MON AM News: Sentry Equipment student co-op program helping to draw talent; Groups spend $18.4 million on lobbying in first half of ‘24

August 5, 2024

— Sentry Equipment has been running a co-op program for college students for nearly two decades, offering participants hands-on experience while building a pipeline of skilled workers.

Dave Nowak, vice president of engineering for the Oconomowoc-based sampling equipment manufacturer, is a product of that program. Like many other companies, the business is facing a lack of eligible workers to fill open positions, and Nowak says the co-op program has been “critical” for addressing labor needs.

“We’re definitely seeing a lot of the same pains that a lot of other companies are seeing with pulling in talent,” Nowak said in a recent interview, adding “it’s definitely helping to pull in the talent, but I think even more importantly, it helps retain that talent.”

He noted “we’re still seeing some turnover, but it’s much less than what a lot of other manufacturers are seeing.”

The company has more than 200 employees between its headquarters in Wisconsin and facilities in Texas and Utah. It provides process sampling equipment to manufacturers, utilities and other businesses, used for testing steam and water, cement, dairy products, pet food and more.

Sentry Equipment’s co-op option began with a focus on Marquette University’s co-op program, which has students come in and work full-time at the business for a semester before returning to school for the next semester.

Novak says the program aims to expose students to real work experience, including design, sales and working with customers. The company offers a rotational option for students who want to explore various facets of engineering, he noted.

Over time, the company’s program has expanded to include students from UW-Milwaukee, UW-Madison and the Milwaukee School of Engineering.

“We really want to make this beneficial for them, as well as beneficial for us, that we’re helping to train the next generation … At the end of that rotation, we have the opportunity then to give them a job offer when they reach the point of graduation,” he said.

Along with Nowak himself, the company’s Vice President of Manufacturing, Marquis Warren, also came out of the co-op program.

Sentry Equipment also hosts an annual Manufacturing Day in the fall for both high school and college students, aimed at changing perspectives about what it means to go into manufacturing. Nowak said some students view the industry as “dingy, dirty and dangerous” but the program showcases the company’s “clean and advanced shop” including automation equipment and more.

“What we want to make sure is that we’re promoting people going into the STEM pipeline, right? … and that’s just important because the more people that we can get interested in it, I think just across the board we’re going to see Wisconsin, especially southeastern Wisconsin, continue to be this magnet to pull in talent,” he said.

— Interest groups spent $18.4 million seeking to influence the Capitol over the first six months of 2024 as the Legislature wrapped up its floor work by late winter and lawmakers turned their attention to the fall elections.

That’s an uptick from the $16.6 million that groups spent over the first six months of 2022 as registered lobbying organizations spent just over $52 million over the first 18 months of the 2021-22 session.

So far this session, groups have racked up $57.6 million in expenses seeking to lobby the Capitol.

Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce led the way for spending over the first six months of 2024 with $448,077 in reported expenses.

The Wisconsin Realtors Association was No. 2 at $438,343, while the Wisconsin Farm Bureau Federation was next at $386,578. The Wisconsin Hospital Association reported $351,180 and Wisconsin Infrastructure Investment Now Inc. dropped $279,917.

Those groups are regularly the top spenders for lobbying the Capitol; they comprised the top five for all the full 2021-22 session.

Here’s an overview of the lobbying efforts by the top five:

*WMC: Lobbying groups have to register any bill or issue they worked on during the period. Still, they only have to provide specifics on how much time was dedicated to the topic if it took up at least 10% of their overall effort. For the state’s largest business group, 89% of the time it spent seeking to influence the Capitol between Jan. 1 and June 30 went toward “minor efforts,” those that took up less than 10% of its overall time. It spent 11% on the topic of “workforce” over that period.

*Wisconsin Realtors Association: The Realtors’ report wasn’t posted on the Ethics Commission’s site as of early Friday afternoon. But the group provided WisPolitics with how much it spent during the six-month period for the overall tally.

