Senator Howard Marklein hosted a listening session on Monday, Feb. 10 at Southwest Wisconsin Technical College. The classroom was nearly full with attendees,the vast majority of them being local first responders or EMTs. A handful of individuals shared thoughts with Marklein ranging from the Dairy Innovation Hub, EMT testing, Wisconsin roads, childcare, housing and mental health. The feed back from attendees seemed to be a mix of positive support for the senator, with comments thanking him for his work on bills to support Wisconsin emergency medical professionals and pushing for the Dairy Innovation Hub. Others brought up their concerns in regards to the need to put more money into our school systems to help stem the ongoing stream of mental health issues and school shootings. Marklein took a moment from listening to the citizens of his districts to explain a little bit about how funding for items works in Wisconsin and the “rainy day fund” which some who attended the listening session believe should be used to help repair roads and  increase mental health services in Wisconsin. “I get a lot of people asking why we don’t spend the rainy day money on roads,” Marklein said. “We’re going pretty good here but one day there is going to be a recession and we’ll need that money. I’m very concerned about breaking the seal on those funds. Because once we do that the money is gone. I feel like we need to work hard to protect that fund for when we really need it.”