My staff and I had the opportunity to meet with Assembly Speaker Robin Vos as he signed Assembly Bill 484 that I authored along with Senator Tom Tiffany. If you recall from last week’s E-Update, Governor Walker formally signed this bill. What many people do not know is that the Assembly Speaker and the Senate President also need to sign a bill before it officially becomes law.
My staff and I with Assembly Speaker Robin Vos as he signs Assembly Bill 484
Building Commission Meeting
The State Building Commission met this week to approve a number of statewide administrative and UW System building projects.
The Higher Education Subcommittee, which I chair, met Wednesday morning to prepare and design reports for building projects at UW-Madison, UW-Superior, UW-River Falls, UW-Parkside and various all agency projects throughout the UW-System.
Rep. Swearingen chairing the Higher Education Subcommittee
In the afternoon, the full building commission met to approve projects from both the Administrative Affairs Subcommittee and Higher Education Subcommittee. The Building Commission is a bipartisan, eight-member body chaired by Governor Walker, along with six legislators and a citizen member. The group's mission is to plan, oversee, and approve building projects around the state.
Governor Walker chairing the full Building Commission meeting
Research in the Rotunda
As part of the 15th Annual Research in the Rotunda event, UW-System students from around the state came to the Capitol to present their research on a variety of public policy issues. I had the opportunity to meet with Jordan Stuart, a student from Rhinelander who is studying at UW-Stevens Point. Jordan's research focuses on analyzing how employers make hiring decisions in central Wisconsin. I was very impressed by Jordan's work and his professionalism when presenting his research. I wish Jordan all the best in his future endeavors!
Rep. Swearingen with Rhinelander native and current UW-Stevens Point student Jordan Stuart
Wisconsin Alumni Association's Annual UW-Madison Day
The Wisconsin Alumni Association held their annual UW-Madison Day at the Capitol last week. As the Chairman of the Higher Education Subcommittee and a member of the full State Building Commission, I have the opportunity to vote on UW-System's building projects. We had a great discussion on the impact that UW-Madison has on the state as well as current and future UW-Madison construction projects.
Rep. Swearingen with members of the Wisconsin Alumni Association
Governor Walker Announced $7.68 million in Preliminary Broadband Expansion Grants to Connect 46 Rural Communities
MADISON – Governor Scott Walker today announced the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin (PSC) has awarded the largest round of Broadband Expansion Grants in state history with $7.68 million in total preliminary awards leveraged to $19,468,725 in private matching funds. 46 new grants have been awarded to extend high-speed internet access to as many as 1,600 business locations and 18,000 residential locations. The awards announced today are preliminary and will be finalized upon the issuance of the Commission’s written decision and the expiration of a 10-day appeal process. In addition, Governor Walker announced the opening of application process for next round of grants.
“Broadband has endless potential to help Wisconsin communities,” said Governor Walker. “Years ago, electricity revolutionized farming for my grandparents. Today broadband is revolutionizing education, health care, and business, and improving the quality of life for Wisconsin’s rural residents. With this historic round of Broadband Expansion Grants, we are another step closer to connecting every Wisconsin community.”
In this budget, Governor Walker increased total broadband investments by $35 million and created a permanent Broadband Expansion Grant program. Prior to today’s awards, the PSC has awarded 55 Broadband Expansion Grants totaling $5,452,000 since Governor Walker took office.
Among the projects approved today are three projects that will test the new TV White Space technology proposed by Packerland Broadband and Microsoft Corporation, and two additional projects that will create improved internet service for work at home in Buffalo and Walworth Counties.
Other projects include the build out of broadband services in some of the most rural areas of the state in an effort to provide a communication infrastructure for Wisconsin’s rural families, businesses, and tourism industry.
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I am thankful that Governor Walker has continued to prioritize expanding broadband across Wisconsin. The following application grants in the 34th Assembly District were approved:
ChoiceTel, LLC - $150,226. This project proposes to build a fiber route between Eagle River and St. Germain, connecting the elementary school in St Germain to main campus of the Northland Pines School District. The route will also pass 235 homes and businesses located between Highway G and St Germain.
Oneida County Economic Development Corporation - $100,000. This project will deploy a fixed wireless service on 6 towers in unserved and underserved areas of Oneida County (locations to be determined by Oneida County EDC).
