You're listening to Perspective on WFHR 1320 AM 975 FM.
I'm Melissa Kaye bringing you news in our community.
During this interview I'm talking with Senator Patrick Teston on Friday, August 21st.
Thank you for joining me, Patrick, to bring the community an update from the 24th Sun District.
Great to be with you.
Great.
How are things going in the district right now?
It's kind of like the, I guess you could call it the off season, although I don't think that's an accurate depiction of what you have going on right now.
Yeah, well, not necessarily an off season for me and actually looking forward to getting back to the district.
I'm on the road quite a bit these days as the chair of the committee to elect for Republican Senate.
So I've been going around the state helping out some of our candidates, but
was just in Kelner last Saturday for the Kelner Cornfest Parade and had a great turnout, great response.
And so it's summer in Wisconsin, but it's also everyone's favorite season in Wisconsin, which is campaign season.
So I say that obviously jokingly, of course, because we know that between now and November 3rd, people are going to be inundated with ads and mailers and everyone's going to be sick of it come the end of this fall.
It's just one of those things that we do here in the Great Badger State.
And given how competitive things are, it's going to be a race to the finish between now and November 3rd.
For sure.
So let's go back to what piqued my interest in that statement.
Corn.
How was the corn at the Kellner Corn Fest?
Because I do love me some late summer corn in Wisconsin.
Oh, it's always delicious.
You know, this year they had a number of different food trucks set up down by Mikey's and a couple of the other little water and holes right there in Kalner.
And, you know, myself and Scott Crew, we had a great time chatting with people and got to have a cold beer at the end of the parade.
So it was a win-win for everyone.
Nice.
Some good corn, some good beverage, good company, good talks, hopefully.
Let's dive right into data centers because that is such a huge topic right now, especially in Wisconsin Rapids, but honestly, the entire state, they are the center of many conversations.
There was a bill introduced in January.
the assembly bill 840.
This seemed like kind of the most comprehensive bill that was moving through the legislative process.
It would have insured no costs with construction or electric infrastructure would be passed on to customers.
It would have required renewable energy facilities servicing the data setter beyond the premises.
That seemed to be part of the sticking point.
that water used for curling purposes be contained in a closed loop system and that the operator of the data center would be to annually report to the DNR on a water usage.
And if the construction wasn't complete, they would have to restore the parcel to the condition it was prior to construction.
It failed to pass from what I can tell because it wasn't referred on to the Committee on Energy and Utilities in March.
It didn't make it on to the next step in the process.
So what is happening at the state level to protect Wisconsinites land, energy and water?
Yeah, it's a great question and certainly a missed opportunity from my perspective that we weren't able to get that bill through the state Senate.
I do believe it passed the state assembly, but for one reason or another, we just couldn't get enough consensus and buy in for from some of our colleagues.
And I do think that legislation provided some sensible guardrails for.
regulating data centers and obviously as you're well aware and have reported extensively on the proposed data center in Wisconsin Rapids has certainly raised a lot of eyebrows and brought a lot of concerns with folks within the greater Rapids community and people have asked me what my thoughts are on data centers and it's pretty similar to that legislation that you just laid out.
I personally feel that there should not be any NDAs involved in these developments that
they should be negotiated with local units of government out in the open.
They should have a closed water loop system and making sure that most importantly that our ratepayers aren't going to get stuck with a significant bill.
And so, you know, it's one of these things that we have become a data driven economy, data is being utilized and things like manufacturing, agriculture, even healthcare.
And the fact that just about
Every one of us, we have smartphones and we don't just make calls with them.
We send emails, we download things, stream things on them.
But unless we're willing to do those, we are going to need more data in the future.
But that's why I think having a sensible approach to these developments is the best way to thread the needle while at the same time making sure that taxpayers and right-payers are protected as well.
So the four different bills that we're moving through though, and none of them made it.
I mean, the first one is kind of referred to what we just talked about, the AB.
840 Senate bill, 843.
That's kind of the the rate payer and utility bill.
And that was a Republican bill, which didn't make it.
The Democratic alternative also didn't make it.
And then the NDA prohibition bill, which you touched on, there shouldn't be non-disclosure agreements.
That one didn't make it.
And then a moratorium bill also didn't make it just to kind of put a pause on things so that so the legislative process can catch up.
What do you see happening in this next session?
My hope is that we can get something done on this issue.
And I think you highlight in different pills just goes to show the legislature is all over the board when it comes to data centers.
You've got some that just want to outright ban these projects.
You've got others who want to have more sensible guardrails protections for taxpayers.
And so it sort of spreads the gamut.
