Assembly Announces New Speaker Task Forces

This week, the Wisconsin State Assembly announced the creation of three new bipartisan speaker task forces: the Speaker’s Task Force on Alzheimer’s and Dementia; the Speaker’s Task Force on Urban Education; and the Speaker’s Task Force on Youth Workforce Readiness.

The purpose of each task force is to discuss and explore possible solutions and make educated recommends for legislation to the entire State Assembly.

Each task force has an Assembly Republican chair and an Assembly Democratic vice chair. The chairs are being asked to tap into the knowledge of community experts and those affected in the individual issue areas. The committees will begin this summer with the hope to complete work before the end of session. Their meetings will include traveling around Wisconsin to obtain input and innovative ideas from local leaders and experts in order to understand that areas specific needs and problems.

I am happy to announce that I have been asked to serve of two of these task forces: the Speaker’s Task Force on Alzheimer’s and Dementia and the Speaker’s Task Force on Urban Education.

The diseases of Alzheimer's and Dementia are a growing norm in today's society. These diseases have far-reaching effects on individuals, families, and communities. With the Baby Boomer population increasing in age, the need for additional resources to aide and assist this aging community is steadily growing. It is an issue that needs to be addressed and I look forward to working diligently on such an important issue.

I am also proud to be given the opportunity to continue my work from last session where I served on the Speaker's Task Force for Rural Schools. From that task force, we were able to supply plausible recommendations and see those recommendations fulfilled in the 2015-17 biennial budget. I look forward to incorporating the conversations and recommendation from the Rural Task Force meetings with my fellow legislators serving on the Urban Education Task Force.

It is my hope that all of the Speaker's Task Forces will have strong, bipartisan collaboration on these important issues as they all, in their own way, impact citizens and families of Wisconsin.

Rep. Mike Rohrkaste (R-Neenah) will be the chair of the Speaker’s Task Force on Alzheimer’s and Dementia. Rep. Jessie Rodriguez (R-Franklin) will be the Speaker’s Task Force on Urban Education. Lastly, Rep. Bob Kulp (R-Stratford) will be the chair of the Speaker’s Task Force on Youth Workforce Readiness.

Gollen Bait and Fish Farm

While in Madison this week, I was able to visit Gollen Bait and Fish Farm, located near Dodgeville with my fellow Representative Todd Novak.

It is important to our job, as elected representatives, to visit small businesses throughout our state in order to understand the roles that different businesses play in our state's economy. Fisheries and aquaculture farms are one of the key components in our state's agricultural industry by providing farm raised fish for food, lake stocking purposes, and bait. These farms help generate employment opportunities and economic activity in rural areas and decrease our dependency on outside food sources.

For more information about aquaculture click here.
 

Marathon County Fair