FRI AM News: WisBusiness: the Podcast with Kurt Bauer, Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce; State DOT starts recertification of disadvantaged business program

February 13, 2026

— This week’s episode of “WisBusiness: the Podcast” is with Kurt Bauer, president and CEO of Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce.

The discussion centers on the Wisconsin Competitiveness Report, released earlier this month by the WMC Foundation. It argues the state is “falling behind,” and lays out a number of policy priorities for the state’s largest business group.

The document is described as a blueprint for the next governor, and Bauer highlights some of the political qualms captured in the report.

“I like to say, Wisconsinites are competitive,” he said. “We expect to be good in our sports teams, we want to have a strong economy. We don’t want mediocrity, and I fear that’s where we are right now.”

The report says Wisconsin has a “taxing problem” that needs to be fixed, arguing the state is plagued with “stagnant” tax rates that penalize employers.

It shows the state’s corporate tax rate is the 12th highest in the country at 7.9%, though most companies fall under the individual income tax rate, which is the ninth highest in the country. Most of those companies fall under the highest individual tax bracket of 7.65%.

But other measures paint a more favorable picture, with a recent Wisconsin Policy Forum report showing the state’s tax burden “remains at a record low” at 9.6% of personal incomes. At the same time, the WPF’s last state-by-state tax rankings put the state at 35th in the country in 2022, a substantial drop from when Wisconsin was the third highest in 2000.

When asked about the disparity between these two views of the state tax environment, Bauer emphasized the state’s tax burden, calling it “very high.”

“We traditionally have been a high-tax state, we remain a high-tax state,” Bauer said, adding “the reality is that if you tax something, you get less of it. Do we really want less manufacturing?”

He also pointed to broader affordability challenges in Wisconsin.

“One of the things that we’re lamenting is the fact that young people can’t buy houses because they can’t afford it,” he said, noting the average age for a first-time home buyer has jumped to 38 in 2024 from 26 in 1991.

Bauer weighs in on other elements of the report, ranging from impacts of the state’s manufacturing and agriculture production tax credit, hospital price transparency, his message to prospective candidates for governor and other key priorities for the state’s business lobby.

“We should reject tax increases … The governor tried to increase the personal income highest bracket to 9.8%, pretty close to where Minnesota is at 10%. That’s the wrong approach, we should definitely reject that,” he said.

Listen to the podcast and see the full list of WisBusiness.com podcasts.

— A minority contracting program connected to federally supported road projects is making a comeback in Wisconsin.

But it may take months for contractors to certify again after a ruling by the U.S. Department of Transportation. And the process so far in Minnesota is spurring complaints that may signal issues for Wisconsin contractors.

In October, U.S. DOT issued a final rule that companies registered with the Disadvantaged Business Enterprise Program – which sets goals for minority- and women-owned businesses to participate in federally supported transportation and airport concessions – would have to apply again for certification without using race or sex as a basis for eligibility.

“The department changes the definition of ‘socially and economically disadvantaged individual’ …to remove the race- and sex-based presumptions that DOT and DOJ and have found to violate the Fifth Amendment,” U.S. DOT officials wrote in the Federal Register.

“Under the revised rule, any individual seeking to demonstrate that he or she is a ‘socially and economically disadvantaged individual’ will be required to make the same individualized showing of disadvantage, regardless of the individual’s race or sex,” U.S. DOT officials added.

The state stopped awarding contracts with goals for minority businesses after the rule went into effect on Oct. 3. The Wisconsin Department of Transportation will set minority contracting goals for road projects again after all firms are recertified, should they choose to do so, WisDOT officials said.

“Per the DBE Interim Final Rule published on Oct. 3, 2025, all Wisconsin-based DBE and Airport Concession Disadvantaged Business Enterprise firms previously certified using race- or sex-based presumptions of social and economic disadvantage must be reevaluated for recertification by the United Certification Program,” according to WisDOT.

WisDOT officials said the recertification program will open in mid-February. Some other Midwest states, such as Minnesota, already have their recertification process open. And at least one contractor in the neighboring state has issues.

Kenneth Bush, a transportation contractor in Rochester, Minnesota, who works on projects in western Wisconsin, said he was on the fence about reapplying for the program in Minnesota.

“I’m hoping to certify as a DBE, but I’m going to see if it’s worth my time to give so much personal and private information to the government, where I don’t know if they yet can be trusted with that much power,” Bush said. “In 2025, I didn’t work on one Minnesota Department of Transportation project and I’ve worked on hundreds. Why would I apply if the DBE Program existed in 2025 and I didn’t get any contracts with the state?”

See the full story.

— A national health care union is accusing Rogers Behavioral Health of “illegally” firing three workers after they told management they were forming a union.

The National Union of Healthcare Workers yesterday announced it has filed charges over the move with the National Labor Relations Board, and is calling for the workers to be hired back at the West Allis clinic.

The union claims the Oconomowoc-based health care company has hired “unionbusters” to intimidate nurses and other workers ahead of union elections planned for locations in Madison and West Allis. Thirty-six workers at the Madison site and 63 at the West Allis site were involved in the unionization effort.

