>> I think we need jobs, but I think we have to be very careful
on how we get these jobs.
>> People in southwest Wisconsin give us their take on Foxconn.
I'm Frederica Freyberg.
Tonight on "Here and Now," a first look
at potential medical technology partnerships
with Foxconn and the UW.
After that, a closer look
at public opinion on the Foxconn deal,
away from the proposed site for it in southeast Wisconsin.
Then a quick check in
on state budget work at the Capitol this week
and political panelists Bill McCoshen and Scot Ross
join us for a capitol insight segment.
It's "Here and Now" for August 25.
>> Funding for "Here and Now" is provided, in part,
by Friends of Wisconsin Public Television.
>> A first look tonight at how the University of Wisconsin
could benefit from Foxconn locating in the state.
On Wednesday, flanked by UW-Madison Chancellor Rebecca
Blank and officials from the UW School of Medicine,
Governor Scott Walker touted the potential biomedical advances
that could result from a joint research effort
between the UW and Foxconn.
>> We think there's incredible applications.
We're excited about that.
We hope that as they build this new product,
here in the state of Wisconsin,
that our health care systems and our schools and medicine
can be at the forefront of using that technology
and having access to that
at the forefront really around the world.
>> Governor Walker appearing at UW Hospital touting the promise
of Foxconn technology in Wisconsin biotech industry.
In tonight's first look, we hear from Lisa Johnson,
the CEO of BioForward, an organization that advocates
for the state's biomedical industry.
She joins us by telephone and thanks a lot for doing so.
>> My pleasure, Frederica. Good to be here.
>> First of all what's your reaction to Foxconn potentially
locating a medical devise or research facility in Wisconsin,
even in Dane County?
>> It's extremely positive and very exciting.
This is really due to what's happening in southeast Wisconsin
with their big screen potentially manufacturing plant
in southeast Wisconsin.
But also we've been working with their medical division
for a couple months and
certainly they're looking at Wisconsin on this front
because of our outstanding research institutions,
our strengths in the biosciences, medical technology.
So it's really exciting that there is this potential.
But again, this is also very much due to
what's happening in southeast Wisconsin.
>> Right.
So we're speaking with a radiologist in a moment,
but broadly what applications would the company's technology
have in the medical field?
>> So there's a couple fronts.
On the screens themselves, they're 8K technology,
and again, I'm not a surgeon,
but it provides such high-quality resolution
that it provides surgeons
with a much better view of the body while in surgery
that would allow them more precision.
I would assume then less errors, better outcomes
and ultimately less health care costs.
But that's just their screen technology.
There's an investment in medical technology
that goes beyond that.
And they're very much into precision medicine,
from treatment to prevention.
And that's where you're starting to see
this medical division stepping in and looking
at medical technologies here or our research institutions.
So they really have a broad path in the medical technology area
beyond their screens, which the radiologist will be addressing.
We're also seeing that in the college area, too,
that they're looking at.
>> BioForward expects to have a representative from Foxconn,
I understand, as its keynote speaker in October.
What do you expect to hear from that representative?
>> Yeah.
I really expect to hear trends in the health care industry.
I mean, they're cutting edge.
And so I'm expecting them
and that's kind of a theme that we have.
We also have Samsung coming in, their chief medical officer.
And how virtual reality is being used in health care.
What you see are these electronic giants.
They're really critical to medical technology,
medical advances in the future.
So we're going to be hearing about that from Foxconn.
But also looking--
What's really fascinating about Foxconn,
they're also saying what else is out there?
They're looking for innovation and what are the next steps
to their company, to their medical technology division.
So I think they will be addressing that.
I'm going to be assuming so.
So I think that's really exciting for the whole community
to be hearing where is that company going
and how can Wisconsin be a part of that.
We don't get these opportunities.
So Foxconn really-- if we can get this company into Wisconsin,
it could have a major impact on our medical community.
>> All right. Well, that's great news.
Lisa Johnson, thanks very much for joining us.
>> Thank you for having me.
>> Just what are the specific applications for Foxconn's
liquid-crystal display panel technology in the medical field?
For that, we turn to Dr. Scott Reeder,
UW Medical School Professor of Radiology,
Biomedical Engineering and Medical Physics.
Doctor, thanks very much for being here.
>> Great to be here.
>> So what is it about the technology that Foxconn
could bring to Wisconsin that is most promising in your mind?
>> So Foxconn has unique display technology that would be helpful
in medical imaging in a variety of ways.
