Mosinee Representative Brent Jacobson.
MADISON, WI (WSAU) — One of the largest infrastructure projects included in the 2025-’27 state budget will be completed in the Wausau area.
The spending plan includes $42 million in state funding to repair and modernize the Wisconsin River dam at Rothschild. The structure is cracked and leaking in many areas, with some elements that are decades old. “We’re talking about 300 feet of old, wooden elements. And it’s actually leaking, as we speak,” said Representative Brent Jacobson, who helped get the project into the budget. “Not to the point where the dam is going to bust open, but [its] certainly not a good thing. It’s to the point where the federal government told [Domtar] this needs to be addressed.”
In exchange for the state investment, Domtar has agreed to make about $100 million worth of upgrades to plants in Rothschild and Nekoosa. Jacobson says that will secure the future of those facilities for generations. “We’ll keep those good, quality jobs right here in Central Wisconsin. It’s a fantastic result, I’m thrilled that this motion was successful.”
Domtar also secured up to $14 million in federal funding and support from local communities. They’ll be covering the remainder of the repairs themselves. Jacobson didn’t have the exact total at his fingertips, but he expects it is about $80 million.
He says the work will also have some recreational benefits for those who use Lake Wausau, but the package is more about helping the state’s paper and logging industries. “We know they have to [make these repairs] and it would be a substantial chunk of change out of their pocket that could otherwise go to upgrades in their facilities to keep those mills up-to-date. That’s why I think this is a fantastic result; to know that we do matter up here in the north. The Joint Finance Committee saw that, and the Governor saw that.
“Sometimes you need all your partners at the table; federal, state, local, and private-sector commitment. This is an expensive task for a critically important industry to Wisconsin and to Central Wisconsin. We are thrilled that it’s done,” added Jacboson.
The budget was negotiated between Governor Tony Evers and the Joint Finance Committee and signed with minimal line-item vetoes early Wednesday morning. The plan also included a $256 million increase in funding for the UW system and a $1.5 billion tax cut, which lawmakers say will impact “virtually every citizen in the state of Wisconsin in some way,” according to JFC Co-Chair Howard Marklein.
Comments