FRI AM News: WisBusiness: the Podcast with Zach Malin, Krier Foods; Microsoft aims to help ‘build an AI economy’ in WI

November 15, 2024

— This week’s episode of “WisBusiness: the Podcast” is with Zach Malin, senior vice president of business development for Krier Foods.

Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce and Johnson Financial Group last month announced Random Lake-based Krier Foods’ Jolly Good Soda is this year’s Coolest Thing Made in Wisconsin. The craft soda product was chosen as the winner for 2024’s contest after more than 150,000 votes were cast.

“This award is a really big deal for the 100-plus employees that live in small-town Random Lake, Wisconsin that help produce this every day,” Malin said. “So it’s super, super exciting … it’s an amazing brand for the employees to see get recognized on such a large scale in the state of Wisconsin.”

The company’s main business is canning beverages, manufacturing energy drinks for “every brand you can imagine on the store shelf,” he said. The Jolly Good Soda brand was created by the Krier family in 1966, and has been “a small Wisconsin brand that people resonate with” ever since.

Malin shares his experience traveling from Michigan to Wisconsin to accept the award on behalf of Krier Foods, calling it a “humbling” experience.

“When they announced we won, it was like ‘Oh, wow. Was not expecting this,’” he said, adding “hearing Jolly Good Soda across the speakers … was overwhelming.”

He also touts the online buzz around the “iconic Wisconsin brand,” which beat out around 130 other products that were nominated for this year’s award. Following an initial popular vote, finalist companies competed in a bracket-style “Manufacturing Madness” tournament that pitted products against one another in a series of voting rounds.

“The number of Instagram stories, the Facebook messages that we get where people write in and say, ‘I remember my dad would give me fifty cents on the way to basketball practice, and I’d pick up two cherry sodas. One for the way there, and one for the way back,’” he said, adding “it’s those stories that make Jolly Good what it is today.”

Listen to the podcast and see the full list of WisBusiness.com podcasts.

— A Microsoft spokesperson says the company’s $3.3 billion planned datacenter in Mount Pleasant will help “build an AI economy” within Wisconsin while evolving alongside the technology.

Balamurugan Balakreshnan, chief AI officer for the Washington-based tech giant, spoke yesterday during the Wisconsin Technology Council’s Early Stage Symposium in Madison. He touted the impact of the datacenter on Wisconsin companies looking to innovate with help from Microsoft’s AI resources.

“You guys can leverage these systems, and start building new, innovative products,” he told conference attendees. “So we are bringing the infrastructure as much as we can. As you know, this technology is also growing, so we’ll be constantly rotating and re-doing the technical pieces inside to match the market.”

Once the project is up and running, the datacenter will have about 300 jobs to start out, Balakreshnan said. These will include positions in management, environmental operations, IT operations, mechanical engineers, electrical engineers, security contractors and building maintenance, he said. That’s in addition to creating around 2,300 construction jobs by 2025.

He also touted the role of UW-Milwaukee’s Connected Systems Institute in developing AI-enabled prototypes alongside Wisconsin companies. The CSI was created by Microsoft and Milwaukee-based Rockwell Automation, and aims to work with about 100 partners per year.

Balakreshnan said the lab space will be designed for “very early-stage development,” with industry experts on-hand to help companies with initial phases of product creation.

“It will not be an end product,” he said. “It is just a prototyping phase, you get to see how you can build a system, and then the idea is you guys can take that back home, to your office, and build on top of it and make it a real product.”

Yesterday’s presentation also highlighted the capabilities of Microsoft’s Copilot AI assistant, which Balakreshnan said can connect with other companies’ applications to save users time and energy.

“If you’re investing in a company, or if you’re coming up with a new idea, look and see how you can actually infuse [generative] AI and make it much more easily usable for your end-users, just to start with,” he said. “There are hundreds and hundreds of use-cases.”

Watch the video and see more coverage of the Early Stage Symposium.

— The DNR announced it has approved permits for the Enbridge Line 5 pipeline relocation, angering tribal members and spurring threats of legal action from environmentalists.

Enbridge is seeking to relocate a 12-mile segment of Line 5 and build a new 41-mile segment outside the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa reservation. The proposal came after a federal judge ruled in 2022 Enbridge had illegally trespassed on the tribe’s land.

Enbridge will still need another permit approved by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to begin the project, and DNR in its release noted the agency may require additional permits or approvals.

Following yesterday’s announcement, the Wisconsin Jobs and Energy Coalition, a group of labor unions, business groups and agricultural organizations, hailed the decision. The coalition has warned shutting down Line 5 could lead to propane shortages in the region and significant price increases.

Wisconsin Propane Gas Association Executive Director Cheryl Lytle noted propane suppliers in the state have been waiting more than four years for DNR to review the project.

“We are thankful for the Wisconsin DNR’s diligence and hopeful our state can now avoid the supply and price shock closing down Line 5 would have on the 280,000 families, farms and businesses that depend on propane for heat and fuel,” Lytle said.

But the Bad River Band and environmental groups blasted the decision as a threat to the environment. And Clean Wisconsin said it is considering a legal challenge to the permits.

“I’m angry that the DNR has signed off on a half-baked plan that spells disaster for our homeland and our way of life,” Bad River Band Chairman Robert Blanchard said. “We will continue sounding the alarm to prevent yet another Enbridge pipeline from endangering our watershed.”

The Bad River Band release notes expected adverse impacts to the Kakagon-Bad River Sloughs, “an internationally recognized mosaic of sloughs, bogs, and coastal lagoons that provide a critical stopover habitat for migratory birds and harbor the largest wild rice bed on the Great Lakes.”

Sierra Club – Wisconsin Chapter Director Elizabeth Ward called the project a “pipeline-ticking time-bomb.”

