It is apparent AirTran has had its sights on Midwest for some time and it is equally apparent Midwest management doesn’t want to sell. That’s why AirTran’s bid is being called a "hostile" takeover. But hostile to whom? Eighty-two percent of Midwest stock is held by nonmanagement private investors (most are mutual funds and pension funds).

Those shareholders own the company and they don’t view an offer that has dramatically increased their share price as "hostile" at all. (Full disclosure: I own shares of Midwest stock.) The logical and almost certain conclusion to all of this will be a sale of Midwest at an even higher price than AirTran has already offered. Twelve dollars and 40 cents a share sounds about right. If this happens, there will be winners and losers.

WINNERS: Let’s start with Midwest shareholders. The company was near bankruptcy and its stock was less than $1 less than two years ago. They’re making a windfall. AirTran is another big winner. Midwest has a strong presence in a part of the country where AirTran is almost non-existent. AirTran’s fleet of planes is virtually identical to Midwest’s. AirTran would add Milwaukee and Kansas City as secondary hubs to its main base of Atlanta.

Northwest Airlines (or whoever buys it) is another winner. With Midwest and its loyal customer base out of the picture, Northwest could gain market share in Wisconsin.

LOSERS: Any way you cut it, southeastern Wisconsin will suffer. Despite AirTran’s grandiose promises, jobs will be lost, routes will be eliminated and the relative comfort of Midwest flights will be eliminated. But even more importantly, another corporate headquarters will be lost. Midwest has been a big booster of local sports and the arts. Companies put their money where the bosses live. AirTran will invest a fraction in the community of what Midwest was adding.

Midwest employees will certainly be less well off. Even though the head of one of the two pilots unions naively said a sale would be positive, chances are that consolidation will eliminate some positions. Further, a discounter like AirTran will have no stomach for the kinds of demands of union leaders.

The biggest loser of all will be outstate Wisconsin. The routes likeliest to be eliminated are the ones served by Midwest’s subsidiary that flies small jets and prop planes. Stevens Point, Appleton and several other cities in Wisconsin and Michigan could lose virtually all of their service.

Midwest is one of the biggest assets of the region’s business community. Our onerous tax and regulatory environment have already driven thousands of jobs away. The loss of Midwest will mean the end to one of our biggest selling points. But even if this deal falls through (and it probably won’t), Midwest may perpetually be seen as a takeover target. Publicly traded companies are just that - available for anyone in the public to buy.

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Advocates of communities being run by professional city "managers" or "administrators" constantly argue that such arrangements lead to better municipal service because government operations are controlled by competent and trained managers instead of political hacks chosen in elections. There’s no evidence to back up the assertion and recent controversy over the inept snowplowing job in Waukesha is proof that "managers" aren’t necessarily competent or responsive.

All of southeastern Wisconsin bounced back immediately from the Dec. 1 blizzard within one day, with the glaring exception of Waukesha. My e-mailers and other correspondents were sending photos of side streets that looked like they were in Baghdad. Complaints to City Hall fell on deaf ears.

It wasn’t until late last week that the city’s elected mayor, Larry Nelson, even bothered to meet with City Administrator Jim Payne over the snowplowing fiasco. The Freeman reported that, by tradition, the mayor normally leaves such matters to the administrator. That’s the flaw in the system. A mayor elected by voters is far more likely to make sure streets are plowed than an administrative paper pusher with a three-year contract.

The story further stated that Payne and Nelson were on vacations before and after one another and couldn’t get around to meeting until a few days ago. The storm was Dec. 1. The fact that their city was almost undrivable for a week was less important that making sure the respective vacations weren’t interrupted. That’s because Nelson can say snowplowing isn’t his job and Payne can argue he’s entitled to his vacation. As for the residents of Waukesha, they’re paying double salaries for half the performance.

(Mark Belling is the host of a daily WISN radio talk show and a Sunday television show. His column runs Wednesdays in The Freeman.)