Welcome to the Eau Claire Chamber Blog

With today’s tight labor market and challenges in finding workers, a critical part of the solution is encouraging young people growing up right here in the Chippewa Valley to aspire to careers with local employers.

Inspire Connections is a free online program that helps make that happen. It’s directly linked with the Career Cruising program currently being used by over 7,000 students in grades 6-12 in schools in Eau Claire County to explore potential careers. As students do this, Inspire Connections links them to the information about local employers that offer the kinds of jobs that fit their interests. 

The only way to make sure that happens for your company is to be sure you set up a free profile. If you don’t, you’ll be “invisible” to local students as they begin to plan for their future. Inspire Connections also provides opportunities to offer job shadows, company tours, student employment and other activities.

The Chamber is offering two workshops coming to help you set up an effective Inspire Connections Profile. Click the links below for more information or to sign up:
              Thursday August 30, 1:00 – 2:45 pm
              Thursday September 6, 1:00 – 2:45 pm
If you can’t attend one of the workshops, you can register on your own by following the instructions outlined below. 

More about Inspire Connections
A majority of students across the state of Wisconsin are using the program as part of Wisconsin’s mandated Academic and Career Planning, curriculum implemented for students in grades 6 – 12 that get students actively exploring and planning for their career goals. Inspire has specific components that develop the workforce pipeline and help students achieve their career goals and exploration.

• Company profiles: Each registered company has a profile where students can read about who they are, what they look for in a candidate, see what industry they are in and careers they hire, and watch any videos that a company may upload.
• Career Coach Discussion Boards: Students can post on different message boards to have their questions about careers answered by a professional in that field. Often students will ask questions about where job opportunities are or how to prepare for a career.
• Work-based Learning Activities: Employers can offer 11 different activities for students to get a more hands-on experience.

If you can’t attend one of the workshops, here’s how to register on your own.
Registering for a company profile is a two-stage, brief process, setting both you as an individual and your company up with an account that are linked to each other. If your company already has a profile, you can still register to volunteer as a Career Coach or offer a Work-based Learning Activity.

To begin the registration process, visit this link.

Tips:
Stage 1: The first stage focuses on simply setting you up with an account as an individual, so you’ll create your login information. Once you complete this first stage, you’ll come to a screen prompting you to continue onto the next.

Stage 2: Once you continue onto the next stage, you’ll be asked to log in. Then you can input your company’s information which sets up the shell profile for your company. The questions after that will ask questions about your desired level of involvement as an individual in Inspire Connections and your personal career background/expertise, so answer them with yourself in mind rather than the company. You’ll be able to go and actually build your company’s profile and note careers that your organization hires once the registration process is complete.

After completing these two stages, you have now set up a profile for yourself and your company. 

Showing students that you more than just exist 
Now that you’ve signed up for Inspire Connections you’re no longer invisible to students while they are making career plans and exploring different options. But you don’t want to just stop here. If you didn’t continue building up your profile, students would only see your organization’s contact information, name, and industry rather than the information that is going to actually get them interested in you as a potential future employer. 

An effective and complete employer profile allows you to show students that you more than just exist by communicating who you uniquely are, marketing yourself and the Chippewa Valley as a great place to work and live in, and what a career looks like in your industry or particular setting.

Log into your employer profile here to be able to edit your individual and company profiles and manage communications with students. 

You will have access to editing the company’s profile if you are the individual who first created your company’s profile. All other volunteers from your company will only have access to their individual profiles and the activities (e.g. Career Discussion boards, Work-based Learning Activities) that they wanted to participate in. 

General tips for building your profile:
There will soon be video posted here so you can become familiar with using Inspire Connection’s main features and learning how to build an effective company profile. The video gives important tips that are going to allow you to be easily found by students and things you can do to drive student interest.

Important links: Register for an Inspire Connections profile, log into your profile, "How to" resources (Momentum West)
Posted by: Kaylee Tracy, Legislative & Workforce Development Intern
tracy@eauclairechamber.org

Tariffs hitting local businesses hard with increased costs, market uncertainty
The tariffs imposed by the President targeting foreign steel and aluminum are increasing product input costs for businesses across industries in food processing, manufacturing, agriculture, and construction. Retaliatory tariffs have affected farmers, who are now selling products below their cost of production. Not only are cost increases starting to squeeze businesses and farmers, but we’re likely to see broader effects like significant consumer price increases, job losses and inflation.

