NCWRPC recently finished the planning process for several county broadband plans developed as part of the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program. NCWRPC prepared broadband plans for Adams, Lincoln, Portage, and Wood Counties.

These broadband plans serve as a comprehensive strategy designed to bridge the digital divide by increasing connectivity and accessibility of broadband throughout each county. Additionally, these plans identify both barriers and goals to infrastructure expansion and broadband adoption. This helps better position each county to apply for and potentially receive BEAD funding for broadband deployment.

The objective of the Broadband Plan is to offer insights into the current state of broadband deployment in each county. The information presented in each plan aims to help the county understand broadband, thus assisting local officials in making well-informed decisions in supporting the right broadband deployments. The plan is to help facilitate the optimal broadband connections to residents, taking into consideration the cost associated with these deployments. Access to quality and affordable high-speed internet opens new opportunities for economic development, education, public safety, entertainment, and healthcare for each county.

Each broadband plan can be accessed below:

If you have any questions or would like to learn more information about the BEAD Broadband Plans, please contact Andy Faust at 715-849-5510 extension 305, or afaust@ncwrpc.org.

Gov. Tony Evers, together with Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC) Secretary and CEO Missy Hughes, recently announced a major step forward in supporting Wisconsin entrepreneurs with the launch of the Wisconsin Investment Fund, a public-private venture capital initiative that will initially invest $100 million in startup businesses throughout the state. At an event at Forward BIOLABS in Madison, a nonprofit that has helped launch scores of successful startups, Gov. Evers and Secretary Hughes were joined by officials from five venture capital management firms who will be administering the first round of fund investments. A sixth capital management firm will be announced shortly.

The Wisconsin Investment Fund is seeded with $50 million from the federal government State Small Business Credit Initiative (SSBCI) program. The Fund provides a source of venture capital for strategically selected seed and early-stage venture funds and fund managers for investment in start-up companies in Wisconsin. The fund managers raise private equity capital that matches the WEDC capital on at least a one-to-one basis, amplifying the impact of Wisconsin Investment Fund capital. The Wisconsin Investment fund will take its ROI and reinvest it into the next generation of startups, creating a growing source of capital to fuel future innovation. In the next decade, WEDC expects to leverage more than 10 times the initial investment in subsequent private capital.

The Wisconsin Investment Fund will be investing in innovative companies working in technology, healthcare, agriculture, manufacturing, and other areas. As required by the SSBCI program, Wisconsin's fund is targeting significant support for diverse businesses and companies located in underserved areas of investment. A particular focus will be biohealth, with at least $27 million of the state's initial investment allocated to the biohealth sector.

In response to growing concern over PFAS exposure, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced last month new and more protective federal standards to limit the levels of six types of PFAS in our drinking water.

Per a Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources news release, Wisconsin is well-positioned to comply with the new standards, and public water systems across the state have already begun sampling for PFAS. About 95% of Wisconsin’s public water systems have reported PFAS levels below the maximums set by the EPA. For the remaining 5%, funding from the Emerging Contaminants Cap Grants as part of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law is available to support any projects that will reduce or eliminate detectable levels of PFAS in public water. Applications for SFY 2025 are due June 30, 2024.

Compliance with the new standards may prove most challenging for smaller water systems that have been historically ineligible for funding. In response to these inequities, the DNR announced a new grant program - the EC-SDC Grant - to help smaller public water systems that are not owned by a government or municipality address PFAS contamination. Applications for the EC-SDC grant program are due by July 31, 2024.

The application deadline for the 2025-2028 Solicitation cycle of the Carbon Reduction Program is coming soon. The purpose of the Carbon Reduction Program is to provide funds for eligible projects designed to reduce transportation emissions, defined as carbon dioxide emissions from on-road highway sources.

Some examples of eligible projects in Wisconsin are listed below. For a complete list of eligible projects in Wisconsin, see the application instructions.

Applications for 2024 funding are due no later than 5:00 pm on June 30. If you have questions or need assistance in applying, the NCWRPC may be able to help. Contact Darryl Landeau at dlandeau@ncwrpc.org or 715-849-551- ext. 308.