Wisconsin

From the Article:

Wisconsin could see a major expansion of passenger rail service under grant awards announced Wednesday by Senator Tammy Baldwin.

The state will receive $2.5 million to study initiating new service in Madison, Green Bay and Eau Claire that would connect with Milwaukee, Chicago and the Twin Cities. The state will also receive grants to support studying expanding service between Milwaukee and Chicago on the existing Amtrak Hiawatha Service line and adding a third daily round trip between Chicago, Milwaukee and the Twin Cities.

“Passenger rail helps people get to work and school safely, boosts tourism and recreation, and grows our local economies, and I am proud to deliver funding to help expand it in Wisconsin,” said Baldwin in a press release announcing the awards. “I voted for the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to move our economy forward and get Wisconsinites where they need to go efficiently and safely, and I am excited to see these plans for passenger rail move forward.”

A Milwaukee to Green Bay line would function as an extension of the existing Amtrak Hiawatha line between Milwaukee and Chicago. It would use an existing freight rail corridor through Fond du Lac, Oshkosh and Appleton.

Another new line, Milwaukee to Madison and Eau Claire, would also function as a Hiawatha extension. Both of those cities are bypassed by the existing Amtrak Empire Builder, a long-distance route between Chicago, Milwaukee and the West Coast that uses a rail line that runs through eastern Minnesota. A third $500,000 grant would study a line from Eau Claire to the Twin Cities. The Empire Builder currently stops in St. Paul.

The Wisconsin Department of Transportation will also receive a $500,000 grant to study increasing the frequency of the existing Milwaukee-to-Chicago Hiawatha. The Hiawatha currently operates with seven round trips per day. It is expected to operate to eight round trips in the coming years, with concerns in Illinois currently blocking an expansion to 10 daily roundtrips.

A fifth grant will fund the study of an additional Empire Builder trip, likely served by an extended Hiawatha train, between Chicago, Milwaukee, La Crosse and the Twin Cities. The larger cross-country route currently serves the corridor with one round trip per day, but a second round trip is expected to start in early 2024 as part of the “Great River” service (previously TCMC). A Hiawatha train will continue its trip beyond Milwaukee to serve the route to the Twin Cities.

The grants, funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, are part of the U.S. Department of Transportation‘s Corridor ID and Development Program. Grant awards have been trickling out this week, with senators nationwide announcing the awards before the federal department announces the full package later this week.

Other states have secured substantially more money than Wisconsin. A $12 billion, private Las Vegas to Los Angeles train received $3 billion, the California High-Speed Rail project received $3 billion, a $1 billion grant will fund a new line connecting Raleigh, NC to Richmond, VA and several smaller grants will fund studies of new service in North Carolina, Ohio will receive several smaller grants to study new service between its major cities. Additional grants will expand service between Pittsburgh and New York City and other Pennsylvania cities. Earlier awards, totaling $16.4 billion, were announced for the Northeast Corridor between Washington D.C. and Boston.

The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law included $66 billion for rail investments, including $36 billion for competitive grants and $22 billion directly for Amtrak.

The State of Wisconsin, in 2010, won $823 million to expand the Hiawatha from Chicago and Milwaukee to Madison, but outgoing governor Jim Doyle ultimately returned the grant after Scott Walker became governor-elect. A small amount of the funding was retained to partially fund an upgrade to the Milwaukee Intermodal Station.

The routes the study secured new grants for were identified by Amtrak as part of a visioning process for what future service could look like.

From the Article:

Possession of up to 14 grams of marijuana would be decriminalized under a bipartisan Wisconsin bill announced Friday.

The proposal, which was announced in a memo seeking legislative support and mirrors a bill the same authors released in 2021, would almost certainly be signed into law by Democratic Gov. Tony Evers, but it’s highly unlikely to pass the Republican-controlled Legislature.

Possession of small amounts of marijuana should not subject people to serious penalties, bill authors Reps. Shae Sortwell, R-Two Rivers; Sylvia Ortiz-Velez, D-Milwaukee; and Sen. Lena Taylor, D-Milwaukee, said in the memo.

The authors noted North Dakota, New Hampshire, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina and Nebraska have removed jail time for people caught with small amounts of marijuana.

From the Article:

In 2022, Wisconsin hunters killed 340,282 deer. Of those, 1,243 — fewer than 1% — were donated to local meat processors that agreed to prepare venison for donation to food pantries.

After reaching a peak in 2006 with nearly 12,000 donations, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources’ Deer Donation Program has been shrinking since it was established in 2000.

There are just over 50 meat processors statewide participating in the program, meaning some hunters looking to donate might need to cross county lines to find a shop or a drop-off site. Meat processors must be licensed with the state to participate.