On Tuesday August 7, 2018, the Chamber hosted U.S. Representative Ron Kind (D-WI) for a round table where businesses from a variety of industries discussed the negative impact that the tariffs have had on local businesses and industries. As a member of the Ways and Means Committee which has jurisdiction over international trade, Kind expressed a recent “push on the world economic agenda” to resolve the trade war quickly.

U.S. Senator Ron Johnson (R-WI) has also put the spotlight on the detrimental impact to Wisconsin businesses. In a 20 page letter to the President, he said, “I urge you and your trade representatives to understand the plight of businesses struggling during this period of extreme uncertainty, and do everything in your power to return certainty and stability to the global markets.”

Focus on tariffs and trade at Friday's Eggs & Issue
According to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, over $1 billion of exports from Wisconsin are endangered by the tariffs and retaliatory actions from other countries. John Kirchner from the U.S. Chamber will join us for the Chamber’s August 17 Eggs & Issues to discuss federal issues of importance to the business community.  Click here for more information and to register.

What is a tariff and why were they imposed?
Earlier this year, President Trump imposed a 25% tariff on steel and a 10% tariff on aluminum under sections 232 and 301 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, claiming the action was necessary to protect national security. A tariff is a tax on imports to discourage consumers and businesses from buying product from particular countries. The importer is the one who actually pays the tariff, but in order to make up for the extra cost, the company must absorb it, or if it can’t, pass it onto the consumer. Steel prices have gone up about 50% and aluminum up anywhere from 10% - 130% since the tariffs were announced. 

The tariffs do target countries like China that have been unfairly flooding the market and stealing intellectual property, but also cover strong allies like Mexico, China, and the European Union (EU). Targeted countries responded with counter-tariffs which have further restricted trade and created a larger economic impact. 

At the round table, Rep. Kind noted that although the end goal of creating a fairer trade environment and holding China accountable is beneficial, he wished the Administration would take a different approach and set an example for other countries to live up to. The Administration could have formed an international coalition with others that have been negatively impacted by unfair trade practices and brought China to the World Trade Organization (WTO) for retribution where the U.S. has had 100% win record. 

How tariffs are hurting Wisconsin businesses and industries
Over 17 businesses and representatives from manufacturing, agriculture, and building all attended the round table to share the impact of the tariffs locally. The stories they shared testified to the fact that the negative consequences present themselves different in each industry and have ripple effects beyond increasing the cost of foreign steel and aluminum.

As a direct effect, Timm Beotcher – CEO of Realityworks – said that his company is buying steel at a price 45% greater than what it was a year ago. Unfortunately, they will most likely have to pass the cost onto the consumer unless the trade war is resolved quickly. Some industries like the auto industry or builders have more constraints in responding to input price increases as they have to honor quotes given for projects and experience difficulty giving quotes for future projects due to the uncertainty of price levels. 

The ripple effect of increasing lumbar costs have businesses reexamining preexisting plans to make capital investments. Projects like building expansions and improvements are being put off, according to Laura Talley, the Market President for BMO Harris. “For every one job in steel and aluminum, 200 jobs for consumers are impacted,” emphasized Rep. Kind in regard to the wide-spread effects of an injury to these two industries.

Farmers are being hit hard, too. Dairy farmers are experiencing roughly a $1 price decrease in milk and are struggling more than non-dairy farmers as they must sell the milk at low prices before it expires. Tony Mellenthin spoke on behalf of soybean farmers and the Wisconsin Soybean Association when he said that a bushel of soybeans is selling anywhere from $1-2 less than its production cost. He did note that those farming grain or beans have a little more flexibility than those producing perishable items. Rep. Kind inquired as to how long Mellenthin thought soybean farmers could last under the current conditions, and he predicted a year at the most. 

