By Brittany Berrens
University Relations student writer

Five members of UW-Superior's Student Government Association will join people from all over northwestern Wisconsin Feb. 22-23 to address lawmakers in Madison as part of the annual Superior Days lobbying effort. 

One of the issues the students will address is restoring tax reciprocity between Minnesota and Wisconsin. They'll ask Wisconsin lawmakers to contact their Minnesota counterparts to see whether reciprocity can be resumed to simplify payment of taxes for people who live in one state and work in the other.  

SGA Legislative Affairs Director Hanna Durfee said this is an opportunity to show that UW-Superior students also can be engaged citizens. 

"This will be a reminder to the student body that, yes, we are part of the community," Durfee said. "Hopefully, we can work together to build more connections with the community." 

She also hopes community members will see that college students care about issues outside of the campus boundaries.

"We want to build a respectable outlook on the University of Wisconsin-Superior," she said. "Getting involved in this boosts the community confidence in UW-Superior." 

Durfee will join four other SGA members on the trip to Madison. Student Body President Jessica Duffy, Vice President Katelyn Baumann, Senator Jacob Lindberg, Senator Graham Garfield, and Student Representative Bill Wilson will be in Madison for the two-day lobbying effort from Tuesday, Feb. 22, to Wednesday, Feb. 23.

Other issues on the agenda for this year's two-day session include efforts to prevent invasive Asian carp from reaching Lake Superior, the preservation and protection of Wisconsin Point, and the widening of U.S. Highway 2 from a two-lane to four-lane highway through northwestern Wisconsin. 

The annual Superior Days event began in 1985. It is a grassroots approach to community development for Superior and other parts of northwestern Wisconsin. It's a chance to bridge the gap between lawmakers in the southern part of the state and residents in communities of Douglas, Ashland, Bayfield, Iron, Sawyer, Barron, Burnett and Washburn counties.  

In past years, the Superior Days contingent has lobbied for money to help build the Richard I. Bong Heritage Center in Superior, and successfully sought support for the Swenson Hall academic building construction project that is currently under way on campus.