A new advocacy group called the Northwoods Policy Network has formed to promote the state’s northern region, with a focus on business attraction and economic viability for rural communities.
Paul Schecklman, the nonprofit’s executive director, says the group aims to drive conversations around what’s important for northern Wisconsin and help achieve regional goals. That will include conducting “unique, thorough” research on issues of importance for the region, as well as lobbying efforts.
“It’s connected to Wisconsin and our work is going to benefit the state as a whole, but from the perspective of rural, outstate northern Wisconsin, what barriers can we remove?” he said yesterday in an interview. “How can we drive more interest? And how can we get the people in our region to tune in a little bit more, and demand some of these opportunities … [and] have a voice at the table.”
He said the region is increasingly viewed as “the summer tourism spot,” noting he has family in the area that completely rely on tourism dollars.
“You have to have a strong, vibrant economy because that’s the first thing people cut out if things turn down, they don’t go on their summer trips,” he said. “You have to be able to find labor. They have to have somewhere to live. Your labor is better if there’s other jobs in the community.”
The group’s website lists a number of focus areas that Schecklman says its research efforts will focus on, including conservation and hunting, energy, education, industry, local government and governance, national security, tax reform and reindustrialization.
“The biggest thing we’re going to try to do is … simplify the solutions or the messages,” he said. “Sometimes this stuff can be really complicated, you’re talking about a bunch of different government programs or tax policies or investment structures. For somebody that’s just trying to put food on the table and take care of their family, that’s a lot to tune into.”
Along with making policy issues more “digestible” for residents, the group will seek to leverage its findings in conversations with local community leaders, lawmakers and others. Schecklman said the group also plans to launch an internship program and various fellowships focused on research projects.
The nonprofit’s operations director, Adam Jarchow, is a former Republican state lawmaker and former candidate for state attorney general. Schecklman is a self-described “techno-industrial optimist” whose social media posts often criticize the Evers administration.
When asked about the group’s political alignment, Schecklman said “we’re going to do the most good with the most amount of people” where interests align. He said he’s more focused on finding solutions than working with one political party over the other.
“We’re going to have certain preferences, but … we’re more than willing to not really worry about what the letter behind the name is, if we’re going to be doing good work,” he said, adding “I just want to see things get done.”
See the release.