After organizers announced the effort and proposed an election in West Allis, the employer allegedly fired three workers on Feb. 9 “in clear violation of federal labor law,” the union argues. NUHW President Emeritus Sal Rosselli is calling the company “the poster child for illegal retaliation against workers” in Wisconsin.

When asked for comment on the allegations, a spokesperson for Rogers Behavioral Health provided the following statement: “We do not comment on confidential personnel matters, and we believe we have acted in compliance with applicable law. All clinics and services remain open. Our focus continues to be on serving the patients in our community.”

Nurse practitioner Stephani Lohman, who was among those fired, calls it an “outrageous and illegal act of retaliation” that will leave fewer caregivers for patients.

“Our goal in forming a union has been to improve care and reverse changes that have made it harder for patients to get the services they need,” she said in the union’s announcement.

West Allis staff started the labor organizing effort last year, according to NUHW, after Rogers reclassified mental health clinicians from salaried to hourly workers. The union says many workers were then taken off shifts when patient numbers fell, leading to lower patient-to-staff ratios.

The alleged retaliation comes after three Rogers health centers in California recently joined NUHW with no issues, the union notes. Workers at a Rogers site in Philadelphia also joined the union “without any opposition” and are currently negotiating a contract, according to organizers.

See the release.

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— Dem lawmakers have introduced legislation that would bar data centers from operating in Wisconsin unless a host of regulatory requirements are met.

Those requirements would include mandating data centers draw power entirely from newly built renewable energy projects, barring municipalities from signing non-disclosure agreements and establishing a state planning authority and data center-specific environmental safeguards.

“This legislation is not anti tech innovation,” Rep. Darrin Madison, D-Milwaukee, said yesterday at a press conference. “We can welcome innovation without sacrificing working families, clean water or democratic voices.”

The bill comes just one week ahead of the Feb. 19 deadline for the Assembly set by Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester.

Sen. Chris Larson, D-Milwaukee, said concerns about data centers were a bipartisan issue and said of Republicans that “it’s on them” to join Dems on the bill.

One GOP-authored bill regulating data centers passed the Assembly last month, while a Dem-authored effort introduced in December has been blocked in committee.

GOP and Dem lawmakers in at least six other states have introduced legislation to halt data center development, most recently New York, amid growing public pushback to the projects.

See the release.

— Wisconsin’s GOP House members voted against a Dem resolution to repeal President Donald Trump’s Canadian tariffs.

Following the vote, Dems targeting U.S. Reps. Tom Tiffany and Derrick Van Orden politically this fall took shots at the GOP lawmakers for their vote.

The House signed off on the Dem resolution 219-211, with six Republicans backing the measure. Dem U.S. Rep. Jared Golden of Maine, voted against it.

Ahead of the House vote, Trump posted a warning on Truth Social that any GOP member of the House or Senate that “votes against TARIFFS will seriously suffer the consequences come Election time, and that includes Primaries!”

Tiffany, who’s running for governor this fall, and Van Orden, who’s seeking reelection to western Wisconsin’s 3rd CD, didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment. Neither posted comments to social media on their votes.

The Democratic Governors Association slammed Tiffany and five other House Republicans running to be the top executive in their states, saying their votes “only worsens the pain American families and businesses are already feeling and helps ensure the headwinds facing Republicans are going to be even worse in governors’ races across the country in 2026.”

A spokesperson for the DCCC knocked Van Orden, R-Prairie du Chien, and U.S. Rep. Bryan Steil, R-Janesville, saying “they will continue rolling over for their party bosses and force Wisconsin farmers and working families to pick up the bill.”

— Port Milwaukee’s cargo totals for 2025 increased 4% over the year, officials announced.

The port had about 2.32 million metric tons of cargo last year, compared to 2.23 million in 2024, according to figures released yesterday by port officials. The increase was driven in part by 6% growth in dry bulk shipping through the port, including more limestone and agricultural products.

At the same time, the volume of steel moving through the port rose 2% over the year, the release shows. That’s a result of buyers expanding their inventory earlier in the international shipping season in hopes of avoiding expected tariff increases, according to port officials.

Additional steel and ag products shipping contributed to a 78% increase in seaway cargo tonnage, per the release. Most of this activity was with European markets, though shipments also connected Port Milwaukee to northern Africa and the Middle East.

“Port Milwaukee’s successful year is due to strong partnerships with terminal operators, carriers, and customers who continue to see the Port as a strategic hub for both Great Lakes and international trade,” Port Director Benji Timm said in a statement.

See the release.

— This year’s Wisconsin Economic Forecast Luncheon is being held April 29 in Madison, featuring Robert Dietz of the National Association of Home Builders as a keynote speaker.

WisPolitics-State Affairs, WisBusiness and the Wisconsin Bankers Association are partnering on the annual event, which explores national and state economic trends.

In addition to Dietz, the chief economist and senior vice president for economics and housing policy for NAHB, the event will include remarks by Tim Schneider, president and CEO of Bank Five Nine in Oconomowoc. An economist from the state Department of Workforce Development will also deliver remarks.

See event details and register here.

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