"That's definitely a problem we hear about: hunters not having a processor locally that they're able to donate (to), and a lot of them, if it's too far, it might just not be worth it,” said Grace Nugent, a wildlife biologist and the deer donation program administrator.

Hunters might also need to get the carcass tested for chronic wasting disease before donating it, adding another step in the process.

Also relevant to the program's overall health are data showing Wisconsin is seeing a general decline in hunters, meaning there are fewer people who might be willing to donate animals that would otherwise not fit in their freezers.

Still, the deer donation program has been successful in gathering 98,324 deer for donation between 2000 and 2022. That amounts to nearly 4 million pounds of donated venison, according to the DNR.

Jasen Elcombe is a captain with the Salvation Army in Superior. Venison donations provide meat to the local food pantry that often receives donated nonperishables but sometimes has to purchase meat to stock its shelves.

About 60 families use the resource in Douglas County each week, he said.

“When we have the venison donated, that’s a whole lot of meat that we can give to people,” Elcombe said. “I think around here — Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan — everyone just loves venison.”

From the Article:

The federal government is proposing that cities replace all of their lead pipes by 2037, a timeline shorter than the decades currently estimated in places like Milwaukee.

The Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday released updates to its lead and copper rule, which would push communities across the country to expedite the replacement of lead laterals, the pipes that carry water from the water mains underground to the plumbing within a home.

That means communities across the U.S. could be rid of lead pipes in 14 years, if the rule is approved and communities don't apply for extensions or exceptions.

Radhika Fox, the EPA assistant administrator for water, said the rule could be approved as soon as next year, and then states will be given a three-year compliance period before they have to start hitting the quotas for lateral replacement. But, she said, many communities are already looking to step up their rates of replacement in order to protect residents.

"Many systems are taking a proactive approach to getting the lead out now," she said.

Lead poisoning can bring lifelong consequences, especially for young children. The Wisconsin Department of Health Services reported in 2018 that 9.2% of children age 5 or younger in Milwaukee have elevated blood lead levels.

A Journal Sentinel analysis of state Department of Health Services data earlier this year showed that the highest childhood lead exposure rates in Milwaukee were concentrated in census tracts that were predominantly Black, and had older housing stock and a higher rate of building code violations — a proxy for substandard housing where chipping lead paint is a particular danger for children.

These factors were more strongly linked to childhood lead poisoning rates than other variables, like the presence of lead service lines. Although lead pipes are a known cause of childhood lead exposure, they are present in most parts of the city regardless of demographics and income levels.

Wisconsin has more than 150,000 lead service lines across 92 communities, according to the nonpartisan Wisconsin Policy Forum. Since 1998, more than 73,000 have already been replaced, with 37,000 of those replacements occurring since 2018.

Milwaukee has the most pipes to be replaced, with about 70,000 lead lines. The city has replaced about 6,400 lead service lines since it started systematically replacing them in 2017, according to Milwaukee Water Works.

Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson has said he wants to replace all of the city's lead pipes in 20 years instead of the original six-plus decades projected.

The EPA's proposed timeline would mean further speeding up that pace.

"It means that we would need to accelerate the pace a little bit faster than we were going to previously and continue accelerating beyond where we thought we might end up to reach the mayor’s 20-year goal," Milwaukee Water Works spokesman Brian Rothgery said.

The state has allocated $30 million to Milwaukee from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funding to replace 2,200 lead service lines next year and 800 this year, he said. In total, the city is on pace to replace nearly 1,200 total lead service lines this year, according to the department.

Milwaukee's prioritization plan for lead service line replacement and its existing inventory of lead pipes will give the city a strong foundation to build upon, he said. Still, questions remain about funding to complete the work on the shortened timeline and how stiff competition may become for lead service line workers with other communities looking to replace their pipes within the same period, he said.

Wisconsin earlier this year received $139 million to help address water quality issues, including lead laterals. That money is being awarded to communities currently, and projects are moving forward. After that money from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law runs out, there will still be grants or loans for communities to use for the cost of replacing additional lead lines, Fox said.

"We're going to have to continue collectively at the local, state and federal levels to work towards more funding to support communities in this effort," she said.

From the Article:

Food waste reduction pilot projects could get a boost through state grants under a plan proposed by Democratic lawmakers.

Senate Assistant Minority Leader Jeff Smith, D- Brunswick, and State Rep. Francesca Hong, D- Madison, are looking for co-sponsors on a bill that would give $200,000 over the next two years to organizations that are preventing food waste, redirecting surplus food to hunger relief organizations or composting food waste.

Hong said possible recipients could be community compost programs, farmers who are starting regenerative agriculture practices, and eligible food pantries.

“This is not only comprehensive but a common sense way for both residential and commercial businesses to invest in food waste reduction and to redirect excess food to those who need it,” Hong said.