“An oil spill in the Bad River watershed would be catastrophic. You can’t drink oil. You can’t swim in oil or fish in oil,” Ward said. “We are committed to stopping Line 5, and we are disappointed that the DNR would allow a false solution from a company with a terrible track record rather than support the Bad River Band and protect the 40 million people who rely on the Great Lakes for safe drinking water.”

DNR approved a wetland and waterway permit allowing Enbridge to “conduct specific construction-related activities that impact navigable waterways and wetlands,” with more than 200 conditions, according to the agency.

The other permit DNR approved is a “Construction Site Storm Water General Permit” allowing Enbridge to “conduct land-disturbing construction activities in accordance with the application for coverage and associated plans, including specific plans for erosion control and water quality protection.”

— State officials are touting a six-month streak of record-high job numbers, as Wisconsin employment hit 3,068,000 in October.

Gov. Tony Evers and the state Department of Workforce Development yesterday rolled out the latest figures from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Evers says the latest record “is no surprise” given efforts to boost high-demand industries, expand apprenticeship opportunities and address workforce shortages.

The state’s unemployment rate was unchanged over the month at 2.9% in October, which is 1.2 percentage points lower than the national rate of 4.1%. Meanwhile, Wisconsin’s labor force participation rate rose slightly to 65.7% as the national rate fell to 62.6%.

Wisconsin’s total employment figure increased by 8,500 over the month and 23,900 over the year, while unemployment was unchanged over the month but dropped 16,500 over the year to reach 90,100 in October.

In an online briefing yesterday, DWD Chief Economist Dennis Winters noted continuing unemployment claims remain near historic lows — just over 20,000. That means “if you actually are out of a job, this is telling us that it didn’t take you very long to find another one … because employers are still looking for workers,” he said.

“Wisconsin’s employment continues to set new highs, we’re happy about that,” he said. “Unemployment is near historic lows, and the Wisconsin economy looks good going forward. Nothing on the horizon there that is giving us any pause.”

See the release and more labor market data.

— Dairyland Power Cooperative has announced a $28 million federal award funding the development of three new battery storage facilities.

The cooperative agreement award comes from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations through the Rural Energy Viability for Integrated Vital Energy or REVIVE program, according to yesterday’s release from the La Crosse-based co-op.

The three battery storage facilities will be located in Frentress Lake, Ill.; Waukon, Iowa; and Wyeville, Wis.; each of which are located in Dairyland’s rural service territory.

Kevin Nordt, chief strategy officer and executive vice president for the co-op, says Dairyland is “at the forefront of bringing energy storage projects” to underserved rural communities.

“Long-duration batteries will be an essential component of the clean energy transition as they complement renewable resources and support reliability through their ability to store and shift energy in real time,” Nordt said in a statement.

See the release.

— UW Health Med Flight has begun using whole blood in transfusions for patients in shock from severe blood loss.

Med Flight began using the universal donor Type O whole blood in late October to resuscitate patients who’ve lost large amounts of blood following traumatic injury, according to yesterday’s announcement.

While ground ambulances typically are unable to give whole blood transfusions due to a number of factors, air ambulance services like Med Flight usually carry components of whole blood such as red blood cells or plasma, according to the release. Whole blood is essentially unaltered blood from a donor that isn’t divided into these constituent elements.

“For a person in shock from severe blood loss, this is crucial as we now can start replacing everything that has been lost,” said Dr. Ryan Newberry, UW Health Med Flight physician and assistant medical director. “This helps not only the vital signs but also with carrying oxygen to the tissues and making new clots which can temporarily slow down or stop the bleeding.”

The UW Health release points to a study published in January 2022 in Current Anesthesiology Reports, which found the use of whole blood following “dramatic” blood loss due to injury led to better in-hospital survival rates and shorter hospital stays. It also reduced the risk of major complications such as acute kidney injury and pulmonary embolism, a blockage in a lung artery caused by a blood clot.

Newberry says adding whole blood to Med Flight’s capabilities “allows our flight crews to begin resuscitation with the same blood product that the UW Health trauma center utilizes, essentially bringing this high level of critical care outside of the walls of the trauma center to wherever a person may be.”

See more in the release.

— The state Department of Health Services has announced a new overdose tracking tool that will provide “near real-time data” on suspected overdoses.

The Wisconsin Suspected Overdose Alerts for Rapid Response, or WiSOARR system, will be available for those responding to spikes in overdoses as well as people working in substance use prevention, harm reduction and treatment and recovery. It’s not available to the public.

The system relies on data from ambulance runs and emergency department visits to track local trends, and can also issue alerts when suspected overdoses hit set thresholds, according to the DHS release.

Michelle Haese, director of substance use initiatives for DHS, says WiSOARR will provide partner organizations with “a faster and clearer understanding” of when and where overdoses are happening.

“This system is a step forward in our ongoing work to better understand and respond to the ever-evolving drug overdose epidemic with the right strategies at the right time,” Haese said in a statement.

See more in the release.

For more of the most relevant health care news, reports on groundbreaking research in Wisconsin, links to top stories and more, sign up today for the free daily Health Care Report from WisPolitics and WisBusiness.com.

Sign up here.

DNR approves permits for Enbridge’s Line 5 reroute

Biden’s key climate law changed Wisconsin. Trump may change course.

TOPICS

AGRIBUSINESS

– Senator Baldwin secures $41M for Wisconsin Ag conservation

CONSTRUCTION

– Hayat Pharmacy’s Milwaukee expansion awaits completion

ECONOMY

– Milwaukee homebuyers can’t catch a break as prices, loan rates rise

ENVIRONMENT

– Prevent manure runoff – DATCP urges Wisconsin farmers