John Torinus

A race, invisible to most, is on to solve the nation’s health care crisis.

Rebecca Blank, the new chancellor of the University of Wisconsin—Madison, has her work cut out for her if she is to position her taxpayer-built institution as a prime mover for the state’s prosperity.

Taxpayers in Wisconsin should be encouraged that Gov. Walker has finally put his toe into reform waters for the delivery of health care to state employees.

Remember a couple of decades when 75,000 miles on a car was time to trade it in? Now, it’s not unusual for an owner to drive a car for 200,000 miles.

University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Chancellor Mike Lovell has cooked up a recipe that he predicts will transform the “innovation ecosystem” and economy of southeast Wisconsin.

Super angel investor Tom Shannon meets with the CEO of Somna Therapeutics, a recent spinout from the Medical College of Wisconsin, every Monday morning to go over an activity report. He and CEO Nick Maris look at what got done the previous week, what needs to happen in the coming week and progress against critical milestones as they prepare to bring to market a device for the control of acid reflux.

The camouflage on the cost and quality of heath care in America is blessedly being stripped away by entrepreneurial initiatives. Payers can finally get a glimpse at what they are buying and for how much.

As Wisconsin gets closer to considering an early stage investing bill, it is important to get the basic principles right. Here’s my take on how to proceed on solid ground:

As Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker sets himself up to win a second term in 2014 and to position himself as a presidential contender in 2016, he needs to make good on his number one objective from his 2010 campaign: job creation.

The latest flap over ObamaCare, whether state or local government will run the exchanges, has once again created a major distraction from real reform of the health care delivery system.

The country will be slicing and dicing state and national election returns for weeks to try to figure out where all the chips will fall. Some of the voting dynamics will remain obscure for awhile, but other fall-outs seem relatively clear. Among them:

“If you don’t get out and try it, you won’t have the opportunity to be successful.”
So said Jalem Getz about business ventures after receiving the George Dalton Inspirational Entrepreneur Award from BizStarts Milwaukee at its fourth anniversary celebration recently. He knows all about trying different businesses before finding one that hits pay dirt.