The long-term effects of tariffs
The price increases and postponed capital investments are just the immediate effects. The greater long-term concern is that even though the tariffs were intended to encourage buying American-made goods, they along with the retaliatory tariffs will decrease competitiveness of the American economy. Multiple businesses expressed concern that their market share that took decades to build up is now or soon will be gone over night. Cindy Brown works for Chippewa Valley Bean: a company that has been around for over 150 years. She said, “This is the worst thing that government has done to us in that time.” If the tariffs do not end shortly, employers may be faced with losing their market shares and possibly layoffs to keep afloat.  

The Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce (WMC) President and CEO, Kurt Bauer, acknowledged the strengthened competitiveness of the U.S. economy based on other economic policies implemented by the Trump Administration in an article from the Wisconsin Business Voice. His praise was qualified with a statement, “On the downside, I am very concerned that a trade war caused by Trump’s steel and aluminum tariffs could derail the current economic momentum, both nationally and in Wisconsin.” 

Where Wisconsin Congressional Representatives Stand
Similar to Rep. Kind, U.S. Senator Ron Johnson (R-WI) has been working to share the deeply felt effects on Wisconsin industries with the Administration by holding listening sessions as well and actively communicating with the Administration.

U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) has expressed support for “America first” economic policies, but not the tariffs. “I support better trade deals, not trade wars. Tariffs against our trading partners in Europe do not fix our trade problems, and President Trump’s haphazard approach on tariffs with our allies will hurt Wisconsin’s manufacturing and agriculture economy.” See her Tweet, here.

Contrastingly, U.S. Rep. Sean Duffy (R-WI) is cautiously optimistic about the tariffs. “My district has the largest production of cranberries in America…I’m concerned about the growers. I’ve made that known to the trade representative on how important this is. But also, in the end I think we can be way better off for everybody and every industry if we’re able to get other countries to reduce their barriers to trade,” said Duffy in an article from WPR.

Here’s what’s being done to advocate for your business
Rep. Kind at the round table outlined two pieces of legislation that have been introduced within the past couple months that would protect against future tariffs. The legislation has been referred to the Committee on Ways and Means.

• The Trade Authority Protection (TAP) Act would create a Congressional Review Act style process allowing Congress to evaluate and possibly reject trade agreements made by the Executive branch (H.R. 5760). 
• An amendment to the Trade Expansion Act of 1963 would require Congressional approval before the President adjusts imports that are determined to threaten or impair national security (H.R. 6337).

The U.S. Chamber has strongly been taking action in opposition of the tariffs. One effort has been to release a state-by-state analysis showing the tariffs’ impact. You can view the details here, at www.thewrongapproach.com.

The illustration below depicts some of Wisconsin’s hardest hit products.​

​The Trump Administration has announced that an estimated $12 billion in aid will be distributed to farmers hopefully beginning September. Rep. Kind and farmers at the round table said that this is just a short-term solution to an artificial issue, and would prefer having free trade rather than the subsidies. 

Strategies to alleviate the effects of tariffs on your business
 Importers and manufacturers have a couple options available to them to help reduce some of the effects. Actions include applying for an exemption – although this process only has about a 1% chance of success – changing your Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) codes, or applying to be considered a foreign trade zone. Contact Scott Rogers at (715) 858–0616 or rogers@eauclairechamber.org to be connected with resources.
 
You can attend the Chamber’s August 17 Eggs & Issues hosting Jon Kirchner from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce to hear a business-focused outlook on federal issues. Kirchner is the manager of Congressional and Public Affairs for the Midwest Region. Click here for more information and to register.

More information on tariffs: Tariffs' impact harming Wisconsin businesses (Leader-Telegram), As Trump talks tariffs, here's what you need to know (Forbes), Ron Johnson to Trump: Trade war doing 'permanent damage' to Wisconsin businesses (Wisconsin State Journal)

Posted by Kaylee Tracy, Legislative & Workforce Development Intern
tracy@eauclairechamber.org

​It's been 12 years of planning but the finished project is well worth the wait! Congratulations to the City of Eau Claire on the new fire station.

