— GOP lawmakers recently circulated a bill that would require developers to get signoff from each city, village and town in which a solar or wind project would be built before they could seek approval from the PSC.
Sen. Howard Marklein, R-Spring Green, and Rep. Travis Tranel, R-Cuba City last week sent a co-sponsorship memo to other lawmakers on the bill.
They argue the legislation “reaffirms local control by empowering local municipalities and their elected officials by providing them a seat at the table when it comes to the approval of large-scale solar and wind projects.”
Under current law, building a large electric generating facility requires the state Public Service Commission to grant a certificate of public convenience and necessity for the proposed project, the memo shows. The bill would amend the approval process for solar and wind farms to include getting approval from the local municipality where it would be located.
Municipalities would have to adopt a resolution to approve or disapprove the project “no later than 90 days” after getting a request for approval, according to the memo, though the bill allows for that deadline to be extended. If the municipality didn’t vote in favor or against the proposal, the PSC could consider the project approved, the lawmakers wrote.
While current law “limits the authority” of subdivisions to regulate solar and wind energy projects, the bill would keep those limitations from applying to approval or disapproval of wind and solar projects by cities, towns or villages.
Marklein and Tranel say residents of rural areas and their local elected officials “have felt ignored” when raising concerns about large utility projects being built in their area. They note large-scale utility projects “have an enormous impact” on rural communities, ranging from environmental and groundwater effects to infrastructure and roads.
See the Association of Wisconsin Lobbyists’ summary of last week’s bills circulated, including a link to the co-sponsorship memo.
— Wisconsin’s 2024 corn, soybean and potato production all declined over the year, while hay and alfalfa production was substantially higher than in 2023.
That’s according to the latest USDA update, which shows production of corn for grain in the state last year is estimated at 515 million bushels. That’s 7% lower than the prior year’s total of 553 million barrels, the agency’s National Agricultural Statistics Service reports. A total of 2.96 million acres were harvested, down 180,000 acres from 2023.
The state’s corn for silage production, estimated at 14.6 million tons, was 11% lower than in 2023. Producers harvested 730,000 acres of corn for silage, which is down 6% from the prior year.
Meanwhile, soybean production was estimated to be 102 million bushels for the year — 3% lower than the previous year’s total of 105 million bushels. Harvested acreage was 2.12 million, an increase of 60,000 acres from 2023.
Potato production for the year hit 26.1 million hundredweight, an 8% decline from 2023. Producers averaged 395 hundredweight per acre, marking a 6% decrease from the prior year’s yield.
But at the same time, all hay production for Wisconsin is estimated to be 3.9 million tons for 2024 — an increase of 75% from 2.24 million tons in 2023. Producers averaged 3.03 tons per acre, which is 0.86 tons per acre higher than the previous year. And harvested acres for all hay was at 1.29 million last year, which is 260,000 acres more than in 2023.
And other hay production, at 874,000 tons, was 72% higher than in 2023. Average tons per acre reached 1.9, an increase of 0.60 tons per acre from 2023, and harvested acres increased by 70,000 acres to 460,000 acres.
Similarly, alfalfa and alfalfa mixtures for hay production was also up 75% over the year, reaching 3.03 million tons in 2024. Producers averaged 3.65 tons per acre, an increase of 0.95 tons per acre. Harvested acres reached 830,000, up 190,000 from 2023.
See the report.
— The USDA has announced $14 million in grant funding for biofuels, clean energy and energy efficiency projects in Wisconsin.
A total of 42 projects in the state across 27 counties are getting funding from the federal agency’s Higher Blends Infrastructure Incentive Program and the Rural Energy for America Program, according to yesterday’s release.
Grant funding will go toward installing small solar arrays, more efficient equipment for processing and drying, updated HVAC machinery and more.
See the list of funded projects here.
— Exact Sciences’ revenues in the fourth quarter of 2024 increased 10% over the year, reaching $713 million, the Madison-based diagnostics company reports.
