April 26, 2026

By Lane Kimble

PLATTEVILLE — References to John Cusack holding a boombox above his head in “Say Anything” and El Guapo in “Three Amigos” left some college students scratching their heads last week.

But when WTBA Executive Director Steve Baas mentioned Matt Damon “working the problem” to survive being left alone on Mars, that at least rang a bell.

Kids these days…

The important thing was getting young adults to wrap their minds around the $1 billion transportation funding shortfall we face in Wisconsin.

Baas did so during a presentation to UW-Platteville’s Construction Management students in the college’s Construction Seminar and Building Construction Materials classes.

Baas guided the 20-somethings through the basics on existing road and highway conditions, a funding shortfall exacerbated by a gas tax that hasn’t been adjusted for inflation since 2006, and possible solutions to the massive challenge our industry and state faces.

WTBA extends a sincere thanks to the UW-Platteville engineering staff for the invitation to reach some promising young minds!

“You can either accept that or you can get to work. That’s all it is.  You just begin.  You do the math, you solve one problem, then you solve the next one and then the next.  And if you solve enough problems, you get to come home.” – Closing scene from “The Martian“, 2015