEE (AP) Citing what he called "a serious recession in the construction industry," a spokesman for building trades employers said they would as unions representing 15,000 workers to forego pay raises this year "The fact remains that we've got over 7,000 craftsmen who are no longer working in their trade," said Henry Hunt, executive vice president of the Allied Construction Employers Association. The association's 325 firms do about 70 per cent of the construction work in metropolitan Milwaukee, and bargain with the 19 unions in the Milwaukee Building and Construction Trades Council. Talks are scheduled to start next month on a labor contract to replace one that expires May 31. Last year, the association asked the unions to pass up a 9.5 per cent wage increase negotiated the year before, noting the state of the industry.

But the unions refused, pointing out that the cost of living had risen 12.2 per cent. The "paramount factor is that we still have a serious recession in the construction industry and that's bad for everyone," Hunt said. on global trip WASHINGTON (AP) A globe-girdling trip planned by Agriculture Secretary Earl L. Butz next month will put him In direct contact with foreign officials involved in some of the most sensitive issues related to U.S. farmers.

For example, Butz will visit New Zealand and Australia I vk jm zy- -r8-- kx, i if a in the first leg of his 20-day I trip, scheduled to begin April 11. Those countries are the leading suppliers of foreign beef to the United States and' had -been criticized at times by American livestock inter- ests for allegedly trying to I dump surplus meat on the U.S. market. Butz will deliver what aides Thursday called "a major speech" in Wellington, N.Z., at a meeting of farm organizations during his visit April 1315. Next, in Sidney, he will par-' ticipate in an Australian sym-' posium at the annual Royal' Easter Livestock Show.

Australia also is a major grain export competitor of the Unit-ed States. Other countries on Butz' in-. tinerary include Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Greece, Bulgaria, Switzerland, Spain; and Portugal. He expects to return May 2. Indonesia and Malaysia are' the primary sources of U.S.

palm oil imports. which have-', grown drmatically the past; year or two. Soybean producers and other U.S. interests have protested the growth of palm oil Imports and want the Ford administration to Impose quotas or take other action to restrict them. Producer groups say palm -oil imports help depress the price of soybeans, normally the major source for U.S.

vegetable oil. While in Singapore, Butz will take part in a conference of U.S. agricultural officers 1 posted In Peking and Hong Kong, who are expected to discuss farm and trade devel- opments In China. f. Butz will meet with govern- ment officials on "future trade opportunities and prob-, lems" in Greece, Spain and Portugal.

In Mad-. rid, he will speak April 29 at a I meeting of the Mediterranean Foundation on "Food: The Main Problem of World De-' velopment." Repair cost: i just pennies! I DURHAM, N.C. (AP) -Durham man who got angry when an auto dealership wouldn't take his personal check tor car repairs finally i paid the $312.87 bill In cash 31,287 pennies. ,1 Rut thai dmlor mIhm -mnpmwf- ill imm mil 1,11 jBtWWW 11 UWMI mwmit AWMMMHMMHWRHMMMNlMiWWls lournal Times Photo by Arthur P. Haas Angel fish usually don't hide -from people or cameras.

Joe Povkovich, left, and Curt Kiger. Fish hobby spawns business for two By David Pfankuchen Journal TimSta Can two young men who raised tropical fish at home in basement tanks for fun turn their hobby into a money-making business? i Why not. Curt Kiger, 3019 Navajo Trail, and Joe Povkovich, 2507 Charles are having a go at It. Since getting serious about the whole thing year ago, they've been raising angel fish, a tropical variety popular as a beginning fish with people starting aquariums, and wholesaling them to pet and fish stores. "We've made a profit," said Povkovich, 26, an accountant at Walker Manufacturing "but we've plowed It back into the business." "We raise 'em from scratch, said Kiger, 25, physical director at the YMCA.

"It's kind of Interesting." Their customers Include Havahart Fish A Pet Center, 6218 Washington Northside Tropicals, 409 English and tores hi Milwaukee. "And from time to time, we'll tell 200 of 'em to another wkolesaJer for breeding nock," Kiger said, adding that few are aoM to private Individual who use them for the same Shortly before starting work at the Kiger bought four angel fish. "My piranha was getting bigger," Kiger said. "I traded the pirahna and my first two angel fish to a pet store operator for a 29-gallori'fisb tank and some frozen fish food. "On Christmas Eve, the two angel fish that I still had spawned.

"But I lost 'em. That was my first taste of mating 'em. "All this time' I was teaching a women's fitness class at the YMCA. That's how I met Joe. His wife was in my class.

It was a night class, and I mentioned I had to go home and feed my fish. "Rosemary, Joe's wife, said Joe did the same thing." Povkovich and Kiger began swapping fish. By the beginning of 1974, Kiger was trading most of his to Don Schlnkowltch of North Side Tropicals for fish food, tanks, plants for the tunl and other necessary supplies. "We got most of our stuff through a bartering system, until our business started up," Kiger said. Kiger and Povkovich started thinking about trying to make a business of It early In 1975.

"Our little wholesalershlp," as Kiger termed It, officially began in March. purpose. Angel fish come In a variety of colon. Kiger and Povkovich specialize In golds and blacks. Angel fish, Povkovich noted, are hardy.

And their sunflsh shape also helps make them popular, Kiger said, "They'll fight before they mate," Povkovich said. "They'll float In the water too. They're majestic. They glide. And they usually don't hide." Like all members of the Clchlidae fish family, Kiger said, angel fish are egg layers.

"If you don't get an aggressive pair, they usually don't spawn," he said. "They just live their life cycle and don't spawn." In captivity, Povkovich said, angel fish at their largest are about eight Inches from top fin to bottom fin. Kiger's interest In tropical fish began while he was a student at Northern State College, Aberdeen, S.D., from which he graduated in 1972. He came here that fall to take the YMCA Job. During his senior year, Kiger's wife bought him a piranha, that well-known, voracious South American It or sot I brought It to Racine In a U-Haul trailer," he said.

accept the coins, contending tney were not legal tender. Martin McGuire left his car and the pennies at the dealer's and returned with a law. yer. The dealer then agreed to take the pennies and returned McGwire's car..