One of the things that we focus on historically
is better ways to acquire data more rapidly.
There's new techniques. There's more data.
And to be able to display this all at the end
so a physician such as a radiologist or surgeons can view this
is really what's needed.
This is really I think where the opportunity lies.
>> So even more specifically,
how would that be used in patient care?
>> Right, so it can be used in a number of ways.
It could be used to facilitate
improved visualization for endoscopy.
An actual camera placed inside the body.
Or being able to put multimodality information together,
like CT, ultrasound and MRI
and to display this in unique ways that we couldn't before.
>> Do people at the UW, at the medical school, in the hospital,
the practitioners, do they feel like we would be so far ahead
because Foxconn would be in our backyard?
>> I think they would allow us
to have some unique collaborations.
And it certainly would allow us to work with
this unique manufacturer of advanced imaging technology.
We've been able to enjoy that kind of relationship
with other manufacturers.
And that really does provide cutting edge research--
pardon me, cutting edge technology for our patients.
>> How would any of that of which you speak
compare to what you're using now?
>> Well, right now, we're using
sort of standard display technologies.
And so having a collaboration with Foxconn to explore
how we can do this I think is really quite unknown
to understand the full potential.
But it is something that would allow us again to display that
information in unique ways that we haven't been able to before.
>> Now, you're the chief of MRI
and the Director of the UW Liver Imaging Research Program
that performs research in technical development
and translation of new imaging methods.
So how would Foxconn's technology,
especially being here as we've discussed,
help in that research and development?
>> What we're doing in the liver imaging research program is that
we're developing new imaging technologies mostly focused on
the acquisition and the reconstruction
that is generating the images in unique ways
to look at things like liver disease and other diseases,
especially quantitative imaging, as well.
So we do this in close collaboration with partners
such as GE Healthcare to explore new techniques
and new ways of doing this.
So I think that developing a relationship with Foxconn would
make a lot of sense in terms of understanding how we can
use their unique technologies to improve medical imaging.
>> And do you feel as though there would be
kind of partnerships with places like GE?
>> Absolutely.
So partnerships with not only the university,
but also partnerships with GE.
There's really a nexus of medical imaging industry
within southern Wisconsin, largely centered around GE.
A number of spin-off companies
that have come out of universities.
So there's a wide variety of partnerships that could happen
between industry, between academics and industry,
as well as multicenter studies.
There's really a critical mass of talent in this area.
I think Foxconn really could be a big player
and really add to that in a significant way.
>> And this is well-known, across the world presumably,
that Wisconsin is the hub of this kind of activity?
>> You know, I'm not sure that it is.
Among the medical imaging community it certainly is.
GE is one of the largest manufacturers
of medical imaging technologies in the world.
And their world headquarters is here in Waukesha, Wisconsin.
They have a long-standing relationship with
Medical College of Wisconsin and University of Wisconsin.
And there are a large number of spin off companies
that have also come out of that as well.
So I think it's something that actually is not well-appreciated
but is really a unique and interesting strength of Wisconsin.
>> So how excited are you for the prospect of Foxconn?
>> Oh, I think this is a great opportunity.
The exact outcomes of this and how it will play out
have yet to be determined.
But when you have someone who has specific and unique technology
that would be applicable to medical imaging,
it can only be good.
>> All right. Dr. Scott Reeder.
Thanks very much. >> Thank you.
>> Even with a secondary Foxconn site under consideration
for Dane County, southeast Wisconsin
is poised to welcome the giant flat screen plant,
thousands of new jobs and that spin-off development.
In tonight's closer look, the governor and others say
the whole state will prosper because of Foxconn locating
its $10 billion plant in Racine or Kenosha.
Even though the legislature's Democrats mostly oppose
the risk of the $3 billion state incentive package,
three reps from that part of the state
including the minority leader voted in favor.
Without the proximity of the plant to sway opinion though,
we wondered what people in southwest Wisconsin thought
about whether Foxconn would be a good deal.
We visited Richland Center to find out.
>> I think it's a great deal.
I like the idea that someone like Foxconn
is thinking of Wisconsin.
>> Anything that puts Wisconsin on the business map
is good news for Karin Tepley.
Her former business couldn't weather the past recession
in this small city.
It's Richland Center, population just over 5,000.
It's the county seat and the people we met
were well-informed with definite opinions about Foxconn.
>> I like the fact that other people are thinking Wisconsin.
