On Tuesday, the Wisconsin State Assembly was unable to override Governor Evers’ veto keeping enhanced unemployment benefits in place.  While every Republican voted to override the veto, every Democrat voted "no". Because this was an Assembly Bill, I was unable to vote on the override.
 
It’s common sense – if people are paid more (in this case $17/hour) for staying home than they would working, they’ll stay home. In states that have ended the enhanced benefits, more people are actually working, and unemployment rates have dropped virtually overnight. This isn’t rocket science.
 
I know you’ve seen the impact of the enhanced benefits. Businesses cutting hours or long delays for service because there aren’t enough workers. Everywhere I go, I hear the same thing – “I can’t find enough workers.” “People are just applying and then not showing up so that they can keep their benefits.”
 
Unfortunately, it appears Governor Evers and Democrats want to keep people on the couch instead of the workplace. And Wisconsin’s economy suffers.

Governor Evers called a special session on Tuesday demanding Republicans spend another $440 million in permanent spending on K-12 education.  Apparently Governor Evers thinks that $3.2 BILLION in NEW spending passed by Republicans and Congress just wasn’t enough. If $3.2 billion isn’t enough, how much is?
 
It’s time we focus on education results, not education dollars. We need to make sure that we are not just funding school systems, but funding students and learning. Dollars need to be in the classroom, not administration. And we need positive results.

The 99th Annual Racine County Fair started on Wednesday, July 28th and will run through Sunday, August 1st.  After being canceled last year, they are back which means the return of the cream puff eating contest, the truck and tractor pulls, livestock auctions, pie contest and more! 

History of the Racine County Fair

According to the Racine County Ag Society, the Racine County Fair traces its roots to the 1850s when the first annual agricultural fair was held in the township of Yorkville. Throughout that century, locations ranged across the county from Racine to Burlington. One consistent theme in these early fairs was the presence of competitive horse shows and racing.

After the absence of a county fair for 30 years, a group of ag-vocates formed the Racine County Agricultural Society and selected Burlington as the temporary location of the county fair in the fall of 1922.  The committee considered several locations throughout Racine County for the more permanent location of the annual fair, ultimately deciding on Union Grove’s Old Settlers Park.  

The Racine County Agricultural Society and Racine County Fair continue to grow and celebrate the agriculture, industry, and community that makes Racine County so special.  In order to provide an expansive experience to fairgoers, the Racine County Agricultural Society purchased the 100 acres while renting Old Settlers Park during the fair season. The Agricultural Society has evolved over the years. They now meet annually to select a 39 person Board of Directors. The Board of Directors is entirely made up of passionate and hardworking volunteers who meet monthly to plan the annual Racine County Fair. 

Over the years, the Racine County Fair has included exhibits from thousands of young people, hundreds of commercial vendors, dozens of musical acts, and ever-evolving grandstand feature entertainment.  They have had over 100,000 people through our gates in a single year and been featured on local and national TV programming including the show Carnival Eats.

The Racine County Agricultural Society prides itself on providing an experience like no other in the county and combining new and fan-favorite activities during a week filled with community moments.

The schedule of events can be found here: Click. 

I hope to see you on the Midway!

Congrats to Eric and Ellen who were married last weekend. Eric has been a friend and staffer for several years. Welcome to the family, Ellen!

Congressman Bryan Steil will be holding District Listening Sessions in Racine and Kenosha.  For those interested in participating, the details are below.