Cowles: Communication issues causing friction

SHAWANO — Sen. Rob Cowles followed up on his Nov. 25 comments to the Shawano Rotary Club about the replacement of the bridge on the Shawano Channel.

Cowles addressed the club along with Rep. Gary Tauchen, R-Bonduel, at its annual legislative report meeting.

While he told club members, “I think we’ve succeeded in convincing the Department of Transportation on the design of the County Road HHH bridge,” Cowles said on Nov. 26, “Informally, we believe that everything will go right.”

The Republican state senator from Green Bay said he and his staff met with state Department of Transportation Secretary Craig Thompson Nov. 26 and were assured that the DOT is aware of local desire for a higher and wider bridge, as residents advocated at an October public meeting.

Cowles reported the DOT has started an internal hydrology study to help determine the final bridge structure. The study will take several months, according to the senator.

A higher and wider bridge would eliminate the inconvenience and potential danger for boaters forced to duck and lower canopies while traversing the waterway, Cowles said, echoing many local observations.

The bridge is scheduled for construction in 2022.

“At this time, we are still running the process. I did receive some favorable comments in regards to increasing the height and span. However, nothing is completed or finalized at this time. We still have to run it through our change management process. I cannot verify anything at this time,” Grant Bystol, Shawano County highway commissioner, said when contacted after hearing of Cowles’ comments.

Turning to the cause of the legislature’s ongoing conflicts with Democratic Gov. Tony Evers, “There’s a lack of communication between the governor and legislative leaders,” Cowles said.

“I want to get along with people,” Cowles said, adding, “There’s always a limit on how far you can go.”

Cowles’ comments were in response to a question from John Jacobs, an area dairy farmer, wondering when the legislature would find common ground and move forward on legislation.

Cowles and Tauchen belong to the strong Republican majorities in the Assembly and Senate that have consistently refused to take up Evers’ legislative agenda, such as ignoring two gun safety bills sought by the governor when Evers called a special session. Both houses opened the session Nov. 7 and then closed it roughly a minute later without taking up the governor’s bills.

When told of delays of up to 10 months for out-of-state holders of licenses and certifications — such as occupational therapists — trying to get recognition in Wisconsin, Cowles said the delays shouldn’t be from a lack of staffing. He pointed out the Department of Safety and Professional Services, which oversees licensing, is fee-based and the revenue should provide for sufficient staff.

Paul Peshek, Gresham, echoed the concern over the lag in getting licenses for out-of-state professionals. He said that people want to move to the Shawano area and work in their profession, but if he recruits a person from Kansas, for example, he needs them to be re-licensed quickly.

Peshek added most people can’t afford to miss out on months of income, and the state also misses out on taxes from those wages. Cowles noted one of Evers’ recent vetoes was for a bill that would have moved the state closer to the federal standard. Cowles and Tauchen noted the bipartisan support for the bill.

Cowles scoffed at “There are other ways to do this” that he said was Evers’ reason for the veto.

Tauchen confined his comments to agriculture, his ongoing focus in the legislature.

Among the things he highlighted are anticipated changes in the federal farm employee H2A program. Designed to address a shortage of farm employees, it now only addresses short-term employment. Tauchen expressed the hope the program would be expanded to a long-term program.

Tauchen spoke about an enhanced animal identification system to allow for individual tracking. The system had its origins in tracking potential disease-carrying animals after a Canadian cow with Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy, known as mad cow disease, entered Washington state in 2003. Being able to track an animal from birth to slaughter is a public concern because about 60% of animal diseases can go from animals to humans, Tauchen said, including avian flu.

On trade, Tauchen noted the state can’t do much as most decisions and policies are at the federal level.

“China has been taking advantage of us for a long time,” he said, adding that he hoped current trade talks would be fruitful.

He took issue with President Donald Trump’s killing of the North American Free Trade Agreement.

“I wish he’d left NAFTA alone. We were doing well,” Tauchen said.

He also expressed hope that NAFTA’s replacement will be approved soon.

Tauchen said industrial hemp production, now allowed in Wisconsin, is not a silver bullet but something that deserves a lot of consideration.