And so I think as the
It's been sort of evolved in play out between now and Election Day already.
You've seen both gubernatorial candidates, both Congressman Tom Tiffany and David Crawley, data centers have become a key sticking point in the last week or so within their respective campaigns on what the best approach is.
And so my hope is regardless of how things shake out in the November elections is that hopefully we can put our collective heads together and figure out what the best pathway.
forward is.
And so, obviously, as more and more of these get proposed and come online, as we've seen it with some of the larger ones down in places like Beaver Dam in Port Washington, it's raised a lot of concerns and yet you've got smaller developments that have been proposed in more rural areas of the state that aren't the massive megastructures like we've seen in Port Washington.
Right, the hyper scale.
There's a difference between a data center and a hyper scale data center.
Yep, exactly.
And so, yeah, we've got to be able to get something done on this front.
And so hopefully next session, depending on who's where and where things are at, hopefully we can get a bill done and get it to whoever the governor is and hopefully they'll sign it.
That's definitely, I think, being echoed by a lot of municipalities and constituents around the state, especially in Wisconsin Rapids, as we've both mentioned, that's a really big issue right now.
But let's move on to another conservation effort that didn't get renewed this last session, which is the Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Program.
It was established in 1989.
It was very bipartisan.
Named for two former governors, Warren Knowles and a Republican and Gaylord Nelson, a Democrat, and three and a half decades in, it wasn't reauthorized this last time.
in the two-year budget, what is, let's talk about that for a little bit.
Yeah, so the Knowles and Ellison Stewardship Program, it's been around since 1989, bipartisan support.
And over the last several years, we had a system put in place that allowed for what was called passive review.
So as projects were being proposed by the Department of National Resources, they would then present those projects to the Joint Finance Committee.
And over the last several years, through this passive review process,
members had the opportunity to object to a program and oftentimes it was primarily because maybe there were more questions surrounding the project, maybe the project wasn't necessarily ready for crime time and this drew the the ire of some conservation groups and as a result a court case was filed to remove that passive review and so the Supreme Court struck down the Joint Finance Committee's passive review process even though since passive review
Passive review has put in place.
94% of all the projects proposed eventually get enumerated.
It was only a small minority of projects that didn't get enumerated for one reason or another.
But regardless, despite that Supreme Court ruling.
Myself and state representative Tony Kurtz, we worked on legislation to try and reauthorize it and really try and focus on maintaining what we have and not necessarily on more land acquisition because one of the concerns that was brought up by some of our colleagues up in northern Wisconsin is that in some of the counties they represent.
the vast majority of land in those respective counties are owned by either federal state or local units of government.
And so there's not a lot on the on the tax rolls.
So it was really it was a uphill slog.
Melissa, this is probably one of the most difficult bills that we've that I've ever tried to navigate through the legislative process because every time we throw an idea, we would find new opposition for one reason or another and
through the back and forth, we just weren't able to get enough buy-in.
And so as a result of that, the funds for the program lapsed on June 30th of this year, so earlier this summer.
But that doesn't mean that the programs completely dead.
I mean, it still exists in state statute.
And so it'll just be a matter of going into the next biennium state budget of hopefully finding a way to
put some more resources into the program while at the same time trying to find a way to make some tweaks that can get the support and buy in of our legislative colleagues, hopefully on both sides of the aisle.
Okay, well that's encouraging.
I'm glad to hear that.
So let's pause right here for a short moment to hear from our sponsors.
I'm Melissa Kaye talking with Senator Patrick Teston and you're listening to Perspective on 1320 a.m.
975 FM WFHR.
Welcome.
You're listening to Perspective on WFHR 1320 AM, 97.5 FM.
I'm Melissa Kay bringing you news in our community.
I'm speaking with Senator Patrick Teston and where we left off, we were talking about the Knowles Nelson stewardship program and the hopes that it will come back during this next legislative session with some bipartisan support and be able to get it across the finish line this time.
So now let's talk more about some also positive things happening in Wisconsin.
You recently visited the Stevens Point Elks Lodge number 641 and Elks.
Elks Lodges, I personally don't know a whole lot about them, but I know that they support communities through charitable initiatives.
Tell us a little bit more about this event you attended in Stevens Point.
Yeah, so first off, the Elks are a tremendous organization.
I've been a member of the Stevens Point Elks Lodge, Lodge 641 for 12 years.
And, you know, I had a couple of friends of mine who had been Elks for a long time and still are and they got me to sign up and it's really a
They do a lot of community service.
They primarily it's to promote Americanism and they do a lot of charity through things like the Boys and Girls Club, the YMCA, law enforcement.
