Locals lobby in Madison

• Legislative Days delegates

Rep. Warren Petryk (second from left), who represents most of Pierce County, was visited by John Kleven of the Chippewa Valley Technical College (first), Pete Kling (third) from UW-Extension in St. Croix County and Kris Ainsworth (fourth) of the River Falls Chamber. Submitted photo

Talk about it

Around 30 business, industry, civic, education and government leaders from the St. Croix Valley made their way to Madison Wednesday, Feb. 6 for the annual Greater St. Croix Valley Legislative Day.

Leaders use the day to remind legislators throughout the state of the issues important to people in the St. Croix Valley, comprised of Dunn, Pierce, Polk and St. Croix counties.

Two-to-three-person teams were formed and assigned to 10 to 12 legislators. Their topic discussions were the following:

• Restore income tax reciprocity with Minnesota. The previous agreement, which had been in effect for decades, called for commuting workers from both states to have the flexibility to file a single income tax return in their home state and the two revenue departments calculated the payments, resulting in an equitable solution. A framework of a new agreement is in place, but Minnesota has demanded an additional payment, estimated to be as much as $10 million, to offset a limitation in its tax code. With more Wisconsinites working in Minnesota than vice versa, and especially in this area, it is of great importance to restore this.

• Addressing Skills Gap and Implementing Be Bold 2 – The jobs are out there, but companies have told technical schools those coming into the work force don’t have what we need. Areas of note include welding, industrial mechanics, manufacturing and information technology.

Tags: government, wisconsin, legislature, politics