Jan Zander, PE, executive vice president at engineering and architecture consulting firm Ayres Associates, began in July a one-year term as chairman of the board of the American Council of Engineering Companies of Wisconsin (ACEC), which is a coalition of 81 independent consulting firms practicing civil, structural, mechanical, electrical, environmental and geotechnical engineering. Zander joined Ayres in 1990, beginning in the Eau Claire office, followed by stints in the firm’s Madison, Waukesha, and Phoenix area offices before returning to Eau Claire in 2008 upon being named an executive vice president. His previous responsibilities have included supervision of transportation engineers and project management of roadway and bridge projects. Zander oversees a number of the firm’s operations groups, as well as the firm's project management and group management training.
​
Mike Noreen of River Falls joined the Chippewa Valley Technical College Board of Directors. Noreen, the conservation and efficiency coordinator for River Falls Municipal Utilities, will serve a three-year term as an employee member. Noreen earned a bachelor’s degree in environmental education from Western Washington University and a master’s degree teaching science from Northern Arizona University. He has also taken coursework at UW-Stevens Point, UW-River Falls and community colleges in Washington and Arizona.

Pablo Center at the Confluence recently announced the inaugural 2018-19 season. This lineup will be part of the Pablo Presents series, including the Set List which will be a series to watch for an ever-expanding lineup of regional and national bands. ­Find the full Pablo Presents lineup here. Tickets for the 2018-19 season will be available for purchase at PabloCenter.org on Thursday, Aug. 23 at 10 a.m. Please visit PabloCenter.org for more information, a full listing of events, and to order tickets when they go on sale.

Christopher D. Williams, M.D. recently joined the Pulmonology Department at Mayo Clinic Health System in Eau Claire. Williams earned a medical degree at Vinayaka Mission’s Medical College, Karaikal, Pondicherry, India. He completed a residency at St. Barnabas Hospital in New York. He completed fellowships at Yale University School of Medicine in New Haven, Connecticut, and at the University of South Alabama Medical Center in Mobile. Williams is board-certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine in critical care medicine, internal medicine and pulmonary medicine. He also is board-eligible in sleep medicine.

A $47,000 matching grant from the Wisconsin Department of Health Services was received by Mayo Clinic Health System to train emergency medicine advanced practice providers in point-of-care ultrasound — a technology used to provide timely diagnoses for trauma and critical care patients. The grant is part of more than $300,000 awarded to support development of eight training sites to ensure access to quality health care in rural and underserved areas of the state. The grant will be applied toward training equipment, instructor training, quality improvement infrastructure and the first several courses. The courses will be available to physician assistants and nurse practitioners who practice at Mayo Clinic Health System critical access hospitals in Barron, Bloomer, Menomonie and Osseo, as well as other rural emergency medicine providers throughout Wisconsin.

HSHS St. Joseph’s Hospital’s mammography program passed its annual Mammography Quality Standards Act (MQSA) inspection earlier this week, received no recommendations for improvement and has been recertified. MQSA is the accrediting branch of the FDA with special focus on mammography quality, reporting and billing. To operate lawfully, a mammography facility must be MQSA certified and undergo an annual inspection conducted by federally trained and certified federal or state personnel. Congress enacted MQSA to ensure that all women have access to quality mammography for the detection of breast cancer in its earliest, most treatable stages.
           
 

The City of Eau Claire is sponsoring an "Idea Lounge" meeting on the evening of August 14 to explore the potential for developing projects in the three areas in the city designated as Qualified Opportunity Zones earlier this year. 

The Opportunity Zones program was established by Congress in the Tax Cut and Jobs Act as an innovative approach to spurring long-term private sector investments in low-income urban and rural communities nationwide. The program is based on the bipartisan Investing in Opportunity Act. The program establishes a mechanism that enables investors with capital gains tax liabilities across the country to receive favorable tax treatment for investing in Opportunity Funds that
are certified by the U.S. Treasury Department. The Opportunity Funds use the capital invested to make equity investments in businesses and real estate in Opportunity Zones designated by each state.

Rep. Ron Kind (D-3) was one of the sponsors of the Investing in Opportunity Act, and Governor Walker designated the Wisconsin zones in March.  The Eau Claire Chamber wrote a letter in support of including zones in Eau Claire.

