Keith Mogel
DemocraticQ1 America has a growing artificial intelligence (AI) industry, supporting cutting edge innovation and reshaping businesses, but raising concerns about education, ownership, and security. Application of AI technology has increased the demand placed on data centers, controversial for their resource use (such as water and land) and raising utility costs. What are your policy positions in regards to data centers and AI? What sources of evidence informed these positions?
Moratorium at state level until we address several issues at the state and local levels:
- We need to understand the impact these centers have on water, electricity use, traffic impact on the rural roads, waste generation, and noise pollution. Some of these centers are creating 75 dBA of noise impacting the communities around these facilities. OSHA highly recommends hearing protection starting at 85dBA and requires mandatory hearing protection at 90 dBA. Research has shown that wildlife and livestock are adversely affected by those noise disruptions generated by the centers and leave the area creating wildlife dead zones. This can affect dairy herd milk output, livestock rearing operations, and poultry production. These facilities have the potential of ruining the key reasons why we live in Northwest Wisconsin. Until we can get solid answers and establish detailed guidelines and rules, AI Center construction needs to be placed on hold.
- AI is going to have a profound impact on the number of jobs in Wisconsin. The state needs to be prepared to handle the influx of workers that are going to be replaced by AI. This includes re-evaluation of the state UC requirements, establishing state level training programs, enhancing small business development and loans and possible relocation of families to new economic development centers.
KEYWORDS: Moratorium, research, evaluation based on data and the local area to support the facility without detriment to the community.
Q2 Making the US competitive in the bioeconomy (using technology applied to renewable biological resources to produce food, energy and industrial goods) requires innovation and investments in business, academia and government. Please describe policies you will support, if any, that relate to workforce development in Wisconsin’s strengths such as agriculture, biotechnology, and energy; and explain their rationale.
I would like to see an enhancement of the Technical Training at both High School post high school graduate level. These two school platforms need the newest equipment to train the students to enter the fields of research and operation of the machinery. I would also like to see business grants for small businesses to purchase the newer capital equipment capitalizing on CNC, AI enhancements and laboratory research for adding to the launch of new cutting-edge agricultural enterprises. The business I work for currently hires high school inters directly from their high school technical classes - wood working, welding, and machining.
KEYWORDS: Training, capital equipment, small business programs
Q3 Wisconsin’s public K-12 education systems have seen a significant decline in the past two decades, with more than 600 public schools closing and statewide student enrollment dropping 7%. These impacts have been especially pronounced in Wisconsin’s many rural counties, where opportunities for STEM education are already fewer. What policies, if any, would you support to improve K-12 education for students across Wisconsin?
Overhaul the current school funding program that was written in 1993. It was supposed to last 5 years. The new school funding would need to include operational formulas considering that school districts have annual fixed costs whether the school building has 250 students or 1500 students. The school districts must pay for heat, electricity, and buses. We need to fully fund all state mandated school requirements to include Special Education and Mantal health requirements. If the state mandates a requirement – the state needs to fully fund the mandate. We also need to move the Voucher school program funding out of school funding and into the general fund. This would alleviate an additional burden on the local public-school districts. All these actions would help reduce the School Referendum requirements that are currently being passed just to operate year by establishing property-tax relief at the local level.
KEYWORDS: New Funding formula, Voucher School funding stopped, Lakeland Union School District system evaluation for use statewide.
Q5 If elected, in what capacities would you refer to scientists when you are deciding how to vote on a policy?
Every decision must be based on factual approved science. This is not an option. I am a statistics person. I believe in solid, complete research. I would call on the experts to help me with the writing and decision-making process.
KEYWORDS: scientific based decision making
Q7 Wisconsin has faced an increasing number of infectious disease outbreaks in recent years, for instance with rising numbers of measles and avian influenza cases that threaten human health and agricultural industry, respectively. What policies, if any, would you support to manage the burden of infectious disease in the state and respond to future outbreaks?
- Limit the number of exceptions for vaccines for school children. I was one of children who went thru all the childhood diseases in the early 1960’s. I would not wish it on any child to go thru what I did when I was 8 years old. I had them all in one summer.
- Establish a strong counter education program on the good of vaccines to counter the Internet junk and false research reports floating around.
- Enhanced the county level public Health Nurses that are constantly getting resources and slots cut thru funding reductions. Allow them to conduct vaccine clinics at no or very reduced costs.
KEYWORDS: Education, reduce waivers for exceptions to vacinnes.