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Wisconsin REALTORS Association
— This week’s episode of “WisBusiness: the Podcast” is with returning guest Diamond McKenna, co-founder and CEO of Milton-based Diamond Assets.
This business provides tech consultations and recycling services to a variety of clients across the country, including schools, business, health care organizations and government entities.
McKenna shares her thoughts on the company’s trajectory thus far, as well as opportunities for further success in this space. The business has grown more than 20 percent so far this year, she said.
“This last year has been kind of a whirlwind,” she said. “It’s gone extremely fast, it’s been an exciting year … We need to end the year strong, but it was very exciting to be able to re-forecast for the second half of this year. And it was just kind of the beginning, so we see a very positive future ahead.”
She discusses efforts to keep that momentum going “so that as we grow, very intentionally we don’t lose sight and rest on our laurels.” Striving for a better client experience is a big part of those efforts, along with establishing new connections with potential business partners, she said.
McKenna also touches on the ways that AI could impact her industry, from writing code and formatting marketing documents to interacting with clients.
“In our business, I don’t think it will replace people,” she said. “I don’t want it to replace people. I value the right people in the right seats, and that’s not AI. But it can help them do their jobs faster and with a really high professional touch to it.”
Listen to the podcast here:
https://www.wisbusiness.com/2023/wisbusiness-the-podcast-with-diamond-mckenna-diamond-assets/
See the full list of WisBusiness.com podcasts: https://www.wisbusiness.com/category/podcast/
Listen to an earlier podcast with McKenna:
https://www.wisbusiness.com/2022/wisbusiness-the-podcast-with-diamond-mckenna-of-diamond-assets/
— Rep. Rob Brooks says the deal to fund Milwaukee Brewers ballpark maintenance will likely be amended to include a ticket tax and an audit of the current stadium board.
The Saukville Republican in an Assembly State Affairs Committee hearing yesterday at State Fair Park said he’s open to Senate amendments to the bill that aims to fulfill the state’s existing contract as stadium landlord to the Brewers and keep the team in Wisconsin through 2050.
Brooks added he predicts the deal will be amended to include a ticket tax on non-Brewer events such as concerts; and the deal would fund improvements to keep the stadium between 68 and 70 degrees during the winter.
But Brewers Business Operations President Rick Schlesinger recoiled at the idea of a ticket tax, arguing the team’s focus has always been on affordability, not increasing prices.
“There’s not a demographic we don’t seek out to attract to go to the games,” he said. “And people of modest means who are dealing with inflation, dealing with having to work two jobs just to keep ends meet, I want them to be able to come to the game and have a great experience.”
Schlesinger didn’t specifically mention the non-Brewers event aspect of the ticket tax, but Rep. Marisabel Cabrera, D-Milwaukee, pressed him on his opinion on the non-Brewers event ticket tax.
Schlesinger said he doesn’t have authority to commit or not to a ticket tax, and “the devil is in the details.”
“I don’t want concerts and other non-baseball events to be elite-attended events,” he said. “I want the average person to be able to feel comfortable affording to come to those games and events.”
He also noted the team doesn’t collect revenue from concert tickets, they just get money from concessions, parking and other event facilitation work.
“I’m not crying poverty,” he said. “I just don’t want anybody to have this illusion that a concert that may generate $10 million of revenue; we’re getting a very relatively small percentage of it. But it’s obviously revenue that helps us.”
Schlesinger also said the winterization provision would create more opportunities to make more revenue by hosting events when it would otherwise be too cold. The project would also mean a lower heating bill in the winter, the ability to grow the grass earlier and engage baseball fans with the Brewers more often.
“I’d love to have a Brewers Fan Fest there,” he said. “I would love to have a monster truck [event]. Or my nephew wants wrestling — apparently that’s a big deal for a nine-year-old — but whether it’s small concerts or hockey or UW women’s volleyball … I’d love that.”
— Brooks, charged by Speaker Robin Vos with leading the negotiations over the deal, also said in his talks with the Brewers they have expressed a desire to develop some of the land surrounding the stadium. He noted the redevelopment is not part of the legislation to keep the team in Wisconsin.
“Am I going to guarantee you development? No,” Brooks said. “Because that’s not my decision, that’s between the city, the county and the Brewers. And all three of them have agreed to come together to form a workgroup to see what can be done there.”
Schlesinger later gave hope to those who want to redevelop the expansive 16 surface lots that can accommodate more than 12,000 cars, saying he looks “forward to the working group and being very active in it.”
“And if it comes out to the working group that there is a pathway to get it done, I’m all in,” he said.
The new deal would also get rid of the existing stadium board’s 13 members and replace them with four picks from the governor, two from the Assembly speaker and two from the Senate majority leader.
Rep. Francesca Hong, D-Madison, raised concerns the current political makeup of the Senate, which must confirm any of the guv’s picks, could tilt the board in favor of the Republican-controlled Legislature.
The Senate has repeatedly blocked Evers’ appointees to various boards, notably the Natural Resources Board and UW Board of Regents.
Brooks said it’s hard to predict the future partisan makeup of the Legislature, and it would be difficult to come up with a number of board members that would address the problem for good. He also noted Evers gets four picks because he expects one or two to be local Milwaukee officials, giving the community the Brewers call home some stake.
Brooks also argued the current board isn’t all to blame for the current problems.
“You can’t pin that all on the stadium board. It’s a convenient thing, but they were under tremendous pressure to sunset,” he said. “The whole five-county tax, in my opinion, we probably did that a little prematurely.”
