Politics & Government
Gov. Scott Walker Visits Hudson to Declare Wisconsin 'Open for Business'
New message on Wisconsin sign greets drivers as they enter the state from Minnesota on Interstate 94.
Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker held an event in Hudson on Tuesday, Jan. 18, 2011, to unveil the message "Open for Business," which now hangs on the Wisconsin welcome sign along eastbound Interstate 94 as drivers enter Wisconsin.
Walker said the idea to put the phrase on the state welcome sign came when he was approached about how he would like his name to read on the sign.
"I wanted to send a stronger message than just the fact that there's a new governor—that instead there's a new attitude and a new approach here in the state of Wisconsin," Walker said.
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Walker explained that sign is a symbolic gesture to lure employers in neighboring states to set up shop in now business-friendly Wisconsin.
As a more substantive gesture, Walker shared a list of items he hopes to achieve early in his term, which include lowering business taxes, easing regulatory litigation and eliminating state tax on health savings accounts.
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"It's going to be more about sign-hanging; it's going to be about changing the way we do business in the state of Wisconsin," Walker said.
Because the Wisconsin welcome sign in Hudson is too close to the Interstate, the event was held up the hill at the former state tourism office on Crest View Drive. The facility was closed more than a year ago and some noticed the conflicting messages of the new "Open for Business" sign being placed not far from the large "Closed" banner on the facility's freeway-facing sign.
Department of Tourism Secretary Stephanie Klett and state Rep. Erik Severson (R-Osceola) spoke at the event. Former Hudson mayor and now newly seated state was also on hand.
"We need to make it easier to start a business and more attractive to move a business," Knudson said. "We need to make it easier to make a profit, because that's what keeps people in business. It makes them willing to expand and take risk and hire more people."
Walker made similar appearances today in Beloit, Dickeyville and Superior. According to a press release issued Monday, there will be 23 "Open for Business" signs placed at entry points around the state.
Immediately following the event at the shuttered tourism office, workers attached the "Open for Business" message to the state welcome sign.