*Wisconsin Farm Bureau Federation: The ag group put 20% of its effort during the six-month period into supporting AB 860/SB 811, which sought to allow agricultural organizations to provide health coverage to its members and their families. The legislation, which also sought to exempt the proposed coverage from insurance law, received public hearings in both houses of the Legislature, but didn’t get a floor vote. The group spent another 10% of its time on AB 957/SB 952, which sought to preempt local animal ordinances. Both houses passed the bill, but Dem Gov. Tony Evers vetoed it in March.

*Wisconsin Hospital Association: The group put 40% of its effort into AB 1088, which sought to create an option for a “patient’s representative” to consent to an incapacitated person being admitted directly from a hospital to a nursing home or a community-based residential facility. Current law allows certain family members to provide that consent. The bill passed the Assembly, and a Senate committee backed it 5-1 in mid-April after lawmakers had already completed their regular floor periods for the year.

*Wisconsin Infrastructure Investment Now Inc.: The expenses groups are required to report include any efforts to influence the public on legislation. Wisconsin Infrastructure Investment Now Inc. is led by longtime Capitol figure John Gard, a former GOP Assembly speaker. Dedicated to supporting infrastructure, it didn’t list any hours spent lobbying in the Capitol. It split its effort during the six-month period evenly between state highway facilities and workforce development, with all of the money it spent falling under the header of “all other lobbying expenses.”

The rest of the top 10 for lobbying expenditures between January and June were: Badger Advocates Inc., $257,451; Wisconsin Property Taxpayers Inc., $221,770; the Wisconsin Counties Association, $215,602; ATC Management Inc., $201,026; and the Wisconsin Insurance Alliance, $183,096.

— Wisconsin is the first state to launch the Home Efficiency Rebate, or HOMES Program, which helps cover the cost of energy efficiency upgrades.

State and federal officials on Friday announced the program’s launch in Milwaukee, where Gov. Tony Evers also announced the state has gotten federal approval for its Home Electrification and Appliance Rebate, or HEAR Program application. This program will provide “instant discounts” for state residents buying energy-efficient appliances and equipment.

Both programs are being funded with $149 million in federal dollars — Wisconsin’s allocation from the Inflation Reduction Act’s $8.8 billion in Home Energy Rebates funding.

Evers said these programs will save Wisconsin residents “up to $1 billion every year” in energy costs while supporting about 50,000 jobs.

“This is proof that we don’t have to choose between protecting the environment and economic development and creating jobs — we can and are doing both,” he said in a statement.

A total of $74.8 million will be available for “whole-home” energy efficiency project rebates for all households in the state, covering improved insulation, air sealing, heating, ventilation and air conditioning. That includes upgrades to multifamily buildings, the release shows. Rebate requests will be accepted through the state’s Focus on Energy program website starting in early September.

Meanwhile, $74.5 million will be available through the HEAR program for low- and moderate-income households for high-efficiency installations such as heat pumps and electric appliances, starting this fall.

Applicants will first need a home energy assessment from a licensed auditor to determine upgrade needs and potential energy savings, but low-income households will be able to get a rebate to cover the cost of this assessment. Those with lower income compared to the area median will be eligible for a bigger rebate, up to $10,000.

The U.S. Department of Energy requires states and territories to allocate at least half of the rebates under these programs to households earning 80% or less of the area median income, the release shows.

See the release and get more details on the program.

— In the latest Dem radio address, Gov. Tony Evers celebrates the start of the Wisconsin State Fair.

The Dem governor proclaimed Aug. 1-11 as Wisconsin State Fair Days. This proclamation takes place each year to recognize the beginning of the State Fair.

“For generations, the Wisconsin State Fair has showcased Wisconsin agriculture, industry and all that makes our state the great place it is to live, work and play,” Evers says.

The 2024 State Fair will be the 173rd in the state’s history. The fair has livestock shows, live music and food, among other attractions.

“This year is extra special because we’re celebrating 100 years of one of my favorite State Fair traditions: the world-famous Original Cream Puff,” he says.

In honor of this, he also declared Aug. 10 Cream Puff Day in Wisconsin.

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