I know the Stevens Point Elks Lodge, they do their cops and bobbers event where they team up with the local police department and sheriff's department and basically go on McDill Pond in Whiting and help kids catch some of their first fish.
And so they do
They do a lot.
And just this past week, they had their 125th anniversary of their founding charter.
And so we had a great turnout.
In fact, even the exalted ruler from the Wisconsin Rapids Elk Lodge made the trip over to Point.
We had a number of other elk dignitaries from around the state who showed up and probably had about 200 people there who came down to hear some live music, have some great food and just enjoy.
everyone's company.
And I got to present this citation of accommodation highlighting the 125th anniversary of the Steves Point Elk Lodge.
Wonderful.
Well, and that is it brings communities together to have organizations like that that really do put back into the community, much like our veterans associations do that as well.
Exactly.
Yeah, they do a lot of veterans work as well, which is, you know, obviously supporting the men and women who
But our uniform want to pay back and show our respects and our tribute to their service and sacrifice.
And if anyone wants to learn more about the Alps, encourage you to check them out online.
And if it's something that you think you might be interested in, submit an application.
And it's just out of curiosity.
I don't know.
Is that open to men and women?
It is.
Yeah, both men and women.
OK.
Another thing I noticed on your latest e-update is that you have blue books.
If anybody is interested, honestly, I am.
I'd like to email you and get a copy of the Wisconsin Blue Book because it has so much information in it.
Yeah, so the Wisconsin Blue Book, they come out every legislative session.
or every two years, I should say.
And it really, it's a wealth of information.
Not only does it have all of our elected officials listed in there, both from the federal as well as the state level.
They usually have some very insightful articles and some interesting history about our great state and just a plethora of information.
And so they are free to the public.
And now granted, it's taxed $8 that pay for them.
So if you want to.
get some of your tax-grade dollars back in the form of a blue book you can reach out to my legislative office and we are more than happy to drop one in the mail for you or I've been known to make some home deliveries for blue books and and if you want ones that signed by your elected official just drop us a special note and we'll make sure it gets signed sealed and delivered.
Awesome, that's wonderful.
And another thing you talked about too is the course we know deer hunting season is just around the corner.
Not that I want to take away from summer because this is definitely a fall activity, but they're looking for some volunteer instructors.
Yeah, so for hunter safety courses.
Looking for, I know the Department of Natural Resources is always looking for more instructors to educate people on how to safely handle firearms and more importantly have a safe hunt.
And so this is something that we want to ensure for our sporting heritage here in this great state that we're doing what we can to empower the next generation of our sportsmen and anglers here in the great state.
It's just anyone who's never hunted, it's a ton of fun.
And when you get your first trophy buck or your first doe, can you throw some venison in the freezer?
It's just an awesome sport activity.
And for me personally, I'm not a hunter.
I'm supportive of hunters because I think that does help keep our deer population a little bit under control and keep them off of the roads and away from my car, which is, I'm sorry, but that's personally where my interest in it lies.
But I also very much enjoy venison.
I didn't as a kid because I often got that gaming taste, which I didn't like, but I think that just it's all in how you prepare it.
Oh, 100%.
I used to be the same way when I was a little kid, and when my dad would come home and he'd get a deer season, and then we'd have venison steaks.
And, you know, initially, yeah, it can be a little gamey, but if you cook it right,
I'd tell you there's
nothing better.
It really isn't.
And that is a very core memory you've just lit up for me, Patrick, about cleaning a deer.
That is an interesting experience to take part in.
A Wisconsin heritage.
But let's move on here to, you recently had a press conference and this is of, oh, let's see, no, I wanted to talk about your Registered Nurses Modernization Act licenses.
You wrote this bill.
Let's talk about this.
You want working for Wisconsin Award from Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce to advance this license bill.
This is probably the bill I am most proud of that we finally got across the finish line.
So the APRN Modernization Act allows our advanced practice nurses to do the job that they are trained to do, which is to deliver care to their patients at the highest level of their scope of practice.
And this legislation had been around in some form or fashion for the better part of a decade and a half.
So usually that's a good indicator that maybe this isn't
This isn't ever going to happen, but during the last three legislative sessions, I was actually tapped by Senate Majority Leader, Devon Lemmy, who had been the previous bill author several sessions ago, and he had asked me if I wanted to run it, and I said, absolutely, I've been a supporter of this since I entered the legislature, and I think we can actually get this done.
For two sessions in a row, we were able to advance the bill to the governor's desk.
Unfortunately,
two sessions in a row, it got vetoed.
I was about ready to throw up my hands and just say, I'm never touching this bill ever again.