The City was recently approached by a potential Qualified Opportunity Fund about projects in our area. The August 14 meeting will be an opportunity to meet the developers and provide input on projects that could be financed utilizing Opportunity Funds. They could include business ideas, construction projects, and redevelopment ideas located in the Opportunity Zones. This is a free event. Light refreshments provided.

Opportunity Zones Idea Lounge
Tuesday, August 14, 7:00-8:30 p.m.
Royal Credit Union, 200 Riverfront Terrace, Eau Claire River Room (1st Floor)
​Click here for more event information

Dr. Erik Dickson was recently announced as the new medical director for skilled nursing and post acute care provider Dove Healthcare – South Eau Claire. Dickson is the chief physician executive for HSHS Western Division and a family medicine physician with OakLeaf Clinics - Eau Claire Medical Clinic. As the medical director, Dickson will ensure that appropriate systems exist to facilitate good medical care using current standards of practice. He will assist in establishing and applying good monitoring systems, and ensure effective documentation and follow up of findings. Lastly, Dickson will assist in maintaining physician compliance with the State and Federal Regulations.

Wipfli will be hosting the first of nine monthly Human Resources (HR) Business Forum meetings in Eau Claire. The Human Resource Business Forums have a set curriculum to educate participants on the key functional areas of HR management. These forums are ideal for individuals who do not have a formal education in HR management, who may be new to the field and are looking to acquire foundational knowledge, or who are looking to strengthen their technical skills. Meetings are held monthly September through May and all will be held in Eau Claire. Participants are encouraged to register soon as space is limited.

Pablo Center at the Confluence announced the following new additions to its staff:

• Jason Harris is the director of production and operations at the Pablo Center at the Confluence. He was previously the director of theatre design/technology and an associate professor at Avila University and technical director of the Johnson County Arts and Heritage Center; and he’s been working in theatre production the past 25 years.
• Mark Lundin is the project coordinator for Pablo Center at the Confluence. He has worked for the Wisconsin Youth Symphony Orchestras and as a music educator and clinician. He has taught vocal music in public schools for eight years and is currently on the Governance Board for the Chippewa Valley Montessori Charter School.
• Brianna Hotchkiss was trained in production and technical theatre at UW – Eau Claire. She toured with Sesame Street Live in 2006 and worked as the lighting designer and technical jack-of-all-trades for the Eau Claire Children’s Theatre from 2007-2011. Most recently, she was the production manager at the Eau Claire Regional Arts Center.
• Derek Brehm will be the front of house and box office manager. Brehm earned his MBA from Cardinal Stitch University in 2015. Most recently he has been the box office manager with Madison Ticket Agency overseeing ticketing at the Alliant Energy Center, Breese Stevens Field and multiple other venues in Madison.
• Rose Dolan-Neill has been hired as the visual and literary arts manager. As the director of visual arts for the Eau Claire Regional Arts Council, Dolan-Neill has five years’ experience working directly with the arts community in Eau Claire, and close to 10 years of contributing to the success of the region’s creative economy by providing excellent leadership at the Eau Claire Regional Arts Center.
• Dr. Michael Lee has been named the community outreach and workforce development manager. Lee is a graduate of UW-Stout, having earned degrees in career and technical education and business administration. For the past seven years, he has been serving international students and developing international partnerships while working in UW-Stout’s Office of International Education.

Libardo Rueda Prada, M.D., recently joined the Hospital Medicine Department at Mayo Clinic Health System in Eau Claire. Prada completed medical school at Universidad Industrial de Santander in Bucaramanga, Santander, Colombia. He completed an internal medicine residency at SBH Health System in Bronx, New York. Prada is a member of the American College of Physicians. His professional interests include critical care and hospital medicine, and pulmonology.

Bilal Unar, M.D., recently joined the Hospital Medicine Department at Mayo Clinic Health System in Eau Claire. Unar completed medical school at Isra University in Hyderabad, Pakistan. He completed an internal medicine residency at Marshfield Medical Center in Marshfield. Unar’s professional interests include cardiovascular diseases, clinical research, critical care medicine, hypertension and quality improvement.
Thomas Lowry, M.D., will begin to see patients four days in Ear, Nose & Throat at Mayo Clinic Health System in Eau Claire and one day in Rice Lake. He has been seeing patients in Rice Lake only for the past 18 months. Lowry completed medical school at Texas Tech University Health Science Center School of Medicine in Lubbock. He completed a residency at Wilford Hall Medical Center, located at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas. He relocated back to northwest Wisconsin with his family in 2008.

