I had the opportunity to travel up to Florence County this past week for several meetings with school officials, business leaders, and law enforcement.
The day started with a great discussion on how we can improve child care with Florence County School District Superintendent Ben Niehaus, Florence County Economic Development Director Wendy Gehlhoff, and Emily Payette, the owner of Auntie M’s Child Care Center in Florence.
Left to Right: Ben Niehaus, Emily Payette, Rep. Swearingen and Wendy Gehlhoff.
Next, I visited Pride Manufacturing, a local business that specializes in making world class golf tees. Operations Manager Lea Ellis generously provided a tour, and I was very impressed with the operation and the commitment to excellence embodied by all the employees I met. Businesses like Pride Manufacturing are the backbone of our economy and communities. They make small towns like Florence great places to live, work and raise a family.
Rep. Swearingen with Operations Manager Lea Ellis discussing the golf tee manufacturing process.
A big Thank You to Florence County Economic Development Director Wendy Gehlhoff for helping set up the tour.
Proud to have such a great company located in Florence County.
I ended the day meeting Florence County Sheriff Dan Miller to discuss law enforcement issues affecting rural Wisconsin. I, along with Sheriff Miller and State Representative Jeff Mursau visited a marijuana dispensary across the border in Michigan. We also met with Michigan Drug Detective Officers to see how Michigan’s recent decision to legalize recreational marijuana has affected law enforcement. Marijuana legalization remains a contested topic in Wisconsin, and the many challenges that Michigan now faces is a stark warning of the risk associated with recreational legalization.
Rep. Swearingen, Florence County Sheriff Dan Miller, and Rep. Mursau.
State Affairs Committee
The Assembly Committee on States Affairs, which I chair, held an executive session this week to vote on following two pieces of legislation:
Assembly Bill 74: Relating to retail sales of intoxicating liquor for consumption off the licensed premises.
Assembly Bill 20: Relating to terminology changes for those with an intellectual disability in administrative rules.
Both bills passed with bi-partisan support and now have the potential to be brought for a vote on the Assembly floor.
The Assembly Committee on State Affairs.
Board of Commissioners of Public Lands Briefing
I was given the opportunity to speak to freshman legislators this week to brief them on the great work that the Board of Commissioners of Public Lands does for districts like mine. The BCPL is Wisconsin’s oldest state agency and is responsible for managing the state’s School Trust Funds and School Trust Lands. The BCPL’s investments and land management generates funds that are utilized for public school library aid, public purpose projects and Wisconsin’s great timber economy.
Great to share how the BCPL benefits our state.
Civil Air Patrol Advocacy Day
Had a great meeting with the Civil Air Patrol this week for their annual advocacy day. Civil Air Patrol provides an opportunity for aspiring Airmen and women to learn piloting and leadership skills.
Thanks again for visiting!
Rhinelander High School Choir
The Rhinelander High School Choir gave a tremendous performance in the Capitol Rotunda this week. Folks in the rotunda was extremely impressed by the concert. I hope everyone enjoyed the trip down to Madison!
The choir did a fantastic job representing Rhinelander High School.
If you ever have the chance, I would encourage everyone to attend an event where the choir performs!
Rhinelander-Oneida County Airport Upgrade
Governor Evers recently approved new funding for Rhinelander-Oneida County Airport. The funding will go towards renovation of the Airport’s terminal building and the purchasing of new airport safety equipment. The project is administered through the Wisconsin Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Aeronautics and is scheduled to be completed in 2020.
Vote for Eagle River in the Kraft Hockeyville Contest
The Eagle River Hockey and Sports Arena is one of the four finalists to become Hockeyville USA! A competition sponsored by Kraft in partnership with the NHL will see the winner receive $150,000 for arena upgrades and will host an NHL preseason game.
Eagle River needs your vote to win! Voting is unlimited and begins at 6 a.m. CT on Saturday, March 30. Voting only lasts until 10 a.m. CT on Sunday, March 31.
Please visit the following link to learn more about the competition and to vote for Eagle River tomorrow!https://www.krafthockeyville.com/
Northland Pines High School Civics Games
Congratulations to Northland Pines High School for reaching the finals of the Wisconsin Civics Games sponsored by the Wisconsin Newspaper Association Foundation. The competition took place in the Capitol and saw schools compete with each other to answer trivia questions on government and civics. Very impressed by these young students, and I wish them the best of luck in their future endeavors.
Go Brewers!
Great to see the Brewers win on opening day yesterday. Here’s to hoping for continued success all season long!
Snow cover is now limited to about the northern quarter of the state but with some areas still holding a foot or more of snow.
The Brule River State Forest and Turtle Flambeau Scenic Waters Area were both reporting skiing was still possible though conditions were marginal with trails icy in the morning after they freeze overnight, and then get soft as the day warms up. Some people were skate skiing on northern lakes in the early morning hours before the snow softens up, and ice skating where the snow and slush has melted into a smooth ice. The cold nights keep the snow firm making it easy walking through the woods in snowshoes and even without snowshoes, but if the crust fails you may find yourself in knee-deep snow.
Most larger lakes in the south are still holding ice, but shorelines and inlets and outlets are opening up and what ice remains is honeycombed and no longer safe. Some lakes in the north are still toting over 20 inches of ice.
The trout season opens March 30 on the Bois Brule River from US Hwy 2 downstream to the mouth at Lake Superior. Anglers fishing the Menominee River off Hattie Street and up by the dam report catching a few brown trout. Lots of ice was observed floating around and jamming up the river. Anglers fishing the end of the Oconto breakwater report a mixed bag of whitefish, northern and a couple walleye. It is still early, but walleyes are in both the Wolf and Fox rivers but high water with ice chunks flowing downstream were making for challenging fishing conditions.
In the southeast, all Fox River launches are open at Fox Point and the docks are put in. Anglers fishing from boats report good catches of walleye. Ice is almost completely melted at Lakeshore State Park. Open-water fishing is available from the majority of the shoreline on the island portion, as well as along the Lake Michigan and harbor walls.
Ice melt and a high flow rate are luring steelhead fishermen to Lake Michigan tributaries in Door County, with a few fish caught. The near shore ice on the waters of Green Bay is deteriorating quickly, and despite the lack of a whitefish bite, late ice anglers were still venturing out.
Farm fields with even the slightest amount of sprouting, green vegetation are luring herds of deer out of the woods for a much welcomed meal. Elk bulls are starting to drop their antlers and shed hunters are combing the woods to find them.
Tom turkeys are starting to sing their springtime song and have been seen fanned out with their hens. Turkey hunting is right around the corner with the statewide youth hunt on April 13-14. Leftover turkey harvest authorizations will continue to be available until they are sold out.
In the south day lilies are poking out of the ground on south facing slopes; skunk cabbage is emerging, and prairie smoke rosettes are starting to green and grow. Maple tappers still going strong in central and northern Wisconsin and a decent amount of fresh syrup is being produced.
Tundra swans made a big move this week with hundreds seen in flooded fields and wetlands. A water bird watch at Harrington Beach in Ozaukee County tallied over 1,600 on March 23 and another 2,000-plus on March 25. Large numbers of migrant eagles continued, including an impressive 267 bald eagles and 23 golden eagles tallied overhead in Bayfield County on March 23.
Community Events
Please click the following links for upcoming community events!
A big Thank You to 