But after having some thoughtful conversation with a number of the stakeholder groups, the nursing groups, some of the physician groups who had concerns and others, we sort of recalibrated.
We did that horrible word that gets shunned and dismayed when people say it, but we actually compromised.
you know, not everyone was completely happy with the end result, which usually tells you you landed in a good spot.
And so, you know, when we finally got the agreement and working with the governor's office, basically he said, you know what, send it to me, I will sign it.
And to his credit, he absolutely did.
And so now we're in the process of having a essentially a new license for our advanced practice registered nurses.
So again, we can join the roughly 26 or 27 other states that have passed the APRN Modernization Act.
And I think it's going to go a long way to improving access to care.
It's going to go a long way to helping our underserved areas, especially in rural communities, where oftentimes you don't have a practicing position and a APRN may be the highest healthcare professional you can get a hold of within your community.
And so it's a step in the right direction.
I hope once it's fully up and running, we'll have more of a runway and an opportunity to expand upon this, not just for our APRNs, but other healthcare professionals as well.
Well, and I differ in personal experience.
Registered nurses that IFF have...
worked with as a patient through the healthcare system, I've always honestly preferred them.
They do a great job and I hope that this bill will help expand access to healthcare for, like you said, especially in rural areas where we know healthcare is across the state.
It's a very difficult profession to be in, but it's so, so needed.
It is.
In fact, we just had the Senate Health Committee had an informational hearing earlier this week where we were talking about just some of the challenges faced, especially for individuals who are in advanced nursing degrees and trying to find clinical placements and trying to find preceptors to take them under their wing.
And so this is a key component of trying to identify some of the bottlenecks that exist within
our healthcare system and how we deliver healthcare.
And oftentimes it's trying to get those providers into the field as quickly as possible so that way they can.
get out there and help patients.
And so we've got a lot of challenges on that front.
Every year the Wisconsin Hospital Association sends out their workforce survey report.
And for the last several years, it looks pretty dire when you look to the future.
I mean, we have a significant shortage of physicians.
We have a significant shortage of nurses.
And so we have to continue to be more proactive and more forward facing on how we address some of these challenges.
A big part of this is making sure that, one, we have the educators that we need to train these medical professionals, but then also making sure that they've got places to go out and practice that training when they're looking for clinical settings.
Absolutely.
And just in our last minute here, you said that the word compromise is something that nobody, it's a big scary word.
But speaking as a constituent, our two-party system here in the state is so oppositional.
And I know had
into campaign season, there is no space probably for the word compromise.
But as we're trying to work through some of these really big issues facing Wisconsinites, are there hopes for the future of the two-party system being able to work together and get things across the finish line for Wisconsinites?
Well, 100%, I firmly believe that that's absolutely the case.
And every session that I've been a part of since I entered the legislature in January of 2017 is 90 to 95% of the bills that we pass and eventually get signed into law, they had bipartisan support.
And it's usually that 5% to 10% where we have a significant disagreement and understandably so.
And the approach that I've always taken is during campaign season, I get it.
Everyone's going to put on their
their blue jersey, their red jersey, throw on the helmets, shoulder pads go out there and we clobber each other.
And hopefully it's a clobber over different ideas and opinions and policies and not necessarily some of the nasty things that we unfortunately see too often in campaign cycles.
But no matter what happens, come November 4th, the day after the November 3rd election, we have to get ready to govern.
regardless of who wins, regardless of who's in the majority or in the minority, who's in the governors, who's going to be the next governor.
We still have to be able to roll up our sleeves, especially when I take a look at both legislative chambers with slimmer majorities.
That makes things a lot tighter.
It makes it a little bit more difficult.
But at the end of the day, we still have to govern and we still have to be able to get things done and get a state budget passed.
just like we've done in previous sessions where we've had to go out and reach across the aisle to get support to get bills or a state budget done.
That's the job.
And so, you know, as I've often said, I think, well, both parties might have their disagreements and I still think at the end of the day, we all want what's best for our communities, for our state.
We just have different ways of getting there.
And it's about trying to find what we have in common first and then trying to build upon that as opposed to just
you know, beating our heads against the wall because we can't see the forest through the
trees.
And as President Abraham Lincoln said, in his Gettysburg address, government by the people, of the people, by the people, and for the people.
Amen.
All
right.
Well, I'm Melissa Kay speaking with Senator Patrick Teston, representing the 24th Senate District.
Thank you for taking the time to talk with me today, Patrick, and for all the work you're doing that I know lands on your shoulders.
Thank you.
I appreciate it.
Thank you.
And thank you to listeners joining us for news in our community.
