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Milwaukee—Goodbye, Cream City, Hello, Cyber City? Mayor Johnson talks up high-tech jobs

Milwaukee Development Commissioner Lafayette Crump, MKE Tech Hub Coalition CEO Kathy Henrich and Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson (left to right) listen to a question from moderator Tom Still at a Wisconsin Technology Council event in Wauwatosa Thursday.
Chuck Quirmbach
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WUWM
Milwaukee Development Commissioner Lafayette Crump, MKE Tech Hub Coalition CEO Kathy Henrich and Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson (left to right) listen to a question from moderator Tom Still at a Wisconsin Technology Council event in Wauwatosa Thursday.

Can Milwaukee, the Cream City, become more of a high-tech cyber city? Mayor Cavalier Johnson and others are promising to try to make that happen.

It may be hard to believe forty years after the last new episode aired, but Johnson insists it's true. He says when he meets people from other parts of the country, their biggest misconception about the city is we're still a community of people like those shown in the TV program Laverne and Shirley.

"I've never even seen that show. I've heard of it, of course. But I personally have never seen it. But that's what people think about, right?" Johnson says.

Johnson says updating the image of Milwaukee to this century would help in many ways, including creating more high-tech jobs in the area. The mayor and others say they're not expecting Milwaukee to become another tech mecca like Boston, Austin or Silicon Valley. But he says he'd like to see more people get good jobs in a growing sector.

Kathy Henrich agrees. She's CEO of the MKE Tech Hub Coalition, a non-profit organization working to increase tech talent in the area. Henrich told a forum held in Wauwatosa Thursday by the Wisconsin Technology Council that the region already counts quite a bit on tech.

"Over 10% of our economy, when you take in IT, engineering, etc. When we look at that, we're just not recognized for it.  Largely because, it's embedded into the companies that we have around the room—Northwestern Mutual, and the Associated Bank and the Rockwells [Automation]," Henrich says.

Kathy Henrich agrees. She's CEO of the MKE Tech Hub Coalition, a non-profit organization working to increase tech talent in the area. Henrich told a forum held in Wauwatosa Thursday by the Wisconsin Technology Council that the region already counts quite a bit on tech.
SeanPavone
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Stock Adobe
Kathy Henrich agrees. She's CEO of the MKE Tech Hub Coalition, a non-profit organization working to increase tech talent in the area. Henrich told a forum held in Wauwatosa Thursday by the Wisconsin Technology Council that the region already counts quite a bit on tech.

Milwaukee Development Commissioner Lafayette Crump gives another example.

"One of the companies the mayor and I worked to make sure we got here, Milwaukee Tool, they told me from meeting one, that 'We're a tech company,'" Crump says.

Henrich says one thing the region can do is a better job of telling its tech story to bring in companies and investors from elsewhere. Another thing is ensuring technology is part of every level of local public and private sector schooling and training.

"K-12, higher education, re-skilling, up-skilling—all of those are critical to building the talent sources that we need. And by the way, the place that plays a critical role in all of that is the employers. We don't have an issue of people not wanting to
learn," Henrich says.

Henrich also proposes the region taking what she calls "a big swing" for federal grants.

"Right now, there is generational money that is kind of a once in a lifetime opportunity at a federal level that has been funded for infrastructure and technology, etc. We have to be prepared to work together to capitalize on those opportunities," she says.

Mayor Johnson says part of his recent talks with the state about more aid for Milwaukee has been about getting more help for economic development.

"Either provide more opportunities for us to make investments, or step up themselves in areas where there's opportunities for growth," Johnson says.

One problem Milwaukee faces during its push for more tech jobs is relatively low private, or so-called angel investment in the area, compared to the East and West coasts.

Another problem voiced during Thursday's forum is whether city officials know enough about technology to help it grow here. Development Commissioner Crump replied:

"We don't have a Chief Technology Officer in the city of Milwaukee. When I want to talk about tech stuff in city government, I talk to another person on my economic development team, and I talk to my IT director. It would be great if I had someone, and we had someone in city government who lived and breathed this work. But, we're trying to keep a couple of trains moving, but also keeping the trash picked up and all the other services we have to do, and our resources have not grown the way they ought to at the city level to help us become a cyber city," Crump says.

Crump says that's another reason for more help from the state. He and Johnson say next year's Republican National Convention in Milwaukee would be a great time to show off the area's tech talent and encourage more investment.

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