According to data from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, about 854,000 tons of food were thrown away in Wisconsin in 2020, the majority of it still edible.

From the article:

A 631-acre land sale to Microsoft Corp. that is on course to happen this year is expected to leave Mount Pleasant and Racine County with around $36 million of unspent cash on hand.

That money will be set aside for about a decade just in case it’s needed to pay off the existing debt those two governments have after preparing thousands of acres for industrial development along Interstate 94.

But if Microsoft comes through on its promise to generate at least $1.4 billion in new land value by building data centers in Mount Pleasant, that trove will still be around in the mid 2030s, and ready for village and Racine County elected officials to spend, within certain limits, on police and fire services.

“That money will not be spent without the village and the county agreeing how it should be spent,” said Alan Marcuvitz, attorney who has represented the village of Mount Pleasant in its agreements with Microsoft.

While there are limits to how the $36 million could be used a decade from now, it represents a potentially huge and unusual cash windfall for local governments in a time when many are struggling to pay for public services under the state revenue limits. Mount Pleasant’s total expected revenue budgeted for 2024 is $25.5 million. About $20 million is budgeted for public safety operations, which is one of the ways the $36 million in reserves could eventually be spent, under state law.

That savings is another way the village of Mount Pleasant has emerged in a unique situation after its 2017 agreements with Foxconn Technology Group did not generate the expected levels of development by the Taiwanese company.

The 2017 Foxconn deals included a state law change that let Mount Pleasant create a tax incremental financing, or TIF, district that is larger than usually allowed. That district was used to finance the village’s acquisition of land along I-94, and construction of infrastructure to prepare it for new industrial development.

“This is going to put us in a very cash-rich position,” Village President Dave DeGroot said Monday of the pending agreements under review with Microsoft.

When Foxconn downsized its plans, the village was left with ample land to pitch to other businesses. Microsoft is now poised to take over about two square miles, or 1,346 acres, total.

The Mount Pleasant Village Board during a Monday meeting received an update on the current negotiations with Microsoft. The company is to develop most of that land with data centers. AJ Steinbrecher, director of land acquisition for North America for Microsoft’s cloud operations, on Monday told the Village Board that it represents billions of dollars of investment.

“Microsoft is committed to driving inclusive economic opportunity in southeastern Wisconsin in supporting these aspirations in becoming a technology and innovation hub,” he said. “Wisconsin’s unique quality, significant infrastructure and the recent state designation as a U.S. regional technology hub make it an ideal place for us to develop data centers and cloud technologies.”

Construction of a first data center is underway on a portion of 315 acres Microsoft bought from the village earlier this year. Its next pending land purchase includes 1,030 acres of village and privately owned land.

“We are still evolving on a fair number of our plans in terms of what master planning would look like and what our buildout would be,” Steinbrecher said.

Microsoft guarantees it will create a minimum land value of $1.4 billion by the start of 2028. The property taxes from that new value would cover all of the debt the village and Racine County accumulated from acquiring and preparing that land east of I-94 for future industrial development, Marcuvitz said.

If that area generates the expected $2 billion in new property value between Foxconn and Microsoft, that debt would be paid off by 2037.

Until that happens, the unspent $36 million from this year’s land sales to Microsoft will be held as security. During that time, it could be invested or generate interest so that the dollar amount increases while it waits to be spent.

“That money will not be touched for any other purpose until we know it is not needed,” Marcuvitz said.

The state law change that let Mount Pleasant create at TIF district for Foxconn also dictates how the unspent millions could be used. Limits within that state law say the money could be used anywhere in the county, including for police and fire equipment, or general government operations relating to police and fire protection.

From the article:

Amtrak will launch a new passenger train in 2024 along the Twin Cities - Milwaukee - Chicago corridor.

The project expansion will add a second daily round-trip passenger train on the 411-mile corridor, complementing the existing Empire Builder schedule with both a morning and midday departure from Chicago and St. Paul.

In Wisconsin, the route has stops in Sturtevant, Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport, Milwaukee, Columbus, Portage, Wisconsin Dells, Tomah, and La Crosse.

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This service expansion involves partnership agreements among the Federal Railroad Administration, state DOTs, host railroads, and Amtrak. When all the elements have been finalized between the parties, the schedules, fares,​ start date and official name of the train service will be jointly announced. Service is expected to begin in 2024.

From the article:

Microsoft is planning to expand its development of a data center in Mount Pleasant, with plans to purchase another thousand acres in the village and to invest “billions of dollars” at the site over the next decade.

Gov. Tony Evers announced the plan Friday.

Microsoft announced in March that it planned to invest $1 billion to build a data center on 315 acres once set aside for the Foxconn development in Racine County. The company broke ground on the center in September.