On perspective, 1320 AM, 97.5 FM, WFH.
are.
You're listening to Perspective on WFHR 1320 AM 975 FM.
I'm Melissa Kaye bringing you news in our community.
During this interview I'm talking with Senator Patrick Teston on Friday, August 21st.
Thank you for joining me, Patrick, to bring the community an update from the 24th Sun District.
Great to be with you.
Great.
How are things going in the district right now?
It's kind of like the, I guess you could call it the off season, although I don't think that's an accurate depiction of what you have going on right now.
Yeah, well, not necessarily an off season for me and actually looking forward to getting back to the district.
I'm on the road quite a bit these days as the chair of the committee to elect for Republican Senate.
So I've been going around the state helping out some of our candidates, but
was just in Kelner last Saturday for the Kelner Cornfest Parade and had a great turnout, great response.
And so it's summer in Wisconsin, but it's also everyone's favorite season in Wisconsin, which is campaign season.
So I say that obviously jokingly, of course, because we know that between now and November 3rd, people are going to be inundated with ads and mailers and everyone's going to be sick of it come the end of this fall.
It's just one of those things that we do here in the Great Badger State.
And given how competitive things are, it's going to be a race to the finish between now and November 3rd.
For sure.
So let's go back to what piqued my interest in that statement.
Corn.
How was the corn at the Kellner Corn Fest?
Because I do love me some late summer corn in Wisconsin.
Oh, it's always delicious.
You know, this year they had a number of different food trucks set up down by Mikey's and a couple of the other little water and holes right there in Kalner.
And, you know, myself and Scott Crew, we had a great time chatting with people and got to have a cold beer at the end of the parade.
So it was a win-win for everyone.
Nice.
Some good corn, some good beverage, good company, good talks, hopefully.
Let's dive right into data centers because that is such a huge topic right now, especially in Wisconsin Rapids, but honestly, the entire state, they are the center of many conversations.
There was a bill introduced in January.
the assembly bill 840.
This seemed like kind of the most comprehensive bill that was moving through the legislative process.
It would have insured no costs with construction or electric infrastructure would be passed on to customers.
It would have required renewable energy facilities servicing the data setter beyond the premises.
That seemed to be part of the sticking point.
that water used for curling purposes be contained in a closed loop system and that the operator of the data center would be to annually report to the DNR on a water usage.
And if the construction wasn't complete, they would have to restore the parcel to the condition it was prior to construction.
It failed to pass from what I can tell because it wasn't referred on to the Committee on Energy and Utilities in March.
It didn't make it on to the next step in the process.
So what is happening at the state level to protect Wisconsinites land, energy and water?
Yeah, it's a great question and certainly a missed opportunity from my perspective that we weren't able to get that bill through the state Senate.
I do believe it passed the state assembly, but for one reason or another, we just couldn't get enough consensus and buy in for from some of our colleagues.
And I do think that legislation provided some sensible guardrails for.
regulating data centers and obviously as you're well aware and have reported extensively on the proposed data center in Wisconsin Rapids has certainly raised a lot of eyebrows and brought a lot of concerns with folks within the greater Rapids community and people have asked me what my thoughts are on data centers and it's pretty similar to that legislation that you just laid out.
I personally feel that there should not be any NDAs involved in these developments that
they should be negotiated with local units of government out in the open.
They should have a closed water loop system and making sure that most importantly that our ratepayers aren't going to get stuck with a significant bill.
And so, you know, it's one of these things that we have become a data driven economy, data is being utilized and things like manufacturing, agriculture, even healthcare.
And the fact that just about
Every one of us, we have smartphones and we don't just make calls with them.
We send emails, we download things, stream things on them.
But unless we're willing to do those, we are going to need more data in the future.
But that's why I think having a sensible approach to these developments is the best way to thread the needle while at the same time making sure that taxpayers and right-payers are protected as well.
So the four different bills that we're moving through though, and none of them made it.
I mean, the first one is kind of referred to what we just talked about, the AB.
840 Senate bill, 843.
That's kind of the the rate payer and utility bill.
And that was a Republican bill, which didn't make it.
The Democratic alternative also didn't make it.
And then the NDA prohibition bill, which you touched on, there shouldn't be non-disclosure agreements.
That one didn't make it.
And then a moratorium bill also didn't make it just to kind of put a pause on things so that so the legislative process can catch up.
What do you see happening in this next session?
My hope is that we can get something done on this issue.
And I think you highlight in different pills just goes to show the legislature is all over the board when it comes to data centers.
You've got some that just want to outright ban these projects.
You've got others who want to have more sensible guardrails protections for taxpayers.
And so it sort of spreads the gamut.
