Elections Press Conference 

I recently joined Jill Lau, the Door County clerk, and several other municipal clerks from the county to hold a press conference on local election integrity.

The purpose of the event was to explain the election process for municipal clerks and to reassure the residents of the 1st Assembly District that they can be confident in their local election results.

While it is apparent that several election laws were broken in other parts of the state during the 2020 presidential election, there is no evidence that any of that happened in our district. I have complete faith that our local clerks will administer the April election in a safe and secure manner, as they always have.

Be that as it may, the nonpartisan Legislative Audit Bureau believes the state Legislature should make several changes to our current laws to ensure that our elections are being conducted properly and without controversy.

To me, most of the bureau's recommendations should receive bipartisan support, and the clerks at the press conference concurred with that notion. I was particularly pleased that none of our local clerks accepted outside money to help run their elections because of the conditions attached. I think we should all agree that we need to keep partisanship out of the operation of our elections.

According to a recent CBS News poll, nearly 61 percent of Americans believe that political leaders should be looking at reforming our electoral process. Unfortunately, in our current political climate, it is difficult to have these conversations without partisan accusations being thrown in both directions.

However, please know that we will not waver in our efforts to protect the integrity of our elections. I promise you that I will continue to do whatever I can to make it easy to vote but difficult to cheat.

If you would like to read some media coverage of the press conference, please click here and here.

Farm Short Course

During this week's joint hearing in front of the Assembly Agriculture Committee and Senate Agriculture and Tourism Committee, we learned more about the Farm and Industry Short Course at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Created in 1886, the Farm and Industry Short Course is a 16-week educational program that is designed to prepare students for employment in the agriculture industry. 

Many friends and neighbors in our area have completed the program and have moved on to have productive careers. It has been a wonderful alternative to pursuing a traditional four-year college degree. During my time as a large animal veterinarian, many of the most progressive and successful farmers with whom I worked had attended the short course.

However, the program will undergo numerous changes beginning in 2023. Chief among them is the switch from a for-credit, on-campus residential experience to a more flexible, non-credit format.

Starting next year, course offerings will include both in-person and virtual options, as well as synchronous and asynchronous delivery of content. Some programs will be available at night, on weekends and during the growing season.

Because the course has had such a positive impact in our area, I encourage you to contact the university to voice your thoughts on the changes. You can reach the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences by clicking here or by calling (608) 262-1251.

WDOR Interview

Due to a change in schedules, my monthly appearance on WDOR will now take place on Tuesday.

Starting at 10:20 a.m., please tune in to 93.9 FM or 910 AM to hear me discuss the 2021-22 legislative session, which concluded earlier this month. I also plan to talk about some of my bills that were recently passed by the Legislature.

If you do not have access to a radio at that time, you can still listen to the show on WDOR's website by clicking here.  

As is the case with all my WDOR segments, I will also be taking calls from listeners who would like to ask questions or share their thoughts with me. This is a great opportunity for constituents to give me direct feedback on the actions of state government.

I always appreciate hearing from you.