Warm Wisconsin winter hurts businesses

MILWAUKEE CO. -- Who would have guessed the conditions on January 6th would be good enough for golfing!  Temperatures on Friday were in the 50s for much of the FOX6 viewing area. Just as an example: The Edgewood Golf Course in Big Bend saw close to 200 golfers on Friday.

On the other side of the spectrum - the warm weather hurts businesses like ski hills, snow plowing, and even winter clothing stores.

Wisconsin Knitwear in Milwaukee is seeing a decrease in sales to people in the Midwest. Fortunately for owner Steve Arenzon, winter has arrived in other parts of the country. Arenzon says, "Personally I love the warm weather, but for business it's not great." Overall, their sales are up about 30 percent because they sell knitwear internationally.

Sales are down 25 percent in Wheel and Sprocket's cross country ski department. Owner Chris Kegel says, "Quite honestly, we missed our goal for ski sales in December."

Meanwhile on the slopes, they're open... but working hard to make their own snow. Some ski hills are even offering bargains to try and get people to come in.

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