And so I think as the
It's been sort of evolved in play out between now and Election Day already.
You've seen both gubernatorial candidates, both Congressman Tom Tiffany and David Crawley, data centers have become a key sticking point in the last week or so within their respective campaigns on what the best approach is.
And so my hope is regardless of how things shake out in the November elections is that hopefully we can put our collective heads together and figure out what the best pathway.
forward is.
And so, obviously, as more and more of these get proposed and come online, as we've seen it with some of the larger ones down in places like Beaver Dam in Port Washington, it's raised a lot of concerns and yet you've got smaller developments that have been proposed in more rural areas of the state that aren't the massive megastructures like we've seen in Port Washington.
Right, the hyper scale.
There's a difference between a data center and a hyper scale data center.
Yep, exactly.
And so, yeah, we've got to be able to get something done on this front.
And so hopefully next session, depending on who's where and where things are at, hopefully we can get a bill done and get it to whoever the governor is and hopefully they'll sign it.
That's definitely, I think, being echoed by a lot of municipalities and constituents around the state, especially in Wisconsin Rapids, as we've both mentioned, that's a really big issue right now.
But let's move on to another conservation effort that didn't get renewed this last session, which is the Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Program.
It was established in 1989.
It was very bipartisan.
Named for two former governors, Warren Knowles and a Republican and Gaylord Nelson, a Democrat, and three and a half decades in, it wasn't reauthorized this last time.
in the two-year budget, what is, let's talk about that for a little bit.
Yeah, so the Knowles and Ellison Stewardship Program, it's been around since 1989, bipartisan support.
And over the last several years, we had a system put in place that allowed for what was called passive review.
So as projects were being proposed by the Department of National Resources, they would then present those projects to the Joint Finance Committee.
And over the last several years, through this passive review process,
members had the opportunity to object to a program and oftentimes it was primarily because maybe there were more questions surrounding the project, maybe the project wasn't necessarily ready for crime time and this drew the the ire of some conservation groups and as a result a court case was filed to remove that passive review and so the Supreme Court struck down the Joint Finance Committee's passive review process even though since passive review
Passive review has put in place.
94% of all the projects proposed eventually get enumerated.
It was only a small minority of projects that didn't get enumerated for one reason or another.
But regardless, despite that Supreme Court ruling.
Myself and state representative Tony Kurtz, we worked on legislation to try and reauthorize it and really try and focus on maintaining what we have and not necessarily on more land acquisition because one of the concerns that was brought up by some of our colleagues up in northern Wisconsin is that in some of the counties they represent.
the vast majority of land in those respective counties are owned by either federal state or local units of government.
And so there's not a lot on the on the tax rolls.
So it was really it was a uphill slog.
Melissa, this is probably one of the most difficult bills that we've that I've ever tried to navigate through the legislative process because every time we throw an idea, we would find new opposition for one reason or another and
through the back and forth, we just weren't able to get enough buy-in.
And so as a result of that, the funds for the program lapsed on June 30th of this year, so earlier this summer.
But that doesn't mean that the programs completely dead.
I mean, it still exists in state statute.
And so it'll just be a matter of going into the next biennium state budget of hopefully finding a way to
put some more resources into the program while at the same time trying to find a way to make some tweaks that can get the support and buy in of our legislative colleagues, hopefully on both sides of the aisle.
Okay, well that's encouraging.
I'm glad to hear that.
So let's pause right here for a short moment to hear from our sponsors.
I'm Melissa Kaye talking with Senator Patrick Teston and you're listening to Perspective on 1320 a.m.
975 FM WFHR.
Welcome.
You're listening to Perspective on WFHR 1320 AM, 97.5 FM.
I'm Melissa Kay bringing you news in our community.
I'm speaking with Senator Patrick Teston and where we left off, we were talking about the Knowles Nelson stewardship program and the hopes that it will come back during this next legislative session with some bipartisan support and be able to get it across the finish line this time.
So now let's talk more about some also positive things happening in Wisconsin.
You recently visited the Stevens Point Elks Lodge number 641 and Elks.
Elks Lodges, I personally don't know a whole lot about them, but I know that they support communities through charitable initiatives.
Tell us a little bit more about this event you attended in Stevens Point.
Yeah, so first off, the Elks are a tremendous organization.
I've been a member of the Stevens Point Elks Lodge, Lodge 641 for 12 years.
And, you know, I had a couple of friends of mine who had been Elks for a long time and still are and they got me to sign up and it's really a
They do a lot of community service.
They primarily it's to promote Americanism and they do a lot of charity through things like the Boys and Girls Club, the YMCA, law enforcement.