Speech-language pathologist Hailey Brost recently joined the Speech-Language Therapy Department at Mayo Clinic Health System in Eau Claire. Brost earned a bachelor’s and master’s degree in communication sciences and disorders from UW-Eau Claire. She is a member of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. Her professional interests include working with people with aphasia and providing functional intervention.

Campus Pride has given UW-Eau Claire its highest rating, five stars, in its Campus Pride Index, a tool that helps colleges and universities improve campus life for LGBTQIA+ students. Campus Pride is the leading nonprofit organization in the U.S. working to create more LGBTQIA+-friendly learning environments at colleges and universities. With the five-star rating, UW-Eau Claire becomes one of just 27 U.S. colleges and universities (and one of two in the UW System) to receive Campus Pride’s highest recognition. According to the Campus Pride website, the index rankings are based on a school’s performance on to eight “inclusion factors” as they relate to LGBTQIA+ students: policy inclusion, support and institutional commitment, academic life, student life, housing and residence life, campus safety, counseling and health, and recruitment and retention.
UW-Eau Claire also has been named one of Affordable Colleges Online’s Most LGBTQ-Friendly Colleges and Universities for 2018-19, ranking 10th out of 69 schools that made the list. UW-Eau Claire is one of just four UW System universities to be included. Affordable Colleges Online examined data from all accredited postsecondary schools in the nation in determining its list of top LGBTQIA+-friendly institutions. Its goal was to find those colleges that “offered the most notable balances of academic rigor, LGBTQ student support and affordability,” according to the Affordable Colleges Online website. A school’s Campus Pride Index ranking is a component of its score in the Affordable Colleges Online ranking.
Marco recently acquired the managed and infrastructure support services previously provided by Ticomix, a technology company headquartered in Rockford, Illinois. The 21 employees from Ticomix that support these IT services have joined Marco’s team and will be serving clients from Marco’s current office in Rockford and Ticomix’s office in Milwaukee. Marco now has 1,200 employees and 52 locations throughout the Midwest and nationally. This is Marco’s fourth acquisition this year as the company continues its strategy to expand its geographic footprint and technology solutions in existing markets. 

The Lakely, a farm-to-fork restaurant inside The Oxbow Hotel in downtown Eau Claire, is partnering up with other local brunch establishments to put together an outdoor brunch festival held in the courtyard and parking lot of the hotel and restaurant. This new event intends to celebrate and promote all things brunch in the Chippewa Valley. Upon entrance, event-goers will receive five food tickets. Attendees will then make their way around the venue to visit each establishment’s tent and in total, be treated to five “courses” of brunch foods and five “courses” of brunch cocktails from a variety of brunch staples around town. A number of local breweries will also be on-site offering samples of their brunch-iest brews. Live music, Kubb, and other popular yard games will keep guests entertained in between all of the eating and drinking. Music lineup will be announced soon. Brunch Bash is a 21+ event taking place outside of The Oxbow Hotel and The Lakely on Saturday, August 18th from 10am to 2pm. Single tickets are $35, and two-packs of tickets are priced at $65. All tickets can be purchased in advance from www.volumeonetickets.org. 

What's at stake on August 14
The state-wide partisan primary is coming up on Tuesday, August 14 to determine who will be on the ballot in the November 6 general election. This year, there are multiple competitive races. State and national offices up for election are: Governor, Lt. Governor, WI Attorney General, WI Secretary of State, WI State Treasurer, U.S. Senator, U.S. Representative, odd-numbered Wisconsin State Senate and all Assembly seats. The polls will be open from 7:00 am – 8:00 pm, but anyone can vote early starting July 30.

