To: Committee on Science, Technology, and AI
From: Paul Schecklman, Northwoods Policy Network
Date: 11/5/2025
Subject: Support of Data Center and AI Infrastructure

Chairman Gustafson, and members of the Committee, thank you for the opportunity to provide testimony that supports Wisconsin’s embrace of the New Economy infrastructure.

My name is Paul Schecklman. I am the Director of the Northwoods Policy Network, an organization focused on enhancing growth and opportunity in our northern and rural regions of the state. As a doctoral candidate in Defense and Strategic Studies, industrial and energy policy are areas of great focus.

Wisconsin is an ideal place for such investments in terms of geography. We have a cool climate, water, flat land, and have had strong conservation efforts that sustain our water resources and forests. We are also a linchpin for the Nation and Western society if we truly realize our industrial potential through reshoring and reindustrializing.

Wisconsin is a manufacturing state. We underwrite industries that span defense, agriculture, energy, and commerce. Embracing this new infrastructure will ensure that our manufacturers have more innovation, more efficiency, and more growth. This is true for small-scale manufacturers and the industrial giants. Looking nationally, it is no surprise to see that data center investments are tracking with new manufacturing investments.

Our forests and farms are also the bedrock of our state. Data centers and AI are not threats to these industries but rather potential champions for it. Condensing these systems will allow for our loggers and farmers to better plan for crop yields, forecasts, commodity pricing, and disease. It will allow more efficiency and optimization to ensure these industries remain sustainable and profitable as our demographics continue to shift. This new technology will ensure we catch outbreaks earlier than we could with our own eyes.

Wisconsin has a choice. We can find solutions around energy and costs to welcome new investments that bring new industries and capital into our state for our residents to thrive in; or we can choose to resist and force these investments into other states, reducing the economic and social opportunity of proliferating small businesses across broad sectors. We are confident that Wisconsin can address any energy and financial issue relating to data center and AI growth while realizing the important role the state plays in expanding these markets.

Paul Schecklman