Dear Friends,

Breaking news: Foxconn is announcing their North American corporate headquarters will be located at 611 East Wisconsin Avenue in downtown Milwaukee. The headquarters is expected to hire more than 500 people and serve as an innovation center for entrepreneurs. Foxconn isn't the only company bullish on creating new jobs in the Milwaukee area.

According to a survey by ManpowerGroup, the hiring outlook for Metro Milwaukee is the third best in the nation. More than a third of employers in our area plan to add staff during the third quarter of this year. That's the best outlook in any quarter in the last decade for the Milwaukee area.

The good news on the job front doesn't stop there. The employment level in Wisconsin is at an all-time high of 3,090,200, and our unemployment rate is still at an all-time low of 2.8%. It's important to realize how far we've come as a state. Back in 2010, our employment rate was above 9%, and businesses were leaving. That's all changed because our reforms have truly made Wisconsin open for business. Now we are really seeing the results.

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
Fixing and Finishing Our Roads
Recently, President Trump awarded Wisconsin with the the largest Infrastructure for Rebuilding America grant in state history. We received $67.4 million more from the federal government than we had planned for in the state budget. Because of that surplus, the Joint Committee on Finance met this week to vote on how best to spend the money for our roads and bridges.

Thanks to the additional funding, we will be able to repair or replace every bridge that our local governments identified as needing repair. Now 183 bridges throughout the state will be fixed.
 
We also made a major investment in the state highway rehabilitation program and will complete a mega project years ahead of schedule. This is great news for motorists and taxpayers.
 
Finishing I-94 to border will make Wisconsin safer, more competitive, and will continue to grow our economy. This corridor is crucial to our economy. More than $90 billion in freight travels on the North-South every year. Completing the project earlier than expected will save taxpayers money, time, and headaches. It will also speed up many other needed road projects.
School Safety Meeting
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This week, Representative Jim Ott and I met with members of the Southeastern Wisconsin Schools Alliance to discuss mental health and school safety. We had an excellent discussion on ways to protect our school children and to make sure help is available for students who need counseling.

I truly appreciate opportunities like this to learn from each other and to develop best practices. I look forward to our future meetings to find solutions to improve safety in our schools and find ways to provide better mental health resources to our kids.
Child Sales Tax Rebate Sign-up Continues
Parents with a child aged 18 or younger can claim a Child Sales Tax Rebate! Families who qualify are eligible for a $100 rebate per child for sales and use tax paid in 2017.

So far, nearly 450,000 have signed up for the rebate. Click on the picture above to sign up!
Wisconsin Proud!
  • The number of people employed in Wisconsin is at an all-time high of 3,090,200, and the unemployment rate is at all-time low at 2.8% for May.
  • Construction wages in Wisconsin are up 7.5% from 2016-2017.
  • Wisconsin ranks 7th in manufacturing job creation from 2016-17, and wages are up 15% since 2010.
  • Over 85 percent of our population in the state in the prime age group of 25 to 55 is employed.
  • Wisconsin leads the nation in manufacturing jobs gained in 2018.
Around the 8th...
Brown Deer Elementary School visited the Capitol recently.