We're not just this little Midwestern state anymore,
it seems like.
>> When somebody offers me something
that seems too good to be true, it usually is.
And $3 billion is--
You know, that's a dollar a second for 90 or 100 years.
>> Daniel Miller runs the Main Street Book Shop.
>> Now we're supposed to come up with $3 billion
for jobs we don't know are going to be there.
We don't know if they're going to be there.
>> He's not alone in his concern
about the state's incentive package.
>> $3 billion is a huge amount that's going to be taken away
from the state that could go into our, you know, schools,
could go into our roads.
$3 billion is a huge amount.
>> I'm opposed to it.
I'm generally opposed to all aspects of corporate welfare.
>> For attorney Benjamin Southwick,
it's that incentive package
to lure the Taiwanese flat screen manufacturer
that sours him on the deal.
>> On one hand I certainly understand the desire
of states and municipalities to
have private sector jobs and to attract those jobs.
But in my opinion, it's obscene the way
states and municipalities compete with one another
by offering more and more incentives
for corporations to move there.
>> I'm concerned about it, partially because of
the payback is so far in advance.
And if you think about other technology,
25 years is a long time,
like eight track tapes and all this sort of thing.
I'm old enough to have lived through
a lot of this technology.
Is it still going to be good 25 years from now?
>> Shirley Steiner says everyone
she sees is talking about Foxconn and considering
everything that's in the legislation paving its way.
>> The other thing, I'm concerned about the environment.
I don't want all of the DNR requirements
for the environmental things just sort of pushed aside
to get this in there in a hurry.
>> We ran into David Teiwes
at Richland Center's main crossroads.
He says any statewide economic boost is all positive.
>> My personal opinion is that if it brings jobs to Wisconsin,
I think it would be a great, great idea.
>> But will that great idea realize growth
in western counties or up north in places
often left out of development in urban corridors?
>> I'm sure they will have spin-offs
for the southeastern part of the state.
I can't imagine any of those spin-offs
reaching Richland County.
>> And so as to the question of whether the benefits
will reach places like Richland Center,
the owner of a local coffee shop is only half-joking
when she wonders if Foxconn has any friends who
would like to locate a similar major employer in her town.
>> You know, we have very friendly people,
a great coffeehouse to go to.
No, but, you know, there's a lot of benefits,
and it would be great to have a place like that move here.
>> As the incentive package bill continues
to make its way through the legislature, budget writers
went back to work this week on the state spending plan.
The Joint Finance Committee met this week
for the first time since June.
The big items of K 12 spending and transportation funding
are expected to be taken up in coming weeks.
But Republican co-chairs assure
they've mostly reached consensus.
>> Things are work in progress, but there is a framework.
There is an agreement in principle for the most part.
There might be a few more moving parts.
>> I think both sides try to find a solution.
So you'll see a little bit different.
>> At Thursday's session the committee voted to eliminate
the state portion of the property tax.
It also approved the reorganization of the DNR,
prompting committee member Democrat Gordon Hintz to voice
concerns over the environmental impacts of Foxconn.
>> In tonight's capitol insight,
budget progress, Foxconn fever
and a statewide official throws his hat in the ring.
Superintendent of schools
Democrat Tony Evers made it official this week
that he's running for governor against Scott Walker.
Conservative Bill McCoshen and liberal Scot Ross tonight
hash through the latest.
Thanks for being here. >> Thanks for having us.
>> So how many Democrats are in the race now?
>> Three definitely in and 300 talking about it.
>> Right. It sounds like it. Yeah.
So you know, if Scott Walker lands Foxconn though,
which seems likely, right.
How isn't his re-election a lock?
>> Well, how do you go around the state and say
we've just given out the biggest subsidy to a foreign corporation
in American history that's down on the Illinois border.
That's not guaranteed to provide non-Illinois jobs.
How do you go sell that around the state of Wisconsin?
I don't understand how you do that and say that it's a lock.
I mean, listen,
Governor Walker back in 2009 opposed high-speed rail.
He opposed the stimulus package.
They both created tens of thousands of jobs.
They would have created tens of thousands of jobs.
And yet, he, in the midst of the recession,
able to go around and do that.
Foxconn doesn't make anything a slam dunk.
>> What do you think about that?
Do you think it's a lock for him if he lands this for sure?
>> Yeah, it helps for sure.
Scot knows this very well
but voters tend to vote their pocketbook first.
The economy is doing pretty well here in Wisconsin.
