On Wednesday, 21 rural Wisconsin legislators and I held a press conference to introduce seven pieces of legislation aimed to benefit education, healthcare, broadband infrastructure, and the economy in rural Wisconsin. The Rural Wisconsin Initiative was assembled by Representative Romaine Quinn (R-Rice Lake), Representative Ed Brooks (R-Reedsburg), and Representative Travis Tranel (R-Cuba City) to address the needs of rural Wisconsin.

The Rural Wisconsin Initiative Agenda includes the following seven legislative proposals:

· Increase funding for broadband expansion grants
· Attract teachers with incentive of student loan repayment programs
· Establishment of S.T.E.M. (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) curriculum grants
· Increase funding for apprenticeship grants
· Increase funding for apprenticeship tuition reimbursement programs 
· Attract out-of-state graduates ready to enter the workforce
· Expand funding for the Wisconsin Rural Physician Residency Assistance Program

The goal of the Rural Wisconsin Initiative is to retain and attract the younger generation to Wisconsin’s smaller, rural communities. Rural Wisconsin is not only a great place to start your career, but also an ideal location to raise a family. Unfortunately, counties in Northern Wisconsin, as well as other rural counties around the state, have experienced significant population losses in recent decades as youth move to larger cities. The stigma that rural Wisconsin does not offer a similar quality of life that a “big city” does is an issue that we as legislators must address.

Included in the Rural Wisconsin Initiative are Representatives Joan Ballweg (R-Markesan), Kathy Bernier (R-Chippewa Falls), Mary Czaja (R-Irma), James Edming (R-Glen Flora), Joel Kitchens (R-Sturgeon Bay), Scott Krug (R-Nekoosa), Bob Kulp (R-Stratford), Tom Larson (R-Colfax), Jeff Mursau (R-Crivitz), John Murtha (R-Baldwin), Lee Nerison (R-Westby), Todd Novak (R-Dodgeville), Warren Petryk (R-Eleva), Rob Swearingen (R-Rhinelander), Keith Ripp (R-Lodi), John Spiros (R-Marshfield), Gary Tauchen (R-Bonduel), and Nancy VanderMeer (R-Tomah).

The Rural Wisconsin Initiative is striving for bipartisan support on all seven proposals.

To follow the progress and provide input for the Rural Wisconsin Initiative, please view our website.  The website provides information on the Rural Wisconsin Agenda, participating legislators and press releases. Lastly, the website provides access to the Rural Wisconsin Initiative Facebook Page and Twitter.
 

On Thursday, January 14, Krystal Westfahl of the Minocqua Area Chamber of Commerce made a visit to Madison to discuss various bills currently circulating in the Legislature.  It was great to talk about the successful summer that local businesses had in the Northwoods.  Moving forward, tourism industry advocates are lobbying for more dollars to be allocated to market the state of Wisconsin as a destination.  For instance, Michigan, Illinois, and Minnesota all have larger tourism budgets than Wisconsin.  I believe that this will continue to be a discussion for the next budget cycle.

Thank you again for visiting Krystal, keep up the good work in Minocqua!

Rep. Swearingen, Krystal Westfahl, and Senator Tiffany's staff - Tim Duffy

On Monday, January 11, Senator Tiffany and I met with representatives from Ministry Healthcare in Rhinelander.  The meeting focused on telemedicine, a new practice implemented by Ministry Healthcare facilities throughout the Northwoods. 

This technology allows a patient in one region of the state to be connected via telecommunications with a physician elsewhere.  Telemedicine allows patients to have broader access to physicians located throughout the Ministry healthcare system. 

I want to thank Ministry Healthcare for scheduling this meeting.  It was great to learn about the cutting edge technology in northern Wisconsin as well as other healthcare related issues.  Thank you! 

Representative Rob Swearingen and Senator Tiffany with Ministry Healthcare staff.

Last session Representative John Nygren (R-Marinette) introduced seven bills known as the H.O.P.E (Heroin, Opiate, Prevention and Education) Agenda to combat the heroin epidemic in Wisconsin.  All seven of these bills received bi-partisan support and were signed into law by Governor Walker.  An eighth bill became law late last year.  This session Rep. Nygren continues to offer solutions to drug addiction and treatment with four additional bills focused on prescription drug abuse and addiction. 
 

I added by name to the list of co-sponsors for the four bills below when they were introduced this session.  Additionally, Assembly Bills 364-367 were debated and voted on during a floor session on Tuesday January 12.  I was proud to vote in support of these proposals with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle. 

If you would like to review the bills below, please use their respective links.  You can also follow the progress of the H.O.P.E agenda by visiting the H.O.P.E website. 

