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— This week’s episode of “WisBusiness: the Podcast” is with Erik Iverson, CEO of the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation.
WARF this year is celebrating its 100th anniversary, putting a spotlight on its role in supporting and commercializing UW-Madison research. Iverson shares his thoughts on the organization’s history, its wide-ranging impacts in Wisconsin and where it’s headed in the future.
“We now sit on significant resources that we put to work by making large grants back to the University of Wisconsin-Madison to support the continued phenomenal, world-class research that they do,” he said. “So it really is this cycle of providing grants to campus to support research, that research results in inventions, we protect those inventions, and find partners to take those forward to develop into products.”
Iverson discusses how WARF has impacted Wisconsin’s startup ecosystem, particularly over the past two decades as the foundation has put an increased focus on supporting businesses linked to the university. That can include working with faculty or students, as well as serial entrepreneurs.
Iverson joined the foundation in 2016 and was tasked by the group’s board with creating an internal venture fund, which has had a “prolific” footprint in the startup ecosystem, he said. He notes it’s now exceeded $250 million in size.
“We’ve had a significant impact, not just in Madison but really across the state, in venture funding as well as creating startups,” he said.
The podcast sheds light on the process for bringing scientific innovations from the lab bench to market, and WARF’s role in selecting inventions for patent protection and potential licensing. He says the foundation is the only technology transfer in the country, and possibly the world, that self-funds all of its patent coverage on its own without taking tax dollars from the state or campus.
Iverson also touches on the foundation’s various initiatives, including WARF Therapeutics, WARF Accelerator and others.
“So now we’re in the process of looking at how well are those things working together, but then what can we add to respond to the needs of campus, and the needs of industry, and the needs of the marketplace,” he said.
Listen to the podcast and see the full list of WisBusiness.com podcasts.
— A clean energy advocacy group has vowed to stall a recently circulated bill from GOP lawmakers that would add a local approval requirement for new wind and solar projects.
Renew Wisconsin, a Madison-based advocacy group, recently issued an email message warning the legislation would threaten clean energy development and create a “significant shift” in how renewable energy projects are approved.
Sen. Howard Marklein, R-Spring Green, and Rep. Travis Tranel, R-Cuba City, recently sent a co-sponsorship memo to other lawmakers seeking support for the bill. It would require getting signoff from the local municipality where a proposed solar or wind project would be located before moving ahead with the typical approval process.
The authors say the change would give locals “a seat at the table” in this process, arguing some have felt ignored when expressing opposition to large energy projects.
But Renew Wisconsin says local governments already have a major role in the approval process, claiming many small cities, towns and villages don’t have enough resources to handle decision-making requests for large clean energy projects.
The group argues the bill would “cause a significant slowdown” for growing businesses, affecting developers, landowners and jobs statewide.
The message notes current state law is considered the standard, and is being copied by other states enacting legislation on this topic. The group says the bill would “move us in the opposition direction” by creating new hurdles for projects, pledging to “do all we can” to block the legislation.
“Our Government Affairs Director, Beata Wierzba, will continue to monitor the progress of the bill and RENEW will take steps to stall its progress if necessary,” the group wrote.
See a recent story on the legislation.
— With various threats from President-elect Donald Trump to end investments in clean energy established by the Biden administration, Democratic lawmakers are bracing for the potential impact on jobs.
And U.S. Rep. Mark Pocan wants Wisconsin Republicans to know that the Inflation Reduction Act has only helped to grow jobs throughout the state.
In a virtual press conference yesterday, Pocan, D-Town of Vermont, along with state union leaders, highlighted the growth in jobs since the IRA was implemented in 2022. They also emphasized the negative impact any rollback on clean energy efforts would have on jobs throughout Wisconsin.
“That would be, I think, a big mistake,” Pocan said. “And we need to make sure that people are aware that it could be the jobs of their neighbors, of their family members that could be affected by any actions that Donald Trump or the Republicans could take.”
A January 2025 Clean Energy Boom report said that new clean energy projects have “spurred $5.44 million in investment in the state and helped create or move forward over 2,500 good-paying clean energy jobs.”
Andy Buck, director of governmental affairs at International Union of Painters and Allied Trades, which represents over 100,000 workers in skilled trades, said that the IRA gave the union opportunities to train workers for growth. Buck added that there has been growth throughout Wisconsin in the clean energy industry.
“We stand here today to ask that all elected officials current and soon to be inaugurated, protect our growing clean energy economy. The clean energy transition is not a partisan issue. It is about creating good paying jobs, ensuring energy independence and building a sustainable future for all Wisconsinites.”
Dean Warsh, the international representative of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, also said that the focus on clean energy in Wisconsin has led to growth in union membership and apprenticeships.
“Reversing any part of the clean energy progress we have worked so hard to build will destroy good paying jobs that support the 21st century workforce that our country needs, and remove our country’s ability to create its own energy to meet our 21st century needs,” Warsh said.
