Visit WisPolitics-State Affairs for premium content,
keyword notifications, bill tracking and more
In its first nine months of operation, the Dane County Regional Airport’s latest solar project has produced enough electricity to power 1,200 Wisconsin homes for a year. County officials and Madison Gas and Electric Chairman, President and CEO Jeff Keebler
— A rural development expert with the USDA says infrastructure investments and financial incentives could help attract workers to rural communities in Wisconsin. “Folks want access to the sorts of things in their communities — particularly rural communities — that
Leaders in Milwaukee say investments in education and employment opportunities will help attract more young professionals. “I definitely think we need to have a bigger emphasis on education,” said Marquayla Ellison, president of Social X MKE and chair of the
Two former U.S. ambassadors say Wisconsin should leverage cultural, diplomatic and academic ties with other nations in order to strengthen international trade. “I don’t think we take advantage of the extraordinary asset we have in the University of Wisconsin System,”
Thousands of Wisconsinites on unemployment will lose the extra $300 weekly benefit after the federal unemployment supplement ended over the holiday weekend, though opinions differ on how much the change will impact employment. While some reports suggest the states that
Marcus Corporation President and CEO Greg Marcus says the company is seeing signs of financial resurgence from last year, though he doesn’t expect a “full recovery” until 2024. “I don’t know who said ‘this too shall pass,’ but I’m certainly
This week’s episode of “WisBusiness: the Podcast” is with Laura Dresser, associate director of COWS, a think tank based at UW-Madison. She gives her perspective on some of the findings of the State of Working Wisconsin report, released by COWS
A report from a UW-Madison think tank shows employment in the state’s leisure and hospitality industry remains 18.7 percent lower than before the pandemic. The annual State of Working Wisconsin report from COWS details the change in job numbers across
Supporters of a bill to limit the frequency of inspections on certain paper mill machinery say the change would provide regulatory certainty to the industry as well as environmental benefits. A similar bill cleared the Assembly and a Senate committee
A startup called RehabPath aims to help more people escape the cycle of addiction. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration estimates about 20 million Americans have an addiction to illicit drugs, alcohol or both. Out of that group,
NorthStar Medical Radioisotopes has been issued two cooperative funding agreements worth $37 million by federal officials to boost production of a material widely used in medical imaging. The material — known as molybdenum-99 or Mo-99 — is used to create
A new report from the Clean Energy Trust and Environmental Entrepreneurs shows Wisconsin’s clean energy industries lost more than 7,000 jobs over the course of last year. The majority of 2020 job losses were in the energy efficiency sector, which
A new agriculture sustainability project being piloted in southwestern Wisconsin has resulted in lower levels of water pollution. That’s according to a report from a nonprofit group called Farmers for Sustainable Food, made up of the state Dairy Business Association,
While the recently extended eviction moratorium is seen as a lifeline for struggling renters, landlords in Wisconsin are facing their own financial challenges amid the pandemic. That’s according to Chris Mokler, a lobbyist for the Wisconsin Apartment Association. Because many
The latest report from the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce details the economic recovery of Wisconsin’s largest city. In the report for June, 20 of the 22 economic indicators tracked had improved over the year. An equal number had shown
FluGen is reporting positive results from a “human challenge” study, in which participants were purposefully exposed to a flu virus to test vaccine efficacy. FluGen, based in Madison, is undertaking the study with the support of a $15.4 million Department
Officials with the Department of Workforce Development say they’re working to modernize the state’s unemployment insurance system, following a report from the Legislative Audit Bureau showing the agency failed to comply with certain federal regulations. The semi-annual LAB report documented
A La Crosse-based investor sees opportunities for Wisconsin entrepreneurs to leverage industry expertise as they seek to grow their companies and secure investments. In a recent interview, Idea Fund of La Crosse Managing Director Jon Horne discussed some of the
A Madison-based startup called Flambeau Diagnostics is seeking FDA approval for a mobile testing platform that could expand access to rapid viral testing services. “We’re really thinking about it as a pandemic preparedness model,” said David Beebe, the company’s chief
More than half of employers responding to a recent Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce survey say they reduced staff last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. WMC, the state’s largest business group, surveyed 266 member employers and found that 34 percent
In its first nine months of operation, the Dane County Regional Airport’s latest solar project has produced enough electricity to power 1,200 Wisconsin homes for a year. County officials and Madison Gas and Electric Chairman, President and CEO Jeff Keebler highlighted the solar partnership yesterday. After going online in December
— A rural development expert with the USDA says infrastructure investments and financial incentives could help attract workers to rural communities in Wisconsin. “Folks want access to the sorts of things in their communities — particularly rural communities — that they can get in higher population communities,” said Justin Maxson,