Now, Microsoft plans to construct additional data centers on land initially meant for Foxconn, with plans to purchase 1,030 additional acres in a tax incremental district created for the Taiwan-based company, according to a joint release from Mount Pleasant, Racine County and Milwaukee 7.

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported Friday that the terms of the deal between the village and Microsoft says

the company will guarantee an additional property value of $1.4 billion by 2028. The deal is slated to be presented to the village board on Monday.

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From the article:

WEC Energy Group expects to stop using coal as a power source by 2032, three years earlier than previously expected.

During an earnings call on Tuesday, WEC Energy Group executives presented the utility's plan to become coal-free in eight years, beginning with the shutdown next year of a pair of coal-powered generating units at its We Energies subsidiary's Oak Creek Power Plant.

Other coal-fired units will be retired between 2025 and 2031, resulting in the elimination of more than 1,700 megawatts of generating capacity, equal to the consumption of more than 1 million homes. To help make up for that, the company unveiled plans for an additional $1.4 billion in spending on new sources of renewable energy that, combined with $5.4 billion previously announced, is expected to bring an additional 3,800 megawatts of wind, solar and battery power online over the next five years.

That includes large solar farms that are under construction in Kenosha, Walworth and Iowa counties as well as new developments that have not been publicly announced.

Meanwhile, the company will invest in "enhancing fuel flexibility" at newer generating units in Oak Creek and at the Weston Power Plant in Marathon County that will burn a mix of natural gas and coal. With those improvements, WEC expects to be using coal as a backup fuel only by the end of 2030 and to fully phase out its use two years later.

From the article:

The U.S. Commerce Department on Monday named Wisconsin as one of 31 regional tech hubs, making the state eligible for millions of dollars in federal funding to help advance personalized medicine and biohealth technology.

The Biden administration chose Wisconsin for the status among 370 applicants. It was also one of 29 awarded a $350,000 grant to further develop the state’s strategy in driving innovation.

Wisconsin will now progress to the next round of the competition, in which at least five tech hubs will win up to $75 million each under the CHIPS and Science Act passed last year. The competition is designed to spread innovation beyond traditional tech hubs like Boston, Seattle and cities in California.

The money would be a boon for Wisconsin’s growing innovation industry, bolstering the state’s economy, increasing its workforce and expanding development of technology in health care.

“Wisconsin’s designation as a regional tech hub is a testament to the strength of our state’s biohealth and personalized medicine industry,” said Gov. Tony Evers in a statement. “As this sector continues to grow, it will mean more high-paying jobs and economic growth for our state, as well as innovations that will transform the future of medical care for people in Wisconsin and around the world.”

Earlier this year, the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation gathered a consortium of 15 state colleges, nonprofits and health companies to submit the tech hub bid on behalf of the state. The organizations involved are some of the state’s leading players in higher education, technology and health care, including the University of Wisconsin System, UW-Madison, Madison College, Milwaukee Area Technical College, BioForward Wisconsin and Exact Sciences, among others.

“(The tech hub status) will help ensure that we continue to push forward innovation, economic growth and transformative advancements in healthcare,” said UW-Madison Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin in a statement.

In the first phase, the federal economic administration selected the 31 regions for tech hub designation based on their potential for “rapid technology-led economic growth.” Of those regions, at least five will be chosen in the second round for further “implementation” funding totaling nearly $500 million.

Wisconsin’s consortium has proposed using the money to improve personalized medicine, an emerging medical approach that tailors health care based on each patient’s genes. The technique uses genomics, imaging technology, artificial intelligence and bioscience, which could help patients heal faster and reduce medical costs, according to the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp.

The money would also go toward the state’s development of theranostics — a combination of the words therapy and diagnostics — which uses biotechnology to simultaneously diagnose and treat certain medical conditions, including cancer and Alzheimer’s disease.

In addition to innovation in health care, the grant could be used toward workforce training as well as efforts to expand housing and transportation policies, Missy Hughes told the Cap Times in August. Hughes serves as secretary and CEO of the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp.

In a letter to the Economic Development Administration endorsing the state’s bid, U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin made the case for Wisconsin as an ideal tech hub because of its already booming innovation economy.

She referenced a 2019 report from the Brookings Institution, which identified mid-size cities across the nation with the most technological growth potential.

The report ranked Madison as No. 1 and Milwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis as No. 17 based on the share of the population with bachelor’s degrees or higher, the rate of those with science, technology, engineering and math doctoral degrees granted by local universities and those schools’ spending on STEM research.

The other regional tech hubs range from Montana and Virginia to Illinois and Puerto Rico. In addition to biotechnology, some of the focus areas include automation, semiconductor manufacturing, clean energy, critical minerals and quantum computing.

The federal economic administration is expected to announce the chosen winners for further funding next year.

Does a coach really make that much difference?