This Just In...
Kevin Fischer is an award-winning veteran broadcaster who has been seen and heard on Milwaukee TV and radio stations for nearly three decades.
Kevin, who is a legislative aide to state Sen. Mary Lazich (R-New Berlin), can be seen offering his views on the news on the public affairs program, “INTERchange,” on Milwaukee Public Television Channel 10. He lives with his wife, Jennifer, in Franklin.
Franklin, WI on the Monopoly board?
By Kevin Fischer
Sunday, Feb 24 2008, 02:27 PM
Fans around the world of the popular MONOPOLY board game are now voting to choose which global cities will be included on the first-ever worldwide MONOPOLY edition. Visit www.monopoly.com to have the chance to pick from more than 68 ‘candidate cities’ from six continents. The United States has six candidates on the ballot: Boston, Chicago, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, New York City and Washington, D.C.
According to a Hasbro news release, here’s how the global cities will be selected:
“The 20 cities earning the most votes will automatically win a spot on the new MONOPOLY Here & Now: The World Edition game board and will be placed on the game board in rank order from highest rent property to lowest rent property. So as the election begins, pundits may ponder whether Oslo, Tokyo, or Toronto -- or another great global city -- will claim the coveted spot traditionally occupied by Boardwalk. Others may wonder if wintry Montreal will cozy up next to warm weather Rio de Janeiro and be neighbors on the board. And there’s always the possibility that former political foes will find themselves as friendly members of the same property group.
Fans may cast votes for up to 10 of the “candidate cities” from (January 22, 2008) until Feb. 28, 2008. To facilitate voting for MONOPOLY fans worldwide, the website is available in more than 30 languages.”
OK.
So where does Franklin come in?
Back to the Hasbro news release:
“While the ballot of candidate cities attempts to capture the greatest cities on the planet, game maker Parker Brothers acknowledges that some fans may feel that their favorite city didn’t make the list. Fortunately, fans visiting www.monopoly.com can nominate virtually any city on Earth via a wild card (a.k.a. write-in) vote component on the website. Then, beginning Feb. 29, 2008, the top 20 most nominated wild card cities will compete in a one-week face-off for the opportunity to be featured as one of the two members of the “low rent” property group, traditionally home to Baltic Avenue and Mediterranean Avenue. This means the new game board may feature property spaces representing Paris, France AND Paris, Texas. Or Kalamazoo could become a worldwide household name if it joins the board alongside such famous cities as Sydney and Cairo.”
So let the write-in campaign begin!
The odds aren’t the best, I’ll grant you.
But wouldn’t it be cool, and wouldn’t it do wonders for our image and marketing, to see FRANKLIN, WISCONSIN on the global edition of Monopoly?
On Presidents' Day, Hasbro found a George W. Bush look-a-like to help "Mr. Monopoly" encourage people to vote for a US city to be included in a new world edition of Monopoly. (RAY STUBBLEBINE/HASBRO/REUTERS)