SonicNet, Inc. - $51,913. This project will build and equip four towers to provide a fixed wireless service in the vicinity of Plum Lake in Vilas County.
Applications for the next round of grants is now open. The deadline for grant applications to be submitted to the PSC is July 16, 2018. Further instructions regarding the preparation of an application may be found at the Broadband Expansion Grant webpage.
DNR Outdoor Report
Winter simply refuses to surrender this year in northern and central Wisconsin. Snow depths range from just a couple inches in central Wisconsin to some areas with still more than 20 inches in the far north. And it doesn't appear that it is letting up: there is a winter storm warning this weekend with predictions of another 8 to 10 inches in some areas.
The Brule River State Forest and Pattison State Park have continued to maintain ski trails but grooming has ended at all other properties. And a reminder, even if areas do get substantial snow this weekend, snowmobile trails are now closed in all counties. Many trails run on private property through easements that have ended for the season.
Some northern lakes also still have substantial ice cover with 20 inches or more of ice. Lakes are opening up through central Wisconsin and most lakes in the south are open.
Walleye runs are on on both the Wolf and Fox rivers and there has been some great walleye action on the Wolf for the past 10 days. There have still been hundreds of shore anglers and boaters out to catch a trophy walleye on the Fox with one group catching upward of 60 walleye this week. The Oconto River downstream of Stiles Dam is open and the walleye run is currently underway there as well. The number of anglers is slowly beginning to increase along the Menominee and Peshtigo rivers. However, the number of fish being caught is still low.
The ice fishing season is definitely over on the west shore of Green Bay, with ice breaking up and the ice mass shifting and open water visible over the weekend. All Door County boat landings on the Bay side are still locked with ice. There are pockets of open water in some near shore areas but the harbors are still frozen solid. The Sturgeon Bay canal has been producing some northern pike and brown trout for anglers trolling and shore fishing. Boat landings on the Lake Michigan side are all open and a few anglers have been out in search of browns, with a good bite in Baileys Harbor. Steelhead fishing has been picking up with anglers having success fishing spawn sack in local creeks.
On Lake Michigan tributaries anglers were targeting steelhead on the Sheboygan River with reasonable success. Sauk Creek remains low and few steelhead have been reported.
There are 15 fishing clinics [PDF] set for April 14 in southeastern Wisconsin. Kids 15 and under can learn how to fish with clinics run hourly from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. in Milwaukee, Racine, Washington and Waukesha counties at park ponds stocked with fish.
Turkeys are gobbling, displaying and toms can be seen roaming around all hours of the day in perfect timing for the youth turkey hunt this weekend April 15 and 16, and the start of the spring turkey season on April 18. Hunters still looking for a leftover turkey permit, can check availability on the DNR website searching keyword "turkey." The hunt this weekend could be a struggle with the cold weather but the upside of our current weather pattern is no reports of ticks out.
Loons and other waterbirds continue to stack up south of Wausau and Green Bay where water bodies are ice free. Raptor migration has been excellent the past few days with many red-tailed hawks, turkey vultures, sharp-shinned hawks, and bald eagles moving north, a few golden eagles, red-shouldered hawks, and ospreys among them.
Woodruff DNR Service Center area
Northern Highland-American Legion State Forest - Mother nature continues her wintery grip on the state forest. A couple of sunny days have melted some southern exposure hillsides giving the locals a glint of what spring will look like before the storms hit again this weekend. Most spring migrants are still pushed back to the snowless line for good reason. The Canadian redpolls and crossbills are still visiting area feeders and roadsides so they know what is still in store for the Northwoods! - Rosalie Richter, visitor services associate
E-Update Notice
The 2017-2018 legislative session has officially adjourned, and therefore legislative offices need to adhere to Wisconsin’s campaign laws, which includes not sending out frequent E-Updates. Therefore, this week’s E-Update will be the final one sent from my office for this year. I would like to thank everyone who has read these E-Updates and hope that you have found them informative. If you would like to receive updates over the summer, please feel free to follow my official Facebook Page.
I always appreciate hearing from constituents, so please do not hesitate to reach out to my office for assistance that you may need on any state-related issue. My staff and I are always happy to help! Please feel free to call my office at 1-608-237-9443 or email my office or staff directly at the following email addresses:
