From WisBusiness.com
— This week’s episode of WisBusiness: the Podcast is with Doug Kelly, CEO of the American Edge Project.
This bipartisan group promotes the national technology sector, with a focus on competitiveness at the global level. It’s made up of a coalition of domestic organizations including the National Small Business Association, the Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council, Technology Councils of North America, Meta and others.
“America’s innovators play a critical role in the success of our country, and we have to beat China in this tech race that we’re in with them, otherwise it’s really going to be a threat to our national security, our economy, and ultimately, American values,” Kelly said.
He argues the United States’ former dominance in global manufacturing was undercut by “short sighted policy decisions that really handed that manufacturing edge” to China.
“Now when I look at lawmakers talking about technology, they want to pass some of the same type of shortsighted measures that are going to undermine our technology sectors as they did with manufacturing,” he said. “The difference is, technology isn’t just another sector … It’s the very backbone of our national security, our economy.”
Kelly shares some examples of policies the group is targeting with its messaging, noting efforts to stiffen regulations on the tech sector in Europe are “keeping them about 20% to 40% behind America” in venture capital activity and other measures of economic growth and innovation.
“Europe would be a tragic mistake in terms of importing regulations, because they have fundamentally crippled their ability to innovate in Europe … of the top 10 largest tech companies in the world, most are American, the rest are Chinese and there are zero of them who are European,” he said.
He also highlights the impact of up-and-coming technology hubs across the country, referencing Milwaukee as an example.
“Milwaukee just announced its 300th VC deal to help accelerate innovation and create new products to market,” he said. “That’s the sixth fastest growing one in the country. So you’ve got a real kind of gem there when it comes to innovation.”
The discussion also touches on the potential of AI, as well as its relevance in global tech competition. See a recent blog post from Kelly on this topic.
Listen to the podcast and see the full list of WisBusiness.com podcasts.
— In the latest edition of “Talking Trade,” City of Superior Planning, Economic Development & Port Director Jason Serck discusses upcoming projects at the port and broader economic trends.
Serck, who is also president of the Wisconsin Commercial Ports Association, shares insights on commodities moving through the port, ranging from stone, coal and clay to grains and more.
“Pretty robust here, and a good diversity of moving product and actually importing product as well,” he said.
He also outlines a $23 million port development project overhauling a C. Reiss Company dock at the port, which received $8.3 million in federal funding from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration as well as state dollars from the state Department of Transportation’s Harbor Assistance Program.
“It’s a win-win,” he said. “It kicked off in August ahead of schedule because the winter has been very, very favorable. And I think they’re hoping to push a little bit of product through there starting this summer.”
The podcast also spotlights a major project to replace the aging Blatnik Bridge, which was the subject of a visit from President Joe Biden to Superior earlier this year.
“It’ll be, by the time we’re done with it, probably a considerable little over $2 billion project, which is huge for our area,” he said. “Putting a lot of people to work.”
Watch the show here.
“Talking Trade” is now available in audio form on Apple Podcasts and Google Podcasts. Subscribe and find more episodes here.
— Presenters at a briefing for businesses likely to be impacted by the 2024 Republican National Convention in Milwaukee assured attendees that planners will work with them so they can continue to operate, but offered few specifics as plans are still taking shape.
The convention, set for July 15-18, is expected to draw 50,000 people to the downtown area, including 8,000 delegates,15,000 members of the press and others, organizers said. Traffic congestion and security measures are major concerns.
Several hundred people yesterday filled a conference room at the Baird Center, one of the three main venues for the RNC, to ask questions and hear presentations from law enforcement, city officials, and convention organizers.
In addition to the presentations and a Q&A, booths with representatives of the Secret Service and other law enforcement agencies, convention organizers and various city departments addressed questions and provided contact information.
The majority of questions business representatives raised had to do with access for employees, customers and delivery vehicles.
James Morley of the U.S. Secret Service noted there will be two levels of security. An inner zone, which will be in areas closest to the convention venues, will require credentials to access.
In a larger outer zone, pedestrians will be able to move about and through freely, but vehicles will be screened. Large trucks, he said, will have to go through an X-ray scanner as part of the process. All screening points, he said, will be open around the clock.
Areas in the outer zone and nearby will see increased traffic and law enforcement presence, Morley said, and people in the area should expect delays.
In response to a business owner’s concern about the time it would take for his more than 400 employees to get through the vehicle screening process, Morely noted checkpoints will handle multiple vehicles at a time and screening will take about 30 seconds per vehicle. He warned that employees and people with appointments in the area should budget significant additional time.
U.S. Secret Service RNC Coordinator Audrey Gibson-Cicchino noted that no businesses are being asked to close, and that businesses likely to be in the inner perimeter should have been already been contacted to work out arrangements.
The Secret Service in February released a map showing an impact area that abuts the popular Water Street entertainment corridor to the east and 9th Street to the west. It stretches from Cherry Street to the north and Clybourn Street to the south, which runs along I-794.
Morley said the final areas for the inner and outer perimeters are still being determined and will likely be released mid-June.
While major security protocols won’t be in place outside of the convention dates, Gibson-Cicchino noted areas will be impacted for several days before and after the convention due to the building and removal of security features.
A group of representatives from a medical practice on Wisconsin Avenue told WisBusiness they had concerns about patient access and the availability of emergency services during the convention. They said they’d hoped for more specifics by this point, given how long the convention has been in the planning stages.
While specifics were not available for most questions, one group of business representatives noted today’s event was more like a trade show, where connections are made and details worked out in follow-up contacts.
Milwaukee Fire Chief Aaron Lipski said he’s been impressed by the level of planning and the coordination between agencies and with the community. He noted that while safety has been the top priority, there has been intense focus on making sure people have access to residences, businesses and necessary services.
“I’ve never heard so much concern and planning in the background,” Lipski said, adding that while law enforcement, fire and EMS are getting the needed attention, “there is way more concern about the business community and the civilians that reside here in the city of Milwaukee.”
See a City of Milwaukee FAQ page on the convention here.
— President Jay Rothman said it is up to the state to decide whether it can afford a “weakened” Universities of Wisconsin as he released third-party assessments of seven campuses’ finances.
“The old adage of ‘you get what you pay for’ comes into play if we don’t get the financial support moving forward,” Rothman told reporters in a virtual press call yesterday.
Rothman noted state support has declined to about 18% of the universities’ budget. He pointed to a 10-year tuition freeze, enrollment declines and inflation as challenges. Rothman said it would take an additional $440 million annually to get Wisconsin universities to the median level compared to national funding.
“There will be difficult decisions that will need to be made to return to a strong financial footing for our universities,” Rothman said.
Rothman noted the assessments include opportunities for growth, such as dual enrollment, which will also require investments.
“To retain students, to leverage dual enrollment and provide the programs and services our students deserve and parents expect, comes with a price tag. But it can make a difference in the lives and success of our students,” Rothman said.
The universities hired a third-party consultant more than a year ago to evaluate the universities’ financial statuses and possibilities for improvement amid structural deficits at 10 of 13 universities. The goal is to eliminate structural deficits by 2028.
Several universities have reduced staff to address budget challenges. That includes voluntary buyouts and layoffs at UW-Platteville, layoffs and furloughs at UW-Green Bay, and voluntary buyouts, layoffs and furloughs at UW-Oshkosh and UW-Parkside.
Meanwhile, three branch campuses have ended in-person classes, UW-Platteville Richland has closed and UW-Milwaukee Waukesha is set to close in spring 2025.
And the Board of Regents last week approved a 3.75% tuition hike in 2024-25 to bring in more revenue, which is expected to generate approximately $39 million.
Assessments were released for the Superior, Oshkosh, Platteville, River Falls, Parkside, Whitewater and Green Bay campuses. The remaining reports are set for release in the summer and fall, excluding UW-Madison, which does not have a structural deficit and has a healthy reserve of funds.
GOP university committee chairs Sen. Rob Hutton, R-Brookfield, and Rep. Dave Murphy, R-Greenville, weren’t immediately available for comment.
Rep. Katrina Shankland, D-Stevens Point, who serves on the Colleges and Universities Committee, in a lengthy statement said the universities’ financial challenges are the result of a “deliberate policy choice” by Republicans, noting the state has a $3 billion surplus.
“Right now, Wisconsin is competing with surrounding states to recruit and retain a talented workforce and high-quality employers,” she said. “By dramatically underfunding our public higher education institutions, one of the soundest workforce investments we can make, at a time when our state has a record surplus, our state is only hurting itself, as young people continue leaving our state for better opportunities elsewhere.”
— State Superintendent Jill Underly said a new DPI report shows the state is in an educator workforce crisis, arguing the Legislature has the power to fix it but refuses to do so.
“We are taking action at the DPI to the extent that we can, but we need the Legislature to take action. Our state Legislature needs to address this crisis head-on. We cannot wait another entire year until the next budget,” Underly said at a press conference at the State Education Building in Madison yesterday.
The data was released as part of the Department of Public Instruction’s educator preparation program and workforce analysis report using data from the 2021-22 school year.
