October 11, 2019

Working for you!

Our First Responder of the Year

I had the opportunity to honor the dedication and sacrifice of two Fox Valley first responders this week during floor session in the Wisconsin State Assembly.

Firefighter Mitchell Lundgaard was nominated posthumously for First Responder of the Year Award by Representatives Stuck, Rohrkaste, Tusler, Steineke, and me. Lundgaard, who served 14 years with the Appleton Fire Department, was killed in May in the line of duty after administering life-saving treatment to an individual who then shot and killed Lundgaard. Mitch’s wife, three sons, and mother appeared before the Assembly on his behalf.

I nominated Staff Sergeant William Tedlie Jr. for earning numerous commendations in multiple departments and capacities during his law enforcement career, including his capable response as part of the team managing the same violent incident in Appleton on May 15th of this year when Mitchell Lundgaard was killed. Bill’s family joined him for the ceremony in the Assembly.

Mitchell Lundgaard and Bill Tedlie embody the ideals of service. They and all our first responders run toward danger when the rest of us seek safety. While we can never repay them for making the lives of others their priority, I’m proud we could take a day to let them know we see their actions and their sacrifices, and we are profoundly grateful.

Rep. Murphy with the Lungaard family, Rep. Stuck, Rep. Tusler, and Sen. Jacque.

Rep. Murphy presenting Staff Sergeant William Tedlie Jr. with his award.

Improving College Credit Transfer

On Thursday, the State Assembly adopted AB 189, which will continue to improve college course transfer in Wisconsin. I’m glad I had the opportunity to vet this excellent bill in my committee and I’m hoping the Senate will soon take action on it as well.

Winneconne Bridge Ribbon Cutting

Winneconne Village Administrator David Porter and Village Board Member Tom Snyder are pictured holding the ribbon.

On Saturday, I was excited to join community leaders in the Winneconne Bridge fishing pier ribbon cutting.

Reining in College Fees

According to UW System, one of the largest contributors to growing student fees are construction projects. All across our state, public universities have engaged in student facility one-upmanship to draw students to their campus instead of another. Although students benefit from and enjoy these state of the art recreational facilities, health centers, and unions, they are also paying through the nose. My bill, AB 373 allows student facilities to be maintained and repaired as necessary, but makes it difficult for university administrators to continue their escalating building arms war by requiring a majority of all students to approve new construction projects with a majority vote in two consecutive years. This way, only absolutely necessary projects will increase student fees. Universities will still have the option to seek private donor and state support for such projects. You can listen to a recent interview about this by clicking here.

Capitol Visitors

On Wednesday, individuals from the Fox Valley advocating Work Choice stopped by.

Nurse Anesthetists from across the state, including the Fox Valley, visited the office on Tuesday.

Upcoming Events

Check out upcoming events near us by visiting the Wisconsin Tourism website or https://appletondowntown.org/upcoming-events/ and if you run into me while you’re out and about be sure to stop and say hi!

"Like" Representative Murphy's Facebook Page

I use Facebook to update constituents more frequently on my work in Madison and the 56th Assembly District. I look forward to using this as another way to connect with constituents and encourage you to follow it and watch for regular updates.