Leaders in Milwaukee say investments in education and employment opportunities will help attract more young professionals. “I definitely think we need to have a bigger emphasis on education,” said Marquayla Ellison, president of Social X MKE and chair of the city’s Millennial Task Force. “I think that’s just a ripple
Two former U.S. ambassadors say Wisconsin should leverage cultural, diplomatic and academic ties with other nations in order to strengthen international trade. “I don’t think we take advantage of the extraordinary asset we have in the University of Wisconsin System,” said Mark Green, a former Republican Wisconsin lawmaker and Congress
Thousands of Wisconsinites on unemployment will lose the extra $300 weekly benefit after the federal unemployment supplement ended over the holiday weekend, though opinions differ on how much the change will impact employment. While some reports suggest the states that ended the federal unemployment benefit early saw an increase in
Marcus Corporation President and CEO Greg Marcus says the company is seeing signs of financial resurgence from last year, though he doesn’t expect a “full recovery” until 2024. “I don’t know who said ‘this too shall pass,’ but I’m certainly looking forward to it passing,” he said during a Newsmaker
This week’s episode of “WisBusiness: the Podcast” is with Laura Dresser, associate director of COWS, a think tank based at UW-Madison. She gives her perspective on some of the findings of the State of Working Wisconsin report, released by COWS this week. COWS stands for Center on Wisconsin Strategy. The
A report from a UW-Madison think tank shows employment in the state’s leisure and hospitality industry remains 18.7 percent lower than before the pandemic. The annual State of Working Wisconsin report from COWS details the change in job numbers across various industries between February 2020 and June 2021. COWS stands
Supporters of a bill to limit the frequency of inspections on certain paper mill machinery say the change would provide regulatory certainty to the industry as well as environmental benefits. A similar bill cleared the Assembly and a Senate committee last session before stalling in the Senate as the COVID-19
A startup called RehabPath aims to help more people escape the cycle of addiction. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration estimates about 20 million Americans have an addiction to illicit drugs, alcohol or both. Out of that group, only about 10 percent will seek help with addiction rehab.
NorthStar Medical Radioisotopes has been issued two cooperative funding agreements worth $37 million by federal officials to boost production of a material widely used in medical imaging. The material — known as molybdenum-99 or Mo-99 — is used to create Technetium-99m. It is used in millions of diagnostic tests each
A new report from the Clean Energy Trust and Environmental Entrepreneurs shows Wisconsin’s clean energy industries lost more than 7,000 jobs over the course of last year. The majority of 2020 job losses were in the energy efficiency sector, which employs more workers than the rest of Wisconsin’s clean energy
A new agriculture sustainability project being piloted in southwestern Wisconsin has resulted in lower levels of water pollution. That’s according to a report from a nonprofit group called Farmers for Sustainable Food, made up of the state Dairy Business Association, Edge Dairy Farmer Cooperative and The Nature Conservancy. The project
While the recently extended eviction moratorium is seen as a lifeline for struggling renters, landlords in Wisconsin are facing their own financial challenges amid the pandemic. That’s according to Chris Mokler, a lobbyist for the Wisconsin Apartment Association. Because many renters are protected from eviction under the moratorium, he noted
The latest report from the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce details the economic recovery of Wisconsin’s largest city. In the report for June, 20 of the 22 economic indicators tracked had improved over the year. An equal number had shown improvement in May, the previous report showed. “This positive year-over-year
FluGen is reporting positive results from a “human challenge” study, in which participants were purposefully exposed to a flu virus to test vaccine efficacy. FluGen, based in Madison, is undertaking the study with the support of a $15.4 million Department of Defense grant. Published recently in the Journal of Infectious
Officials with the Department of Workforce Development say they’re working to modernize the state’s unemployment insurance system, following a report from the Legislative Audit Bureau showing the agency failed to comply with certain federal regulations. The semi-annual LAB report documented delays in benefit payments and appeals reported through the bureau’s
A La Crosse-based investor sees opportunities for Wisconsin entrepreneurs to leverage industry expertise as they seek to grow their companies and secure investments. In a recent interview, Idea Fund of La Crosse Managing Director Jon Horne discussed some of the lessons he’s learned over the past four years leading the
A Madison-based startup called Flambeau Diagnostics is seeking FDA approval for a mobile testing platform that could expand access to rapid viral testing services. “We’re really thinking about it as a pandemic preparedness model,” said David Beebe, the company’s chief science officer and a biomedical engineering professor at UW-Madison. The
More than half of employers responding to a recent Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce survey say they reduced staff last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. WMC, the state’s largest business group, surveyed 266 member employers and found that 34 percent of respondents reduced their workforces by less than 10 percent.