Assembly Education Committee Chair Joel Kitchens, R-Sturgeon Bay, declined to comment because he had not read the full report. Senate Education Committee Chair John Jagler, R-Watertown, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
While the number of people in education programs and receiving teaching licenses is greater than the number of retiring teachers, the report notes the state is missing out on new teachers in two key areas.
According to the report, Wisconsin outpaces neighboring states for the number of students enrolling in educator preparation programs. And retirements have remained stable, with 2,228 in 2022 compared to 2,151 in 2021 and 2,230 in 2020.
But fewer Wisconsin students are completing educator preparation programs, and about 40% leave the state or the profession within the first six years of employment.
Of the 5,061 students who completed an educator preparation program in 2021-22, 4,002—about 79%—became licensed.
Underly also said Wisconsin’s teachers are paid less than they deserve and much less than other industries.
“Wisconsin is losing quality teachers that we should not be losing. This is unacceptable. There are specific reasons teachers cite for leading teaching among them, and perhaps the most shocking is how underpaid they are,” Underly said.
The report shows median compensation for teachers, including salary and fringe benefits, has gone down 19% since 2010.
See the report.
— Some of the takeaways for universities include:
*UW-Green Bay is facing a deficit that reached $7.2 million in fiscal year 2022-2023, which the assessment finds the university will likely struggle to resolve without more budget reductions and could lead to a depletion of the tuition fund by 2027. The assessment notes some possible strategies moving forward could include further leveraging dual enrollment and continuing education, considering discontinuing programs with low enrollment and strategically adding new programs.
*UW-Oshkosh has established a plan to reduce an estimated $18 million structural deficit, including cutting staff. The assessment said more savings will be necessary in the future. The university has identified opportunities including cost reductions, expanding experiential learning and improving dual enrollment.
*UW-Parkside’s tuition reserves are going down quickly, and the university had a $5.9 million tuition deficit in 2022-23. The funds are expected to be depleted in fiscal year 2024-25. Some proposed actions include innovating academic offerings and experience, expanding enrollment and boosting the university’s brand and message.
*UW-Platteville has less than a year of general program operations reserves in its coffers. The assessment notes the future of the institution is at risk “without significant and immediate change.” The university will seek to preserve key student-facing services and programming, aligning or eliminating redundant services, among other things.
*UW-River Falls is on “a trajectory of financial unsustainability” according to its assessment, which notes a $7.1 million tuition fund deficit in fiscal year 2022-23. The deficit is expected to continue with declining enrollment. The university is currently developing strategies aiming to boost enrollment and increase retention rates.
*UW-Superior faces an ongoing $1.5 million structural deficit that is projected to grow as pandemic relief funds are no longer available to fill budget gaps. The assessment says the university will struggle to resolve the deficit without changes, which could lead to depletion of the tuition fund by fiscal year 2027-28. Some steps the university plans to take include diversifying and strengthening the programs offered, and one-time budget investments in strategic areas.
*UW-Whitewater has a projected $1.8 million deficit for fiscal year 2023-24. The assessment notes without changes, the university could see limited tuition fund balances in the next three to four years due to enrollment declines and a shrinking pool of traditional college applicants. The university will seek to improve retention, diversify its enrollment strategy and leverage UW-Whitewater Rock County to help meet the main campus’ goals.
Rothman said he didn’t anticipate closing down any of the 13 campuses.
“I’m confident that all of our universities can get there. The question is what is the depth of those cuts going to have to be because we have a responsibility on the expense side of the ledger to run as efficiently as we possibly can be,” Rothman said.
— The Monroe County Highway Department is getting a $500,000 federal grant to fortify transportation infrastructure against climate change.
The U.S. Department of Transportation yesterday announced $830 million in funding for 80 projects around the country.
The grant coming to Wisconsin will help Monroe County assess the vulnerability of local bridges, culverts, dams and roadways and prioritize repair or removal efforts, according to the release. The county will also come up with strategies for improving the resilience of infrastructure during flash flooding and other extreme weather.
See more in the release.
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AGRIBUSINESS
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EDUCATION
– DPI report shows Wisconsin’s education workforce is in crisis
– Compensation for Wisconsin teachers dropped 19% since 2010, report finds
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ENVIRONMENT
HEALTH CARE
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POLITICS
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SPORTS
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TOURISM
– Downtown Marriott files Chapter 11 bankruptcy. It stays open while reorganizing its finances.
TRANSPORTATION
– Officials unveil The Couture’s transit concourse, launch full Hop L-Line service
COLUMNS
– No Substitute for Victory, America’s Competition With China Must Be Won, Not Managed
PRESS RELEASES
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