Brooks also said the board makeup and local contribution amount — currently $202 million from the city and $135 million from the county — “will likely change.”
— UW System President Jay Rothman says system leadership will continue to be “relentless advocates” for university employees amid a standoff with Assembly Speaker Robin Vos over pay raises.
“I’m incredibly proud of our UW employees and I want them all to know that we will continue to be relentless advocates on their behalf. It is what is right for them, and it is what is right for Wisconsin,” Rothman said at yesterday’s Board of Regents meeting at UW-River Falls.
Rothman’s comments come as Vos, R-Rochester, has said he will seek to block pay raises for UW employees unless the university first cuts diversity, equity and inclusion positions. Vos has said the university doesn’t deserve another nickel until it eliminates DEI positions, arguing they amount to left wing indoctrination.
Rothman said he continues to reach out and have “productive discussions” with legislative leaders on the pay raises, which were included in the state budget. He didn’t provide further details on the discussions.
“We’re all trying to do more with less, and I’d like to recognize and commend our faculty and staff for their outstanding and unwavering commitment — sometimes in very trying circumstances — to our students, to their universities and to the state of Wisconsin,” Rothman said.
Raises for state employees are now before the Joint Committee on Employment Relations, co-chaired by Vos. The pay hikes for UW employees are separate from the state plan, though they’re in line for the same raises of 4 percent and 2 percent in each year of the budget as other state workers.
TOP HEADLINES
Seven Wisconsinites make Forbes annual list of richest Americans
https://biztimes.com/seven-wisconsinites-make-forbes-annual-list-of-richest-americans-2/
Inside look at construction progress on $456M Baird Center expansion: Exclusive
https://www.bizjournals.com/milwaukee/news/2023/10/05/exclusive-look-baird-center-onstruction-progress.html
Molson Coors unveils new strategic plan and $2B stock buyback: Beer Biz MKE
https://www.bizjournals.com/milwaukee/news/2023/10/04/molson-coors-unveils-strategic-plan-accelerate.html
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STORY TOPICS
EDUCATION ^top^
– ‘Put students first’: Dozens gather to protest UW-Oshkosh plan to cut 200 positions
https://www.wpr.org/students-faculty-protest-uw-oshkosh-plan-cut-200-positions
– Madison wants commitment from next school district superintendent
https://captimes.com/news/education/madison-wants-commitment-from-next-school-district-superintendent/article_53d6acfe-630e-11ee-93e7-5f5b317aa407.html
ENVIRONMENT ^top^
– Air quality in 7 Wisconsin counties falls short of national standards for ozone
https://www.wpr.org/air-quality-7-wisconsin-counties-falls-short-national-standards-ozone
FINANCIAL SERVICES ^top^
– Baird to pay $15 million penalty for communication, recordkeeping issues
https://biztimes.com/baird-to-pay-15-million-penalty-for-communication-recordkeeping-issues/
HEALTH CARE ^top^
– Froedtert Health to take full ownership of Wisconsin insurance company Network Health
https://www.jsonline.com/story/money/business/2023/10/04/froedtert-health-to-buy-other-half-of-insurance-company-network-health/71049819007/
LABOR ^top^
– At Hudson UAW auto strike, workers and supporters rally for cause
https://www.hudsonstarobserver.com/8b6f8bc2-62e1-11ee-b007-170144248bf3.html
MANAGEMENT ^top^
– Bucks owner Wes Edens discusses championship goals, Giannis contract extension, possible NBA All-Star game in Milwaukee
https://biztimes.com/bucks-owner-wes-edens-discusses-championship-goals-giannis-contract-extension-possible-nba-all-star-game-in-milwaukee/
POLITICS ^top^
– Tony Evers sought by armed man at the Capitol
https://captimes.com/news/government/tony-evers-sought-by-armed-man-at-the-capitol/article_4f0c2746-6393-11ee-a4f3-ef2984e7d5b7.html
REAL ESTATE ^top^
– This $5.99 million Fox Point mansion has 30-foot ceilings, an in-home elevator and a walk-in wine room
https://www.jsonline.com/story/money/real-estate/2023/10/05/fox-point-mansion-neighboring-shaka-smart-for-sale-for-5-99-million/71030574007/
SPORTS ^top^
– Giannis Antetokounmpo’s store sets opening date at The Trade
https://www.bizjournals.com/milwaukee/news/2023/10/04/giannis-antetokounmpos-store-opening-trade-hotel.html
TECHNOLOGY ^top^
– What is artificial intelligence? Legislators are still looking for a definition.
https://stateline.org/2023/10/05/what-is-artificial-intelligence-legislators-are-still-looking-for-a-definition/
TRANSPORTATION ^top^
– Officials choose alignment for Blatnik Bridge replacement
https://www.superiortelegram.com/news/local/officials-choose-alignment-for-blatnik-bridge-replacement
UTILITIES ^top^
– Superior Solar poised to generate power
https://www.superiortelegram.com/business/superior-solar-poised-to-generate-power
COLUMNS ^top^
– What an Expiring Farm Bill Means for Farmers
https://wfbf.com/policy/what-an-expiring-farm-bill-means-for-farmers/
PRESS RELEASES ^top^
See these and other press releases:
https://www.wisbusiness.com/press-releases/
– Marquette University: ‘Get to Know’ director of the Port of Milwaukee, Oct. 11
– American Airlines: Launches new nonstop flights from Milwaukee to Washington, D.C.
– Madison Area Builders Association: Fall Parade of Homes returns October 13-15 and 20-22!