I know the Stevens Point Elks Lodge, they do their cops and bobbers event where they team up with the local police department and sheriff's department and basically go on McDill Pond in Whiting and help kids catch some of their first fish.
And so they do
They do a lot.
And just this past week, they had their 125th anniversary of their founding charter.
And so we had a great turnout.
In fact, even the exalted ruler from the Wisconsin Rapids Elk Lodge made the trip over to Point.
We had a number of other elk dignitaries from around the state who showed up and probably had about 200 people there who came down to hear some live music, have some great food and just enjoy.
everyone's company.
And I got to present this citation of accommodation highlighting the 125th anniversary of the Steves Point Elk Lodge.
Wonderful.
Well, and that is it brings communities together to have organizations like that that really do put back into the community, much like our veterans associations do that as well.
Exactly.
Yeah, they do a lot of veterans work as well, which is, you know, obviously supporting the men and women who
But our uniform want to pay back and show our respects and our tribute to their service and sacrifice.
And if anyone wants to learn more about the Alps, encourage you to check them out online.
And if it's something that you think you might be interested in, submit an application.
And it's just out of curiosity.
I don't know.
Is that open to men and women?
It is.
Yeah, both men and women.
OK.
Another thing I noticed on your latest e-update is that you have blue books.
If anybody is interested, honestly, I am.
I'd like to email you and get a copy of the Wisconsin Blue Book because it has so much information in it.
Yeah, so the Wisconsin Blue Book, they come out every legislative session.
or every two years, I should say.
And it really, it's a wealth of information.
Not only does it have all of our elected officials listed in there, both from the federal as well as the state level.
They usually have some very insightful articles and some interesting history about our great state and just a plethora of information.
And so they are free to the public.
And now granted, it's taxed $8 that pay for them.
So if you want to.
get some of your tax-grade dollars back in the form of a blue book you can reach out to my legislative office and we are more than happy to drop one in the mail for you or I've been known to make some home deliveries for blue books and and if you want ones that signed by your elected official just drop us a special note and we'll make sure it gets signed sealed and delivered.
Awesome, that's wonderful.
And another thing you talked about too is the course we know deer hunting season is just around the corner.
Not that I want to take away from summer because this is definitely a fall activity, but they're looking for some volunteer instructors.
Yeah, so for hunter safety courses.
Looking for, I know the Department of Natural Resources is always looking for more instructors to educate people on how to safely handle firearms and more importantly have a safe hunt.
And so this is something that we want to ensure for our sporting heritage here in this great state that we're doing what we can to empower the next generation of our sportsmen and anglers here in the great state.
It's just anyone who's never hunted, it's a ton of fun.
And when you get your first trophy buck or your first doe, can you throw some venison in the freezer?
It's just an awesome sport activity.
And for me personally, I'm not a hunter.
I'm supportive of hunters because I think that does help keep our deer population a little bit under control and keep them off of the roads and away from my car, which is, I'm sorry, but that's personally where my interest in it lies.
But I also very much enjoy venison.
I didn't as a kid because I often got that gaming taste, which I didn't like, but I think that just it's all in how you prepare it.
Oh, 100%.
I used to be the same way when I was a little kid, and when my dad would come home and he'd get a deer season, and then we'd have venison steaks.
And, you know, initially, yeah, it can be a little gamey, but if you cook it right,
I'd tell you there's
nothing better.
It really isn't.
And that is a very core memory you've just lit up for me, Patrick, about cleaning a deer.
That is an interesting experience to take part in.
A Wisconsin heritage.
But let's move on here to, you recently had a press conference and this is of, oh, let's see, no, I wanted to talk about your Registered Nurses Modernization Act licenses.
You wrote this bill.
Let's talk about this.
You want working for Wisconsin Award from Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce to advance this license bill.
This is probably the bill I am most proud of that we finally got across the finish line.
So the APRN Modernization Act allows our advanced practice nurses to do the job that they are trained to do, which is to deliver care to their patients at the highest level of their scope of practice.
And this legislation had been around in some form or fashion for the better part of a decade and a half.
So usually that's a good indicator that maybe this isn't
This isn't ever going to happen, but during the last three legislative sessions, I was actually tapped by Senate Majority Leader, Devon Lemmy, who had been the previous bill author several sessions ago, and he had asked me if I wanted to run it, and I said, absolutely, I've been a supporter of this since I entered the legislature, and I think we can actually get this done.
For two sessions in a row, we were able to advance the bill to the governor's desk.
Unfortunately,
two sessions in a row, it got vetoed.
I was about ready to throw up my hands and just say, I'm never touching this bill ever again.
