Wisconsin to allow heated walkways

Oddly, in the state which was on the cutting edge of heated football fields 40 years ago, you cannot have a heated walkway. But that is going to change.

Things are heating up in Wisconsin.

After the second snowiest December on record in the state capital, the legislature is abolishing a statewide ban on heated sidewalks, stairs, entrances and pedestrian walkways.

The bill overturns a law passed in the 1980s in response to the energy crisis of the 1970s.

Wisconsin is the only state with such a prohibition in the books.

I've been shoveling snow since I was about 8 years old or so, and I've always hated it. I've long fantasized about building a house with a heated driveway and heated sidewalks. I've mulled over a couple of problems with it in my head since I was 20, things like how do you do it without sending energy bills through the roof, and what materials to use to prevent cracking. Little did I know the biggest obstacle to my dream until now was the state government.