— Democrats in the Legislature announced a“Lowering Costs, Improving Lives” package, including an expansive measure aiming to reduce prescription drug costs.
That bill would implement many recommendations proposed by Gov. Tony Evers’ Task Force on Reducing Prescription Drug Prices, which he formed in 2019. Among the recommendations: eliminating cost-sharing payments for prescription drugs for BadgerCare enrollees, capping insulin costs at $35 per month and creating a prescription drug affordability board. The package also includes measures to provide free school meals for all Wisconsin students.
Co-sponsor Rep. Ryan Spaude, D-Ashwaubenon, at a Capitol press conference with fellow Dems yesterday said Wisconsinites of all ages, including himself, rely on prescription drugs every day.
“It’s an issue that really, truly can affect all of us,” Spaude said. “And no Wisconsinite should be forced to choose between putting food on their table and having the life-saving medication that they need.”
Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu, R-Oostburg, in a statement to WisPolitics said: “Democrats’ solution to higher costs is always more government regulation and inflation-inducing government spending.
“Senate Republicans’ top priority is to cut taxes for hardworking Wisconsin families so that they can make a life and a living without having to rely on government handouts,” he added.
The package also includes measures to provide free school meals for all Wisconsin students, and would expand the Homestead Tax Credit, which targets low-income owners and renters.
See more at WisPolitics.
— Wisconsin has joined a multi-state enforcement action against California mobile payment business Block Inc., the state Department of Financial Institutions announced.
The company has signed an $80 million settlement with state agencies, according to the DFI release, and has agreed to hire an independent consultant to review its programs and submit a report to states within a nine-month period. The company will then have 12 months to address any issues the review finds.
In an email yesterday, a DFI spokesperson said the agency is still waiting for the final state-by-state breakdown for settlement figures, and expects to have that information sometime next week.
Regulators found that Block Inc. wasn’t in compliance with certain requirements under the Bank Secrecy Act and Anti-Money Laundering laws, DFI says, creating a risk of its services being used for money laundering, financing terrorism or other crimes.
The company’s mobile payment service, Cash App, is used by more than 50 million people in the United States.
“This multistate enforcement action and settlement is a testament to how states can work together and effectively protect consumers,” DFI Secretary Cheryll Olson-Collins said in a statement. “Compliance with the Bank Secrecy Act and Anti-Money Laundering laws is extremely important in the fight against criminal activity.”
See the release.
— The Dairy Business Association has elected Greg Siegenthaler as the advocacy group’s new president.
Siegenthaler is the vice president of milk marketing, sustainability and sourcing for Fond du Lac-based Grande Cheese, and previously was vice president for the DBA. He’s a long-standing member of the group, and is the first cheese processor selected as president, according to DBA CEO Tim Trotter.
“We are excited to have Greg lead our association during what is likely to be a very exciting year for our association,” Trotter said. “We are seeing a vast amount of opportunity for DBA to continue to provide the programs and services dairy farmers, and the entire dairy community, need to continue to be successful.”
Siegenthaler succeeds former president Lee Kinnard, a dairy farmer from Kewaunee County.
Top headlines from the Health Care Report…
— State health officials report a child in northern Wisconsin has died from the flu, the first pediatric flu death in the state this respiratory disease season.
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.
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TOP STORIES
Report: Nearly one-third of rural kids use Medicaid in Wisconsin
‘Mr. Baseball’ Bob Uecker always stayed true to his Milwaukee roots
Jefferson County oil spill cleanup will cost more than $1 million, Enbridge says
TOPICS
AGRIBUSINESS
– Wisconsin PLWPG report shows major conservation gains
BANKING
– Why Associated Bank is focused on organic growth
FOOD & BEVERAGE
– These 10 Madison-area restaurants just opened, 9 more coming soon
HEALTH CARE
– Milwaukee startup Healthfuse acquired by New York-based private equity firm
MANUFACTURING
– ORBIS Corp. shuttering Menasha facility, moving work to Texas
POLITICS
– Wisconsin’s Penzeys sends ‘Resist!’ spice blend to DC ahead of Trump inaugural
– What to know about Sean Duffy, Trump’s pick for transportation secretary
REAL ESTATE
– Why Irgens’ Wauwatosa apartment site deal with Mandel fell through
– MLG Capital names new leaders, closes largest fund to date
SPORTS
– ‘Mr. Baseball’ Bob Uecker, Brewers announcer, dies at 90
– Legendary Brewers announcer, celebrity Bob Uecker dies at 90
– City Council approves plan to forgive $1.6M Madison Ice Arena debt
TECHNOLOGY
– Bids submitted to build Microsoft’s AI Co-Innovation Lab at UWM
PRESS RELEASES
See these and other press releases
McCarty Law LLP: Ali Ratajczak appointed as director of the Fox Valley Estate Planning Council
Edge Dairy Farmer Cooperative: FMMO referendum passage announced at Dairy Strong