WisBusiness.com

A bill from #Dem lawmakers would create an #innovation program for #financialservices and a related pilot project, aimed at supporting #Wisconsin #entrepreneurs and businesses exploring ⛓ #cryptocurrency applications. That’s according to Sen. Dora Drake, D-Milwaukee, who 🎙 spoke during last week’s WI Digital Policy Forum at the Milwaukee County Historical Society. The Wisconsin Innovation Network legislation, or #WINbill, is from Drake and Rep. Russell Goodwin, D-Milwaukee. Drake said provision of the bill would help educate the #public about cryptocurrency and other related #software applications, while also creating a regulatory framework for companies looking to leverage the #technology. She argued this approach would “ensure that any #entrepreneur that is interested in building a business” in the #financialtechnology industry will get the support they need to do so. Drake said she wants to send a signal that “we welcome innovation here” as #crypto applications become more widespread. Read on ▶️ https://lnkd.in/g8RKRyv2

This week’s episode of WisBusiness.com: the 🎙 Podcast is with Buckley Brinkman, executive director and CEO of the Wisconsin Center for Manufacturing and Productivity. #WCMP He discusses how #manufacturers are faring amid tariff-related #economic uncertainty, noting he’s been “a little bit surprised” that opinions on the policy are fairly mixed. “The room is really split,” he said. “I mean, there are some manufacturers that are really being helped by the #tariffs right now … they’ve seen an uptick in their business and they’re really, I won’t say happy about the tariffs, but they’re certainly in favor of them because it’s improving their own #business.” Read on ➡️ https://lnkd.in/grSgBGNn

The head of Discover Green Bay says local #hotels are ready for next week’s influx of visitors for the National Football League (NFL) Draft though he expects the event’s #economicimpact to be spread across much of the state. Brad Toll, the #tourism organization’s president and CEO, yesterday said local hotels are used to big crowds for Green Bay Packers' 🏈 home games. But next week’s event, kicking off a week from today, is expected to draw 250,000 visitors and has been described as the largest event the city has ever hosted. “They’re prepared, certainly, we have a number of short-term #rentals available,” Toll said in a recent interview on WisconsinEye Public Affairs Network. “But … it really is a drive event. People are accustomed to driving to it, 65% in other markets have driven in.” Read on ➡️ https://lnkd.in/g3dFDExE

#NFIB Wisconsin State Director Bill Smith warns that letting a 20% #taxdeduction for small businesses 🚫 expire would be “devastating” for the economy. The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) yesterday issued a report highlighting the impact of the small business tax deduction, established by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017. The group wants Congress to extend or make permanent the 20% deduction, arguing nine out of 10 small businesses will see a “massive tax hike” if it’s allowed to expire at the end of this year. “The intent there was to sort of level the playing field between #smallbusinesses and some of their large corporate competitors, that was the thinking behind it,” Smith said yesterday in an interview. He added the tax benefit “really truly does help drive expansion as well as creation of small businesses.” 🔎 Read on at https://lnkd.in/ga9GPJPQ

Fresh off the success of a competition cooking show, GOP lawmakers are again circulating legislation to create state #taxincentives for 🎥 film and 📺 TV production, arguing #Wisconsin is missing out on “economic benefits that most other states enjoy.” Under the latest version of the bill, a newly created State Film Office would be able to allocate up to $10 million in #filmproduction and 💰 #investment tax credits per fiscal year — double the amount that would have been provided by a previous version of the legislation. Republican Reps. David Armstrong of Rice Lake, Calvin Callahan of Tomahawk, and Karen Hurd of Withee as well as Sens. M. Julian Bradley of New Berlin and Patrick Testin of Stevens Point, recently circulated a co-sponsorship memo seeking to rally support for the proposal. As with the earlier bill, the memo notes Wisconsin is one of just five states with no #filmoffice or commission and one of 10 with no production incentives. Read more at https://lnkd.in/gWxiz2AF

Northern Republican U.S. Representative Tom Tiffany has introduced a joint resolution calling for the #UnitedStates to withdraw from the World Trade Organization - WTO, calling it a “deeply flawed globalist institution.” Tiffany, who represents #Wisconsin’s northern 7th Congressional District, last week announced the joint resolution. In a statement on the measure, he argued the #WTO “has repeatedly overlooked #China’s unfair trade practices and #humanrights abuses, undermined #American #farmers and #manufacturers, and eroded our national sovereignty.” The intergovernmental group, based in Switzerland, has played a major role in overseeing #internationaltrade since being founded in 1995. With 166 participating countries since August 2024, the WTO’s membership represents the vast majority of all 🌎 global trade. Read on at https://lnkd.in/gSFgk5Nu

The latest episode of 'WisBusiness.com: the Podcast' features Dr. Christina Henderson, CEO and founder of #Madison #startup, Reliable Residence. The Reliable Residence platform matches traveling #medical professionals and #students with furnished #housing on a monthly basis. Listen: https://lnkd.in/gqsHU5A8 #Wisconsin #healthcare #business #leadership

This week’s episode of WisBusiness.com: the 🎙 Podcast is with Dr. Christina Henderson, CEO and founder of Madison-based Reliable Residence. Henderson, a second-year resident #physician, saw the need for a trusted platform offering short-term 🏘 #housing for #traveling medical professionals and students while completing her own #medical schooling in Colorado. After dealing with a “terrible, terrible housing experience” during her #medicalrotations, “I realized that there had to be a better way for medical students to find housing for these rotations that we all have to do and are so important to our residency careers,” she said. The platform matches traveling 🩺 medical professionals and students with furnished housing on a monthly basis. #travelilngnurses Listen to full podcast, sponsored by University of Wisconsin-Madison, at https://lnkd.in/gqsHU5A8

Manufacturers across North America are largely optimistic about future #profit growth despite rising concerns about #tariffs, according to a survey from Milwaukee-based advisory firm Wipfli. After surveying about 300 #manufacturing companies across the United States, #Canada and #Mexico last month, the firm found 55% of respondents are forecasting higher profits for 2025 than in 2024. Respondents in the survey predicted 2.7% 📈revenue growth this year, even as they face an unstable outlook amid constantly shifting tariffs. Laurie Harbour, a partner at #Wipfli, says most #manufacturers are starting off 2025 slow but “sentiment is generally trending up” and expects companies to gain momentum in the second half of this year and into 2026. Read on ▶️ https://lnkd.in/gea5pYaP

More #nursinghome #staffing leads to fewer hospitalizations and #deaths, with the greatest impact seen from the workers providing day-to-day care, according to research presented during a University of Wisconsin-Madison seminar. David Grabowski, a professor in the Department of Health Care Policy at Harvard Medical School spoke yesterday during an event organized by the UW School of Medicine and Public Health. He discussed a study that explored the effects of short-term #staffing reductions on #patients, looking at three types of workers: registered nurses, or RNs; licensed practical nurses, LPNs; and certified nurse aids, or CNAs. While prior research has found #RNs and #LPNs contributed more to improvements in quality, this study found the lower-ranked #CNAs are playing an important role, Grabowski said. ➡️ Read more at https://lnkd.in/gHKJSYec