WISCONSIN RAPIDS – If there are two things Wisconsin lawmakers agree on in central Wisconsin, it’s that they want to help restart the paper mill that has been shut down for a year in Wisconsin Rapids, and members of the other party are playing games.
On Wednesday, the state Senate sent a bill to Gov. Tony Evers that would provide up to $50 million in federal pandemic aid loans to a timber cooperative that s seeking to buy and operate the mill that Verso closed in Wisconsin Rapids last year. The bill also authorizes a loan of up to $15 million for a cooperative to buy a second paper mill that closed in Park Falls. The Senate passed the legislation this week.
Verso Mill purchase bill passes in Wisconsin Legislature
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Verso: Duluth mill sold; talks ongoing for Wisconsin Rapids mill sale
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The reopening of the Park Falls paper mill lasted just a matter of months before another shutdown and more layoffs this spring.
Now, the mill has fallen into receivership once again, but one group has an innovative plan to bring it back.
The former Flambeau River Papers in Park Falls reopened in September as Park Falls Pulp and Paper.
Credit Ben Meyer/WXPR
Last September, the scene was joyful in Park Falls when the century-old paper mill went back online after a year of being idle. An out-of-state ownership group led by Yong Liu had bought the mill, promising to bring back many of the 300 workers that had been laid off since 2017.