We expect it to be doing well 440 days from now
when the election is held.
That's an advantage to the incumbent,
in this case Scott Walker.
Foxconn certainly helps. It is a big league deal.
He calls it transformational,
but it is without a question
the largest economic development deal in state history.
There's no question that's an arrow in his quiver.
>> What would it take for a Democrat
to beat the unsinkable Governor Walker?
>> Well I'll say this.
Governor Walker, the fact that
there are about a dozen Democrats talking about it
is a good indication that he's a weak candidate.
I mean he's not very good at his day job.
He's obviously a career politician
who's willing to say and do anything to get re-elected.
He used us-- tried to use us as a stepping-stone
to become president of the United States.
I agree with Bill, though.
It's all about economics.
But what are the economics?
This may be the first election in which post-baby boomers
make up a majority of the electorate.
So are Democrats going to continue to talk about
what they've talked about the last 25 years,
social security, Medicare,
my employer-provided pension is under assault.
Or are they going to talk about the economic issues
facing the post-baby boomers,
most assuredly the student loan debt crisis.
>> I think Democrats have
sort of lost their way on economic issues.
They don't know how to talk about those anymore.
They talk about far left issues
that don't really appeal to independents or centrist voters.
Certainly don't appeal to any Republican voters.
That's where Walker's got a significant advantage
heading in 2018.
He's got the economy on his side.
There's a massive investment in K12 education.
There's investment in the University of Wisconsin System
in this budget.
So sort of the areas where they might be able to come after him,
he's nullified those.
>> As for a Democratic challenger,
what type of candidate would be the strongest, in your mind?
>> Well, I mean, I think we've got--
You got a couple out there who have the sort of strengths
you need in order to get elected.
Andy Gronik has created jobs.
Dana Wachs stood up for consumers.
Tony Evers has been a champion for public education.
Those bread and butter issues for Democrats
are obviously an important part of the mix.
But again, I think you gotta come back
and you gotta start looking at where is the electorate changing
in the state of Wisconsin?
How do you approach that?
Saying that Scott Walker has helped public education after he
made the biggest cuts to public education in our state history
is not going to be a winning message for Scott Walker.
>> Of the three that are in it, Evers probably has the advantage
because he's run statewide three times.
He's raised money statewide three times.
I mean that's not a bad starting kit.
But I would say they have to figure out
how to talk about the economy.
Even if they can figure that out,
it's going to be tough to get to the right of Scott Walker
on economic issues here in the state.
>> I would say.
As for Foxconn, if clawbacks get added to this in the contract
or even in the legislation, what's left to fight about that?
>> Well, we already had bipartisan support.
Three democrats voted with the Assembly majority
when it went through the Assembly.
I suspect that Bob Wertz from Kenosha is going to vote yes
when it goes through the state Senate in mid-September.
There will be bipartisan support in both houses.
Clawbacks hopefully will be in the contract,
not in legislation.
As a former commerce secretary, it's much easier to do
in the contract than it is in statute.
I think there are plenty of protections
for Wisconsin taxpayers in this bill.
And frankly it's got strong bipartisan support.
>> Bill knows in politics if the answer is not yes,
the answer is no.
If it's not guaranteed in the bill,
that means it may not happen.
I think beyond just the clawbacks part of it,
the fact that this is going to be on the Illinois border
with absolutely no guarantees that these won't be
Illinois workers who come and we subsidize their job.
I think that's a huge part of this deal.
How are you going to go around that state and sell
if you're an Assemblyperson?
My Assembly district's commitment is $30 million
for a place on the Illinois border
that doesn't guarantee Wisconsin jobs.
How do you sell that?
>> When he talked about it getting bipartisan support,
you kind of shook your head.
>> Overwhelmingly there's Democratic opposition
because this bill represents the worst of economic politics,
of crony capitalism that have been expressed by progressives
in last 35 years.
Literally handing out a $3 billion subsidy to a guy
who referred to workers as animals.
And actually brought in a zookeeper to train
his upper management for his million employees.
This ain't a good guy
and it ain't a guy we should be giving $3 billion to.
>> Can't deny there's bipartisan support.
To Scot's earlier point, a UW-Madison study,
the Center for Research on the Economy came out
this week and said there's
about 40,000 Wisconsinites that work in Illinois.
Most of those will come back and keep jobs here in Wisconsin.
>> Gotta say on that one, that was authored by a guy who
asked Scott Walker for a job for running for his president.
