Potawatomi Tower Bill

Earlier this week, I started circulating a bill with other legislators that directs the governor to use up to $750,000 in federal American Rescue Plan Act funds to restore the historic observation tower at Potawatomi State Park.

We are proposing this legislation because we would like to get the project moving as fast as possible. Many local experts are worried that, if we don’t start fixing the tower very soon, additional decay could make it impossible to save the beloved landmark.

The tower was closed to the public in 2017 after the Department of Natural Resources found signs of rot and movement in the wooden structural support beams. In April of 2018, the DNR announced that the structure would be shut down permanently and deconstructed.

Back in May, the DNR reversed their position that the tower was beyond repair and needed to be taken down when they were presented with a new engineering report from Dr. Dan Tingley of Wood Research and Development. He has determined that the tower's main supports can be saved using a process he designed and that the vast majority of the structure’s components are in acceptable condition.

The Potawatomi Tower is historically significant because it was the first tower built in Wisconsin as a tourist attraction. It is also listed on both the State and National Register of Historic Places. Because of this designation, the DNR is legally obligated to submit a plan for its long-term preservation. They have not yet done that.

When we had our discussions in May with the DNR, they committed to repairing the tower. However, we are now starting to get mixed signals from the DNR and Department of Administration. Because all state agencies are under the authority of the executive branch and not the legislative branch, we would encourage you to contact Gov. Evers' office if you would like to see the tower saved.

Reading Readiness Assessments

I had the privilege this week of testifying on my bill that addresses a crisis we are experiencing right now in Wisconsin: low reading proficiency among our state's students. 

According to the National Assessment of Educational Progress, close to 65 percent of fourth graders in Wisconsin are not proficient readers, with 34 percent failing to meet even basic standards. 

Of the 42 states that report separate reading scores for African American students, Wisconsin ranks dead last in reading achievement, falling 31 places since 1992. During that same timeframe, reading achievement for white students has dropped from 6th to 27th and Hispanic students from 1st to 28th.

We know that children who cannot read at grade level in fourth grade will struggle to graduate from high school and are far less likely to lead productive lives. About 85 percent of juvenile offenders are functionally illiterate, as are 70 percent of prison inmates. More than 75 percent of those on welfare have difficulties in reading the simplest texts.

It is obvious that maintaining the status quo is not working. We need to be reaching these students and helping them at a younger age, which will give them a better chance at being successful later in life. My legislation is the first step of many that will help us turn the corner and get our children the resources they need to become better readers. 

I am proud to say that several of the school districts in my Assembly district have taken the lead in identifying struggling readers earlier and implementing these reading strategies. We need the entire state to follow suit.

If you are interested in learning more about my bill, you can watch the public hearing by clicking on this link. 

Community Health Centers

It was my honor to receive a Community Health Center State Grant Champion Award this week from the Wisconsin Primary Health Care Association for my efforts in getting an additional $2 million included in the state budget for community health centers.

For those of you who are unfamiliar, community health centers provide a broad range of services to local populations, particularly those who have the greatest economic and social needs.

 I am glad we were able to get this done because state grant funding for community health centers has remained flat at $5.49 million per year since 2009. However, since that time, the total number of patients served annually by these centers has grown by more than 100,000.

I believe the additional funding will help these centers ensure that more of our residents have access to high-quality healthcare, which will benefit the entire state as a whole.