Assembly Bill 364:  Relating to: reporting, disclosure, and practitioner review requirements under the prescription drug monitoring program; providing an exemption from emergency rule procedures; and granting rule-making authority. (FE)

Assembly Bill 365:  Relating to: duty of law enforcement officers to report to the Prescription Drug Monitoring Program controlled-substance violations, opioid-related drug overdoses or deaths, and reports of stolen prescription drugs. (FE)

Assembly Bill 366:  Relating to: pain clinic certification and requirements, granting rule-making authority, and providing a penalty. (FE)

Assembly Bill 367:  Relating to: reporting by treatment programs using methadone and requiring review of prescription drug monitoring database.

On Wednesday, January 13, the State Affairs and Government Operations Committee held another executive session and public hearing.  The public hearing focused on Assembly Bill 154, a bill that would allow the Town of La Pointe on Madeline Island to enact stricter shore land zoning laws.  My colleague, Beth Meyers (D-Bayfield) introduced this proposal early in the legislative session to specifically allow a town that is located entirely on an island in Lake Superior to exercise village powers. 

I was very pleased that the bill received bipartisan support in our committee as well as in the Senate. I would like to thank members of the La Pointe town board and zoning department for making the long haul to Madison to voice their support for the legislation. 

If you would like to review the other proposals that were discussed during the public hearing and executive session, please see the links below. 

Rep. Swearingen Addressing the Assembly State Affairs and Government Operations Committee

Executive Session:

Assembly Bill 612:  Relating to: municipal quotas for retail intoxicating liquor licenses.

Assembly Bill 624:  Relating to: retaining invoices for the sale of malt beverages and intoxicating liquors and the local option for issuing liquor licenses.

Public Hearing:

Assembly Bill 154:  Relating to: the authority of a town and of a county to zone shorelands in a town that is located entirely on an island in Lake Superior and authorized to exercise village powers.

Assembly Bill 616:  Relating to: hauling restrictions for special interest motor vehicles.

On Tuesday, January 12, the Assembly recognized 9 year-old Jayden Jaramillo from Mount Pleasant as a Hometown Hero.  Jayden, a fourth grader, was on the school bus traveling to school when his bus driver had an asthma attack and did not have an inhaler.  Jayden calmly and courageously used the two-way radio to call for help, as well as directed emergency services to the school bus.  To hear more of Jayden's story please click the image below.

Speaker Vos chatting with the Jaramillo Family.

Madison – Governor Scott Walker announced his college affordability legislative package focusing on making higher education more affordable for Wisconsin working families and students at Waukesha County Technical College. Today, Governor Walker also joined faculty, staff, students, lawmakers, and community members at the University of Wisconsin (UW)-La Crosse to discuss the positive impact of the historic four-year tuition freeze for the University of Wisconsin System.

“For the first time in state history, we froze tuition for four years for our UW System students and that’s real savings for them and their families,” Governor Walker said. “We want to continue working together to make higher education more accessible and more affordable for Wisconsin students and families. Moving forward, we are focused on helping students to afford the higher education path that best suits their career goals, whether through a training program, technical college, or a four-year program.”

According to the Legislative Fiscal Bureau, in the ten years prior to our current historic four-year tuition freeze, tuition increased an average of 8.1 percent across all UW System. Over that same period, tuition had gone up 118.7 percent prior to the freeze that Governor Walker and the Legislature enacted. Compared to the average increases over the prior ten years, across the UW System, students have saved $6,311 because of the freeze. While savings vary by institution, the tuition freeze meant average savings of $2,926 at UW Colleges and savings up to $9,327 at UW-Madison.

“We know how daunting it can be to consider such a large investment at a young age. Our college affordability legislation will help students and families make informed decisions about choosing the higher education path that is right for their future dreams and for their budgets,” said Governor Walker. “We also know that all of us fall on tough times, sometimes it’s an unexpected and expensive car repair and sometimes it’s a medical emergency, but it can have an impact on our finances, which is especially tough for students paying for higher education. For some students, that emergency car repair is the difference between finishing their education or not. That’s why one of our proposals creates a grant program aimed at helping those students at UW System colleges and technical college to stay in school when they face these unexpected financial hardships.”

