Walker To Seek $6.8M For Ad Campaign To Lure Millennials To Wisconsin

Gov. Scott Walker on Wednesday announced plans to seek approval from the state Legislature to spend $6.8 million in state money on a marketing campaign aimed at luring more workers to Wisconsin.

“We need to go beyond our borders to attract and then in turn retain more talent here in the state of Wisconsin,” Walker said at a Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce event in Madison.

At the event, the governor introduced a plan to work with the state Legislature to fund and launch a campaign to attract who he called “Midwest millennials” to live and work in the state.

The campaign will target millennials by focusing on things like cheaper homes and shorter commutes in Wisconsin, compared to urban areas in neighboring states.

“Some of the exciting things that millennials are looking forward to or wanting to be a part of — we’ve got them in abundance in the state of Wisconsin,” Walker said.

The campaign will also focus on recent University of Wisconsin alumni and veterans.

Leaders in the state Legislature said Wednesday they’re looking forward to learning more about the proposal.

“I support the governor’s plan to market Wisconsin’s employment opportunities to out-of-state workers,” said Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald, R-Juneau, in a statement. “I look forward to hearing more about the proposal in the coming weeks and discussing it with my caucus when we reconvene in January.”

Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, said he’s been aware of the campaign for a while, which he said is being helmed in the Assembly by Rep. Mike Rohrkaste, R-Neenah.

“I look forward to learning the details of the proposal,” Vos said in a statement.

Walker said he hopes the campaign will be approved this legislative session.

Editor’s Note: This story was updated at 3:45 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 29, 2017, with original reporting from WPR.