That is the definition of junk science.
>> What do you say because that is something
that you'd been talking about on your social media feeds.
Legit study? >> I think it is legit.
All of these deals take time to sort of play out.
What I would caution the administration on doing
is over-selling it.
We don't know if it'll create 13,000 jobs.
Maybe it's 10. Maybe it's 11. Maybe it's 13.
But then with the indirect jobs, this study says it could be
anywhere from 33,000 to 39,000 jobs.
That's a mega deal.
>> I guess we got to wait and see.
>> Yeah, wait til 2043 when we might break even
with the best projections.
>> We leave it there. Bill McCoshen, Scot Ross.
Thank you. >> Thanks.
>> Next up, in our Wisconsin look,
we go to Pepin County for a look at a rural issue that's very
literally an issue of life and death in one small town.
Reporter Andy Soth has more.
>> In a small town grocery store in western Wisconsin,
a man collapses with a cardiac arrest.
>> 911.
What's the address of your emergency?
>> Peter Pillman who supplied the tape has
both a professional and personal interest in the case.
The man is his father.
>> He had bystander CPR.
Someone who came in right away, when he was found
and started providing that.
>> They're doing CPR right now on him.
>> For Pillman, the closed circuit camera
caught everything going right.
>> EMS were able to bring him alive to the hospital.
>> Transporting a 66-year-old male
to the emergency department.
>> Pillman's father made it and has recovered.
But typically a cardiac arrest under these circumstances
has less than a 2% survival rate.
For all that the footage may say
about the fragility of human life, Pillman shares it to talk about
the fragility of the system that saved a life that day.
>> These rural areas are totally dependent on volunteers.
>> Pillman is the ambulance director
for Durand in western Wisconsin.
A small community, like many others in the state,
that's having trouble filling volunteer positions in its
emergency medical service.
>> We have seen a decrease in the number of people that have
time or are willing to put time into community involvement,
specifically in the ambulance, probably because the commitment
is quite extensive.
>> Ok, wiggle.
>> To start, there's required training,
like the summer-long class at Western Technical College
in La Crosse.
>> We used to have janitors or others that could leave work
to go on an ambulance call and had flexible hours.
That's no longer the case.
>> According to Pillman, downsizing and increased
efficiency in business and government have made it harder
for people to volunteer.
And many in the Durand area commute to larger towns for
work.
>> Pull straight back.
>> Back at the EMT training class,
it's clear that public service is still a motivating force.
>> In the rural areas it's -- you know,
it's helping your friends and neighbors.
Doing whatever you can in those few precious minutes until you
can get the patient to definitive care.
>> I just love helping people.
>> But in a small town you get a lot more of that like filling
feeling when you see the people that you helped.
>> But these students, like many taking EMT classes today,
are also motivated by their career choices.
Meaning they may not work or volunteer as EMTs for long.
>> My end goal is to be a nurse.
>> My long-term goal is to be an EMT.
And then maybe from there going on to medical school.
>> In Durand, the ambulance service is doing something that
might have been unheard of just a few years ago,
offering pay for what were once volunteer positions.
>> I approached the city with a proposal,
recognizing that this was coming.
>> It took not only Durand approving it,
but getting surrounding areas also served by the ambulance
to increase fees charged to each resident.
>> That per capita rate had to be approved
by all of the townships as well in the community.
>> But even with offering pay, positions have been hard to fill
for many of the same reasons
volunteer staffing has been a challenge.
While it's hard to change those societal factors,
Pillman does have some ideas where legislation could help.
One, making recertification easier.
Another, loosening some restrictions
on what qualified responders can do.
>> So everything here is at EMT basic level.
We have limits on what we can use.
>> Durand is certified as EMT Basic which means
even if a volunteer has more advanced skills,
they're restricted from using them.
Pending legislation could change that.
>> There's a paramedic that lives in Durand
wants to help out Durand ambulance.
Even though we're a basic level, they will be able
to operate at that level when they're working with Durand.
>> But ultimately for Pillman,
it still comes down to a community working together.
>> That is what made these areas so strong and so viable
is that we did depend on each other.
And we worked with each other to survive.
>> That was Andy Soth reporting.
And that's all for tonight's program.
Next week, newly-announced Democratic candidate for governor
Tony Evers joins us.
I'm Frederica Freyberg. Have a great weekend.
>> Funding for "Here and Now" is provided, in part,
by Friends of Wisconsin Public Television.