Wisconsin Primary Elections are “Open Primaries”
When districts have more than one candidate from the same party running for a seat, a partisan primary election is held to nominate a single candidate to move onto the general election. The person who wins a plurality of votes, meaning the highest number, is their party’s nominee to go onto the general election.

The state of Wisconsin has what is called an “open primary” for partisan elections. When voters go to the polls they will receive one ballot that lists all parties’ candidates. Since 1905, voters have been restricted to vote for their top choice candidates from a single party across all races. Wisconsin’s system is called an “open primary” because voters can vote for a party’s candidates without having registered as a member of a party. 14 other states including Minnesota use this system. Other states use either a closed primary where voters must register as identifying with a particular party, or use a variation of the two systems. 

Election Day, Tuesday, August 14 
Polls are open 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Click here to find your polling place

Early and Absentee Voting
If you are unable to make it to make it to the polls or want to vote early, you can either request an absentee ballot or vote In-Person Absentee.
For City of Eau Claire residents, In-Person Absentee Voting lasts from July 30th – August 10th, 2018 on Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 pm at City Hall. For registered voters who want to receive an absentee ballot, you must request one with the city clerk’s office by 5:00 pm the Thursday before the election (August 9th). For voter registration or absentee voting forms, visit the City of Eau Claire’s election page. 
For City of Altoona residents: In-person absentee voting can be done at the Altoona City Hall, 1303 Lynn Ave., weekdays through August 9, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., and on August 10, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
If you live elsewhere in Eau Claire County: click here for contact information for the elections office in your municipality. You can also request a ballot and see your polling place or what’s on the ballot at My Vote Wisconsin. 

Races to Keep an Eye On
This year’s primary election has a lot of candidates vying for one seat. Although there are competitive Republican seats, there are by far more Democratic candidates in each competitive race. There are eight Democratic candidates running for Governor including Kathleen Vinehout of Alma, who gave up her seat in the 31st Senate District to run, Tony Evers who is currently the State Superintendent of Public Instruction, former State Representative Kelda Roys, and Firefighters Union President Mahlon Mitchell. Republican Governor Scott Walker is running for reelection and has one relatively unknown primary opponent, Robert Meyer.  Other state offices with primary contests include Lt. Governor, Secretary of State, State Treasurer, and US Senate. In the latter race, Republicans Kevin Nicholson and Leah Vukmir are vying for the right to face incumbent Democratic US Senator Tammy Baldwin.

Competitive local legislative seats and Chamber Good Government Council Questionnaires
More locally, the 31st Senate District has three Democratic candidates and one Republican (Mel Pittman, Plum City) running. The Democratic candidates are Jon Schultz (Arcadia), Jeff Smith (Eau Claire), and Steve Boe (Taylor).

​The 91st Assembly District adds to the list of competitive Democratic races with four Democratic candidates that are all from Eau Claire: Thomas Vue, Jodi Emerson, Eric Larsen, and Rich Postlewaite. A candidate forum for the district was held on Wednesday July 25 where the candidates had a difficult time differentiating their policy stances from each other. Echo Reardon (Eau Claire) is the Republican candidate. 

​The 92nd Assembly District has three Democratic candidates and one Republican (incumbent Treig E. Pronschinske, Mondovi). Desiree Gearing-Lancaster (Black River Falls), Rob Grover (Galesville), and Max Harts (Black River Falls) are the Democratic candidates.

The Eau Claire Chamber’s Good Government Council (GGC) distributed a questionnaire to the 31st Senate Districts and 91st and 92nd Assembly District candidates. The GGC is a committee devoted to encouraging voter participation and providing members of the business community with non-biased information about candidates’ positions on important issues. 

Here are the candidates' answers to the Chamber's questionnaire:
31st Senate District
91st Assembly District
92nd Assembly District

Additional resources:

• Watch the Democratic candidate debates for Governor: Today's TMJ4 & Milwaukee Host Democratic Gubernatorial Debate (July 12), WISDOM Gubernatorial Candidate Forum (June 11)
• Watch the Americans for Prosperity - Wis: WI GOP U.S. Senate Primary Debate (April)
• See your polling place and candidates on the ballot: My Vote Wisconsin
• After the election, you can view the results here.