The six legislative proposals in the college affordability proposal are focused on making higher education more affordable, reducing student debt, and making the cost of higher education more transparent:

· Deducting All Student Loan Interest – authored by Representative John Macco and Senator Howard Marklein, this legislation would eliminate any cap on the tax deduction for student loan interest, which would save student loan debt payers $5.2 million annually when it is fully phased in. This tax deduction would be the most generous of any state in the Midwest with an income tax and benefit roughly 32,000 Wisconsin taxpayers paying off student loans. This deduction also directly benefits middle class Wisconsinites with an average benefit of more than $200 annually for those making between $30,000 and $70,000;

· Increasing Wisconsin Grants for Technical Colleges – authored by Representative Dave Heaton and Senator Sheila Harsdorf, this legislation would increase needs-based Wisconsin Grants by $1 million for technical college students in the biennium or $500,000 annually. This would benefit over 1,000 students throughout the state;

· Creating Grants for Students in Emergency Financial Need – authored by Representative David Murphy and Senator Howard Marklein, this legislation would provide $130,000 to UW System colleges and $320,000 to technical colleges to provide emergency grants to students. This approach has been credited with increasing the likelihood a student finishes his or her degree in these unfortunate situations by increasing student retention;

· Increasing Internships – authored by Representative David Murphy and Senator Howard Marklein, these two pieces of legislation would enhance internships, creating more pathways to employment by funding two positions within the Office of Skills Development at the Department of Workforce Development (DWD), as well as additional UW System positions. These new positions would work with employers and institutions throughout the state to build and grow relationships between higher education institutions and employers, so students can gain job skills, which will assist in filling open positions and connecting our graduating students to employers in Wisconsin;

· Helping Students and Families to Make Informed Decisions – authored by Representative David Murphy and Senator Howard Marklein, this legislation would require all state institutions of higher education to provide financial literacy to their students within the first semester of their instruction. It would also require all institutions of higher education offering an associate’s degree or higher to annually mail cost, loan, and other financial information to students. This is modeled after an Indiana law that has been credited with reducing the amount of loans taken out by students.

Prior to these proposals, Governor Walker and the Legislature have already worked to make higher education more affordable for Wisconsinites. They have created a scholarship program for high school students who lead their classes in technical education courses, restored the Wisconsin GI Bill for veterans and expanded it to those with five years of residency, as well as increased needs-based grants for technical college students by $2 million in the 2013-14 school year and $1 million for independent colleges. To make it easier for students to complete their degrees, Governor Walker included in the 2013-15 biennial budget a requirement that UW System and Technical College schools have at least 30 core credits that can transfer between institutions, and additionally created the UW System Flexible Degree Program, which offers competency-based learning at a flexible schedule. Governor Walker and the Legislature also indexed the Higher Education Tuition Tax Deduction in the 2013-15 budget. This is benefiting tens of thousands of Wisconsin residents with the costs of higher education.
 

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- See more at: http://walker.wi.gov/newsroom/press-release/working-wisconsin-governor-scott-walker-announces-college-affordability#sthash.5tVz2Kob.dpuf

Anglers urged to use extreme caution as ice conditions vary from location to location

Even with the colder temperatures, DNR fisheries biologists and conservation wardens are recommending extreme caution on state waters. On many lakes, unseasonable weather has created freeze and thaw cycles resulting in ice that may be several inches thick in one spot, but thin or structurally unsound in other spots.

"Always err on the side of caution and keep a close eye on the ever changing ice conditions," Heussner said. "Do not assume consistent ice throughout the waterbody and be aware that shifting ice can create open water situations."

Ice safety picks, which can be made at home or purchased at many local sporting goods stores, should be carried at all times. A boat cushion or throw with a rope attached offers another measure of safety and doubles nicely as a knee pad when setting up or catching a fish.

DNR does not monitor local ice conditions or the thickness of the ice and encourages anglers and others who will be out on the ice to check in with local bait shops, fishing clubs and resorts. These groups serve winter anglers every day and often have the most up-to-date information on how thick the ice is on local lakes and rivers, as well as areas that are especially dangerous.

Other ice safety tips include:

• Dress warm and wear layers of clothing.

• Make sure someone knows where you are going and when you expect to return; carry a cell phone.

• Don't travel on ice in areas you are not familiar with and use extreme caution when traveling at night or during reduced visibility.

• Avoid inlets, outlets or narrows of waterways as they may have current that can thin the ice.

• In additional to carrying ice claws or picks, wear or have available a lifejacket or a floatation garment that provides buoyancy.

To learn more, visit dnr.wi.gov and search: ice safety.