But after having some thoughtful conversation with a number of the stakeholder groups, the nursing groups, some of the physician groups who had concerns and others, we sort of recalibrated.
We did that horrible word that gets shunned and dismayed when people say it, but we actually compromised.
you know, not everyone was completely happy with the end result, which usually tells you you landed in a good spot.
And so, you know, when we finally got the agreement and working with the governor's office, basically he said, you know what, send it to me, I will sign it.
And to his credit, he absolutely did.
And so now we're in the process of having a essentially a new license for our advanced practice registered nurses.
So again, we can join the roughly 26 or 27 other states that have passed the APRN Modernization Act.
And I think it's going to go a long way to improving access to care.
It's going to go a long way to helping our underserved areas, especially in rural communities, where oftentimes you don't have a practicing position and a APRN may be the highest healthcare professional you can get a hold of within your community.
And so it's a step in the right direction.
I hope once it's fully up and running, we'll have more of a runway and an opportunity to expand upon this, not just for our APRNs, but other healthcare professionals as well.
Well, and I differ in personal experience.
Registered nurses that IFF have...
worked with as a patient through the healthcare system, I've always honestly preferred them.
They do a great job and I hope that this bill will help expand access to healthcare for, like you said, especially in rural areas where we know healthcare is across the state.
It's a very difficult profession to be in, but it's so, so needed.
It is.
In fact, we just had the Senate Health Committee had an informational hearing earlier this week where we were talking about just some of the challenges faced, especially for individuals who are in advanced nursing degrees and trying to find clinical placements and trying to find preceptors to take them under their wing.
And so this is a key component of trying to identify some of the bottlenecks that exist within
our healthcare system and how we deliver healthcare.
And oftentimes it's trying to get those providers into the field as quickly as possible so that way they can.
get out there and help patients.
And so we've got a lot of challenges on that front.
Every year the Wisconsin Hospital Association sends out their workforce survey report.
And for the last several years, it looks pretty dire when you look to the future.
I mean, we have a significant shortage of physicians.
We have a significant shortage of nurses.
And so we have to continue to be more proactive and more forward facing on how we address some of these challenges.
A big part of this is making sure that, one, we have the educators that we need to train these medical professionals, but then also making sure that they've got places to go out and practice that training when they're looking for clinical settings.
Absolutely.
And just in our last minute here, you said that the word compromise is something that nobody, it's a big scary word.
But speaking as a constituent, our two-party system here in the state is so oppositional.
And I know had
into campaign season, there is no space probably for the word compromise.
But as we're trying to work through some of these really big issues facing Wisconsinites, are there hopes for the future of the two-party system being able to work together and get things across the finish line for Wisconsinites?
Well, 100%, I firmly believe that that's absolutely the case.
And every session that I've been a part of since I entered the legislature in January of 2017 is 90 to 95% of the bills that we pass and eventually get signed into law, they had bipartisan support.
And it's usually that 5% to 10% where we have a significant disagreement and understandably so.
And the approach that I've always taken is during campaign season, I get it.
Everyone's going to put on their
their blue jersey, their red jersey, throw on the helmets, shoulder pads go out there and we clobber each other.
And hopefully it's a clobber over different ideas and opinions and policies and not necessarily some of the nasty things that we unfortunately see too often in campaign cycles.
But no matter what happens, come November 4th, the day after the November 3rd election, we have to get ready to govern.
regardless of who wins, regardless of who's in the majority or in the minority, who's in the governors, who's going to be the next governor.
We still have to be able to roll up our sleeves, especially when I take a look at both legislative chambers with slimmer majorities.
That makes things a lot tighter.
It makes it a little bit more difficult.
But at the end of the day, we still have to govern and we still have to be able to get things done and get a state budget passed.
just like we've done in previous sessions where we've had to go out and reach across the aisle to get support to get bills or a state budget done.
That's the job.
And so, you know, as I've often said, I think, well, both parties might have their disagreements and I still think at the end of the day, we all want what's best for our communities, for our state.
We just have different ways of getting there.
And it's about trying to find what we have in common first and then trying to build upon that as opposed to just
you know, beating our heads against the wall because we can't see the forest through the
trees.
And as President Abraham Lincoln said, in his Gettysburg address, government by the people, of the people, by the people, and for the people.
Amen.
All
right.
Well, I'm Melissa Kay speaking with Senator Patrick Teston, representing the 24th Senate District.
Thank you for taking the time to talk with me today, Patrick, and for all the work you're doing that I know lands on your shoulders.
Thank you.
I appreciate it.
Thank you.
And thank you to listeners joining us for news in our community.
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