Of that total, $553 million is from the company’s screening division and $161 million is from precision oncology. Screening revenue is up 14% while precision oncology increased 0.4%, the release shows.
For the full year, Exact Sciences projects 2024 revenues of $2.76 billion — 10% more than in 2023. Screening revenue for the year is expected to be $2.1 billion, a 13% increase, while precision oncology revenue of $655 would be a 4% increase for the year.
Chairman and CEO Kevin Conroy touts the “strong results” at the end of last year, “setting us up for sustained growth and profitability in the years to come.”
This year, the business plans to launch three new cancer tests.
Its Cologuard Plus test builds on the company’s existing Cologuard non-invasive colon cancer screening tool, which tests for DNA markers and blood in stool linked to cancer and precancer. It’s been approved by the FDA, and is expected to reduce false positives by nearly 40%, lowering the chances of unneeded follow-up colonoscopies.
Meanwhile, Exact Sciences will also launch a “molecular residual disease” test, Oncodetect, and a multi-cancer screening test called Cancerguard this year, the announcement shows.
Conroy says the new tests will expand the company’s impact, “enabling Exact Sciences to advance cancer prevention, early detection, and personalized treatment.”
See more in the release.
— St. Croix Hospice, which has facilities in more than a dozen Wisconsin communities, has announced plans to acquire Mayo Clinic Health System’s hospice operations in southwestern Minnesota.
The hospice care provider expects to complete the acquisition in the first quarter of this year, according to the release. The organizations already had a “longstanding” referral relationship in the Midwest, as St. Croix Hospice would take hospice patients referred outside the Mayo Clinic Health System.
“With more than 75 locations across the Midwest staffed by local care teams, St. Croix Hospice has been proudly providing hospice care for Mayo Clinic Health System patients throughout the Midwest for many years,” St. Croix Hospice Chief Clinical Officer Mandy Cogswell said in a statement.
See the release.
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— The Greater Milwaukee Committee has named David Anderson, senior vice president of BMO Commercial Bank, as the group’s next board chair.
Anderson, the bank’s lead executive in Milwaukee, will succeed current chair Peggy Kelsey when her term ends in February, yesterday’s announcement shows Kelsey is executive vice president, general counsel, corporate secretary and compliance officer at WEC Energy Group.
In a statement on the new position, Anderson says he’s “honored and excited” to accept. He’s been a member of the committee’s board since 2018, and also holds board positions with Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce and the WMC Foundation, according to the release.
“The organization’s new strategic plan presents an opportunity to help solve many of Milwaukee’s most pressing challenges,” Anderson said. “We have already seen much progress within our four strategic pillars, and I look forward to helping catapult this momentum for the good of the GMC and Milwaukee.”
TOP STORIES
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TOPICS
BANKING
– Feds approve UMB’s $2B buy of Wisconsin Bank & Trust parent
ENVIRONMENT
– Wisconsin starts the week with frigid temperatures, subzero wind chills
HEALTH CARE
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LABOR
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LEGAL
MANAGEMENT
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POLITICS
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REAL ESTATE
– Sustainability, democratized investment: How Neutral financed The Edison
RETAIL
– Kohl’s store closures to cost estimated $60M to $80M
SMALL BUSINESS
– 7 Green Bay-area businesses opened in December. Here’s what to know | Streetwise
SPORTS
– Oshkosh travel agency raising awareness of human trafficking ahead of NFL Draft
TECHNOLOGY
– TikTok could be banned Jan. 19. Here’s what Wisconsin users should know
TOURISM
– Kalahari Resorts is expanding its Wisconsin Dells waterpark in 2026
TRANSPORTATION
– Amtrak secures $38M in federal funding for Borealis line
PRESS RELEASES
See these and other press releases
World Dairy Expo: Friends of Expo take the spotlight at annual event
McClone Insurance: Welcomes Nan Pum as director of training and development