Posted by: Kaylee Tracy, Legislative & Workforce Development Intern
​tracy@eauclairechamber.org

As businesses like yours are feeling the effects of Wisconsin’s 2.9% unemployment rate with either not having enough people to hire or applicants not having the right skills, various state and regional organizations have deployed efforts to address workforce needs from multiple angles. You can easily take advantage of one of the programs called Inspire Connections, which is an online program connecting employers to their future workforce: local students in grades 6-12. 

How participating in the online Inspire Connections can help
A very tangible way for you to address your workforce needs is by having an online company profile on Inspire Connections. Inspire Connections is a tab within a larger platform called Career Cruising, which a majority of local school districts are using as a part of Wis. State mandated Academic and Career Planning curriculum (ACP). ACP helps students explore careers and make curriculum choices for high school and beyond.  ACP curriculum is now required for students across the state in grades 6 - 12. 

Local companies have an employer profile on Inspire Connections to market who they are as an organization and communicate that students don’t have to move away to have a career that they love. Students are getting to learn about specific careers and industries via Career Cruising, but the employer profiles compliment this by providing a way to show an employer’s unique organizational identity, communicate needed skills or educational pathways for a field, and allow students to get a feel for what a career or industry looks like in a real world setting. Overall, companies have an opportune tool to build interest in their organization, industry, or careers hired in the area. Employees can also volunteer as an online Career Coach to periodically help answer student questions about a career or offer Work-Based Learning Activities to give your business that extra, in-person exposure and connection with students.

Inspire Connections is being used across the state, but locally the Eau Claire Area Economic Development Corporation and Momentum West – the regional economic development corporation for our 10 county region in western Wisconsin – are responsible for administering the program. To help address the business community's workforce needs and increase effective business participation on the platform, the Chamber has been offering workshops to help get businesses signed up and equip them to use the program effectively in a way that will maximize student interest in their business. 

Sign up for an Inspire Connections Workshop
Establishing a company profile is easy and free for employers. Sign up for one of the Chamber’s upcoming Inspire Connections Workshops to show you how to get started with your Inspire profile, learn more about the program, and how to design your profile in a way that will maximize student interest. 

To attend a workshop, click on one of the listed times offered for more information and to register.​

• Thursday August 30, 1:00 - 2:45 pm
• Thursday September 6, 1:00 - 2:45 pm

State and regional marketing efforts benefit workforce needs
Inspire Connections and K – 12 Academic and Career Planning are just part of the workforce puzzle. Marketing efforts coincide these actions by seek to attract talent – getting people to live and work in Wisconsin. The Wisconsin Department of Tourism has identified the link between returning tourists and the likelihood that they may stay to live and work in the state. “The number one reason why people travel is fun,” stated Wis. Secretary of Tourism Stephanie Klett at the Chamber’s July 20 Eggs & Issues. The department has deployed award winning marketing campaigns to communicate just that very idea.

The Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC) is addressing a different issue through marketing. They are trying to expand people’s perceptions of Wisconsin beyond “beer, the Packers, and cheese,” to include the available diverse career opportunities and work-life balance. Their campaign that targets Midwest millennials, transitioning veterans and their families, and alumni living in a different state was recently allocated $6.8 million by the state legislature. “Now that legislation has been signed, WEDC and its agency partners can build upon the successes of in-state talent-oriented marketing and a recent paid-media campaign in Chicago,” said Tricia Braun, deputy secretary and chief officer of the WEDC.

Other efforts
The list of workforce programs and initiatives goes beyond just these three programs and state efforts. There are over 105 different programs locally and regionally, that tackle workforce needs from various angles. Programs like Youth Apprenticeships or the newly created coordinated internship program between UWEC, UW- Stout, and UWRF focus on education and training. Other programs like the Age of Opportunity Job & Volunteer Fair or Project SEARCH​ help people overcome barriers to the workforce. To help employers navigate all of the available resources, the Chamber will be hosting a Workforce Solutions Summit on October 29 at the Pablo Center at the Confluence.

More information on Inspire Connections: Information for employers and coaches

Posted by: Kaylee Tracy, Legislative & Workforce Development Intern
tracy@eauclairechamber.org