New name. Same mission.
Effective January 2024, COWS is now the High Road Strategy Center!
When we first launched this organization in 1990, “COWS” was an acronym for Center on Wisconsin Strategy. Several years later, we changed our name to “COWS” – not as an acronym but as a full name because so much of our work was outside Wisconsin. While COWS is a fond holdover of history, it says nothing about what we do.
High Road Strategy is what we do and have always done. We are a think-and-do tank, applied research center, provider of technical assistance and advisory services – all aimed at moving more cities and regions and their residents and governments toward high-road development.
High Road Strategy Center captures that aspiration and work so, while our name is changing, our mission, purpose, and services remain the same.
Covering the Bases: Community Benefits for Public Subsidies in Kansas City
In November 2022, the Kansas City Royals announced a plan to leave their current home at Kauffman Stadium and search for a location for a $2 billion stadium and entertainment district. According to the Royals, the new development would create 2,200 jobs, mostly in the service and retail sectors. Cities across the country routinely make investments in these stadiums despite ample evidence that communities don’t secure promised economic returns. In this paper, we draw on national evidence and experience in Milwaukee to help inform the public discussion in Kansas City.
Featured
Can’t Survive on $7.25
For 15 years, Wisconsin’s minimum wage has been stuck at the federal minimum level of $7.25, which has not been raised since 2009. In this report, we offer a picture of who wins in Wisconsin with higher minimum wages and some reasons to support higher labor standards for the state.
The State of Working Wisconsin
In celebration of Wisconsin workers, High Road Strategy Center releases The State of Working Wisconsin 2023 with the most recent data available on wages, jobs, disparities, and unions to build a stronger understanding of what is going on in the state’s labor market.
Facts from the Frontline
The union manufacturing jobs that once flourished in Milwaukee have since been replaced by low-wage, non-union service jobs, exacerbating racial and economic disparities. Properly addressing the impact of this shift starts with restructuring the city’s service sector.
High Road Strategy Center in the News
Economists agree that public stadiums should only get $10 million to $30 million in subsidies
Dresser is advocating for Kansas City to adopt a community benefits agreement, similar to one adopted in Milwaukee, that would hold the teams accountable to a set of measurable economic benefits. The teams missed a Feb. …
March 7, 2024High Road Strategy Center Releases Covering the Bases: Community Benefits for Public Subsidies in Kansas City
In February 2024, High Road Strategy Center released Covering the Bases: Community Benefits for Public Subsidies in Kansas City that utilizes the successful Community Benefits Agreement workers at The Milwaukee Area Service and Hospitality Workers …
March 5, 2024Milwaukee’s lesson for Kansas City on building a stadium that works for all
Laura Dresser is an economist at the University of Wisconsin and associate director of the High Road Strategy Center. She spoke with Up To Date’s Steve Kraske about her report on community benefits agreements and …
March 5, 2024- More