Lane Kimble

State awards two communities Transportation Economic Assistance grants to pay for construction, spark growth

November 20, 2025 by Lane Kimble

Two eastern Wisconsin communities will see improved roads and, with them, more jobs thanks to state grants.

Gov. Tony Evers and WisDOT announced a more than $700,000 Transportation Economic Assistance grant for Saukville. The community in Ozaukee County plans to extend Market Street to better connect the village’s Northern Gateway development with Highway 33.

The construction will help American Orthodontics add nearly 150 jobs thanks to improved access for employees, vendors, and deliveries, the governor’s office said.

The state also awarded Slinger with a $165,000 TEA grant. The community intends to build a new road called Karius Court. That development is attracting hardware manufacturer Allegis Corporation to Slinger from Libertyville, Illinois, creating 33 jobs.

“This is a textbook example of why WisDOT’s TEA program exists,” said WisDOT Secretary Kristina Boardman. “Attracting new businesses and retaining the businesses we have through infrastructure improvements has been a key focus of this administration.

The TEA program began in 1987 and has awarded more than $125 million since then. A WisDOT webpage says those investments helped create nearly 30,000 jobs and retain 25,000 workers over the past 38 years.

EV charging grants resume with 26 new awards, slowly pumping cash into Transportation Fund

November 18, 2025 by Lane Kimble

A new batch of businesses–mainly featuring gas stations and hotels–will receive a combined $14 million in federal funding to help expand Wisconsin’s electric vehicle charging network.

The governor’s office announced the latest NEVI awards Monday.

Kwik Trip received the most grants of any company this round, winning 11 of 26. Other recipients include a Target in Hudson, a Culver’s in Mauston, and the Three Bears Waterpark & Resort in Warrens, among others statewide.

You can view an interactive map of each location HERE.

Recipients must use the funding to build Level 3 fast EV chargers, with the awards covering up to 80% of the construction costs. A new law dedicates $0.03 per kilowatthour sold at these stations for the Transportation Fund. That law went into effect in January.

The state announced the first batch of NEVI funds back in April 2024.

‘It’s going to take all of us’: Baas helps detail transportation funding campaign at TDA Annual Meeting

November 14, 2025 by Lane Kimble

MADISON — Whether he realized it or not, WTBA Executive Director Steve Baas found symmetry between a pop culture reference and the need to solve a more than $1 billion transportation funding shortfall.

“When you listen to what we’re doing here, in this whole campaign, the theme is: we’re trying to bring sexy back,” Baas told the crowd at TDA’s Annual Meeting.

Indeed, the last time Wisconsin raised its gas tax (2006) happened to be the same year Justin Timberlake released his mega hit “SexyBack.”

A nominal gas tax increase coupled with indexing for inflation could be a potent option to give the Transportation Fund a significant boost, Baas noted during his portion of the program.

Baas presented alongside TDA Executive Director Debby Jackson, serving as the kickoff duo for the event’s unifying theme: we’re all working toward the same goal.

Most people across Wisconsin can agree–whether they’re men, women, Republicans, Democrats–fixing roads and bridges is incredibly important. It was the second-highest rated issue when people could pick multiple options in recent polling.

When asked their most important issue, though? Transportation falls to fourth, behind taxes, health care, and education.

“We’re trying to be that issue that is the first one asked to the prom,” Baas said. “Right now we’re the wallflowers. We’re sitting home. And that is our challenge.”

While transportation investments are up, the Legislature and Gov. Tony Evers have largely paid for them through massive one-time General Fund transfers. That likely won’t be an option in the 2027 state budget, leading to the need for a concerted effort that includes partners like WTBA, TDA, counties, municipalities, and trade unions.

“It’s going to take all of us working together to get this across the line,” Jackson said. “When we’re talking about advocacy, there is no right answer or wrong answer. You can’t go Google it and say, ‘What’s the best way to tell somebody?’”

Baas encouraged the crowd to make transportation a top issue for people in all walks of life, urging them to recognize it’s a bipartisan issue with broad support that needs to be talked about frequently.

It’s why the coordinated campaign, which WTBA and TDA are spearheading, will touch on local roads, bridges, and major projects while being flexible in its messaging and solutions.

“There are a million different ways that people view transportation and where it touches their lives,” Baas said. “The key here is to find the entry point for individuals that works for them.”

Evers receives ‘Transportation Service Award’

November 14, 2025 by Lane Kimble

It’s easy to make a promise on the campaign trail. It’s a lot harder to actually deliver on them.

Then-candidate Tony Evers famously quipped Wisconsin would “fix the damn roads” under his watch while running for office in 2018. Thursday the governor was recognized for sticking with that plan.

“Every budget (Evers) has presented has had an increase in transportation funding in the state of Wisconsin. We’ve never seen that happen before,” new TDA President Robb Kahl said. “We’re going to miss him, but we understand sometimes it’s time to go and do some fun things.”

Kahl awarded Evers with TDA’s Transportation Service Award during the association’s annual meeting in Madison. It’s just the second time the group selected a governor for the honor since its inception in 1987.

“I’m honored to accept this award knowing it’s coming from a group of folks who share my dedication to building the quality infrastructure Wisconsinites really, really deserve,” Evers said.

The governor rattled off accomplishments such as restarting the Transportation Projects Commission, signing the new Agricultural Roads Improvement Program into law, and completing the Zoo Interchange project while providing funding to help fix more than 8,600 miles of roads and 2,000 bridges since taking office in 2019.

Evers announced this summer he will not seek reelection for a third term.

“You’ve got all sorts of candidates out there making promises,” Evers told the group after accepting his award. “Keep the pressure on, folks. It isn’t a guarantee going forward, but I feel confident that all we’ve done is going to make that transition even better.”