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FALL 2016
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A Vision for the Future of Wisconsin
I came to Janesville after three years at the
Chamber of Commerce in Dubuque, IA. The
story of how I ended up there seems a little
ridiculous to me now. A few months before I
landed in Dubuque, my future wife and I had
decided that it was time to get away from the
Washington, DC, rat race, so we quit our jobs
on Capitol Hill, packed up the U-Haul and set
sail for Madison, WI, in search of a new
adventure. (By the way, thinking back on
doing something this bold and spontaneous
makes the ‘middle-aged dad’ version of me
break into a cold sweat.)
My wife was fortunate to find great new job
quickly upon our arrival in Madison, but I was
not so lucky. After what felt like months of
hunting, I came across a legislative position
with the chamber of commerce in Dubuque—
Iowa. My first thought was, ‘so…where
exactly is Iowa?’After consulting
MapQuest—this was 2003, so MapQuest was
still a thing--I decided that commuting from
Madison to Dubuque wouldn’t be so bad.
After all, I was accustomed to sitting in DC
gridlock for hours to get to work.
So I applied for the job, and was fortunate
enough to land an interview. I can remember
the first time I rounded that last bend on
Highway 151 and seeing the city just beyond
the Mississippi River—I was floored. I spent
three great years in Dubuque, and I will
always remember my time their fondly. (I
won’t get into the utter ridiculousness of the
commute, but I drove back and forth from
Madison to Dubuque every day for three
years. I know.)
Dubuque is a wonderful city, and one that
Janesville can learn many lessons from.
During my first week on the job, local civic
and business leaders were planning a
celebration to mark the opening of the Grand
River Center, a gleaming convention center
overlooking the Mississippi River. I was
blown away the first time I saw the River
Center and visited the attractions in the Port of
Dubuque. I was even more impressed once I
learned that the Port had been neglected for
decades, and that Dubuque had basically been
left for dead. I heard that a prominent national
writer had even written one of those “last one
out, turn off the lights” stories about Dubuque
when the city’s unemployment rate hovered
around 24 percent.
Naturally, I wondered how the city had pulled
off this stunning transformation. I learned that
the state of Iowa had given the city a $40
million grant to revitalize the Port of Dubuque
through the Vision Iowa Program. Vision Iowa
was “created to assist projects that will
provide recreational, cultural, entertainment
and educational attractions.” The Vision Iowa
program has awarded $226 million to 13
major state projects since 2000, which was the
catalyst for nearly $1 billion in investment.
The state’s $40 million investment created
conditions that led to the construction of the
Grand River Center and to the great
businesses and attractions in the port. Today,
Dubuque’s thriving riverfront has transformed
the community.
So, fast forward to today. I’ve been working
(and living, thank goodness) in Janesville for
a decade. During that time, I’ve been
consistently surprised at the complete lack of
state resources for community development.
Many communities—including Janesville—
have developed plans for their future
prosperity, but too often these plans sit on
shelves gathering dust because there is no
money to complete them. So why not create a
state fund to help communities implement
their big ideas?
Imitation being the sincerest form of flattery, I
developed a plan called Vision Wisconsin, a
revolving fund for major public infrastructure
projects. The plan, which was patterned after
Vision Iowa, would have $10 million to award
each year. The program would be under the
jurisdiction of the Wisconsin Economic
Development Corporation (WEDC), governed
by a board of directors who would award
funding through a competitive application
process.
Vision Wisconsin would be useful to dozens
of Wisconsin cities, including Janesville.
While our city has funding in place for some
aspects of the exciting ARISE downtown
revitalization plan, much of the plan remains
unfunded. Vision Wisconsin could help fund
the ARISE plan—and projects in dozens of
other Wisconsin communities.
Our organization got behind Vision Wisconsin
a few years ago, and will be taking this
proposal back to the State Capitol in January.
If Wisconsin is to compete with like states
(like Iowa) who are investing millions in their
communities, we need bold ideas. We think
that the time is right for Vision Wisconsin, and
we hope that you agree. I encourage you to
join the conversation at
danc@forwardjanesville.com.
Dan Cunningham
- Vice President Government Relations & Education