Press Release: Southwest Wisconsin Stops Highlight Community Investments

STATE OF WISCONSIN

DEPARTMENT OF ADMINISTRATION

Tony Evers, Governor

Joel Brennan, Secretary

Southwest Wisconsin Stops Highlight Community Investments

Evers Administration officials met with leaders in Boscobel, Muscoda and UW-Platteville as part of January 5th outreach tour

Muscoda and Platteville, Wis. – On Wednesday, January 5, Wisconsin Department of Administration (DOA) Secretary Joel Brennan and incoming DOA Secretary Kathy Blumenfeld made stops to celebrate recent public infrastructure grants for community development block grant (CDBG) projects in Muscoda and Boscobel, ongoing campus expansion at UW-Platteville, and local businesses that received pandemic assistance.  

Wisconsin Economic Development Council (WEDC) Secretary Missy Hughes joined the first stop in Muscoda, to speak with CDBG recipients at the Muscoda Public Library. The Village of Muscoda was the recipient of a $1 million grant awarded in 2021 for the construction of a new water tower. The library site was renovated through a previous CDBG grant in 2015, supporting downtown revitalization efforts. The City of Boscobel received a $643,205 CDBG grant for street and utility infrastructure repairs.

(L-R: DFI Secretary Kathy Blumenfeld, Muscoda Village President Dorothy Hackl, DOA Secretary Brennan, and WEDC Secretary Missy Hughes)

(L-R: Boscobel City Alder Steve Fritz, DFI Secretary Kathy Blumenfeld, Village of Boscobel Mayor Steve Wetter, DOA Secretary Joel Brennan, WEDC Secretary Missy Hughes, Boscobel City Administrator Misty Molzof, and Boscobel City Alder Barb Bell)  

Officials from both communities were on hand to speak with the secretaries and discuss how they are addressing aging infrastructure and ongoing recovery needs. The funds awarded to Boscobel and Muscoda are part of $24 million in public facilities awards made to 28 Wisconsin communities, previously announced by Governor Evers.

“We’re making a tangible difference in the lives of Wisconsin residents, by supporting family-sustaining jobs and critical infrastructure improvements in our communities,” said outgoing DOA Secretary Joel Brennan. “Governor Evers is working hard to help individuals, businesses, and communities continue to bounce back, and that effort is at the heart of our ongoing outreach.”

As part of the outreach day, Secretaries Brennan and Blumenfeld also toured the $55-million LEED-certified renovation of Sesquicentennial Hall on the UW-Platteville campus. They met with Chancellor Dennis Shields and engineering team leads for the state-of-the-art construction project, which should be completed by Spring 2022.   

“It’s amazing to see the bright future in store for Wisconsin engineers,” said current DFI Secretary, incoming DOA Secretary Kathy Blumenfeld. “The UW-Platteville project, the community development block grant funded improvements, and other projects are going to keep our communities going strong for years to come.”  

(L-R: UW-Platteville Chancellor Dennis Shields, DFI Secretary Kathy Blumenfeld, DOA Secretary Joel Brennan, DOA Project Manger Lois Braun-Oddo, and UW-Platteville Campus Facility Engineer Katrina Hecimovic. Photo courtesy of UW-Platteville)

Finally, State Theaters in Platteville received a $255,000 award as part of the more than $10 million awarded to movie theaters in December, awarded by Governor Evers to offset pandemic-related losses experienced by movie theaters across the state.  

(L-R: DOA Secretary Joel Brennan, State Theatres owner Duane DeYoung, and DFI Secretary Kathy Blumenfeld)

For updates on other recovery-related grant opportunities, sign up for the Badger Bounceback update list. Visit BadgerBounceback.wi.gov to view pandemic-related assistance information for you, your business, organization, and community, as well as the latest data and success stories about how COVID-relief investments are making a difference across the state.