Baiting and feeding ban in Oneida, Forest and Vilas counties will begin Jan. 11

By Central Office January 7, 2016

Contact(s): Jeremy Holtz, DNR wildlife biologist, 715-365-8999; Tami Ryan, DNR wildlife health section chief, 608-266-3143

RHINELANDER, Wis. -- A ban on baiting for hunting and feeding deer for recreational viewing or other purposes in Oneida, Forest and Vilas counties will take effect Jan. 11, 2016 due to the detection of chronic wasting disease in captive white-tailed deer on private land in Oneida County reported in December.
Forest and Vilas counties are within a 10-mile radius of the Oneida County property on which a CWD-positive deer was found. State law requires that the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources enact a ban on feeding and baiting of deer in counties or portions of counties within a 10-mile radius of a captive or free-roaming domestic or wild animal that tests positive for CWD or tuberculosis. As of Jan. 11, baiting and feeding of deer will be prohibited in 41 Wisconsin counties.
Individuals may still feed birds and small mammals, provided the feeding devices are within 50 yards of a human dwelling and at a sufficient height or design to prevent access by deer.

For more information regarding baiting and feeding regulations and CWD in Wisconsin, visit the department's website, dnr.wi.gov, and search keywords "bait" and "CWD" respectively.

Check out Free Fishing Weekend fun and events

Residents and nonresidents are welcome to fish anywhere in Wisconsin without a license or trout stamp during the upcoming Free Fishing Weekend on January 16 and 17. The event covers all inland waters and Wisconsin's side of the Great Lakes and Mississippi River. Other fishing rules apply, such as limits on the number and size of fish you can keep and any seasons when you must release certain fish species.

To learn more, visit dnr.wi.gov and search "Free Fishing Weekend." For those without equipment, DNR offers ice fishing tip-ups and jigging rods at many state parks and DNR offices.

Ice augers are not available. Theresa Stabo, DNR fisheries outreach coordinator, suggests claiming an abandoned hole, or better yet - making friends with the anglers at the nearest ice fishing shanty and asking them to drill a hole or lend an auger. Check out the list of loaner sites to find out where tackle loans are available.

Get a license

For novices who would like to continue the thrill of "hard water" fishing after Free Fishing Weekend, "first-time buyer"resident licenses are available for just $5. Fishing licenses can be purchased through the Online Licensing Center on the DNR website, at all authorized license agents, and at DNR Service Centers (Hours for service centers vary; check the DNR website for service center days and hours of operation; DNR Service Centers are not open on Saturdays).

For more information on ice fishing around the state contact: Ryan Koenigs, DNR fisheries biologist in Oshkosh, 920-303-5450, Ryan.Koenigs@Wisconsin.gov ; Joseph Gerbyshak, DNR fisheries biologist in Eau Claire, 715-839-2877,Joseph.Gerbyshak@Wisconsin.gov ; Jennifer Bergman, DNR fisheries biologist in Wisconsin Rapids, 715-421-7852,Jennifer.Bergman@Wisconsin.gov ; John Kubisiak, DNR fisheries biologist in Rhinelander, 715-365-8919,Johnf1.Kubisiak@wisconsin.gov .

The Rhinelander School District will hold a binding referendum on February 16, 2016.  In an effort to keep the residents and taxpayers of the Rhinelander School District informed, please follow the link below for more information.  The website will update periodically to include the newest information.  The link will help inform residents on all aspects of the referendum this spring.

Rhinelander School District Referendum

Recently the School District of Rhinelander released dates for community presentations to inform the public about the upcoming referendum.  Please see the dates below.

- January 18th, 5:00 p.m. at the James Williams Middle School Library

- January 21st, 2:00 p.m. at Northern Coffee Haus

- January 22nd, 10:00 a.m. at Pelican Elementary School

- February 2nd, 2:00 p.m. at Northern Coffee Haus

- February 10th, 10:00 a.m. at the YMCA of the Northwoods (Multi-Purpose Room)

A full listing of community presentations can be found on the School District of Rhinelander website.  
 

Upcoming Community Events

Please click the following links for upcoming community events!

Indoor Farmers Market At The YMCA: January 16, Rhinelander

Saturday Double Feature: January 16, Three Lakes

AMSOIL World Championships Snowmobile Derby: January 14-17, Eagle River

"Free-for-Wall", a community exhibition opens!: January 15-16 & 21-22, Rhinelander

Three Lakes Tavern League Poker Run: January 15-16, Three Lakes

Free Fishing Weekend: January 16-17, Wisconsin

Minocqua Winter Farmers Market: October 16, Minocqua

Minocqua Forest Riders Spaghetti Dinner: January 17, Minocqua

Boulder Junction Snowmobile Club Breakfast: January 17, Boulder Junction

Bob Metropulos Gallery Open House & Reception at the Campanile Center for the Arts: January 17, Boulder Junction

LOLA Snowflake Gala: January 19, Land O' Lakes

Women's Club Chili Luncheon: January 20, Three Lakes

30th Annual Great Northern Ice Fishing Tournament: January 23, Lac Vieux Desert