Dear Friends,

Another week and another top ranking for Wisconsin. Our state is the fifth best state in the nation for women according to WalletHub. The online financial website says Wisconsin ranks first in high school graduation rate for women, second two economic and social well-being, and third for highest percentage of women who voted in 2016. Wisconsin is consistently ranking near the top of best states lists.

Just last week, US News and World Report ranked Wisconsin #11 in the best states list. Back in January, Politico Magazine ranked us as a top ten state in the nation. We sure have come along way from the days of 9.2% unemployment and jobs fleeing our state. Wisconsin is moving up in these rankings, in part, because of careful budgeting and reforms. It's great to see the benefits of that hard work, and I'm thrilled Wisconsin is getting the credit.

As always, if you have any concerns or ideas on how to improve our great state, please do not hesitate to contact me by phone at 608-266-5830 or by email at Sen.Darling@legis.wi.gov.

On, Wisconsin!
Alberta
Senate Committee on Universities and Technical Colleges Meets
This week, the Committee on Universities and Technical Colleges, which I chair, held a public hearing on four appointments from Governor Walker to the Board of Regents and the board of the Medical College of Wisconsin.

Governor Walker nominated Cris Peterson and Jason Plante, and re-nominated Gerald Whitburn to the Board of Regents. I believe Governor Walker put forward excellent candidates. You can read more about them by clicking the link below.

Preserving Our Past for the Future
On Thursday, the Wisconsin Historical Society officially opened their State Archive Preservation facility in Madison. The new 188,000 square foot state-of-the-art building will house thousands of artifacts from Wisconsin's great history.

Only the Library of Congress has a larger collection of newspapers than the Wisconsin Historical Society. Now, that collection, which dates back to the 1850's, will be preserved and available to the public.

Wisconsin also has the fifth largest film collection in the nation. The Historical Society even has all of the original tapes from the TV show M*A*S*H. It will now be preserved for generations at a crisp 46 degrees.

Wisconsin's history is amazing. I'm proud to have supported funding for this important preservation facility in the state budget. This investment means our state's great legacy will live on for years to come.
Wisconsin Proud!
  • According to the Wisconsin Department of Revenue, Property taxes on a median-valued home are estimated to be more than $100 lower in 2018 than they were in December of 2010.
  • Wisconsin taxpayers have saved $8 billion over the last eight years thanks to Republican tax cuts.
  • State funding for K-12 education reached an all-time high in actual dollars in the most recent state budget - $11.5 billion!
Daylight Savings Begins This Weekend
Around the 8th...
Good luck to Hannah Belanger from Grafton High School! She will compete in the WIAA 3-Point Challenge this Saturday at 9:30 am.

Hannah has scored more than 1,000 points for the Black Hawks, and still has her senior season to play!

You can watch the 3-Point Challenge live (subscription required) or for free 72 hours after the event at the link below.

Sussex Spring Fest
There's fun for the whole family at Spring Fest in Sussex on Saturday. The event runs from 9:00 am to 2:00 pm at Hamilton High School.

For more information, click on the link below.

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