Last week Governor Walker signed Assembly Bill 194 into law, legislation I authored to allow for the expanded use of crossbows. The bill now becomes 2013 Wisconsin Act 61.

Act 61 accomplishes the following:
• Lifts the current age and disability restrictions on crossbow use,
• Beginning in 2014, establishes a crossbow season to run concurrently to the traditional archery season,
• Upon the completion of the second season, DNR will evaluate the impact of crossbows and use its authority to establish future seasons.

Statistics show that Wisconsin is in the bottom 20% nationwide for attracting young hunters, and that the hunter replacement rate has been declining. Act 61 aims to correct that trend and pass on the hunting legacy to future generations.

Many people worked together to make this bill a reality, including sporting groups and the manufacturing industry. A special thank you to Brad and Jeff Adee from Headhunter Bow Strings, who attended the bill signing and have already hired an additional 15 workers at their plant in Milton, WI as a direct result of this bill.

This week our Rural School Task Force held a hearing at the Capitol in Madison.  The committee heard testimony from State Superintendent Tony Evers from the Dept. of Public Instruction, Mr. Jerry Fiene from the Rural Schools Alliance, Mr. John Forester from the School Administrators Alliance, and from representatives of both WEAC and the Wisconsin Education Media and Technology Association.

Two of the main issues we discussed included the critical need of expanded broadband technology in our rural schools, and the challenge of retaining talented teachers to remain in rural districts rather than gravitating towards suburban areas.

Our next meeting will be held in the 35th Assembly District, on Wednesday January 8th. The committee will tour both the Elcho and Antigo school districts, and the public hearing portion of our meeting will be held in 1:00 – 4:00pm at Antigo High School.

Last week, Sartori Co. announced that it would be expanding and renovating two of its cheese making plants in Antigo and Plymouth. Sartori has been family-owned for four generations.  The $14 million project is estimated to create 53 new jobs.

 The Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation has helped facilitate this expansion and job creation by certifying up to $394,500 in Economic Development Tax Credits. These tax credits will be based on the number of new jobs created over a three-year period.

Season’s Greetings

 Sen. Tom Tiffany and I enjoyed seeing the fully decorated Capitol Christmas Tree last week.  May you all enjoy a Merry Christmas with your families and loved ones, happy holidays and a very blessed New Year.